Servant Sayings Sermon Part 1

Servant Sayings #1—Who is the Greatest?

²⁰ Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him.
²¹ And He said to her, "What do you wish?"
She said to Him, "Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom."
²² But Jesus answered and said, "You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with?"^[a]
They said to Him, "We are able."
²³ So He said to them, "You will indeed drink My cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with;^[b] but to sit on My right hand and on My left is not Mine to give, but it is for those for whom it is prepared by My Father."
²⁴ And when the ten heard it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers. ²⁵ But Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. ²⁶ Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. ²⁷ And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— ²⁸ just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

 

Every time I read this passage, John and James lose a little respect in my eyes. They have a question. An important question. A question they have been waiting to ask for quite a while. But they are not man enough to ask it for themselves. So they send in their mommy do ask their hard questions for them. If I was Jesus, when I saw that the disciples had sent their mommy in to ask if they could be on his right or on his left, I would have said, "Not if you are not man enough to ask for what you want yourself. Which proves one very good point; it is a good thing that Jesus does not have ornery old me as his personal consultant.

 

Jesus has just finished sharing about his role as judge in the kingdom. Then he predicted his death, which the disciples are continually forgetting that he keeps mentioning. They want to be on Jesus' right and left hand when he comes into his kingdom. When he comes in power. When Jesus rules the world, James and John want to be the #1 and #2 assistants. They want to be Vice-President and Secretary of State in Jesus rule of the world. They want to have power. They want to have control. They want to have fame. They want to be seen and admired by the crowd, and they might even want to make a few others jealous, including the disciples.

 

The truth is this. They missed the point! They missed the point of what Jesus was trying to do, the kind of followers he was seeking, the kind of world he was trying to create. Sounds like the rest of the disciples did as well. Because as soon as they heard about the request of the mother of James and John they got irate. The New King James says "greatly displeased". The NIV says that they were "indignant".

 

Turns out Jesus had to mediate the conflict. So he used it as a teaching opportunity. He shared with them more about his kingdom. He said that the power of God was not like the power of the world, or more specifically here of the "Gentiles". The Gentiles try and claim power. They try and fight for it. They try and get authority, and then force people under them to do what they want them to do. Jesus said he had come for another reason.

 

Jesus came to create a community of servants. He told the disciples that the greatest among them must be the servant of all. Whoever wants to be the greatest in the kingdom of God must put himself in the position of a slave, or a bondservant.

 

Jesus says that his life should be an example of this. He came not to be served, but to serve. And to give his life as a ransom for many.

 

The truth is, not only do the disciples miss the point. Often we miss the point as well. If we are called to follow Jesus, if we have chosen to live our lives as his disciples, or apprentices, we must become servants. We must serve one another. Just as important, we must serve those in the world around us.

 

Often the contemporary church misses the point in this regard. They think the church is about having a perfect little worship band with a pending recording contract. They believe that they should a pastor that everyone can be proud of and look up to. They believe that a good church has a building that can be seen and admired for its beauty. That a church should be full of respected members with deep pockets. Thank God we here at First Baptist are not a contemporary church in that way. We are church of substance, not of image over substance.

 

Jesus says that the way of greatness in the kingdom is through being servants. As we look forward to next month, I want to commend you for choosing to be a church that serves it community through the Backyard Mission Project. There is no greater witness to the world, I believe, than being a church that serves with grace, and without a sense of self-righteousness and judgment.

 

Friends, I know you have servant hearts. Even the most ornery of you has told me of your compassion for a friend and neighbor, and how you long to help them.These acts of service, this heart of service, is something beautiful. It is a beautiful witness of Christ's love to the world, YES. It is a beautiful stand against the greediness and selfishness in the world around us, YES. Because it will make us great in the kingdom? That too.

 

First and foremost though, choosing to be a servant and a servant-church in our community is important because it is an act of worship, a way of being like Jesus and praising Him, of honoring the one who loved the world enough to come to earth and die for it, and make his life a ransom for many.