Leadership

Palm Sunday

It is now one week until we recall the act which altered the entire course of human history - the death and glorious resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Next Sunday, being Easter Sunday, we’ll look at that event but if you look at the week that immediately precedes that great and powerful event, you’ll see Jesus at his game changing best.

You may be interested to learn that this week before the death and resurrection, also known as Passion week or Holy week, actually makes up about a quarter of the Gospels narrative.

But it all starts with what we call the triumphant entry, where Jesus comes into Jerusalem riding on a donkey.

It’s one of those curious moments which I think stand out by being for just how peculiar it is.

Because of the fascinating nature of it, there is a lot we can get out of it, but this week, we’re in the middle of a series called Jesus the Game Changer, and so I won’t to look at a particular aspect of what we can learn from this.

The aspect I’m talking about is, how Jesus changed our understanding of leadership. The triumphant entry I believe is a great example of how Jesus did leadership, but I’m not going to just restrict myself to that particular occurence. I’ll also spend some time looking at another event that happened during this week, which I read before, that is, when Jesus did something very uncharacteristic of a leader, and washed the feet of the disciples.

Thinking about leadership

If I just take a step back and think more generally about leadership, what we find is that we all have examples of leadership everywhere. We find it in the workplace, we find it on the sports fields, we find it in parliament (even if we sometimes question that), and we find it in various clubs and similar settings. And even if you think none of that applies much to you, we also find it in our own family and social settings.

So, when we talk about leadership, I think it’s fair to say that it’s something that effects all of us.

In terms of our own role as a leader, well this can vary. Some of you will have large leadership roles, for others it might be far smaller and less formal.

Regardless of where you fit on that spectrum, the lesson that we’ll see from Jesus will apply to all of us.

Leadership in the ANE

Well, to understand the difference that Jesus made in regard to leadership, I want to first explore what the culture was like back in the days of Jesus.

If you know your history from around this time, then you’ll know that in the few centuries prior to Jesus coming to Earth, we saw Greece rise to power under the leadership of Alexander the Great. He was an exceedingly strong leader who very capably guided his army and was able to wield much power. So much so, that for a while, people tended to think that Greece was unstoppable.

But then along comes Rome.

I don’t want to oversimplify the situation, but part of the reason that Rome was able to take power, was because they had a well managed leadership structure and came at a time when Greece had split itself and was having various leadership struggles.

And so we see Rome display a sort of leadership built on power, and again it showed how with strong leadership you can have immense power.

For those in the workforce, maybe you think of your boss.

So much so, that Rome lasted well into the second millennium.

Perhaps the sports lovers will think of the captain who courageously leads the team around the field, or the coach who gives the direction.

And so in those days, because of the social structure of the time, the main form of leadership that people were familiar with was the leadership found in the military. Particularly in Rome, the main political leaders all came from this background.

The politically minded might think of a politician, or for those in school maybe the teacher or school principal.

So, if you were to ask someone from that time, what makes a good leader, the chances are they would say something about strength and power.

The truth is, whatever sphere you’re in, you’re going to find a leader.

The Jewish take

Because we see so many examples of leadership, I’m sure all of you will have experienced leadership at its best and at its worst.

Now, what we find, is that this understanding of leadership was also found in the Jewish mindset of the time.

At its best, I’m sure you’ll agree that its a joy to work with. You tend to want to follow because, whatever it is, you want to be a part of it.

If you think about their mindset, they looked back to the old glory days when David was king and he managed to bring stability and peace to the land. There is no denying that David was a man of battle, with his victories becoming legendary. This is why people were so happy to fall behind him, because he was a strong leader.

At its worst, well, maybe at best we can say we endure it.

Now the prophecies about a messiah, were strongly linked with David. Now remember that the word messiah actually means ‘annointed one’, which is the same title that was used of the kings of Israel of those days.

But what is it that makes a leader either good or bad?

So it’s not surprising that the Jews were looking for a leader just like David.

Well, in many ways the answer is quite surprising. What perhaps is most surprising the aspect of good leadership that we’re about to explore has found itself into modern leadership theories taught even in secular environments and yet can find its roots in the teaching of Jesus Christ.

A leader needs to have power.

What is perhaps most surprising i t

That aspect is of servantship.

Now we can look back on the Old Testament, and see the prophecies about this messiah being a servant leader, most notably, the servant songs found in the second half of the book of Isaiah, but the thinking of the Jewish people was so coloured by their thinking of what a leader is, that they didn’t get it.

Now of course, servantship and leadership are not two concept that are usually thought of in the same breath, but as I just mentioned, there is increasing evidence, even outside Christian circles, that the two go together far better than you might assume.

The leadership of Jesus

Well, today my aim is to explore how Jesus changed our view of leadership.

And so, it’s not all that surprising with this background, that when Jesus came onto the scene, they didn’t see him for who he really was.

As we think about the issue, I recognise that each of you will find yourself in different levels of leadership.

He just didn’t fit the mold of a leader that they were expecting.

Some of you might have formal roles where you have a large group of people whom you lead. Others of you your roles might be smaller or less formal. For some you might struggle to think where you lead at all - but don’t forget your very important role within your family. I’m going to suggest that no matter what your circumstance, the principle of servantship that we’ll explore now, is going to be one that you will benefit from.

The truth of the matter, is that Jesus was more of a leader than anyone had ever seen, after all, who could manage to captivate a crowd in the way Jesus did, but because of their cultural blinkers it just didn’t make sense.

Our current culture

The triumphant entry

Before we start this exploration, I think it is worth exploring the context of our current culture.

Well, it all comes to a head on the Sunday before the crucifixion.

We’re in the lead up to the Jewish festival of Passover, and so you have lots of people making a journey to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival.

As Jesus gets near he tells some of his disciples to go to a particular point where they will untie a colt that has never been ridden, and Jesus then mounts this colt and enters Jerusalem that way.

All four Gospel record this particular event indicating that it is one of those pivotal moments - and what we find is quite a confused reaction.

At the forefront of the reactions, we get an overwhelmingly positive response.

We’re told that the crowds lay down their coats and palm branches, a sign of great respect, and shout “Hosanna, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”.

Some how, presumably led by the Spirit, the crowd recognise who Jesus is. In a moment of clarity they recognise that Jesus has come to save them.

But this positive response was not the only response.

Luke’s gospel, () tells us that the Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke the crowds.

I suggest that this request came because the Pharisees just couldn’t make sense of it.

Why give someone this treatment there is no way they are going to fulfil the role of Messiah that they have in their minds. You know, we can be quite critical of many of the Jews that didn’t recognise Jesus as messiah, but when you understand it in the cultural context of what a leader was, then it’s perhaps far less surprising.

To make it even harder for the Pharisees to understand, the manner in which Jesus came in would have been even harder.

Now remember, Jerusalem at this time was under the control of Rome. So you would expect a leader that was going to save them would come in with a show of force - perhaps with a big army following him.

Or at the very least, and this is the case in other examples around the time, come in like this once you have already won the victory.

But here Jesus is, with the Roman army still in full control, with Jesus on nothing more than a mere donkey, a animal useful for carrying things, but hardly a show of strength.

Servantship

But it was in this, that Jesus was showing a new type of leadership. A type of leadership that is about to change the way the world thinks about it.

This type of leadership we can call servant leadership.

Jesus washes feet

And as this week progressed, Jesus gave a huge object lesson in what this was to look like in practice.

The lesson I’m talking about is actually the passage that I read earlier, which occurred during this passion week.

In fact, it takes us to the event that we refer to as the Last Supper, but it’s the version from John’s gospel which includes some things that the other gospel writers don’t mention.

Now there is some important background information to this story.

Firstly, we need to understand that the roads people walked on to get places were very dusty and people only wore sandals, therefore when you arrived at places your feet would be quite dirty.

Secondly, not only did your feet become quite dirty, when you sat down at a table, they didn’t have chairs like we do, so your feet moved into places that came quite close to others, therefore your dirty feet became a bit of a problem.

But of course, this problem was usually solved by the servants, who would go and wash the disagreeable feet.

As you could imagine, this was not a particularly glorious job, so the task would fall to the lowliest of servants.

Now when the disciples all meet with Jesus for what will become the last time before his crucifixion, for whatever reason, there is no one was assigned to wash the feet.

Now, they could have just not washed the feet and put up with the dirt, or Jesus, as the leader, could have picked one of the more lowly members of the group and asked them to do the task - a request that I don’t think would have been unreasonable and would have been happily done.

But that’s not what Jesus does, in fact he does quite the opposite because he wants to make a point about it.

You could make a choice here. You could either just sit with the dirty feet and just put up with it. Or you could assign the task to someone, presumably the least important amongst you.

Now these were all disciples of Jesus, so I suggest that if Jesus had of asked one of them to do this task, they probably would have happily submitted in that way - but Jesus wanted to make a point about this.

He takes off his outer clothes and wraps a towel around him - the pose of a servant. He then does the task set for the lowliest of servants.

Well, it was almost too much for poor Peter who tried to refuse.

He declared - “You shall never wash my feet” (verse 8)

When Jesus answered that if you don’t have your feet washed you can have no part of Jesus, then Peter was quick to change his tune, saying that perhaps he should wash his hands and head too.

But that wasn’t the point, and so Jesus made his point clear.

You see, when we get to verse 13 Jesus tells us what just happened.

He tells them that they rightly call him teacher and Lord, because that is what he is. Jesus knew who he was and wasn’t shying away from it. He did have an important role and he should be rightly acknowledged as such.

But what Jesus wanted to tell them was that when you have such a high position, you don’t Lord it over others like the way their culture told them to, rather you should take the position of a servant.

As he says in verse 14:

John 13:14 NIV (Anglicised, 2011)

Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.

John 13:

It’s an extraordinary message, and while I’m about to show how it has found its way to some extent into our culture, I think in the way Jesus taught it, we still struggle to understand how their can be strength in humility.

But this is exactly what Jesus taught. You may recall at other times Jesus spoke about the first being last and the last being first.

Jesus really revolutionised our thinking.

We can take this even further when we look at Jesus nailed on the cross. Once we realise that Jesus willingly submitted himself in this way, we realise that this is the ultimate form of submission, being submitted to death on a cross - and yet in this ultimate form of weakness, we find the greatest strength we can ever know. It’s the paradox of Christianity, and paradox that shouldn’t make any sense, but it does.

In weakness we can find strength.

If we want to be great, we need to become a servant.

Current context

Which bring me to our current context.

Here we find a context which is almost a contradiction in itself.

Unknowingly (or at least largely unknowingly), our culture has actually been shaped by this change found in Jesus.

For the first time after Jesus, people began to see the value in being humble.

Now, after 2000 years, the way humility has been seen has shifted and change quite a bit.

Today, I believe we have a strange mix of what we think about humility. On the one hand, we hate it when other go on about themselves, and boasting is usually considered poor form. But on the other hand, we constantly have it reinforced in us that you are the most important person in the world, and that it’s all about you.

And so, we have this inner turmoil where quite often we present ourselves as humble on the exterior, but self-absorbed and prideful on the inside.

How that translates to leadership is interesting as well. Now you will find all types of leaders in life: there’s the autocratic leader that borders on being a dictator; then there’s the laissez-faire who goes too far in the other direction and almost doesn’t lead at all.

Modern Servant leadership

But for those who study leadership theory, there has been a consistent finding that you might find surprising.

The concept of a servant leader actually works.

These studies aren’t just studies based on feelings and emotions, they are based on looking at the raw data of productivity. That is, studies have shown, where the boss or leader of a company displays servant like qualities, those companies experience higher productivity compared with companies whoses bosses display high levels of narcissism.

If you are into leadership theory, then you might have heard the name Robert Greenleaf, who is actually the man who is generally considered to bring the concept of servant leadership into modern leadership theory.

Now as far as I’m aware, Greenleaf wasn’t a Christian man, or at least he didn’t cite Christian thought as a significant influence, but I’m going to suggest that while his immediate influences might have come from elsewhere, the concept can be traced back to Christ.

The struggle in modern context

Now despite these modern findings, and despite our distaste for boasting, servant leadership often doesn’t happen in many context.

There are a number of reasons for this, many of which we discussed in our mid-week groups, but I want to suggest just one of those reasons now, and that is sin.

You see, at the heart of sin, is a me-centered focus. As much as we try, it is hard to avoid.

Now many, maybe even all of us here, might be good at putting on a show of humility. The problem is that in our hearts it can so often become all about ourselves. And while our show of humility works for a time, too often, little cracks will appear to show, and the pride will start to come out.

The Challenge to be humble

And so this is the challenge for us, and the one I want to leave you with.

If we want to follow the example of Christ and be his followers, we need to humble ourselves.

On the surface this challenge seems easy, but I’m not just talking about our outward appearance of humility - I’m talking about the attitude in your heart.

Think about your love of money and material possessions - are they getting in the way of serving others?

Think about the talents and gifts God has given you - now these are really special, and remember, being humble doesn’t mean that you need to pretend like they aren’t there - but are you using them to serve yourself, or serve others?

Perhaps you’ve got lots of time on your hands - are you using it to serve God and others, or yourself?

This means examining ourselves and looking for where the love of self is beginning to effect our behaviour.

Now a quick clarification here: this is not about having a low self-esteem, in fact, it could be argued that you need a healthy self-esteem to be humble.

Perhaps your gifted in the area of administration, but you’re afraid that if you admit that, you’ll be lumped with lots of work - are you serving God and others, or yourself?

The problem with love of self, is that we start serving ourselves. So our self-examination needs to consider whether where we avoid helping others because we are more concerned with ourselves.

All too often we don’t serve because we’re afraid, but God has given you an ability to serve, and he wants you to use it.

Now at times we need to be sensible and know the limits that God has placed on us, but all too often I believe we can be more guilty of underutilising the gifts God has given us.

Conclusion

Today, being Palm Sunday, we remember Jesus going into Jerusalem, and right there I believe we see the perfect example of leading by service.

It was a bold move, but done with complete humility. He may have been celebrated in the process, but he knew what was coming.

Being humble does not mean being weak.

While servant leadership might sound at first like an oxymoron, that is, a contradiction in terms, it really isn’t, and we only know that because Jesus showed us.

As we follow Christ we too are shown that we can be a servant leader. Christ wants us to stand up and do his work, but we can’t do that while serving ourselves.

He knew he had a task and so he was doing it. He didn’t sneak in the back way because he knew the pain that would happen, but he did exactly what he had to do.

While he was highly celebrated in the process, he knew it wasn’t going to be easy, and in particular, he knew how nasty it was to turn in less than a week.

Our leadership must be focused on others and serving them.

We can follow the example of Christ.

Jesus was a leader like none before him. And for this reason, we again recognise him as Jesus the Game Changer.

Being humble does not mean holding back.

Let’s pray...