Sermon Tone Analysis

The title of today’s sermon is Be The Church: Serve Faithfully.

The text that Dan just read for us this morning is a text that reveals for us what true greatness is.

What makes a person great?

Is it power?

Is it who you know?

Is it your position, your rank?

Does having money make you great?

Does accomplishing great things make you great?

Or is greatness something else entirely?

Our text answers that question for us.

This is part of our sermon series on summer theme.

What was last year’s summer theme?

What is this year’s summer theme?

Be The Church.

You can see the permanent logo for our church on your screen.

What does it mean to be the church?

It means to worship, serve, grow, and love.

It’s the purpose of these sermons to help you understand what it looks like to worship, grow, love, and serve.

BRTP: Bring your Bible, have it out and open; read along with me, don’t go on autopilot; think about what you hear — God gave you a mind; don’t let it go to sleep; and pray for me and pray for you and those around for open hearts to receive from the Word.

May the Lord bless the preaching of His word.

#1: Why do we misunderstand what greatness is?

The disciples misunderstood what greatness is.

We see that in the question they ask Jesus and in Jesus’ answer to their question.

You see, the disciples defined greatness much like we define it today.

They see greatness as having authority over others, having a high position over others.

They’re letting the world define what greatness is.

God defines greatness as service.

How did they get it so wrong?

How do we get it wrong?

A. We have a sense of entitlement (their question)

The first reason we get it wrong is that we have a sense of entitlement.

And we see this in the question they ask Jesus in verse 35.

Two disciples, James and John, come up to Jesus and ask Him a question.

What do they ask him?

Verse 35

“We want you to do us a favor” (NLT)

“Will you do us a favor?” (CEV)

“We want to ask you to do something for us” (NCV)

“We want you to do for us whatever you ask” (ESV/NKJV/NIV/NASB)

Now if you have the NLT, it translates the question like this: “Teacher, we want you do us a favor.”

If you have the CEV, it says the same thing: “Teacher, will you do us a favor?”

The NCV is similar: “Teacher, we want to ask you to do something for us.”

Worded that way, the question doesn’t sound that bad.

But that’s not really the best way to translate it.

The Greek says what the NIV and the NKJV and the NASB and the ESV say, which is this: “Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever you ask.”

It doesn’t take a lot of smarts to understand that this is the equivalent of a walking up to their mom or dad and saying, “Mom, dad, I need you to something for me, and I need you to promise right now that you won’t say no.”

I came home the other day and found a contract that Abigail had written up for Shannon one day when homeschooling was over for the year.

It said, basically, “I, Shannon Mace, agree to say yes to whatever Noah and I ask of you today.”

It wasn’t totally unreasonable.

It went on to clarify some things: “It can’t be unreasonable.”

Ok, good.

“It doesn’t involve spending a lot of money.”

Whew.

“It doesn’t require us to go anywhere.”

Do you agree, mom?

Signed, Shannon Mace.

Now that’s a funny example because it was kind of a game.

Our kids know that we’ll say to something if it’s reasonable and good for them and safe and they’ve earned it.

But the disciples have a sense of entitlement.

They believe they it’s all about them.

How do I know they believe it’s all about them?

Look with me what Jesus had just finished saying, right before this.

Ignore that little heading in your Bible between verse 34 and verse 35.

Start reading with me in verse 32:

So Jesus has just told them that he’s about experience the worst event of his life.

And it’s all going to be for them.

And yet, what are the disciples thinking about immediately after?

“Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask of you.”

How many of you know someone who makes every conversation into a conversation about them?

Folks like that have an entitlement mentality.

So did the disciples.

And so do we.

We think we’re entitled to power and authority and privilege.

If we’ve given a lot of money to the church or served a long time in the church, we feel like we’ve earned a louder voice than other people.

I’ve heard stories of church members at other churches who were willing to write a check for $5 million to the church, on one condition: they have to build a specific type of building, and make the building a memorial to them.

If you actually had $5 million, and if you really wanted to give your money, and if you really wanted to be generous, why not give the $5 million to the church for them to use it on what they church needs most, rather than on what the donor thinks is best?

That’s a sense of entitlement.

A sense of entitlement causes us to have a misunderstanding of what true greatness is.

But true greatness is the willingness to serve.

B. We have a desire for political power and worldly authority (their demand)

We have a desire for political power and worldly authority.

We see this for the disciples in their demand.

What is the thing they want Jesus to do for them no matter what it is?

Verse 36.

“And Jesus said to them, ‘Grant us to sit, one at your right hand, and one at your left, in your glory.”

What is this about?

Your right hand and your left, in your glory?

Well, remember that Jesus has just warned them of three things: 1) he’s going to Jerusalem; 2) in Jerusalem he’ll be arrested and condemned and mistreated and eventually crucified; but 3) on the third he will rise.

The disciples have what we might call selective hearing.

They hear the words “Jerusalem” and “rise again” and they start thinking about Jesus’ messianic kingdom.

The Jews at this time, you’ll remember, were looking for an earthly Messiah who would give them earthly liberation from their earthly enemies, the Romans.

He would do this from Jerusalem, they believed.

And they have taken Jesus’ sober warning in verses 32-34 as an indication that this is about to happen.

Jesus is about to set up His earthly kingdom from Jerusalem.

Well, in their minds, if this is about to happen, "We know Jesus pretty well.

We’ve demonstrated our loyalty.

We’ve got connections with the king.

He’s going to Jerusalem, it’s time.

The right hand and left hand are the two highest positions of authority.

Let’s secure our position and our authority.”