Philippians 2:1-7-Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, 4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. 5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.
It makes sense that Paul talked first about humility because without it, a person could never become a servant. It takes recognizing the people and needs around you before you can progress to addressing those needs, and to address those needs, it takes the attitude of a servant. So, humility opens a person to seeing the needs around them, and the attitude of a servant, moves us from seeing something to doing something.
Matthew 20 tells the story of a time Jesus taught His disciples about what greatness looked like in the Kingdom of God. He said that to be great in the Kingdom of God, a person would need to become a servant. Let’s look at it:
Matthew 20:20-21 20 Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. 21 And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom.”
I don’t know if this was a helicopter parent who couldn’t let James and John cut the apron strings, or if she, herself, was a devoted follower of Jesus, but she was clearly looking for an opportunity for her sons. No one would fault a parent for wanting their children to excel, but you gotta admit, her request was next-level! She asked Jesus to grant her sons the opportunity to ascend to Jesus right and left hand in the coming kingdom. In other words, she wanted them to be given position above the other ten disciples and of course, she wanted them right next to Jesus in rank.
Now, as Mark’s Gospel tells the same story, James and John asked the question for themselves, so Mama may have helped get the ball rolling, but it was in their hearts to rule alongside of Jesus. Even in Matthew’s account, Jesus didn’t respond to the mother, but instead He addressed James and John as verse 22 continues the story.
22 Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?” They said to him, “We are able.”
Jesus was quick to get to the way the Kingdom would be ushered in. It would come through rejection, betrayal, and sacrifice. His cup was the Cross. James and John didn’t know what they were asking. They had a pretty high view of themselves in that moment, didn’t they? Oh, they would endure a path of suffering as they lived for Christ beyond His death, burial and resurrection, but they didn’t understand what they were asking for. In this story, they weren’t asking for Jesus to outline a road of suffering and service. They wanted a promotion. They wanted a platform. They wanted position. Jesus was going to explain that the way to ascension in the Kingdom was by descending and serving.
23 He said to them, “You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.”24 And when the ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers.
Either the other disciples couldn’t believe they would have the nerve to ask such a question, or they were salty that they hadn’t thought of it first. I don’t know, but the text says it didn’t sit well with them. They were indignant which means they were angry and annoyed.
25 But Jesus called them to him, This was going to be a teachable moment for them. He said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you.”
Jesus was pointing out that there was a difference between the leadership of earthly kingdoms and the Kingdom of Heaven. There was a way that earthly rulers ruled over people, but Jesus said, “That’s not the way the Kingdom of God is set up. Status, money, popularity, pedigree, earthly power–none of that will provide a person prominence in the Kingdom of God.” The road to leadership in God’s economy isn’t based on earthly qualifications, on earthly degrees, or earthly skills or successes. Kingdom leadership is attained through humble service.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Jesus said that Kingdom significance is found by serving others. The word “servant” here refers to someone who was paid to work in someone’s household. It wasn’t a prestigious job, but it was a paid position. Whoever would be great among you must be a servant. But notice that Jesus then went beyond the idea of a lowly paid position in this passage. He moved on to use the word, “slave.” A slave in ancient times, didn’t work for themselves. They worked for someone else. They didn’t take home a paycheck. They didn’t have any rights. Jesus says here that as we follow Christ, we volunteer to become slaves of other people, that is, we seek to serve others because of the way Christ has served us all. It is next-level humility to view yourself as a slave to others. That’s how Jesus saw Himself.
Philippians 2 tells us that He gave up His Divine rights. He didn’t consider equality with God something to be held onto. He emptied Himself of His Divine privilege and took on the form of a servant. He didn’t just take on the nature of humanity, the form of a human, but He took on the form of a servant. Jesus didn’t just make a one-time commitment to serve humanity by hanging on the cross, but serving others was a quality on display all during His ministry. People who desire to follow Jesus will be looking to do the same.
But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Notice that we are not servants without a cause. We’re not out looking to accomplish random acts of kindness. There is a point to our servanthood. Jesus said of Himself that He was a servant because He wanted to give His life as a ransom for many. The way the ransom would be paid, the way reconciliation with God would be possible, would be through servanthood and the laying down of His life. God doesn’t to call us to be servants without giving us a great reason to do so. Jesus wasn’t just an example to follow, but He surrendered himself for a great cause. There was a reason that He took on the position of a slave. It was so that salvation could be available for the world.
You and I have the same reason to adopt the attitude of a servant. There is a world to be won to Christ. There are people who need to be rescued from an eternal hell. We aren’t serving just to serve, and we aren’t serving just so that people like us or think we are sweet, but we are serving so that like Jesus, we can win people to Christ.
Jesus gave His life as a ransom for us. That word, “ransom,” was a term that was used for the redemption price of a slave. It was the amount of money designated to be paid to free a slave. Are you seeing this? Jesus became a slave to free all who were slaves to sin. His service, His life, His sacrifice qualified as the price of redemption for us all.
The whole picture Paul paints in our Philippians 2 passage is the picture of the God who stoops, who descends, who lowers Himself so that we can be elevated to become Children of God. He refused the privilege of His Divine status to serve and elevate us. In situation after situation, as He was criticized, as He was scrutinized, as He was ostracized, He could have said with all authority and power, “Do you know who I am? Do you know who you are messing with? Do you know what I could do to you? I could squash you like a bug.” Even though He had access to all the privilege and power that His Divinity entitled Him to exercise, and even though He could have exploited that privilege and power to dominate in any situation, Jesus saw an opportunity to serve instead.
Paul said it this way in II Corinthians 8:9- For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.
The Ultimate Ruler became the ultimate servant.
Do you want to be great in the Kingdom of God? Look for ways to serve those around you. Jesus set the bar really high or should I say really low? As you follow Jesus this week, maybe challenge yourself to see just how “low” you can really go. Lower yourself to elevate those around you so that many can be saved as they see Jesus in you.
