The Road to Greatness is Paved With Humility
Rev. D. Johns Sunday January 31, 2010
Mtthew 20:17-28• Jesus predicts his 'Passion' but a Mom and her two boys are set on seizing the possibilities of power, prestige and privilege.
• Selfish ambition stirs up team conflict (verse 24)
• Jesus turns the popular notion of status upside down as he stresses the role of servanthood & slavery (verse 26: diakonos; verse 27: doulos)
• Kingdom ethics are not the same as the world's structures (verse 25)
Think on these questions:
- Are you on a quest for preferential treatment?
- In what ways does Jesus call us to 'the back of the line'?
- Is it possible to do great things for God, to be truly motivated, without the promise of rewards?
- Is there room for competition in the Church? (the 'body' concept of 1 Corinthians 12 stresses diversity in unity, equality not status, roles divinely determined)
- Are you okay with God making the final decisions?
- How does Jesus model/demonstrate greatness?
Related Scripture: Matthew 19:30, 20:16,27; Mark 9:35, 10:31,43,44; Luke 13:30
A Promise:
1 Peter 5:5-6 Clothe yourselves with humility because God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time.
FULL MANUSCRIPTThe Road to Greatness is Paved With Humility
Rev. D. Johns Sunday January 31, 2010
Mtthew 20:17-28Intro: IllustrationsWinston Churchill was once asked, “Doesn’t it thrill you to know that every time you make a speech, the hall is packed to overflowing?”
“It’s quite flattering,” replied Sir Winston. “But whenever I feel that way, I always remember that if instead of making a political speech I was being hanged, the crowd would be twice as big.”
Norman McGowan, My Years with Winston Churchill, Souvenir Press, London.
Dr. Harry Ironside was once convicted about his lack of humility. A friend recommended as a remedy, that he march through the streets of Chicago wearing a sandwich board, and shouting the scripture verses on the board for all to hear. Dr. Ironside agreed to this venture and when he returned to his study and removed the board, he said “I’ll bet there’s not another man in town that would do that.”
Daniel, Decoder of Dreams, Donald Campbell, p. 22.
Did you hear about the minister who said he had a wonderful sermon on humility but was waiting for a large crowd before preaching it'
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Jesus predicts his 'Passion' but a Mom and her two boys are set on seizing the possibilities of power, prestige and privilege.Is this the “hockey mom” syndrome? My kids are the best deal going thing? …. If this mom is the sister of Mary (the mother of Jesus), there is a presumption of ‘relative proximity’ that can be translated into ‘kingdom proximity’. This is not how God’s kingdom works. No room for presumption of honor.
Barclay suggests that Matthew is written 25 years later than Mark, and therefore not to destroy the ‘righteous halos of the disciples’ which had developed, Matthew pins the crime on the boys’ mother instead. This is an interesting theory.
Here's what they seek: to share in the proximity (right and left hand) of Jesus' kingdom. But they think of this kingdom without suffering and sacrifice. They are ignorant of what Jesus knew lay ahead. To be close to Jesus is to share his cup of suffering.
It is often in ignorance that people seek power and glory. People ask for wealth and fame but don't realize they are often asking for pressure, anxiety, temptation and envy. To ask for spiritual greatness is often to ask to great suffering. (2 Corinthians 11:23-33; Colossians 1:24; Revelation 1:9)
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Selfish ambition stirs up team conflict (verse 24)
The others get jealous. They squabble again (Mark 9:33-37; Matthew 18:1).
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Jesus turns the popular notion of status upside down as he stresses the role of servanthood & slavery (verse 26: diakonos; verse 27: doulos)
• Kingdom ethics are not the same as the world's structures (verse 25)greatness in the Roman empire = power & authority; but greatness with Jesus is spelled 'service'.
Humility in one realm was considered weakness. Humility in the other is its strength.
For Jesus, service is the badge of greatness. It does not exist in commanding others do stuff for you; it consists in doing things for others. New values that fly in the face of what a worldly kingdom looks like.
The world may assess a man’s greatness by the number of people whom he controls; or by his intellectual standing and his academic eminence; or by the number of committees he sits on; or by the size of his investment portfolio; - all irrelevant!
Jesus is the supreme example – he pays the ransom. … substitution, exchange. Not the typical description of the expected Messiah! Looking for one to smash the iron grip of the Romans rather than release enslaved sinners from a self-imposed prison. Not the desired Lion of Judah but the Lamb of God!
We see right into the heart of Jesus. He is KIND. He does not lose patience or become so irritated that he dismisses them on the spot. I might blaze at their blindness or explode at their expectations to greatness. Jesus did not write them off as bad debts but makes the supreme payment for their debts. Cool!
Think on these questions:- Are you on a quest for preferential treatment?
- In what ways does Jesus call us to 'the back of the line'?
- Is it possible to do great things for God, to be truly motivated, without the promise of rewards?
- Is there room for competition in the Church? (the 'body' concept of 1 Corinthians 12 stresses diversity in unity, equality not status, roles divinely determined)
- Are you okay with God making the final decisions?
- How does Jesus model/demonstrate greatness?
Related Scripture: Matthew 19:30, 20:16,27; Mark 9:35, 10:31,43,44; Luke 13:30
A Promise:1 Peter 5:5-6 Clothe yourselves with humility because God opposes the proud and gives grace to the humble. Humble yourselves under God's mighty hand that he may lift you up in due time.
Other Verses:Proverbs 30:12-13 = there are those who are pure in their own eyes and yet are not cleansed of their filth; those whose eyes are ever so haughty, whose glances are so disdainful
• I am the least of the apostles. - 1 Corinthians 15:9
• I am the very least of all the saints. - Ephesians 3:8
• I am the foremost of sinners. - 1 Timothy 1:15
Illustrations and QuotesWalter Cronkite recalls the following incident: Sailing back down the Mystic River in Conneciticut and following the channel’s tricky turns through an expanse of shallow water, I am reminded of the time a boatload of young people sped past us here, its occupants shouting and waving their arms. I waved back a cheery greeting and my wife said, “Do you know what they were shouting?” “Why, it was ‘Hello, Walter,’“ I replied. “No,” she said. “They were shouting, “Low water, Low water.’“ Such are the pitfalls of fame’s egotism. …. Ray Ellis and Walter Cronkite, North by Northeast
• Be humble or you’ll stumble. - D.L. Moody
• Never be haughty to the humble. Never be humble to the haughty. - Jefferson Davis
The young seminarian was excited about preaching his first sermon in his home church. After three years in seminary, he felt adequately prepared, and when he was introduced to the congregation, he walked boldly to the pulpit, his head high, radiating self-confidence.
But he stumbled reading the Scriptures and then lost his train of thought halfway through the message. He began to panic, so he did the safest thing: He quickly ended the message, prayed, and walked dejectedly from the pulpit, his head down, his self-assurance gone.
Later, one of the Godly elders whispered to the embarrassed young man, “If you had gone up to the pulpit the way you came down, you might have come down the way you went up.” The elder was right. God still resists the proud but gives grace to the humble.
Prokope, Vol. No. 3, July-September, 1997
Jesus said "blessed are the meek..."(Matthew 5:5) "If you think meek means weak-try being meek for a week." – JAMES MACDONALD
