Jesus’ Way to Achieve Greatness
Are you good at what you do? Just think of all the things you do every day – what is it that you do for a living? Would you say that you are good at it? Have you achieved greatness in your profession yet? What about the things you do outside of your job – are you good at those things? Some of you are husbands and wives. Are you a good at that? What would your spouse say? Maybe that’s a loaded question. Some of you are parents – are you good at that? What about you who are sons and daughters – are you good to your parents? Have you achieved greatness in your life?
I think we all would like to be good at what we do, maybe even great at what we do. But how do you achieve that? What is greatness? Is it climbing to the top of the corporate ladder – becoming the president of a large corporation or business? Is it becoming the most powerful person in Madison, or in Wisconsin, or in our country – is that greatness? Whoever has the most money, the most comfortable life, the most friends – is that greatness?
This morning, Jesus speaks to us about the real definition of greatness. I think it will surprise you. We will see how Jesus is the ultimate example of greatness, and how you and I, not matter what our circumstances of life might be, can achieve greatness in everything we do.
Jesus talks about this shortly before Palm Sunday. The disciples could sense that things were intensifying for Jesus – something big was going to happen. Two of Jesus’ disciples, James and John, were wondering if Jesus was about to overthrow the Roman government. Maybe Jesus would use his miraculous powers to reestablish the glorious kingdom of Israel, and Jesus would be in charge, and we, the twelve apostles, would be at his side, the twelve powerful vice presidents.
James and John were getting excited about this possibility – they wanted to be number one and number two in Jesus’ future kingdom. Their mother got involved, and said to Jesus, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.” In other words, make my sons number one and number two.
Jesus said to her, “You don’t know what you are asking.” You don’t know what my kingdom is. It’s not an earthly kingdom. Greatness in Jesus’ kingdom is not having lots of power on earth. Greatness in Jesus’ kingdom is humility. It’s sacrifice for others. That’s why Jesus asked James and John, “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” Can you experience the humility and sacrifice that I’m about to go through? James and John didn’t understand, and so they said, “Sure we can.”
Jesus responded by saying, “You will indeed drink from my cup.” You will indeed experience humility and lowliness and sacrifice for others, “but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” In Jesus’ kingdom, he will have people sitting next to him, but those people are the ones who achieved greatness by humbling themselves and sacrificing themselves for others.
When the other ten disciples heard that James and John were trying to get more power, they got upset. So Jesus called them together and explained to them what greatness really is. “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high authorities exercise authority over them. Not so with you.” The earthly definition of greatness is to have lots of power – to be able to boss other people around, but not with you, Jesus said. “Instead, whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first, must be your slave.” A slave was someone who would wash other people’s feet, get people their food and drink, clean up after people are done eating. That’s greatness, Jesus said.
And then Jesus describes himself as the slave in the world: “Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” What made Jesus great was not his power. What made Jesus great was that placed himself below everybody – the slave of the world – and gave his life as a payment for all sin. That is greatness.
Jesus is telling us this morning that if you want to achieve greatness in whatever you do, then be a servant, be a slave, to all the people in your life. Rather than striving for power at work, strive to serve all of your fellow employees and customers. That’s greatness. And at home, you’re not there to experience comfort and ease and to be waited on, you’re there as a servant to your children, your spouse, your parents – you put yourself below them. That’s greatness. Rather than think about my needs and my wants, I will put that aside use my talents and abilities for other people’s needs and wants - that’s greatness. “Whoever wants to be first must be your slave.”
Why is this so hard to do? Isn’t it because we are all naturally self-centered? Don’t we all have sinful natures that want to be served? The world revolves around me – that attitude is in us when we first come into the world, and we make our parents wait on us hand and foot, and we cry when we don’t get our way. Eventually we grow up and gain our independence, but we still prefer it when everyone serves us. When I come home, and I want to lie down on the couch, and have my wife and children wait on me, hand and foot. That’s selfish. When I go to work, I want everyone to bow down to me and do what I say – isn’t that our sinful nature talking? There’s a certain part of us that wishes that every day was my birthday – that people would sing to me and give me presents and serve me. To have power, to enjoy comfort and ease as everyone serves you - that might be greatness in the eyes of the world. But that’s pride and selfishness in the eyes of God. Haven’t we all been guilty of these sins? A self-centered view of others – don’t we all deserve to be punished by God for being so proud and self-centered in the way we deal with others?
But our God is greater than our sins, isn’t he. What does God do? He does something that’s beyond my understanding – he takes my sins away. But how? God becomes my slave. He places himself below me. He lowers himself. He doesn’t wash my feet with water. He washes my soul with his blood. God becomes the Son of Man, not to be served, but to serve you and me, and what does he give me? His whole life as a ransom for many. This is what makes God so great. Yes he is powerful. Yes he is wise. But the most amazing thing is his love – his sacrificial love for the world – that’s what makes God so great. That’s what Jesus told his disciples that he was going to do at the beginning of our text for today: “The Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and teachers of the law...” Notice how Jesus describes how low he is willing to go for you and me… “They will condemn him to death and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified.”
What made Jesus so great? It was the fact that he became your slave, your servant. This is love, that God would stoop so low, to win your soul. And if you have any doubts that this is true, then Jesus adds that last promise to his disciples, that after three days he would rise again from the dead.
Today, Jesus invites us to follow in his footsteps, and pursue greatness his way. If you want to be great, Jesus says, then put yourself below all the people in your life, just as God put himself below you. Greatness is getting down on your hands and knees and tying child’s shoe. Greatness is cutting your neighbor’s grass as he recovers from surgery in the hospital. Greatness is helping your co-worker catch up at work because he’s been sick for a few days. Greatness is listening to someone who just needs to talk, even when you’re busy, because he’s had a bad day and no one seems to care except for you. EXPAND.
You walk into church, and look around, and say, “Who can I serve today?” Today I will love others, as Christ loved me – that’s greatness. To be a servant to others, to be humble, lowly, to make sacrifices for others, not getting anything in return while you are here on this earth – that’s greatness, in the eyes of God.
