Servant of all
James 3:13-4:3, 7-8a & Mark 9:30-37
Recently the Apostles had seen the unforgettable Transfiguration of Jesus… followed by the incredible healing at the foot of the Mount…and now…they are on the road again…still filled with adrenaline…when they heard Jesus ominous words regarding his death.
You would think…hardly time for an argument…but here they are engaged in a heated debate about who is the greatest!
Lately…the jostling was going on between Peter…James…and John…after all they were the inner circle…the only witnesses to the Transfiguration…heard teaching others had not…Peter may have nominated himself… while James and John the “Sons of Thunder” …objected loudly…were having none of it…and neither were the rest.
Although Jesus was out of earshot…and their bravado kicked in…He knew…what a chill this must’ve brought to his already overburdened soul.
In the 1960s Cassius Clay a.k.a. Mohammed Alli proclaimed he was the greatest…his intent was to sell seats at his fights.
The apostles were arguing about who was the greatest…they were little different from the petty politicians of Capernaum…or the ‘yes-men’ in Herod’s court. Jesus seemingly innocent question ‘what were you arguing about’ (v33b) provoked a dome of silence…face-to-face with Jesus…how do you tell Him…the silence was deafening…shameful…embarrassing.
Time for some teaching…Jesus sat down… called the twelve…if they were going to continue to be his disciples…and succeed in their apostolic ministry…they would have to learn this lesson…and learn it well.
The church that they were to found would never survive…unless there was an attitude change…thankfully there was…but it didn’t come until after Jesus’ death and resurrection.
Today we live long after these momentous events…but the church is in need of deliverance from these very attitudes.
For numbers of followers…Christianity exists to give ‘me’ eternal life…to increase ‘my’ physical health…to enlarge my sphere of influence…I may not want to be the bishop… but I want to be their chief adviser…that’s where the real power and prestige is.
The church is beset with personality cults with the ‘important people’ busy…busy…busy… going from one meeting to another…they can’t have a conversation with you without responding to a string of ‘very important’ text messages…some years ago I welcomed to the area…a new pastor who over coffee constantly answered texts and emails on his tablet…it didn’t surprise me that his ministry didn’t last…he moved on into politics.
Some…even think that being number one is ‘Christian’…the Scriptures do call God’s people to do their very best (Philippians 3:12-14, Paul)… (1 Timothy 3:1, Timothy)…but those who desire to be number one always want to be served…it is faux Christian…a false standard…the disciples were missing the mark…how many are today.
Can you picture Jesus seated…with the disciples around him…it is an uneasy quiet.
He speaks ‘If anyone wants to be first, they must be last of all and servant of all’ (v35b)…
how radical is that…in fact…still is today… countercultural…then and now…Jewish contemporary culture was all about questions of procedure and rank for that prayer…was the meal served in the right order…in all dealings there constantly arose the question of who was greater…and of estimating the honour due to each task…which had to be constantly fulfilled…and felt to be very important…this was a point of order…on a point of order…on a point of order… precedence was a cultural preoccupation.
Then…along came Jesus…the radical Jesus attacked it and tossed it away…His teaching…countercultural.
The natural human instinct is to dominate…
it’s scary stuff because if any of us will live Jesus’ words out…not seeking to be number one (pre-eminence)…but seeking to serve all…then that person will be a cultural radical…are you a cultural radical…the life of those who do and are will 3 be a gift to many …equally a threat to many others…who said living out Jesus words would be easy.
Initially the disciples couldn’t do it…and there in the upper room the night before Jesus died …they were…once again busy arguing about who was ‘the greatest’…then…you want me to WHAT…WASH THEIR FEET!
It was Jesus who made the move…took a towel…poured water into a basin…and began slowly to move around the circle washing each of the disciples outstretched feet…the Incarnate Son…God Himself… washing the feet of His pride filled arrogant creatures…‘Truly, truly,’ Jesus said, ‘a servant is not greater than his master nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him’ (John 13:14-16).
Coming from Jesus lips…so compelling…but they would only find the power to do it when they were filled with the Spirit at Pentecost… Christians are called to walk according to the truth of the Lord Jesus…who is servant of all…called to be radical…called to be servants.
This does not mean an abdication of authority …it’s about a disposition…the state of our hearts…are you serving your superiors…your inferiors…those above…and those beneath you.
Do we have places of humble…sometimes hidden service for our church and our fellow human beings…if not…then we are failing God…as Christians we are captive to God’s Word…and we must embrace our captivity to Him through obedience.
No matter what we do…rather it’s about what we claim to be…all are called to radical servant hood…this is the way to true greatness in God’s eyes. Jesus could see his words sinking in with varying degrees of success…He knew they related to His parables…taking a child… perhaps one of Peter’s…in his arms… ‘who ever receives one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, BUT HIM who sent Me’ (v37).
In the Aramaic language spoken at that time …child and servant were the same word… Jesus was saying that the disciples must receive His children meaning (other servants and disciples) with the open arms and love with which He was holding that child…there was to be no thought of who was better than anybody 4 else Jesus said when they did this in His name…they welcomed not only Jesus himself but Him who sent Me…God the Father.
Why should this be…because Jesus along with the Father and the Spirit resides in the children of God…this wondrous mystery of Christ’s body…the church.
Practically speaking…when we welcome other children of God in Christ’s name…there is a sense in which we receive…and open ourselves further to Christ because He indwells them and is identified with them… how marvellous is this.
Jesus’ parable is wonderful it is liberating… we are to receive all of God’s people as we do children…with no thought of their accomplishments…their influence…their fame…spiritual gifts…simply because they are His children…it rules out seeking the powerful or influential for what they can do for us… warns us about neglecting…the simple…the humble…the ordinary.
It is possible to reach a stone wall in spiritual growth…because the world has infused us… filled us with a status conscious heart…a desire to dominate…and be served…Christ’s living parable gently calls each of us to repent…Mark chapter 9 tells us that the proper attitude for those in ministry…and all who desire to minister…is a spirit that is tolerant…free from jealousy and is supportive of others.
It may surprise some of us to know that in heaven there will not be…Anglicans…Baptists …Presbyterians…Roman Catholics… Pentecostals et cetera gathering in their own little groups…all believers are part of branch offices of the same business.
In Christian ministry and walk attitude is everything…Jesus observed the ambitious… saw the jealous grasping attitude of his disciples…He knew this to be true.
Imagine Jesus saying to you ‘if anyone would be first…he must be last of all…and servant of all.’…there is no place in the church for seeking dominance and first place…ask yourself are you seeking to be served and be first…or have you embraced the radical nature of servant hood…are you are counterculture radical…is your attitude grudging…suspicious…or are your arms open to others among God’s people…just as you open them to your children…is your attitude outward looking…one that rejoices when Jesus’ name is glorified.
Jesus calls us to lay down selfhood and take-up servanthood.
Jesus calls us to learn to be the servant of all.
Let us pray.