1

Let's Wait to be Lifted up in Heaven

2

Matthew 20:26-28 (NIV)

Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--

just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

3

One day, the mother of Jacob and John, disciples of Jesus, brought her sons and came to Jesus.

4

She politely bowed down to him.
Jesus asked her, "What do you want?"

5

Salome, the mother of the two sons, said to Jesus.
"Jesus, when you build your kingdom, please tell one of my sons to sit at your right and the other to sit at your left."

6

Salome thought that Jesus would defeat Rome and become the king of Israel like King David. So she was asking a special favor to him.

7

Salome was a relative of Jesus so she used that advantage to ask a special favor to him. But Salome did not know correctly about the kingdom of Jesus.

8

Jesus said to Jacob and John, "The One deciding your places in my kingdom is God."

9

But the other disciples also wanted to sit on the high places so they got very angry when they saw Jacob and John's mother asking Jesus to give all the good places to her sons.

10

Jesus knew that so he called all of his disciples and said to them. "All the people in this world work hard to be in high places and when they get to the high places, they use their power to rule over other people. That is what all the people in this world want."

11

"But my kingdom is different from this world. You should not follow the rules from the worldly kingdoms. If you want to sit in the high places, you should serve others."
Jesus told them a completely opposite thing then they were thinking.

12

"If you want to become first in my kingdom, you should become servants of others in this world and you should serve others humbly." Jesus told them that the standard of God's kingdom is totally different from this world.

13

And Jesus also told them why he came to this world. "I did not come to this world to be served and to be lifted up. I came to this world to give my life for others."

14

Just like what Jesus said, he came to this world to serve us.
Jesus is God but he chose to leave that glorious place.
So that, he could become human like us and come to this world to save us.

15

Then, Jesus served us until he died on the cross for our sins.
Through believing in Jesus, we are going to heaven.

16

Through believing in Jesus, we have received the gift of eternal life.
Since we are believers of Jesus, we should serve others like how Jesus did.

17

Believers of Jesus will not be lifted up by greediness. Like what Jesus said, if you will have good faith of serving others humbly, God will raise you to be a very influential people in this world like Joseph and David. Therefore, as people of the heavenly kingdom, anywhere we go, we must be faithful people who serve others with all of our hearts.