Servanthood

We are saved & destined for heaven by grace alone through faith alone.  But as we have talked much about in this book, there is tension, there is a tie, there is a ying & yang between faith and works, between faith and the ability to forgive, between faith and the desire to live holy.  Such is the case with service & servanthood.  Jesus had much to say about the heart of a servant, and of course, he demonstrated that to the Nth degree with his death on the Cross to blot out the sins of mankind.

So, let’s dive into Jesus’ words concerning servanthood.  

Along with the Parables of the Sower & the Seed and The Prodigal Son, the Parable of the Good Samaritan is one of the most famous of all of Jesus’ teachings.  I dare say that most people of Western civilization have heard of the term if not the story itself.  The Good Samaritan has leaped out of the bounds of Christianity and is part of the World’s conscious.  In this chapter though, let’s see what it means.  Everyone can relate to it.  We all want to make a difference.  We all see ourselves as the Good Samaritan.  Spoiler alert; that is not what Jesus was talking about!  Hopefully, by the time we come to the end of the parable, we will see that nothing could be further from the truth.  We are not the Good Samaritan.  This parable is not about what we should do, it is about what he did!

Yes, we are in this story, but we are not the heroes.  Jesus is the Good Samaritan.  We are at first, the victim taken out by robbers and near death when Jesus recuses us, later we are the innkeepers with who Jesus partners to help other near-death prey recover while he is away.

The Good Samaritan

And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?  He said unto him, what is written in the law?  How do you read it?
Luke 10:25-26

Jesus perceived what the lawyer was up too, thus he answered the question with a question in order to see where the lawyer was setting his trap.

And he (the lawyer) answering said, thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbor as thyself.
Luke 10:27 (italics added)

Not bad!  The pharisetical lawyer quoted from the Torah (Deuteronomy 6:5 & Leviticus 19:18) in what Jesus taught at another time as the two greatest commandments of the Law.  Love God and love your neighbor.  Thus far, Jesus still didn’t know entirely where the religious leader was going with his question.  That was about to change;

And he (Jesus) said to him, you have answered right:  This do, and you shall live.  But he (the lawyer), wanting to justify himself, said unto Jesus, and who is my neighbor?
Luke 10:28-29 (italics added)

There it is!  The lawyer wanted to prove that it was possible for him to obey the entire Law.  In effect, he was saying he had no sin and thus, didn’t need the message of repentance that both Jesus and John the Baptist were preaching as needful & necessary.  But he had a little problem.  When Jesus said, “good, now go do that, love God and everyone else,” the lawyer realized he had a dilemma.  That is, he didn’t love everyone else.  Only certain people who were like himself.  Like many in our day today, he was a racist!  So, he sought to justify himself by asking his second question, “who is my neighbor.”  He couldn’t meet the Law’s demands so he tried to change the definition.  

This time, Jesus doesn’t answer the question with a question.  No, this time he spoke the great parable we know as the Good Samaritan.  It’s comical really.  Jesus uses a Samaritan, someone hated by the Jews, yet obviously full of goodness as seen in the story, to show the lawyer, and everyone else who has ever justified themselves, that we are not as good as we think we are.

And Jesus answering said, a certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead.  And by chance there came down a certain priest that way:  And when he saw him, he passed on the other side.  And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked upon him, and passed by on the other side.
Luke 10:30-32

The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was also called the “valley of the shadow of death.” It is a fifteen-mile downhill walk through a narrow dry-creek gorge in the bleak Judean desert.  Robbers & thieves would notoriously lie in wait and plunder unsuspecting travelers.  Thus, people would travel this road in groups and only in a dire emergency would a person dare travel the road unaccompanied.  You see, in this parable, we all are the man who fell among the thieves.  Before Christ came into our lives, we too were traveling the dangerous roads of this planet on our own.  And Satan and his hordes were lying in wait for us.  At a certain point we were all taken out by sin and stupidity.  We were half-dead, lying on the side of the road without hope, without help.  The priest and the Levite are the philosophies and religions of the world, based upon good works and good ideals which ultimately will not save in the day of disaster.  On another level, the priest & the Levite feared for their own lives.  Surely, they felt a trap was being laid by the thieves which would entangle them next.  You’ve been there, I’ve been there.  Scams and fake news everywhere.  What are we to believe?  So, we disengage.  But not so with the hated Samaritan.  And not so with our Lord.

But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was:  And when he saw him, he had compassion on him.  And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine…
Luke 10:33-34a

We saw in the last chapter that Jesus’ most common response towards the lost is compassion.  Once again, we see that on display.  The Savior had empathy upon us.  He bound up our wounds using oil and wine.  In Bible typology, these two liquids nearly always typify the work of the Spirit and of the Cross.  We would say, that here is where the half-dead man, where we in the story, were saved.  Where we went from death to life.

But when I was saved, when you were delivered, we were not the finished product that we will someday be.  The Parable address that next, along with veiling a prophecy about the age we live in for good measure.

And set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him.  And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence (one day’s wage), and gave them to the host, and said unto him, take care of him; and whatsoever you spend over this, when I come again, I will repay thee.
Luke 10:34b-35 (italics added)

The inn of course is the body of fellow believers.  It is the church of Jesus Christ.  It should always be the place where the wounded & the bewildered can find refuge.  It should be a place where the young in the Lord can be nurtured, grow and mature.  Where they can be kept safe from further successful assaults from the thieves & robbers.

Now for the prophecy:  The Samaritan departed after giving the innkeeper two pence.  In this we see Jesus departing and giving gifts (the Holy Spirit) to the church while we wait for his return.  I see the two pence as two thousand years.  You may think that’s a stretch, but our Lord could have said three pence, but he didn’t.  Nonetheless, he gave the innkeeper the charge to care for the victim, and said he would return.  When that day was to occur, the Samaritan beautifully said that he would repay the innkeeper for whatever he spent over and above what he was initially given.  As we have stated several times, this is what we too will experience on that day our Lord returns.  The Good Samaritan will repay us for the good works, for the gold, silver and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:9-15) we have accumulated in our service to him.  

Which now of these three, think you was neighbor unto him that fell among the thieves?  And he (the lawyer) said, he that showed mercy on him.  Then said Jesus unto him, go, and do thou likewise.
Luke 10:36-37 (italics added)

The lawyer couldn’t even bring himself to say the name “Samaritan” to Jesus.  He could only choke out, “the one who showed mercy.”  But he was convicted, no doubt.  Did he repent?  We aren’t told. I would like to think that he left and pondered these beautiful words of our Lord, doing an about-face.  That’s what we did.  Not only were we the half-dead victim in this story, but we’ve all been the racist lawyer at times too.  Jesus’ words have penetrated us and I like to think it did that for that certain lawyer too!

Now for the application for our lives:  Coming full circle, we are saved by grace through faith alone.  We don’t do good works to get life, but doing good works should be a way of life!  And we can’t save the world, but we don’t have too…Jesus already has done that!  

But we want to pay attention to the parts that make up life.  You see, my agenda for any given day is planning.  Yours I suspect also.  But this is not God’s outline for my day.  He uses distractions and opportunities that crop up to direct us, to nudge us, to what he would have us do.  Look at Jesus in the gospels.  He would pray and then go with the flow of the day as it occurred.  Many times he would be going in one direction and a need would come up that changed his course, in his case, seamlessly.  This is also how it should be for us.  I want to let my scheduled be determined by the daily distractions and opportunities that come up.  Let me repeat that, distractions and opportunities are God’s agenda for me.  I’m not saying I can’t have a schedule, can’t have a plan, but I must be willing to adjust on the fly as things intervene.  When I do this, I become an agent of grace, hands and feet of Jesus, able to respond to the needs around me and glorifying the Lord in the process.

So how does this happen?  By giving distractions our focus.  We want to live intentionally in the present instead of just trying to get through the next line item on our schedules.  Indeed, a to-do-list can be a good servant, but it is a bad master!

But there are three common human responses to unplanned distractions and opportunities of which we must be aware.  First, we often have “no’ as our default setting.  We need to be cognizant of that negative tendency and change our setting to “yes.”  Secondly, we often look horizontally.  “How will this affect me?”  Not the best in God’s economy.  This is another default setting we need to change.  I want to be vertical in my decision making.  That is, “Is God in this?”  That’s the question that I want to go to as a first thought.  Lastly, we often decide too quickly when a distraction or opportunity presents itself.  The remedy is to count to five, it is to wait a moment before responding.

Now all of this good advice is predicated upon not being too busy.  When that is the case, our ability to love God and our neighbor is severely stifled by the pressure of the schedule.  So, part of the strategy for success is to not book yourself too tightly.  This only leads to the other side getting an advantage over you.  Stack the odds in your favor by leaving room in your day, in every day.

In concluding our discussion of the Good Samaritan, we see three levels to this parable.  First, Jesus is the Good Samaritan.  He is the one hated by the establishment but ultimately saves us helpless victims of the Devil, when others cannot.  He departs for a time, but not until he first gives gifts to us to use in helping other victims of the god of this World.  And he promises to return in the future with further payment in his hands for the good we have done while he is away.  Secondly, we want to be like the Good Samaritan as much as possible.  But thirdly, we are shown that we are not really the Good Samaritan most of the time.  Like the hypocritical lawyer, we often justify ourselves and prefer people who are like us over those who are different.

Jesus’ Example of Servanthood

Now before the feast of Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end…He rose from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.  After that he poured water into a bason, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.
John 13:1, 4-5

Jesus stepped away from the feast, laid aside his garments, took the raiment of a servant and did the unthinkable, that is, he washed the feet of his men.  The greater stooping before the lesser in extreme humility!  This section pictures what Christ did in going to the Cross for the salvation of mankind.  He left the perpetual feast he shared in Heaven with the Father & the Spirit and laid aside his garment of deity, becoming a human being.  If that were not enough, he came not as a rich or famous leader but as an obscure and common man who was willing to serve, paying the ultimate price to rescue others.

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:  Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:  But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:  And being found in the fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Philippians 2:5-8

Jesus did not have to do any of this!  He chose to become a man, to become a servant. To humble himself and to be obedient.  Reflect on these truths…this is so not what we are like naturally.  The good news is, with his help through the Spirit, it is what we can become!

After he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said unto them, know you what I have done to you?  You call me Master & Lord:  And you say well; for so I am (I Am, the name for God).  If I then, your Lord & Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet.  For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.
John 13:12-15 (italics added)

This is a huge key in spiritual life.  What we observe Jesus do in the Gospels is what we want to emulate.  He is the vine and we are the branches (John 15:5), he is our source and strength, he is our inspiration.  When we see Jesus loving the poor and downtrodden, giving worth to women and strangers, we want to be inspired to do the same.  Of course, we won’t do it as good as he does, that’s not the point, but we can turn ourselves in the same direct he is going.  I don’t want to swim against the current of his love and beauty!

Truly, truly, I say unto you, the servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.  If you know these things, happy are you if you do them.
John 13:16-17

“Happy are you if you DO these things.”  That one little word “do” is enormous.  There is a risk for Christians that in agreeing with the Word (knowing the Word), we think we are doing it.  But doing is an action verb.  It takes effort, not just agreement!  I can agree with everything Jesus examples & teaches, but if I do none of it, well, that is of no profit!

So, we see that Jesus, the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) became the servant.  Let’s look at some other words of the Teacher to see how greatness and servanthood tie together;

And he came to Capernaum:  And being in the house he asked them, what was it that you disputed among yourselves on the way?   But they held their peace:  For on the way they had disputed among themselves who should be the greatest.  And he sat down, and called the twelve, and said unto them, if any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.
Mark 9:33-35

So many paradoxes in Christian life, give & you will receive, die & you will live, and here, become last and you will be first.  Be we know intuitively that this is true.  No one wants to spend much time with a braggart.  You know, that one who is ever building himself up at the expense of others.  We are attracted to whimsical and humble people, as is the Lord.  The Bible teaches “humble yourself and you will be exalted,” (1 Peter 5:6) & “pride goeth before destruction & a haughty spirit before a fall,” (Proverbs 16:18).  We understand when we think about it, that to be great, we must stoop down.

Wonderfully, after Jesus spoke this great truth, he expounded upon it with five examples of greatness.  Five ways to live in the largeness of our Lord’s spirit & example.

And he took a child, and set him in the midst of them:  And when he had taken him in his arms, he said unto them, whosoever shall receive one of such children in my name, receives me:  
Mark 9:36-37

First, treat all men equally, whether they can help me or not!  Not only will I be great if I do that, but look at the promise attached…Jesus interprets this beautiful behavior as doing it unto him!

And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in your name, and he follows not us:  And we forbade him, because he follows not us.  But Jesus said, forbid him not:  For there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.  For he that is not against us is on our part.  For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, truly I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
Mark 9:38-41

Second, be as magnanimous as possible!  Be inclusive, not legalistic and judgmental.  In fact, to the extent that I am critical & disapproving will be the extent that I am loveless!

And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.
Mark 9:42

Thirdly, be sensitive to weaker people in the faith.  I don’t always need to be right.

More importantly, I need to love.  Look at Jesus, talk about the greater tolerating the miscues of the lessor!  The disciples, we disciples, are continually putting our feet in our mouths.  What does he do?  He just keeps loving us.  He continues building us up, not tearing us down.  This is my task when dealing with the weaker one, the little one in the faith.  I want to edify, not cause to stumble.  

And if your hand offend you, cut it off:  It is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell…And if your foot offend you, cut it off:  It is better to you to enter halt into life, than having two feet and be cast into hell…And if your eye offend you, pluck it out:  It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:
Mark 9:43, 45, 47

What is this about!  Sounds pretty harsh!  Cut off you hand, foot & pluck out your eye if they cause you to offend or you will risk hell fire?  Yes, exactly!  In other words, be radicle against my own sin.  Deal strongly with the things that are in my life which separate me from God.  Remember, Hell is separation from God.  Not where I want to be.  Jesus is once again using an extreme statement to get our attention.  He is not saying that if our hands, feet or eyes cause us to sin we will lose our salvation, this goes against so much else in the Word which we have discussed often, concerning the road to life by grace through faith.  No, this is an emphatic way of saying to us that we are to be sensitive to others and harsh with ourselves!  Often, we naturally gravitate in the other direction.  That is, we are tough on others and go easy with ourselves.  Jesus is saying just the opposite.  To be great, I need to deal with my sin radically.

As I consider this fourth premise of greatness, my prayer is that of Psalmist; “Order my steps in thy word:  And let not any iniquity have dominion over me,” (Psalm 119:133)

Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
Mark 9:50

Salt is that essential ingredient that preserves and enlivens our food.  In the East, as we have discussed previously, it was used as currency in many places.  Also, it was part of contractual agreements and peace treaties between people groups.  To have salt in ourselves means to live in peace with one another.  Jesus, as the Prince of Peace, is saying that greatness lives peaceable one with another.

So, as we observed in Jesus, greatness stoops down.  That kind of greatness treats all men equally, is magnanimous and sensitive to people who are weaker.  It deals with our own sin radically and it lives at peace with all men.

The Servant’s Heart

A moment ago, we heard Jesus proclaim that if any man desire to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.  Our fleshly nature hates this, yet when we think about it for more than a moment, we realize it is O’ so true.  Ultimately, when we run against the wind of truth, we nearly always come to regret it later.

Jesus’ Parable of the Wedding Feast brings this point home well.  While dining at the home of one of the chief Pharisees Jesus spoke these beautiful words; 

And he put forth a parable to those which were invited, when he noticed how they chose out the chief seats; saying unto them, when you are invited of any man to a wedding, sit not down in the highest seat; lest a more honorable man than you be invited of him.  And he that invited you and he come and say to you, give this man your seat; and you begin with shame to take the lowest seat.  But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest seat; that when he that invited you comes, he may say unto you, friend, go up higher:  Then shall you have praise in the presence of them that sit at meat with you.  For whosoever exalts himself shall be abased; and he that humbles himself shall be exalted. 
Luke 14:7-11

This is a great key to life.  Don’t think about myself, don’t think about my position, don’t think about how others view me.  You see, it is not about me.  And life is not about how others see me either.  Really, the only important thing is how my Lord perceives me.  And because of what he has already done, I can be comforted knowing that I am robed in his righteousness, lacking nothing in his eyes!

So, the servant’s heart is a humble one.  A good working definition of humility I’ve heard is a humble person loves people over self, is aware of God nearly all of the time and trusts God over self for decision making.  We see from the Parable of the Wedding Feast that this approach leads to praise from the “Man” while the “me first” attitude brings embarrassment.

What are some other attributes of the servant’s heart?  For one, you are willing to help others in need.  There are nine words that the servant uses frequently.  “What do you need & how can I help.”  Warning though…only use these words if you mean it.

Another characteristic of servanthood is that it contains the same ingredients as unconditional love.  That is, they both are patient, kind, gentle, unselfish, not thinking evil, not easily provoked, etc.  Servanthood is as love on another level because they both involve a choice.  “I choose today to lay down my life.”  Along with that, neither love or servanthood respond to coercion or manipulation.  It’s not “have to,” but “get to.”  A quick way to lose any self-respect I have is to let others take advantage of me in that way.  Again, partnering with the Spirit, gives me direction on when & how to serve.

Along that line though, sometimes God will occasionally test my heart by asking me to serve in ways I am not well suited.  You see, my primary ministry of service will always be according to the gifts and abilities he has given me, but my secondary area is whatever is needed at the moment!  The servant recognizes this and is willing to step out in faith as this occurs.  An example of something that is always needed is sharing the good news of Jesus Christ to the lost.  But some are not well suited in evangelism.  No matter, we still need to engage people with content in humility & service.  Love without the Gospel & the Gospel without love, both fall short!

Lastly, in considering the servant’s heart, if you are wondering, “am I being a servant?”  The best way to know, is this.  “How do I respond when people treat me like one!”  It’s most important not to seek recognition from others when I serve.  If I do, that praise will be the sum of it.  Rather, the words of Paul hit the mark when he said, “and whatsoever you do, do it heartily, as unto the Lord, and not unto men: Knowing that of the Lord you shall receive the reward of the inheritance:  For you serve the Lord Christ,” (Colossians 3:23-24).

Discipleship & Servanthood

So, we see that servanthood can often be hard.  It is optional, involving a choice and it is exactly what our Lord did in relationship towards us, motivating us to move in that direction in our daily lives towards others.

And there is a cost.  When I say the nine words of service… “What do you need & how can I help,” I need to be ready to respond.  I need to do a cost analysis, if you will.  Can I pay the price?

Jesus explains this relationship very poignantly with these challenging words;

And there went great multitudes with him, and he said unto them…
Luke 14:25

These multitudes had seen his miracles, and heard his gracious words and were hungry for more.  Jesus understood they were interested and curious but not altogether invested yet.  They were “believers” but not “disciples!”  Therefore, he spoke these words;

If any man come after me, and hate not his father and his mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:26

Once again, the Teacher is using the rhetorical device of the extreme statement.  He is teaching the New Testament version of the 1st Commandment, that being, “I am the Lord thy God & you shall no other gods before me,” (Exodus 20:2-3).  Jesus, rightly equating himself with the Father, is really stating the obvious.  We are to realize who he is and love him over the seven people groups that tend to often be elevated to the place of idols in our minds and lives.

And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:27

During the time of Roman rule, to bear one’s cross was a common idiom that is not understood well in our day.  A Roman soldier could come up to any non-Roman and order them to carry a load, up to one mile. (Now we can understand our Lord’s statement found in Matthew 5:41 that when a man bids you to go one mile, go two for good measure!). To bear one’s cross was the idiom describing this practice.  Jesus is saying to bear your cross and follow him is to embrace his agenda, not your own.  It’s not really talking about flogging or crucifying oneself at all.  But it is speaking about counting the cost.  He is describing how to go from being just a believer to a disciple.

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sits not down first, and counts the cost, whether he has sufficient to finish it?  Lest haply, after he laid the foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him, saying, this man began to build, and was not able to finish.
Luke 14:28-30

Not counting the cost in life, not taking care of the details can be humiliating.  And counting the cost has two facets to it.  Number one, “can I finish what I start?  Do I have the recourses to do this?”  It looks at the cost of doing something.  Is the reward of the accomplishment worth the energy expended in order to get there?  In the case of following Jesus, the answer is a resounding “yes!”  Short-term discomfort on one hand vs long-term glory on the other.  Sort of a no-brainer!  The second component to counting the cost is counting the opportunity cost of not doing something.  Am I more concerned with making mistakes or missing opportunities?  The opportunity costs of not doing things God calls me to do can be enormous!  I miss out on blessings that he would have bestowed upon me!  I wonder if when we are in heaven, we will shed more than a few tears when we learn of the many opportunities we were offered, yet passed upon!  

So, it is very important to look at both sides of this equation when deciding to be his disciple or not.  That is, with the Spirit’s help, do I have what it takes to go for it & what am I going to miss out on if I decide to go through the motions instead of going “all in?”

Or what king, going to make war against another king, sits not down first, and consults whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that comes against him with twenty thousand?  Or else, while the other is yet a great way off, sends an ambassador, and desires conditions of peace.  So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he has, he cannot be my disciple.
Luke 14:31-33

Discipleship is limited to those who are willing to pay the price.

Frances Chan has famously said, “What the world needs is Christians who don’t tolerate the complacency of their own lives.  It needs sanctified disciples over justified saints.”  And many of the Bible’s promises apply only to disciples living spirit-filled lives.  Touchstones like Philippians 4:6-7 or Malachi 3:10-11 seem to necessitate a certain level of commitment in order to obtain the juice.  Thankfully, others still can be obtained by those of us less invested.  Promises such as those found in Romans 8:1 and 8:31-39.  As an exercise sometime, look at your favorite Bible promises and meditate upon whether they apply to all saints or only to disciples.  If conditions are present to obtain the promise, well then, you have your answer!

Later in his ministry, near the time of his death, Jesus was asked if some Greeks who had come up to the feast of Passover could speak to him and hear from him.  They, like us in the West were curious about Jesus.  They lived in a country with a fatalistic philosophy, foolish mythology & flawed society.  They were seeking more than what the World’s philosophy was offering.  They knew there must be something greater.  As Solomon has penned, “he has set eternity in our hearts,” (Ecclesiastes 3:11).

Let’s listen to the Master’s response;

And Jesus answered them, saying, the hour is come, that the Son of man should be glorified.  Truly, truly, I say unto you, except a kernel of wheat fall to the ground and die, it remains alone:  But if it dies (is buried, is planted in the ground), it brings forth much fruit.
John 12:23-24 (italics added for clarity)

Jesus spoke to these Greeks in a way they could understand, that is, science, not scripture.  Everything they were looking for, everything in life is about what he was soon going to accomplish.  About his death and resurrection.  The reason for everything is found at the Cross.  The love that held him up and the power that raised him up is all I need.  Was all they needed.  To understand Jesus, we must look at his death and resurrection.  Before his death, he was alone in power & majesty.  He was that kernel of grain in one place, in one time only.  But after being planted in the ground, so to speak, he brought forth tremendous fruit.  He raised an army of followers, little christs, Christians spread out throughout the world and over time testifying to his words and his finished work.  

He that loves his life shall lose it; and he that hates his live in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
John 12:25

I know I don’t need to tell you by now, this is an extreme statement.  A secret to life is to die.  Die to self, die to my agenda, that is, stop thinking about myself all the time and live for him.  Yet another way of our Lord telling us to go “all in.”

If any man serve me, let him follow me; and where I am, there shall also my servant be:  If any man serve me, him will my Father honor.
John 12:26

As we have said, following my Lord can be hard.  Toughing it out instead of quitting. Persecutions and misunderstandings, etc.  But guess what, the servant travels wherever Jesus goes.  You are never alone.  And along with that, the servant shall be honored by the Father.  It’s a good deal!

So, we see that servanthood was first modeled by Jesus, the only true Good Samaritan.  Wonderfully, after he rescued us from the thieves (Satan & his minions), we get to partner with him in serving others on the way to eternity.  He further exampled servanthood in washing the disciple’s feet, picturing for us his incarnation as a man and subsequent sacrifice for the sins of the world.  He told us, happy are we, if we do the same, that is, sacrificially die to self to bring life to others!  We understand that the love he demonstrated holds the same attributes as servanthood.  That being patient, kind, generous, selfless, calm, etc.

He also taught us that true greatness is becoming like a child verses being a self-promoter.  Being teachable, dependent, trusting and humble.  It’s not desiring distinction or authority & it’s not thinking evil of others.  Child-like living is to be curious and creative.  We saw that the great one treats everyone the same, is magnanimous and sensitive to those weaker in the faith.  He deals with his own sin radically while going easy on flaws he sees in others and he lives at peace with all men as much as is possible.

We learned that humility is at the heart of the servant’s heart!  (Pun intended).  We smiled when we considered that the way to know if you are living with a servant’s mindset is how you respond when people treat you like a subordinate!  Lastly, we considered that discipleship is intimately related to servanthood.  That there is a cost involved in going from a justified believer to a sanctified disciple.  But our analysis revealed that the cost of going “all in” and the opportunity cost of not doing that isn’t even close.  As a disciple, not only is our debt paid, but we get to live outwardly in the righteousness of God.  This makes us very dangerous to Satan and the World.  You have Christ in you dear disciples…so go for it, nothing can stop you!

Summary:

1. Jesus is the Good Samaritan. At best, we are the inn-keepers who partner with the Lord to help other near-death victims of the Devil recover while he is away.

2. We see from the Parable of the Good Samaritan that all men & women are our neighbors, regardless of whether they are like us or not.

3. We don’t do good works to get life, but doing good works should be a way of life! The good news is, there is no pressure. We don’t have to save the World. Jesus has already done that!

4. We humans often fail when presented with unplanned distractions because we say “no” too quickly and without thinking.

5. Jesus’ example of servanthood, God becoming a man, shows us that no type of service is beneath us!

6. Jesus answered the disciples dispute about who would be greatest by saying that he that would be first, should be servant of all.

7. To be great according to Jesus, I should be radical in coming against my own sin yet sensitive in regards to the flaws, weaknesses and sin I see in others.

8. A proud person loves self over others, does not think often of God, nor is in need of his help in decision making. According to the Parable of the Wedding Feast, this world-view leads to embarrassment.

9. Servanthood & unconditional love share the same attributes.

10. Counting the cost of following Jesus can move a believer to a disciple and will result in later blessings, rewards & glory!

11. According to John 12:26, the servant travels with Jesus and shall be honored by the Father.

For Further Study:

1. When is it a good opportunity to, like Jesus, answer a question with a question?

2. Does fear for your own safety & well-being sometimes keep you from imitating the Good Samaritan? You want to do good. How can you come against that?

3. What New Testament promise is pictured by the Good Samaritan giving two pence to the inn-keeper to use in the care of the wounded victim while he was away? Hint: See Ephesians 4:7-12

4. Distractions & opportunities are part of God’s daily agenda for you. What changes do you need to make to allow this to occur?

5. Which is better, busyness or slothfulness? I know, that was easy! But can one be too busy?

6. What has Jesus from the Word told you to do which you have to this point left undone? Was there an expiration date to this request? If not, go do it!

7. What heart state does legalism & judgmentalism lead to?

8. Have you ever used the nine words of a servant? How did it turn out?

9. How are you gifted by the Lord? Hint: See Romans 12:6-8. What is your primary ministry of service? Have you ever served in ways in which you are not gifted in well? How did that go?

10. Is the idiom “no good deed goes unpunished” biblical? How do you respond when people treat you as a servant, as a lessor?

11. What is the flaw in this popular preaching limerick? “Witness, witness, witness and when necessary, use words.”