Matthew 20:17-28 Pastor Nathan P. Kassulke
Lent 4 Sunday, March 22, 2020 “Be a Slave”
There are times in life that we come to appreciate the blessings that we once enjoyed because they are taken away from us. We realize what a tremendous blessing health is when we get sick. There are many in our world today who are in that very position or situation. And there is another example of that which I suspect many of us can relate to today. We appreciate our freedom when it is limited and taken away. A week ago the sanctuary in which I am being recorded was fairly full with people who were free to gather together and to encourage one another, but it wasn’t long after that when we started hearing the directions to keep a distance, to avoid gatherings, to stay in your own home unless and until it was necessary for you to leave. And that is such a different approach that it has probably hit many very hard. We don’t feel free to do all sorts of things that we did before. Even before these restrictions were shared with us, our society in general has had a certain appreciation for freedom. As a church we have long rejoiced that this country guarantees us the freedom to practice Christianity and to speak the truths of God’s Word. As individuals, we celebrate that there are similar guarantees that the limits placed on our freedoms will themselves be limited. Certain freedoms are assured to us. So it sounds very contrary to that sprit for me to say to you: “Be a slave.” A slave really has no freedom. A slave by the very nature of that position or station or condition or whatever you might want to call it is bound. A slave is required to do not what he or she wants, but what the slave master wants. A slave doesn’t get to make her own decisions. A slave serves according to the will of the master. And yet you know already that it is not my own idea to tell you today that you should be a slave. Jesus said it. You heard his words from today’s Gospel in Matthew 20. He said, “whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave.” God’s Word says plenty about freedom and about the things from which God has set us free. And at the same time, Jesus tells us something like this: be a slave. Be a servant. That is what it means to be great. And that is the advice and direction that we are taking to heart today. Be a slave. You are already getting the sense of this, but I am going to point it out specifically. Being a slave goes against both our society and against our nature. Being a master we like. Being in charge is something that people around us aspire to. Jesus in our sermon text says the same thing about people at that time: “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them.” We have an idea that the ones who are the greatest are the ones who can rule others and have authority over them. That’s the same reason that Joseph’s brothers were jealous when they heard about the dreams that Joseph had, dreams that clearly portrayed them bowing down to him. That is not at all what they wanted. When Jesus tells us to be slaves, he is not talking about an arrangement where we actually live in slavery or need to hire ourselves out as servants. He is talking about an attitude that puts the needs and cares and concerns of others above our own. He is talking about always wanting to serve others instead of always wanting to be served. And the reason that is so difficult for us and for our society and really has been for people since the beginning of the world is that our natural way of thinking is the exact opposite. We are inclined to always think of ourselves first and to primarily consider what is best for us. God created us to love him perfectly and to reflect that love by loving others. We fall very far short of that goal. I realize there are a number of wonderful exceptions to the fact that we have been seeing this same sort of sinful attitude around us in recent days, but we have been seeing it, haven’t we? When essential items are off the store shelves not because people really needed them right now, but in many cases because people were so worried about themselves and their own future that they gave no thought to anyone else who might need those things. And even for many of us who did not necessarily act in those ways, our first thoughts when news starts to break turn to “how is this going to affect me?’ instead of saying, “How can I
help or serve others through this?” Selfishness is a heart problem; it is the way the sinful flesh thinks, and it results in death—in punishment from God. This discussion in Matthew 20 came about because two of Jesus’ disciples, along with their mother, came to Jesus asking for special positions in his kingdom. And, unsurprisingly, when the other disciples heard about this, they were upset. They all thought that those special positions should belong to them! But all along, Jesus had been trying to teach them something else. He had been telling them about what he was doing. He was going up to Jerusalem, knowing full well that there he would be arrested and mocked and beaten. He was going to be executed. He was going to be crucified. His whole life was an example for them of not demanding service from others, but serving others. Jesus didn’t go to Jerusalem because it would be good for him. He went because it would be good for others. It would be good for you and good for me. He went to Jerusalem to offer his very own life, all that he had, in service to others. Perhaps you have recognized it already, but it certainly bears stating: Jesus is much more than an example for us, showing us what it means to serve others. Jesus did it in our place, and he did it perfectly so that our sins and shortcomings are forgiven! He came to pay the ransom price to rescue us from sin and death, to rescue us from hell and Satan. He came to forgive our sins and to make us his children forever. “the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” That has the most amazing and wonderful implications for us right now. Because of what Jesus has done for us, nothing can truly hurt or harm us. People are scared now of a disease that they have only even heard about for the last couple months at most. They are worried by potentially worst-case scenarios. People have died. But you and I know that if the worst would happen to us right now, if our earthly lives would come to an end, that is not the end. We would be with Jesus in heaven. He died on that cross and he rose again, and he promises the same for all who trust in him. You don’t even have to worry about your life because Jesus gave his life for you! So be a slave. Serve others following the example that Jesus gave. Serve others with the power that Jesus gives. Serve others by looking to their needs and desires before your own. That is the way of God’s kingdom. Followers of Jesus follow in the way that he led. They are different from those who are in the kingdom of this world—the ones who lord authority over each other whenever they can. But Jesus said, “It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” So be a slave. What can you do even in these days to help someone else who might need it? I know the world looks different for us and maybe we have to think about it in new ways. Maybe some of the ways we have previously served others are not available in the same way. But you could serve someone else with a phone call, with a smile, by leaving something that you could maybe use at the store because someone else might need it more. You could serve someone by, if you would find yourself in a line at the store (and I have heard from some that they have been there), if you find yourself in line, don’t tell the person who is scared next to you not to worry because it will eventually get better. Tell them that you are less worried because you know Jesus and that he died for you and that he rose again. I know that can be a challenging conversation to have, but that’s the point. We are slaves to others. We’re less worried about how it makes us feel to step outside comfort zone and more concerned about what our world needs most. They need Jesus. Usually, we get together to read God’s Word and pray. It would be nice to do that right now. But we are slaves, and it seems the best way that we can serve others right now is handling our services a little bit differently. But you can still invite people to hear this message the same way that you are hearing it now. Oh yes, being a slave goes against our own nature and it goes against the norms of our society. But it is the way of God’s kingdom, because it reflects the love of our Savior, the love he has given to us. Because of what he has done, we are truly free. We are free to live with him in heaven. We are free to make ourselves slaves to our neighbors, just as Christ lived and died and rose again to serve us.
The Text: Matthew 20:17–28 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside; and on the way he said to them, 18 “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem. The Son of Man will be handed over to the chief priests and experts in the law, and they will condemn him to death. 19 They will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock, flog, and crucify him. On the third day he will be raised.” Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to him with her sons, kneeling and asking something of him. 21 He said to her, “What do you want?” 20
She said to him, “Promise that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit, one on your right hand and one on your left hand.” But Jesus answered, “You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink?” 22
They said to him, “We are.” He said to them, “You will indeed drink my cup, but to sit on my right hand and on my left hand is not for me to give; rather these places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 23
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When the ten heard this, they were angry with the two brothers.
But Jesus summoned them and said, “You know that the rulers of the nations lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It will not be that way among you. Instead whoever wants to become great among you will be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first among you will be your slave—28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” 25