Real Firstness
Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matt. 20:25-28, NKJV.
Correct ideas of Messiahship go hand in hand with right ideas on what it means to be a follower of the Messiah. And the disciples were having trouble with both.
Sin breeds sin. The wrongheaded ambition of James and John had stimulated intense jealousy in the rest of the disciples. The little band had reached a crisis point right at the edge, so to speak, of Jerusalem with its cross. They were torn apart by tensions that might permanently separate them and frustrate Jesus' purpose in calling them in the first place.
We don't know if Jesus felt tempted to give up on them, call them blockheads, and walk away. But certainly He must have sighed as He once again began to instruct the twelve on the basic principles of His kingdom.
This time His focus is on true greatness and what it really means to be first. His upside-down principles are just the opposite of those of the larger world. Unlike the world, where the greatest are rulers, in the kingdom of heaven the "great" (referring back to the Zebedees' request in Matthew 20:20 21) are servants, and the "first" (referring back to the vineyard parable of verses 1-16) will be slaves. Jesus concludes by telling them that He Himself has not come to be served but to serve and to give His life.
He could not have outlined the concept of servant leadership more clearly. How unfortunate that down through history church leaders and Christians in general have not been any more drawn to that concept than were the disciples. The reason is simple: the servant leadership model goes against human nature. Its successful implementation demands both conversion and transformation.
Jesus has spent a lot of time on the twin themes of His cross and ours. Yet it is just as difficult to internalize the principle today as it was 20 centuries ago.
Lord, take my ears and help me to hear. Take my life and live out Your principles in it today and tomorrow and every day. Amen.
Jesus called them to Himself and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave--just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." Matt. 20:25-28, NKJV.
Correct ideas of Messiahship go hand in hand with right ideas on what it means to be a follower of the Messiah. And the disciples were having trouble with both.
Sin breeds sin. The wrongheaded ambition of James and John had stimulated intense jealousy in the rest of the disciples. The little band had reached a crisis point right at the edge, so to speak, of Jerusalem with its cross. They were torn apart by tensions that might permanently separate them and frustrate Jesus' purpose in calling them in the first place.
We don't know if Jesus felt tempted to give up on them, call them blockheads, and walk away. But certainly He must have sighed as He once again began to instruct the twelve on the basic principles of His kingdom.
This time His focus is on true greatness and what it really means to be first. His upside-down principles are just the opposite of those of the larger world. Unlike the world, where the greatest are rulers, in the kingdom of heaven the "great" (referring back to the Zebedees' request in Matthew 20:20 21) are servants, and the "first" (referring back to the vineyard parable of verses 1-16) will be slaves. Jesus concludes by telling them that He Himself has not come to be served but to serve and to give His life.
He could not have outlined the concept of servant leadership more clearly. How unfortunate that down through history church leaders and Christians in general have not been any more drawn to that concept than were the disciples. The reason is simple: the servant leadership model goes against human nature. Its successful implementation demands both conversion and transformation.
Jesus has spent a lot of time on the twin themes of His cross and ours. Yet it is just as difficult to internalize the principle today as it was 20 centuries ago.
Lord, take my ears and help me to hear. Take my life and live out Your principles in it today and tomorrow and every day. Amen.
RSS Feed
