Check out the book "The Upside Down Kingdom" by Donald Kraybill
https://www.amazon.com/Upside-Down-Distinguished-Professor-Emeritus-Kraybill/dp/1513802496/ref=sr_1_2?crid=226Z0R7BQKLQ3&keywords=donald+kraybill&qid=1669518981&s=instant-video&sprefix=donald+kraybill%2Cinstant-video%2C182&sr=1-2-catcorr
Low is High
-Today we are concluding this Upside Down Kingdom series and we’ve looked at a lot of the toughest teachings of Jesus.
-What we’ve seen so far is that the world looks at things one way but Jesus sees things completely upside down.
-In his Kingdom down is up, slaves are free, the poor are prosperous, and religious people need saving.
-In his Kingdom outsiders are made insiders, enemies are loved and the highest people are actually the lowest.
-And that’s what we’re looking at today.
-Yesterday I had a chance to go with a few of our church people to the Battle of the Domes in Pocatello.
-The Idaho State Bengals were hosting the Idaho Vandals for this instate rivalry game and I was excited to go.
-We arrived and there were two different parking lots with various tailgating efforts going on.
-It felt like a big game environment except for one thing:
-Heading into yesterday’s game the ISU Bengals were 1-9 and the Vandals were 6-4. The Vandals were heavy favorites which is probably an understatement.
-And as the game went on the Vandals had clear control.
-Heading into the 4th quarter the score was 38-7 and the Bengals were trying to drive at the end.
-Their running back burst through the line of scrimmage for about 11 yards and he popped up and proudly made the first down signal.
-That kind of something you do to flex on the other team.
-But it just struck me as dumb. His team was being annihilated.
-You’ve literally lost the game in every category, but you want to boast about a first down.
-But young men tend to boast. And I bring that up for a reason.
-Hang on to that and I’ll come back to it later
-We’re going to be in Luke 22 I’d like to read the passage to you and then we’ll work through it together.
Luke 22:7 Now the Festival of Unleavened Bread arrived, when the Passover lamb is sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John ahead and said, “Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”9 “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.
10 He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters,
11 say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’
12 He will take you upstairs to a large room that is already set up. That is where you should prepare our meal.”
13 They went off to the city and found everything just as Jesus had said, and they prepared the Passover meal there.
14 When the time came, Jesus and the apostles sat down together at the table. 15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.
16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
17 Then he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. Then he said, “Take this and share it among yourselves. 18 For I will not drink wine again until the Kingdom of God has come.”
19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
21 “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. 22 For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.”
23 The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.
25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’
26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
-Our scene today takes place in the upper room on the night that Jesus was about to be betrayed.
-It was Passover time which is really important to God’s people.
-If you go to Exodus 12 you can read the story of the Hebrew’s great escape from Egypt.
-They had been enslaved, oppressed, abused and even been the victims of infanticide.
-And they cried out to God and he raised up a deliverer.
-Moses told Pharaoh to set Israel free, and he would not.
-He sent 9 plagues to Egypt to serve as warning but Pharaoh was stubborn and wouldn’t submit.
-That lead to the tenth and final plague of Egypt.
-At the designated time, an angel of death would sweep through Egypt and destroy the firstborn of every household.
-The Hebrew families were instructed to smear the blood of a lamb on the top of their doorposts.
-That blood marked their homes and the angel of death would Pass Over them which is where the name Passover came from.
-And by God’s deliverance, his people escaped the brutality of slavery and began their journey toward the promise land.
-And ever since that day, the Hebrew people have celebrated the Passover…and they still do today.
-And that was the occasion in the Upper Room that night with Jesus and his disciples. They were eating the Passover meal.
-The plot to assassinate Jesus was already underway and Jesus was preparing to die, but before he did…he wanted to share a final meal with his disciples.
-Not his family. Not his mother or brothers. His disciples.
-And his first set of instructions seem a bit mysterious.
“Go and prepare the Passover meal, so we can eat it together.”
9 “Where do you want us to prepare it?” they asked him.
10 He replied, “As soon as you enter Jerusalem, a man carrying a pitcher of water will meet you. Follow him. At the house he enters,
11 say to the owner, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room where I can eat the Passover meal with my disciples?’
-The Pharisees had already struck a bargain with Judas.
-And Jesus was prepared to die but not until the Last Supper was over; so he’s being a bit secretive.
-This is a bit of cloak and dagger stuff going on here.
-The disciples want to know where to prepare the meal and he says when you see the man with the pitcher of water ask him.
-That might seem a bit weird to us. Why was that the signal?
-What if there were more men with pitchers in Jerusalem?
-But there’s a cultural detail we didn’t know; in those days men didn’t carry water, women did.
-So a man carrying water stood out! That’s the secret signal.
-This man was a disciple, and Jesus had him to be on the lookout -And when the apostles saw him he took them to a prearranged location.
-The idea is that Jesus didn’t want Judas to know where the meeting would be held, hence all the secrecy.
-When it was time, Jesus and the apostles sat down for the Last Supper and he said something interesting.
15 Jesus said, “I have been very eager to eat this Passover meal with you before my suffering begins.
-This story is so familiar that we don’t often think about it.
-Jesus said at the dinner table that he was about to suffer.
-In fact, as we gear up for Christmas we remember that Jesus was born to die.
-His mission on earth was to die on the cross for my sins, your sins, and the sins of the world.
-And he was hours away from fulfilling his purpose.
-What would you think if you were out to lunch with friends today and someone said something like that?
-We’d probably wonder if they were suicidal, or about to be imprisoned or something.
16 For I tell you now that I won’t eat this meal again until its meaning is fulfilled in the Kingdom of God.”
-What’s that mean Jesus?
-In Revelation 19:9 there is the mention of a wedding feast in heaven which is probably what Jesus is referring to here.
-There is a day when the church will be reunited with Christ and on that day there will be celebration and feasting.
-And I’d like to think that in the heavenly banquet table you can eat all the calories you want and not gain weight.
-And while they were seated there Jesus introduced the ceremony that we now call communion.
-Now, I realize most churches don’t take communion every Sunday like we do, and that’s ok.
-They aren’t bad, and that doesn’t make us good or better.
-But in the Scripture we see that the earliest church had communion as the centerpiece of their gatherings.
-It was one of 4 things they devoted themselves to in Acts 2:42.
-Acts 20:7 says that they gathered on the first day of the week (Sunday) to share the Lord’s Supper or Communion.
-That’s the way they did it, and that’s the way we do it.
-And it started in this Upper Room. And this is how it went:
19 He took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
-So they were at the Passover meal.
-And the bread that they ate at Passover had no yeast in it.
-When they were escaping Egypt the Israelites didn’t have time to let the bread rise, so they baked it without it rising.
-So that Passover bread was more like a cracker than soft bread.
-Which is why the Scripture says he broke it instead of saying he tore it.
-He broke the bread and said, “this is my body”.
-Now some denominations believe the bread actually turns into Jesus’ body when we eat it. (Transubstantiation)
-That’s really gross and not true.
-Turn to your neighbor and say, dude, it’s just bread.
-Did you know that because of this communion practice, the early Christians were accused of being cannibals?
-Yeah that’s us, we’re that crazy church in town.
-It’s clearly symbolic!!! And we’re given instructions here: we eat this unleavened bread to remember the body of Jesus.
-Here’s what’s interesting, he introduced this before he died.
-So they didn’t fully understand what he was saying.
-But later they would.
-The bread we take at communion is a remembrance of the body of Jesus which was nailed to the cross for our sins.
20 After supper he took another cup of wine and said, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people—an agreement confirmed with my blood, which is poured out as a sacrifice for you.
-You’ll notice some time passed between the bread and the cup.
-This second part of communion happened after the dinner was over.
-And a quick sidenote, Jesus had another cup of wine.
-It might shock you to know that Jewish people had four glasses of wine at their Passover dinner.
-Their wine wasn’t as potent as ours, but it was alcohol.
-And that wine symbolized the blood of Jesus.
-So the bread is the symbol of his body.
-And the wine is the symbol of his blood.
-Again some believe the wine turns into Christ’s blood at communion.
-Turn to your neighbor and say, “It’s just welches, bro.”
-It’s not actually blood, it’s just symbolic.
-And this is where we see some really cool Bible stuff happen.
-At the Passover meal there was always a lamb.
-No KFC, no Honey Glazed Ham, no turkeys.
-It was always lamb because a lamb was sacrificed by the Hebrews families on the first Passover, and they ate it.
-So they were saved by the blood of the lamb.
-So here is Jesus almost 1500 years later on Passover, declaring that the shedding of his blood now saves us.
-In fact, he goes on to say that this was the beginning of a new covenant. We are new covenant (or new testament) people.
-There is a new arrangement between God and all people, a new covenant that is ratified by the blood of Jesus.
-In this new covenant, Jesus is the Passover Lamb.
-When you really study Scripture you find that the Old Testament had all these symbolic hints about the coming of Jesus.
-Do you remember when John the Baptist saw Jesus and shouted, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
-Do you remember the vision of Revelation 5 when Jesus is introduced as the Lion of the Tribe of Judah, and he walks into the throne room of God and has the Lion appearance of a lamb.
-Why is Jesus called the lamb?
-Because, in the new Covenant Jesus is our Passover Lamb.
-Just like the Hebrews were spared from destruction by the blood of the Lamb.
-We are spared God’s judgment by the blood of Jesus.
-And he announced this on the night when he began the practice that we now observe, and will observe today.
-But then the conversation shifted. He said:
21 “But here at this table, sitting among us as a friend, is the man who will betray me. 22 For it has been determined that the Son of Man must die. But what sorrow awaits the one who betrays him.”
-Things got a little awkward around the dinner table.
-Jesus announced that someone, sitting at that very table would betray him.
-We all know it was Judas but they didn’t know that.
-Imagine the tension in that moment. They’d been up in that room for hours, talking, eating, laughing and listening.
-Jesus took that opportunity to give some final instructions that you can read in the gospel of John.
-But then this happened. A betrayer. Someone who appeared to be a friend but was actually an enemy.
-What do you say to that? Silence. Tension. Bewilderment.
-Then a discussion broke out. And not what you would expect.
23 The disciples began to ask each other which of them would ever do such a thing.
-There was initially some doubt.
-You know Jesus you’ve had four glasses of wine, maybe you should rethink this.
-Are you sure? One of us? We’re your hand picked men!
-Well there might be someone who would turn on you but it’s not going to be me, that’s for sure.
-And that’s when things got ugly.
-In all this posturing and denying and suspicious looking around the conversation took a bad turn.
24 Then they began to argue among themselves about who would be the greatest among them.
-Remember that young man pumping his chest over a first down?
-Boasting of his accomplishment while his team was getting crushed, Go Vandals!
-We often forget that the apostles were all young men probably in their 20s at this time.
-And they were boastful. Proud. Perhaps a bit more self-confident that they should have been.
-Jesus just predicted the worst betrayal in the history of the of the world.
-And instead of offering reassurance, or pledging their devotion…
-Instead of rallying to his side, they start yet another argument about which one of them was the greatest.
-They were boasting about themselves…in the presence of Jesus.
-Do you understand how silly that is?
-They were at the table with the King of kings and the Lord of lords and they were boasting about their own greatness.
-Utterly ridiculous. Completely inappropriate. Ignorant. Dumb!
-I imagine later in life they looked back at that and were humiliated and ashamed at the very thought.
-How could they boast in the presence of Jesus?
-And maybe a better question is, “How can we?”
-You know what I mean?
-Sometimes we are pretty impressed with ourselves.
-And it takes a lot of forms.
-There are people that are just outright boastful.
-They always talk about themselves. Always talk about what they’ve accomplished.
-They watch for opportunities to tell anyone who will listen how great they are.
-These people are easy to spot.
-If someone tells a story, they want to one up them.
-Oh, yeah…well I shot a bigger buck than that, from 1000 yards with a .22 on a windy day. In the rain and the buck was running.
-Proud, boastful…insecure…people.
-But in polite society these boastful notions play out in our minds.
-We compare ourselves to other people in our thinking:
That guy is an idiot.
I’d do a better job if I was in charge
That guy isn’t half as good as me
He doesn’t my experience.
How did she get promoted?
I’m better than they are, and everyone knows it…
-It doesn’t matter how the thoughts sound in your head.
-Boastful, proud, self-righteous thinking is not for us.
-We are people who stand in the presence of Christ.
Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
-The world celebrates cocky, boastful, arrogant people.
-We like to label people the G.O.A.T. or the king of this or that.
-We say they were the greatest! They’re the best.
-America likes smug celebrities; they get a lot of clicks.
-But in the Kingdom of God things are a bit upside down.
-Selfish ambition is frowned upon.
-We value others above our own selves.
-In the Kingdom of God high is low and low is high.
-People esteemed by the world are not esteemed in the Kingdom.
-And people not esteemed by the world are.
-It’s truly ugly to think about the apostles arguing of greatness in front of King Jesus.
-It’s preposterous, that they would even think such thoughts let alone say them out loud in his presence.
-And it was extra horrible that they would do that on the night of his betrayal, the day before his death.
-But Jesus didn’t yell at them, he taught them.
-That’s what we do when people mess up. We talk to them.
-That’s discipleship. Here’s what he said to them.
25 Jesus told them, “In this world the kings and great men lord it over their people, yet they are called ‘friends of the people.’
-In our world important people often act important.
-They remind people of who they are. When we think about Kings and great men lording their power over people we:
Think of the rich and famous getting pulled over by the cops and saying, “Do you know who I am?”
We see it when the powerful get away with things.
When officials abuse power for personal gain.
We see it with bigwigs who insist that you address them by their fancy titles.
Or by the proud who always boast of their money, success, fame and fortune.
-In the world, Jesus said, the high up people like to hold power over the weak.
-And when we talk about that we all kind of think, yeah.
-Those powerful people really stink. But aren’t we the powerful in some ways? And how do we wield our power?
Have you ever shamed the poor for being poor?
Ever told the homeless to get a job?
Ever mocked a special needs person?
Ever blown off an elderly person?
Ever treated the crippled with casual disregard?
Ever looked down on people who aren’t so smart?
Ever treated an employee poorly because you could?
You kids ever bully your younger brother/sister?
-That’s what Jesus was talking about with his disciples.
-They were boasting about who was greatest, and they were sitting next to the greatest of all.
-And he checked them on it. He said…
26 But among you it will be different. Those who are the greatest among you should take the lowest rank, and the leader should be like a servant.
-That’s why I don’t like to be called “pastor.”
-We’re all equal and no one is elevated in importance by titles.
-Not in God’s Kingdom. The leaders serve.
-The greatest are the people who lead by sacrifice.
-It’s why fathers forsake themselves to provide for their kids.
-It’s why mothers love and nurture and care and fuss over kids.
-And it’s why husbands should help with dishes and laundry.
-And why wives should mow the lawn. (just kidding)
-And why kids should clean their rooms.
(Your mom paid me to say that)
-And why busy people should still serve in the church.
-And why church leaders do what we ask everyone else to do.
-It’s why older people should take time for younger people.
-It’s why the young should take time for the old.
-It’s why all of us help the poor, the widowed, the orphaned, the blind, the sick and the lame.
-Because in God’s Kingdom low is high. The greatest are servants. And Jesus drove this home by saying.
27 Who is more important, the one who sits at the table or the one who serves? The one who sits at the table, of course. But not here! For I am among you as one who serves.
-That’s what King Jesus did for us.
-He left his throne…to live among the poor.
-He left the glory of heaven…for the dirty roads of Galilee
-He set down his crown…and picked up a servant’s towel
-The author of life…gave his life
-The one who did no wrong…paid the price for those who had
-And in that way he established the way, it would be in his Kingdom and among his people.
-There is no boasting of our wisdom…in the presence of the Christ
-There is no boasting of our accomplishments…in the presence of Christ.
-There is no pride in the presence of Christ.
-There is no ego, no rank, no chest pounding.
-No selfish ambition or feelings of superiority in the presence of Christ Jesus.
-Well, there’s not supposed to be.
-That’s our goal, but maybe not our reality.
-So how do we get there? How do we stay humble?
-Those 12 disciples started the church after Jesus ascended to heaven.
-And in those earliest gatherings they did what Jesus said.
-They remembered…Remembered Jesus and what he did for us.
-The kept the focus on him not them.
-They elevated Jesus, not pastors or worship leaders or authors or radio preachers.
-The made the centerpiece of their gatherings, the remembrance of Jesus and all that he suffered for them.
-And that’s how we’re going to end today.
