Servanthood

THE TRUE MEASURE OF GREATNESS

We all aspire to greatness in one form or another. You may want to be a great mom, a great dad, a great friend (to be called someone’s “best” friend), or a great athlete, or a great employee/employer. What is it we value in “greatness”? If we could just be great at something we might be respected, admired, or thought well of in certain circles.

            I want to give you two pictures of greatness: one small and one (dare I say it?) great. First the small one…

Think of the greatest preacher in your opinion in the world today. Every time this person speaks you are spiritually fed and brought into the presence of God. That was Charles Simeon 180 years ago.

            Simeon was considered the greatest preacher of his time in the UK. How great was he? Six years after his death they collected his sermons in 21 hardbound volumes and they are still in print today. He pastored the Holy Trinity Church in Cambridge for close to 55 years. He preached to thousands of people. Simeon is credited with bringing evangelical Christianity back into the Church of England. He was a tremendous preacher, a tremendous leader, a tremendous scholar…the greatest of the great in his day.

            At the height of his career he became quite ill. He couldn’t preach for eight months. During those eight months, his associate by the name of Thomason, was given the job of preaching. Nobody had ever heard him preach so they didn’t expect much. But the congregation was shocked to discover he could preach. He could preach just as good as Simeon; some said even better.

            How do you think the great Charles Simeon felt when he heard that? Angry, bitter, jealous? “Here’s your transfer papers”? No, Simeon rejoiced. He told a friend, “Now I know why God has laid me aside, and I bless him for it.”

            Today I want to share with you this truth about greatness: Your path to greatness in the kingdom of God is discovered only in the humble servanthood of Christ Jesus our Lord. Now for the big picture of greatness (Mk 10:35-45)

1. Our Desire for Greatness

James and John approach Jesus with high ambitions. They TELL Jesus that they each want to sit on his left or right when Jesus enters his glory (est. his kingdom).

            I remember when I was a pastor chairing a meeting and a friend told me to beware of the board member who sits to my right. That one wants to influence my leadership (wants to replace you). The one on the left feigns support (the “yes” man), but also wants to influence you. So I usually had my wife sit at my right.

            To sit at Jesus’ right or left in the kingdom was to sit in a very special seat. For James and John it may have involved the subsequent desire for three things:

Preeminence – the honor from being elevated to a throne.

Proximity – they wanted to be close to Jesus in the kingdom.

Power – they craved great authority.

            What made them ask this of Jesus? Two things might have contributed to their ambitious desire for greatness. One, they presumed upon their family relationship with Jesus. James and John were actually first cousins of Jesus. And like most politicians then and now, a little nepotism is expected. Two, Jesus did promise that the Twelve would sit on thrones in the coming kingdom (Matt. 19:28). They were simply asking for a seating assignment ahead of time.

            Perhaps this is why Jesus does not rebuke them. He did tell them they would rule with him. But James and John’s preoccupation with position and power was untimely, for that which the disciples were seeking would not come in this life, but in the next. It was really bad timing. Jesus had just finished telling them that he was going to Jerusalem to be handed over, condemned and put to death (10:33-34). Were they not listening?

2. The Cost of Choosing Greatness

Rarely do we consider the cost of the greatness we fantasize about. I’m not talking about the actual studying to be a doctor, the training to be a professional athlete, or the financial cost of pursuing your dream. I’m talking about after you have attained the title, the level or the position. What we fail to take into account is that being a great ____ involves suffering.

            Jesus tells James and John, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” (38).

            What does Jesus mean by the cup and the baptism? Sharing a cup with Jesus? Why not? It would be a privilege in any court to drink from the king’s cup. Baptism? A little water doesn’t hurt anything. But the cup to which Jesus refers is very likely the cup of suffering God gives to rebellious Jerusalem in Isaiah 51. Or it may simply be the cup of suffering that Jesus symbolically drinks in dying for sins. Baptism then is a synonym for the cup. Together, the cup and the baptism represent Christ’s experience. What he asks James and John then is this, “I am about to be immersed in an experience you cannot imagine. Are you willing to go through this experience too?”

            This calling is the same for anyone who would follow after Jesus. He told the crowds, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me” (Luke 9:23).

            Today, Christians want the miracles, the experiences with God, the answered prayers and so on, but they do not want the suffering that comes from following Jesus. In the gospel of Mark, the disciples are told three times that Jesus would suffer and die – and each time they tried to change his mind, failed to understand, or, in our text, argued over who would sit next to him. Blindness! But that is our problem too. When I read the dumb-headedness of the disciples in Mark, I discovered that they are us.

Interlude: Who is the Greatest?

At this moment, Mark recorded that the other ten heard what James and John wanted and were upset with them. If you look at Luke 22 you will find that the reason they were upset was that James and John had beat them to the punch. You see, Luke recorded that the Twelve had been in a heated discussion as to who of them was the greatest disciple.

            What a futile argument. Determining who is the “greatest” is a subjective enterprise. In 2004, a TV series explored who the greatest Canadians were in the last 150 years. Would you have picked Don Cherry as #7 overall?

            And choosing the greatest hockey player of all time? I would say Wayne Gretzky because of his points and records. But you might say Bobby Orr or Gordy Howe. It’s really quite subjective. Not everyone will agree.

            So who was the greatest disciple? Based on miracles performed? Based on proclaiming the gospel? Based on what? How can you compare yourself with another follower of Christ? How can you say that you don’t have the faith to do what they do? Only God can discern the depth of one’s faith.

3. Two Diverging Roads to Greatness

Jesus calls the disciples to himself and explains two views of greatness: how the world sees greatness, and how Jesus sees greatness.

a) The World – How does the world see greatness? Pretty much as a tool for selfish gain. Jesus said, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them,” (42). Luke adds, “and those in authority over them are called benefactors,” (22:25b).

            Jesus points to the Gentile world and its rulers to paint a contrast. Those who rule in this world rise to the top by grabbing power and oppressing their opponents. The Gentile kings use their greatness; they let others know they have it; they flaunt it. Gentile kings do not simply lead; they dictate and dominate – they lord it over others.

            They justify their dominance by claiming to be “benefactors.” They think they are doers of good. In fact, however, they do their good deeds and then hold it over the people to justify their self-indulgence. “See,” they say, “I have built you a school.” What they mean is, “You owe me,” or “cut me some slack.”

b) The Way of the Cross – Jesus then reveals his path to greatness. Hint: it’s about others. He says emphatically, “BUT IT SHALL NOT BE SO AMONG YOU. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all,” (43-44).

            Jesus does not argue against greatness. He accepts that some men or women are great, even greater than others. The issue is not to downplay greatness, but to consider how greatness is used. Those who are truly great at what they do ought not to act like it, or to demand to be treated as great. They will not force others to serve them; they use their greatness as a platform to serve others.

            In short, Jesus taught his disciples that they should express greatness exactly the opposite way Gentiles do. They should live in an “upside-down” kingdom. What Jesus teaches the person who would follow him was nothing less than imitation of his own example. As the hymn in Philippians declares of Christ, “who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself be becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross,” (2:6-8).

            No one was or is greater than Jesus, the Son of God. Yet he used that greatness to serve, not to be served. He gave his life. That is true greatness wrapped in humility. That is not simply what he did; that is what he asks of us.

            When thinking about the servanthood of Jesus, the challenge to any believer is to follow his example. John Stott put it this way, “The authority by which the Christian leader leads is not power but love, not force but example, not coercion but reasoned persuasion. Leaders have power, but power is safe only in the hands of those who humble themselves to serve.”

You may say, “I’m not a leader. This does not apply to me.” True, you do not stand at a pulpit and speak, you do not manage a company, and you are the quiet one at meetings. But you do lead. Each of us leads in one way or another. Some lead by example; some by influence. You may be having an impact on someone in your family or social circle you know nothing about. By following Christ daily, you are salt and light, not by things you say or even do, but simply by being. You love Jesus and it radiates from your person.

There is a greatness in you that God has given you. Wrap it in humility and serve others with it.

If the world measures greatness by the ability to lead and to be served by others, Jesus taught us that what God really values is the heart of a servant. We have a hard time understanding this paradox. If the disciples argued about who deserved to sit in the best seat, we have done no better in the 21^st century as Christian leaders jockey for power and prominence in the church.

            And some TV preachers would have you think that greatness is believing in yourself and your potential. They say that you need to reach for your best life now. Jesus never said that. He did call on us to take up our cross and follow him. Where did he go? To serve humankind right to the point of death, a selfless sacrifice.

            How can we tell if we have the heart of a servant then? Jesus said, “You can tell what they are by what they do.”

- Real servants make themselves available to serve.

- Real servants pay attention to needs. John Wesley, an incredible servant of God, once said, "Do all the good you can, by all the means you can, in all the places you can, at all times you can, to all the people you can, as long as you ever can." That is greatness. We can begin by looking for small tasks that no one else wants to do.
- Real servants do their best with what they have. You don’t have to be the best at anything before you can serve. It is better to serve with a fearful dependence on God than with so much self-confidence that you leave no room for the Holy Spirit to work.

- Real servants are dedicated to every task, big or small. The size of the task is not important; the only issue is, does it need to be done? Jesus was not so into himself that he avoided menial tasks. He washed feet, talked to children, fixed breakfast, and touched lepers. Nothing was beneath him. It was not in spite of his greatness that he did these things, but because of it.

- Real servants maintain a low profile. Servants do not wait for applause or recognition. We do not serve to impress people with our spirituality. We serve because Christ served us and gave his life as a ransom for our lives.

            Let us then endeavor to be like our Lord Jesus Christ and put on the apron of servanthood.

                                                                        AMEN