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Today's Gospel reading is from the Gospel according to Mark, chapters 9 and 10.
They came to Capernaum.
When he was in the house, he asked them,
What were you arguing about on the road?
But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest.
Sitting down, Jesus called the twelve and said,
Anyone who wants to be the first must be the very last and servant of all.
They were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way,
and the disciples were astonished while those who followed were afraid.
Again, he took the twelve aside and told them what was going to happen to him.
We are going up to Jerusalem, he said,
and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law.
They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles,
who will mock him and spit on him, flog him, and kill him.
Three days later, he will rise.
Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him.
Teacher, they said, we want you to do for us whatever we ask.
What do you want me to do for you, he asked.
They replied,
Let one of us sit at your right hand and the other at your left in glory.
You don't know what you're asking, Jesus said.
Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?
We can, they answered.
Jesus said to them,
You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with.
But to sit at my right or my left is not for me to grant.
These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.
When the ten heard about this, they became very indignant with James and John.
Jesus called them together and said,
You know that those who were regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lorded over them,
and their high officials exercise authority over them.
Not so with you.
Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant.
And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
For even the son of man did not come to be served,
come to be served, but to serve,
and to give his life as a ransom for many.
Then they came to Jericho.
As Jesus and his disciples, together with a large crowd,
were leaving the city,
a blind man, Bartimaeus, which means son of Timaeus,
was sitting by the roadside begging.
When he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth,
he began to shout,
Jesus, son of David, have mercy on me.
Many rebuked him and told him to be quiet,
but he shouted all the more,
Son of David, have mercy on me.
Jesus stopped and said,
Call him.
So they called the blind man,
Cheer up, on your feet, he's calling you.
Throwing his cloak aside,
he jumped to his feet and came to Jesus.
What do you want me to do for you?
Jesus asked him.
The blind man said,
Rabbi, I want to see.
Go, said Jesus,
your faith has healed you.
Immediately he received his sight
and followed Jesus along the road.
This is the gospel of the Lord.
Good morning, Christ Church.
As we are drawing closer to Easter,
we only have a few weeks left in the gospel of Mark.
And what we're going to talk about today
is of,
it's a vital subject
of great importance
with far-reaching implications
in every sphere of our lives,
our homes,
our churches,
our workplaces,
our society as a whole.
And if as individual people
and as a collective community,
we can embrace the essence of this text
and by the power of the Holy Spirit
and the grace of God
begin to live it out together,
many, many people would come to see
the light and the life
and the love of Jesus Christ
in us
to such a degree
that they'd be compelled
to consider
why our lives are so radically different
than everyone else's.
Why we are a counterculture,
an alternative society,
a city within the city,
defying the prevailing social norms
and values of our time.
I want to remind you
before we get into the text
of the larger context
in the Gospel of Mark,
if you're paying attention
to the literary structure,
Mark has written this Gospel
as a three-act play.
And we looked at Act 1
where Jesus is in Galilee
and He's demonstrating
His authority and His power
in the first eight chapters
of this Gospel.
And then you come to Act 2,
which is Jesus on the way
to Jerusalem,
and He's taking His disciples
on this journey
in order to teach them
about His cross
and to re-educate them
about the kingdom of God
in light of the cross.
And then in Act 3,
we come to Jerusalem,
the final days leading up
to Jesus' cross,
and that's the last chapters,
chapters 11 through 16.
But here we are
in this middle portion,
Act 2 of this Gospel,
chapters 8, 9, and 10,
where Jesus gives us
these three prophecies
of His passion,
these three predictions
of His coming cross.
And Jesus solemnly repeats
these prophecies
about His cross three times
so that His disciples
can know that what's going
to happen to Him
is not going to take Him
by surprise.
And in fact,
this third prediction
is the most elaborate
and most detailed.
It says in verse 33,
it says,
we're going to Jerusalem.
The Son of Man
is going to be delivered
over to the chief priests
and the teachers of the law,
that is,
the Jewish authorities.
And they will condemn Him
to death
and they'll hand Him
over to the Gentile authorities
who will mock Him,
spit on Him,
flog Him,
and kill Him.
And in three days later,
He will rise.
Now, you would think
with such a prophecy
that the disciples
would be in a state
of reflection
and a prayer.
And yet,
this prophecy
is followed
by this request,
this incredible request
by James and John
for positions
of privilege
and power.
And then we have
Jesus' brilliant response,
which is capped off
by verse 45,
which is really
the key verse
in our entire gospel.
And so that's where
I'd like to focus
our attention
as we begin
there in verse 45.
And my whole message
today is this,
that Jesus came
to serve
and to create
a counterculture
of servants.
That Jesus came
to serve
and create
a counterculture
of servants.
And I want to talk
first about
how Jesus came
to serve.
He says that
in verse 45.
He says,
For even the Son of Man
did not come
to be served,
but to serve.
And the choice
of that word
that the Son of Man
has come
is a strong giveaway
that Jesus existed
before He was born.
That He's come
into the world.
And why has He come
into the world?
Well, a major part
of our identity formation
is to get clear
on who we are not.
And to be able to say
who we are not.
And I'm not this,
so I'm not going
to do this,
that, or the other.
And Jesus knows
who He's not.
Jesus has not
come to be served.
And that assumes
that He has every right
to expect to be honored
and served,
but He's not come
to seek that.
To be served
is the default mode
of the human heart.
There's a part of us
and every single one
of us that says,
I'm here to be served.
Serve me.
Give to me.
My will be done.
I'll be the superior.
You be my inferior.
I'll be the center.
You be the circumference.
The reason Jesus came
is because the only way
this world could be put
right again
is for there to be
a new human being
with a new kind of heart
that's operating
in a new kind of way.
And this is why
the New Testament
calls Jesus
the new Adam.
And tells us
why it's so important
to get out of
the old Adam
and to live your life
here under the new Adam.
Because Jesus,
the new Adam,
He's not infected.
by this disease
that says,
serve me.
My rights.
My privileges.
My power.
My status.
I want to be the greatest.
I want to be the first.
What's so incredibly
attractive about Jesus
is that He's radically
free of these things.
Jesus comes and He says,
even though I have a right
to be served
and to be honored
and to enjoy
all the privileges
of the Son of God,
I've not come
to exercise
my rights
and my privileges.
In fact,
what I've come to do
is surrender them.
I've come to lay them down
in a cause
greater than myself
and my rights.
So Jesus knows
who He's not.
I've not come
to be served,
but Jesus also knows
who He is.
He's very,
He's quite clear
on His identity
and His mission.
And He says,
in verse 45,
He says,
the Son of Man
did not come
to be served,
but to serve
and to give His life
as a ransom for many.
He has no doubt
about what He's come to do.
He says,
I've come to serve,
to be a diakoneo,
which is where we get
the word deacon
or the diaconate.
It just means a servant.
It literally means
a table waiter.
And a table waiter
is someone who comes
to meet your needs
and clean up your mess.
And Jesus says,
that's what I've come
to do.
I've come to serve.
All of His acts of mercy,
all of His acts of healing,
His acts of teaching
are to be seen
in light of this one
great purpose.
I've come to serve.
And what is Jesus'
greatest act of service?
He defines it.
He says,
I've come to give my life
as a ransom for many.
Jesus' death
is not incidental
to His identity
and His mission,
but it's quite central.
The death of Jesus
is not an accident.
It's not a tragic
waste of life
at the end
of a great career.
Unlike most deaths
that we read about
in biographies
and headlines,
Jesus went to His death
willingly
and quite deliberately.
He says in John
chapter 10,
verse 17,
the reason
my Father loves me
is that I lay down
my life
only to take it up again.
No one takes it from me,
but I lay it down
of my own accord.
I have authority
to lay it down
and authority
to take it up again.
Jesus' greatest act
of service
is giving over
His life
to God the Father
in His death
on the cross.
And why was it necessary
for Him to do so?
Well, Jesus tells us
not only that
He will die,
but He tells us
why He will do so.
And He says,
it's because we need
to be ransomed.
We, all of us,
every single one of us
need to be ransomed.
Right?
the plight of humanity
is that we are held
in captivity.
And if you go back
to the earliest part
of the Gospel,
Mark chapter 2,
these friends,
they bring their
paralyzed friend
to Jesus
and they lay Him down
before Jesus.
And what does Jesus
say to this man?
He says,
Son,
your greatest problem
is a material problem.
It's a physical problem.
No, He says,
Son,
your sins are forgiven.
And then He goes on
and deals with His material
and physical problem.
He heals His infirmity
and His paralysis.
But He says,
Sons,
your sins are forgiven.
The very next chapter
in Mark chapter 3,
Jesus describes His mission
and what does He say?
He says,
No one can enter
the strong man's house
without first tying him up.
Then He can plunder
the strong man's house.
And when Jesus says that,
He's painting for us
a picture of a kidnapping.
And this strong man
who's kidnapped us
and tied us up
and put us in the basement
of His house
in this kind of hostage situation.
And what Jesus is saying to us
is that you are held captive
internally by sin,
which leads to death.
And you're held captive externally
by these dark powers of evil.
And that's kind of a question
for us this morning.
Do we believe this diagnosis,
Jesus' diagnosis
of the human condition,
that we are in a spiritual
and a moral bondage
from which we cannot
extricate ourselves?
We're prisoners
in need of a ransom.
And Jesus not only talks
about the plight
from which we need
to be ransomed,
but He also talks about
the price with which
we need to be ransomed.
He leaves us in no doubt
about the price.
He says,
we need such a huge
sacrificial payment
that would not only match
the value of our personhood,
but it would also procure
our freedom.
And Jesus says,
the only price,
the only payment
that will work
in this situation
is me,
myself.
It's only if I give my life,
only if I die,
only if I shed my blood
that you could possibly hope
to be ransomed.
And this is what sets Jesus
apart really from
the founders
of all the other religions
because each of them came,
if you study them,
each of them came
to live.
Each of them came
to set an example.
They came to give
their teachings,
but Jesus says,
I came to die.
I came to give
not just teachings,
I came to give my life.
And how does Jesus say
he's going to carry out
this ransom?
Well, he says,
I'm going to do it
for the many.
And that word for
means instead of
or in place of
the many.
I'm going to be
a substitutionary sacrifice
for the many.
Now, when I think about
all of my favorite films
about kidnapping
and hostage situations
and ransoming,
am I the only one
that likes these films?
I think of Air Force One
with Harrison Ford
as the president
of the United States
and his aircraft,
his plane is taken captive
by terrorists.
Or there's this great movie
called Taken
where Liam Neeson
is this ex-CIA operative
and his daughter
has been snatched away
by human traffickers.
Or a more recent film,
Captain Phillips,
where Tom Hanks
is the captain
and his ship
and his whole crew
has been overtaken
by these pirates.
And, you know,
in every single one
of these films,
how are the prisoners
set free?
How do those hostages
end up making it home safe
if they make it home safe
at all?
Well, in every single film,
many, many people
have to die.
I mean,
Liam Neeson's like
killing a lot of people.
Many people
are shedding
their blood.
But this is what makes
the drama of Jesus
so very different
because he says
instead of the many people
dying for the ransom
of one,
he says it's going to be
the one for the many.
One person
will die
to ransom
the many.
And I love,
if you'll just turn with me
back to verse 32.
I love this verse.
It says,
they were on their way
up to Jerusalem
with Jesus leading the way
and the disciples
were astonished
while those who followed
were afraid.
And where exactly
is Jesus leading them?
Here is almighty God himself
come in the flesh.
He stepped out of eternity
and into time
and he's striding ahead
with purpose
to Jerusalem.
He's on a determined march
to his cross
to voluntarily
give his life
to be a ransom
for those who are
in captivity.
One substituted
in the place
of the many.
Out ahead
leading everybody
to the cross.
And Jesus says here
in this exchange
with James and John,
he asks them this question
in verse 38.
He says,
can you drink the cup
that I drink?
Can you drink the cup
that I drink?
And in Hebrew scriptures,
the cup is representative
of the just judgment
of God upon human evil.
The cup is the wrath
and the condemnation
of God on sin.
And when Jesus says,
can you drink the cup
that I'm going to drink?
He's saying,
I'm going to make the payment.
I'm going to pay the price
by drinking that cup.
He says,
I'll be condemned
so you don't have to be.
I'll take on the wrath
of God,
the judgment of God
on human evil
upon myself
so that you can be free
from this condemnation.
He says,
that's the payment.
That's the ransom
that you could never pay
but that I'll pay
on your behalf
for your freedom.
So friends,
do you know
that this is why
Jesus came?
He came to serve you
in this way.
Do you know
that He served you
in this way?
Without faith
in His ransom
for you,
you're still enslaved.
You're still a prisoner.
Without putting your trust
in Jesus
who gave His life
for you,
you're still in bondage
and in captivity
to sin
and death
and to evil.
And so I want to ask you today,
what in the world
is keeping you
from giving yourself
to this one
who came to give Himself
for you
and came to serve you.
Jesus came
to serve.
But it's not just
that He came to serve.
Jesus came to serve
and to create
a counterculture
of servants.
This is the end game
of His service.
Jesus came to create
a counterculture
of servants.
What Jesus accomplished
on His cross
was utterly unique.
Only His life
as the Son of God
could be
the ransom
for us.
And so this prophecy
is very much
about Himself,
but it's also
a prophecy
that becomes
a pattern
for us.
It's the mold
into which
our lives
are to be formed.
And perhaps you notice
in this text
and perhaps
when you look around
at the church
in North America,
have you ever noticed
that the life
of Jesus' disciples
doesn't always reflect
the life
of Jesus Himself?
Has anyone
noticed this?
Do you know anything
about the church today?
That the life
of Jesus' disciples
does not always reflect
the life
of Jesus Himself.
And when you look
at verse 35,
it says,
Then James and John,
the sons of Zebedee,
came to Him
and they said,
Teacher,
we want you to do
whatever we ask.
Very often we address
Jesus as our teacher,
but we've not yet
assimilated into our lives
the major focus
of His teaching.
And this story
makes abundantly clear
that the sons of Zebedee
and the Son of Man
are in this
irreconcilable contradiction
with one another.
The sons of Zebedee
are seeking after
power and glory
and thrones.
Right?
And the Son of Man
is seeking after
humility and service
and the cross.
And we too
are faced with this choice
between these two
radically different
alternative value systems
and lifestyles.
And we've got to decide
what kind of people
we're going to be.
And to what degree
are we willing
to adjust our lives
to the pattern
and the practices
of Jesus.
And we've got to make
three key choices.
And the first choice
is we've got to choose
between self-seeking
and self-sacrifice.
If we're going to be
disciples of Jesus
we've got to choose
between self-seeking
and self-sacrifice.
They say to Jesus
we want you to do for us
whatever we ask.
Now what kind of prayer
is that?
We want you to do
whatever we ask.
That is a terrible prayer.
It is actually
the exact opposite
of true prayer.
True prayer says
Lord your name
be hallowed.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done.
Not my will
but your will be done.
But James and John
are somehow determined
to bend God's will
to their own will.
We want you to do for us
whatever it is
that we ask.
But Jesus
being full of grace
he works with
his self-seeking disciples
and he says to them
in verse 36
what do you want me
to do for you?
And they replied
let one of us
sit at your right
and the other
at your left
in your glory.
They think
when the kingdom
of God comes
our Messiah
is going to
rout the Romans
and he's going to
set up a new
administration
in the royal palace
and at that moment
like there always is
in these moments
in history
there's going to be
a scramble
for the best seats.
And you're probably aware
that the Caesars
in that time
they set their
victorious generals
on either side
of their royal throne.
And so they're
thinking to themselves
well we need to
kind of get on this.
We need to compete.
We need to
get at the front
of the line.
We need to make
advance reservations
so that we can
rule there
with Jesus.
And Jesus says
to them in verse 38
you don't know
what you're asking.
And that must be
how he responds
to so many
of my prayers.
Jonathan
you have no clue
what you're asking.
Yours is the way
of self-seeking
but mine is the way
of self-sacrifice.
Jesus emptied himself
of all of his heavenly glory
to take on human flesh
and throughout his life
he humbled himself
he never sought
his own glory.
In fact for the sake
of God
and for the welfare
of other people
he chose
the self-sacrifice
of his cross
from the very beginning.
And he's saying to us
you
my disciples
must choose
between
self-seeking
for your own glory
and your own honor
and self-sacrifice
for the glory of God
and the honor
of other people.
That's just a basic
choice you've got to make.
A choice between
self-seeking
and self-sacrifice.
But the second choice
that we've got to make
is a choice
we've got to choose
between power
and service.
The church
as a whole
and Christians
as individuals
need to choose
between power
and service.
They say in verse 37
let one of us
sit at your right
and the other
at your left
in your glory.
Basically they're saying
Jesus forget Peter.
Forget about Peter.
We know you've made him
the number one.
We know that he's
our lead disciple
but
forget about him.
We want to rule
on thrones
next to you.
We want the top places
in your cabinet.
We want to be
your prime minister
and your chief of staff.
Give us these seats
of authority
so that we can enjoy
all the connections
and all the status
and all the influence
and all the power
with you Jesus.
And it says in verse 41
that when the ten
heard about this
they became indignant
with James and John.
This includes Peter.
They're all full of fury
because they've been
outsmarted.
They're full of fear
because they've been
beaten to the punch.
All of them
every single one
of Jesus' twelve disciples
are hungry for power
because the lust
for power
is so intoxicating.
And we see this
everywhere
in our public life
don't we?
We see it
in our professions.
We see it
in our politics.
Somehow this lust
for power
even enters
into our places
of worship.
And Jesus says
I'm calling you
my disciples
to a different way.
He says in verse 42
Jesus called them together
you know that those
who are regarded
as rulers
of the Gentiles
lord it over them
and their high officials
exercise authority
over them.
Now we have to say
that the exercise
of good authority
the good exercise
of authority
is something that
God intends for us
and we see that
in Genesis 1 and 2
where God puts Adam
and Eve
in the Garden of Eden
and he tells them
to rule over it.
He tells them
to exercise their authority
over it by caring
for it and cultivating
and that's a good thing.
That's what human beings
are for.
But we see very quickly
in Genesis chapter 3
that Adam and Eve
begin to misuse
their authority
and begin to control
and domineer
over one another
and by Genesis 4
that authority
is not just being misused
it's being abused
and the descendants
of Adam and Eve
are dehumanizing
and killing each other
they're coercing
and overpowering
each other
and this is what
Jesus has in mind.
He's thinking about
how all of this
has gotten baked
into the systems
and the structures
of power
in the Roman Empire
this empire
that's organized
hierarchically
with different levels
of power
and privilege
from Caesar
and the Senate
at the top
down to the peasants
and the slaves
at the bottom
and Jesus looks
at all that
and he says
not so with you.
In fact
Jesus will take
those slaves
at the very bottom
and he turns
that kingdom
upside down
and he says
in verse 43
not so with you
instead whoever
wants to become
great among you
must be your servant
and whoever
wants to be first
must be slave
of all.
Do you want to be
great?
Do you want to be
first?
Jesus says.
He says
I came not to
grab hold of power
I came to give
power away.
I came not to
wield power
over people
like Caesar
but I came to
show you the power
of relinquishing
your power
to serve other
people.
And Jesus is saying
do you want to be
great?
Do you want to be
first among
my disciples?
Then try on
these labels
for size.
Be a diakonos
and a doulos.
We already saw
that the word
diakonos means
be a table waiter
who is there
to meet the needs
of other people
and clean up
their messes.
But then
what is a doulos?
A doulos
is a slave.
Is that how
any of you
identify yourself
as a slave?
In our late
modern western
culture of
self-expressive
individualism
we're all searching
for these identity
markers so that
we can say
who we
uniquely are
in this me
culture
so that I
can tell you
the truth
about myself.
Right?
But how many
of us
define ourselves
as a slave
of Jesus Christ?
Listen to
Romans chapter
1 verse 1.
This is the
greatest letter
in the New
Testament and
it opens with
these words.
He says Paul
a slave
a doulos
of Christ Jesus
called to be
an apostle
and set apart
for the gospel
of God.
How does Paul
identify himself?
What does he say
is the first
and the most
important thing
that you need
to know about
him?
He's a slave
and that's what
a Christian is.
This transcends
all other
identity markers
that you
willingly
surrendered
yourself
to the lordship
of Jesus Christ
and if you don't
identify yourself
as a slave
of Jesus
you need to
ask yourself
am I really
even a Christian?
Paul says
in 2 Corinthians
chapter 4
he says
for what we
preach is not
ourselves
but Jesus Christ
as Lord
and ourselves
as your slaves
for Jesus'
sake.
So if we
measure
greatness
by how much
of a slave
you are
well how great
are we?
How great
are we?
The third
choice we have
to make
is not just
a choice
between self
seeking
and self
sacrifice
and a choice
between power
and service
but we also
need to choose
between security
and suffering.
We need to
choose between
security and
suffering and
Jesus says
to James and
John
he says in
verse 38
you don't know
what you're
asking
can you drink
the cup I
drink or be
baptized with
the baptism
I'm baptized
with and they
say we can
and again
they didn't
know what
Jesus was
talking about
they thought
that Jesus
cup was
the wine
that they'd
be drinking
at the
messianic
banquet in
the kingdom
of God
and they
thought that
Jesus'
baptism were
like those
luxurious
pre-banquet
baths that
King Herod was
known to enjoy
before a good
feast
and they're
excited about
all of this
they're excited
about the
security and the
comfort that
they're going
to enjoy when
Jesus becomes
king
and Jesus
says to them
in verse 39
you will drink
the cup I
drink and be
baptized with
the baptism I
am baptized
with
he's saying
James and
John you will
have your own
little cups
not of wine
but of
suffering
and you will
have your own
smaller baptisms
not these
luxuriant
baths
but little
baptisms of
persecution
salvation
and what's
amazing to me
and what gives
me such hope
is that
God changes
these men
in such a
radical way
these disciples
who are
self-seeking
and power
hungry
and security
focused
they become
so transformed
by the
crucifixion
and the
resurrection
of Jesus
Christ
that they
actually begin
to identify
themselves
as slaves
of Jesus
and James
James will
go on to
serve Jesus
to the point
where he
loses his
head
at the
orders of
King Herod
Antipas
which we
read about
in Acts
chapter 12
and John
will go on
to serve
Jesus to the
point where
he's exiled
in the
isle of
Patmos
under the
reign of
emperor
Domitian
which we
read about
in Revelation
chapter 1
and for
these men
their voluntary
loss of
security
and their
willing embrace
of suffering
became for
them a
joyful
participation
in the
very sufferings
of their
servant king
Jesus
and they
counted it
great joy
to be
considered
worthy
to suffer
with Jesus
and so
friends
you might
not suffer
beheading
you might
not suffer
exile
but if you're
going to be
a disciple
you are
called to
be conformed
to the
image
of the
suffering
servant
Jesus
and you've
got to
make that
choice
now
how does
this apply
we're out
of time
and I hope
the Holy
Spirit has
been applying
this to you
as I've
been preaching
but I do
want to
make a few
specific points
of application
and the first
thing
is I want
you to think
about your
body
your body
because as
Jesus came
to serve
and create
this counterculture
of servants
he wants us
to be thinking
differently
about ourselves
the Apostle
Paul says
in 1 Corinthians
6
you are not
your own
you were bought
at a price
therefore honor
God with your
bodies
a Christian
is a purchased
person
which means
that
you're no longer
free to do
with your body
and your time
and your energy
whatever you
want to do
you've been
saved to serve
and the first
place we begin
to do that
is just with
our body
second thing
I want you
to think about
is the church
when we gather
together on Sundays
when you gather
midweek
in our homes
as we go
are we praying
Lord who do you
want me to serve
and how do you
want me to serve
them
how can I
pray for them
encourage them
listen to them
carry their burdens
how do you want me
to serve them
how can I
show up today
with this attitude
that says
at your service
I've not come here
today to be served
but to serve
and if you don't
have a way
to do that
I encourage you
to find a ministry
team
get involved
in a community
group
find other people
ask God
to put people
on your heart
and begin
to serve them
the third thing
I want us to think
about is our homes
and our workplaces
as you think about
your spouse
or your roommates
or your parents
whomever you live
with
and you think
about your boss
and the people
you manage
and your clients
it's so easy
for us to say
you know
I'll serve you
if and to the degree
that you serve me
and really that's
the way of the world
isn't it
I'll serve you
if and to the degree
that you serve me
but the way of Christ
is to say
you know
I'm going to serve
you
and I'm going to
lay myself down
in sacrificial
self-giving
for you
regardless of
whether you serve
me or not
because that's
the way
Jesus served me
the fourth thing
I want to say
as I close
is I'd like to
apply this
to our politics
it's clear
that the church
in North America
has been following
the way
of our Caesars
and if you
are someone
who's known
more for your politics
than you are
for your religion
it's very likely
that you've turned
your politics
into your religion
and if you're new
at Christ
I just want to say
we are part
of the exhausted
majority
this congregation
is center left
center right
but whatever
it doesn't matter
we're just weary
of polarization
we're weary
of partisanship
and we love
that sign
in 2020
that said
any functioning adult
we just
want that bumper sticker
we want that sign
and I'm tempted
to say
that we are called
as a church
to charitable
sober minded
moderation
in these things
in these political things
but what I want to say
beyond that today
is that we are actually
called
not to advocate
for this version
or that version
of the United States
this red version
or this blue version
of America
but what we're called
to do as a church
is to bear witness
to a different kingdom
altogether
the church
is called
to be a sign
and an instrument
and a foretaste
of this subversive
cross shaped
upside down
kingdom of God
in which
the greatest
people among us
and the first people
among us
are the people
who act like servants
and like slaves
and to the degree
that the church
is living that out
we might have
some hope
to be salt
in the earth
and light
to the world
so Jesus
has called us
right
he's come
to serve us
and he's calling us
to be
a counterculture
of servants
and may he give us
the grace
and the power
to do that very thing
in the name of the Father
Son and Holy Spirit
Amen