If You Want to Be a Great Follower of Jesus

James and John asked Jesus, {35} "We want you to do for us whatever we ask." Typical human selfish request. As a sinful selfish human being I am only interested in myself. I want things because I believe they will satisfy my desires. That's what James and John were asking for here.

Their request was, {37} "We want to be #2 and #3 in your glory." They probably meant they wanted to be #2 and #3 when Jesus started to fully display His power in an earthly kingdom. They probably didn't mean they wanted to be #2 and #3 after Judgment Day. But either meaning comes to the same thing: it was a selfish request which concerned only their own interests.

Jesus answer was, {42} "You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them." Jesus was saying, "I know where your request is coming from. You are used to observing people act this way and make requests like this. That is the way of the world."

The rest of Jesus' answer was, {43} "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." God's primary command to us is "Love." Love is doing things to benefit others. Jesus is saying the same thing here. The way to be a disciple is to love by benefiting. The only way you benefit somebody else is to serve that person, to take care of that person's needs.

Then Jesus pointed to Himself as the best example of serving. He said, {45} "for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve." Jesus served. He served by teaching us the truth about ourselves & about God. He served us by teaching us that we are sinful and in need of forgiveness and eternal life. He served us by teaching us that the Lord is gracious, loving and gives eternal life. He served some people by performing miracles to take away their physical maladies.

Jesus said, {45} "The Son of Man came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many;." He served us by suffering the physical death and separation from God which we deserve because of our sin, so we don't have to be threatened by that punishment. He served us by living the holy life God demanded from us, so He could cover us with His holiness and make us acceptable to God. He served us by rising from the dead to give us eternal life with the Lord, a life not subject to death or decay.

Do we want to be #2 & #3 in Jesus' kingdom? Jesus says to us the same thing He said to James & John. "If you want to be great, be a slave." We have four basic areas in which we are given the chance to practice our slavery. Home. Congregation. Work. With friends. What makes you feel most like a slave at home? Repetitive tasks. Things you have to do over and over again. Make meals. You just get done. You have to do it again. Keep the car running. You do this. Then you have to do that. Then another thing. You become a slave to it. Why are you willing to be such a slave? Because your family is being served with food and with a method of transportation. Jesus is our example. How repetitive it must have seemed to Him to keep teaching the disciples the same thing over and over again when they didn't seem to catch on. Our actions point to Jesus.

What makes you feel like a slave in our congregation? Taking your turn cleaning the church, washing other people's toilets. Yuk. Why are you willing to be such a slave? Because we want to provide a clean place to which we can bring people to introduce them to Jesus or to keep them in touch with Jesus. Jesus is our example. He was willing to crawl around on the floor and wash His disciples' dirty feet. Yuk. Our actions point to Jesus.

What makes you feel like a slave in your professional life? Doing all the things that aren't really part of your job description but which others seem to love to dump on you. Why do you tolerate that to a certain extent? Because you want to help people to recognize that love means being willing to have yourself taken advantage of if it helps somebody else. Jesus is our example. Our actions point to Jesus.

What makes you feel like a slave in our contacts with your friends? Being used by them without getting anything back. They know you are a computer expert, so they are taking huge amounts of time, getting help from you and picking your brain. They know you are good at fixing things, so whenever something gets broken, they bring it over. It gets a bit much. Why do you keep doing most of those things? Because you want them to know that love has no strings attached. Jesus is our example. He loved us even though we don't deserve it. Our actions point to Jesus.

Jesus tried to point out to James and John that their request involved more than what they probably had thought of. {38} "You don't know what you are asking. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?" Here the symbolism is: the cup is filled with beating, torture, ridicule, sufferings, crucifixion and death. That is the cup Jesus was going to drink. That is the baptism Jesus was going to be baptized with.

Jesus was trying to tell them if they were going to be #2 and #3 in his kingdom, they would have to go through the same things He had to go through. Were they willing to be abused in the same way that Jesus was about to be abused? {39} "We can," they answered.

Jesus told them, "You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with." It happened. James was martyred. John was exiled. So, they would receive the same treatment which Jesus received.

They had wanted to be #2 & #3. Were they still wanting that now that they knew what it meant? Did they still want it even though it meant they would be the recipients of abuse? Did they still want it now that they knew it didn't mean being in a lofty position of leadership and power? If you want to be great, Jesus was telling them, you must be aware that it will mean you will receive abuse.

Do we want to be great? If so, are we willing to be put into a position in which you will receive abuse? Let's go back to the examples which I cited before. How does the meal maker become the subject of abuse? Well, what if there is no meal for the family? Who takes the abuse? The one who always serves the rest of the family by providing the meals. Is that right? No. Somebody else could just as well have made the meal when it became obvious that the person who usually does it wasn't able to do it. But instead the one who serves is made to verbally suffer. Who gets the grief if no car is available for the transportation of the family? The one who serves by seeing to it that the car is running? Is that right? No. Somebody else could just as well have taken care of the upkeep of the car when it became obvious that the person who usually does it wasn't available. But instead the one who serves is made to verbally suffer. Why do we do that? Jesus is our example. He suffered tremendous abuse as He was accomplishing our salvation. Our actions point to Jesus.

How does the church cleaner become the object of abuse? Did you ever notice that everybody is a critic? Somebody is going to find something that you missed. And they might point it out. Is that right? No. The critic could just as easily have brushed down the cobweb instead of pointing it out. The critic could have taken the broom and swept the outside mat instead of complaining about it. Why are we willing to suffer abuse? Jesus is our example. He suffered tremendous abuse as He accomplished our salvation. Our actions point to Jesus.

How does the willing worker suffer abuse at work? When all the things that have been dumped on you make it impossible to get everything finished on time, who gets attacked? You do. "What happened to you? You always used to get your work done. Getting old? Not as swift as you used to be?" What happens when you say "No" to someone because you know that you are overloaded? You get attacked. "What do you mean you can't do this. You did something similar for somebody else a little while ago." Why do we allow ourselves to be subject to such abuse? Jesus is our example. "Come down from the cross they yelled at Him. You used to be able to do miracles. What happened now?" Our actions point to Jesus.

How does the friend suffer abuse? Did you ever try to tell the one picking your brain that it was time for you to interact with your family? Did you ever not get to what somebody gave you to fix? Who gets attacked? You. Why do we subject ourselves to such abuse by serving others? Because Jesus is our example. Our actions point to Jesus.

If people don't catch on that you are willing to receive abuse and willing to serve because you are following Jesus' example, and they ask you why you are doing that, then tell them. You are doing it to thank Jesus for giving you forgiveness and righteousness and eternal life. You are serving because you have been served.