Jeremiah speaks today out of pain.

“They have dug a pit for my life…
remember how I stood before you to speak good for them.”

He is not complaining about inconvenience.
He is describing betrayal.

Jeremiah has spoken God’s word faithfully.
And the response has been hostility.

“They say, ‘Let us strike him with the tongue…’”

They cannot silence him by argument,
so they try to destroy him by accusation.

The prophet is wounded
not because he has done evil,
but because he has told the truth.

And he brings this to God.

Not with politeness.
But with honesty.

“Give heed to me, O Lord,
and listen to the voice of my adversaries.”

This is not vengeance.
It is appeal.

Jeremiah does not take justice into his own hands.
He places it before God.

This prepares us for the Gospel.

Jesus is walking toward Jerusalem.

“See, we are going up to Jerusalem…”

He knows what awaits him.

“The Son of Man will be delivered over…
they will condemn him to death…
and deliver him to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.”

Jeremiah suffers because he speaks God’s word.
Jesus will suffer because he is God’s Word.

The path of truth
leads through rejection.

And immediately after this,
we hear a request that exposes misunderstanding.

The mother of James and John comes forward.

“Say that these two sons of mine
are to sit, one at your right hand
and one at your left, in your kingdom.”

Jesus has just spoken of suffering.
They speak of honour.

He has spoken of the cross.
They speak of position.

They are not evil.
They are blind.

Jesus does not scold them.
He asks a question:

“Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?”

They answer too quickly:

“We are able.”

They do not yet know
what the cup contains.

Jesus does.

“The cup that I drink you will drink.”

They will suffer.
But not yet.

And then Jesus speaks to all of them:

“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles
lord it over them…
It shall not be so among you.”

This is a command.

Greatness in the kingdom
is not authority over others.
It is service to others.

“Whoever would be great among you
must be your servant,
and whoever would be first among you
must be your slave.”

And then Jesus gives the reason:

“Even the Son of Man
came not to be served
but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

This is not advice.
It is revelation.

It tells us what God is like.

Jeremiah shows us
what happens to the servant of God.

Jesus shows us
why he accepts it.

The servant suffers
because the world resists truth.

The Son serves
because love chooses the cross.

The temptation in Lent
is to look for religion
without cost.

To want Christ’s kingdom
without Christ’s path.

To seek importance
instead of obedience.

The disciples want places of honour.
Jeremiah wants justice.

Jesus wants fidelity.

And fidelity has a shape.

It looks like silence before accusation.
It looks like refusal to dominate.
It looks like service that is not seen.

This is not weakness.
It is likeness to Christ.

Power protects itself.
Love gives itself.

The world measures greatness
by control.

Christ measures it
by sacrifice.

And the Church
must learn the same measure.

Not:
Who is highest?

But:
Who is faithful?

Not:
Who is served?

But:
Who serves?

Jeremiah stands alone
and is attacked.

Jesus walks ahead
and carries the cross.

The disciples will learn
what their words meant.

And we are learning now.

Lent is not a season
for ambition.

It is a season
for obedience.

It is not about rising.
It is about lowering.

Not about claiming places.
But about taking up the cup.

That cup is different for each.

It may be rejection.
It may be misunderstanding.
It may be quiet service.
It may be bearing wrong
without retaliation.

But it will always involve
losing control
in order to belong to Christ.

Jeremiah says:
Remember that I stood before you
to speak good for them.

Jesus says:
The Son of Man came
to give his life for many.

Both reveal the same truth.

The servant does not save himself.
He entrusts himself to God.

So the question today is not:

Where is my place?

It is:

Whose cup am I willing to drink?

Am I seeking recognition,
or obedience?

Am I protecting myself,
or serving Christ?

“Whoever would be great among you
must be your servant.”

That is not humiliation.
It is communion.

Because that is how
the Son of Man
has loved us.

And that is how
He calls us
to follow Him.