Favorite Conversations
Notes
Transcript
There are a few conversations that I love having. I love talking with someone about Jesus and their need for him. I love having someone approach me and ask how they can become a follower of Jesus. I love having followers of Jesus come up to me and ask how they can grow in their faith. And I love having faithful men and women approach me to ask how they can serve.
Each of these conversations are few and far between, unfortunately. So many are focused on so many other things. However, activities, busyness, lists, goings and comings, don’t change people’s lives for the better. And they don’t really fill the need that we perceive we have.
Imitating Christ does.
Let’s read our passage:
Now Jesus was going up to Jerusalem. On the way, he took the Twelve aside and said to them, “We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.
“What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As Jesus and his disciples were leaving Jericho, a large crowd followed him. Two blind men were sitting by the roadside, and when they heard that Jesus was going by, they shouted, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
The crowd rebuked them and told them to be quiet, but they shouted all the louder, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on us!”
Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
Today we are going to see that the King came to serve, so we should as well.
Will you pray with me?
1. The King Came to Serve
1. The King Came to Serve
The king came to serve. The disciples didn’t understand this. Today, we are used to teachings about servant leadership. Even secular leadership centers push this idea that originated in Christianity. A leader is supposed to be the servant.
However, when Jesus came, that idea was completely foreign. And, so when he tried to explain why he came, the disciples didn’t understand.
A. The Statement
A. The Statement
Our text contains the third statement that Jesus made concerning why he came to earth.
“We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!”
The first time Jesus explained this, Peter rebuked him. The second time, they didn’t say anything, but grieved. After this, there is no response, seemingly. They are still in shock, but they are getting used to Jesus saying this, though they don’t understand it.
Jesus came for the purpose of dying. He love his creation and yearned to have a relationship with his creation. A relationship we broke by choosing to go our own way instead of his.
So, the king came, not in judgement, this first time. He came as a servant to clean up our mess. To give us a gift.
This is not the action of a king, but an action of a lover. A different paradigm is being presented.
B. The Explanation
B. The Explanation
After James and John convince their mother to ask Jesus for them to have seats of honor in the coming kingdom, Jesus explains his style of leadership.
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The leader is the one who is willing to clean toilets. Who will take the worst tasks once in a while. Who puts himself in the dangerous positions, who takes the blame, who dies to himself so that those under his care will live.
This is what Christ did as leader, as head.
This jumps into what Paul writes about Christ as the head, and subsequently all who take the role of leader/head:
They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.
Headship initiates nourishment, unity, and maturity. That is the role of a leader, as Jesus envisions it.
That is not the role of leader that the disciples are used to.
C. The Example
C. The Example
So, Jesus gives them an example of what this looks like.
They continue on their way toward Jerusalem, with a large crowd following them. And they pass by two blind men who ask Jesus to stop and have mercy on them. The crowd thinks that Jesus is too important to stop, but the blind men shout louder.
Jesus stopped and called them. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked.
“Lord,” they answered, “we want our sight.”
Jesus had compassion on them and touched their eyes. Immediately they received their sight and followed him.
As king, he shouldn’t have to stop and trouble himself with some penniless beggars. But Jesus has compassion on them.
That is what a leader does, as he initiates nourishment, unity, and maturity, he looks with compassion on those under his care and serves them.
Jesus healing these two blind men who call on him as their Messiah, is a picture of his ultimate goal.
He reaches out to all those who are spiritually blind, stuck in the darkness of sin and this world, and offers healing, sight, light to all who will call on him as their Messiah.
When they do, he doesn’t demand anything, he doesn’t require any amount of work or payment. We can’t pay anything.
He serves us.
Later we are going to see Jesus in the upper room, right before he dies. He ties a towel around his waist, gets down on his knees, and washes each of his disciples feet. Cleans the dirt right off.
Just like he was about to do on the cross. Dying, spilling his blood, to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. To purify us that we might approach God.
The king came to serve. He stated it. He explained. He illustrated it.
Do we understand it though?
Have you accepted his service on your behalf, or are you still trying to muddle through in your own power, refusing to allow the king of the universe to cleanse you, to heal you, to save you.
The King came to serve.
2. We Are Called to Serve
2. We Are Called to Serve
So should we.
Right after Jesus predicted his death, James and John convince their mother to make a request.
“What is it you want?” he asked.
She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”
“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”
“We can,” they answered.
They did not know that the cup Jesus was talking about was the cup of suffering, how he was going to suffer and ultimately die on the cross. They were just focused on being on the top, being the greatest.
A. The Statement
A. The Statement
Jesus cuts to the quick, before the rest of the 10 disciples string James and John up by their toenails. And tells them the passage we read before:
Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus declares that just as he, the king, came to serve, so should we his followers. What does this mean?
Well, let’s rewind the passage a little bit.
B. The Explanation
B. The Explanation
After Jesus asks the disciples whether they can drink the cup of suffering or not, and they respond, foolishly, that they can, Jesus says this:
Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”
Those places of greatness cannot be given, but that isn’t Jesus’ focus. His focus is on how his disciples will be servants. They will drink from that cup of suffering.
“This price they will in any case pay, for this is not the price of Christian greatness but the price of following Christ at all.”
That cup of suffering comes as we stand for Jesus, speaking truth, but it also comes as we serve those around us.
We take a cup of water and we offer it to our opposition, the one who has tried to undermine us at every turn, killing our character, hurting those we love, and we love them back.
As Paul writes in Galatians.
You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.
We use our salvation in Christ Jesus to serve those around us in love, valuing them more than ourselves.
C. The Example
C. The Example
What does this look like?
We have an example in Jesus.
and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus did the ultimate service, he died that we might live. He did it for those he loved and for those who considered themselves his enemies.
And, he did a lot of things to illustrate that. He washed his disciples feet. He healed the blind men. He ate with tax collectors and sinners. He rode boats in the middle of horrible storms. He visited homes that may not have been the nicest to visit. He talk with proud, hypocritical religious bigots.
Yes, he spoke truth, but he invested in relationships with all these people. He gave them dignity, and provided what they needed.
We are to follow in his footsteps.
Every year, we do a great job through the Operation Christmas Child program, and we pack a lot of shoeboxes, that is service to people around the globe.
We are known as a church, if there are cookies or bars to be made, we will step up and do it. That is service to people in the community.
We are known as a church that gives things away, like Bibles or Christian material, instead of having fundraisers. That is service.
But, are we doing all that we can do?
Personally, are you known as someone who serves or who wants to be served. Do we have a desire to reflect who Jesus through our humility in our relationships?
I know there are several in this church who always say “Yes” to everything. They have this service thing down and they need to start saying “no” so that their service does not deteriorate. If that is you, we can talk.
Today, I am not talking to them. I am talking to the others who are caught up in their schedules, in their priorities, in their dreams, or misconceived perceptions of right and wrong, and who will not take the time to serve.
There are three areas of following Jesus in serving.
First, with finances. If everyone who came gave a tithe of their income, we could almost double our budget as a church. Think of the good we could do in the community, if we pooled our resources. If we made friends with the money that God gave us.
But, finances are not everything. We need to serve with our time. There are great people in this church who do most of the work and I am grateful for it. They give of their time continually. Others need to suffer a little bit, give up some of their time, and offer to serve, both on Sundays and during the week, both in the building and in the community, both for people they know and people that they don’t.
Third, we need to serve with our giftings. Every single one of us has been given something, some talent, some passion, some gift, that we were meant to use to help others, both within our church and within our surrounding community. These things were given so that we can edify fellow believers and so that we can show unbelievers the Gospel as we lovingly serve them. We will not use those gifts unless we actively seek to use them. Are you?
“I encourage you to take sometime and pray, ask God how you can serve with your finances, your time, and your gifts, and then come and lets have one of my favorite conversations: how you can serve.”
