I. Less Than and Greater Than
A. Text: Matthew 20:20-28
B. It’s easy in our society to get things backwards; mixed up. We live in a backwards society. Everything we as a society does is opposite of what God’s Word says we should.
1. Remember, Proverbs 14:12 says, “There is a way that seems right to a man, but in the end it leads to death.” (NIV)
C. This is how it is with leadership. We have got things turned around. Backwards.
D. In our text, we find a mother who has the same problem. She comes to Jesus, with a sincere heart, but a confused one. Asking Jesus if her two sons (James & John, the sons of Zebedee) would be granted the honor of sitting at Jesus’ right hand in glory.
E. Jesus’ answer was simple. Speaking to the two men, He asks, “Are you sure you know what you are asking? Are you prepared to endure the same suffering and persecution that I am about to suffer?”
F. Their answer was simply, “yes.”
G. However, as Jesus responded, it is not His decision who will be sitting at His right hand. That decision belongs to the Father.
H. He goes on to tell them, as well as the other disciples present, that, while in the world’s social order, those in authority have power over those under them, in God’s Kingdom, those who have authority will be those who have learned how to serve!
I. This is what I want to speak to you about today: servant hood!
II. No More Word Twisters!
A. Story:
The children of a prominent family decided to give their father a book of the family’s history for a birthday present. They commissioned a professional biographer to do the work, carefully warning him of the family’s “black sheep” problem: Uncle George, who had been executed in the electric chair for murder. “I can handle that situation,” he said, “so that there will be no embarrassment. I’ll merely say that Uncle George was occupied by a chair of applied electronics at an important government institution. He was attached to his position by the strongest of ties and his death came as a real shock.”
B. Too often we hear of things without really understanding the hidden truth therein.
C. In our TV-addicted society, our children are learning at a very tender age that twisting reality with words is to be expected and accepted in the game of everyday life. It seems today that the norm is to twist the truth until it satisfies the hearer…this is evident today -even in a former White House administration.
D. Then, when we bring these children to church, is there any reason why they should not believe that we, too, are willing to participate in this everyday game of “say-one-thing-mean-another?” They see some of their parents do it. They see their teachers do it. They see celebrities on TV do it. They see sports heroes do it. Why not the Body of Christ?
E. Because it’s important to understand here, that, whatever God speaks in His Word…He means it!
F. This holds true to Jesus’ words in our text today. Jesus wasn’t trying to skirt around some issue of leadership verses servant hood. He wasn’t trying to “parableize” this message of being a servant! He spoke what He meant!
G. I’m not sure how we have taken this message and perverted it to come out to our best interests, but we must be careful when we do that with God’s Word.
H. His words were quite plain and simple, simple enough for a young child to understand: “If you want to become the greatest in the Kingdom of God, you must first become a servant.” The greatest in God’s Kingdom are always those with a servant’s heart.
I. In just four verses prior to our text, Jesus was speaking of the parable of the workers in the vineyard. He finishes His story with what is to be one of His most quoted sentences: “…the last will be first and the first will be last.” (Matthew 20:16, NIV)
J. Then, in our text, verse 27, again He says that if you want to be first in God’s Kingdom, you must become a slave.
K. Here there is no twisting of words, no twisting of reality to the question, ‘who should be regarded as the greatest.’ The person who serves is the greater.
L. Let’s not forget, Jesus repeatedly described God’s judgments in terms of how we feed and clothe and otherwise minister to the least of our brothers and sisters. It is not our position that counts; it is what we do with it that matters. It is not the mere ability to exercise authority that matters, what really matters is how we exercise that authority!
M. To live in Christ…to live for Christ is to live for others! Jesus tells us in our text today that He gives us this great example… to live, and if necessary, to die for others is what God’s kingdom is about!
III. Jesus – Our Greatest Example of Servant Hood
A. Luke 22:27 “Normally, the master sits at the table and is served by his servants. But not here! For I am your servant.” (NLT )
B. Philippians 2:7 “He made Himself nothing; (He laid aside His power and glory) he took the humble position of a slave and appeared in human form (Greek: was born in the likeness of men and was found in appearance as a man).” (NLT)
C. Read John 13:1-17
1. The Message of the Towel
2. This text tells us that Jesus arose during dinner, took off His outer garments (which represents His position), and took a towel and girded Himself with it.
3. This is what Peter reminisced about when He later wrote, in I Peter 5:5, “gird (or clothe) yourselves with humility toward one another, because God apposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble (quoting Proverbs 3:34).” (NIV) Verse 6 goes on to say, “Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time.”
D. Again, the Gospel message is this: in order to be the greatest in the kingdom, you must learn, and practice, true godly servant hood!
E. Again, Jesus is saying to you and I, “let him who wants to be the greatest of all, to become the servant of all.”
F. Jesus said, “I come, not to be served, but to serve.” (Matthew 20:28)
G. People will always follow a leader who is more concerned about serving than about position!
IV. Throwing in the Towel
A. Many of God’s people would rather “throw in the towel” as apposed to gird themselves with it!
B. In other words, they would rather not bother with humility and servant hood as apposed to clothing themselves with it!
C. In both John and Luke’s writings of the feet washing, we read that Jesus states that He has given us a sample to do and do likewise.
D. Does this mean that we have to practice the ordinance of feet washing? While that’s an important church ordinance that you may want to practice, Jesus did not go to the trouble of washing His disciple’s feet just to set in order another church ordinance!!! Rather, what He was doing was giving you and I an “example” of servant hood! He was showing you and I that, if He, being the Son of Man, would come and humble Himself and serve you and I, we, too, must have that humility for one another!!! In fact, feet washing wasn’t mentioned anywhere else in Scripture as a church ordinance. Fact is, it wasn’t mentioned as a church ordinance until the fourth century.
E. Don’t throw in the towel because of pride and arrogance! Don’t give up on humility just because of how it may make you look! It would do us some good to take another look at what Jesus looked like while on the cross for you and I.
1. He didn’t come to earth to be birthed in a palace! Yet, His birth was a glorious birth!
2. He didn’t die a dignified death! But it was a glorious death!
3. He wasn’t laid in an expensive, lace-laden casket, or put in an expensive tomb. For He didn’t need for those closest to Him to go to such expense, since He wasn’t going to need a casket or a tomb in three days!
4. Let’s not forget He was beaten, wounded, and hung naked upon a cross, on top a hill for all to see.
5. Isn’t it interesting that the word “humiliated” comes from the word “humility?”
6. All those who are spiritually washed by Christ, have a part in Him and must learn also to serve, as He served!
