It Shall Not Be So Among You!

Who is the GOAT?

It's this sports term for greatest of all time.

Tom Brady, five-time Super Bowl winning quarterback

of the New England Patriots,

often called the GOAT the greatest of all time

by many of his peers and many fans around the country and world.

Usain Bolt, perhaps the fastest man who ever lived.

No one ran a 200-meter sprint like him.

Some athletes are even nicknamed the Great One,

like former hockey player Wayne Gretzky,

or self-proclaimed it as they're preparing for a heavyweight boxing fight

like Muhammad Ali, who called himself the greatest in the world,

the greatest fighter the world had ever known.

In other circles, of course, celebrities are valued for their social greatness,

their status amongst mere mortals like us,

who, unlike them, don't get the red carpet treatment,

don't have paparazzi taking photographs

when we're eating dinner at the local restaurants.

We're not ending up on the late-night TV shows like they are.

We're not getting book deals.

We're not the front-page news and the gossip columns.

It's hard to imagine American life apart from ranking almost everything, isn't it?

We want to know what the best burger joint in Kenosha is.

We sort of argue even over the best Christian preachers,

the best smartphone.

Are you an Android person?

Are you an Apple person?

And that sort of defines your worth in our culture.

And then once you've got the phone,

what service provider is going to provide the best coverage for your network?

We want quality products.

We want great products.

We want to feel important ourselves.

We want to be well thought of.

We want to be great.

We aspire to be great,

even if it's in our own sort of self-defined ways.

We want to be great.

We want to be recognized.

We want to be important.

Before we know it,

the world's way of defining greatness

and status and importance has crept into our Christian experience.

It skews our worldview.

It bends how we think.

And it messes with our value system.

Well,

we recognize our need to be reoriented

around a different understanding of how things work,

a different understanding of status,

a different understanding of greatness.

We need to redefine and pursue greatness

as defined and exampled by Jesus Christ

and no one and nothing else.

If we embrace our culture's definition of greatness,

which is found through success and ladder climbing,

our kingdom usefulness plummets.

But if we listen to Jesus' definition,

we can pursue true greatness.

We can find real value

and true esteem in what God says is great.

So let's read this text together

and consider this morning

what Jesus exactly is calling us to as his disciples.

This is Matthew chapter 20,

Matthew 20 · chapter mention

starting in verse 17.

And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem,

he took the 12 disciples aside

and on the way he said to them,

See, we are going up to Jerusalem

and the Son of Man will be delivered over

to the chief priests and the scribes

and they will condemn him to death

and deliver him over to the Gentiles

to be mocked and flogged and crucified

and he will be raised on the third day.

Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee

came up to him with her sons

and kneeling before him,

she asked him for something.

And he said to her,

What do you want?

She said to him,

Say that these two sons of mine are to sit,

one at your right hand

and one at your left in your kingdom.

Jesus answered,

You do not know what you are asking.

Are you able to drink the cup

that I am to drink?

They said to him,

We are able.

He said to them,

You will drink my cup,

but to sit at my right hand

and at my left is not mine to grant,

but it is for those

for whom it has been prepared by my Father.

And when the ten heard it,

they were indignant at the two brothers.

But Jesus called them to him and said,

You know that the rulers of the Gentiles

lord it over them,

and their great ones exercise authority over them.

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 your slave.

Even as the Son of Man came,

not to be served,

but to serve,

and to give his life as a ransom for many.

And as they went out of Jericho,

a great crowd followed him.

And behold,

there were two blind men

sitting by the roadside,

and when they heard that Jesus was passing by,

they cried out,

Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

The crowd rebuked them,

telling them to be silent.

But they cried out all the more,

Lord, Lord, have mercy on us, son of David.

And stopping,

Jesus called them and said,

What do you want me to do for you?

They said to him,

Lord, let our eyes be opened.

And Jesus, in pity,

touched their eyes,

and immediately they recovered their sight

and followed him.

Well, we can think of our text this morning

kind of like a sandwich.

Any good sandwich has two parts.

It's got the bread on the outside

and the fixings on the inside.

So we're going to look at this passage

just like we would examine a sandwich.

We're going to first look at the bread.

There's a slice in verses 17 to 19.

And then the other slice is in 29 to 34.

We're going to see specifically

what that has to say about Jesus.

And then we're going to look at the fixings.

We're going to see how,

in light of who he is,

and in light of his character,

and in light of what he's done,

what that calls us to as his people,

and his followers.

So first, the bread.

Here's the main idea

in 17 to 19 and 29 to 34.

Our king, Jesus Christ,

is a suffering servant.

Our king is a suffering servant.

From the outset of Matthew's gospel,

he wants to set the record straight

about this guy.

We see in the very first verse,

Jesus the Christ,

the son of David,

the son of Abraham.

A little bit later,

he's Emmanuel.

He's God with us.

As the story has progressed,

we've seen Jesus' power on display

and miraculous healings

and the exercising of authority

over creation,

calming seas,

healing paralytics,

giving sight to the blind

as we see even in our passage today.

Matthew is asking

and getting us to ask the question,

who is this guy

that is calling us

to follow him?

What's his identity?

What's his character like?

What's his mission

on planet Earth?

Well, his identity, of course,

is the Christ,

the anointed one of God,

the one who is inaugurating

the saving reign of God

throughout all of the world.

His character,

we've seen time and time again

that he's full of compassion.

He's full of mercy.

He reaches out to those in need.

For those who cry for help,

he answers.

In his mission,

we can summarize it as

destination,

Calvary.

He's headed to the cross.

He's on a mission

to die in the place of sinners.

Well, this passage in Matthew

is perhaps the clearest

statements yet

where Jesus' identity

and his compassion

and his mission

sort of align.

And they come together

and Matthew really focuses in

in these verses.

And it's the close proximity

of this identity

and character and mission

that's going to bring clarity

to who this guy is.

So first,

we look at,

there's two titles

that we can see.

The first is in verse 18.

See it there?

The Son of Man.

Right?

And this is Jesus'

self-proclaimed title.

This is how he references himself

time and time again

in Matthew's Gospel.

We see that this comes

from Daniel chapter 7

Daniel 7:13

verses 13 and 14

where one like the Son of Man

is brought before

the Ancient of Days,

before the throne of God.

And interestingly,

he's given an everlasting dominion,

an indestructible kingdom

that all nations

should come and serve him.

That's the first title,

the Son of Man.

But then also,

if you notice

in verses 30 and 31,

there's a different title,

similar,

but it's on the mouths

and lips of the blind men.

Son of David.

Son of David,

have mercy on us.

Interestingly,

every time that this title

occurs in Matthew's Gospel,

it's in context of healing.

people are imploring Jesus

to heal them,

to relieve their suffering

or their pain

or their physical needs.

And so they call out

Son of David.

Well, this is, of course,

a title that is seen

as the fulfillment

of a prophecy

from 2 Samuel chapter 7,

2 Samuel 7 · chapter mention

specifically verse 16

where the prophet Nathan

comes to David

and says,

your offspring

is going to be

on your throne forever.

These blind guys

in our passage

seem to realize

a little bit

of the extent

of what this title means.

Here's the one,

the prophesied king,

the son of David

who would come

and take the throne

forever and ever and ever.

He's the son of man.

He's the son of David.

He's an eternal king.

His kingdom

and his dominion

have no end

and cannot be destroyed.

These titles

in our text

show us

that Jesus

is the legit heir

of King David

and that he is

the divine,

eternal king

who will rule

all people

forever.

forever.

But we don't

just see titles,

right?

We see his character

displayed especially

in verses 29

to 34.

He's on the way

to Jerusalem.

He's already pointed

this out.

He's from the beginning

said,

hey,

I'm going to Jerusalem.

There's all this commotion.

There's all this energy.

It's the time

of the Passover.

So all the Jews

are converging

on this city.

Energy is maxed out

and especially

this time

because the prophet's

coming.

The promised Messiah

is coming.

He's going to

take his throne.

So everybody's

worked up

and excited

and here come

two pesky nobodies

and they start

killing the vibe.

That's how the world

sees them, right?

That's how the crowd

sees these two blind guys.

We see that

from the rebuke.

In verse 31,

they say,

shut up.

King doesn't have

time for you.

He's on the way

to his throne.

Leave him alone.

Get out of here.

He has no time

for these blind men,

doesn't he?

Thankfully,

the crowd's there

to help him out, right?

They rebuke him

for begging.

King has more

important duties.

Just keep quiet here.

Well,

thank God

that Jesus

does not respond

to these two blind men

the way that

the crowds do.

See in verse 32,

stop it.

He takes time

out of this procession

that's all about him.

It's all about

his movement

towards Jerusalem,

his kingly arrival.

He stops.

He calls them

and he says,

what would you like

me to do for you?

He listens

to their request

and notice

in verse 34,

he has pity

on them,

compassion,

mercy.

He stops

the procession

that's all about

him to serve

two guys

that everybody

in that crowd

has deemed

to be no one,

of no consequence,

of no value

to the king

and yet the king

stops and serves them.

He heals them.

He gives them sight.

Merciful power

on display.

It's amazing.

Jesus is eager

and able

to stop

what he's doing

to care for

these two men.

Friends,

you and I

are never,

ever,

ever going to meet

anyone as consistently

compassionate

as King Jesus.

He's amazing.

He has time

for even the little guy.

He's a merciful king.

But this king,

the son of man,

the son of David

who has compassion,

he's on a mission.

Right?

We jump back

to that first slice

of bread now,

verses 17 to 19.

We see what

that mission is.

Destination,

Calvary.

He's got a one-way ticket

to suffer and die

on the cross.

This king,

the son of man

who gives mercy

to blind guys,

will be delivered

to the high priests

and scribes,

verse 18.

They will condemn

him to death.

They will hand him

over to pagans

because these Jewish

rulers don't have

the authority

themselves

to put Jesus

to death.

So they'll

bypass that

by handing him

over to the Romans

where he will be

mocked

and flogged

and crucified.

Well,

what happened,

you may ask,

to the throne

of glory

and the throngs

of angels

that he's been

talking about

upon his return?

We see as recently

as chapter 19,

verse 28.

Jesus says,

Truly I say to you

in the new world,

when the son of man

will sit on his

glorious throne,

he's coming into

a kingdom,

and yet now he's

talking about

suffering and a

brutal death

on a cross,

condemned to die

as a criminal.

Well, right,

there's a reason

that this is now

the third prediction

of Jesus' death

in Matthew's gospel.

how hard it is

for our human

thinking

to see

and conceive

of suffering

and crucifixion

as the pathway

to the throne.

It's folly

to us

unless God

gives us

ears to hear

and eyes

to see.

We're never

going to grasp it

apart from

his grace.

It's a despised

and rejected

notion.

One that the world

stumbles upon

over and over.

I will not

bend the knee

to a crucified

Messiah.

But it's the path

our king traveled.

Jesus' mission

ended in a death

deserved

by criminals,

not by the innocent

lamb of God.

it's not because

of his guilt

but because of ours.

The sin of the world

took him

on that mission.

A mission

of sacrifice

and ultimate

suffering.

A unique

and lonely

mission.

Our king

is a suffering

servant.

Matthew

has brought

this identity

and this

character

and this

mission

together

to speak

of the guy

who you and I

follow.

Who is this guy?

He's our king.

He suffered

for us.

His path

of sacrificial

service

brings us

life.

He is the one

we orient

our lives around

and we gladly

worship.

He's the suffering

servant king

who reaches out

to us in mercy.

That's who he is.

But he also

calls us

to follow

in his footsteps

right?

Matthew doesn't

just tell us

this stuff

about Jesus

so we can go

yep that's

who he is

but so that

we would follow

him.

That we would

obey him.

So we got to

look at the fixings

now of our

sandwich.

Verses 20

to 28.

to calling us

to embrace

a different

pathway to

greatness.

Not calling us

to reject

greatness as

some

substandard

sort of

worldly thing

but to

reorient

our minds

around how

God defines

greatness.

And to spend

all of our

days seeking

that which

God says is

truly great.

Servanthood.

verses 20

to 28 can be

summed up

in this point.

For the

Christian

servanthood

is the true

measure of

greatness.

For you and

I if we

follow Jesus

faithfully and

obediently

then we define

our greatness

by serving

other people.

So we

remember the

context as we

get into these

verses into our

sandwich fixings.

In verse 28

Jesus has told

his 12

disciples

verse 28 of

chapter 19

excuse me

he's told his

disciples that he's

coming to sit on a

throne of glory

and these 12

original guys who

have been with

him first

from the

beginning

are going to

get 12

thrones too.

That's a pretty

good deal for

James and John

and Andrew and

Peter and the

rest of them.

But what we

see immediately

in verses 20

to 28

right up front

is there's

another blindness

at work in our

passage.

Not a physical

blindness that

causes these guys

to cry out for

mercy but a

blind ambition

that causes the

disciples to

seek glory and

honor and

recognition.

Unfortunately this

blind ambition has

caused quite the

selective hearing

children for

James and John

the sons of

Zebedee.

They get their

mom to come

ask Jesus a

question.

They're so

fixated on

these seats of

power and

influence that

the best way I

can describe them

is like that

cartoon wolf

right who's so

hungry that he

sees every sheep

not as a sheep

but like a steak

on a plate.

That's how they

are with his

glory.

That's how they

are with the

honor.

They're like that

wolf that just

looks out over the

flock of sheep and

goes steak,

lamb chops,

pot roast.

They're blinded to

what they're even

asking.

And it's amazing

right?

It's amazing that

so close to

Jesus telling

them what his

mission was going

to be and why

he was nearly at

Jerusalem.

Jericho, a day's

walk.

He's almost

there.

He's almost

there.

And in

earshot of that

and in complete

abandonment of

what Jesus has

just said, these

two sons and

their mom come

up.

They want their

glory and they

want Jesus to

secure it for

them.

Now it makes

sense maybe that

James and John

would do this,

right?

They're two of the

first disciples

chosen.

Peter and Andrew

first and second,

James and John

third and fourth.

They must be super

important, right?

They've been there

from the beginning

and they've walked

with Jesus.

They've helped him

out on his mission.

He sent them out

and they've probably

even maybe cast out

some demons

themselves.

These two guys

were on the

mountain when Jesus

was transfigured

before them.

Moses and Elijah

showed up.

They're kind of a

big deal.

Plus their mommy

thinks they're the

best two sons in

the world.

Well she starts

out somewhat

okay, right?

She goes low.

She takes this

humble position,

at least body

position, but of

course we can see

through that humble

knee bending

posture because

this request

comes from a

heart full of

pride.

In fact, it

comes from three

hearts full of

pride.

We see that in

verse 22 when

Jesus answers the

request of the

mom with a

address directed

at James and

John.

You too do not

know what you are

asking.

And they said to

him, we are

able.

Three arrogant

hearts wanting a

position of power

and prominence in

the kingdom.

She wants her sons

to have the top

spots.

Humbly at least

she lets Jesus

decide which sits on

which side, right?

Well at least,

Jesus, you can figure

that one out.

But here's what

this request is.

It's an audacious,

self-centered,

heartless display of

pride.

Jesus has just

told them about the

horrific fate that

awaits him in

Jerusalem.

And these two are

only concerned about

where they sit in

glory.

But we're not

surprised at this

point in the

gospel, are we?

Because time and

time again, we've

seen the disciples

stumbling over this

same way of

thinking.

Peter confesses

Jesus as the

Messiah, the

Christ, the Holy

One of God.

And then immediately

Jesus says, yeah, I'm

going to Jerusalem and

I'm going to suffer

and die.

And then Peter goes,

no way, Jose, not

you.

To which Jesus

says, get behind

me, Satan.

You're setting your

mind on things of

men, not things of

God.

chapter 18, verse

1, Billy preached

on this.

They want to know

who's the greatest in

the kingdom of

heaven.

They're sitting there

when Jesus is kind of

maybe just out of

earshot going, man,

how do we get great?

How do we get Jesus

to say, you're great?

And so they ask

Jesus, well, how do

we become great in

your eyes?

He says, well, hold

on, folks.

Unless you turn and

humble yourself like a

child, you're not

even going to get in

my kingdom.

Whoa.

And then we see

these same disciples

rebuking people for

bringing kids to be

near Jesus.

You don't have time

for them, little guys.

Get them out of here.

Just like the crowd

rebukes these blind

guys in our text.

Well, friends, it's

easy for us to look

on the disciples'

folly as if through

pharisaical eyes.

We sit back kind of

arms folded, jeering

and scoffing at their

pride and their

arrogance.

But we in our human

nature are exactly the

same.

we all want the

celebrity.

We all want the

glory.

We all want the

mountaintop experience

of everybody just

celebrating us and

patting us on the back

and telling us how

wonderful we are.

And we all tend to be

blind to the road that

must be traveled to

true greatness.

But the disciple

remembers.

The one intent on

following Jesus

remembers that it's a

narrow gate and a

hard road.

They're so enamored by

glory, like the

cartoon wolf is

enamored by lamb

chops, that they

don't hear about the

path required to be

followed.

Jesus has already told

his followers in this

gospel that you'll be

hated by the world,

that you're going out

as sheep among wolves.

And then in chapter

16 he issues the

most fatal blow to

self imaginable.

If you would come

after me, you must

deny yourself.

You must put self in

the grave and pick up

a cross of suffering and

follow me.

Self is not only

merely a threat to our

position in the kingdom

of God.

Self is a threat to

entering the kingdom

of God and we must

slay all notions of

self as followers of

Jesus.

We must see our own

tendency to grasp for

positions of power and

prestige in the

disciples' request or

else we're missing the

point for us today.

Amazingly in verse 22

Jesus responds kindly

it seems.

He doesn't kick him in

the shins and shoo him

away.

But even in his kind

response they're still

clueless.

They're still blinded by

their ambition and

thoughts of glory.

But Jesus says you don't

know what you are asking.

following.

Followed by are you

able to drink the cup I

am about to drink?

Well we know this cup.

It's a cup of suffering.

It's a cup of being

mocked and flogged and

crucified by Gentile

rulers.

Hated by everybody it

seems.

But James and John as

one commentator puts it

they don't see this cup

as a cup of suffering.

They think it's a golden

goblet of glory and

power.

They think the cup is

exactly what they're

after.

The Messiah is coming to

town.

This cup is one of glory

and prestige and honor

and fame.

Jesus says you have no

idea what you're talking

about.

If you had heard my

words just in the

previous three verses

you would know.

But you've been blinded

by your ambition.

It's a cup of suffering

that Jesus offers to

anyone who would follow

him.

That's how he explains it

to James and John and

that's how he explains it

to you and I.

They'll truly suffer even

though at the moment they

don't recognize that that's

what Jesus is getting at.

church history says James

was martyred, John was

exiled, died on an island

probably mostly alone.

But alas, even though they

will get the suffering, they

will end up on thrones, it's

only the Father who grants

these seats of honor.

Jesus himself does not even

have the authority to do

that.

Well, at this point in our

story, the disciples pop back

up on our radar in verse 24

and we see how seethingly angry

they are at James and John

for this request.

They've been kind of listening

and judging and condemning

from the background.

To be clear, they're not mad

for self-denying kingdom-seeking

priorities.

They're mad because they want

the honor for themselves.

And James and John thought of

the idea first.

James and John are creeping in

on the other ten's turf

and they're mad about it.

What a great teaching moment

for Jesus.

To reorient his disciples

around what truly matters.

And in a culture like ours

that exalts good looks

and money and cars

and power and influence,

celebrity,

in a culture who makes TV shows

called the Lifestyles of the

Rich and Famous,

in a culture that defines

popularity and status

by how many friends one has

on Facebook and how many

Instagram followers one might

have,

that thinks great things of

those who make platinum records

and win Grammys.

These are some of the most

important words

we could ever hear

Jesus say to us

as his followers.

He's speaking to us too.

Look at him again.

Verses 25 to 28.

Jesus calls all of his

twelve together

and says,

you know that the rulers

of the Gentiles,

by Gentiles he means

the pagans,

the godless.

You know that the godless

rulers lord it over them

and their great ones

exercise authority

over them.

It shall not be so

among you.

Not if you're going to be

in my kingdom.

Not if you want greatness

as part of

my community.

But whoever

would be great among you

must be your servant.

And whoever

would be first among you

must be your slave.

And then here's why.

Even as

the son of man

came not to be served

but to serve

and to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

Pagan leaders,

godless men

have the power

and exert the authority

and push their weight

around.

Those great in the kingdom

are servants

and slaves.

The world says

blessed are the powerful.

Jesus says

blessed are the meek.

The world praises

the go-getters,

the hard chargers,

the ladder climbers.

Jesus says

to be great

you must be a servant.

It doesn't mean

that we

reject the notions

of career advancement

or anything

of that nature

but it does

reframe how we see it

and how we pursue it.

Humble heart

does not seek

promotions,

church offices,

things of that nature

in order to feel

more important.

in order to exert

more authority.

That's pagan thinking.

It's to be cut out

of the heart

and mind

and life

of the disciple,

the one who follows

the suffering king.

A humble heart

does not despise

any opportunity

to serve.

There's no task

beneath the servant,

the one who is great

in the kingdom's eyes.

As kingdom citizens,

those of greatest status,

those that God

looks upon

with particular gladness,

are those who have

glad hearts

eager to contribute

to the mission.

Pride and self,

they seek importance,

glory,

opportunities

to exert authority

and power

over others.

Humble servants

seek to build others up,

to consider the interests

of others

as more significant

than their own.

Do you aspire

to be great,

Christian?

Then adopt the heart

and mind

and lifestyle

of a servant.

None of us

are that important.

But Jesus says

we can be great,

great in the kingdom's eyes,

but only through servanthood.

Let's remember

one last time

what that type

of service entails,

right?

It's in the same vein

as our crucified,

suffering king.

It's a cup of suffering,

sacrifice,

self-denial.

That's kingdom greatness.

That's what Jesus

puts his finger on

in this passage.

Notice,

again,

who it is

that's calling us

to it.

It's the one

who gave his life

as a ransom

for many.

Verse 28.

He didn't come

to be served.

He's not looking

to have palm fronds

waved over him

in the hot summer days,

grapes fed to him.

He comes as a servant,

one who suffers

and dies for us.

He calls the shots

about how we now

live our lives.

See what God's saying

in this text?

Servanthood

must be your measure,

Christian,

of true greatness

because King Jesus

became a suffering servant

for you.

Servanthood

must be your measure

for greatness

because King Jesus

became a suffering servant

for you.

The one who calls us

to self-denying

sacrificial service

is the one

who emptied himself.

Emptied himself

by becoming obedient

to the point of death,

even death on a cross.

His servanthood

ransomed you and I

out of darkness

and into his marvelous light

and calls you

and me

as Christians

to esteem servanthood

above all.

You want to be great?

Serve.

Servanthood

must be

our measure

of greatness

because Jesus

suffered

in service

to us.

So as we close,

let me just offer

a self-diagnostic

for us

as we

examine our own hearts

and the ways that

self

is competing

with servanthood.

and then I want

to speak to two

groups of people

in particular.

First is self-diagnostic.

Speaking to me too.

Servants

don't get upset

at dirty dishes.

They clean them.

Servants

don't see

certain tasks

as beneath them.

They link arms

and they do it.

Servants

don't

gauge

their time

to be more

valuable

than that

of other

people's.

They put

others

before themselves.

Friend,

would you

ask God

today

to show you

the areas

of your life

in which

your heart,

mind,

and lifestyle

resemble

much closer

to the pagan

Gentile rulers

than that

of a disciple

of Jesus?

would you

ask him

for the grace

to change?

I think

we're all

in that boat

in different

ways.

Examine

your heart

and your life.

In closing,

two groups.

I want

to speak

to husbands

and I want

to speak

to leaders.

First,

husbands.

I'm going

to venture

a guess

that for

each of us

in this room

who's married,

there are

patterns of

thinking

and acting

that exhibit

self rather

than servanthood,

that exhibit

pride,

not humility.

Christ

calls us

to service

at the expense

of self.

After all,

Jesus gave

his life

for the church,

Ephesians 5.

You don't boss,

you don't get grumpy,

you sacrifice,

you serve.

leaders.

Those holding

offices here

at the church,

elders and

deacons and

pastors,

life group

leaders,

Sunday school

teachers,

event organizers,

beware of the

feeling of

self-importance,

the feeling

that you're

irreplaceable.

Beware of the

temptation to

despise a

fellow Christian

from prideful

notions of

superiority.

Make no

mistake that

your value,

it's not in

how much

authority and

influence you

exert,

but it's linked

to your

willingness to

serve.

It's linked

to a heart

posture that

says,

I'll give of

myself for the

sake of God

and his kingdom

and his people.

In the end,

self-promotion

will profit you

nothing.

self-denying

service is

everything.

Our text

today calls

us to

something

challenging

and above

each and

every one

of us.

And yet,

the good

news is

God gives

grace.

God does

not call us

to something

that he is

not already

determined to

see brought

about in the

hearts and

lives of his

people because

the suffering

servant is

reorienting and

establishing a

community of

people that

follow him,

even to death,

follow him in

sacrifice and

humility and

service to one

another and to

the world.

It's what Jesus

has called us

to.

He's called us

to value

servanthood above

all things in

this life.

life.

It must be how

we as

Christians define

and measure

greatness because

we follow a

king who

suffered and

sacrificed himself

for us.

Jesus served

us all the way

to the cross.

So we serve

others in his

footsteps.

Let's pray.

Father God,

we thank and

praise you that

the community

of people you

are creating

is not one

that looks like

the world,

but one of

service and

humility.

God, I pray

for all of us

that you would

help our hearts

and our minds

and our lives

resemble that

of our servant

king, the one

who suffered

and died for

us.

In the state

of this, would

you give grace?

We ask it in

Jesus' name.

Amen.