Servant Leadership
Matthew 23 is a difficult passage for paid spiritual leaders to
hear. Our culture likes to lift up our
paid spiritual leaders and give them titles like bishop, pastor, reverend, father,
reverend doctor, right reverend, pastor emeritus, etc. As human beings we like to bestow honor. As human leaders, we enjoy receiving honor.
On one side I think this is very valuable. I think children need to be taught to respect
their elders. I think that goes hand in
hand with learning how to respect one’s “parents” – as God tells us to do in
the Ten Commandments. I think that new
Christians regardless of their age need to be introduced to the idea of submitting
to a spiritual leader and mentor. So in
the case of the young and maturing I think things like titles can be meaningful
tools.
However, among the mature and developed, I think titles are
damaging. Titles only get in the way
among the mature. Titles cause inflated
egos in those who receive them. Titles
cause hierarchy to form. {Why do you think Jesus makes a point to
say, “you are all brothers and sisters” in this passage?} Titles cause people to chase after the
spotlight rather than chase after the servant nature of Christ. Titles allow those without titles to assume
that there are others with titles that can do the work better. Among the spiritually mature, Jesus is
teaching us that titles really have no place.
As we read through this passage, Jesus is making a very difficult
point for us to hear. We like
hierarchy. We like organization. We like pecking orders. We like chains of command. But Jesus is telling us differently. Jesus is telling us that among the
spiritually mature, Christ is our teacher.
The Holy Spirit is our guide.
Yes, Christ and the Holy Spirit might speak through other people. But it is still Christ who is teaching us and
speaking to us regardless the mouth from which it is coming.
We should not be a people who are about lifting others up with
titles and accolades. We should not be a
people who are giving loads of public glory to others. We should be a people who are about coming
beside one another and subtly encouraging one another to keep the servant
mindset. We should focus one another in
serving for Christ’s sake. After all,
whoever exalts shall be humbled, but whoever humbles shall be exalted.
Worldly Power v. Spiritual Power
In the middle of this woe passage, Jesus gives us a woe about “swearing.” The religious leaders were teaching people to
swear by their offerings and by their sacrifices. In other words, the religious leaders were
teaching that size matters. The
religious leaders were teaching the people that the only oaths that really
mattered were the oaths made in conjunction with a big and glorious sacrifice. Who kept and benefitted from the temple
sacrifices? The religious leaders, of
course.
Jesus comes along and teaches the people that God sees into our
hearts. God knows what is true and what
is false. God knows what words we intend
to keep and what we do not intend to keep.
God knows whether our heart is noble or not. God doesn’t need a huge sacrifice or a large
donation to notice the nature of our heart!
The religious leaders are calling the people to support their
needs, not do ministry! They are robbing
the Hebrew people so that they can live.
Jesus calls them on it. In fact,
this point is so important that Jesus again specifically mentions it again in a
later woe!
Hypocrisy
Many of the other woes have to deal with the hypocrisy of
leadership. Jesus is telling the
religious leaders that they talk a great game but don’t abide by their
words. They speak about righteousness,
but only self-centeredness lives in their heart. They speak about following the Law and
ordering their life, but they ignore the Law’s call to mercy and love. They talk about learning from their ancestors
who ignored God’s prophets, yet they are not willing to turn and listen for
spiritual truth in Christ!
Hypocrisy is always an issue among spiritual leaders. Because of titles, accolades, power, greed,
and a host of other things it is easy for the focus of the human being to turn
to the things of this world. Soon
spiritual leaders find themselves falling away.
We find ourselves leaving behind the spiritual disciplines that put us
in touch with God and instead find ourselves embracing the worldly disciplines
that bring temporary happiness. I do not
know a spiritual leader – either still righteous in Christ or fallen – who has
not wrestled with this very idea. It is
perhaps the largest enemy of true spiritual leadership, which is why Jesus
spends so much time talking about it right before He dies. Nothing kills a leader like hypocrisy in the
heart.
Lament over Jerusalem
Jesus ends this chapter by lamenting over Jerusalem. Once more the people of Jerusalem will ignore
and kill those that God has sent to call them into repentance. John the Baptizer was killed. Jesus is to be killed. James, the son of Zebedee will be the first
of Jesus’ disciples to be killed in Jerusalem.
Stephen – the deacon – will be the first recorded martyr because of
Christ. 10 of Jesus’ 12 disciples will
be killed at the hands of those who want to terminate their testimony. 1 will be exiled into solitude.
As I look at this ending talk from Jesus, I can’t help but realize
at just how much the church was born into blood. The message of the cross is foolishness to
those who do not believe. But it is more
than foolishness. The message of the
cross is an incredible adversary to those who do not believe. The message of the cross is about
intentionally choosing to not serve one’s own goals. The world – who wants to live according to
its own agenda – wants to snuff out this message.
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