The Greatest: How Jesus serves you to ransom love your neighbor Part 2

G.O.A.T

John Madden passed away last week on December 28, 2021. He was the coach of the Oakland Raiders in 19070’s. He never had a loosing season and he won the 1976 Super Bowl over the Minnesota Vikings. He went on to have a distinguished career as a sports broadcaster and was known for his personality and quotes.

He has a quote that sums up well what our society sees as greatness. John Madden says,

"The only yardstick for success our society has is being a champion. No one remembers anything else." - John Madden

Great people achieve great things, like championships. Greatness is defined in our culture by success. The more success you have the greater the greatness admired. Last week I gave you a slew of examples of people who are admired for their greatness in sports, politics, science and literature. People such as Tom Brady, Nelson Mandela, Ernest Hemingway, and Nikola Tesla. This is the lens by which Americans, even Westerners in general, look at greatness in the world.

Is it wrong to desire to be great?” No one gets up in the morning with the goal to be mediocre. I don’t know a parent who says to their child in the morning when they go to school, “make it mediocre today, Richard.” It seems to be wired in human nature to want greatness. Greatness brings with it glory, and we love glory. We love seeing it and being in the presence of it.

Think about why we are so obsessed with sports. Sports bring a degree of glory. Think about it:

The Miracle on Ice. February 22, 1980, a hodgepodge of college hockey players beat the Soviet Union 4-3 in the semi final game. It was unthinkable for the U.S to win that game. The win was so glorious that it united a broken country.

A few years earlier on November 19, 1978, there was the Miracle at he Meadowlands. The New York Giants were ready to seal the game in the fourth quarter. All Joe Pisarcik had to do was take the snap and fall on the ground. (The kneel down was not instituted until 1987.) Instead the call was a handoff to Larry Csonka. Pisarcik fumbled the snap and Herm Edwards of the Philadelphia Eagles picked up the snap and ran 26 yards for the winning touchdown as time ran out. Unthinkable and glorious. Many years later in an interview with ESPN in 2020, Herm Edwards said this of the play,

“It's almost surreal in the fact that you're part of a play that, at that point in time ... you don't know the magnitude of it," Edwards said. "I mean, this thing happened in 1978 and people still talk about it."

Greatness brings glory and glory is remembered and admired. It makes sense then why the disciples were eager to be great. Greatness is the context of Mark 10:35-45. James and John want to be great and so they ask Jesus to sit at his right and left in his Kingdom. Jesus does not rebuke their desire to be great. It is not a sin to want greatness or experience glory. Heaven will be filled with greatness and glory for all eternity. What Jesus does instead is reorient their hearts toward what it means to be great in the eyes of God. What does it mean to be great in the kingdom of God? What does it look like to be great in the kingdom of God?

Jesus says it is nothing like the Gentiles. In other words, being great in the kingdom of God is not based on success or achievements or underdogs prevailing. Being great is not about lording your power and position over people. Being great in God’s eyes is about the first choosing to be last, the highest choosing to be lowest, the master choosing to be the servant.

Jesus turns greatness on its head. Being great is not about being first or the best. Its about making others first or the best. Jesus doubles down on his teaching on greatness with an example from his own life and ministry. He says,

Mark 10:45 ESV

For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The word “for” indicates the reason for the rule. Jesus did not exempt himself from his teaching. he was not a “do as I say, not as I do” kind of teacher. Jesus is the greatest example of greatness for us, and his example is being a servant.

Jesus is more than example in our text. he is not just saying follow my example. He boldly tells you, “I did not come to be served, but to serve you.” How does Jesus serve you?

Paul gives a great summary in the second chapter of Philippians of how Jesus serves you. Paul encourages the Philippians to have the mind ofJesus toward each other. he then explains what that looks like.

Philippians 2:1–10 ESV

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth,

Jesus serves you by emptying himself, taking the form of a servant, putting on human flesh, humbled himself to die on a cross, so that you and I can have abundant life now and for all eternity. Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection revolved around glorifying the Father by serving you and I and loving you with ransom love.

I say ransom because the that is the world Jesus uses in Mark 10:45. Jesus gave his life as a ransom. Ransom refers to His atonement, the blood he shed for your sin. it is the substitutionary sacrifice he made on your behalf, taking your sin and giving you his righteousness so that you can be justified before the Father. he redeemed you from the bondage of sin and death. You were bought with the price of his blood. The old is gone and the new has come.

Jesus’s service is not a one and done deal. he continues to serve you. he empowers you to live in the kingdom of God while you are still on earth. He empowers you to serve others the way he serves you. You can do nothing for the kingdom of God apart from his power.

Think about what James and John were asking Jesus? Can we sit at your left and right hand in your glory? The glory they refer to is Jesus bitter cup and baptism. The cup is God’s with poured out Jesus. His baptism is his suffering for sinners. To sit at his left and right hand is to suffer for the kingdom of God. They have no idea what they are asking. Furthermore, at that moment, they do not have the power to suffer for God’s kingdom, to empty themselves out for the sake of others.

Jesus makes it cleat to everyone of us.

John 15:5 ESV

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

You cannot be great in the kingdom of God apart from Jesus. You cannot serve your church, community, and home apart from Jesus. You cannot drink his cup or immerse yourself in his baptism apart from Jesus. Jesus is the vine. You are the branch. If you bear fruit it is because he empowers you to bear fruit. Apart from Him you can do nothing.

Jesus must serve you every minute of your life if you are to bear fruit for His kingdom. Jesus does not want you top serve him. He wants to serve you so that you can serve others.

The Christian faith is about trusting Jesus with everything. You abide in Him, and he works in you and through you and for you for all of your earthly life and eternal life. Everything you do for the Kingdom of God is done because Jesus serves you. Apart from Me you can do nothing, says Jesus.

How many of you have burned out serving Jesus? You have become sick and tired of the church. You have become sick and tired of the constant neediness of our community. You have become sick and tired of devotions, DNA groups, even praying. You have become sick and tired of not seeing the fruit of your labor or the change you think you should be seeing. And now there you are, just sitting there, burned out.

It is a phenomenon in the church to start off blowing and going only to fade out like a New Years Resolution. You start off so strong for Jesus, sharing the gospel, doing ministry with a happy heart, loving your DNA group, only to fade out several weeks later. You want to pray without ceasing, but your prayer life is minimal and routine at best. You know you should read your Bible, but you can’t seem to land anywhere on a consistent bible reading plan. You know you should be in church every Sunday, only to find yourself looking for more reasons to not be in church than to be in church. You don’t seem to have any longevity.

Maybe you should stop trying to serve Jesus and let him serve you. You should stop believing that you had the strength and the courage and the passion and the wisdom to do this on your own. Jesus says to you, apart from Me you can do nothing.

Think about

1 Peter 4:11 HCSB

If anyone speaks, it should be as one who speaks God’s words; if anyone serves, it should be from the strength God provides, so that God may be glorified through Jesus Christ in everything. To Him belong the glory and the power forever and ever. Amen.

Peter says, “If you are going to serve the church, community, and home, you must serve with the strength God supplies. How does God supply you strength? Through Jesus. Paul says,

Philippians 4:13 ESV

I can do all things through him who strengthens me.

How does Jesus strengthen you? He abides in you.

John 15:4–5 ESV

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.

Jesus serves you by empowering you with His Spirit to live, love, serve, suffer, and die joyfully advancing the kingdom of God. And Peter points out that he does this so that HE is glorified in your service. Rest in Jesus. Rest in his power and work and outcome. Serve others with passion, but let that service come through resting in Jesus. Keep you eyes always on Jesus. Keep your heart continuously under His yoke.

Do you want to be great in the kingdom of God?

Stop serving Jesus, and allow Him to serve you. Don’t be His servant. Be his disciple!

You might say, “Ok. I get it. Abiding in Jesus is resting in Jesus’s power, work, and outcome. I’m to keep my eyes on Hm, and regardless of whatever happens, I trust that Jesus will be glorified in it. If I share the gospel a thousand times and no one comes to Jesus, I’m going to trust that Jesus is empowering me to share the gospel, working in me and through me for the sake of his gospel, and he is joyfully advancing Huis kingdom through me sharing the gospel. I’m going to rest in trusting Jesus with everything. But pastor, what does that look like, you practically speaking? How do I serve others by being Jesus’s disciple? How do I live by the axiom,,

“I do not exist to be served, but to serve, giving my life so that others may enjoy Jesus.”

You need to trust Jesus to serve you by empowering you to love your neighbor with ransom love.

Jesus loved you with a ransom love, that is an atoning love. Ransom love has three aspects to it: Substitutionary, Sacrifice, and Servant. Last week I introduce you to substitutionary love.

Substitutionary love is laying aside your good, your comfort, your status, even your life so that others might have abundant life in Christ.

We’ve already seen substitutionary love in Philippians 2. Is it anywhere else? Think about

2 Corinthians 8:9 ESV

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

Jesus laid aside his good, his wealth, comfort, his status, and his life to become poor so that by his poverty you can become rich.

What about

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus was perfect. He exchanged his perfection to take your sin so that you can have his perfection.

Paul really highlights substitutionary love in

1 Corinthians 9:19–23 ESV

For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.

Through the lens of His own ransom, Jesus says to you

John 15:13 ESV

Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.

Let Jesus serve you by empowering you to love others with a substitutionary love.

The second aspect of ransom love is sacrifice. You are gong to see overlap with these aspects. Think of a Venn Diagram with love in the center. You will having looping circles where substitutionary, sacrifice, and servant overlap with each other as they all overlap love.

Sacrificial Love

To understand sacrificial love, you need to grasp to what extent Jesus sacrificed in order to atone for your sin. Paul is helpful to get us started thing about Jesus’ sacrificial love.

In the book of Philippians, he is writing to a fracture church. There is some bickering going on and he has to admonish them to put their own interest aside for the sake of others. To help them understand what this looks like, he gives them Christ as the example. He says,

Philippians 2:5–8 ESV

Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

For Jesus to atone for your sin he had to sacrifice every part of his life. Think about this for a moment. Jesus lived in heaven. He was worshipped by multitudes of heavenly beings as the second person of the Trine God. His wealth is beyond measure. His happiness and joy is complete, absolutely perfect, in who he is and where he lives, and what he does.

He creates a universe for his own glory. He creates a world to reflect his beauty and awesomeness. He creates man in his own image to love, knowing they will fall from his grace. But their fall is not outside the boundaries of his love. No. It is an opportunity for him to show heaven and earth to what degree he will lavish his love.

He sets in place a plan to leave heaven and become one of his image bearers. He does not enter earth as a heaven man. No, he comes into the world the same way we do. He become human, taking on flesh, voluntarily emptying himself of some of his glory. He comes as a vulnerable child, born into poverty, raised as a carpenters son. He would learn wisdom through obedience. Though he was perfect in all of his ways, he would allow himself to be despised and rejected. He would take his earthly body and subject to suffering and even death on a cross-a criminal’s death that he did not deserve, for the love and joy of saving sinners like you and me. Every aspect of Jesus’ life was a sacrifice for you and me.

Why did he do it? Why did he love us with a sacrificial love?

The son of man did not come to be served but to serve. His service required sacrifice, and his love for you and me ensured he would do whatever it takes to give you life abundantly.

Servant Love

Servant love is best demonstrated when it is substitutionary and sacrificial. Servant love seeks to physically move toward the needs of their neighbors. Its filled with humility, looks at the care for others as opportunities to be an instrument of grace.

Jesus’ life was all about servant love. His servant love was marked by two glaring attributes: obedience and humility.

Servant Love is Marked by Obedience.

First, you see his servant love in his obedience to his Father.

John 4:34 ESV

Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work.

and

John 5:30 ESV

“I can do nothing on my own. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek not my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 6:38 ESV

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.

John 14:31 ESV

but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Rise, let us go from here.

Jesus demonstrated servant love by loving his Father and submitting to His Father’s will, even when his will was for him to drink the bitter cup of the cross.

Servant Love is Marked By Humility

Second, his servant love is marked by humility. Christ was willing to become human in order to identify with our weaknesses (Philippians 2:6-7; Hebrews 4:15). Paul says that though Christ was rich he became poor for our sake so that by his poverty we can become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9). The greatest known example of his humility being displayed in his servant love might be when he washed his disciples feet

John 13:1–5 ESV

Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

Do you see how Jesus loved his disciples? He moved toward them in humility. He took off his garment and washed their feet, the dirtiest part of their exposed body. He washed all the disciples feet, even Judas, his betrayer.

Servant love has a strong element of humble movement. It’s obedience with a humble and joyful attitude, even when its costly, and even when it is toward someone who betrays you.

Be The Greatest Disciple of Jesus!

Put it all together. Let’s apply it right now. Jesus says

Luke 6:35–36 ESV

But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil. Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.

Keep in mind, Jesus is serving you. He is the one enabling you to love your enemies. Remember, He is the Vine, you are the branch. Apart from Him you can do nothing. You cannot love your enemies in a way that is great in the eyes of God apart from Jesus. This year,

Stop serving Jesus. Be his disciple Him serve you. Rest in His work.

When he says love, think about ransom love. Think about its substitutionary, sacrificial, servant nature. How can you lay aside your wealth, your comfort, your status, your life, and exchange it with your enemy? What can you sacrifice for the sake of the good of your enemy? How can you move toward your enemy in humble obedience that seeks their good, giving them water then they are thirsty and food when they are hungry?

If you can love your enemy in such a way, the way Christ loves you, how much more can you love your brothers and sisters in the church, your friends in the community, and you family in your home?

John Madden might be right about champions being the measurement of success in our culture. But that philosophy is foreign in the kingdom of God. Jesus died for your sin and empowers you with his spirit to live in His kingdom now. The yardstick for greatness in the kingdom of God is not success but service. The Son of Man did not come to be served bit to serve and give his life as a ransom for many. You exist not to be served by others, but to serve them, and love them with a ransom love that seeks to help other enjoy Jesus.

Be the greatest in the kingdom of God by allowing Jesus to serve you and empower you to ransom love their neighbors as you serve them.