Isaiah 42:1-9 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
Thus says God the Lord, Who created the heavens and stretched them out, Who spread forth the earth and that which comes from it, Who gives breath to the people on it, and spirit to those who walk on it: “I, the Lord, have called You in righteousness, and will hold Your hand; I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the Gentiles, to open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house. I am the Lord, that is My name; and My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to carved images. Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
Matthew 12: 15-21” But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; and in His name Gentiles will trust.”
Matthew 20:25-28 “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
John 13:1-5, 12-17 “Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. Andsupper being ended, the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God,rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself.After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded… So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.” If we study the life of Jesus, we realize that Jesus continually and persistently fulfilled these descriptions throughout his ministry.
Who really wants to be a servant? In Jesus’ day, there were all kinds of servants, from the lowliest who brought water and washed the dirty smelly feet of guests, to those who were so trusted that their masters allowed them to manage entire households and to conduct business on their behalf. When Jesus told stories about servants who had been given large amounts of money to invest, people could relate because these things actually happened.
But generally, servants occupied a lower social standing than that of their masters. John 13 describes Jesus washing the disciples’ feet at the time of the last supper because nobody else had been willing to carry out such a loathsome task. Jesus acted deliberately to demonstrate servanthood leadership, the concept of leaders serving those following them and not the reverse. Jesus knew that if his disciples did not learn to serve one another, they would fail to spread the good news of his death and resurrection.
Of all the ideas that Jesus embodied and continues to embody, that of servanthood leadership might be one of the most radical. Certainly, the disciples weren’t interested in serving one another; in fact, they had continuing arguments about who would be the greatest in the kingdom of God. Mathew 20 describes the time when the mother of James and John tried to beg for special favors for her sons, enraging the rest of the disciples.
Even today, servants occupy a lower place in social standings than do those whom they serve, and yet, they are the very people whom Jesus has commended. Nothing is more encouraging than someone willing to help cheerfully, patiently, and enthusiastically. There is another benefit to being a servant: when we serve, we are far less likely to be targeted for attacks than when we stand out as lording it over others.
One of the challenges of the Christian life is to remember our main purpose: to serve the risen Christ who has saved us by His blood and delivered our souls from hell. Perhaps few famous people have gained such popularity and respect as a small Albanian nun commonly known as Mother Teresa. “Mother Teresa founded the Missionaries of Charity, a religious congregation that was initially dedicated to serving “the poorest of the poor” in the slums of Calcutta. Over the decades, the congregation grew to operate in over 133 countries, as of 2012, with more than 4,500 nuns managing homes for those dying from HIV/AIDS, leprosy, and tuberculosis, as well as running soup kitchens, dispensaries, mobile clinics, orphanages, and schools. Members of the order take vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and also profess a fourth vow: to give “wholehearted free service to the poorest of the poor.” (Wikipedia)
Only heaven knows how many millions of people have been inspired by Mother Teresa’s example. In 1979 Mother Teresa even received the Nobel Peace Prize and has since been made a saint by the Catholic Church. But all those honors meant little to Teresa, for her goal was to serve her Savior and the poor to whom He had called her. Here are a few quotes from Teresa:
- Do not wait for leaders; do it alone, person to person.
- God doesn’t require us to succeed; he only requires that you try.
- Keep the joy of loving God in your heart and share this joy with all you meet, especially your family.
- Before you speak, it is necessary for you to listen, for God speaks in the silence of the heart.
- Little things are indeed little, but to be faithful in little things is a great thing.
- If we really want to love, we must learn how to forgive.
- Give yourself fully to God. He will use you to accomplish great things on the condition that you believe much more in His love than in your own weakness.
- Speak tenderly to them. Let there be kindness in your face, in your eyes, in your smile, in the warmth of your greeting. Don’t only give your care, but give your heart as well.
- Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater developments and greater riches and so on, so that children have very little time for their parents. Parents have very little time for each other and in the home begins the disruption of peace in the world.
- There is a terrible hunger for love. We all experience that in our lives-the pain the loneliness. We must have the courage to recognize it. The poor you may have right in your own family. Find them. Love them.
- Like Jesus, we belong to the world not living for ourselves but for others. The joy of the Lord is our strength.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, give us servants’ hearts so that we will be more concerned about others than we are about ourselves. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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