Lessons in Greatness
Notes
Transcript
Notes
Notes
[Context] Jesus had been identified as the Christ. Jesus had been transfigured on the mountain. He had healed a boy who had been tormented by a demon. Now the Apostles are arguing about which one of them might be the greatest. Clueless seems like the right word.
vv. 46-48 - Following Jesus is not a matter of greatness but of humility. We are not called to be great, but to welcome the least of these.
This is how Jesus welcomed us. He who is great humbled Himself by dwelling among us in the flesh and paying the price for us on the cross.
He welcomed us although we had nothing to offer. He welcomed us although we were completely dependent on Him. He welcomed us although we were helpless and needy. He welcomed us although we could nothing for Him and would never be able to repay Him. We were the little helpless one that Jesus welcomed. And He calls us to humble ourselves as he did and welcome the helpless, weak, and needy.
What is it that prevents us from humbling ourselves as Jesus demands and welcoming the lowly?
In a word, the answer is arrogance. One definition of arrogance is offensive self-importance. Its the kind of thing we see very clearly in others but not so clearly in ourselves. It is sneaky and creeps up on us before we realize it.
Arrogance is what enables men to argue about their own greatness after hearing the divine wisdom of Jesus, witnessing the divine power of Jesus, and seeing the divine glory of Jesus.
But we must be careful. As I said, it’s very easy to see this arrogance in others, even these Apostles, and be blind to it in ourselves. If we are followers of Jesus, we too have experienced His grace. We’ve seen His glory written on the pages of God’s Word. Yet we often spend more time thinking about how to get more attention for ourselves, more recognition, more praise for ME!
This, of course, should not be. Having been saved by the humble Jesus, we must humbly spend our lives winning recognition for Him rather than ourselves.
Ask yourself this question, “When people walk away from me, what do I want them to remember?”
Most people would say competence, confidence, humor, wisdom, or love. There’s nothing wrong with those things but if they are rooted in ourselves, then what we really want is for them to remember ME!
We should ask ourselves that same question as a church, “When someone visits our church, what do we want them to walk away talking about?”
Many churches want people to walk away talking about the innovative children’s ministry or youth ministry. Other churches want people to walk away talking about the intimate hospitality or dynamic preaching. There’s nothing wrong with these things so long as they serve to exalt Jesus—because the goal of every church should be to have every person leave talking about Him!
A person that makes much of Jesus and a church that wants to make much of Jesus welcomes anyone and everyone so that Jesus might be exalted in their hearts!
Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name that is above every Name—that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father ().
James talks about the temptation churches sometimes face—the temptation to welcome a certain type of person and not another.
[Illus] At a banquet for some charity; introduced myself as a youth minister and watch the guy suddenly lose interest; It wasn’t because I worked in the church and he felt threatened by that. It was because he knew that a youth minister probably didn’t make a lot of money, and he would only be wasting his time trying to get me to make a big donation.
That’s how some Christians and some church view people. They don’t look at them and think, “There’s a heart that can lift high the Name of Jesus!” They look at them and think, “Do they fit in? Can they help us along? Can they make a contribution? Will they be a waste of my time?”
Most people in Jesus’s day would’ve looked at children that way, but not Jesus. And He called His disciples to welcome the lowly just as He welcomed lowly little children.
Arrogance makes us blind to the greatness and humility of Jesus.
Arrogance makes us blind to our own lowliness before Jesus.
[Illus] Story about Jesus riding into Jerusalem riding on a donkey and the donkey thinking that everyone had gathered to see him and sing his praises.
Arrogance has a way of making a "donkey” out of us.
Arrogance makes us blind to the lowliness of others.
How do we get the necessary humility?
First, humility is something given before it is something developed. The only way we can come to Jesus is humbly. And if we come to Him humbly, it’s because God has given us the humility to do so. Prideful people don’t come to Jesus begging for forgiveness and crying out for salvation. Only those who have been humbled do that.
Second, once we have come humbly to Jesus, we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to pursue humility, to put it on more and more the longer we walk with Jesus.
How might we put on this humility?
Remind ourselves of our present sinfulness.
In prayer, ask God to show you just how arrogant you still are.
Remind ourselves of Jesus’s great humility.
Do this by bringing to your mind who He is, what He did for you on the cross, and what He has promised you at His return.
Remind ourselves that God humbles the proud and exalts the humble.
Jesus humbled Himself and so has been exalted. Likewise, if we humble ourselves, we too shall be exalted. We won’t be exalted like the world expects exaltation but as God defines exaltation. And it should go without saying that God’s idea of exaltation is much better than the world’s expectation.
Therefore, God has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name that is above every Name—that at the Name of Jesus every knee shall bow and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father ().
Remind ourselves of our sin.