Beloved, I am glad to share with you today the above theme from Luke 22:27. Indeed, this is the last interview of the Master with his disciples. But what are they doing during this holy moment? They are fighting over who will be considered the greatest! With what patience and gentleness the Lord takes them back! One last time, He reminds them (and us) that true greatness is to serve others. This is what He Himself has never ceased to do (Lk 12:35-40). And not only does He not reproach them, but He likes to recognize their dedication and fidelity: for “you are the ones who have perseved with me in my trials” — He tells them. However, there were still going to be temptations for the weak disciples that would risk overturning their faith.
Then Jesus reveals how He now serves and serves His people: His intercession will precede their trial and sustain them as they pass through it (Jn 17:6-16). While He was with them, they had needed nothing; He looked after everything and protected them. Now that He is going to leave them, they will have to fight on their own behalf. But not with carnal weapons (2 Cor 10:3-6), nor “against blood and flesh” (Ephe 6:10-20). Satan approaches at this hour, an otherwise formidable adversary (1 P 5:8-9).
Then, at the very moment when Jesus told his people that one of them would deliver him, a word that obviously saddened them, they disputed among themselves to know which one would be the greatest. Only the Word can present us with such a faithful picture of the human heart, and what a sad picture! Then, in view of such a reality, we see the grace and patience of the Lord with His poor disciples. For instead of censoring them heavily, he shows them instead that true greatness is to lower themselves to serve as he did; it thus presents an absolute contrast with the greatness of the world which is sought in the elevation of man. For kings dominate; they are above all. Moreover, those who exercise authority may do so with the character of benefactors, but they carefully retain their supremacy.
But in the state created by the death of the Lord, where what is great according to God has no value for men, this will not be the case of the disciples of Christ. “May the greatest among you,” the Lord said, “be as the youngest, and the one who leads as the one who serves.” According to the natural order of things, the guest has precedence over the servant, but the Lord of all, the greatest of all, says: “Now I am in the midst of you as the one who serves”. Would we want a greatness other than his own, characterized by the deepest lowering? For he came to save us, he made himself the servant of all; he lowered himself to the death and death of the cross. He appreciated the faithfulness of his disciples in the midst of the world where everything opposed him. For his goodness knew how to discern, through their inconsequences, what had happened to him in his own. He acted according to what we read in Psalm 62:13: “Un to you too, Lord! kindness; For you give back to each according to his works.”
It is a profound teaching that this perfect heart of the Lord does not give us here. For so easily willing to pick up only the evil sides of those with whom we are dealing, our natural hearts, devoid of this divine goodness, take little account of the good that there is in them. Whereas if we knew how to achieve it better, we would avoid many painful things in our mutual relations. That is why, instead of complaining, let us look for the good sides that our malevolence likes to ignore; and we would then consider ourselves the debtors of our entourage, instead of constantly demanding his favor. So let’s study the perfect Model, and we can imitate it. For the Lord Jesus said to His disciples, “That is why I dispose of the kingdom in your favor, as my Father has disposed of it in my favor, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and that ye may sit on thrones, to judge the twelve tribes of Israel.”
For there will be communion and joy with the Lord in glory, after communion, however weak it may be, in suffering. Then the disciples will have, in the kingdom of the Son of man, a special place in relation to Israel in the midst of which they were despised and had to take the last place: indeed, they will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel, according to the principle expressed in 2 Tm 2:12: “If we suffer, we will also reign with him.” Thus, let us accept to suffer and serve in the world where Christ has suffered and served, and when the time comes for His glory, we will share it with Him. But the happiest part at the time of his domination will be to be with him at his table, enjoying his communion; on this part we can already enjoy it here on earth by faith.
That is why the latter is the servant of all: For the ambitious request of thetwobrothers irritated the other disciples. The other ten, who had heard, began to be indignant against James and John. They were outraged that James and John wanted precedence over them. ‘Under what right can you give yourself this advantage? You have no more merit than we do to occupy the positions of honor around the throne of Jesus.’ Their indignation showed that they were motivated by a feeling of jealousy and perhaps even hatred. The harmony of the band had just suffered a hard blow. The same disruption can occur in church, in our families, or at work. When an individual demands the best position for his own ideas, his desires, his ambitions, his preferences, a tension is always felt in his relations with those with whom he rubs shoulders.
Seeing what was happening, Jesus resumed his teaching about greatness in the kingdom, contrasting it with that of this world. He says in Mark 9. 42, ‘Do not be like the people of the world. You know what is happening in the world. In the world, chiefs ‘dominate over their peoples’ and ‘use authority over them.’ ‘Those who are considered leaders,’ Jesus says, ‘bring their authority to bear against people further down the social hierarchy.’ This tendency can be observed in all societies, because men naturally seek to be the first, to increase their influence, to invoke their position for their own interests. But thedisciples must not do so. Mark 10:43: It must not be so among you: on the contrary, he who will become great among you, will be your servant, 44, and he who will want to be the first among you, will be the slave of all. For ifany of you desire to be great, he will have to make the choice to become the servant of all. For in the kingdom of God, greatness comes through a lowering. And this lowering consists in voluntarily putting oneself at the service of others.
In Mark 9, the Lord Jesus had already taught his disciples the principle of the first-last when they had spoken about the question of who was the greatest. Let us read what he told them (Mark9:35):If anyone wants to bethe first, he will be the last of all and the servant of all. ‘The last of all and the servant of all.’ In this verse, he explains what ‘to be the last of all’ means. ‘To be the last,’ is ‘to be the servant of all.’ And that’s exactly what he’s saying now in Mark 10. ‘To be the last,’ is to take the path of humility by putting oneself at the service of others. If anyone wants to have a high position in the kingdom of God, he must agree to be the servant of all. You can see that the principle of the first-last leads us to a decision, that of being the first or the last. We make the decision to be first or last, to be served or to serve. In another part of Christ’s teaching, it is about saving our lives or losing them. The Lord asks us to choose the last place, that is, to dedicate our lives to serving others, to lose our lives for the good of others.
The following verses are compiled for your edification and grouped together for your better understanding.
- Grandeur
Mt 5:19 He who therefore suppresses one of these smallest commandments, and teaches men to do the same, will be called the smallest in the kingdom of heaven; but he who observes them, and teaches to observe them, he will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Mt 20:26 It will not be the same in the midst of you. But whoever wants to be great among you, let him be your servant; Mt 23:11 The greatest among you will be your servant. Lk 1:15 For he will be great before the Lord. He will not drink wine or intoxicating liquor, and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit from his mother’s bosom;
- Orderly humility
Mi 6:8 You have been made known, O man, which is good; And what Jehovah asks of you is that you practice righteousness, that you love mercy, and that you walk humbly with your God. Lk 14:10 But when you are invited, go and put you in the last place, so that when the one who invited you comes, he may say unseed to you: My friend, go up higher. Then it will honor you in front of all those who will be at the table with you. Lk 22:26 Let it not be the same for you. But let the greatest among you be as the smallest, and the one who governs as the one who serves. (Rom 11:20 This is true; they have been cut off for disbelief, and you subsist by faith. Do not abandon your mind to pride, but fear; ) Rm 12:3 By the grace which has been given to me, I say to each of you not to have too high an opinion of himself, but to put on modest feelings, according to the measure of faith which God has departed from each one. (Ph 2:5 That each of you, instead of considering one’s own interests, also consider those of others. ) Jc 4:10 Humble yourself before the Lord, and He will lift you up. 1 P 5.5 Likewise, you who are young, be subject to the elders. And all of you, in your mutual relationships, take up humility; for God resists the proud, but he does thanks to the humble.
- Spiritual service, the duty to serve men:
-ennobles life: Mk 10:43-44 It is not the same in the midst of you. But whoever wants to be great among you, may he be your servant; 44 and whoever wants to be the first among you, let him be the slave of all.
-illustrates the love for the neighbor: Lk 10:36-37 Which of these three seems to you to have been the neighbour of the one who had fallen in the midst of the robbers? “37 He is the one who has exercised mercy towards him,” replied the doctor of the law. And Jesus said to him: Go, and you do the same.
-leads us to serve Christ: Jn 13:13-14 You call me Master and Lord; and you say well, for I am. 14 If, therefore, I have washed your feet, I, the Lord and the Master, you must also wash your feet to one another;
-is a demonstration of love: Jn 12:16 His disciples did not at first comprehend these things; but when Jesus had been glorified, they remembered that they were written of him, and that he had accomplished them with him. (Ga 5:13 Brethren, you have been called to freedom, only do not make this freedom a pretext for living according to the flesh; but make yourself, by charity, servants of one another. )
-lightens the burdens of life: Ga 6:2: 10 Carry the burdens of each other, and you will thus fulfill the law of Christ. 10 Thus, while we have the opportunity, let us practice good to all, and especially to the brethren in faith.
- Christ as a servant of men
Mt 20:28 This is how the Son of man came, not to be served, but to serve and give his life as the ransom of many. Lk 22:27 For who is the greatest, the one who is at the table, or the one who serves? Isn’t he the one at the table? And I, however, am in the midst of you as the one who serves. Jn 13:4-5 Or, those eighteen people who fell on whom the tower of Siloe fell and whom she killed, do you think they were more guilty than all the other inhabitants of Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you. But if you do not repent, you will all perish equally. Ph 2:7 but stripped himself, taking on a servant form, becoming like men; and having appeared as a simple man.
From all of the above, we note that thisnotion of helpfulness is so important to Christ Jesus that he links it to his death on the cross: Mark 10:45. For also the Son of man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. The Lord Jesus gives himself here as an example to show the spirit that must reign in His kingdom. Think of his earthly ministry. There is something that strikes us immediately. He never asked to be served. He never used his power for his own benefit. Throughout his life, it was he who gave himself to others. Take the example of temptation. Satan proposed to Jesus to use his divine power for his personal interests. ‘Are you hungry? Tell these stones to turn into bread.’ Jesus could have accomplished this miracle but he chose to do nothing. He never lost sight of His mission. He came here on earth to become the servant of men, and for this he put himself in the rank of the poorest, in the rank of the last. His dedication went as far as the sacrifice of his life. He gave his life in exchange for our lives. Could the disciples consider taking a place other than that of their Master? No. And ifthe Master has done so, so much more so, his disciples must put themselves at the service of each other. Our prayers support you all in your efforts to follow our Savior’s example.
PRAYING FOR THE ACCEPTANCE OF JESUS CHRIST AS A PERSONAL LORD AND SAVIOR
I now invite anyone who wants to become a new creation by walking in truth, to say with me the following prayer:
Lord Jesus, I have long walked in the lust of the world ignoring your love for humans. I acknowledge having sinned against you and ask you forgiveness for all my sins, for today I have decided to give you my life by taking you as Lord and Personal Savior. I recognize that you died at the cross of Calvary and that you rose from the dead for me.
I am now saved and born again by the power of the Holy Ghost. Lead me every day to the eternal life you give to all who obey your Word. Reveal yourself to me and strengthen my heart and faith, so that your light may light light out in my life right now.
Thank you Lord Jesus for accepting me into your divine family, so that I can also contemplate the wonders of your kingdom.
I will now choose a nearby watering point where to baptize myself by immersion, in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost.
To you all adoration, power and glory, now and for centuries after centuries. amen!
I would be happy to respond to any questions and comments you may have, before sharing with you next week ” on the way to Emmaus. “
May the Lord Jesus Christ bless you abundantly.
David Feze, Servant of the Lord of hosts.