25 But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. 26 It is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, 27 and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave; 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Rivalry among the disciples for prominence in the kingdom set the stage for Jesus’ summary teaching on greatness. Lest we be too hard on the disciples, sober reflection reveals this struggle in all of us. Even in our churches, the quest for prominence frequently lurks in both the pew and pulpit. The desire for recognition often reveals a servant heart mixed with much pride. To some degree that will always be with us, this side of the grave; however, we need to root it out at its first hint.
Nowhere does this show up more than in church leadership when men or women strive for titles. Unbiblically, in most churches the spiritual gift of “pastor” has been replaced with an official title “Pastor.” This unfortunate dividing of believers into classes (laity vs. clergy) began surprisingly soon after the death of the apostles. Distinctions have became even more parsed, with a present emphasis now on the “Senior Pastor” as opposed to just “Pastor,” not to mention other common titles such as “Reverend,” “Most Right Reverend,” “Most Holy Right Reverend,” etc. None of these can be found anywhere in Scripture. Such titles separate, rather than unite, and they reflect the ambitions and yearnings for recognition among men. The roles of leadership in the church were never identified by titles, but simply by function or spiritual gift (e.g. elder, deacon, evangelist, teacher, helps, mercies, etc.). These were simply descriptions.
Jesus presented a revolutionary idea of greatness that is not found in the worldly aspirations for prominence—namely, what is called, “servant-leadership.” Yes, there does need to be authority in life’s relationships, as seen in biblical teaching concerning family, church and government (see Eph 5:22-24, Heb 13:17, Rom 13:1-7). But when one seeks those things as a means for self-promotion, to gain personal prominence and control over others, that resembles Gentile ways more than Christ’s ways.
Building on His teaching that the first shall be last (Matt 19:30, 20:16), the Lord Jesus defined greatness using Himself as the example: He rendered the ultimate, servant-act of substituting Himself for us on the cross.
Lord, I confess my aspiration to make a name for myself, to be great and prominent. Help me be, rather, the servant of all.
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