dear diary — friday, july 16

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This post is the last in a “dear diary” series from Matthew 20.  The first three:

dear diary — 7th day of nisan

dear diary — 9th day of nisan

dear diary — 10th day of nisan

Friday, July 16 — 6:00 am

Dear Diary,

I’ve completed my study of Matthew 20:1-28.  I journaled through this portion of the chapter as if I were James, the son of Zebedee.  I enjoyed a great deal creatively working through the text — but more importantly I’ve learned a lot.  The text looks like this in form:

1. Matthew 20:1-16 — The Parable of the “Unfair” Vineyard Wages
2. Matthew 20:17-19 — Jesus Predicts His Death
3. Matthew 20:20-28 — Salome Acts Like the Parent in a Parent-Teacher Conference

I’m convinced Matthew ordered the events as he did, not necessarily because they happened so close together and in this exact order, but because he uses Jesus’ prediction of his own death as commentary on the stories resting on either side of it.  The vineyard parable makes clear that the last will be first, and the request of the brothers Zebedee (by their mother) gives Jesus the opportunity to teach on becoming great through servanthood.  Between these two stories, Matthew places Jesus’ perfect example of making himself servant, slave, and last of all.  Here’s what I’ve learned:

The Parable of the “Unfair” Vineyard Wages

• God seeks and draws workers to him.  It is not our responsibility to “apply.”
• God is honest and keeps his word.
• God is extremely gracious and gives us more than we deserve.
• Salvation is a gift that none of us have earned, and so, it is mercy and grace to each one of us, no matter our prior condition and situation.

Salome Acts Like a Parent in a Parent-Teacher Conference

• Human nature seeks a high position.
• Truly gaining a high position requires sacrifice of self.  This is in direct conflict with our nature.
• We are called not to exercise authority, but to serve others.

Jesus Lowers Himself in This Text

• I think Jesus is the foreman in the vineyard story.  He pays the workers as the vineyard owner desires.  He is humbling himself to serve the Father.
• Jesus speaks of the cup of sacrifice he will drink in the story with James and John.
• Jesus again demonstrates his submission to the Father when he explains that the seats  on either side of his thrown are not for him to give away.
• Jesus explains he came not to be served, but to serve.  His life is meant to be given for others.
• In vv. 17-19, Jesus explains how he will humble himself to be placed in the hands of the chief priests and teachers of the law.  Ironic that salvation will come to the world through a King tossing aside his authority in order to be killed by those religious officials who are seeking authority.  The juxtaposition of Jesus and the chief priests paints a beautiful picture of what to do and what not to do.
• In the end, Jesus will be raised to life. It’s interesting to me that Jesus tells his disciples the last will be first and the servants will be great.  And this one line is the only testament in this chapter to such occurring in his life:  ”On the third day he will be raised to life!”  But this one line is enough, as it’s forever changed our world.

My Thoughts

• I’m afraid too many of our religious leaders today seek authority, popularity, and greatness — yet are unwilling to be servants.  Oftentimes today, those most like Jesus are found cleaning up after events, stacking chairs, and teaching children’s classes — there’s no glory in those jobs.
• I live in a culture where it’s easy to serve others, because many Tanzanians are sitting around, waiting to be served.  I’m struggling to serve responsibly, though, so I don’t encourage others to depend on handouts — but, rather, show them love through my own humility.  I believe my service to others should prompt them to praise God (not me) and hopefully even to themselves serve others.
• I’ll be honest.  I want Christianity to be about doing what’s right merely because it’s right.  We would serve others, only because that’s what Jesus has done for us and it’s the right thing to do.  BUT, Jesus continually offers rewards for our service — the last becoming first, higher wages than we deserve, greatness, etc.  Jesus, in a way, plays on our selfish nature and our desire to obtain greatness.  So, to some extent, it’s less about not desiring a high position, and more about desiring the right kind of high position.
• We make fun of the apostles’ inability to understand Jesus’ words.  But how much worse is it that we understand the stories, but refuse to live by them?

Your thoughts?

dear diary — 10th day of nisan

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10th day of Nisan, 5:50 am

Dear Diary,

I’m back.  We had our meeting last night, and none of us really knew what to do with the becoming servants and slaves thing.  It just doesn’t make sense to us that to be a great leader, you first have to be a servant.  Maybe JC’s trying to say we need to learn the value of hard work?  My bigdaddy used to always say that.  But I think we fisherman already know the meaning and value of hard work.  Jesus thinks fishing’s easy, but that’s just because we got lucky and had a really good day that one time he came with us.  Of course he also wasn’t responsible for mending all Simon’s nets that got ruined that day.  And I bet he has no idea how much work it’d been if our boats had actually sank.  I mean fishing isn’t carpentry — we don’t sit in chairs, talking and whittling on wood all day.  It’s hard work.  **snorting and spitting**  [But Matthew... now that guy could probably learn a thing or two about hard work.]

As for the ransom and kidnapping stuff Jesus said, all 12 of us think it might have something to do with what Jesus said on our way to Jerusalem this trip.  I initially didn’t give it an entry in the diary for three reasons:

1. I had no idea what it meant.
2. It sounded kind of morbid, and I’d rather keep my diary cheery and happy.  Talk of death doesn’t sit well next to my sketches of cute, little kittens and rainbows.
3. While traveling, my diary stays locked and hidden in some old tunics on one of the donkeys; I don’t want the other 11 to know I keep a journal.  That would be soooooo embarrassing.  Especially if they found the pages where I practiced writing my name in cursive with Martha of Bethany’s last name.  [That girl really can cook.  And she doesn't mind staying in the kitchen all day long if it's needed.]  **warm feeling, hugging myself and thinking of food**

Anyway, Jesus said something about how he’ll be betrayed and the chief priests are going to condemn him and let the Gentiles torture and crucify him.  He said he’d be raised to live again on the third day.  We’re not sure how the kidnap and ransom bit plays in, but it sounds like all that might be part of the same parable.  Our best guess is Jesus has some kind of plan to get kidnapped by the teachers of the law and sold as a slave to the Gentiles, who will treat him poorly in the beginning, but will later allow him to advance in their government?  We think the crucifixion bit probably is representative of something…  and maybe the three days means three years?  We’re not sure yet, but if this is indeed what JC’s planning to do, we’ve decided to have a little talk with him.  I mean the whole sold-into-slavery thing in order to advance in government is so played out.  Joseph did that like a million years ago.

We all wanted Peter to be the one to speak up the next time Jesus starts talking crazy like this — but he’s pretty apprehensive after that one time Jesus called him Satan (that was funny).  Still, Peter can be dared into almost anything.  And Judas was the only guy to offer, but he wanted cash for it; dude’s always trying to make some easy coin (with his wee beady eyes).

Okay, I’ve got to go get some breakfast before the other guys eat it all.  Plus, they always leave the milk out, and I can’t stand tent temperature milk in my Grape-Nuts.  They’re already not good; they taste just like gravel.  When’s someone going to invent a crispy, sugar cereal with chocolate in it…?  I heard the Flintstone family was already working on it.  If anybody can do it, it’s them.  Have you seen that car they drive?!  And they have a dinosaur dishwasher, too.

I’m Audi 5, yo.

* This post is the third in a “dear diary” series from Matthew 20.  The first two: dear diary — 7th day of nisan and dear diary — 9th day of nisan.

dear diary — 9th day of nisan

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9th day of Nisan, 8:30 pm

Dear Diary,

Mom embarrassed John and I today.  Got us in trouble with the other 10 as well. Last week at dinner we mentioned our hopes that Jesus would give us important places in his new government.  She said she wanted to help.  We thought she was going to launch a little publicity campaign among our neighbors, you know, telling them how great we were and how hard we were working for this new up-and-coming ruler.  We figured by the time the insurgence was successful, we’d be sure bets to be voted into Jesus’ cabinet — a brain trust of sorts.  I’ve already written our campaign slogan:  ”The Sons of Thunder — Consultants for a New Kingdom, Advisers of a New Empire.”  [Either that or "Yes We Can."]

But Salome wasn’t thinking about a publicity campaign.  Nope, she grabbed our hands today and took us straight to the Son of Man.  Then she asked him point blank if we could sit to the left and right of his throne.  She could have at least written a note, flirted a little, or hinted around.  But no, our mom just came right out and asked — didn’t even introduce herself.  Jesus looked at us a long time and asked if we could drink what he was going to drink.  Now… it’s true that John can’t hold his wine quite like I can, but either of us can drink Jesus under the table.  I thought we’d proved that a long time ago at the wedding in Cana.  Seriously, the guy miraculously turned over 150 gallons of water to wine, and only drank a single glass himself.  And he nursed that one glass all night long, trying to make it look like he could drink more than he could.  He’s a pretty little guy.  I still don’t get why people are calling him a glutton and a drunk, though; I mean the guy eats and drinks — he’s no John the Baptist — but a glass of wine at a wedding party?  **sideways smirk**

Anyway, John and I tried to answer (in short and without snickering) that we could indeed drink anything he could.  We really didn’t want to go into details about our drinking habits, what with our mom standing there with us.  I personally think I’m too old to be dragged by the ear to dad for a spanking.  [But I thought I was too old that day in synagogue, too, when mom caught me passing notes up front with the youth group.  I'll never forget how scared I was when I saw her standing up from her pew in the middle of the sermon and motioning for me to come.  And I was right to be afraid -- Zebedee wore my hind side out that day in the room that's supposed to be for deaf people and mothers with crying babies.]  So neither me nor John were excited about having to explain our drinking to father, especially after a bad day of fishing.  He’s been just a little grumpy ever since we left the family business anyway.  And he doesn’t like drinking at all.  He actually tried to convince me the other day that the Greek word for wine really just means fruit juice.  I mean I know I mostly speak Aramaic, but I’m no dummy.  Why would people put fruit juice in wineskins?  **rolling eyes**

So… when Jesus asked John and I if we could drink anything he drank, we just kind of shrugged our shoulders, held in our laughter, and mumbled, “we can.”

His answer: “You’ll have to share a cup with me.”  [What?  I guess he thinks we drink too much and wants to keep us under tabs?  That or he's cheap -- no, can't be that, he'd just make more from water...]

In answer to mom’s question, he said he wasn’t allowed to give away the seats next to his throne.  That was up to his father (the power behind the throne, if you will — a puppet master of sorts).  Disappointing.  **a single tear**

But what made it worse was that somehow all the other guys heard about what mom had asked for and got really mad at us.  Jesus broke it up (just as they were about to give John a swirly) and talked about how the Gentiles abuse their authority and we shouldn’t do that.  He said whichever one of us wanted to be great had to first be a servant.  And as if he wasn’t making little enough sense already, he said we’d have to become slaves if we wanted to be first.  He’s always talking in riddles like that.  He said something about how he came to serve people, and that he’d later be kidnapped and held for ransom.  The twelve of us talked about it just a little while the guys untied mine and John’s hands, but we decided to get together and talk more later — out of Jesus’ earshot.  I’m on my way to that meeting now.  Running late — write more later…

* This post is the second in a “dear diary” series from Matthew 20.  The first post is here.

dear diary — 7th day of nisan

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7th day of Nisan, 9:45 pm

Dear Diary,

Jesus told us another story today.  [I've got to write all these down, because Matthew says he might make a whole book later of all these stories.  Why he can't do all the writing himself, I don't know.  He never had a hard time writing down all the money we owed him when he was working for the government...]  Anyway, this story was about all these men working on a farm. The guys hired earliest in the morning got a contract for one denarius (John and I thought that was pretty fair for manual labor).  I guess the farmer had more work than he realized, though, because he kept hiring more workers throughout the day.  But these new guys weren’t offered contracts; they were just told they’d be paid whatever was right.  [Maybe because they were unskilled -- after all, the farmer did just hire a bunch of guys who were standing around in the market.]  Still, they came to work, just trusting the farmer would pay them a fair wage.  Or I guess they didn’t necessarily trust him — maybe they just figured any money is better than none.  After all it was getting late in the day and they were still sitting around waiting for work.

In the end, though, all the workers got the same pay, even the ones who had only worked an hour or two.  At least that’s how the story went.  But it’d never happen that way in real life; it’s too unfair.  Jesus is always telling stories like that, things that would never really happen.  He ended this story by saying something like, “the last will be first, and the first will be last.”  It was really similar to what he told Peter earlier in the day.  Peter was reminding Jesus of all we’d left to come and follow him; and he wanted to know what we’d get for it in return.  JC’s answer was that we’d get 100 times what we’d left behind, plus eternal life.

John and I were trying to figure 100 times what we would have made fishing for the past three years with dad.  It’s hard to say, but it’d be a whole whole lot of denarii… or fish — depending on how you look at it.  I’m wondering how Jesus is gonna’ come through on these promises he’s making.  As for the eternal life thing, we’re all guessing it’s just another analogy of some sort… **sigh**

Anyway, after JC answered Peter about our future payment, he said something about the first being last and all that stuff.  I think that’s why he started telling the story of the unfair farmer in the first place.  But none of us really understands this last being first stuff.  We all are excited Jesus is starting to make statements, though — in the past he’s just asked questions (even when one of us asked a question first).  Really, who answers a question with a question?  I guess the guy who’s going to rule his own kingdom can do whatever he wants.  We’re still placing bets on when he’ll give us permission to start the revolt.  Me and John each put money on a different date, but agreed to share the winnings if one of us comes out on top.  I’m starting to wonder, though, if it was wise for us to let Iscariot hold all the money; dude’s got some wee beady little eyes.

I hear we’re going to Jerusalem soon.  I wonder when I’ll see Lazarus’ sister, Martha, again? Wow, did she know how to clean a house!  And she’s not bad looking either.  **dreaming**

Well, I’m tired and need to get some sleep.  John’s finally out of the bathroom, so I can use it now.  He sure does spend a lot of time on his beard and hair for a guy who basically grew up on a fishing boat.  Good night, diary.

* This post is the first in a “dear diary” series from Matthew 20.  The next post is here.