Give Me A Servant’s Heart
(Message delivered by Pastor at the Sunset Gospel Bible Fellowship, Calvary Pandan BPC, Nov 14, 04)
Text: Matt. 20:20-28
“Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons (i.e. James and John), worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons (James and John) may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left (i.e. as P.M. and Finance Minister), in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They (i.e. James and John) say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father. And when the ten heard it, they were moved with indignation against the two brethren. But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Of the twelve disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter, James and John, Zebedee’s children were the first three. For example, Peter, James and John were the only three who went with our Lord up the Mount of Transfiguration. The same three disciples were in the Garden of Gethsemane.
Why should James and John the no. 2 and 3 now seek for the first place? This is their mother’s ambition. The text says, “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee’s children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons i.e. James and John may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom. But Jesus answered and said, Ye know not what ye ask. Are ye able to drink of the cup that I shall drink of, and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with? They say unto him, We are able. And he saith unto them, Ye shall drink indeed of my cup, and be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with: but to sit on my right hand, and on my left, is not mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of my Father.”
To drink our Lord’s cup and be baptized with His baptism is to die for Him. This was fulfilled when James was the first disciple to be killed by King Herod (Acts 12:2) and John was the last after he had written the Book of Revelation. According to tradition, every one of Jesus’ Disciples died a martyr’s death. Peter remained Chief Apostle to the Jews and Paul, Chief Apostle to the Gentiles.
The over-ambition of Zebedee’s wife for her two sons James and John is reflected in many a mother for her children. My mother wished I could be first in school every year.
But here is our Lord’s teaching on how to be a leader. Whereas the world yields authority to leaders who command those under them, but to be a Christian leader one must humble himself. How? Be a servant! Even as our Lord came not to be served but to serve others, and to give His life a ransom for many. Peter and Paul the chief apostles, one to the Jews and the other to the Gentiles show this humility and service throughout their Epistles they have written.
Whether to the Church or to the World the secret of leadership is the same. This can be seen in Mr Goh Chok Tong the second Prime Minister we had. He never clamoured to succeed Mr Lee Kuan Yew when he retired. He was elected unanimously to be P.M. To gain support from his colleagues he “served” them by gathering their counsel. When it was time for him to retire he earned full marks even from the people. My brother’s long term Malay driver declared unwavering support for him.
To be pastor it is all the more our lot to minister and not to be ministered unto. It may be summed up like this. The pastor should say to his congregation, “You are right and I am wrong.” The pastor is willing to be wronged even when he is right as the Lord says, “Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
Life Church overrides the Pastor against the practice of B-P Churches. That is one reason why I have left. They had earlier planned to sack the pastor when one Elder told his son, “We shall make your father Pastor Emeritus.”
The spirit of humility that rules in Calvary Pandan Church between the two pastors glorifies God.
***************
THE GOSPEL OF LIFE: Chapter VIII
John 8:41-50; Proverbs 5
Sons of the Devil
The Jews not only prided themselves as Abraham’s sons, but also as God’s sons (v. 41). Were they not the chosen people? This attitude was manifested not only in their encounters with our Saviour, but also in their haughty attitude towards John the Baptist. This drew the Baptist’s rebuke, “And think not to say within yourselves we have Abraham for our Father…..” (Matt. 3:9). Earlier in the sermon the Baptist called them “generation of vipers” (Matt. 3:7).
“Him that hath an high look and a proud heart will not I suffer” (Ps. 101:5). Jesus gives place to man, no, not for a second to a proud man. Therefore He tells these selfrighteous Jews to their face, “You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies. Because I tell you the truth you do not believe me!” (NIV. 44, 45). How terrible! When a person rejects Christ after so much of the truth of the Gospel is given him, like darkness receding from shining light, he becomes a son of the devil. When a person rejects the words of Jesus, he takes Satan’s side. And he will do what the Devil wants to do, to murder, to lie, to do all that is against the truth.
Thus, having rejected the Truth that would make them free, the Jews went from lying to maligning. They called Jesus a Samaritan. They called Jesus a devil, biting ferociously like a hunted beast at bay. Our Lord did not acquiesce to such blasphemy. He appealed to God (v. 50). The Son of God fought a good fight for the truth with the sons of the Devil. This reminds us once again of the need of more polemical preaching today. To present the Gospel positively in a nice way is not in the Spirit of Truth, nor in the tradition of the Son of God. It is actually a compromise with the Devil.
John 8:51-59
A greater than Abraham
Having been defeated by our Lord in their claim to sonship in Abraham and were called sons of the devil instead, the Jews shifted their strategy to Abraham’s preeminence. This was but a roundabout way of exalting themselves again.
When our Lord offered life neverdying to those who keep His saying (v. 51) the Jews retorted He was outdoing Abraham. Was He greater than Abraham who was now dead, and greater than the prophets who were also now dead? Jesus replied His greatness came not by Himself, but from God the Father whom the Jews denied to be their Father. He was conferred this greatness because He loyally obeyed Him (v. 55). Indeed, He was the eternal Son of God, the Jehovah of the Old Testament. Jesus referred to those theophanies to Abraham in which He was the One who appeared to their ancestor. This is what He meant when He said, “Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day: and he saw it, and was glad” (v. 56). Can you list the number of appearances God gave to Abraham from his call in Ur of the Chaldees to his offering of Issac?
Not realising Jesus was the Father’s only begotten Son, “very God of very God” (Nicene Creed), now through the Virgin Mary become a Man, they ridiculed Him for not having even attained 50 years. Some think Jesus looked older than His age, but we think rather the age of 50 was mentioned because that was the age of a Levite’s retirement (Num. 8:25). That is to say, Jesus in their eyes was only a young upstart. And He claimed to have seen Abraham – what monstrosity!
When Jesus declared His eternity to be at one with God, using the verb I AM which is based on the Hebrew imperfect tense which has no time limitation, the Jews thought it even more blasphemous. That is why they resorted to force, but Christ delivered Himself to prove to them His Deity in action.
Children’s Choir
