Who Is This Jesus?
12. He is the Servant King
John 12:12-16, 23-26
BIG IDEA:
Because Jesus is the Servant King, all those who follow Him should act as servants, too.
INTRO:
Picture it – you’re planning the inaugural parade for President Bush. All the secret service force is in place. The bands are tuned up and ready. The politicians are set up in their limos. Then comes the time to see President Bush coming down the avenue – and what is his mode of transportation? How about a 1975 Ford Pinto? Doesn’t that just conjure up images of strength, dignity, and power?
Seeing a powerful ruler riding in a Pinto would make quite a statement – just as it made a powerful statement 2000 years ago – only it wasn’t a Pinto – it was a donkey! It was just one more way that Jesus demonstrated that His Kingdom was quite a bit different than the kingdoms of this world – and that, as a King, he was quite different than the kings of this world. As we return this morning to our series on the Gospel of John, we’re going to look at three passages of scripture that teach us that Jesus is the Servant King. But more than that, we’re going to ask ourselves how we should live our lives if our ruler showed himself to be a humble servant. Let’s turn to John 12:12 and get started.
CONTEXT:
John 11 Jesus raises his friend Lazarus from the dead. John 12:1-11 Lazarus’ sisters Mary and Martha hold a dinner to honor Jesus at which Lazarus is also present. Many people have heard about the miracle and are turning to Jesus because of it – so many in fact that the Jewish authorities began scheming how to do away with Jesus AND Lazarus!
1. We know Jesus is the Servant King because of how he entered Jerusalem. (John 12:12-16)
John 12:12-16
12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!” 14Jesus found a young donkey and sat upon it, as it is written, 15“Do not be afraid, O Daughter of Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
Jesus arrives in Jerusalem, and the crowd is going wild. Finally here is their Messiah. Finally the shackles of Rome will be lifted and they can be their own independent nation again.
But Jesus doesn’t enter the city like a conquering warrior. To do that He’d be on top of a beautiful steed, or perhaps pulled in a chariot behind 4 beautiful stallions.
No – when he enters the city, receiving the praise of the people, he comes as a humble peasant. He’s riding a donkey, just like was prophesied about him over 400 years earlier. He comes as a messenger of peace. He identifies himself with the humblest among the people. Just like he always did.
So who is Jesus? He is the Servant King. From the time of his lowly birth to the time of his degrading execution, Jesus identified himself as a humble servant. And the Kingdom he came to establish was one where servants would have the highest honor:
Mark 10:42-45 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
The Servant King did not come to be served – to serve others. That much is clear. But the fact that he is the Servant King has implications upon our lives if we are to call ourselves part of His Kingdom.
2. As the Servant King, he calls us to serve Him. (John 12:20-26)
Let’s read on later on in this same chapter.
John 12:20-26
20Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the Feast. 21They came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, with a request. “Sir,” they said, “we would like to see Jesus.” 22Philip went to tell Andrew; Andrew and Philip in turn told Jesus.
23Jesus replied, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
A little background:
Throughout the Gospel of John, Jesus has repeatedly said “My time has not yet come” (chapters 2, 7, and 8). The disciples are waiting for the moment when Jesus will let out the secret of who he is, and then they, his faithful assistants, will march into fame and power right alongside their Master.
So here in John 12 he finally says the words they have been waiting to hear, “The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.” Just imagine how happy they are to hear it! Here is it – the moment they’ve been waiting for! But then what does Jesus say?
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me.
Can’t you hear the disciples as they whisper to each other, “Say what? – what’s he talking about here? I thought he was going to talk about glory and here he is talking about dying and service. I’m with Him in the glory stuff, but I’m not so sure about this service and dying to myself business!”
What is Jesus talking about here? Like so many other places, Jesus used a simple metaphor that everyone could understand.
A seed – leave it on a shelf and it has no purpose, except maybe someone might eat it someday. It wasn’t made to just sit there, it was made to actually “die” – to be placed in the soil, with water and fertilizer added. THEN and only THEN can the seed fulfill it’s true mission. It can grow up into the next stage of it’s existence. The stage of growth, the stage of multiplication.
He says your life, my life, is just like that. We think it’s all about us. We think we should just be happy protecting what we’ve got, whether that’s time, money, resources, abilities. But Jesus says when you hold onto it and keep it to yourself you will never fulfill the potential that God has placed in you.
He’s made you to grow up. He’s put into your being the potential for greatness. But it doesn’t come from holding onto what’s yours. It comes from laying down your life – your hopes, your dreams, your desires – and serving God with all you’ve got.
He says that only if you’re willing to give up your life will you ever really find it. You want glory and all that goes with it? It is yours. Only the path to glory goes through the way of service and death to self.
Such a message was – and is – hard to understand. But Jesus didn’t leave his disciples wondering what he meant. A couple of nights later he was to show them exactly what type of life he was calling them to.
3. As the Servant King, Jesus calls us to serve one another. (John 13:1-17)
John 13:1-17
1It was just before the Passover Feast. Jesus knew that the time had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he now showed them the full extent of his love.
2The evening meal was being served, and the devil had already prompted Judas Iscariot, son of Simon, to betray Jesus. 3Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. 5After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8“No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9“Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10Jesus answered, “A person who has had a bath needs only to wash his feet; his whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13“You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
So here is Jesus, God in the flesh, taking the form of the lowliest servant and doing the most despised task – washing the feet of his disciples.
Why did he do it? Clearly – he wanted to give his disciples a vivid picture they could always remember about what he wanted them to do for each other. Hear his words again:
“Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.”
In effect he says, “I am the Servant King. I came to lay down my life for you and to pour out my resources for you. If you’re to be a part of my Kingdom, I call you to do the same. Pour out your resources into the lives of each other through taking the role of a servant for each other. And by the way – if you’ll do this you’ll be blessed!”
What does this life of service look like and feel like?
ILLUS: Think of it this way – when we give our lives to Christ, sometimes we think it’s like laying this thousand dollar bill down on the table and saying – “here you go, Lord – you’ve got all of me.”
But the reality is not really like that. It’s more like we take that thousand dollar bill and break it down into quarters, dimes, and nickels. And each day he asks us to lay a couple of coins on the table, and say, “here I am Lord, for the sake of your kingdom”
And instead of going out in a blaze of glory, these quarters take the shape of things like sweeping the floor for your mate, cleaning up the cat’s throwup, driving a sick friend to the doctor, bringing a meal to a family in need, giving up an hour of time to help set up our worship center, giving an hour to teach the kids at our church that God loves them, helping a struggling student learn to read.
So as I come now to the end of this message I’ve got just a couple of questions I want you to ask yourself.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS:
1. What are your attitude and actions toward those closest to you? (spouse, children, co-workers) What would “washing their feet” look like?
Would those you spend the most time with consider you to be a follower of the Servant King? Are you willing to do the hard work of serving them?
Oswald Chambers wrote:
Our Lord did not say to His disciples: "I have had a most successful time on earth. I have addressed thousands of people and been the means of their salvation; now you go and do the same kind of thing."
He said: "If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another’s feet." We try to get out of it by washing the feet of those who are not of our own set. We will wash the heathen’s feet, the feet in the slums; but fancy washing my brother’s feet! My wife’s! My husband’s! The feet of the minister of my church! Our Lord said "one another’s feet."
Citation: Oswald Chambers in The Love of God.
2. What are your attitude and actions toward the needs of the church for servants? Are you plugged in somewhere? What would “washing the feet” of those in this church body look like?
Let me give you a few examples.
Did you receive a greeting and a program this morning?
Did you enjoy the chair you are sitting on?
Did you enjoy having a sound system so you could hear things better?
Did you enjoy having someone else teach your children this morning?
You were the beneficiary of someone else who “washed your feet” this morning. How are you involved in washing the feet of others as Jesus commanded?
We have great needs right now in the areas of children’s ministry and in tear down. We need people who will say, I am a disciple of the Servant King, and I will follow his example. I’ll lay my couple of quarters down and humble myself to become a servant for others – as a part of CTK church, as a member of my family, but most importantly, because I follow the Servant King.
Never forget the principle of the seed – it never discovered it’s ultimate purpose and potential until it “died”. So God is asking you if you want to discover your greatest purpose and potential by following the Servant King in the ways of serving.
The choice, as always, is up to you.
