Every Last Word

Mark: Does this sound familiar? "I'm better than you are." "No you're not, I'm better." Kids are always arguing over who is better. And if we're honest with ourselves, so are we adults. Jesus' disciples often argued about who was the greatest. But Jesus reminded them that true greatness comes from being a servant. As we prepare to listen, let's turn in our Bibles now to the Gospel of Luke.

Announcer: Welcome to Every Last Word, a radio and internet program with Dr. Philip Ryken, teaching the whole Bible to change your whole life. Today we'll be seeking to understand how to become the greatest, and it's probably not what you're thinking, so keep on listening.

Mark: Indeed, Phil, if we believe that God controls all things, does that release us somehow from our own responsibilities?

Dr. Philip Ryken: Mark, the Bible teaches both the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of human beings. Of course, this is a great mystery that all the great thinkers have wrestled with, probably from just about the beginning of time. But you'll never resolve the mystery by denying or diminishing either the sovereignty of God or the responsibility of His people.

We'll see that in today's passage even in the case of Judas betraying Christ, which we know from the Scriptures is something that needed to happen for our salvation, nevertheless, Judas was still responsible for what he did.

Mark: Christ tells us that the least will be the greatest and the greatest the least. How is this teaching different than that of the world?

Dr. Philip Ryken: Mark, it's exactly the opposite, isn't it? In this world, what you're trying to do is get people to do things for you rather than to have to do a lot of things for other people. That's the way this world operates. But Jesus teaches exactly the opposite of that, that it is really the servant, the one who serves in a sacrificial way like Jesus, who is the one who is doing what is pleasing to God and ultimately will be found faithful in His kingdom.

That's our goal for this program, Mark, as we broadcast every last word of the Scriptures. We want to make less of ourselves and more of others for Jesus' sake. That's our prayer for our listeners as well.

Mark: Okay, thank you, Phil. Let's turn in our Bibles now to Luke chapter 22, verses 24 through 30, and listen to Dr. Ryken.

Dr. Philip Ryken: Some arguments never really get settled. They are always simmering just beneath the surface, waiting for any hot flame to bring them back up to the boiling point. Such a dispute is depicted in the opening scene of "Fiddler on the Roof", the well-known musical about a Jewish community in Tsarist Russia.

The drama begins with Tevye the peasant walking around Anatevka, introducing us to the people of his native village. "Among ourselves we always get along perfectly well," Tevye says. "Of course there was the time when Itzak sold Avram the horse and told him it was only six years old when it was really 12. But now that's all over and everything is peaceful again."

Then Tevye rather mischievously walks up to one of the men and quietly says, "It was 12, you know." And of course, immediately the argument erupts again. "No, it was six," one of them says. "No, it was 12." And when Tevye walks away, the whole village is in an uproar again. You see, the dispute was never really settled to anyone's satisfaction, and so one little comment was all it took to get the argument going again.

I suppose every community has arguments like that—ongoing discussions, often over trivial matters, that keep coming up again and again. It certainly happens in families. It often happens in churches. It even happened with the first disciples, who never could quite agree about which one of them was to be regarded as the greatest. You know, they even argued about it on the night when Jesus was betrayed. You can see what I mean if you turn with me please in your Bibles to Luke chapter 22, where we take up once again our studies in the Gospel of Luke, beginning at verse 21.

What started the argument again was something that Jesus said over dinner. I want to talk about it just a little bit, partly to set the context for the argument the disciples had, but also because it has some practical importance for us in its own right. You may remember this was the last Passover that Jesus shared with His disciples, also the first supper of the new covenant. Jesus was giving the bread of His body and the cup of His blood to His closest friends, and already His thoughts were all turning ahead to the cross of His crucifixion.

With full knowledge that He was about to be betrayed, He said to them, "Behold," this is Luke 22 verse 21, "the hand of him who betrays me is with me on the table. For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed." What a remarkable statement that is for what it reveals about the sovereignty of God. Jesus knows that one of His closest companions, a man who has a place at His holy table, will betray Him unto death.

And remarkably, even this is part of the plan of God. Jesus says here that the Son of Man will die the way that God has determined. Of course, the whole Gospel of Luke has been moving in this direction ever since Jesus set His face toward Jerusalem at the end of chapter nine. Looking to the cross, we have known for sure that He will be crucified. All of this is part of God's perfect and sovereign plan. Even the betrayal is part of God's predetermined purpose.

Nevertheless, Judas is still responsible for his own free and sinful choice. God's sovereignty does not diminish man's responsibility. If you ask why the Son of Man had to go the way that He went—up that road that went to the cross—Jesus tells us the answer here: this is the way He went because it was the Father's will. But if we are tempted to think that somehow this absolves Judas of his own responsibility, Jesus says, "Woe to that man."

Woe to him, for God would hold Judas fully responsible for choosing to be the betrayer. This is why Jesus is so sad about Judas. He's pronouncing his woe. It's really a way of saying, "Alas." It's distressing. His own sinful choice, how sad it is, will condemn him. For although Judas later regretted what he had done, his remorse was without repentance, and he died in despair before going to his doom. And Jesus says woe to that man who betrays the Son of God.

In a way, I think these words are a serious warning to anyone who is tempted to choose to go against God. Here is a man who was known to be a disciple, a man that Jesus called his friend. He's a man that saw the miracles that Jesus performed. He heard Jesus testify that He was the Christ. He's even sitting down with Jesus at the last supper. I mean, he had every spiritual advantage you could possibly imagine. But in the end, he chose not to follow Jesus.

And once he had made that decision, he had no one to blame but himself. Even somebody sitting in church on a Sunday morning can be going down the road that will lead to this kind of choice. It's a warning to us: what decision will you make about Jesus Christ? Will you be for Him in the world or against Him? You see, the choices you make—the little choices about what to worship, what to love, what to look at, what to say, what to buy, who you will choose to be your friend—these are the kinds of choices that ultimately determine our destiny.

And God will hold each one of us fully responsible for the direction we choose in life. Don't fall under the same woe that Jesus pronounced on Judas when he lifted his hand to be the betrayer. As you can imagine, this prophecy was the source of dismay to the disciples. It instantly caused a commotion around the table. Which of them, they wondered, would be the betrayer? Was it really true that a member of their own fellowship would turn out to be a traitor?

And so they began, Luke tells us in verse 23, to question one another, which of them it could be who was going to do this. And I think it's easy to imagine that some of them began to defend themselves. "Oh, I would never betray Jesus," each one of them would say, and then they would point to some of the evidence of their own discipleship, how faithful they had been. I'm putting words in their mouths, but here's how I imagine it. Peter saying, "You know, I was the first one that Jesus called. I've been with him from the very beginning. I'm not going to betray him."

"Well, you were only a fisherman," Matthew might have said. "You know, I was a tax collector. I left a lot more money on the table when I chose to follow Jesus. It's cost me more than anything to follow him." And James and John might have said, "Well, yes, all of that is true, but you know, we're the ones that Jesus calls the sons of thunder. I mean, we're not the ones that are going to betray him, obviously."

But however the discussion went and whatever each one of them said, Luke tells us that a dispute also arose among them as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And you know, this wasn't the first time that the disciples had this little argument. Luke recorded a similar incident back in chapter nine. You may remember on that occasion Jesus settled the argument, at least for a time, by taking a child and saying, "Look, if you want to be the greatest one, you have to be the least."

And then there was the time that the mother of James and John asked Jesus to let her son sit next to Him in the kingdom of God. Oh, the other 10 disciples were indignant over that one. I mean, they really let James and John have it for that one. And of course, the reason why was they secretly had been hoping for that kind of place of prominence for themselves. Or what about that time Jesus asked the disciples what they had been talking about on the road?

Mark tells us the disciples kept silence, for on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest. You see, that's what they loved to talk about. Some people like to talk about the weather or sports or politics. You get the impression from the Gospels one of the things the disciples really liked to talk about was which one of them was the greatest. Give them half a chance, one little comment and there they go again with all of the old arguments repeated over and over again.

Let me say that this whole argument was completely inappropriate and especially shockingly inappropriate on this particular occasion. I can think of all kinds of reasons why it was totally inappropriate. It was inappropriate because the disciples weren't all that great to begin with, were they? You read through the Gospels, you see them spending most of their time missing the point, asking dumb questions, getting in the way of the ministry that Jesus wants to perform. I mean, these were not great men by any standard that you would apply to them.

It was also inappropriate because within a matter of hours all of them would abandon Jesus. Even if only one of them would actually betray Him, there's a sense in which they all would deny Him, and yet here they are trying to figure out which one of them was the greatest. Furthermore, this was the last night that Jesus would spend with His disciples before going to the cross. I imagine that afterwards this filled the disciples with shame every time they remembered that. The most important events in the history of the world were about to take place, and yet instead of focusing on Jesus, they wasted their time with this senseless argument.

It was inappropriate too because they had just shared Holy Communion. That sacrament, signifying their connection to Christ and also to one another—what an inappropriate time to have a divisive debate. It's a little bit like having a huge family argument over Christmas dinner, only much worse than that. It was inappropriate as well because Jesus had just warned them about His betrayal. They should have been talking about that. They should have been talking about encouraging one another to stay faithful to Jesus.

And yet they quickly moved from talking about who will let Jesus down in verse 23 to speculating about how much credit they each deserve for being the great men that they obviously are in verse 24. I mean, it's totally inappropriate, isn't it? It's a shocking display of self-centered pride. But it's not very surprising, is it? Shocking, but not surprising if you've seen what disciples are like, or if you know what you are like.

I think of the disciples, I sometimes remember the night we were having family devotions and one of the children suddenly said, "I love the disciples. They're always messing up." Well, it's encouraging, isn't it, if you see somebody messing up? And it's one of the things that we love about the disciples. They're having all of the same sinful struggles that we have, and maybe if Jesus had grace for them, He has grace for us. You see, that's the encouragement we get from looking at these men.

And we are so much like them, wanting people to know how great we are. Oh, maybe not getting into arguments about it. I mean, we're a little more sophisticated than that, and yet secretly hoping that people will give us the attention we deserve, that they will know how smart we are or how musical or how athletic or how talented in some other way, what accomplishments that we have achieved. We go to work and we want to get ahead of our business competitors.

We go home and we want our brothers and sisters to lose so that we can win. In the church, we want people to recognize the value of our particular ministry. We want them to admire us for how we're teaching the Bible perhaps, or raising our children. We want to be admired for that, don't we, or giving to Christian work? And you can see our pretensions to greatness in all of the little comments we make to enhance our own reputation, and the sudden pangs of disappointment when someone else gets ahead of us.

And all of the sharp comments we make to explode someone else's accomplishments. We want to be inflated, we want others to be deflated. You see, it's all in the pursuit of our own greatness. We find it hard to be happy in life until we reach that greatness that we think we deserve, and even then we probably won't be happy unless other people know about the greatness that we deserve and are giving us the credit for it.

You see the problem there is that we have the wrong definition of greatness altogether. We think that the great person is the one who gets ahead of everyone else. It's not a servant, you see, it is the master. And if that's the way we think, we need our whole idea of what it means to be great to be redefined the way that Jesus redefined it. Will you look at what Jesus says in verse 25: "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as the one who serves."

And you see here two very different definitions of greatness. There's the Gentile definition, that is to say people who are outside the people of God, worldly people. That's what Jesus means here. Their definition of greatness is the way that most people usually think. Who's the greatest person? It's the one who has the most power. It's the one who has the most prestige. In those days, it was the king. He was the ruler of his people. He had the money and the authority that came with his kingdom.

Everyone else was under him, and so he had full opportunity to live for himself. And yet, at the same time, he likes to think of himself as kind of a philanthropist, and so he demands other people to refer to him as their benefactor. It was one of the titles that some of the ancient kings used. "Oh great benefactor," that's what he wanted people to say to him, so that he would be identified as the source of all of their blessing.

And is that not basically the way people still define greatness today? Money, power, prestige. The greatest people in the world are the billionaire businessmen, the movie stars, the professional athletes, the famous politicians, the power brokers, the celebrities, the superstars. I mean, if you want to be great, then people have to know how great you are. You need to have power and influence over other people's lives. You need to have enough money to satisfy all your earthly desires.

I saw an example of this kind of thinking recently in a study coming out of Harvard University where MBA students were assigned to develop a strategic plan entitled "What do I hope to achieve in life after graduation?". Their number one priority was wealth. Number two was notoriety. Number three was status. And yet none of the students said anything in their strategic plans about serving other people.

Well, how different the definition is that Jesus gives, the definition of true greatness, the way that He defines it and redefines it. For after defining it the world's way, Jesus says, "Not so with you." You see, I have a completely different definition of greatness and I want you to live by this definition. Oh, the way the Gentiles are looking at things—I mean, that's the way the world looks at things, but it's not the way that God looks at things.

Because according to Him, the great person is not the person on top but the one who takes a position at the bottom. What Jesus calls here "the youngest". And of course, in those days, people gave a great deal of deference to their elders. I mean, an older person walked into the room and you were younger, you would stand up. You would listen to what the older person said because you recognized that wisdom comes with experience.

In those days, youngsters regarded their elders as their betters. That's the context for the comment that Jesus makes here and He's saying, "I want you to take the younger person's place in your daily relationships. I want you to regard the others as superior to you. Do the difficult job that no one else wants to do. No task, however menial, is beneath the dignity of my disciples." He is saying, "Let someone else go first. Give somebody else the big piece, the better portion, the more choice opportunity."

Listen to someone else's concerns rather than going on and on talking about the things that are interesting to you. Don't ask someone else to do something for you; think about something that you can do for others. Don't seek to attract attention but to deflect it and to turn it towards people who are likely to be ignored and who need a friend. In all of the relationships you have, follow the command that Paul gave to the Philippians when he said, "In humility, count others more significant than yourselves." That's a whole way of approaching life, thinking of other people as more significant than you are.

And of course, that's particularly important for anyone in a position of spiritual leadership. People usually think of the leader as someone who has people under him, you know, people you can get to do the things that you don't really want to do. But Jesus says, "Not so with you. Not so with you. That's not the way I want you to live. The leader is really the servant, and so the more people you lead, that means the more people you get to serve."

A missionary in Papua New Guinea made a powerful statement of this principle in his translation of the New Testament into the language of the Itumul tribesmen. In Itumul society, the most important person sits in the middle of the canoe. And the second most important person sits in the bow, that is in the front of the canoe. The least important person is the one paddling at the stern—you know, the one doing all the work.

Here's how the translation went: "If a person wishes to be a leader, he should not sit in the middle of the canoe. Let him sit at the stern. Let him do everyone's work." Well, let me ask you, I don't know how much canoeing you do, but where do you sit in the great canoe of life? What place are you taking in your work, in your ministry, in your relationships? What is your definition of what it means truly to be great?

Is it the same definition that Jesus has? Or are you still looking for money, popularity, the easy life that comes with being in charge, or at least the easy life you think will come with being in charge? J.C. Ryle gave this true test of Christian greatness. He said, "The true test of Christian greatness is usefulness in the world and in the church—humble readiness to do anything and to put our hands to any good work, a cheerful willingness to fill any post, however lowly, to discharge any duty, however unpleasant, if we can only promote happiness and holiness for others."

That's the test of true Christian greatness, and you won't pass that kind of test by striving for all of the earthly things that most people are working so hard to gain. You will only pass the test by giving your life in service to others. The greatest disciple is the one who offers the humblest service. And then Jesus gives the perfect example of that. He points to Himself.

"Who is greater," Jesus asks in verse 27, "one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves." And here is the example that clinches the whole point that Jesus is making about the true definition of greatness. Now usually people don't respond to rhetorical questions; that's why they're rhetorical—you know, you're not supposed to answer them. But here Jesus does give an answer. He makes the point clear. He answers His own question.

"Which is the greater one? Is it the person sitting down to the feast or is it the person who comes in and waits at the table hand and foot?" I mean, obviously it's the person who is being served. He is the superior one, he is lying down; other people are waiting on him. I saw a memorable example of this in my high school where the freshman class held an annual fundraiser called Slave Day. And the way it worked, various freshmen would put themselves up for auction to upperclassmen and then work as slaves for the highest bidder.

Well, there was one enterprising sophomore in my French class who hired an entire entourage. The next day, he came to class on a litter, shouldered by members of the freshman football team. Other slaves were there to carry his books and then they were accompanied by several of the better-looking girls in the freshman class. They were very expensive, from what he complained about later, but they were there and they were fanning him with palm branches. They were feeding him grapes, hand to mouth.

I mean, it was an impressive display of teenage greatness. I mean, that's the way the world looks at greatness. It's the things that people can do for you and the way they demonstrate how much superior you are to everyone else. Well, imagine then what service the Lord Jesus Christ would deserve if you consider the true extent of His greatness. He is the greatest one of all.

Oh, He doesn't come right out and say that here in so many words, but is it not the obvious unspoken premise of His whole example? He is using Himself as an example and in doing so He is assuming His own greatness. And I think, by the way, this is very typical of His humility. Jesus rarely talks about the full extent of His greatness. You know, in the Gospels you don't find Him going on and on about how great He is, although if He did that it would be in full humility; He has every right to testify plainly to His own greatness.

But by and large, you will find Jesus letting the Father do that. He's the one that says, "This is my beloved son, listen to him." It's the Spirit who does that, the Spirit who enables Jesus to perform those powerful miracles testifying to His deity. You see, the Father and the Spirit are promoting the glory of Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, Jesus cannot deny who He is. And therefore, of course, His divine greatness is the premise of His entire ministry.

And it's the premise of the argument that He makes here. If you want to know what true greatness is, I mean, look at Jesus. He's great because of who He is: the second person of the Trinity, the only begotten Son of the Father. He always has been and always is and always will be very God of very God. Jesus is not merely a man but has every attribute of deity. He is the Lord God. It means that no one else could possibly be greater than He is.

Jesus is also great because of what He has done, not just who He is but also what He's done. He's created this great universe. Jesus Christ is the Creator God. There is nothing in all of the vast galaxies of interstellar space that is not the product of His own divine mind. And then think what a great life Jesus lived. I mean, it's the greatest life that's ever been lived through all of the trials and temptations He suffered on earth. He never committed even one little sin. The only morally perfect man who ever lived.

And then He died a great death to gain for us a great salvation. No one has ever done anything greater for the human race than Jesus did when He suffered the death that we deserve to die for our sins and then rose again from the dead with the power of eternal life. I mean, Jesus Christ, He's the greatest one: great in who He is, great in what He has done. And if you doubt that, just go up to heaven and talk to the angels. They've been worshipping Him without intermission since time began.

And they will tell you they have not yet given Jesus even one trillionth of all of the honor that He deserves. He truly is the greatest one of all. And if that's true, then He's the one that deserves to be served. He's the infinitely superior person. He's the one that ought to be reclining at the table and all of the disciples ought to be serving Him. That's the proper order of things. That's the premise of the example that Jesus gives.

"But," Jesus says, "I am among you as the one who serves." And you see, now everything is turned completely upside down and we are opened up to see the true greatness in the very heart of God. Earlier Jesus said, "Not so with you. The world looks at greatness this way. Not so with you. Here's the way that you should look at greatness." And now He is telling them why. He's saying, "Because it is not so with me. That's not my definition of greatness. I have a different calling that I am pursuing, and I am calling you to follow in my footsteps."

Even though I am the greatest one, I am the one who serves. More literally perhaps, I'm the one who waits on tables. That's how the word initially was used. This word for service or to use the title that the church has used ever since: He is the deacon. That's what Jesus is saying. "I'm the servant, I'm the one who waits on you hand and foot." Jesus had proved it earlier that evening, hadn't He? Because He had washed the feet of His disciples.

Oh, it's not mentioned here in Luke, but John tells the story in John chapter 13. It's part of the context of this whole conversation. He really was among His disciples as the one who serves because He had washed their feet. And in doing so, He had taken the lowest possible place. But you know, Jesus had really been doing that since the day the disciples started to follow Him. He had been leading them, He had been feeding them, He had been healing them, He had been teaching them, correcting them, He had been training them and loving them. He had put all of His ministry at their disposal.

And soon He would serve them all the way to the death, taking their sins all the way with Him into the grave. From beginning to end, Jesus took His whole life and He gave it to His disciples, as He has given it to us. The very greatest one of all has made Himself your servant as He did the work of your salvation. And now Jesus calls you to be like Him, to find your true greatness in living for others, not for yourself. Forgetting yourself so that you can be absorbed in the interests and concerns and the needs of others.

As far as Jesus is concerned, the truly great person is the one who serves. And the point here is not that service will get you to greatness, that it's sort of one step on the way to becoming great. No, the point is that service itself is the greatness. That's the great thing that Jesus is calling you to do. And if you want to know who the real great people are as God defines them, well, look for people who are serving in the very lowest places.

You will find them, perhaps, passing out the bulletins at the back of the church or taking care of business on the changing table back in the nursery. Or sitting down perhaps with that needy person who only seems to complain, wanting to encourage them in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's where you'll find the great person. You'll find the great person visiting an elderly shut-in or teaching a Bible study at the federal prison or welcoming a stranger from some far country.

You will find the great person sharing the gospel with street children, with sex workers. You'll find them going off to do missionary work in places where most people hate the gospel. You'll find them in all of the dark and dirty places where no one else is willing to go. And when you see them there, they will look to you like Jesus. Because you will see that's what the ministry of Jesus is like. It is the greatness of a servant's heart. That is what I see when I see someone taking the lowest place to offer that kind of service.

And one day you will see those truly great people rejoicing with Jesus in His eternal kingdom. That's the happy promise that Jesus gives at the end of this conversation. We should be sure not to miss it, even if we consider it only briefly. Look at the wonderful promise Jesus gives to His servants: "You are those," verse 28, "who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you as my father assigned to me a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel."

Now the words of this promise were spoken first of all and primarily to the disciples, of course. There's a unique application Jesus is making to them, but there's a sort of secondary application we can make for ourselves. Of course, in one sense, it's the 12 apostles who are the ones who stay with Jesus in His earthly trials. Although even that was a very gracious thing for Jesus to say, isn't it? Because He's just on the eve of His greatest trial and of course they're going to run away at that time of trial.

But nevertheless, Jesus remembers everything His disciples have done for Him. He knows that they have suffered with Him the hardship of the open road, traveling homeless. He knows that they have left behind any regular source of income, that they have suffered some of the hostility that He had to endure from people who hated His ministry. The disciples stayed with Jesus in all of these trials. None of that faithful service would be forgotten. It would all be remembered and you see rewarded. Jesus is offering them a gift here. He's leaving them a legacy.

Really here I think He's giving His last will and testament. I think testament is the right word to use because Jesus speaks here in verse 29 about assigning these things to His disciples. He's using the biblical verb for making a covenant. These are solemn promises Jesus is swearing by oath. These are the things He is promising to give as a kind of legacy for His disciples. He will give to them what He has received from His father: this everlasting kingdom.

And one day those disciples who are sitting around that table that night will sit again with Jesus at the great banquet. That's a biblical symbol for all of the blessings God has in His everlasting kingdom. When these very disciples would sit down on thrones, they would rule, they would have authority to judge with Jesus. And Jesus doesn't fully explain what that means, but it's true. The disciples, the original apostles, had a unique place of privilege in the kingdom of God.

The Bible says the whole church is built on the foundation of their ministry. And obviously these promises are made to those disciples in a way they're not made to us. Only they were given the authority to rule the people of God. Only their names are written on the foundations of heaven in the city of the new Jerusalem. But these blessings of the kingdom, the blessings of eating and drinking at the table of God, these blessings are for all of God's covenant children.

Jesus has promised a kingdom to you, every bit as much as He has promised a kingdom to His apostles. And He kept that promise by dying on the cross for your sins, by rising again with the gift of eternal life. And now by the grace of God, true greatness is waiting for you. Yes, greatness to be found in serving people like Jesus, but also a greatness that is waiting for you as a reward, as a promise of the Lord Jesus Christ—a place for you at the table of God.

A place for anyone who will come to Jesus, sorry for sin, trusting in the cross. Jesus Christ, the greatest one, invites you to come. And as I was thinking of what it means to sit at the table of God, I thought of my daughter Caroline. Some of you may know her; she's almost two now. She still sits in a high chair for meals. But you know, she is starting to think that she is destined for something greater than that. That one day soon she will have a place at the family table.

I mean, give her half a chance, she'll climb up on one of the dinner chairs, she'll grab anything that seems to be within reach. And when she gets settled with her chubby little legs sticking off the end of the chair, her chin peaking up over the edge of the table, she gets a huge grin on her face. Oh, she is so pleased with herself. And I know what that smile is saying: "I'm big now. I'm at the table. This is where I belong."

You see, every child of God is destined for that kind of greatness—greatness by grace in the kingdom of God. The Lord Jesus Christ invites you to come to that table, to that banquet, to that kingdom. And you won't get there because you have been such a great servant, anymore than I'll get there because I've been such a great servant. No, you will get there because the greatest one of all has made Himself your servant and He has done so to the very death.

Our Father in heaven, we give you praise for the servant ministry of Jesus Christ. Oh, we are too little like Him, too much concerned with our own interests, not looking enough to the interests of others. Lord, will you teach us by your word and by your Spirit to serve the way that Jesus served us and to do so for His sake. Amen.

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