How To Be Great In the Kingdom
Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
How to Be Great in the Kingdom
What is it with cellphones?
The sense of control with a cellphone is what we like about it.
We’ve always loved a sense of control
PRAYER
This morning we are looking at two kingdoms
Great in the Kingdom of the Gentiles
Matthew 20:25
But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
Pontius Pilate: Great In The Gentiles
Luke 13:1
At that time some of those present told Jesus about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mixed with their sacrifices.
- He would kill people all time
–> Being Great In the Kingdom of the Gentiles means not taking resposibility
Matthew 27:24-26
24 When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. “I am innocent of this man’s blood,” he said. “You bear the responsibility.”
25 All the people answered, “His blood be on us and on our children!”
26 So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
- With Great Power comes great dodging of responsibiltiy, too
- “The Woman you gave me.”
- “Am I my brother’s keeper?”
- ILL: A Software developer worked on a project till 3:45am because of a deadline. The next day he was fired by a low-level and none of his superiors, even the man who hired him said goodbye. He had to leave with 5 minutes after the manager talked to him. NO RESPONSIBILITY
- This is what Pilate is doing
Great In the Kingdom of the Gentiles
POWER
CONTROL
FREEDOM
STATUS
GLORY
WEALTH
Matthew 20:25
But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
Great in the Kingdom of God
Matthew 20:25-28
25 But Jesus called them aside and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their superiors exercise authority over them.
26 It shall not be this way among you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
27 and whoever wants to be first among you must be your slave—
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.”
Great In the Kingdom
| Of the Gentiles | Of God |
| Leader is Great | Servant is Great |
- Who can be a great leader?
- Who can be a great servant?
No One Is Too Small
John 13:3-5
3 Jesus knew that the Father had delivered all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was returning to God.
4 So He got up from the supper, laid aside His outer garments, and wrapped a towel around His waist.
5 After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel that was around Him.
- Jesus had absolute power here, John tells us in 13:3.
- Jesus doesn’t wash his hands in saying, “Not my responsibility”
- He washed feet, he takes responsibility
- Jesus is taking the role of the servant.
–> See how Abigail says she will be a servant who washes feet
1 Samuel 25:41
41 She arose, then bowed facedown and said, “Here is your maidservant, ready to serve and to wash the feet of my lord’s servants.”
No Task Is Too Small
John 13:15-17
15 I have set you an example so that you should do as I have done for you.
16 Truly, truly, I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
17 If you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
- Ray, my manager, made me a burger.
How Do We Become Servants
Matthew 18:1-4
1 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”
2 Jesus invited a little child to stand among them.
3 “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
4 Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Great In the Kingdom of the Gentiles
POWER
CONTROL
FREEDOM
STATUS
GLORY
WEALTH
…If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step. The first step is to realize that one is proud. And a biggish step, too. At least, nothing whatever can be done before it. If you think you are not conceited, it means you are very conceited indeed.
– C. S. Lewis
Philippians 2:5-9
5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus:
6 Who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with Godsomething to be grasped,
7 but emptied Himself,
taking the form of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8 And being found in appearance as a man,
He humbled Himself
and became obedient to death—
even death on a cross.
9 Therefore God exalted Him to the highest place
and gave Him the name above all names,