Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the New Living Translation ( NLT ). Matthew 20:20-28 read as follows:
"Then the mother of James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Jesus with her sons. She knelt respectfully to ask a favor. 'What is your request?' he asked. She replied, 'In your Kingdom, will you let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one at your right and the other at your left?' But Jesus told them, 'You don't know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of sorrow I am about to drink?' 'Oh yes,' they replied, 'we are able!' 'You will indeed drink from it,' he told them. 'But I have no right to say who will sit on the thrones next to mine. My Father has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.' When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. But Jesus called them together and said, 'You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must become your slave. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.'"
Jesus ( see verse 20 ) teaches something in this passage from the Holy Bible that is "quite different" ( see verse 26 ) from this world's view of leadership. According to this world, leadership means to be a tyrant, or to "lord it over" ( see verse 25 ) those over which one has authority. Jesus teaches that a leader, in His kingdom ( the New Testament church, the church of Christ - see Daniel 2:1-45 ( especially verse 44, for example ), Joel 2:28-32, Matthew 16:18, Luke 1:26-38 ( especially verses 31-33, for example ), Acts 2:1-47 ( especially verses 14 through 21, for example ); 20:28 ( see Acts 20:28 ( NKJV; with center-column references ), where the equivalent translation for the phrase "of God" is "of the Lord and God" ), Romans 16:16, Ephesians 1:22, 23, and Colossians 1:18, for example ), must be a servant, and one who desires to be first, in His kingdom, must be a slave ( see verses 26 and 27 ). See also Psalm 119:65-73, 142, 151, Matthew 28:18, John 1:1, 14; 3:16, 17; 5:26, 27; 7:16; 8:26; 10:30; 14:6; 17:17, Romans 1:20 ( see Romans 1:20 ( KJV, for example; with center-column references, for example ) to get the equivalent translation for the word "Godhead" ), Colossians 2:8, 9, Titus 1:1, 2, and 1 John 5:6-8, for example.
If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
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<Russell E. Willis>
