Meet You at the Bottom

Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave…

(Philippians 2:6-7 NLT). 

One day, as Jesus was making his final journey toward Jerusalem, James and John came to him with a request. “Teacher,” they said, “We want you to do for us whatever we ask.” (see Mark 10:35-45). I don’t know if Jesus ever rolled his eyes… but if he did, I’m pretty sure it was on this occasion. He knew these rascals well. “What do you want me to do for you?” he asked. “When you sit on your glorious throne,” they said, “we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”

Think about it. Jimmy wanted to be Vice President and Johnny wanted to be Secretary of State. Their passionate desire was to be great in God’s kingdom. That’s a good thing, right?  

Jesus’ response is pure genius. “You don’t have a clue what you are asking,” he says. It’s not that their request is “wrong”. The problem is that James and John are using the wrong dictionary! They assume that greatness in the kingdom of God is similar to greatness in Rome… or Washington, Hollywood, Wall Street, etc. They think greatness is all about status, power, wealth, and fame. They do not yet understand that Jesus defines greatness very differently than the kingdoms of this broken world.

Jesus, in an effort to help his misguided disciples see what they don’t see, asks them a question: “Are you able to drink the cup of suffering I am about to drink?” “Yeah, you betcha,” they say. As if they knew what they were talking about. 

The story makes me laugh because it exposes the spiritual imbecility and narcissistic egotism of the men Jesus had chosen to change the world. I chuckle at such sanctimonious pomposity so brazenly evident in the lives of these two spiritual nitwits. But I stop laughing when the Holy Spirit holds up a mirror and orders me to take a look. With a gasp, I sheepishly ask King Jesus, “Me too?”

I find comfort in the fact that Jesus doesn’t shame his disciples by scolding them, nor does he kick them off the team. Rather, he patiently endeavors to explain what true greatness looks like in the kingdom he has come to establish.

42 … You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 44 and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. 45 For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mk. 10:42-45)

Jesus is not just explaining greatness, he is modeling it. The disciples need more than a good dictionary.  They need a living example of what true greatness looks like. Although he is the divine Son of God, Jesus has come to serve the needs of others and give his life as a ransom for their salvation. It is imperative that his disciples understand that in his kingdom: 

• The way up is down.

• The way to be great is to serve.

• The way to be rich is to give everything away.

• The way to be strong is to become weak.

• The way to be wise is to become a fool.

• The way to find yourself is to lose yourself.

• The way to experience joy is to learn how to mourn.

• And the way to live is to die.

No one grasped the truth about greatness with greater clarity than Paul. As an apostle, he occupied the most revered and elevated position in the body of Christ. You might say he was at the top of the spiritual food chain. So, when some spiritual ‘big shots’ at Corinth Community Church questioned his credentials, he knew he had to defend his apostolic status. Much of First and Second Corinthians is an exposition of the true nature of Christian leadership and clearly reveals that Paul had learned his lessons well from King Jesus. 

Speaking from his revered status as an apostle, Paul writes: “This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ…” (I Cor. 4:1). In calling himself a “servant”, Paul avoids the more common word diaconos and uses a term that originally referred to the men who rowed Roman ships from the lowest level; the hottest, darkest, most miserable part of the ship, where slaves labored in obscurity and neglect. In Paul’s day, the word referred to those who worked ‘under’ someone else, hence “underling”. In other words, if the Corinthians want to know where the topmost leaders are to be found on the good ship Jesus, they need to go to the very bottom of the boat!   

In another passage, Paul describes apostolic leadership this way:

4 … as servants (diakonos) of God we commend ourselves in every way: by great endurance, in afflictions, hardships, calamities, 5 beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger; 6 by purity, knowledge, patience, kindness, the Holy Spirit, genuine love; 7 by truthful speech, and the power of God; with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left; 8 through honor and dishonor, through slander and praise. We are treated as impostors, and yet are true; 9 as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and yet not killed; 10 as sorrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, yet possessing everything. (II Cor. 6:4-10)

So, do you still want to be great in the kingdom of God? I hope so! But first, you really need to understand what that is going to look like. 

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