Jesus Came to Serve

One Christmas, Molly’s Sunday School class staged an improv pageant. Teachers stacked props for the roles, stood off to the side, & read the story of Christ’s birth. Then they told the kids, “OK, act it out!” The kids scrambled to get props for starring roles. One girl grabbed the doll. “I’ll be Mary.” Another grabbed Joseph’s robe. Some grabbed the shepherd staffs. The rest got props to be lambs, wise men, the innkeeper, & angels. When the props were gone, Molly still didn’t have a part. She thought, then smiled. “I’ll be the obstetrician that delivers baby Jesus!” Mary tucked the doll & a sofa pillow under her shirt. The kids started acting. Joseph led Mary to the inn. The innkeeper rejected them. Then, the time came. Dr. Molly took the doll from under Mary’s pillow & held it up. Joseph acted the new daddy. “What is it?” Dr. Molly smiled. “It’s a…God.” Those children are us. Jockeying for starring roles. Getting ahead. 1st place. That’s what James & John did in Mt 20:20-24, just before our verses. They put Salome, their mother, up to asking Jesu for the top spots in His soon-to-be-Kingdom. The other 10? They were mad at James & John for thinking of it before they did! No one understands who’s 1st in Jesus’ KoG. For 3 years, Jesus tried to teach them. Lk 9:23 = Mt 16:24 are typical. 23b“If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself & take up his cross daily & follow me. The disciples didn’t understand. They didn’t want anything to do with bearing crosses. (Who does?) They wanted to be great in Christ’s kingdom. (Don’t we?) Jesus corrects us all in Mt 20:25-28. 25aJesus called them together. Whatever He’ll say, it’s important. It’s for all disciples. For us, too. We should pay attention. 25b“You know the Gentiles’ rulers lord it over them. Jews knew how awful it was to live under Rome’s oppression. In Gentile kingdoms, people’s greatness depended on their social standing or family name. The world’s way hasn’t changed. How do you get to the top? Get ahead? Claw your way up the ladder. The rungs are others’ backs. The more powerful you are, the more power you get. 25cTheir high officials exercise authority over them. The more power you get, the more you use it to get more power. Worldly wisdom isn’t pretty. But, are rulers the high officials? Or does Jesus mean there are 3 categories of people? Either way, most are commoners. Over them are rulers & high officials. If they aren’t the same, rulers are the princes & kings. High officials are their administrators. Either way, the leaders all force others to their will. For Jesus’ disciples? 26aNot so with you. Jesus is being as delicate as He can. The disciples aren’t acting any better than the Romans & rulers they hate! And Jesus’ kingdom is to be different. Like nothing they ever experienced. 26bInstead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant. Servant = deacon (διάκονος,). Table waiters. Practical service. In Jesus’ day, servants weren’t slaves. They were indentured servants working off a debt. They often served as part of a family. They put themselves under others for a long season. What’s Jesus saying? In the world, people who put themselves over others get leadership positions. But in Jesus’ kingdom, those who put themselves under others will get those positions. In the world, those who are great force others to serve them. But in Jesus’ kingdom, the great serve others. Not all servants were slaves. But every slave was a servant. 27aWhoever wants to be 1st must be your slave. The slaves were bondservants. For life. Their master’s will? Their will. What’s the ultimate service? To be great is to be the servant (diakonos) of others. To be 1st is to be a bondservant, the slave (doulos) of others. There’s an ultimate service. What is it? Giving your life for another.28Just so, the Son of Man didn’t come to be served, but to serve, & to give his life as a ransom for many.” To be supreme is to give one’s life for many. Jesus was Isaiah’s Suffering Servant. He served us all. How? He gave His life to ransom us from sin’s slavery. By being born & baptized to identify with us, He became our Kinsman Redeemer. By living a perfect life, He earned the price of our Ransom. And on the cross, He paid it. Once for all. He alone could pay our price. He still serves us. Each day, He removes our sins. Each day, He’s our Advocate to the Father. Satan accuses us. Jesus replies, “Those sins? Covered. Forgotten. This one’s mine.” How wonderful that our Judge is also our Redeemer & our defense attorney!?! Salome, mother of James & John, learned Jesus’ lesson the hard way. When Jesus was crucified, she stood near the cross (Jn 19:25, “his mother’s sister”). She shared in Jesus’ sorrow & pain. She didn’t see 2 thrones on either side of her Lord. She saw 2 thieves on 2 crosses. And she heard Jesus give her son, John, to Jesus’ mother Mary. Salome’s selfishness was rebuked. She meekly accepted it. Her lesson? Learned. What are our takeaway learnings? Jesus came to serve. He’s the ultimate servant. If we want to know what service looks like, look at Jesus. He put Himself in the role of the lowest servant & washed His disciples’ feet. As the ultimate service, He died for them & for us. If we want to be great in His Kingdom, we’ll choose to serve, too. What kind of service? It doesn’t have to be some great thing. Just do the thing that lies next before us. Bless someone in any practical way. Brother Lawrence became a Carmelite monk in 1666. In his Carmelite monastery, Lawrence started in the kitchen. There, he was put in charge of the utensils. At 1st, he hated it. But he set himself to walk in God’s presence, even there. He wanted to worship God & serve others, even in the kitchen. In time he came to worship God more in the kitchen than in the cathedral! He’d pray, “Lord of all pots & pans & things, make me a saint by getting meals & washing the dishes.” He wrote meditations on Christian life. They’ve been collected into a book, The Practice of the Presence of God. It’s still a Christian classic. By choosing humble service, Brother Lawrence achieved greatness. How little we know of serving others, even after years of Christian living! Yet how essential to discipleship! How can we get better at it? Start with humility. (Blessed are those who mourn their sin… remembering who we are… humility.) Humility reminds us of our need to die to ourselves. Take up our crosses. Follow Jesus. And serve others. It’s one of the most difficult things we have to learn. As we learn, there’s a reward. Look again at v. 26. How will Jesus reward us in His KoG? He’ll rank us according to our service on earth. The more we serve, the higher we’ll be in His Kingdom. In His Kingdom, there are also be 3 tiers. Who’s 1st? Those who choose to be His slaves, the rulers. Next will be those who choose to serve Him, the high officials. Lastly, there’ll be the people. Commoners. All are in heaven. And all are rewarded according to their service on earth. Jesus came to serve. And He’s told us that we’re blessed when we serve, too. So, what will we be in glory? A commoner? A high official? Or a ruler?