“The greatest among you shall be your servant,” Jesus in Matthew 23:11
“The cause of Christ is greatly dependent on the self-forgetting souls who are satisfied to occupy a small sphere in an obscure place, free from self-seeking ambition.” (John MacArthur, Commentary on Matthew 8-15)
“The party don’t start until I walk in.” (Keesha)
"I'm the king of the world, I am the greatest, I’m Muhammad Ali. I shook up the world, I am the greatest, I'm king of the world, I'm pretty, I'm pretty, I'm a bad man, you heard me I'm a bad man.” (Before his fight against Sonny Liston, 1964)
"I have been placed in this job for a purpose, and I am just trying to make great movies and keep my eyes on Him. I don't deserve any praise....It is definitely all God's hand that I get to do this. And who knows how long this will last? He may choose someone else." (Ralph Winter, movie producer of “X-Men” and “Planet of the Apes;” www.beliefnet.com )
Jesus continues His exposure of the scribes and Pharisees while in the temple during the week leading up to His crucifixion. The very group that sought to trap Him (Matthew 22:15) was unable to respond to any of Jesus’ questions (Matthew 22:46). Jesus sheds light on the motives of the scribes and Pharisees: “And they love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the market places and being called by men, Rabbi” (vv. 6-7).
This is not the only place where Jesus confronts this religious practice. In Luke’s gospel Jesus teaches that we should not pursue the seats of honor at a wedding feast. Rather, we should “go and recline at the last place, so that [the host] may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher,’” (Luke 14:10). This was an issue also for the early Christians. James rebukes them because in their services they would “pay special attention to the one who is wearing the fine clothes and say, ‘You sit here in a good place,’” (James 2:3).
Jesus also instructs that we should call no one Rabbi (v. 8). Ironically the only disciple that Matthew records referring to Jesus as “Rabbi” is Judas: at the Last Supper while speaking of betrayal in Matthew 26:25 and at the moment of betrayal in Matthew 26:49. Neither, Jesus says, should we call anyone on earth your Father (v. 9) or Leader (v. 10). The issue is not the use of titles per se, but the use of titles in such a way that, according to the English Standard Version Study Bible, gives “undue spiritual authority to a human being, as if he were the source of truth rather than God.”
Matthew records several occasions when Jesus is asked, “Who is the greatest?” In each case Jesus says, “The greatest among you shall be your servant,” (v. 12; Matthew 18:4, 20:26). Jesus turns an instinctual value of man on its head. Who is the greatest according to People Magazine? Forbes? Muhammad Ail? Contemporary Christian culture? And who does Jesus say is the greatest?
And in case we miss it the first time, Jesus says it again differently: “And whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and who ever humbles himself shall be exalted,” (v.12). We all want to be liked; we all want to see that LIKE button pressed on our facebook statuses. We all want to be the life of the party. But Jesus points us to a greater LIKE than the mere applause of men, which fades quickly. Jesus points us to an eternal LIKE: His joy, His rest, His home, His heaven…Himself. There will no longer be any death, crying or pain (Revelation 21:4). And we will reign with Him forever and ever (Revelation 22:5). This applause will never fade.
And Jesus is our example of humility. For Paul tells us that, “though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow… and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father,” (Philippians 2:6-11, ESV).
The test of being a servant, says my pastor Ronnie Stephens, is how we respond when people treat us like a servant. As Christians we must constantly guard against the craving for man’s approval as our source of identity. I know I must. May our place of honor not be at the head of the table, but at the foot of the cross, where we find our redemption. Forever and Ever. With Him. Amen.
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