11-27 Sermon

Luke 22:24-34

The Dispute about Greatness

 A dispute also arose among them as to which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. But he said to them, ‘The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you; rather the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like one who serves. For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

 ‘You are those who have stood by me in my trials; and I confer on you, just as my Father has conferred on me, a kingdom, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

 ‘Simon, Simon, listen! Satan has demanded to sift all of you like wheat, but I have prayed for you that your own faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.’ And he said to him, ‘Lord, I am ready to go with you to prison and to death!’Jesus said, ‘I tell you, Peter, the cock will not crow this day, until you have denied three times that you know me.’

This morning we're going to talk about greatness.

When we begin to talk about greatness, one of the first things that comes to mind is some of the nicknames throughout the ages that allude to greatness. For starters, there is Muhammad Ali, who was simply called 'The Greatest.' There is Wayne Gretzky, who was called 'The Great One', and we have greatness rolled into a name in the case of Alexander the Great.

Each of these men had greatness in their nickname because they reached the highest pinnacle of their profession. There has been no greater boxer than Ali, and it's hard to imagine a hockey player better than Gretzky. I have never seen Alexander the Great in action, but since we're still talking about him thousands of years later, we can safely assume he was pretty good at leading an army. Greatness came naturally to them, and they worked and worked and worked to perfect it. They were great at what they did.

I'd invite you to take a second and consider what greatness looks like in your life. If I told you that in ten years you would be referred to as great, what images come to mind? What defines greatness in your life? What would it take for you, for others, to think of you as great. As a pastor, it's tempting to think that greatness would be a church where thousands gather every Sunday to hang on every word.

But that's the world's idea of greatness, and if we're not careful, we buy in to what the world defines as great. We think that if we achieve fame and fortune we will be great. As a pastor, it's so tempting to believe that I am great if people come to hear me—but the reality is that image is an idol, because it's not about me, and greatness in my profession, just like greatness in your life, isn't defined by the things this world defines as great. This is the distinction Jesus is making in the text today, and it's a distinction he wants us to make in our lives, too. Jesus is redefining greatness.

Let's look at the situation out of which this discussion arises—the disciples are arguing about which one is to be regarded as the greatest. Why is this important? Let's not forget that Jesus is leaving the disciples soon, and he's been pretty open and adamant about that fact. The disciples are assuming that whichever of them is the greatest will assume Jesus' role of leadership within the group, and to the world at large. They believe that the ministry will continue exactly as it has, and the leader will gain notoriety and fame across the region. They believe that being the greatest will enhance their status and reputation within the group. They want to be great so that others will see them as great.

Notice how Jesus responds to this argument. He doesn't dispute with them that the natural inclination is to assume that the one who is served, the one with the higher worldly status, is often seen as great. He doesn't dispute that those with wealth, fame and power are seen as great.

What he does is redefine greatness in the eyes of God. What Jesus does is demand that those who wish to follow him must follow a different route and be willing to set aside the world's idea of greatness if they want to achieve greatness in the eyes of God. God isn't going to love you any more than He already does if you have wealth and fame. You are going to achieve greatness the way that God defines it by doing one, and only one, thing: serving others.

Now, it's our natural inclination to want to complicate this. We're going to want to add all sorts of complications and intricacies to it—but Jesus says it so straightforwardly. Serve others. Jesus, the greatest person that has ever and will ever live, serves others. Jesus spent his time in the gutter, serving beggars. He spent his time reaching out to lepers and others that most people wouldn't even talk to—he served them with a heart willing to love. He did this as a way to show others what true greatness is—it's service. It's love in action.

Now, you may be wondering how much service it takes to be great. You may be worried that you're not serving enough to meet Jesus' high threshold. This is where I have some really good news for you:

Jesus calls broken people.

It would have been easy for Jesus to call the best of the best, the ones with the least sin in their lives. It might be easy for God to look out across the population today and choose to save only those with the least amount of sin in their lives.

But God loves broken people. Always has. Has promised to always do so.

Look at the disciples. Jesus has been talking for days, for weeks, for years, about how he is going to be killed. All of the action is coming to a head, and Jesus is busy discussing which one of the disciples is going to betray him. How do the disciples respond? With hearts full of concern for Christ? Desperate to hang on his every word, to catch everything possible before he is crucified?

No, they get caught up in worrying about who is going to be in charge when he's gone.

Then we turn to Peter, who promises to follow Jesus wherever he will lead, even if that ends in prison or death. No, Jesus says—you'll deny even knowing me three times before the sun rises. Peter, the rock upon whom Jesus will build his church, will deny even knowing Jesus Christ. These are the disciples, the ones whom Jesus handpicked to follow Him.

God loves broken people. He's been using them to build his kingdom for thousands of years. Now, he's going to use you.

You may want to object because you believe your sins are so great, because you think you're unworthy. You may not believe that you can ever lead a life of service like the one that Jesus led.

I have news for you—you'll never live up to his standard. You'll never achieve a life like the one Christ led. But the great news is that you don't have to—you're worthy of Christ's love because of what he did, not because of what you have—or haven't—done.

Which means that we can set aside all of our fears about being good enough, about being worthy. We can set those aside and focus our eyes on one thing: being great in God's kingdom. And that doesn't necessarily mean preaching to a church of 10,000 people or giving more money than anyone else. What it means is that you are called to serve.

You're called to serve your family and your friends, your neighbors and your church, strangers and loved ones, homeless and wealthy, republican and democrat—you are called to serve. You're called to serve with your life, with your time, with your money and your energy. You're called to serve others, to constantly put others first and determine how you find new ways to serve. You're called to serve through prayer and action, through your words and your listening. You're called to serve in ways you can't even imagine right now. You are called to serve, and in so doing, you are great in God's eyes.

Because whenever we serve someone else, we serve God. So strive to be great, not in the eyes of the world, but in the eyes of God, and live a life that serves others, that chooses not to sit at the table and be served, but rather to serve. In so doing, may we do our part to join in God's building of a kingdom.

Let us pray.