DEFINING TRUE GREATNESS LUKE 22:24-38

Transcription

1 DEFINING TRUE GREATNESS LUKE 22:24-38 Main idea Jesus Measures Greatness By Love, Sacrifice, Service, And Humility. 1. THE COST OF GREATNESS (VS 24-27) Jesus measures success not by how many serve us; but by how many we serve. A. THE DESIRE FOR POWER (24) B. THE WORLD S USE OF POWER (25) C. THE PROPER USE OF POWER (26-27) 2. THE WAY TO GREATNESS (VS 28-34) Being recipients of grace will compel us to extend grace. A. THE PROMISE OF REWARD (28-30) B. THE PROMISE OF TRIALS (31-32) C. THE PROMISE OF FAILURES (33-34) 3. THE SOURCE OF GREATNESS (VS 35-38) The only way to success is to depend on the faithfulness of God. A. TRUSTWORTHINESS FROM THE PAST (35) B. TRUSTWORTHINESS FOR THE FUTURE (36) C. TRUSTWORTHINESS IN THE PRESENT (37-38)

2 Defining True Greatness Luke 22:24-38 Last time we were together, we studied through the verses in which Jesus instituted the sacrament of Communion. Further, we said that Jesus did this in the context of celebrating Passover with His disciples. The Twelve were with Jesus as they celebrated the Seder together. During the Seder meal, Jesus put a towel around His waist and washed the feet of His disciples. That event was recorded in the Gospel of John. Jesus went on to explain and predict His death as they ate the Seder meal. In breaking the bread, Jesus let them know that He would suffer for them. In drinking the wine, Jesus let them know He would die for them. Jesus Himself takes the bitterness out of the pain in our lives through His suffering and Jesus redeems us by the blood He shed for us on Calvary. After these passionate and emotional presentations and expressions of His love; the Disciples responded not with humility, not with love, and certainly not with understanding. Their response was to start arguing about which one of them was the greatest. It seems that in the workplace and too often in churches, people overestimate their own abilities and importance; thinking they should be the boss. Even those who find themselves in leadership positions realize they also have a higher authority to answer to. Let me give you an example. The boss of a small company was complaining during a staff meeting that people didn t respect him enough. Trying to change the attitude in the office he came in the next day with a big fancy sign and put it on his door. The sign simply said, I am the boss. The next day, he was a little dismayed when he found a post-it-note on his brand new sign that read, Your wife wants her sign back. Part of the maturing process for Christians is that we leave worldly ideas behind and embrace Jesus view of life and values. The main idea of this morning s text is this. JESUS MEASURES GREATNESS BY LOVE, SACRIFICE, SERVICE, AND HUMILITY. Jesus not only taught this concept with words; He taught by His actions. I think it s worth repeating how He summarized the meaning of His washing the Disciples feet: 12 After washing their feet, he put on his robe again and sat down and asked, Do you understand what I was doing? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, because that s what I am. 14 And since I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash each other s feet. 15 I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done to you. 16 I tell you the truth, slaves are not greater than their master. Nor is the messenger more important than the one who sends the message. 17Now that you know these things, God will bless you for doing them (John 13:12-20 / NLT). Jesus took them beyond loving their neighbors as themselves. Jesus told them that they would have to love one another as He loved them. If they considered Jesus to be great; and if they desired to be great, then they would have to emulate Jesus greatness. If we desire greatness; we too must look to Jesus for His definition. The first thing we need to look at is the cost of greatness defined in verses JESUS MEASURES SUCCESS NOT BY HOW MANY SERVE US; BUT BY HOW MANY WE SERVE. Page 2

3 It s a hard concept for us to really understand because we really don t have anything to draw from in our experience. Successful businesspersons have a huge staff and control many employees. The more power, money, and status we amass, the more services we buy and the more people we have influence over. The disciples experiences were not unlike ours. There is no subtlety as they demonstrate their desire for power in verse 24. Right after Jesus poured out His heart to them and revealed He was about to die, they started to argue about which of them was considered to be the greatest. The word dispute in verse 24 is composed of a compound word in Greek meaning the love of contention or strife. They were jockeying for position. If Jesus were going to die, then who would be the new leader and what pecking order would they all fall into. This was not the first time this argument broke out. Variations of this argument are recorded in Matthew 20:20-28, Mark 9:33-37, 10:35-45, and earlier in Luke 9: In previous times, this argument broke out in public on the road. And in one instance; Mrs. Zebedee, James and John s mother, actually got involved by starting the argument. The Disciples believed Jesus was the Messianic King and they wanted to be His second in command. They wanted Cabinet positions. They wanted the power, wealth, and prestige that came with being part of the ruling class. Jesus had to rebuke them in public and He will rebuke them here. We can easily point out Judas as one who betrayed Jesus but aren t the rest of the disciples betraying everything that Jesus stood for here? Weren t they an embarrassment to Jesus when they argued in public about who was the greatest? The word for greatest here is a word we are familiar with. The Greek word used to translate greatest is mega. They wanted to be the mega rulers. They were acting like megalomaniacs. I m sure at this point, when Jesus needed their friendship and support the most, they didn t even think about Jesus. Believe me, I know this as well as anyone; it is hard to view the world as Jesus does when we find ourselves totally immersed in the world. We can t help it. We have to live in the world. There is nowhere else to live. We don t live alone or in isolation. We live and work in society. It takes a real concentrated effort to not adopt the world s ideas of what it means to be successful. In verse 25, Jesus laid out nicely the world s use of power. Actually, for the most part, the world misuses power. Satan has perverted our whole experience. Jesus used the obvious examples of kings because they were supposed to have the best interest of the people at heart. In fact, Jesus said they called themselves benefactors. Our political leaders like to refer to themselves as public servants. Political leaders all over the world are the same. Even brutal dictators believe what they are doing is the best for their people. Social leaders, academic leaders, community leaders, etc. all believe they know what s best for their people. In the end, what the people really need or want is no longer important. These leaders are only interested in putting forth their own agendas. If we were to confront one of these leaders and say they were actually all about themselves and not about serving their people; they would be offended. Nevertheless, the world structures and systems have been so infected with Satan and his demons, that it has become almost impossible to do the right thing. I m sad to say, these Page 3

4 attitudes of worldly power have infiltrated the church structures as well. I have a friend who is fond of saying, Satan gave the church Robert s Rules of Order, and his work was done. I have to admit that I have no idea of how servant leadership and church leadership positions fit together. At this point in this morning s text, I may be just a little bit ahead of the disciples because I already can see the defectiveness of worldly leadership and even how this philosophy of leadership has infiltrated church structures. But that s about the level of my understanding. I had a philosophy professor that used to say, Ladies and Gentlemen, be advised that it is easier to smell out a rotten egg than it is to lay a good one. Even as I read through verses 26-27, I can see Jesus logic, but I m not quite sure I understand what the proper use of power looks like. If we make it clear by simplifying it, I guess we could say that worldly power was all about amassing power, wealth, and status for self-serving purposes. That would be easy but I think Satan and our own sinful natures operate a lot more subtly. We can easily justify being controlling by convincing ourselves we are doing this for the benefit of those we serve. We are not immune from fooling ourselves. Jesus said that we should be opposite and I think I understand the philosophy and theology that underlies these commands. I think the principle Jesus is getting at in verse 26 by saying the greatest should be like the youngest and the one who serves like the one who is being served as the ruler; is a spirit of egalitarianism. In other words, in reality, because we have all been saved and redeemed in the exact same way (by the blood of Christ) there is no one greater or lesser. In the Body of Christ, no one person is more important than another. In this sort of egalitarian relationship leaders are no more important that those they lead. This is a very difficult concept for us to grasp. We can say this for sure. Leaders must not lead for personal gain; not for prestige, status, notoriety, power, or wealth. As difficult as it is to ferret out all that out of our motives and attitudes; grasping the concept of leading like a servant is even more difficult. The idea is service. Jesus laid down His life, Jesus washed the disciples feet, and Jesus met physical, emotional, and spiritual needs of the people He came in contact with. The other side of the coin is this. The Disciples and the people Jesus made whole had no confusion in their minds that Jesus was their Lord. Except for Judas, none of the Disciples were trying to undermine Jesus leadership Jesus hammered the point home by using Himself as the example in verse 27. Jesus argument was this. He was the greatest in the room. No one in that upper room would have debated that. They would all address Jesus as Lord, Master, and Teacher. There was no doubt that each one of them would willingly serve Jesus. Jesus was the greatest among them. And yet as we have already observed, Jesus washed their feet as a servant. Jesus was about to suffer so that their lives could be filled with love, joy, peace, and contentment. Jesus was about to lay down His life to redeem them and set them free from sin. Today s politicians and military leaders send others to fight their battles, to risk their lives, and to die for their country. By contrast, Jesus took this mission on Himself. Jesus is our model. I have to say that even though I get the general idea that worldly leadership is motivated and powered by self-interest and Godly leadership is self-sacrificing and motivated solely by love for God and love for others; as I try to live all this out in my own life, I find it very Page 4

5 difficult. How does a leader with these Godly qualities deal with rebellion by evil people? How does a leader deal with people harming other people? How does a leader be with people, share about him or herself, without people using information against them? How can a leader lead if people are not really interested in following unless it is the place they want to go? I have been in ministry for over 30 years and I have to tell you, I have no idea how to pull this off in the life of the church. I can relatively live this out in the context of everyday life and I think I can also live this out in the context of the spiritual church. However, I have no idea how to pull this off in the context of the institutional church. The starting place is accepting how Jesus defines life and the definitions He assigns to things in life. JESUS MEASURES SUCCESS NOT BY HOW MANY SERVE US; BUT BY HOW MANY WE SERVE. Again, I think I understand the general principles behind this concept but Jesus knew it would be a struggle for the Disciples and He sensed they were struggling to understand what it meant for them now. After all, they left everything behind; family, friends, businesses, and the comforts of lifestyles they understood; all in order to follow Jesus for the past three years. If Jesus really is going to die, have they lost everything? They are about to learn much about grace in the next few days. In verses 28-30, Jesus maps out the way to greatness. BEING RECIPIENTS OF GRACE WILL COMPEL US TO EXTEND GRACE. If you happen upon people who are judgmental, critical, and want to lord it over others, you can know immediately they are not leaders. One of the things that made Jesus recognizably great was the grace He extended to all. Jesus offers us salvation by grace through faith. Jesus prayed for those who betrayed and crucified Him; asking God to forgive them and extend them grace. If we are Christians, it is only because God granted us this salvation by grace through Jesus. Mature Christians extend grace to those they come in contact with. The more we understand how much grace Jesus poured into us and continues to pour into us; the more grace we extend to others. It s almost as if we are a container. God keeps filling us up with grace. We become so filled with the knowledge of this grace; it fills us up and starts to overflow us. We can t help but spill out grace on those around us. In verses Jesus reassured the Disciples of the promise of reward. Even though the reward is future, Jesus has just affirmed the Disciples for their love, dedication, and faithfulness. Jesus already told them they would suffer a great deal for the cause of evangelizing the lost. However, there is a reward that awaits them when the final Kingdom of God manifests itself for all eternity. Here are some of the things we have to remind ourselves of. At the Passover meal, Jesus said that He would not celebrate Passover again until He celebrated it in heaven with the Disciples. Jesus handpicked them to lead His Kingdom on earth until He one day returns again to claim it. The Disciples will be God s chosen leadership on earth. Here Jesus promised the Disciples that just as God the Father entrusted His work on earth to Jesus, Jesus now entrusted the Disciples to carry on with the work of building God s Kingdom on earth. Whereas Israel was ruled by the priests, prophets, and kings, the new Israel, the church, is going to be ruled by the Disciples. They are the leaders of Israel. The church is the New Israel. Jesus is the Messianic King and the Disciples are His new leaders. Page 5

6 If you think about it, the Kingdom Jesus set up on earth was a Kingdom characterized by God s love and grace. The Disciples were given greatness and leadership for the specific purpose of dispensing God s love and grace to this lost and broken world. They were not there to rule or to lord it over others. They were not there to conquer nations and subdue rulers. Their mission was to hand out the love and grace of God. Jesus made it clear that in order to hand out grace, they must first experience grace. In verses Jesus promised trials. I think we are often much to critical of the Disciples. We call them cowards. We call them thickheaded. We look at them as if they were incredible disappointments. As I have studied through the Gospel of Luke this time, I have gained a great deal of respect for them. Except for Judas, these were standup guys. They left everything behind to follow Jesus. They didn t live like rock stars. They lived pretty modest lives while traveling with Jesus. Jesus took them into all sorts of dangerous and frightening situations. It was an emotional rollercoaster to live with Jesus the past three years. I m quite confident I could not have lasted the three years. Here they are with Jesus; through thick and thin, they stuck with Him. After this emotional evening; Jesus rebuke and His promise they would occupy positions of greatness; Jesus went on to promise them failure. Jesus now turned to Peter only He didn t address him as Peter. Peter s original given name was Simon. Jesus renamed him Peter when Peter confessed Jesus as Lord. Peter means rock. Jesus went on to say that he would fail in a temporal sense but Jesus would protect him from failing in a permanent sense. Even though Jesus was talking to Peter, He informed all the disciples that Satan had asked for permission to torment each of them. In other words, Satan was going to torment them. Let me just mention this in passing; as we learned from the book of Job, Satan cannot do anything to us without God s knowledge or permission. The Bible further informs us that God will never allow us to suffer more than we can handle. Finally, we know that God does not allow suffering into our lives unless it has some sort of redemptive purpose. Jesus said that Peter and the rest would suffer some sort of trial. Peter would fail, be restored by Jesus, and then become a comfort to the others. Here is another interesting point. Jesus prayed that Peter would be saved; and he was. Jesus did not pray for Judas; and we know what happened to him. If we are God s children then our enemy is Satan. He cannot touch God so his goal is to torment God s children. The New Testament writers remind us to be ready and alert. From hindsight, we know the Disciples failed miserably; especially Peter. We also know that Jesus forgave and restored Peter. Peter and the rest of the Disciples became instruments of God s love and grace. We will face many trials in life but they are for a purpose. If we know this ahead of time, it will give us added strength to face our trials. In fact, Jesus brother James said this about facing trials: 2 Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. 3 For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. 4 So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing (James 1:2-4 / NLT). Jesus didn t only promise trials, in verses 33-34, He promised failure. Peter had a real love for Jesus. He proved his time and loyalty time and time again. Peter didn t always succeed Page 6

7 and he often said stupid stuff but there was no doubt; Peter loved Jesus. Peter told Jesus it didn t matter what happened from this point on; he was ready to face the future with Jesus. He told Jesus he would endure prison and death in order to stand with Jesus. I believe Peter meant that with all his heart. I m sure the other Disciples felt the same. There are two things I want to point out for us. First, if you are a believer who has experienced the wonderful grace of Jesus, then I m sure you would want to stand firm through all sorts of persecutions and trials. Secondly, we shouldn t be too overconfident of our abilities to succeed. I know we often criticize Peter for acting cowardly; but he did initially stand up for Jesus. I m sure I have mentioned this before but we often get so proficient at life and the things we do in life, that we often forget that Jesus is the One Who guarantees the success. I m not predicting the end but as I look at the world today, it seems more chaotic, violent, loveless, and evil than I have ever seen in my lifetime and times I have read about in history. I think it is not disputed that our world and our country are daily becoming more anti- Jewish and anti-christian. When I read the newspapers, it is hard for me to keep my anxiety in check. I have to admit that I am more than a little afraid as I read where the world is headed. Then I am reminded that Jesus promised this and that these are the exact times I am to take courage and look for His return. I need to practice my faith and never become overconfident in my own abilities to stand. On the other side of that coin, I should not fear. I should be strong and courageous because ultimately Jesus is praying for me and the Holy Spirit will cause me to stand. Jesus prophesied to Peter that Peter would deny Him three times before the early morning. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. We know from the other Gospel accounts that Peter and the other responded to Jesus prediction like this: 31 No! Peter declared emphatically. Even if I have to die with you, I will never deny you! And all the others vowed the same (Mark 14:31 / NLT). I have to confess I don t know how they should have responded. Perhaps they should have asked Jesus to help them formulate a plan in which they would not fail. I know we are all going to find ourselves in situations where we will suffer or be tempted to deny Jesus. I m practicing to stay more in touch with Jesus on a moment by moment basis and I m practicing to depend on the Holy Spirit to lead me and empower me. I guess you could say I m learning to walk in faith. Peter fell down; there is no reason to think I won t fall. In fact I have fallen many times but I continue to get up each time because of the grace God extends me in forgiveness and the strength to try again. In our failures, we need to feel and understand God s grace because BEING RECIPIENTS OF GRACE WILL COMPEL US TO EXTEND GRACE. We know how Jesus forgave Peter and extended him grace but we will discuss that in another sermon towards the end of Luke. Let s review what greatness is in Jesus eyes. The cost of greatness is self-sacrifice. Our sacrifice involves serving God and serving others. In fact the more people we serve this way is the measure God uses in determining greatness. Again this is sacrificial love. The way to greatness is through grace. Mature believers understand how much grace God has given us and that grace cannot help but spill out onto those around us. The way to greatness is the ability to receive and give grace. We have Page 7

8 saved the most important point for last. Jesus revealed the source of greatness in verses THE ONLY WAY TO SUCCESS IS TO DEPEND ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. Again, let me confess this yet one more time. I know I have read and studied through the Gospels many times but this time through Luke I am seeing things I have never seen before. After reading and studying through these 4 verses, I have to say I still don t quite understand them. I am going to give you biblical truths that I think apply to them but I m not sure of the exact meaning. Jesus knew that He was about to be taken away from the Disciples. He would not be there to protect them. They would have to make it on their own without Jesus physically present. In fact they would have to watch the One Who protected them be arrested, humiliated, tortured, and executed. They would be forced to stand idly by and watch the events unfold. It seems to me that Jesus was preparing them to face their future life in a new way. In reality it wouldn t be a new way; but actually the way from the beginning of time. Jesus pointed to God s trustworthiness from the past. Back in chapter 10, Luke recorded an incident where Jesus sent out 72 disciples on an incredibly successful evangelistic mission where the disciples preached the good news about Jesus, healed the sick and cast out demons. They saw many people give their lives to faith in Jesus. Listen to the words Jesus sent them out with: 1 The Lord now chose seventy-two other disciples and sent them ahead in pairs to all the towns and places he planned to visit. 2 These were his instructions to them: The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord who is in charge of the harvest; ask him to send more workers into his fields. 3 Now go, and remember that I am sending you out as lambs among wolves. 4 Don t take any money with you, nor a traveler s bag, nor an extra pair of sandals. And don t stop to greet anyone on the road (Luke 10:1-4 / NLT). They were extremely successful and came back with miraculous reports and stories. And now Jesus asked them, Did you lack anything? They answered, Nothing. I think Jesus point was that He sent them on a particular mission and He promised to provide for them. They found out and learned the same lesson Abraham learned 2000 years before their time; God provides. Through Jesus, the Disciples learned that God was trustworthy in the past. In verse 36 Jesus wanted them to believe that God will be trustworthy in the future. This is the verse I m confused about. Why would Jesus literally tell them to take a sword? In fact, by the way Jesus responds to them in verse 38; it appears it wasn t about swords at all. Here is the best interpretation I can come up with. Jesus previously sent them out on a mission that didn t last too long. But from now on, their ministry will carry on through 2,000 years and their ministry still goes on today. After Jesus died, rose from the dead, and ascended into heaven, the church has carried on God s ministry of love, grace, salvation, freedom, and wholeness. The Disciples would live the rest of their lives building God s Kingdom on earth. They would be carrying on this ministry in a world hostile to God and to them. They needed to prepare themselves for a lifetime job. The Apostle Paul and his team worked mending tents in order to support themselves while ministering. Today, ministers depend on the goodness and generosity of their church Page 8

9 members to provide for them. Christianity is a long term investment; in fact it s a lifetime investment. God provides for us through one another. We should not think living out our faith in Christ will be easy in this hostile world. Through all this God is trustworthy and He will provide. He gives us one another as sources of provision, protection, and promise. Jesus just said God was trustworthy in the past and He will be trustworthy in the future. In verses Jesus reminded them of God s trustworthiness in the present. One more time Jesus makes sure His Disciples understand He is not a victim. Jesus is the Lord and King of the universe. His destiny is in His hands. Jesus predicted He would be crucified with criminals and He would be treated as a criminal. His point is that He will bring to fulfillment all that was planned for Him from the beginning of time and was recorded in the Hebrew Scriptures. Jesus is soon going to fulfill His purpose on earth by becoming the atonement for our sin. Jesus destiny is in Jesus hands. People may be plotting to kill Him. Judas has betrayed Him. Soon the Romans will torture and kill Him; but it is all according to His plan. This is all still confusing the apostles. They inform Jesus they have two swords. Again, by Jesus response, we can guess the Disciples missed His meaning. Jesus is about to provide the means for our healing and salvation. The Holy Spirit will empower and enable Jesus to endure all the suffering He is about to go through. Jesus trusted in the faithfulness of God the Father. If we want to successfully accomplish all God has for us, we need to understand all we have and all we are comes as a gift from God. THE ONLY WAY TO SUCCESS IS TO DEPEND ON THE FAITHFULNESS OF GOD. We often get too full of ourselves thinking we are smart, holy, talented, and self-sufficient. As we experience degrees of success we get puffed up. We get confident; instead we should be broken. Instead of judging our greatness by how many people serve us; we ought to see how many people we have humbled ourselves before. Since we are products of our environment, it is extremely hard to really digest this; but that doesn t change this truth. JESUS MEASURES GREATNESS BY LOVE, SACRIFICE, SERVICE, AND HUMILITY. There are many passages that we should read, reread, memorize, and chew on; over and over again. One of those passages is found in Paul s letter to the Philippian church: 1 Is there any encouragement from belonging to Christ? Any comfort from his love? Any fellowship together in the Spirit? Are your hearts tender and compassionate? 2 Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose. 3 Don t be selfish; don t try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. 4 Don t look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too. 5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. 6 Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. 7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, 8 he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal s death on a cross. 9 Therefore, God elevated him to the place of highest honor and gave him the name above all other names, 10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Philippians 2:1-11 / NLT). Page 9

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