LUKE 22:24-30 DISCIPLES ARE SERVANTS2014 Teaching by Jerry B Simmons

Teaching Transcript: Luke 22:24-30 Disciples Are Servants

As we get started this morning in Luke chapter 22, I would ask you to consider who is the most important person in your home? In your home, where you live, in your family, who's the most important person? Is it

The one who makes the most money? You know, whoever that might be, mom or dad. Who makes the most money? Does that make them the most important? Or perhaps it's the one who makes the best meals. You know, I kind of think that's the most important in my household. It's the one who could cook the best. That's the most important. How do you determine, how do you evaluate who is the most important person in your home?

And you could kind of carry that on to perhaps the church here. Who is the most important person at Calvary Chapel Living Water? Well, what is the most important role? Now, I ask this question because it's really what the disciples were discussing as we get started here in Luke chapter 22. It talks about them disputing amongst one another about who was the greatest, about who was the most important.

And as we begin to talk about the idea of being the greatest in the kingdom of God and wondering who the greatest is or who the most important is, I'd like to remind you of what Paul declared in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Paul tells us that God has designed the church in a specific way and he relates to the church or describes the church as a body. That we, the church, are the body of Christ.

And Paul declares in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 24, that God composed the body, having given greater honor to the part which lacks it. And what Paul is declaring there, what Paul is trying to help us to understand is that within the body of Christ, there are not levels of importance. That God has designed the body in such a way that each member is important. And

that each member is equally important as the other members. And you and I maybe will look around and think, well, you know, this role or that member, that person, you know, we could live without them or, you know, we can't live without them. We might have these scales that we use to try to evaluate how important a person or a role is. But Paul says, that's not the way that God sees it. The reality is, God has designed the body

So that those that people think are lesser actually have greater value. And so that we all have equality as it comes to our importance with the Lord.

And Paul goes on to explain that this is so that there should be no division in the body, but instead we should all have the same care for one another. And so we need to understand that as we get started this morning in the passage, that God has designed the body of Christ so that we are equal in

That there are not greater or lesser, more important or less important, but that we each have value and have a part in God's work and God's plan. And he sees that equally so that we should have the same care for one another. Well, the title of the message this morning is that disciples are servants. And that's what we'll see as the disciples begin this passage by disputing who is the greatest. Jesus will teach us

about being servants. And so there's four points we'll walk through in this passage about being a servant. The first one we find in verse 24, we see here that the disciples desired greatness. Look with me at verse 24 once again. It says, now there was also a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. So here the disciples are disputing.

Now, if you would imagine this discussion or this dispute, how would you imagine it to go? What would you think is going on here? Do you think that the disciples were suggesting other people as, you know, the top candidates for the greatest? Do you think that Peter was saying, you know, I think John is the greatest, you know, he's probably the one that is most important in the kingdom of God.

I don't imagine it that way at all. I think the disciples were saying this. Here's Peter saying, I'm the greatest. And John says, no, you're a fool. I'm the greatest. And then James says, no, you guys are both fools. I'm the greatest. And maybe some of them had some, you know, some good arguments along with their claim, right? Peter, James, and John, maybe they said,

Hey guys, I mean, clearly we're a step above you guys because we were with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration. We saw Him glorified. We saw Moses. We saw Elijah.

We're way more important than you guys. He didn't bring you. It was just us because we're really important. Or maybe Judas, if he was there, was saying, you guys, I keep the money. I mean, what greater importance could there be? I'm the one who has the treasure box and I manage the resources and I set the budget. I'm the most important disciple. And maybe this one had that and this one had that. They had this dispute going on about who was the greatest. Who was the most important?

important. And clearly we can see from this, the disciples desired greatness. They desired to be that most important. They desired that position or that place of being the greatest or the most important one. We can also see this in other passages because this is not the first time that the disciples had this debate.

It seems like this is one that they kind of frequented. We saw it also in Luke chapter 9, verse 46 through 48, where there an argument started among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. So this is something they've discussed before. They've refined their arguments and come back for another round to try to prove their point that they are the greatest.

What's interesting about this to me is that in this case, as they're having this discussion, the timing of it, I think, is interesting. Because this is happening, well, on the day that Jesus was about to be betrayed. If you remember, two weeks ago, we were in Luke chapter 22, and we looked at the Last Supper, where Jesus had spent this last Passover meal with his disciples. And from that, he gave us

the institution of communion. And it was that last supper where they're at and they're having this discussion. And Luke puts it here where it's right after Jesus had declared, one of you is going to betray me. As they're feasting on the Passover meal, Jesus breaks the news that one of them is going to turn him over to the religious leaders and he's going to be crucified.

And verse 23 tells us that at this time the disciples begin to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing. So Jesus says, hey, one of you guys is going to betray me. And they're looking around at each other like, well, who is the one who's going to betray Jesus? Another gospel writer tells us that

They were asking, Lord, is it me? And kind of one by one, they went around. Is it me, Lord? Is it me? And Peter said it. John said it. James said it. Is it me? Am I the one who's going to betray you? There was this acknowledgement of, well, I'm capable of betraying the Lord. Is it me? I hope it's not me. I don't want to betray you, Jesus. But this wondering of, oh no, is it me who's going to betray him? But then the next verse, I'm the greatest. So you see this

Well, there's this difference from one verse to the next. One moment they're saying, oh no, it might be me. I might be the one who betrays the Lord. And then the next moment they say, no, it can't be me because I'm the greatest in the kingdom of God. There's this kind of back and forth, this from one extreme to the other. I like what John Corson has to say about this. He says, this is what happens to anyone trying to live a performance-oriented faith.

He says, if you live by rules and regulations, trying to impress God with your devotion, then you will vacillate between feeling like a betrayer who can't keep the standards and feeling like a superstar when you keep them for a day or two. This is what happens to us when we try to relate to God based on our performance. There will be moments where we feel like the betrayer.

I'm like the worst of the worst. I'm the chief of sinners. I am not worthy of anything. I am worthless in the kingdom. I'm barely a Christian. If I am a Christian at all, I don't know. And then the next moment, I'm the greatest Christian there's ever been and I will be the greatest in the kingdom of God. What's the difference? Well, this moment I was messing up and this moment I felt like, wow, I've achieved. You know, I've performed well. And when we base our relationship with God based on our performance,

Well, we will jump back and forth between these two frequently because we will often mess up and we will often think ourselves very successful. Instead, of course, we need to approach God on a different basis.

Because it's not about our performance, it's about His performance and what He accomplished for us upon the cross. And this is why the grace of God is so important for us to grasp hold of. That we approach God, we come to God on the basis of His grace, not on the basis of what we have done. But the disciples aren't there yet.

And so in one moment, they're wondering if they're the betrayer. In the next moment, they're in a heated argument with the rest of the disciples, insisting that they are the greatest. They had this desire to be the greatest in the kingdom of God. What's really amazing about this to me is that in all the places where this argument occurs in the Gospels,

Jesus doesn't rebuke them for the desire to be great. He never tells them, you guys need to knock it off. Stop trying to be great. That's not what I want for you. Instead, he tells them, here's how to be great. But when we studied Luke chapter 9 in verse 46 through 48, we saw there as they were arguing about greatness again, Jesus says, here's how to be great.

receive children. We talked about receiving anyone who's considered less or valued less like children were in their day. And Jesus says, invest in them, love them, spend time with them, receive them in order to be great in the kingdom of God. It's very different from what the world would have taught. It's very different from what their culture, their upbringing would have suggested to them. But it's what Jesus said is the way for them to be great.

And so the desire for greatness in the kingdom of God is not necessarily wrong, but the way that we go about it is what's really important. And so as the disciples, while we begin this passage with them disputing, now Jesus is going to give them some more direction, some more correction to help them understand what their role in the kingdom of God really is all about.

And so that brings us now to the second point in verse 25 and 26. And that is that disciples are equal servants. And in explaining this, Jesus gives us a contrast to consider. In verse 26 he says, But not so among you, on the contrary. And so he's going to paint two pictures here. He's going to paint one for us to examine. And then to show how that's completely different.

than the way that we should be as his followers. And so we see it begin in verse 25. It says, He said to them, The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. And so Jesus talks to them about the Gentile kings, the kings of other nations outside of Israel.

And he says, look at them as an example of what not to do. And what do they do? Well, he says they exercise lordship over the people. This idea of lordship, it's the idea of being lord or master. And so the kings of Gentile nations said,

demand obedience. They insist that they are the master. So much so that the Roman Caesars declared themselves to be God. And so along with obedience, they also demanded worship.

They required that the people would serve them, that the people would do what they said, that the people would worship them and bow down to them. They required a lot of the people. He goes on to say that those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. Now, a benefactor is a person who gives money or some other type of help

to a person or to a people. And so the thing that Jesus is addressing here is the difference between what they are called and what they do. What is it that they do? They lord over the people. They demand obedience. They demand worship. They demand support. They demand all kinds of things. But they call themselves, they insist that the people call them benefactors.

So the idea here is, call me a servant of the people, even though that's not what I do. The commentator William MacDonald puts it this way, they were called benefactors, but it was only a title. Actually, they were cruel tyrants. They had the name of goodness, but no personal characteristics to match it. And so what they called themselves, benefactors, didn't match what they actually did. They actually looked out for themselves.

They actually demanded that people serve them, but they called themselves, you know, those who do good to the people. We could see this not just in ancient Rome, but in leaders today, can't we? But there are those, you know, even today we call elected officials or politicians public servants. But just because they have that title doesn't mean they actually serve the public, even though we call them public servants, right?

It still continues on this day. And so Jesus is saying, look at that. That's an example of what not to do. The Gentile kings exercise lordship. They demand obedience. They demand worship. They pretend to serve the people, but in reality, they require that the people serve them. Now going on in verse 26, he says, but not so among you.

On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger and he who governs as he who serves. And so he says, it's to be opposite with you. You're not to be like the Gentile kings who call themselves servants but really make people serve them. Instead,

He says, whoever is the greatest among you, let him be as the younger. And hear what Jesus is saying. And here's where I see the point that disciples are equal servants. Jesus is emphasizing this equality. Because he says, there's different ages in the mix, but you need to behave the same. He says, let him who is greatest...

Be as the younger. Now the word greatest also could be translated the oldest. And culturally, for them, your age determined your rank. The older person always outranked the younger person. The older person was always more important than the younger person. When an older person spoke, everybody younger was to be quiet and to listen. Because the older person was most important.

And they were the ones speaking, so everybody else needed to listen. The older person was given respect, was released from certain responsibilities and duties because, well, they were older, they were more important, but less important, younger people should do those things instead of the older, more important people. That's the way that they viewed the different ages within their society.

And so he who is greatest or oldest among you, let him be as the younger or as the least. Jesus here is declaring that older disciples should be like younger disciples. In other words, there's an equality here. That there's not an exemption for older disciples from doing certain things. There's not an exemption from serving for older saints.

In other words, we do not outgrow the need to serve others. It's not something that we outgrow. It's not that, you know, you become a Christian and, you know, you're new to the faith, you're walking with Jesus and so you need to get involved and start serving Him. That's true. But then it doesn't happen where you grow up and you've been with the Lord for five years or ten years or twenty-five years and now you've grown out of the need to serve other people.

That is not what the Bible teaches. That is not what disciples do. No, there's this equality among us that we have the same position, the same role, that we are all supposed to serve one another. We don't outgrow this. It will be with us for the rest of our life that we are called to be servants.

And so there's equality among servants in the different ages, but there's also equality among servants in the different roles that we fulfill. Jesus goes on there in verse 26. He says, and he who governs as he who serves. It's interesting here. Jesus talks about those who govern. Now remember, he's contrasting this with the Gentile kings, and he's not eliminating the role of king.

He's not eliminating roles of leadership. He's not saying nobody should govern, nobody should be king. That's not what he's saying. What he's saying is you have different roles. There are those who govern, who have to oversee and are given authority. That is legitimate and that is appointed by God. But for those who have authority, you need to have the right heart to

In exercising that authority. That's what Jesus is saying. That he who governs should be like also the one who serves. We need to have the right heart in those positions and still be a servant even though you have authority. Even though you are called to govern. Even though that is your role. Your heart needs to still be to serve people and not to make people serve you.

So we do not outgrow the need to serve others, but also we do not rise above the need to serve others. Now you can consider this in a variety of ways. You can consider this in your home. Husbands, wives, children. There's a responsibility that you have as a disciple to serve one another.

To recognize that there's this equality amongst you. Yes, there is an order that God has given. But that doesn't mean that the husband is a lazy dictator because he's called to be the head of the home. And so he sits on the couch with his wand, the remote, right? And he tells people what to do and never does anything to serve anybody else. That's not what God says at all.

Guys, you don't outgrow the need to serve your wife. You don't outgrow the need to serve your kid. You don't outrank them in such a way that you no longer need to serve and to meet other people's needs. And the same goes for the wife. That there's this need, there's this equality. Yeah, God gives order, but that's not a statement of value. It's not a statement of one is more important or less important.

It's just an order that God gives, a direction that He gives. And then you transfer that to your workplace. And the same things apply. You do not outgrow the need to serve others. You don't outgrow the need to minister to other people's needs.

You don't rise up in rank so that then you no longer are required to meet other people's needs. No. Your responsibility as a disciple is to meet the needs of people around you. Because, well, the people around you are just as important as you are. Even if you're older. Even if you have a higher rank. They're just as important as you are.

There's equality amongst us. And so we need to take the heart of Jesus in humbling ourselves to minister to one another. Paul talks about this in Philippians chapter 2. And he tells us in Philippians chapter 2 verse 3, he says, "...let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself."

He says, here's what we should be doing. We should be doing things for others because we esteem them as better than, we consider them as more important than ourselves. And we should not be doing anything, Paul says, out of selfish ambition. That is, what can I get out of this? What can I get for myself? What can I accomplish for myself?

No, he says, let nothing be done with selfish ambition or conceit, but instead esteem others. He goes on to say, look out not only for your own interests, but also for the interests of others. And so in the home, you need to look out for the interests of, well, your family, the people around you. And not just be concerned with and consumed with what you get, or what you want, or what you need,

But how can you meet the needs of people around you? That may require some sacrifice because in order to meet their needs, well, you might have to lay down some of the things that you want or maybe that you think that you need. Yeah, it might affect your career. It might affect, well, the things that you have planned for your future. It might affect the toys that you can purchase. It might affect those things. But you haven't outgrown the need to serve others.

You haven't risen above the need to serve others. And the same goes for your workplace. Think about the people at your workplace and their needs. And esteem their needs as, well, more than your own. Look out for their interests. And so instead of undercutting the guy in the cubicle next to you so that you get the promotion, serve. Minister. Meet their needs. We don't outgrow this. This is who we are called to be as disciples.

And of course, all these things apply to the church as well. But we need to look out for the interests of others. I think there's a good example that you've probably seen in the church or maybe heard about in the church. Again, the contrast like Jesus gave us of the Gentile kings.

You can also see the contrast of what not to do with, well, there are those who have the title of minister. It's a title that's applied to people who have a pastoral role. And sometimes people will introduce themselves that way or declare themselves, you know, I'm a minister. That's my occupation. Now, what's interesting about that is the word minister, it means servant. Right?

And so if I say to you, I am a minister, what I am supposed to mean by that is I am a servant. But a lot of times ministers will have the title of minister, but instead of being a servant, they expect to be served.

And this could happen at any level, at any position or role within the church. I mean, it could happen, you know, in children's ministry. It could happen in the usher's ministry. It could happen in a variety of ways. But the idea is that we have this mentality that people are supposed to meet our needs. I'm the minister. You should be meeting my needs. You should be doing things for me, not me doing things for you because I'm the minister. But that contradicts

The meaning of the word minister. And so in the same way as the public servants were making the public serve them, sometimes ministers will make the people minister to them. And Jesus is saying, that's backwards. We need to be servants. We don't grow out of that.

We don't reach a rank so high that then we don't need to be servants any longer. And for myself personally, as a pastor, this is something that I have to continually challenge myself in and I don't do perfectly. And so one of the ways that I challenge myself and I remind myself is I remind myself that no task should be beneath me. Sure, I'm the pastor and I have responsibilities and things that God has called me to do.

But there shouldn't be anything that I would say, well, I won't do that. I'm not going to do that. That's beneath me. I'm the pastor. Right? That's why we have Jake clean the toilets. Right? It's not beneath him. That's right where he's at. Just kidding. I need to make sure that my heart is in a willing state. Now, I can't always do it. There's conflicts, you know. We can't do everything. But I should be willing.

And sometimes God will remind me of that and make an occasion where I need to do the things that I think are beneath me. So that I remember no task is beneath me. I'm called to be a servant. You're called to be a servant. There's nothing that should be beneath us that we should consider. I'm too old to do that. I am too high of a rank. I have a different kind of position. So we'll leave that for lesser people.

younger people. That should not be our hearts at all. Because, well, disciples are equal servants. There's an equality amongst us. We have the same value to the Lord. He's designed the body that way. I love the saying that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. The idea being that we come to Jesus at the same level.

We might look around and think, well, I'm above that guy. And, well, yeah, way above that guy. But that's not the reality. We come to Jesus in desperate need. All of us. Without hope. Without help. Without Jesus. We come to Him and the ground is level. And that doesn't change. As we walk with Jesus, we are on the same level of value, of importance with the people around us. And because they're so valuable, we don't outgrow the need to serve them.

Because the people around us are so important, we never rise above. We're never too important to serve them. No, we are equal servants. Different roles, different callings, sure, but same value. That's the way that God has designed His body. Well, as we go on into verse 27, we have the third point here, and that is that Jesus is the model servant. And so for all of these things that we're talking about today, we have Jesus as the greatest example of

of how to live this out. Verse 27, he says, for he, or for who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the one who serves. So Jesus challenges him with a question. Who is greater? Is it the person who sits at the table, or the person who serves? Now,

In their mind, this would have been a very clear answer, clear decision. Because the person who sat at the table was obviously the most important compared to the one who serves. Because it was the lesser people who served. That was the way they viewed it. And that's why Jesus goes on to say, is it not he who sits at the table? That's the greater person. That's the way that they would have thought. You could maybe think about it

In other ways, such as, you know, who has the most money? The person who's sitting at the table or the person who's waiting on the table? And there's a good chance that the person sitting at the table paying for the food is the one who can afford to pay for the food. It was in their mind a clear statement of value. The one who served the table was lesser. Clear, without question for them.

And Jesus goes on to say, yet I am among you as the one who serves. Think about that. So Jesus, how important is he? I mean, if there's ever a case for being the greatest in the kingdom of God, it's Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of God. I mean, no doubt about it. He is God who became man. He lived a perfect life. He is the greatest. And yet, what did he do? He came and he served.

He set for us an example of service, being the most important, yet he served. In Mark chapter 10, another time when the disciples were arguing about who is the greatest, Jesus gave himself as an example there also. He said, "...for even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many."

Jesus, although he deserves to be served, when he came, he came to serve. He could have demanded that people serve him. And it would have been a rightful demand. But he came to serve. Even to the point of giving his life as a ransom for many. Giving his life for our sins. That we might have redemption. He gave himself for us. He served.

Jesus says, I'm among you as one who serves. And I'm the most important who has ever existed. I'm the most important person who will ever exist. Now remember the context of when all this is taking place. This is happening in the upper room at that last meal with his disciples. The last supper, the Passover meal. He's instituted communion. And at that time, as you read the account in John chapter 13, after the supper, after the dinner, Jesus...

took off his outer garment, he girded himself with a towel, and he proceeded to wash his disciples' feet, one by one, going around, washing each of their feet. Now, the washing of feet was a task that was reserved for the lowest slave. So, if people were coming over to the house, and the master of the house had several servants or slaves, it would be the lowest slave.

the least, that it would be their responsibility to wash the feet of those who came. Now, in this case, when they went to the upper room, nobody washed their feet. And so Jesus humbled himself and performed the task of the lowest slave in washing the disciples' feet. And it's, I would imagine, around this time that Jesus is saying, who's the greater? The one who sits at the table with their feet being washed?

Or the one who washes their feet? And looking on from the outside, you would say, it's the one who sits at the table. That's the greater. That's who I want to be. I'd rather be the one getting my feet washed than the one washing someone's feet. And Jesus is saying, I'm the greatest. But look at my example. I am among you as one who serves. Jesus is the greatest and yet he served the most. He served the most.

And so he's the model servant. Unless you are greater than Jesus, you must follow his example. Are you greater than Jesus? Then you're called to serve. You're called to serve the people around you because, well, they're just as important as you are. They're just as valuable to God as you are. And so their needs are important. Well, and God's placed you there so that you can be part of meeting those needs.

Now, as we look at Jesus as the model, it helps us to understand this a little bit better and understand some of the boundaries and the scope of what we're talking about. Because, well, if you take this outside of what God has said, you can get yourself in trouble. Here's what we need to understand. Serving is about meeting needs, not demands. Serving is about meeting needs, not demands.

Being a servant doesn't mean we do everything that everybody demands of us. That's not what a servant is. That's not what the Lord is talking about when he calls us to be servants. You could think about that in Luke chapter 12. In verse 13, there was a guy who's in the crowd as Jesus is teaching and he says, "'Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.'" So here's a demand from somebody in the crowd as Jesus is teaching.

And Jesus said, no. He said, no. You know, servants can say no. There's balance that we need to have as we talk about this idea of serving. On the one hand, nothing is beneath me. On the other hand, I can't do everything. On the one hand, I need to be willing to serve people. On the other hand, sometimes I need to say no. Jesus said, no. He said, I'm not your judge. I'm not going to try to settle this issue with the inheritance between you and your brother.

He put the needs of people first, but not necessarily their demands. And what this guy needed was not a resolution of the inheritance, but instead he needed to hear the teaching that Jesus was about to give about not valuing the things of this life above the things of God. And so serving is about meeting needs, not necessarily demands. You could think about it as with a parent and a child. Now, as a parent...

You don't give a child everything that is demanded or requested, right? I mean, even parents who spoil their kids don't give them everything they demand. Because as a parent, you look on and you say, well, I know you're asking to play in the street, but that's not going to work out good for you. And so, no, you can't do that. I know you're asking for a fourth serving of ice cream,

But no, that's not good for you. You can't do that. The parent makes some decisions based on the needs. Now where there's a need, then the parent seeks to meet that need. But just because the child demands, it doesn't mean the parent does it. At least that's not how it's supposed to be. In the same way, as we seek to be the servant like Jesus was, we need to understand that our job is to meet needs of people. And so there has to be an evaluation.

is this demand, is this request, something that is needed? Is it something that I have the means to meet? Is it something that I'm capable of? And maybe I can help meet that need. And so there needs to be the willingness, nothing is beneath me, but also an evaluation of, is this what is needed? Jesus died upon the cross for our sins. Now, after the fact...

And after we've received it, then we can recognize that we needed it. But we wouldn't have asked for him to sacrifice himself for us. We wouldn't have been able to fully understand that we needed that. We would have instead asked him to work some miracles or provide for us in some way or do something great on our behalf. But he did what we needed more than what we wanted. And so as we serve one another, this is something we should keep in mind.

It's not just about answering every request, but about meeting the needs of the people around us. Along with that, I would say that serving is about fulfilling God's will. It's about being faithful to what God has called us to. And you can see an example of this in Mark chapter 1. In verse 37 and 38, the disciples find Jesus as he's off by himself. And they tell Jesus, hey, the whole city's looking for you. You are ministering to them.

and they want more. They want to hear more teaching. They want to see more miracles and you've been off by yourself and they want to know where you're at. They want you to come back and keep on ministering to them. And Jesus said, let's go to the next towns. He said, it's for that purpose that I have come forth. To not just minister to one place, but to go throughout the region and teach and

work miracles, and minister to the people. If the crowd had their way, Jesus would have just stayed there the whole time. But Jesus says, no, I need to fulfill God's will and do what God has set me to do. And so he moved on even when crowds wanted him to stay. He was making sure to stay faithful to his mission.

And so again, as we consider and evaluate this idea of serving and serving others and others being valuable and important, just as valuable and important as we are, and so we should meet their needs. We should be serving one another. We also need to make sure that we don't get distracted with much serving. Remember Mary and Martha?

Mary was sitting at the feet of Jesus while Martha was preparing the meal. And it says that she was distracted with much serving. And she became frustrated. She came and yelled at Jesus. Told Jesus, would you tell my sister to get in here and help me? Jesus says, hey, you're distracted. Mary's chosen a good thing. It's not going to be taken from her. In the same way, listen, there's more needs around us than we could ever possibly meet.

And you can get caught up and consumed with meeting needs and serving people. And it could derail you from what God has actually called you to do. And so be careful not to get distracted. Because, well, you also need time at the feet of Jesus. And if you're so busy serving that you don't have time to meet with Jesus, then, well, you've been distracted with much serving. But then there's the balance. Having met with Jesus, now you also need to go get involved and be serving.

You need both. Spending time with Him and serving. Ministering to other people and meeting needs in the people around you. Always remember that the best thing that you can do for the people around you is to fulfill God's will for you. And so for you, to spend time with the Lord is essential. And that's the best thing that you can do for your kids.

That's the best thing that you can do for your co-workers. Even if it means you have to set some other things aside. Maybe things that they want or demand or request. But first you got to spend time with Jesus. The best thing for them is for you to be right where God wants you to be. And so Jesus made sure that he was faithful to his mission. That he was faithful to God. He stayed on course. Even when people requested good things. It would have been a good thing for him to go back and teach. Great opportunity.

There was great need, but he had to be faithful. And so we see Jesus as the model servant. Although he is the greatest, he was willing to do the task of the lowest of servants. But he also balanced that with staying faithful to what God had called him to do and saying no when what the people wanted was not what was best for them. Well, the final point as we look at verses 28 through 30 is

is that disciples are rewarded for serving. Disciples are rewarded for serving. It says in verse 28, But you are those who have continued with me in my trials. Jesus is explaining, I've been here serving, and you've been with me. As I've been serving, as I've been walking on this earth and meeting these needs, you've walked with me in the midst of the trials. You've walked with me and been alongside of me. Verse 29,

And I bestow upon you a kingdom just as my father bestowed one upon me, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel. And so Jesus says, you guys have been with me and so I have a reward for you. My father has bestowed on me a kingdom.

And I'm going to bestow that upon you. I'm going to grant that kingdom to you as well. Not only that, but I'm going to give you a place at my table and I'm going to give you an opportunity to sit on thrones and judge the 12 tribes of Israel. There was a reward for them in their faithfulness with being with Jesus and during the trials with Him and serving alongside of Him.

And as a result, He gives them a place at His table and authority in His kingdom. As we consider rewards in eternity, you know there's a lot that we do not fully understand about eternity. We really don't know a lot of things about what eternity is going to be like. But here's what we do know. And the Bible is consistent to teach this throughout. This life directly impacts eternity.

And what we do in this life and how faithful we are in this life has a direct impact into what we will receive and how we will experience eternal life. Faithfulness here in this life is rewarded there. And there's going to be opportunities in eternity.

There's going to be responsibilities in eternity. It's not going to be, sometimes you see the picture, you know, we're just laying around on clouds, bored out of our brains. That's not what eternity is going to be like. No, there's going to be meaning and purpose. There's going to be opportunities to continue to serve the Lord. And there's going to be great rewards in eternity.

And so the question I would ask you to consider is what kind of eternity do you want to have? If you want to be great in the kingdom of God, Jesus says, here's how. Here's how. If anyone wants to be great, Jesus says in Mark 10, 43, let him be your servant. You want to be great in the kingdom of God?

He says, be a servant. If you want to be first, be the slave of all. It's not about how many people you have serving you, but it's about how many people are you serving. You have opportunity to accomplish for yourself great rewards in eternity. It's based on how faithful you are here. Are you faithful to the Lord? Are you humbling yourself to serve people?

Because how you serve now impacts your opportunities in eternity. Paul talks about the judgment seat in 2 Corinthians chapter 5. Where you and I as believers will stand before the Lord and our works, what we've done for Him will be evaluated. It'll be evaluated. What was our motive? Why did we do those things that we did? Did we do what God called us to do with, well, the resources that He gave to us?

It's going to be evaluated and there's going to be rewards based on how well we did with what God has given to us. Paul talks about in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 this idea of being tested by fire, that our works will be tested by fire and whatever endures, that will be your reward. But if it's all burned up,

He says, well, yeah, you'll still be saved, yet so as through fire. You just barely make it. You have no rewards. You're going to have a lesser experience of eternity because you weren't faithful here. What kind of eternity do you want to have? If you want to be great, the desire, not necessarily wrong, but it really matters how you go about it. Greatness is not about getting a lot of people to serve you.

Greatness is following the example of Jesus. Humbling yourself and serving others. Meeting the needs of others. Understanding that the people around us are equals. They have equal value. They're equally important. And so they are worth serving. It's worth it. It's not beneath us. We haven't outgrown it. It's our call. With Jesus as our example to serve one another.

And He has great rewards in store for those who do. To finish up, just a quick reminder. This is all based upon Jesus as the example. And He provided for us the best example of meeting the needs of others. In that He saw our need for a Savior. He saw that without Him, we're hopeless, we're helpless because of our sinful condition. And so He decided to do something about it. He's the only one who could.

And so he humbled himself and became man. He entered into his creation. He walked this earth sinless to die upon the cross without cause, without reason, except for the reason that he was going to be the perfect sacrifice for us. To take our place and receive the penalty that we deserved. And because he is God, he is creator, his sacrifice has infinite value, enough to

to cover all of our sin, all of humanity's sin, of past, present, and future. And so He paid the price. He met our greatest need so that by believing in Him, we could have forgiveness and new life and the promise of eternity with Him. And He did this not for some type of payment.

He doesn't require some type of huge, you know, gift back to Him. He requires, He asks for us to believe that He has done what He has declared He has done. That He is God who died on the cross for you. And if you believe in Him, He says, I'll give you everlasting life. And if you've not done that, I just want to encourage you. Listen, Jesus has served you. He's met your greatest need.

But He leaves it in your hands whether or not you receive what He has done for you. And so believe in Jesus. Receive what He has done for you. And experience the fullness of life that He promises to those who will follow Him. And as you receive Jesus, then let Him be your model. And turn around and serve the people around you. Let's pray. God, I pray for each one of us, Lord, that we would see clearly.

Your example, your model, what you've done for us. And Lord, I pray that you would help us to never think of ourselves as greater than you. But Lord, we would recognize that you are far greater. And so our responsibility is to follow your example and as you minister to others and met their needs and considered them of great value and considered them worth it. I pray that you would help us

to do the same, to value the people around us, even the people we don't like, but help us to value them, to love them, to serve them and meet their needs, just as you've done for us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. We pray you have been blessed by this Bible teaching. The power of God to change a life is found in the daily reading of His Word. Visit ferventword.com to find more teachings and Bible study resources.