From a series in Luke by the Rev. Dr. David Shaw

at Meadowlark Community Church on May15, 2011

IN THE UPPER ROOM WITH JESUS

LUKE 22:24-30

They were hand picked and intensively trained. They had been exposed to a superb, a perfect role model for three years. They were accustomed to spending time in each others company and had shared many meals together. And now their leader had just introduced a radical new way of worshiping God. What more in the way of ideal preparation for serving God and each other could you ask for? Now listen to verse 24: “A dispute also arose among them as to which of them was considered to be greatest.” And there you have it. Real life. Worship, fellowship, friendly small talk and then inexplicably, outright hostility as the subject of who deserved to occupy the places of honor in Christ’s coming kingdom. Imagine it. Men who had been specially selected and trained by Christ, to lead His church, and they were fighting over who was going to be the superstars in that new Kingdom!

Now lets be sure that we get a clear picture of the facts:

-This did not take place at a business or committee meeting, it happened at a social event.

-This was not connected with a local sports team losing to a visiting rival.

- This was not a reality TV show with randomly selected teams competing against each other.

This was a private setting that had taken place immediately following a worship Service! These were the bright and shining lights of the Christian Church and these spiritual giants were fighting over who was going to be the greatest among them!

Does this surprise or disappoint you? I’d like to suggest that perhaps this should give us all hope! Why? Because it is a wonderful reminder that none of us is a finished product. None of us has arrived completely. God still has lots of work to do in each of our lives. Maybe along with membership in the church we should each be given a small button with the letters PBPGINFWMY — Please Be Patient God is Not Finished With Me Yet. My dear church family, the Church is not an honor society — it is a reform school. When we see or hear about disagreements among Christians we ought stop shaking our heads in judgement and instead remember the disciples arguing with each other in the very presence of Christ Himself and let that cause us to drop to our knees in prayer.

The sad truth of the matter is that STRIFE AND SEEKING FOR RECOGNITION AND POWER ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF OUR FALLEN HUMAN CONDITION.

So let me ask you this morning: HOW DO YOU HANDLE DISAGREEMENTS WITH OTHERS AND YOUR OWN LONGING FOR RECOGNITION AND POSITION? This is not just an academic question I’m raising. The way we deal with this issue may be one of the best ways we can evaluate just how successful we are in practically applying our faith in Jesus Christ to real life issues.

To start this process let’s begin looking for some guidelines from the example Jesus set in this very situation. In verses 25 and 26 He applies an unexpected approach that contrasts the practices in the world with the practices He wants us to follow as members of the Kingdom of God. “Jesus said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call themselves Benefactors. But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Jesus starts by pointing His disciples to one of the current leaders in Israel — King Herod. This man was one of the most bitterly hated rulers the people of Israel had ever suffered under. He had appended the title “Benefactor” to his name when in reality he had done more to oppress the people of his nation than any ten other rulers. His approach to leadership would find traction with many world leaders today because he was adept at employing an aggressive “P.R.” approach that used every opportunity possible to present himself to his people as a benefactor by lavish public works projects — projects that were in reality being paid for through the excessive taxes he leaved on them. This attempt to put on a positive “PR mask” fooled no one in the long run and eventually backfired on him. Instead of earning the respect of his people he became a cautionary figure who was ridiculed for his very attempt to appear as a “benefactor.”Yet how often we adopt this same approach and wear masks with each other. We try to appear to be something we are not! So why not learn something from Herod’s mistake and save yourself a lot of grief. It is clear that this is precisely what Jesus is doing here with His disciples.

Listen to verses 26 and 27: “But you are not to be like that. Instead the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.” Now as I listen to these words of instruction I keep waiting for Christ to rebuke His disciples for their inexcusable behavior. But instead Jesus simply points to His own example among them in the second part of verse 27: “But I am among you as one who serves.” Jesus shapes the character of His disciples by His example, not by scolding or blaming.

Now watch what He says next in verses 28-30: “You are those who have stood by me in my trials. And I confer on you a kingdom, just as my Father conferred one on me, so that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

To me this is both incredible and completely wonderful. Christ does not dwell on the negatives. He praises the feeblest good deed, the smallest act of generosity, and the simplest instance of service. In fact He moves quickly from correction to praise. “You are those who have stood by me in my trials.” Notice what it is that He praises them for in verse 28. He praises them for staying with Him through all His trials. Now this was no small thing.

-They had shared His sorrows, His sufferings, and the frequent rejections.

-They had been willing to stand by Him and be called His fololowers.

It is as if He says to the disciples, “Yes, you still don’t understand what I am trying to do. You are arguing with each other over who is the greatest and by that you have fallen short once again. But do not loose your will to keep trying. I have not forgotten or overlooked your efforts to obey and please me, so keep on keeping on.”

It makes me wonder: Are we as willing to move from criticism, judgement, and complaint to justifiable praise? We dwell on the negative so often don’t we? We think the way to fix things is to voice our criticism to those we think are failing. To judge them. To air our “quote — unquote concerns” with others about them. This is not the way Jesus deals with those disciples! And praise God, it is not the way He deals with us either! Instead He calmly tells them what His Father in Heaven has in store for them.

-First, FULLNESS OF JOY. The image He uses here is the promise that they will “eat and drink at my table in my kingdom.”-Second, A SPECIAL PLACE OF HONOR AND RECOGNITION. They will “sit on thrones.”-And Third, they will be given OPPORTUNITIES TO EXERCISE GREAT AND ABIDING POSITIONS OF POWER. “You will rule over Kingdoms.”My friends inscribe this truth in your hearts and minds: GOD NEVER FORGETS OR OVERLOOKS THE GOOD WE DO. Even a cup of cold water offered in His name will be rewarded. The only thing God forgets is our sins because of the cross of Christ!There is a majestic confidence about Christ’s response to His bickering followers. Notice Who it is Who is calmly giving away kingdoms and thrones?

-Not a ruling emperor.

-Not a conquering general.

-Just a homeless civilian, a prophet with the shadow of the cross lying across His path. A man with a death sentence on His head. This is the One Who makes this royal offer!

How do we demonstrate our faithful service? What should be the benchmark of our loyalty?

True greatness in life comes in our service to each other and to the poorest of the poor. If you think about it you will recognize a very interesting fact that the business world knows this truth very well.

-The company that succeeds is the company that offers the best service, most often.

-Yet often when it comes to the Kingdom of God, there are more arguments about ones place in the structure than anywhere else.

It is no accident that one of the two Great Commandments is to “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Only the person who consents to serve will truly succeed. In most companies, the person who puts in the longest hours and works the hardest is the one who rises highest. Now I will grant you that the motives for this kind of more dedicated service are miles apart from what Christ is talking about here, but the principle is the same. SERVICE LEADS TO GREATNESS. GREATNESS CANNOT BE DEMANDED, AWARDED, OR CONFERRED.

Jesus wants us to understand, just as He wanted His disciples to understand, that building our lives around giving ourselves to others is the only sure path — not only to greatness — but to happiness and joy. If we focus on getting we will miss both the thanks and friendship of others and the rewards that God wants to bestow on us.