Matthew 20:26

Matthew 20:26 in other versions

• King James Version (KJV)But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
• New International Version (NIV)Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
• English Standard Version (ESV)It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
• New King James Version (NKJV)Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.

Context of Matthew 20:26

24When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. 25But Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, 27and whoever wants to be first among you must become your slave. 28For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:26 word by word

οὐχ οὕτως ἔσται ἐν ὑμῖν, ἀλλ᾽ ὃς ἐὰν θέλῃ ἐν ὑμῖν μέγας γενέσθαι, ἔσται ὑμῶν διάκονος·Read the interlinear

Words taken from the KJV.

• Butδέde · thenG1161
• it shallεἰμίeimi · to beG1510
• notοὐou · noG3756
• soοὕτωςhoutō · thus(-ly)G3779
• amongἐνen · in/on/amongG1722
• youσύsu · youG4771
• butἀλλάalla · butG235
• whosoeverὅςhos hē ho · whichG3739
• ·ἐάνean · ifG1437
• will beθέλωthelō ethelō · to will/desireG2309
• greatμέγαςmegas · greatG3173
• let himγίνομαιginomai · to beG1096
• ministerδιάκονοςdiakonos · servantG1249

Cross-references for Matthew 20:26

• Matthew 23:8“Don’t let anyone call you ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one teacher, and all of you are equal as brothers and sisters.
• Mark 9:35He sat down, called the twelve disciples over to him, and said, “Whoever wants to be first must take last place and be the servant of everyone else.”
• Mark 10:43But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant,
• Luke 14:7When Jesus noticed that all who had come to the dinner were trying to sit in the seats of honor near the head of the table, he gave them this advice:
• Luke 18:14I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home justified before God. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
• John 18:36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not an earthly kingdom. If it were, my followers would fight to keep me from being handed over to the Jewish leaders. But my Kingdom is not of this world.”
• 2 Corinthians 1:24But that does not mean we want to dominate you by telling you how to put your faith into practice. We want to work together with you so you will be full of joy, for it is by your own faith that you stand firm.
• 2 Corinthians 10:4We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments.
• 1 Peter 5:3Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example.
• 3 John 1:9I wrote to the church about this, but Diotrephes, who loves to be the leader, refuses to have anything to do with us.
• Revelation 13:11Then I saw another beast come up out of the earth. He had two horns like those of a lamb, but he spoke with the voice of a dragon.
• Revelation 17:6I could see that she was drunk—drunk with the blood of God’s holy people who were witnesses for Jesus. I stared at her in complete amazement.
• Matthew 25:44“Then they will reply, ‘Lord, when did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and not help you?’
• Matthew 27:55And many women who had come from Galilee with Jesus to care for him were watching from a distance.
• Ezekiel 24:13Your impurity is your lewdness and the corruption of your idolatry. I tried to cleanse you, but you refused. So now you will remain in your filth until my fury against you has been satisfied.
• Acts 13:5There, in the town of Salamis, they went to the Jewish synagogues and preached the word of God. John Mark went with them as their assistant.

Commentaries on Matthew 20:26

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary · v. 26It 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, . I know no other word which could at once convey the meaning of the original, and make a proper distinction between it and , or servant, in Matthew 20:27. The office of a deacon, in the primitive Church, was to serve in the agapae, or love…Read the comment
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 See also Mark 10:35-45. Matthew 20:20 Then came to him give mother of Zebedee‘s children … - This was probably Salome, Mark 15:40; Mark 16:1. With her sons - The names of these sons were James and John, Mark 10:35 Mark says they came and made the request. That is, they made it, as appears from Matthew, through the medium of their mother; they requested her to ask it for them. It is not improbable that she was an ambitious woman, and was…Read the comment
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary · v. 20-28Verses 20-28 The sons of Zebedee abused what Christ said to comfort the disciples. Some cannot have comforts but they turn them to a wrong purpose. Pride is a sin that most easily besets us; it is sinful ambition to outdo others in pomp and grandeur. To put down the vanity and ambition of their request, Christ leads them to the thoughts of their sufferings. It is a bitter cup that is to be drunk of; a cup of trembling, but not the cup of the wicked. It is…Read the comment
• Tyndale Open Study Notes · v. 25-28Rulers who do not know God often desire power and control. But those who follow the Son of Man should not act this way (Matthew 18:1–5; 19:13–15; 23:1–12).Read the comment

Topics related to Matthew 20:26

• Commandments
• Fellowship
• Humility
• Jesus, the Christ
• Man
• Minister, Christian
• Pride

In the dictionaries

• Agree
• Choose
• Condemn
• Drink
• Idle
• Prepare
• Ransom
• Wrong
• Authority in Religion
• Bishop

Commentaries on Matthew 20

• Adam Clarke Bible Commentary
• Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
• Matthew Henry Concise Commentary
• Tyndale Open Study Notes
• Jamieson–Fausset–Brown Commentary
• Calvin’s Commentaries
• John Wesley’s Notes
• Catena Aurea
• Illustrated New Testament
• Burkitt’s Expository Notes
• Darby Translation Notes
• Family Bible Notes
• Geneva Bible Translation Notes
• Kingcomments
• John Lightfoot Commentary
• Luther’s Commentary on Selected Bible Passages
• Matthew Henry’s Complete Commentary
• Matthew Henry’s Modern English Commentary
• The People’s New Testament
• Robertson’s Word Pictures
• Scofield Reference Notes, 1917 Edition
• The Fourfold Gospel and Commentary on Acts
• Original Douay–Rheims Annotations
• Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary
• EGW Writings