How to Ruin a Good Meal
Luke 22:7-27
7 Then came the day of Unleavened Bread on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.
8 Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, "Go and make preparations for us to eat the Passover."
9 "Where do you want us to prepare for it?" they asked.
10 He replied, "As you enter the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him to the house that he enters,
11 and say to the owner of the house, ’The Teacher asks: Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
12 He will show you a large upper room, all furnished. Make preparations there."
13 They left and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
14 When the hour came, Jesus and his apostles reclined at the table.
15 And he said to them, "I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer.
16 For I tell you, I will not eat it again until it finds fulfillment in the kingdom of God."
17 After taking the cup, he gave thanks and said, "Take this and divide it among you.
18 For I tell you I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes."
19 And he took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body given for you; do this in remembrance of me."
20 In the same way, after the supper he took the cup, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you.
21 But the hand of him who is going to betray me is with mine on the table.
22 The Son of Man will go as it has been decreed, but woe to that man who betrays him."
23 They began to question among themselves which of them it might be who would do this.
24 Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors.
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
27 For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.
Don’t you just love the Food Network? The one thing I have learned from the Food Network is:
Every meal has a DESIRED outcome.
There is something that the cook intended to accomplish by preparing this meal. What makes a birthday dinner special? Or a wedding reception? Or that special date? The meal can make all the difference. Yet the very things that can make a meal great can also ruin it!
The Three “R’s” of ruining a meal:
RECIPE
RECEPTION
RELATIONSHIPS Conflict & Competition
(an argument at the table)
Luke 22:24 “Also a dispute arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.”
They all wanted to be Numero uno, number one. What is worse they each thought he was! Each one wanted to be Jesus’ right hand man, his Chief of Staff!
“What is causing so much disharmony among the nations
is the fact that
some want to beat the big drum,
few are willing to face the music,
and no one wants to play second fiddle!”
- Henry Kissenger
The disciples had their own view of the Kingdom. They wanted Jesus to be KING over the Jews, the Romans, the Greeks, every political power. They didn’t realize that He already was. He didn’t have to overthrow thrones in order to be King. His Kingdom is “Not of this World” (John 18:36). He rules His Kingdom by spiritual relationship. The disciples thought they should be leaders. Jesus is looking for lovers and lifters!
Dave Thomas, the founder of Wendy’s Hamburgers, wrote: “I got my MBA long before my GED. I even have a photograph of me in my MBA graduation outfit—a snappy knee-length work apron. I guarantee you that I’m the only founder among America’s big companies whose picture in the corporate Annual report shows him wielding a mop and a plastic bucket! That wasn’t a gag; it was a case of leading by example. At Wendy’s, MBA does not mean Master of Business Administration. It means Mop Bucket Attitude!”
The Lord has a GREAT MEAL planned for us!
Luke 22:28-30
28 You are those who have stood by me in my trials.
29 And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me,
30 so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
(NIV)
In order not to ruin the great meal the Lord has planned for us (verse 30), we must go from…
…WHAT will I EAT? to …HOW will I GIVE?
Luke 22:25
25 Jesus said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. (NIV)
Earthly rulers normally lord it over their subjects. They issue commands, give orders, and tell people what to do and where to go. They are THE BOSS. The pyramid of power peaks with them. In Jesus’ day, it was a common practice of rulers to make gestures of goodwill. They might open the Colosseum and invite the public for free entertainment, or make their soldiers do some project for the common good, These rulers would call themselves “Benefactors”, “Friend of the People”, one who does good, as if their sole aim was to rule for the good of the people and not their own gain. They may do good things, but ulterior is their motive.
What’s your motivation? Followers of Jesus cannot be concerned with position or power.
Jesus said it : But you are not to be like that! (vs.26)
In order not to ruin the great meal the Lord has planned for us (verse 30), we must go from…
…WHERE will I SIT? to …HOW will I SERVE?
Luke 22:26
26 But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
(NIV)
It really is unfortunate in our society that service has become associated with business. We used to have “Service Stations”, where an attendant pumps the gas, checked your oil, washed your windshield, checked the air in your tires, told you of potential problems with your car, all with a smile and for less than 50 cents a gallon! NEVRMORE! And yet we really value good service, don’t we? We are willing to pay more if we know the service will be good.
Our habit of connecting service with business makes it hard for us to understand Biblical language. In the Bible the word service means the kind of work a slave did for his master. He didn’t get paid for it. Just as we have trouble untangling “service and “business”, so the disciples had trouble bringing the words “servant” and “King” together.
We must move from PLACESETTING to PLACE SETTING!
Forget about “your place”, your “position”! What did Jesus do? He washed their feet! What would Jesus do today? He would wash our feet. You never stand taller than when you are on your knees!
You are never more in CONTROL
than when you CHOOSE to SERVE!
“…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
(Matthew 20:26-28 NIV)
We want acclaim and approval. Jesus gives us servanthood and second place!
