Crowns, Crosses, and the Kingdom: What Jesus Really Asks of His Followers
To watch the sermon: The Cup Before the Crown (Matthew 20:20–28 Explained)
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Two brothers wanted the best seats in the house. Their mother made the ask. And Jesus responded in a way that flipped their entire understanding of power, honor, and what it means to follow Him. Matthew 20 has something important to say about how we approach faith, ambition, and what it truly costs to follow Christ.
What Did James and John Actually Ask For?
In Matthew 20:20-21, the mother of James and John approached Jesus with a bold request: "In your kingdom, please let my two sons sit in places of honor next to you, one to your right hand and one to your left."
To understand why this happened, you have to understand the culture. The disciples believed Jesus was about to establish a physical, political kingdom in Jerusalem. They expected Him to overthrow Roman rule and restore the throne of David. In that context, asking for seats of honor was not outrageous. It was the kind of thing people did in a world built on patron-client relationships and political positioning.
They were not wrong to believe a kingdom was coming. They were wrong about what kind of kingdom it would be.
Why Jesus Bypassed the Mother and Spoke Directly to the Sons
When Jesus responded, He did not address the mother. He went straight to James and John. His first question cut right to the heart of the matter: "Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink?" (Matthew 20:22)
Without hesitation, they said yes. They had no idea what they were agreeing to. They were thinking about Passover, about bitter herbs, about the symbolic language of their culture. They were not thinking about martyrdom, exile, or watching their closest friends be executed one by one.
That gap between their confident answer and the reality of what the cup contained is the difference between religious confidence and genuine surrender. It is easy to say "Lord, have your way" in a song. It is much harder when He actually does.
What Is the "Bitter Cup" Jesus Was Referring To?
The cup Jesus referenced was not symbolic in a light sense. It connects directly to the cup of wrath described in the book of Jeremiah, the judgment poured out for sin and rebellion. It is the same cup He would cry out about in the Garden of Gethsemane before His arrest and crucifixion.
James and John said they could drink it without knowing what was in it. Jesus knew exactly what was in it. And He drank it anyway.
Both brothers did eventually drink from a version of that cup. James became the first of the twelve disciples to be martyred, killed in Acts 12. John was persecuted throughout his life and exiled to the island of Patmos, where he received word of his closest friends being executed one by one. Neither outcome is what anyone would choose for themselves.
Does Jesus Play Favorites When It Comes to the Kingdom?
Jesus made something clear in verse 23: "I have no right to say who will sit at my right hand and who will sit at my left. My Father has prepared those places for the ones He has chosen."
Jesus did not build His kingdom on nepotism. He did not reward the ones who got there first or the ones who asked loudest. He submitted to the Father's will, even in this. His kingdom was not going to be structured around who liked Him the most or who had the most influence.
There is something worth sitting with here. When Jesus' kingdom was established at the cross, it was not James and John who sat at His right and left. It was two thieves. The Greek text implies they may have been insurgents, possibly connected to Barabbas and his movement to overthrow Rome. The very political revolution the disciples were hoping Jesus would lead may have had its members hanging on crosses beside Him.
The people who were guilty sat beside the only one who was innocent. And He used that moment to demonstrate exactly how His kingdom works.
How Did the Other Disciples React?
Verse 24 says the other ten disciples were indignant when they found out what James and John had asked. But they were not upset because the request was wrong. They were upset because James and John got there first.
This was an ongoing argument among the disciples. Who is the greatest? Who gets the most influence? It had already surfaced in Matthew 19 when Peter asked what the disciples would receive for giving up everything to follow Jesus. The heart problem was not new. It kept resurfacing.
Jesus gathered them all together and said something that reframed everything: "Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be a servant. And whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. For even the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28)
What Does Servant Leadership Actually Look Like According to Jesus?
The disciples were expecting a military liberator. They got a sacrificial one. Instead of storming the gates of Rome, Jesus stormed the gates of hell on a cross. And in a military conquest, many would have died for the kingdom to be established. At the cross, only one person climbed up on that stake. The only one who was innocent.
This is the model Jesus sets before His followers. Not power over others, but service to others. Not positioning for honor, but willingness to sacrifice it.
Some Christians want the crown of Christ, the authority of Christ, and the blessing of Christ, but want nothing to do with the character of Christ. The character of Christ is what actually bears His image in the world. Knowledge about Jesus is not the same as walking in His likeness.
Why Do We Still Think We Can Have Both Kingdoms?
The disciples were not unique in their struggle. The temptation to build our own kingdom alongside God's kingdom is just as real today. We want to reign with Jesus but feel offended when asked to serve someone we do not like. We want the honor without the cost that honor required of the One we claim to follow.
Jesus never asked us to accomplish anything close to His atoning sacrifice. He already did that. But He does ask us to follow Him. To deny ourselves. To take up our cross. To love our enemies. To forgive those who have wronged us.
We serve the kingdom not because we can purchase it through our effort, but because our King first served us. The disciples were willing to fight for a kingdom they thought would make them great. Jesus was willing to die for a kingdom that would make sinners free.
Where Does the Kingdom of God Actually Become Visible?
The kingdom becomes visible when we model Christ, not just when we talk about Him. When people encounter the love of Jesus through how we treat them, that is where the testimony lives. Not in how many theological boxes we check or how much prestige we carry in religious circles.
Jesus did not die so we could praise Him. He already had the praise of angels and the whole host of heaven. He died so we could be reconciled and restored to the Father when there was no way for us to get there on our own.
The question is not whether we are willing to follow the one who wore the crown of thorns. The deeper question is why we feel we need to wear a crown in the first place.
There is no crown before the cup. James and John wanted to know how close they could sit to Jesus to receive their crowns. Jesus wanted to know if they were willing to follow Him when He carried the cross.
Everyone is looking for a crown of gold. The only one He wore was made of thorns.
Life Application
This week, look for one specific opportunity to serve someone who can do absolutely nothing for you in return. Not a friend, not a family member who might return the favor, but someone where the service is genuinely one-directional. Let that act be your response to a King who gave everything for people who had nothing to offer Him.
As you go into your week, ask yourself these questions:
Am I pursuing the character of Christ or just the benefits of being associated with Him?
Where in my life am I jockeying for position or recognition instead of quietly serving?
Is there someone I have distanced myself from that Jesus is calling me to love, forgive, or serve?
If someone looked at my calendar, my finances, and how I treat people this week, would they see evidence that I am following a crucified King?
The prophetic kingdom of God is not built on who gets there first or who asks the loudest. It is built on the one who gave up everything so that the rest of us could have a way in. Our response to that should shape everything about how we live.
