DATE

Sermon September 25, 2011

SERMON BY
Pastor Jim Dunn
(with much indebtedness to Max Lucado and Jeffrey Gibbs)

TEXT
Matthew 20:20-34
A Mother’s Request
20Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and
Praying for the kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21And he said to her, "What
do you want?" She said to him, "Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at
Impossible your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom." 22Jesus answered, "You
do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to
drink?" They said to him, "We are able." 23He said to them, "You will drink my
cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for
those for whom it has been prepared by my Father." 24And when the ten heard it,
CHURCH OFFICE they were indignant at the two brothers. 25But Jesus called them to him and said,
4205 Tracy Avenue "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones
Kansas City, Missouri 64110 exercise authority over them. 26It shall not be so among you. But whoever would
PHONE be great among you must be your servant, 27and whoever would be first among
you must be your slave, 28even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to
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serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
EMAIL
ilckcmo@kcnet.com Jesus Heals Two Blind Men
29And as they went out of Jericho, a great crowd followed him. 30And behold,
WEB there were two blind men sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus
www.immanuellcms.com was passing by, they cried out, "Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 31The
crowd rebuked them, telling them to be silent, but they cried out all the more,
"Lord, have mercy on us, Son of David!" 32And stopping, Jesus called them and
said, "What do you want me to do for you?" 33They said to him, "Lord, let our
eyes be opened." 34And Jesus in pity touched their eyes, and immediately they
recovered their sight and followed him.

There’s  a  legend  about  a  man  who  wanted  to  fly.  His  name  was  Hans  
Babblinger.  He  lived  in  the  city  of  Ulm  in  Germany  in  the  1500’s.  The  
trouble  with  trying  to  fly  at  that  Ame  was  that  no  mode  of  geBng  
airborne  had  yet  been  invented.  The  first  manned  hot  air  balloon  
wouldn’t  come  unAl  the  1700’s.  So,  essenAally,  Hans  wanted  the  
impossible.  By  vocaAon,  Hans  made  arAficial  limbs.  With  Ame,  he  used  
that  skill  to  construct  a  set  of  wings,  a  primiAve  type  of  glider.  It  was  in  
the  foothills  of  the  Bavarian  Alps  that  Hans  tested  his  wings.  It  turned  out  

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to  be  a  good  choice  of  locaAon.  UpdraLs  are  common  there.  As  he  
jumped  off  of  a  cliff,  he  soared  safely  to  the  ground.  But  Hans  didn’t  
understand  wind  currents.  He  was  talked  into  trying  to  repeat  his  flight  
for  the  king  and  the  bishop  of  Ulm.  Only  this  Ame  he  wouldn’t  be  jumping  
in  the  mountains.  The  crowds  couldn’t  get  there  so  easily.  They  convinced  
Hans  to  launch  himself  from  a  bluff  above  the  Danube  River.  Now,  there  is  
no  updraL  near  the  river,  so  when  Hans  jumped,  he  fell  like  a  rock  into  
the  river.  So,  what  was  the  Atle  of  the  bishop’s  sermon  the  next  Sunday  in  
that  grand  church  in  Ulm?  “Man  Was  Not  Meant  to  Fly.”  And  Hans  
believed  him.  He  never  again  tried  to  fly.  It  was  impossible,  and  he  no  
longer  sought  the  impossible.

It’s  a  sad  story,  isn’t  it?  What’s  wrong  with  seeking  the  impossible?  
What’s  wrong  with  praying  for  the  impossible?

In  a  posture  of  prayer  is  where  we  see  the  mother  of  James  and  John.  
Later,  at  Jesus’  crucifixion,  she  would  be  among  the  women  who  wept  at  
the  foot  of  His  cross.  But  at  this  moment  she  kneeled  before  Him  in  a  
posture  of  prayer.  “ Then  the  mother  of  Zebedee’s  sons  came  to  Jesus  
with  her  sons  and,  kneeling  down,  asked  a  favor  of  Him.  ‘What  do  you  
want?’  Jesus  asked  her.  ‘Grant  to  James  and  John  the  seats  of  highest  
honor  when  You  become  king  of  Israel.  When  You  sit  on  the  throne  of  
Your  father,  David,  then  let  one  of  my  sons  sit  on  Your  right  and  the  other  
on  Your  leL.’”

What  she  asked  for  was  the  impossible.  Yes,  we  can  say  that  what  she  
asked  for  was  wrong.  As  Jesus  Himself  said,  she  didn’t  know  what  she  was  
asking.  She  had  no  idea  what  sort  of  throne  Jesus  would  sit  on  when  He  
became  king.  None  of  the  disciples  yet  understood  that  the  nature  of  
Jesus’  kingdom  is  not  one  of  ruling  but  of  serving.  But  Jesus  did  not  fault  
her  for  asking  for  the  impossible.  The  problem  with  the  prayer  was  a  deep  
misunderstanding  of  Jesus’  mission,  not  that  she  asked  the  impossible.  
And  that’s  what  she  was  asking.  And  she  knew  it.  Because  if  James  and  
John  received  the  so-­‐called  seats  of  honor,  then  Peter,  the  spokesman  for  
all  the  disciples,  would  be  leL  out.  Now,  how  possible  was  that?  

About  as  possible  as  two  blind  men  having  their  sight  restored  in  those  
days  of  primiAve  medical  technology.  But  that  was  the  prayer  of  the  two  
blind  men.  Unlike  the  mother  of  Zebedee’s  sons,  the  blind  men  didn’t  
kneel  before  Jesus.  But  they  did  use  the  kind  of  language  that  to  our  ears  
sounds  like  prayer:  “Lord,  Son  of  David,  have  mercy  on  us.”  Jesus  repeated  
the  quesAon  He  had  asked  of  James  and  John’s  mother.  “What  do  you  
want?”  And  they  proceeded  to  ask  for  the  impossible,  for  a  miracle.  
“Restore  to  us  our  sight.”  Jesus  had  compassion  on  them,  touched  their  
eyes,  and  immediately  they  received  their  sight.

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Because  there’s  nothing  wrong  with  asking  for  the  impossible,  with  asking  
for  a  miracle.  Now,  Jesus  doesn’t  want  us  to  reduce  our  prayers  to  
requests  for  million  dollar  cars  and  big  paychecks.  But  He  also  doesn’t  
want  us  to  reduce  our  prayers  to  only  what  we  know  can  be  solved.  

The  trouble  is  faith  and  prayer  get  reduced  to  mabers  of  the  intellect.  Like  
Hans  Babblinger,  our  prayers  become  grounded  by  reasoning  and  
intellect.  “Man  is  not  meant  to  fly.”  Certain  things  are  not  meant  to  be.  
So,  we  stop  praying  for  them.  Our  prayers  falter  or  are  leL  unsaid.  One  
final  word  on  the  church  in  Ulm.  On  Sundays,  it  is  now  mostly  empty.  The  
only  people  you  would  see  there  are  the  tourists  who  visit  it  as  a  
museum.  

Yet,  even  there  this  Sabbath  day  God  was  present  with  His  people,  eager  
to  hear  their  prayers,  asking  them  in  the  same  words  He  spoke  to  a  
mother  and  two  blind  men:  “What  do  you  want?”  Eager  to  listen  with  the  
same  compassion  with  which  He  listened  to  the  blind  men.  Eager  to  listen  
with  the  same  paAence  with  which  He  listened  to  that  mother  even  
though  she  had  no  idea  what  she  was  asking.  

For  what  she  and  all  of  the  other  disciples  had  not  understood,  even  
though  Jesus  had  explained  it  repeatedly  and  had  just  explained  it  again  
(Mabhew  20:17-­‐19),  was  that  Jesus’  reign  as  king  would  be  from  His  
cross.    Jesus  would  enter  His  kingdom,  He  would  enter  His  reign,  He  
would  begin  His  reign  and  reestablish  the  reign  of  God  on  this  earth  when  
He  “sat  upon”  the  throne  of  His  cross.  And  so  the  thrones  on  either  side  
of  Him,  on  His  right  and  on  His  leL,  would  be  crosses.  In  His  reign,  on  His  
right  and  on  His  leL,  there  would  be  two  thieves.  And  His  reign  would  
consist  of  bringing  the  blessings  of  God’s  reign  on  earth:  forgiveness  of  
sins,  life  and  eternal  salvaAon.  Jesus’  reign  on  the  cross  would  make  
possible  the  impossible:  the  final  everlasAng  restoring  of  our  sight,  for  our  
eyes  to  no  longer  stare  blindly  in  death  but  to  shine  with  life,  eternal  life.  
Jesus  would  not  grant  what  she  asked  for,  but  He  gave  her  so  much  more.

And  because  of  what  Jesus  gave  at  the  cross,  God  eagerly  heard  their  
prayers  in  Ulm,  Germany  this  morning  as  He  eagerly  hears  ours  this  day.  
“What  do  you  want?”  He  asks  us.  Pray  big.  Pray  for  the  healing  of  what  
the  doctors  say  cannot  be  healed.  Pray  for  our  church,  even  when  there  
are  so  many  empty  seats.  Pray  for  the  impossible  and  for  what  at  Ames  
seems  impossible,  because  God  does  the  impossible.  He  will  know  how  
best  to  answer  our  prayers  as  He  did  with  a  mother  and  two  blind  men.  
“What  do  you  want?”  He  asks  us.

Amen

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