The Greatness of Service
Rev. Richard A. Bolland

Mark 9:30-37
(Oct. 12, 2003 Sermon Transcript)

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        Dear friends in Christ, as we gather this day we must remember that in our daily lives, as we wander about, we find that people are very concerned about rank and status. Indeed, if you’re going to be in the army, it’s good to be a General instead of a Private. If you’re going to play football in the NFL, then it’s better to be a quarterback, or at least a running back, rather than, perhaps, a defensive lineman or something like that. And if you’re going to live and work in a corporation, then by all means, be the CEO, not the guy who works in the mail room!

        Well, we believe in the corporate pyramid, you see. We scratch and claw our way to the top, even if it’s done at the expense of others. So that we can control, and we can influence, and we can set our agendas and follow through on them.

        And then comes our gospel lesson. And this gospel lesson does something that is really quite astounding! It takes our image of the corporate pyramid, and literally inverts it, turns it upside down! And says, "If you want to be great, if you want to be highly esteemed, if you will, in the kingdom of God, everything is different." And indeed, if you are going to be a servant, then serve greatly! But, make sure you’re at the bottom of the pinnacle. Make sure you are at that bottom point, holding and supporting and caring for all of those who are above you, and you serve them.

        And the world scratches theirs heads, and says, "You’ve got to be kidding! What kind of idea is this? That’s not the way it’s supposed to work!"

        Well, that’s the way it works in the church. At least, that’s the way it’s supposed to work.

        The apostles in this story it seems, misunderstood the nature of the authority which they were about to receive. And believe me, they were about to receive some authority!

        If you go to the book of Revelation, and you see the description of the New Jerusalem, you will see on the twelve panels of the walls found in the city that there are the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, and then if you continue reading you will find that there are twelve foundation stones underneath the walls of the city and they are carved with the names of the twelve apostles.

        Yes, they were about the receive authority! They were about to become the foundation stones of the New Testament church. It was important that they, and we, understand the true nature of what it means to receive authority in the church.

        Positions of authority and rank, the way we normally think of it, feeds our egos, and certainly oftentimes impresses others.

        And the twelve, who were arguing on the road about who would be the greatest, a bunch of Mohammed Ali’s trying to convince each other that one was going to be more important than the other. Then we find that they had a misconception to begin with. They thought that, when the Messiah come, He would establish an earthly kingdom. And that they, then, could be rules within that earthly kingdom, of one kind or another. People who would represent Christ, of course, but with power and authority of an earthly kingdom.

        And it seems they wanted to know who was going to be the top dog, and the middle dog, and the dogs that went on down the line.

        Well, by divine knowledge, apparently the Lord knew what they had been talking about, and later, sat them down. And He quizzed them about what they had been discussing, and they were embarrassed. They were silent, it says in the text. And they were silent and embarrassed, for in fact, they knew what they had been talking about, and that such a discussion in the face of the Lord Jesus Christ, who was truly and wholly inappropriate. They had adopted the model of the world and needed to learn what the model of the church was about.

        We are fortunate, I think also, to eavesdrop on this conversation, to hear the Lord Jesus Christ, because we, too, often misunderstand authority and leadership in the church. We like to place our service in the church in the same light as the world does with it’s mistaken view about things. It’s about power, it’s about a position, we think. It’s about our agendas. But listen carefully to the words of Jesus, when, in another place, He encounters more misunderstandings on the part of the disciples.

        From Matthew chapter 20 (vv 20-21,24-28) we read, Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. "What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom."....When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. They wanted a piece of the pie, too, probably! Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--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."

        Dear friends, many times in my years as a pastor, I will tell you that I have seen people try to impose the world’s model of authority in the church, and usually with disastrous results. Personal agendas have been pushed down other people’s throats. Those not in power have felt left out and resentful. And what’s more, those willing to serve are sometimes pushed aside for other people who want the position for which they probably are more qualified. We are a collection of sinners and from time to time we tend to act like it.

        May I say to you that we must understand what Jesus is talking about here. We must understand that our trouble is sometimes that we believe our service is all about us, and we forget that it’s all about the kingdom of God. That it’s all about offering God glory. That it’s all about submitting ourselves in such fashion, and by God’s grace and power, that we might use the gifts and talents and abilities we have received as a measure of His grace, for the upbuilding of the body of Christ and the glorifying of our Heavenly Father. That’s what service is all about.

        And then I noticed something else in this text. You would think, perhaps, if they wanted to be great, Jesus would have told them, "Look, you shouldn’t want to great! You should want to be humble, and quiet!" Well, Jesus is not opposed to humility or quietness. But on the other hand, He never chides them for wanting them to be great! In fact, He wants all of God’s children to be great in the kingdom of God!

        The world is totally different! You can only have one CEO in an organization! You can only have one General in charge of a division. But in the kingdom of God, everyone can be the greatest! Everybody can be a great servant of God, but not if he follows the world’s model. Only if he understands that he is the servant of all! That authority is always given for the purpose of service!

        Everybody is called to greatness in the Kingdom of God!

        That’s the way God’s always worked! Consider for a moment how consistent Jesus has been from Genesis to Revelation as He reveals in His word to us, the authority that He gives for the building up of the church. There was the judges who were given the authority to rule God’s people, so that Israel would be served and uplifted and follow the will of God. And then there were the prophets who were given the authority to prophesy, serving God’s people, calling them to repentance and faithfulness. Then there were the kings, who were established by God, and who were supposed to rule wisely and well, serving the people of God who had been entrusted to them.

        And then the apostles were given the authority to serve the church, bringing the good news of the gospel, and serving Christ crucified and risen! And presenting Him to everyone. See, God can’t be inconsistent. He doesn’t know how to be inconsistent for it would be against His very nature. You see, God never needs Plan B! He only needs Plan A, because He gets it right the first time, every time!

        So when it comes to authority in the church, the corporate pyramid is turned upside down. And those leading at the bottom uphold and support the needs of those above.

        Our Lord Jesus Christ, of course, is the one who provides the greatest example of being great in the kingdom of God. He served us in so many ways, and with such excellence, it is hard to even get our arms around it. We think about it, we speak about it, we sing hymns about it, and yet, if we would just consider the enormity of Christ’s service we would be utterly overwhelmed! With gratitude and thanksgiving!

        Think for a moment how He served. He served us, among other ways, with His perfect obedience. He served us with His total conformity with every single, minute, requirement of the law. Because He knew that we have failed. Every single law broken! Every single rule! Done everything that we should not have done, in our minds, in our hearts, and sometimes in our deeds as well.

        As a man, as fully man, God comes in human flesh and He keeps the law we cannot keep. What gracious service is that?

        And then with His divine living, suffering, and death, please understand that, on the cross He gives us full and complete forgiveness of all our sins. What greater service than this has mankind ever witnessed? What measure of God’s love has been so clearly demonstrated that is greater than this? When Jesus lays His life down for us, when He suffers that eternal punishment we had due to us, when He is laid in a stone-cold tomb, dead, He is giving us the forgiveness of our sins! He is taking our punishment on Himself! He serves us perfectly. And grants us true remission of every sin we have ever committed at all.

        And then, He serves us with an empty tomb. As the occupied one served us, this one serves us as well. So that when our loved ones gather around a grave and we are there placed, they will know that in Christ it is not the end. That death is not going to get the last word. That, in fact, Christ’s resurrection from dead is our resurrection from the dead, and He serves us through that resurrection, and He redeems us, lost and condemned creatures, and grants us instead life eternal, now and forever.

        Oh yes! He is the greatest in the kingdom of God, and He serves as one who will show us how true greatness is achieved. Not by pointing to Himself, not even by serving His own agenda, but only that of the Father. Not by doing things that would have brought Him earthly greatness. In fact, we find Him from time to time, He ran the other way when that was threatened.

        No, He served with a servant’s heart. And He understood what it meant. Please consider who it was that served us. All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me, Jesus said. Then He says, Go and make disciples! We did that this morning. We did that baptizing in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, for Ryan James Brandenberger.

        And so, He comes to us, and He gives us things no one else can give. And serves us in ways that no one else can serve. For there is no other blood that served us as His. There is no other life that served us as His life was. There is absolutely no other death that served us so completely, and in the fount of Holy Baptism, there is no other water that can cleanse us as indeed that water, connected with the word, can do. And did.

        And so, dear friends, Christ is at work in us. He has taken up residency in the day of our baptism. And from that day forward, He leads us into doing those things that are measured by God as great. He grants us the motivation. He grants us the strength. He grants us the willing heart to do the things He’s called us to do with the gifts He’s given us to accomplish them.

        It is grace upon grace upon grace. And our Lord Jesus Christ gets every last iota of the credit! And should.

        No, not all of us will be Generals. Not all of us will be CEO’s or Presidents. But we are accorded far greater honor than that. For we have been called to faith, and granted the right, and the authority, to serve God. And to serve His church. In Jesus’ name Amen.