Although He is the greatest, He came not to be served but to serve (Mt. 20:28). He came not to occupy a throne, but a cross. The Jews had dreamed of the Messiah, the powerful king, a mighty leader, one who would smash all the enemies of Israel (Lk. 1:68-73). While they were expecting a conqueror, they were given a broken body on the cross. While they were looking for the raging Lion of Judah, they beheld the gentle Lamb of God.
The Son of Man came to give His life as a ransom for many (Is. 53). In so doing, the Master Himself measured up to the standard He was demanding from His disciples.
In Christian discipleship, greatness does not consist in requiring others to do things for you, but learning to do things for others—without the left hand knowing what the right hand is doing. Eminence is neither the consequence nor the measure of how much have you’ve been raised, but rather how much you’ve tried not to be above the others.
Any disciple who decides to follow the Master is duty bound to accept His standard and ingrain it in his heart. If he wants to be great, he is called to be a servant (Mt. 23:11). If he wants to be the first among equals, he is challenged and admonished to be the last (Mk. 9:34/35).
A disciple of Jesus truly serves without counting the costs, and does it without photo ops--until it hurts.
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