Then
the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and
making a request of Him. And He said to her, "What do you wish?" She
said to Him, "Command that in Your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit
one on Your right and one on Your left." But Jesus answered, "You do
not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to
drink?" They said to Him, "We are able." He said to them,
"My cup you shall drink; but to sit on My right and on My left, this is
not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by My
Father." (Matthew 20:20-23)
Let me introduce you to a mother who may, in some ways, best
represent the mothers of today. She
wanted her boys to be recognized! She
wanted to make sure they were not overlooked and got everything they deserved
(and possibly a bit more).
Salome was a follower of Jesus who appears briefly in the
gospels. She is sometimes identified as the wife of Zebedee, the mother of
James and John, two of the Apostles of Jesus, and sometimes also as the sister
of Mary, mother of Jesus.
From the scripture we see that she recognized that the
kingdom belonged to Jesus. She also desired
entrance into the kingdom for her boys. However, she did not want to settle for any
place but wanted her boys in on the ground floor of the kingdom. I’ll be the first to say that at first glance
at this passage, we might become a bit annoyed or upset with the mom of James
and John for asking with boldness that her children sit next to Jesus in His
kingdom. Actually we should not be so
inclined to think that. Good mothers are
those who are quick to want the best and to defend their children. What better care can a mother give to her
children than to desire and strive to lead them to enter the kingdom of God by
confession and belief in Jesus Christ?
There is none!
Though her request was not in line for Jesus to answer … she
had great expectations that her sons could and would fit the order. Jesus forecasted that James and John would
drink from the cup of suffering … and they did. James was put to death for his faith and John
was exiled to the island of Patmos. Both
fulfilled the expectations of mother and Savior.
To see a mother get in the middle of their children’s lives
is nothing new. You can see and hear
them everywhere promoting the talents and features of their child to get them
into a club or on a stage to sing, dance, play sports or model. But not very many are as focused on getting
them into the Kingdom as this lady was.
Many a mother has vented her anger at a coach, teacher or leader when
they did not get their way. Sometimes
they remove the child from the group as punishment for the leader not doing
things their way. It is interesting to
note that just because she did get her way she did not pull the boys out of the
seminary they were in at the feet of Jesus.
In Mark
15:40, Salome is named
as one of the women present at the crucifixion and is listed among the women
who went to Jesus' tomb to anoint his body with spices. No, she did not succumb to parent pride. She understood and followed Jesus all the way
to the cross and beyond.
Mom … what expectations are you laying out before your
children? Are they kingdom minded? Lay out before your children the expectation
of knowing God’s Word through reading and studying it. Lay out before your children the expectation
of being a witness wherever they go and with whomever they are with. Set your expectations as high as the kingdom
of God … Mrs. Zebedee did!
Scripture to
Claim:
He who loves father or
mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more
than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who does not take his cross and follow
after Me is not worthy of Me. (Matthew 10:37-38)
