Matthew 20:27 BSB — MannaFest

Matthew 20:27

and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—

BSB

Parallel translations (2) ▾

ASV

and whosoever would be first among you shall be your servant:

KJV

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:

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Commentary

2 voices

Bonaventure

Disputed Questions on Evangelical Perfection, Question 1 (1257)

Whoever would be first among you shall be your servant: but to make oneself a servant of others is to abase oneself with the greatest abasement: therefore self-emptying and self-abasement belong to evangelical perfection.

The record, by era

The Puritans and the Awakening1 voice

John Gill

1697–1771

Exposition of the New Testament (1746-1748)

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, shall be servant of all: not only a minister, but a servant; not a servant of some only, but of all.

The Nineteenth Century2 voices

Adam Clarke

1762–1832

Commentary on the Bible (1832)

Your servant - Δουλος the lowest secular office, as deacon was the lowest ecclesiastical office: δουλος is often put for slave. From these directions of our Lord, we may easily discern what sort of a spirit his ministers should be of. 1. A minister of Christ is not to consider himself a lord over Christ’s flock. 2. He is not to conduct the concerns of the Church with an imperious spirit. 3. He is to reform the weak, after Christ’s example, more by loving instruction than by reproof or censure.

J.C. Ryle

1816–1900

Expository Thoughts on the Gospels: Matthew (1856)

Voices on this verse

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Original language & word study

11 tagged words

Original	Transliteration	Meaning	Word study
καὶ	kai	and	G2532 →
ὃς	hos	who[ever]	G3739 →
ἂν	an	maybe	G302 →
θέλῃ	thelē	shall wish	G2309 →
ἐν	en	among	G1722 →
ὑμῖν	humin	you	G4771 →
εἶναι	einai	to be	G1511 →
πρῶτος,	prōtos	first,	G4413 →
ἔσται	estai	he will be	G1510 →
ὑμῶν	humōn	your	G4771 →
δοῦλος·	doulos	slave;	G1401 →

Rare words are the text's own signal of a deliberate thread: the fewer the occurrences, the more the places it appears belong together.

The walk

The walk8

Where the connections lead

Follow this verse’s cross-references two steps out. Each card is a verse this one points to, and beneath it the verses that one points to in turn. Where several different paths arrive at the same place, that place is listed first: the text keeps returning to it. Every stop shows its own words, and every stop is a page.

Through
Matthew 18:4
Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
leads to
- Luke 9:48
  And He said to them, “Whoever welcomes this little child in My name welcomes Me, and whoever welcomes Me welcomes the One who sent Me. For whoever is the least among all of you,…
  Reached by 2 independent paths from here.
- James 4:10
  Humble yourselves before the Lord, and He will exalt you.
- Mark 10:43
  But it shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
- Luke 14:11
  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
- Matthew 23:11–12
  The greatest among you shall be your servant.
Through
2 Corinthians 4:5
For we do not proclaim ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.
leads to
- 1 Corinthians 1:23
  but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,
- 1 Thessalonians 2:5–6
  As you know, we never used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!
- 2 Corinthians 1:24
  Not that we lord it over your faith, but we are fellow workers with you for your joy, because it is by faith that you stand firm.

Featured studies on this passage

On Matthew 20:27

The Ransom — Mark 10:45

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Feeding the Five Thousand, John 6:1–15, MannaFest

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Walks through Matthew 20

The Jewish Day and the Watches of the Night, MannaFest

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Weights, Measures, and Money in Scripture, MannaFest

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About Matthew

John the Baptist Baptizes Jesus — Gustave Doré (engraving, public domain)

Matthew: the study guide →Read chapter 20 →The featured study →

Continue: Matthew 20 →

01Commentary

The record, by era

Voices on this verse

02Original language & word study

03The walk

Where the connections lead

04Related verses

05Featured studies on this passage

06About Matthew

The record, by era

Where the connections lead

Commentary

Original language & word study

The walk

Related verses

Featured studies on this passage

About Matthew