Becoming A Servant Series

Jesus calls us to a life of servanthood. It’s a life where we practice a term which has become popular in leadership literature, it’s called “servant leadership.” One book I have is titled, They Smell Like Sheep.” Meaning, the leadership is not separate from the people of the church, instead they are part of the body, and because you work with the people and are not in a separate class, you all smell the same, because you’re working together.

So greatness becomes radically redefined. Because if we want to be great in the kingdom of God, we must become a servant, to have that servant mentality.

Verse 45 is a sobering statement from Jesus. He makes two very important points for us to hold onto. First, Jesus reminds us that He came not to sit on His throne which as a king, He was entitled to, instead He took off the royal crown, put the royal scepter down and joined the people and lived with the people, and in essence smelled like the sheep.

Secondly, and what we must recognize as the ultimate example of servanthood comes in the final part of the verse when Jesus explained He not only came to serve, but His greatest act of servanthood comes in giving His life as a ransom for you and I. His death on the cross is the ultimate gift of servanthood.

Our call is to serve God, not out of guilt, but out of joyful obedience to the One who gave His life for us. As we serve God, we serve one another. We do this because of our faithfulness to God,

We serve not to receive any type of gain, rather we serve with humility because it leads to Christlikeness” (Whiteny 116).

Love for others starts with a love for God. When we discover that God loves us with the most powerful and amazing love and that He died for us, and adopted us as His kids, we want to obey Him. And He calls us to love one another.

After washing the disciples feet, Jesus said - -

34 A new command I give you: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, so you must love one another.

35 By this people will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another - John 13:34-35

Those are our marching orders. Love one another, just as Jesus loves you. How can you and I be like Jesus? Have the right motivation - - be humble, don’t consider yourself better than others, serve because God served you first because of His love for you.

Here’s a final thought as we move to communion - - -

After Jesus finished washing all of the disciples’ feet, He put away the towel, put on His robe, and returned to the table.

Then He took a piece of bread and broke it and said, “This is my body which is for you.” Next, He took a cup and said, “This is my blood. Poured out for you.” One more act of service would follow — the ultimate act of service: the giving of His life.

You see, as Jesus poured water into a basin to wash the disciples’ dirty feet to show what a servant looks like, He would then pour out His blood on the cross to wash our dirty hearts. That being the ultimate sacrifice.