WHO SERVED WHOM FIRST?
Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves him? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27, T.E.V.
Jesus had a choice: He could come to this earth as a commanding ruler, or He could come as a humble servant. Were the choice up to us, we probably would have argued for the ruler role, simply for reasons of efficiency. He could have drawn more attention, organized His followers more readily, and been documented in history more fully.
We know that He chose the role of the servant, but do we know why? It is often interpreted that He did it to set us an example of humility. That may not set well with us, however, if we see no deeper reason.
Jesus came to this earth to reveal the Father and how the Father deals with us wounded sinners. He knew that no role would tell the truth more accurately than that of being the unwearied servant of man's necessities.
Though the Father is indeed the possessor of all power and authority and can command the galaxies in their orbit, these are not the qualities He uses in dealing with sinners. Were He to lord His rank over us, this would intimidate us but not heal us. He could command our submission but not win our bruised hearts.
The manner in which Jesus came reveals the kind of solution He plans for this controversy. He desires no military conquest of the weak by the mighty. The winner in this contest will not be the one with superior firepower, but the One with the most accurate, winsome truth.
We speak so often of serving God that we think service is only toward Him. The incredible truth is that servanthood began in the heart of God. He served us first. The night Jesus knelt in front of His disciples with a towel around His waist, washing their dirty feet, He was giving them one of His clearest portrayals of His Father. In effect He was saying, "If you have seen Me as one who will even wash dirty feet, you must know that this is what your Father is like, too."
Who is greater, the one who sits down to eat or the one who serves him? The one who sits down, of course. But I am among you as one who serves. Luke 22:27, T.E.V.
Jesus had a choice: He could come to this earth as a commanding ruler, or He could come as a humble servant. Were the choice up to us, we probably would have argued for the ruler role, simply for reasons of efficiency. He could have drawn more attention, organized His followers more readily, and been documented in history more fully.
We know that He chose the role of the servant, but do we know why? It is often interpreted that He did it to set us an example of humility. That may not set well with us, however, if we see no deeper reason.
Jesus came to this earth to reveal the Father and how the Father deals with us wounded sinners. He knew that no role would tell the truth more accurately than that of being the unwearied servant of man's necessities.
Though the Father is indeed the possessor of all power and authority and can command the galaxies in their orbit, these are not the qualities He uses in dealing with sinners. Were He to lord His rank over us, this would intimidate us but not heal us. He could command our submission but not win our bruised hearts.
The manner in which Jesus came reveals the kind of solution He plans for this controversy. He desires no military conquest of the weak by the mighty. The winner in this contest will not be the one with superior firepower, but the One with the most accurate, winsome truth.
We speak so often of serving God that we think service is only toward Him. The incredible truth is that servanthood began in the heart of God. He served us first. The night Jesus knelt in front of His disciples with a towel around His waist, washing their dirty feet, He was giving them one of His clearest portrayals of His Father. In effect He was saying, "If you have seen Me as one who will even wash dirty feet, you must know that this is what your Father is like, too."
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