The Servant of All

The disciples' argument about who was greatest did not end in Capernaum. Jesus kept teaching them what true greatness is: being a servant.

Servant of all. In the house in Capernaum, Jesus sat down, called the twelve and said, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all” (Mark 9:35).

What a servant does. A servant looks after other people's needs. A servant asks what others need, not what he can get. Jesus wants His followers to think that way.

On the way to Jerusalem. Later, Jesus took the twelve aside on the road. He told them again that He would be betrayed, mocked, whipped and crucified, and that on the third day He would rise again (Matthew 20:17-19).

A mother's request. Then the mother of Zebedee's sons, James and John, came to Jesus with her sons and knelt in front of Him. She asked Him to let her two sons sit at His right hand and at His left in His kingdom (Matthew 20:20-21).

The cup. Jesus answered, “You do not know what you ask. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink” (Matthew 20:22). Jesus was speaking of the suffering ahead of Him.

The ten were upset. When the other ten disciples heard about it, they were greatly displeased with the two brothers (Matthew 20:24). The argument about greatness had started again.

Not so among you. Jesus called them together. He said that the rulers of the nations lord it over their people. “Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Matthew 20:26).

Lord it over. To lord it over people is to boss them around and use them. That is how the world often thinks about being great. Jesus says His people must be different.

First means slave. “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave” (Matthew 20:27). A slave belonged to his master and did what the master needed. Jesus' followers serve others gladly because they belong to Him.

The Son of Man served. Then Jesus said, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28). A ransom is a price paid to set someone free.

The cross. Jesus paid that price on the cross. He died for our sins and rose again on the third day, just as He said. He served us in the greatest way anyone ever could.

What to do. This week, look for ways to serve without being asked: set the table, help a younger child or pick up what someone dropped. Serve because Jesus served you.

Jesus taught about greatness again at a dinner. This time He told a story about guests choosing their seats.

A dinner on the Sabbath. Jesus went to eat at the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on the Sabbath (Luke 14:1). Other guests had been invited too.

The best seats. Jesus saw how the guests picked the best places at the table for themselves (Luke 14:7). They wanted places of honor.

A story about a wedding. So Jesus told a story about a wedding feast. He said not to sit in the best place, because someone more honored may have been invited (Luke 14:8).

Moved down. Then the host would come and tell you to give your seat to that person. With shame, you would have to move to the lowest place (Luke 14:9).

Go to the lowest place. Instead, Jesus said to go and sit in the lowest place. Then the host may come and invite you to move up higher, and you will be honored in front of everyone at the table (Luke 14:10).

Humbled and lifted up. Jesus ended with a rule for God's kingdom. Whoever lifts himself up will be brought low, and whoever humbles himself will be lifted up (Luke 14:11).

The same rule again. Another time Jesus warned about the scribes and Pharisees, who loved the best places at feasts and the best seats in the synagogues. He said the greatest among you will be your servant, and He gave the same rule about being humbled and lifted up (Matthew 23:6, 11-12).

God does the lifting. In Jesus' story, the guest does not push his way up. The host moves him up. In God's kingdom, God is the One who gives honor.

Jesus took the lowest place. Jesus is the Son of God, the greatest of all. Yet “He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:8). He died there for our sins, even our pride. Then God raised Him from the dead and gave Him the highest place.

Not a trick. Jesus does promise that God lifts up the humble. But taking the low seat is not a trick to get praise, and we do not earn God's love by being humble. God saved us “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy” (Titus 3:5).

Everyday low seats. The lowest seat can look like letting others go first, taking the worst spot or the smallest piece, or cheering when someone else wins.

What to do. This week, take the lowest seat on purpose once a day. Do it quietly for Jesus, who took the lowest place for you.