Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came over and spoke to him. “Teacher,” they said, “we want you to do us a favor.”
“What is your request?” he asked.
They replied, “When you sit on your glorious throne, we want to sit in places of honor next to you, one on your right and the other on your left.”
But Jesus said to them, “You don’t know what you are asking! Are you able to drink from the bitter cup of suffering I am about to drink? Are you able to be baptized with the baptism of suffering I must be baptized with?”
“Oh yes,” they replied, “we are able!”
Then Jesus told them, “You will indeed drink from my bitter cup and be baptized with my baptism of suffering. But I have no right to say who will sit on my right or my left. God has prepared those places for the ones he has chosen.”
When the ten other disciples heard what James and John had asked, they were indignant. So Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers in this world lord it over their people, and officials flaunt their authority over those under them. But among you it will be different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you must be the slave of everyone else. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Follow the Leader
Unlike James and John, few want positions that combine power with prestige. Most willingly give up the prestige of high position because of the headaches associated with it. Few willing give up power, however. So with the other 10 disciples we become indignant when we learn that someone in our own circle has made a play for power that will diminish our own influence.
This drive to power gives shape to a key misunderstanding of servant leadership. Groups often refuse to give enough power to leaders in order that they may fulfill their responsibilities – especially religious groups. We mistakenly think that power contradicts the nature of servant leadership. Jesus demonstrated otherwise, time and again through his ministry.
Servant leadership is not the inability or refusal to exercise power. Rather, servant leadership means that leaders have already learned how to submit to the authority of others. The worst leaders have never learned to be followers! Jesus demonstrated his understanding of submission when he prayed in Gethsemane, “Please let this cup of suffering pass from me, nevertheless, your will be accomplished.” None of us have so desperately wanted to avoid something that we sweat drops of blood, but submitted without rancor anyway.
Servant leadership is not management or the refusal to step ahead of the group and declare, come, this is the way we should go. Servant leadership is making leadership decisions that serve the needs of the many, to the point of sacrificing ones own preferences, interests and, sometimes even wellbeing. It is never self-serving, though it is control over ones self.
Jesus didn’t use his power to control others, but to determine his own leadership direction and insist that others, if they wanted a part of him, follow. He told Peter that he had to wash his feet if Peter wanted to be a part of Jesus’ cause. Here’s a classic example of the power of servant leadership. You may not recognize it, but you need me to wash your feet. You can choose to submit to my action or we can part company.
Supreme Leader, I submit to you and all those you place in authority over me. Cleanse me of any egoism that refuses to bend the knee to authority. And should you place me in a position of authority, may I serve by leading well. - Mike Leamon
Ser
vant of AllThe musical Cinderella is one of my wife’s favorite Broadway shows. There is something beautiful about watching an individual who has given their life in service to others finally get her reward. Those who have been lording it over get their just desserts and the oppressed are liberated and honored. Cinderella is a picture of how the Kingdom of God works.
The words about what is going to take place in Jerusalem have no more than escaped Jesus’ mouth than two disciples push their way to the top of the pecking order. They want to be number 1 and number 2 in the Kingdom. The only problem is they did not read the job requirements of being number 1 and number 2. They think it is about power and prestige. Jesus knows it is about service.
Jesus reminds them of this by pointing to his own mission. As the King in the Kingdom, Jesus is going to serve others by giving his life as a ransom. It would be like the President taking the place of a captured private in enemy hands. The Kingdom of God works backwards. The way to the top is through the bottom.
Jesus sacrifices himself as a ransom for us. He has no need of God’s forgiveness. He has done nothing wrong. The Bible tells us in Christ there was no sin found. He had lived the perfect life, fully in tune with God’s power and now he would take our place on the cross. Because of this Jesus will be exalted to the highest place and every knee will bow and every tongue confess He is Lord to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus on this Good Friday I give you thanks for your great love and compassion for me that took you to the cross for my sins. Help me to be a servant in the manner you modeled on the cross. - Dan Jones
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