It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
Parallel Translations
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It shall not be so among you, but whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.
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It shall not be so amonge you. But whosoever wyll be greate amonge you let him be youre minister:
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But it shall not be so among you: but whosoeuer will be great among you, let him be your seruant.
Cross-references (18)
Passages linked to Matthew 20:26 in the Treasury of Scripture Knowledge, ordered by reader-vote popularity; verse text shown in World English Bible.
- Mark 10:43 But it shall not be so among you, but whoever wants to become great among you shall be your servant.
- Mark 9:35 He sat down, and called the twelve; and he said to them, “If any man wants to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all.”
- Mark 10:45 For the Son of Man also came not to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
- 1 Peter 5:3 not as lording it over those entrusted to you, but making yourselves examples to the flock.
- Luke 18:14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Luke 14:7-11 He spoke a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the best seats, and said to them, “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, don’t sit in the best seat, since perhaps someone more honorable than you might be invited by him, and he who invited both of you would come and tell you, ‘Make room for this person.’ Then you would begin, with shame, to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes, he may tell you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at the table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
- 1 Peter 4:11 If anyone speaks, let it be as it were the very words of God. If anyone serves, let it be as of the strength which God supplies, that in all things God may be glorified through Jesus Christ, to whom belong the glory and the dominion forever and ever. Amen.
- Matthew 23:8-12 But don’t you be called ‘Rabbi,’ for one is your teacher, the Christ, and all of you are brothers. Call no man on the earth your father, for one is your Father, he who is in heaven. Neither be called masters, for one is your master, the Christ. But he who is greatest among you will be your servant. Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.
- Matthew 25:44 “Then they will also answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry, or thirsty, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and didn’t help you?’
- 3 John 1:9-10 I wrote to the assembly, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first among them, doesn’t accept what we say. Therefore if I come, I will call attention to his deeds which he does, unjustly accusing us with wicked words. Not content with this, neither does he himself receive the brothers, and those who would, he forbids and throws out of the assembly.
- John 18:36 Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
- 2 Corinthians 10:4-10 for the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh, but mighty before God to the throwing down of strongholds, throwing down imaginations and every high thing that is exalted against the knowledge of God and bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being in readiness to avenge all disobedience when your obedience is made full. Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this again with himself, that even as he is Christ’s, so we also are Christ’s. For even if I boast somewhat abundantly concerning our authority, which the Lord gave for building you up, and not for casting you down, I will not be ashamed, that I may not seem as if I desire to terrify you by my letters. For, “His letters”, they say, “are weighty and strong, but his bodily presence is weak, and his speech is despised.”
- 2 Timothy 1:18 (the Lord grant to him to find the Lord’s mercy in that day); and in how many things he served at Ephesus, you know very well.
- Philemon 1:13 whom I desired to keep with me, that on your behalf he might serve me in my chains for the Good News.
- Hebrews 1:14 Aren’t they all serving spirits, sent out to do service for the sake of those who will inherit salvation?
- Ezekiel 24:13 “ ‘ “In your filthiness is lewdness. Because I have cleansed you and you weren’t cleansed, you won’t be cleansed from your filthiness any more, until I have caused my wrath toward you to rest.
- Acts 13:5 When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant.
- 2 Corinthians 1:24 We don’t control your faith, but are fellow workers with you for your joy. For you stand firm in faith.
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this verse (9 sources)
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John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain 26 But it shall not be so among you:…
26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Ver. 26. But it shall not be so among you] How express is that against Papal primacy and lordly prelacy. When the duke shall be damned, what will become of the bishop? said the clown to the Bishop of Cullen. Mr Whitehead refused a bishopric, because he liked not to be lorded. And Mr Coverdale being deprived of his bishopric in Queen Mary’s days, would not (for the same cause) be reinvested in Queen Elizabeth’s, but taught a school. Mr Knox would not have a bishopric, because it had aliquid commune cum antichristo somewhat with the common antichrist.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain And whosoever will be chief among you,.... Or first,…
And whosoever will be chief among you,.... Or first, or have the pre-eminence, the first place in the kingdom of the Messiah,
let him be your servant; or, as in Mark,
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shall be servant of all: not only a minister, but a servant; not a servant of some only, but of all. This was verified in the Apostle Paul, who became a servant to all men, though he was free, that he might gain some to Christ; and by so doing was the chief, though he reckoned himself the least of the apostles, yea, less than the least of all saints. The Jews have a saying somewhat like this, that (h).
"everyone that makes himself as a servant, for the words of the law in this world, shall be made free in the world to come.''
(h) T. Bab. Bava Metzia, fol. 35. 2.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain Your minister - That is, your servant. Matt. xxiii,…
Your minister - That is, your servant. Matt. xxiii, 11.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain Verse 26. It shall not be so among you]…
Verse 26. It shall not be so among you] Every kind of lordship and spiritual domination over the Church of Christ, like that exercised by the Church of Rome, is destructive and anti-christian.
Your minister] Or, deacon, διακονος. I know no other word which could at once convey the meaning of the original, and make a proper distinction between it and δουλος, or servant, in Mt 20:27. The office of a deacon, in the primitive Church, was to serve in the agapae, or love feasts, to distribute the bread and wine to the communicants; to proclaim different parts and times of worship in the churches; and to take care of the widows, orphans, prisoners, and sick, who were provided for out of the revenues of the Church. Thus we find it was the very lowest ecclesiastical office. Deacons were first appointed by the apostles, Ac 6:1-6; they had the care of the poor, and preached occasionally.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain 26. Shall not be so among you — Our…
26. Shall not be so among you — Our Lord does not here mean that there shall be no orders in the Christian Church, or even in heaven. But these Church orders are founded on the principle of service rather than lordship.
The officer of the Church is truly the servant of the Church; and if he exercise authority from any other motive he is guilty of worldly ambition. He is repeating the misdoing of James and John.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain (26) Whosoever will be great.—Better, whosoever wisheth to be…
(26) Whosoever will be great.—Better, whosoever wisheth to be great. The man who was conscious, as the disciples were, of the promptings of ambition was at once to satisfy and purify them by finding his greatness in active service; not because that service leads to greatness of the type which natural ambition seeks for, but because it is in itself the truest and highest greatness.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain It shall not be so among you. There is…
It shall not be so among you. There is good authority for reading "is" instead of "shall be." The new order of things was already prepared. In Messiah"s kingdom a contrary rule holds good. There the governors rule solely for the good of the flock, with no self-seeking, and serving no private interests. Whosoever will be (ov ealh ... genesyai : whosoever would fain become) great among you... minister (diakonov). Taking for granted that there will be ranks and gradations of office in the Church, Christ lays down the rule that men become governors therein in order that they may serve their brethren, be the ministers of those who are subject to them. So the pope, in his official documents, with a verbally proper humility, terms himself, "Servus servorum Dei."
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain And whosoever will be chief among you, let him…
Mat_20:26-28
And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
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True greatness
Greatness a word often used, and peoples ideas of it differ much.
Some regard it as consisting in wealth, social position, physical strength. Christ places it in service, springing from love in the heart. Mans true greatness must be in himself.
1. The importance of a true ideal of life.
2. This true ideal can be realized by every one of us. No life need be a failure. (C. O. Bridgman, D. D.)
Greatness measured by service
I. Greatness is to be measured by service. No man lives or dies to himself. Florence Nightingale moved other women most when she herself went to minister on battle fields.
II. The greater men are in intellect and culture, the more imperative it is that they become leaders and helpers. If a man has power to do good and refuses, he is not guiltless.
III. Those who thus labour for the good of their fellow-men are the greatest. Love is the greatest power on the earth. (G. Anderson, D. D.)
Basis of true greatness
1. Our Lord does not condemn the spirit of ambition, but simply aims to point out the basis of real greatness. He regarded His disciples, in a certain sense, as kings, but He would have them establish their regal right in a different manner from the princes of this world.
2. In how many scriptural promises do we find this principle recognized. They that turn many to righteousness shall shine as the stars for ever and ever: St. Paul says, There is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, etc.
3. Rank in the kingdom of heaven will be measured by humility. Condescension is the measure of exaltation. The way up to the glory of the Exalted One is through humble, self-denying love. (R. W. Clark, D. D.)
The greatness of being useful
Yet what has the patriot made himself but the servant of his countrymen: It was in order to the ministering to the well-being of thousands, that he threw himself into the breach, and challenged tyranny to the battle. It was for the sake of securing the rights of those who trod the same soil with himself, that he arose as the champion of the wretched and injured. The case is the same with the philosopher as with the patriot. Accordingly, he who labours in the mine of truth, and presents to the world the results of his investigations, furnishes his fellow-men with new principles on which to act in the business of life, and thus equips them for fresh enterprises, and instructs them how to add to the sum total of happiness. We need not exemplify this in particular instances. You are all aware how scientific research is turned to account in everyday life, and how the very lowest of our people enjoy, in one way or another, the fruits of discoveries which are due to the marvellous sagacity, and the repeated experiments, of those who rank foremost in the annals of philosophy. And thus it is evident that the man who is great in science, is great in the power of serving his fellow-men, and that it is this latter greatness which insures him their applauses. If his discoveries were of no benefit to the many; if they opened no means by which enjoyments might be multiplied, toil diminished, or danger averted; his name would be known only within a limited circle, and there would be nothing that approached to a general recognition of superiority. The individual again who gains renown as a statesman, who serves his country in the senate as the warrior in the field, is the minister to all classes, so that the very lowest have the profit of his toils. And in proportion as the service wore the aspect of selfishness, would the tribute of applause be diminished: we should be less and less disposed to allow, that, in making himself a servant, he had made himself great, if we had increasing cause to think that his main design was the serving himself. But there is no room for suspicions of this class, when the exhibition is that of a fine Christian philanthropy, leading a man to give his assiduity to the sick-beds of the poor, or the prisons of the criminal. Accordingly, when an individual is manifestly and strongly actuated by this philanthropy, there is an almost universal consent in awarding him the appellation of great: even those who would be amongst the last to imitate are amongst the first to applaud. (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Pride destroys the best elements of character
The rebel against lawful authority cannot be truly great: the slave of his own passions cannot be truly great: the idolater of his own powers cannot be truly great. And the proud man is this rebel, this slave, this idolater; for pride spurns at the Divine dominion, gives vigour to depraved affections, and exaggerates all our powers. What, then, can be more accurate than that pride destroys the chief elements of which a great character is compounded, so that it must be to direct a man in the way to eminence, to prescribe that he be clothed with humility? (H. Melvill, B. D.)
Christ our Redeemer because our servant
But if Christ thus made Himself servant to the human race, it is this very fact which is to draw to Him finally universal homage. Had He not been their servant, He could not have been their Redeemer; and, if not their Redeemer, then at His name would not every knee have bowed, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth. Thus He illustrates His own precept: He became great through redeeming; but since lie redeemed through making Himself the minister to a lost world, lie became great through becoming a servant. (H. Melvill, B. D. )
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain 26. It shall not be so among you. No…
26. It shall not be so among you. No such lordship, no such authority, can be tolerated in your fraternity. The case is a rebuke of unhallowed ambition. Men prominent in the church should be the first to heed the admonition. Such priestly despotism as the absolute rule of the Catholic, Greek, and of some Protestant churches is at variance with this principle. Whosoever will be great … let him be your minister. Your deacon, servant. Greatness in the kingdom of heaven consists in doing, rather than in being, and in doing for others, rather than for self. Greatness is to be found in service. Only those men are truly great who are the servants of their race, helpers of mankind.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.