Matthew 20 - Not To Be Ministered Unto, But To Minister...

Why do you go to church? For the music? To see friends? To hear preaching? To learn about God? There is nothing wrong with those reasons, though they should not be the main reason why we go. Or, how about this- Why don't you go to church? There could be a number of reasons for this. However, oftentimes we do things with the mentality of “what do I get out of it?” This is fairly natural, and this is the way our culture teaches us to think. I have known of people who drop off their kids or babies at church and then leave, only to come back at the end of the service to pick them up. What do they get out of it? Free day care, I guess. While that may be a more extreme example, it's still one that many nursery or children's workers have seen before. My point is that most people have a reason for going to church.

When Jesus came into this world, he could have done things much differently. Think about it, God coming to earth... However, Jesus came in a way nobody would have ever imagined. Born into a normal family, born in a lowly manger. As Jesus walked the earth, He did not command that all people everywhere bow down and worship Him. Instead, he touched the leper, healed the blind and maimed. He chose disciples that were uneducated fishermen and even a tax collector. Through all of this, he taught his disciples to love others and to care for the hurting. He said unto them...

“Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority over them.” (verse 25)

Look all across the earth. The rulers of the earth (Kings, Queens, Presidents, Prime Ministers, etc.) have dominion over the people and exercise authority over them. That is the way of the world. Jesus came to show us another way.

“But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister. And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant.” (verse 26-27)

This is not teaching that the great people ought to be priests or preachers. This is teaching that if you wish to be great, you should learn to serve or minister to others. When I first went to the B.I.M.I. (Baptist International Missions Incorporated) headquarters for the first candidate school, I was impressed by the servant leadership I saw. The directors of the board, even the President of the board were all so humble. At meal time, they were often the last people to get their meals, and after eating while everybody was sitting around talking, the directors would often be the first one to pick up the dishes of everyone else to return them to the dish room. I kinda felt bad, like I should have picked up their dishes. They are all great and respectable people in my eyes, especially because they demonstrated the servant leadership exemplified in our Lord Jesus Christ.

“Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.” (verse 28)

Look at Jesus. Jesus, the Son of God, The Most High, The Alpha and the Omega- He came into this world not to be served, but to serve us. I can hardly comprehend how awesome He is! If that doesn't get you going, I don't know what will! God, in the flesh, came into this world to live amongst us. To live a humble life, to care for the hurting, and to save us from our sin. He came to give his life a ransom for many. He taught us that, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” And what did he do? He did it for us.

“Looking unto Jesus the Auther and Finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)

Have you ever thought about what this is saying? According to this verse, why did Jesus endure the cross? For the joy that was set before Him. While Jesus despised the shame, he died on the cross for the joy that was set before him. I believe that joy was Him seeing us having everlasting life with Him in Heaven. Jesus deserves your love, but we don't deserve his. If God, Himself, lowered himself far enough to suffer the shame of dying on the cross, then what does that mean for us? If Jesus loved those who do not deserve his love, then shouldn't we? Jesus came not to be ministered unto, but to minister.

What is your attitude towards others? Do you expect others to serve you, or do you joyfully serve them?

Jesus humbled himself to serve others and love others that didn't deserve His love. Do we live as if we are above our Master?

How can we be a better servant? How can we be more like Christ?