March 1
Anyone over twenty years of age probably remembers Mohammed Ali. His infamous line was “I’m the Greatest.” In Matthew 20 we read about the mother of the two sons of Zebedee, James and John, bringing them to Jesus and asking for special dispensation from Him for their future in His kingdom. All she asked was that they be allowed to sit on His right and left side for eternity. To the uneducated, non Jewish, unwise, un-Holy Spirit enlightened mind, the request seemed harmless. Of course, Jesus knew exactly what the mother was asking before the words were out of her mouth. The request was wrong on several levels, but I will only deal with two here: 1. her request was for her sons to be in the most important positions of authority under Jesus in the kingdom of God; 2. her request, if granted, would have had one of her sons sitting on the throne that is already occupied by God the Father (Lk. 22:69; Eph. 1:20; Col. 3:1).
Of course, Jesus was never going to grant such a request. But His answer was quite revealing. He begins by asking them a rather telling question. They responded immediately and without a clue what their response meant. His question, “Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” They immediately replied, “We are able.” Of course, as devoted as they were to Him, I doubt seriously they would have thus replied had they known he was speaking of His crucifixion.
Jesus made it clear over and again during His earthly teachings that those who are going to be the greatest in the coming kingdom (eternity) are those who live as servants to the rest of His church during this phase of His kingdom (the church age). In other words, one’s life from dusk to dawn and everything in between must be a life of self-sacrifice and service to those around him if he wishes to be great in the coming eternal kingdom. It seems there are very few who find that invitation very inviting. Power struggles are the norm in modern churches around the world today. Jesus’ words in Matthew 23:1-12 reiterate this problem. He condemned the Pharisees for their ceaseless striving to be the most respected and honored leaders of their time. They were like the pastor who can’t stand to go to conferences if he’s not the guest speaker. They were like the pastor who leads small groups where input from everyone is encouraged, but he talks so much no one else ever gets to comment. Jesus ends his admonishing of those kinds of spiritual leaders with these rather pointed disclaimers,
“but do not be called Rabbi; for One is your Teacher, and you are all brothers. Do not call anyone on earth your father; for One is your Father, He who is in heaven. Do not be called leaders; for One is your Leader, that is, Christ. But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted."
I am a pastor/teacher, an evangelist, and a preacher. That is my calling. My title among the brethren is brother. No greater title or way of addressing our earthly leaders is biblical. And frankly, any pastor/teacher, elder, apostle, or prophet who desires to be called anything but brother is plainly and simply acting like the Pharisees about whom Jesus was speaking in Matthew 23. The biblical answer to the question posed as the title of this instruction is, the greatest is the servant. He is the one who humbles himself daily under the mighty hand of God and says, “Allow me O Lord, this day, to bring glory and honor to your Holy Name.” The greatest is the one who lives to serve others. He is not necessarily the one who lives to preach. Sometimes the one who lives to preach only does so because he’d rather hear himself speak than hear God speak. Now, go and tell someone what great things God has done for you today.
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