March 15, 2010
Central Truth
As followers of Christ, we are called to follow His example and live our lives to serve others.
"It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20:26-28)
17 And as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, 18 “See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death 19 and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.”
20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 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.” 22 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.” 23 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.” 24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. 25 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. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 1 20:26 Greek diakonos 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 2 20:27 Or bondservant, or servant (for the contextual rendering of the Greek word doulos, see Preface) 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
As a single adult, there are many times when I long to be married to a beautiful wife and have some great kids. That is what I want. At this point in my life, however, God has not blessed me in this way. Does that mean that I should just sit and wait on the Lord like I am in a doctor’s office, waiting for my turn?
The mother of James and John wanted her sons to be sitting next to Jesus in His kingdom. But instead of granting her request, Jesus told the disciples that if they wanted to be great, they must be a servant.
Jesus was telling His disciples to stop focusing on what they wanted and start focusing on others. This is exactly what Jesus was doing. He did not have to leave His kingdom and come as a man to give up His life for an ungrateful people, but He did. He felt that it was better that He suffer and die and give up His life so that we could be saved.
When I believe that Jesus really did give up His life as a ransom for me, it changes everything. The Lord has given me a chance to use this time in my life to serve others instead of focusing on my singleness, which, in turn, has brought me joy that I could never have imagined.
The question I struggle with is how much I should serve or how much of my time and money I should give. Here, too, Jesus gives us a great example. He gave up everything to serve us.
1. Are you using your time, treasure, and talents to serve others? If not, why not?
2. Are you willing to give up what you want in order to love others and further the gospel?
3. Ask the Lord to open your eyes for new opportunities to serve others.
FAMILY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How do you become great according to verse 26?
2. Is it hard to serve others?
3. Who can you serve today?