"THE GATEWAY TO GREATNESS"
Matthew 20:20-28
Introduction: In our text we have a situation where Salome, the mother of James and John approaches Jesus and makes a very specific request on behalf of her two sons. In the preceding chapter, Mat_19:28, our Lord had promised his disciples, that they should sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes. Salome, probably hearing of this, and understanding it literally, came to request the chief dignities in this new government for her sons; and it appears it was at their instigation that she made this request, for Mark, Mar_10:35, informs us that these brethren themselves made the request, i.e. they made it through the medium of their mother. Clarke's Commentary
What is interesting about this narrative is that she makes this request just after the Lord has told his disciples that he is going to die for the third time! It is obvious that their misconceptions about the true nature of His kingdom and their desire for an exalted position in that kingdom have blinded them to the importance of what He has just said. It makes them seem calloused and crude by comparison.
I. THE MISCONCEPTIONS EXPOSED
a. That greatness is based on position
If this were true then kings, presidents, even despots and dictators would be considered great men for we know that is not the case. Think about history and you will know that most of the so called "great men" have not been great in the way that Jesus defines greatness in our text.
b. That greatness is based on possession
Our culture is so the secular side of things that those who accumulate great wealth are considered to be great. Bill Gates, Ted Turner, etc...
II. THE MEANING EXPOUNDED
a. Let him be your minister (hūmōn diakonos). This word may come from dia and konis (dust), to raise a dust by one's hurry, and so to minister. It is a general word for servant and is used in a variety of ways including the technical sense of our "deacon" in Phi_1:1. But it more frequently is applied to ministers of the Gospel (1Co_3:5). The way to be "first" (prōtos), says Jesus, is to be your "servant" (doulos), "bond-servant" (Mat_20:27). This is a complete reversal of popular opinion then and now.
b. Let him be your servant ()Δοῦλος, perhaps from δέω, to bind, is the bondman, representing the permanent relation of servitude. Διάκονος, probably from the same root as διώκω, to pursue, represents a servant, not in his relation, but in his activity. The term covers both slaves and hired servants.
ILL - Benjamin Franklin wrote, "The most acceptable service to God is doing good to man." Can you imagine what our world would be like if not one wanted to serve? All of us know or at least should know the value of servanthood. Think of what our country would be like without the service of those who have fought and died to preserve and defend America. What condition would our economy be in if no one wanted to "be of service?"
Most churches rely on volunteers for the majority of ministry. Whether large or small a church must have those with a servant's heart. The ministry of the local church stands or falls on the willingness of its members to serve. I sure would not want to pastor a church where all the members wanted to sit and no one wanted to serve! The Lord Jesus is the church's model of the prototypical servant. Hear what he says in Matthew 20:28 "Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."
What must occur in order for us to be servants?
a. The choice for service
Like everything worthwhile in life we must make a choice to serve. It is against our nature so in becoming a servant we go against all of our natural instincts. Even the Lord's disciples were conflicted about service to others. On one occasion they argued among themselves about "...who would be the greatest in the kingdom..." and earned a rebuke from our Lord. It is not an easy choice but it is choice nonetheless to be a servant. There is a great passage in Exodus 21:
Exodus 21:2 If thou buy an Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve: and in the seventh he shall go out free for nothing. 3 If he came in by himself, he shall go out by himself: if he were married, then his wife shall go out with him. 4 If his master have given him a wife, and she have born him sons or daughters; the wife and her children shall be her master's, and he shall go out by himself. 5 And if the servant shall plainly say, I love my master, my wife, and my children; I will not go out free: 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear through with an aul; and he shall serve him forever.
b. The character of servant
In John 13 we have two of the greatest examples of the character of true servanthood found anywhere in the Bible apart from the Crucifixion itself.
John 13:4 He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself. 5 After that he poureth water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
Let's focus on just one of the many aspects of this demonstration by our Lord. I'd like to call your attention to the phrase, "...laid aside his garments..." He laid them aside so that he would not be encumbered in washing the disciple's feet. In so doing he allowed himself to be vulnerable. This outer coat was used for protection from the heat by day and the cold by night. In laying his garments aside he voluntarily exposed himself to pain, suffering, abuse, humiliation and the loss of his rights. If we are to be servants then we must be willing to be vulnerable and become "...partakers of His sufferings..." We need to remember what Jesus told his disciples in this passage:
John 13:16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.
SERVICE REQUIRES ACTION
A man fell into a pit and couldn't get himself out.
A subjective person came along and said, "I feel for you down there."
An objective person walked by and said, "It's logical that someone would fall down there."
A Pharisee said, "Only bad people fall into pits."
A mathematician calculated how deep the pit was.
A news reporter wanted the exclusive story on the pit.
An IRS agent asked if he was paying taxes on the pit.
A self-pitying person said, "You haven't seen anything until you've seen my pit."
A fire-and-brimstone preacher said, "You deserve your pit."
A Christian Scientist observed, "The pit is just in your mind."
A psychologist noted, "Your mother and father are to blame for your being in that pit."
A self-esteem therapist said, "Believe in yourself and you can get out of that pit."
An optimist said, "Things could be worse."
A pessimist claimed, "Things will get worse."
"Jesus, seeing the man, took him by the hand and lifted him out of the pit."
(from Internet for Christians newsletter, July 29, 2002)
PreachingNow Newsletter, August 6, 2002.
c. The command of the servant
A servant is subject to his master! His life is not his own and his aim in life is to please his master. In ancient Rome a master had the power of life and death over a servant. He could be beaten, abused, maimed or killed if his master chose to do so.
Ephesians 6:5 Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ;
Even Jesus was obedient to his Father: Hebrews 5:8 Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered;
III. THE MASTER'S EXAMPLE
Philippians 2:8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
In Philippians 2:7 Paul writes that our Lord "...made himself of no reputation (emptied himself) and took upon himself the form of a servant..." If you recall we said that the word form is translated, the outward expression of the inward nature. What Paul is stating is that Jesus actually became a servant, not like playing a role as an actor but he really was a servant. F. W. Robertson wrote, "It is not the possession of extraordinary gifts that makes extraordinary usefulness, but the dedication of what we have to the service of God." Listen to the words of our Lord himself, "I must be about my Father's business;" "My meat is to do the will of him that sent me, and to finish his work;" and "I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me;" and again "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." And even in the agony of Gethsemane he prayed, "Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me: nevertheless not my will, but thine be done." Luke 22:42 Our Lord consecrated his life to the service of God and the betterment of mankind. Jesus life and ministry illustrates:
a. The paradox of service
What is the paradox of servanthood? We find it in the words of Jesus in Matthew 20:26-27 where he says: 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: The way up is down, the way to live is to die to self, the way to true greatness is to serve! Who are the names that we honor and respect in the history of the church? It is those who have served faithfully, fully and finally!
Acts 13:36 For David, after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on sleep, and was laid unto his fathers, and saw corruption:
b. The praise of the servant
For the child of God nothing will mean more than to hear our Master's words of praise and affirmation.
Matthew 25:21 His lord said unto him, Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord.
ILL - A large group of European pastors came to one of D. L. Moody's Northfield Bible Conferences in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. Following the European custom of the time, each guest put his shoes outside his room to be cleaned by the hall servants overnight. But of course this was America and there were no hall servants. Walking the dormitory halls that night, Moody saw the shoes and determined not to embarrass his brothers. He mentioned the need to some ministerial students who were there, but met with only silence or pious excuses. Moody returned to the dorm, gathered up the shoes, and, alone in his room, the world's only famous evangelist began to clean and polish the shoes. Only the unexpected arrival of a friend in the midst of the work revealed the secret. When the foreign visitors opened their doors the next morning, their shoes were shined. They never know by whom. Moody told no one, but his friend told a few people, and during the rest of the conference, different men volunteered to shine the shoes in secret. Perhaps the episode is a vital insight into why God used D. L. Moody as He did. He was a man with a servant's heart and that was the basis of his true greatness.
