He would Serve Us

Scripture: Matthew 27:15-18, John 13:4-5, John 13:13-17, Luke 22:25-30, Matthew 25:37-40

Takeaway: Humility is using your influence to serve others.

INTRO

Have you ever noticed how messed up this world is? Just look at everything that is happening. We’re in a pandemic still and sickness seems to be on everyone’s mind. Countries are at war. Economies are collapsing. Everywhere you look, it feels like gloom and doom. Every single country on this planet is struggling.

So, what should we do when the world is on fire? We look for leaders to create change. We look for capable people that are qualified to tackle our world’s issues. But not just anyone can create this change; they must have the right qualities to lead.

When you think of the qualities it takes to be a good leader, what do you think of? Let’s experiment. When I call out a quality, raise your hand if it’s what you think of of a leader. Bold. Gifted. Persuasive. Courageous. Motivated. Powerful. Humble.

That last one seems out of place. It sticks out when you compare it to the other qualities. It’s ironic how humble the word, humble, is. Would you want to be famous for your humility? If we are all honest, we would love to be remembered for our talents or the things we accomplish. It would be amazing if when people thought of you, the first thought would be “courageous” or “powerful.” But who wants to be remembered for their humility?

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TENSION

If you forgot to list humility as a leadership quality don’t feel bad, the Israelites forget it too. The Israelites had all sorts of issues. They had been conquered by the Romans and were subject to harsh Roman law. People died daily for their beliefs and every year new battles would erupt as the Roman government took over their lives.

The people were in desperate need of a rescuer. This is when Jesus entered the picture. But the man was a walking enigma. He healed people, cast out demons, fed the hungry, and he wouldn’t stop talking about how the Kingdom of God had arrived. Was this guy going to lead a revolution and kick the Roman government out? That’s what the Israelites wanted.

They wanted a warrior king to destroy their enemies and get vengeance. Just to be clear, Jesus was capable of that. He could have deleted Caesar off the face of the Earth with a sneeze. But He didn’t do anything like that. He came with news of peace and sermons about loving your enemies.

Towards the end of His earthly ministry, Jesus was arrested for crimes of treason against the Romans. When the governor, Pontius Pilate, interrogated Jesus, he couldn’t find guilt of any crime. So, he let the Israelites decide Jesus’s fate. The Romans had a custom at Passover where they would let one prisoner go free and one prisoner would be crucified.

So, the crowd got to decide who would die and who would go free. The two prisoners they got to choose from this year was a man named Jesus and another man named Jesus. You heard correctly .

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Now it was the governor’s custom at the festival to release a prisoner chosen by the crowd. At that time they had a well-known prisoner whose name was Jesus Barabbas. So when the crowd had gathered, Pilate asked them, “Which one do you want me to release to you: Jesus Barabbas, or Jesus who is called the Messiah?” For he knew it was out of self-interest that they had handed Jesus over to him.

Matthew 27:15-18 NIV

Side not of the various translations. Jesus Barabbas seems to be the correct translation since Pilate specified “Jesus who is called Christ” (NASB)

This simply means that Jesus was a common name and Barabbas was was also called “Jesus”, the first part of that name has not been transmitted in some versions to avoid confusion.

Jesus Barabbas was guilty of treason and murder. He was most likely a revolutionary fighter who had killed some Romans to get them to leave Jerusalem. He was the type of leader that the Israelites wanted. If that wasn’t bad enough, the religious leaders that hated Jesus went around and convinced people in the crowd to set Barabbas free. The peaceful festival turned into a blood-thirsty riot. The crowd chose which Jesus they wanted.

The crowd cried out for Barabbas’s freedom and Jesus the Messiah’s blood. They chanted “Crucify him.”

Remember, Jesus is all-powerful. At any moment He could have called an army of angels to airstrike His enemies. The very people He came to rescue had betrayed Him. What would Jesus do with all the power in the world when the world is against Him?

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TRUTH

He would choose to serve them. He would give his life so that they could live. He would trade the robes of a king for the rags of a slave. He would leave a throne behind to take our place in the grave. But why?

Because Jesus was humble. That word doesn’t mean He was less powerful or less important. To be humble means that you would use your influence to serve others. Do you see how that mentality is different from how we measure power? We measure greatness by how much we can achieve and by how many people must do what we say. But Jesus used a different metric. In the Kingdom of God, greatness is measured by how many people we serve.

Jesus made this abundantly clear to his followers at The Last Supper. Picture this: Jesus and His disciples had been walking in their sandals all day. Their feet were covered in dirt, mud and manure.

In this culture, at the end of the day, your lowest servant washed your feet because when you ate dinner you wouldn’t sit in a chair; you would lay around a table. But there was no servant to wash Jesus’ and His disciples’ feet. If one of the disciples washed the other’s feet, then they would admit that they were the lowest servant. All of them were lounging around the table, staring at each other to see who will break first. It is the most pride-filled game of “chicken” ever.

If you were Jesus, would you put up with that? I would be angry. Jesus should have been even angrier because He knew one of his disciples had betrayed Him. Judas was planning with the Pharisees to frame Jesus with treason. Jesus should have made Judas wash everyone’s feet and then He should have smote him. Okay, maybe not. But you get the picture, Jesus should have been angry. But instead, he did this:

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So he (Jesus) got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him. John 13:4-5 NIV

One second the disciples were arguing about who was the greatest and the next they were speechless as the greatest man that ever lived performed the lowliest job. Jesus got up, took off his robe and laid it down.

This robe was symbolic of his honor as a teacher and master. He took an identity that was His life and he laid it down and clothed himself in the identity of a servant. He washed everyone’s feet, including Judas. Can you imagine the amount of humility and love it takes to wash the feet of your enemy?

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“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.

John 13:13-17 NIV

Jesus had limited time left with his disciples and he spent his last moments serving them and teaching them to serve others. Jesus continued and showed them how power works in the Kingdom of God.

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Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves. You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Luke 22:25-30 NIV

APPLICATION

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Our greatness is measured by who we serve – In the Kingdom of God, the first are last and the last are first. A leader too good to serve is an oxymoron in heaven. Humility is not the absence of power or influence; it’s using our influence to serve others, even if it means laying our identity on the floor and washing the feet of our enemies.

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Our influence is meant for others – When Jesus was at the last supper, he told His disciples that He was giving them the keys to His kingdom. They would be in charge when Jesus was gone. But the Kingdom that He gave them is a Kingdom defined by serving others. The greatest thing a leader could do is serve people beneath them. The second greatest thing a leader could do is to give their influence away. This could look like letting someone else lead or giving them responsibilities.

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When We Serve, We Are Encountering Jesus – In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable about a king talking to his servants. To one group, the king told them, “When I was hungry you fed me and gave me drink. When I was naked you clothed me. When I was sick in prison you came to me.”

Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? 39And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’40And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’ Matthew 25:37-40 NIV

When we serve others, we encounter Jesus. In the Kingdom of God, we are closer to the presence of God when we serve others.

LANDING

The power and glory of Jesus were clothed in humility. The King of kings came to serve. The Lord of lords laid His life down so that you could live. He served people that no one else would go near, and He loved His enemies even when they deserved hatred.

Jesus came to this Earth as the lamb that was slain for our sins. That is the humility of Jesus. What would Jesus do? He would use His influence to serve. And He calls us, as His followers, to do the same.

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