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Disciple: John

 {Disciples} JOHN_ 

Seeking to be the greatest 

 
The Bible paints a dramatic “before and after” picture of John the apostle. In his later years, John was called the ‘apostle of love’. In his New Testament writings John uses the word love eighty times. He gave us the best-known verse in the Bible: “For God so loved the world...” (John 3:16). And, from John, we learn Jesus’ new command to “love one another” (John 13:34) and hear the great declaration that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). 

But John was not always a man marked by love. He and his older brother, James, were called “sons of thunder” by Jesus, and they threatened to call down fire from heaven on those who insulted them. 

 
[Group discussion starter] We, as Christians, are commanded to love one another. Why is that so difficult to do? 

 

John’s early spirit of pride and self-promotion revealed itself one day, when his mother asked Jesus for special privileges. Jesus’ response may have been the factor that started John down the long path of transformation... 

 
[Read Matthew 20:20-28] 

 

What does the passage tell us about how each person (or group) reacted to John’s mother’s request? 

John & James - 
 

 
The other disciples - 
 

 
Jesus -  
 

 

Rewrite this mother’s request in the context of today. What was she really asking for? 

 

Do you think that John’s mother made this request on her own or was she put up to it? 
Explain. 
 

 

In verse 22, what did Jesus mean when he asked John and James if they were prepared to “drink the cup” Jesus would drink? 
 

 

Was their answer honest? 

Was their answer realistic? 
 

 

How does Jesus characterise the leadership of people in authority in the world (verse 25)? 

 

Share an incident from your own experience in which you saw a boss or political figure “lord it over” someone. 

 

In verses 26-27, how do authority and influence reveal themselves in the realm of Christ’s Kingdom? 

 

Jesus points to himself as the model of this kind of servant leadership. What qualified Jesus “to be served” by others? 
How did Jesus serve instead? 
 
 

 

In what ways are you expecting others to serve you? 

 

In what ways are you serving others? 

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