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Sermon by Dr. Jeffrey
Jeremiah "He Came to Serve" The Advent season is the four Sundays before Christmas. It’s the time when we look forward to the birth of Jesus Christ. This year’s Advent series, in a word, is asking the question, "Why?" Why did Jesus come to earth? Last week we saw that Jesus came to testify to the truth. I want to thank Pastor Wilson for his exposition of John 18. This week we look at another answer to that question found in today’s passage, Matthew 20:25-28. There are three points I want to make about the One who came to serve. First, the sacrifice in serving. One standard by which we acknowledge and appreciate and acclaim those who serve is by what they give up, what they sacrifice in order to serve. For example, football player Pat Tillman gave up a multi-million dollar contract and the glamour of playing in the NFL to serve his country in the war on terror. He made the ultimate sacrifice in Afghanistan in April of 2004. Mother Theresa went from the relative wealth and comfort of Europe to serve the poorest of the poor in India. Francis of Assisi renounced the riches of his family to pursue a ministry of serving characterized by a vow of poverty. The principle is the greater the sacrifice, the greater the impact of the service. To appreciate the sacrifice of Jesus’ service, we turn to another familiar passage in the New Testament, Philippians chapter two, and especially the sixth verse. Before Jesus came to earth, He was "in very nature God, who did not consider equality with God something to be grasped." What this means is that everything that can be said about Who God is, everything that can be said about what God does can also be said about Jesus Christ. He is God. He possesses all of God’s attributes. Is God omniscient (all-knowing)? So is Jesus. Is God all-powerful? Jesus is, too. Is God perfect, holy, pure, righteous, the creator, the redeemer, the truth, the way, the life, the past, the present, the future? So is Jesus. Jesus possesses inwardly and displays outwardly the very nature of God Himself. Before He came into the world, Jesus was rightly and deservedly given the highest praise, honor, adoration, and worship in glory. And then He did the unthinkable, He gave it all up to come to earth. Did He come to announce, "I am God, serve me"? If anyone ever lived who should be served, it is God in the flesh, Jesus Christ! God in the flesh! But that’s not why He came. He did not come to be served, but to serve. As Philippians 2:7 says, Jesus "made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness." What does it mean for God, for Jesus Christ to become a servant? We all know that a servant is someone who serves. The dictionary has no less than 15 definitions for the verb "to serve," including to wait on (customers), to prepare and offer food, or to spend time in the military. The definition that’s closest to serving as Jesus served is "to meet the needs of, or satisfy the requirements of another person." As a servant Jesus put other’s interests, other’s needs, other’s requirements before His own. We’ve heard something similar to this recently: it’s love. In our series on loving one another as Jesus loves us, we saw that Jesus’ love is a love that puts the needs and interests of the loved one before His own. That being the case, serving is really just love in action. It’s love that is practically, actively involved in the lives of those you love to help them, encourage them, heal them, build them up. That’s what Jesus came to do. He gave up the glory of heaven to come to love, to serve others, you and me! Our second point is that serving is so essential to why Jesus came that He showed in a clear and convincing way what it means to serve during the Last Supper. On that last night that He was together with His disciples, John chapter 13 tells us that Jesus "took off His outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around His waist. After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash His disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around Him…When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ He asked them. ‘You call me "Teacher" and "Lord" and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you…Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." Only once did Jesus say He was leaving us an example. This is it. "I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you." Do those words mean that we should practice foot washing? Not at all, although some have done this. Jesus is saying this: "If I, God, your Lord, serve you, you who are my followers should most certainly serve one another." So the question is this: Do you do what Jesus says? Do you follow Jesus’ example? Look at I John 2:6: "Whoever claims to live in Him," that is, whoever claims Jesus as his or her personal Savior and Lord, "must walk as Jesus did." Do you follow Jesus’ example? Our third point acknowledges the challenge to doing that. The ageless rejection to serving is summed up in the words, "What’s in it for me?" The disciples were continually arguing this question in Jesus’ presence. It’s the question that produced Jesus’ words in our passage. "What’s in it for me?" is a statement of taking, of what I can get. It’s a statement of being served, not serving. A contemporary variation of "What’s in it for me?" is known as "consumer Christianity." What is consumer Christianity? First of all, understand that consumerism sees life in terms of shopping: life should present me with the greatest number of goods and services for the least amount of expense possible. Consumer Christianity is a mindset about participation in or support for my church. That mindset is summed up in the motto, "Ask not how you can serve your church, but ask how your church can serve you." The consumer Christian’s attitude is, "Provide me with the service or product or experience or assistance I want in exchange for my time and money. If you give me what I want, you will keep my business. If you don’t give me what I want, I’ll take my business elsewhere." Christian consumerism is all about me, my desires, my needs being met. It’s about being served, not serving. You may think that Christian consumerism is "out there," outside of our church. Unfortunately, I’ve confronted it here in the past few months. We’ve had families leave our church because of the change in our Sunday morning schedule. I’ll never forget what one man told me: "I’m a Christian, but it’s not convenient for me and my family to give more than one hour a week to the church." Draw your own conclusion about that mindset and the example of our Savior and Lord. On a different note, serving is not only faithful to Jesus, but it’s also fun, especially when you’re doing it with someone else. Friday is my day off, but I can tell you that the most fun I had that day was spending a couple of hours helping to set up for the Women’s Christmas Tea. I was not only working with Cindy and a great group of women, but also with Alex and Casey Manso. I had the opportunity to teach Alex an important life lesson: if you’re going to prepare the food, you have a responsibility to personally ensure the food tastes good (especially when that food is candy and peanuts)! In an incredible act of sacrifice, Jesus came to earth to serve. He put others’ interests, others’ needs before His own. His service was really an application of His love, it was love practically, actively involved in the lives of those He loved to help them, encourage them, heal them, build them up. That is Jesus’ example. If you make the good confession that Jesus Christ is your Savior and Lord, it is the example you will follow! |