The servant

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF LUKE

THE SERVANT

Luke 22:24-30

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. 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

It is just human nature to make ourselves into something we should not be, the greatest. These men have spent the past three years or so with Jesus in the flesh. They have heard all his teaching, they have spent time in prayer with him, they have seen him heal people, even raise people from the dead, yet they are disputing which one of them is the greatest. Can they not see that Jesus is the greatest yet he lived to serve them? He did not lord his authority over them like he did over the demons that he commanded to leave people. He lived as a servant, he even was the one who washed their feet. But here we are, just people, just the creation of Jesus, disputing who is the greatest. This type of human behavior did not stop with the disciples as we are still wanting to see who is the greatest. Some of us want to be the one with the most influence with the pastor, whether that be because of our wealth or spiritual prowess.  Some of us want to be considered the best versed person about the scriptures. Some of us want to be the best worshiper, or the most eloquent public prayer. Some of us think we are spiritual giants among weaklings. Some of us act as if we have more faith then others, being the greatest person of faith. But, in reality most of us in some way are disputing in some fashion who is the greatest among us. It might be spoken, but for the most part this dispute is in the unspoken, but it still is there. Jesus is teaching them about the difference of the way the world, the unbelievers, living in pride of wealth or position compared to how they should live, as humble servants. This is in fact one of the most important life lessons we can learn. We cannot live making our life effort focused on impressing all the others, trying, at least in our own minds, to be the greatest, or the best, at whatever. Jesus was the greatest yet he came to serve us by sacrificing himself for us. If we profess to want to be more like Jesus, as the song writer penned those words, then should we not be serving one another in humility? Jesus told his disciples that if they understand a life of humble service, they would be sitting at the banquet table with him in the kingdom of God. This serves to teach us as well. We need to see our life as one who serves, both God and men. This would mean we do not live, but Christ lives in or as us. He came to serve, we should be serving, rather than excepingt to be served. When we live thinking we deserve to be served, or even deserve something, or that people owe us in some way, it is a form of thinking about our greatness. Jesus taught the one who is the least is in fact the greatest, the one who is last will be first. It all fits together, so the fact is none of us are great, we are simply sinners saved by grace, the grace of God. If we cannot impress God with our greatness, why should we try to impress each other? Pride comes before the fall, let us be the servant.