SouldOut

Jesus washing feet

Jesus’ teaching on servanthood and greatness is so foreign to human nature and society, that it is almost impossible to grasp the depths of its significance. Our culture is so celebrity and “greatness” oriented (think American Idol) and the church is so steeped in contemporary culture that the concept of greatness through servanthood the way Jesus defines it is almost beyond comprehension for most people.

And they came to Capernaum. And when he was in the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”   But they kept silent, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.  And he sat down and called the twelve. And he said to them, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” Mark 9:33-35

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. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Matthew 20:25-28

Richard Foster makes this statement about service in his book “Celebration of Discipline” (see John 13:1-17)-

Whenever there is trouble over who is the greatest, there is trouble over who is the least. That is the crux of the matter for us, isn’t it? Most of us know we will never be the greatest; just don’t let us be the least.
Gathered at the Passover feast, the disciples were keenly aware that someone needed to wash the others’ feet. The problem was that the only people who washed feet were the least. So there they sat… It was such a sore point that they were not even going to talk about it. No one wanted to be considered the least. Then Jesus took a towel and a basin and redefined greatness.

Everyone wants to be great. Jesus wants us to be great. It’s not that hard to figure out. It’s just hard to do. But honestly, what is the alternative?

This entry was posted on Monday, March 15th, 2010 at 2:00 pm and is filed under Category 1. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.