In Matthew 20, Jesus is telling a story of his ransom mission. At the beginning of the chapter, he is speaking to his disciples when he tells them a parable of a landowner who hires day laborers to work in his vineyard. Those that are brought in last are given the same wages as those who came in first, so Jesus shows the Jews that the Gentiles will also, despite coming into the Kingdom later than the Jews, will also be able to inherit entry into Jesus’s Kingdom.
Jesus then, yet again for the second time recorded in Matthew, tells his disciples that he is going to be condemned and crucified, but that he will be raised to life again.
And finally, just before leaving from Jericho to head up to Jerusalem, he tells his disciples that they must be a servant if they want to be great within the Kingdom of God. The justification that he gives for this is that, just as he is giving his life as a ransom for many, they must also give their lives away in service to others.
So Jesus is trying to be very clear with his disciples about his mission and what he is doing. Of course, they continue to be blinded by their ambition and desire to see Jesus for whom they want him to be, not necessarily who Jesus says he is and what he is planning to do.
Very often, we also can become confused and misunderstand the fundamental mission of what Jesus came to do and has called us to do. We can be hung up in many different concerns, but miss Jesus’s basic calling to bring people into his Kingdom, thus missing also our basic calling to bring people into his Kingdom!
Instead, let us stay focused on what Jesus has called us to do – to usher people into his Kingdom. He has called us abide and grow in his, bringing others also to know him. Let us make sure that the main objective remains the main objective. Help us Lord to stay focused on your plan!