Luke 22:24-30
Find a place and time free of distractions for the next 7-10 minutes. Take a moment to settle into your surroundings and then begin to recognize your breath. As you breathe in, call on the name of Jesus and become aware of his presence with you. As you breathe out, open your mind and heart to receive whatever Jesus has for you today.
As you read Luke 22:24-30, remember that Jesus has just used the elements of Passover as symbols of the new covenant between God and humanity.
It may seem a little shocking that Jesus’ closest followers would react to his announcement of a new covenant by vying for position, but we must remember that they still do not understand what is about to happen. They seem to sense that something is coming, but they are unable to move beyond their expectations of the Messiah.
Once again, with great patience, Jesus explains that the Kingdom of God is an upside-down kingdom in which the one who serves is greater than the one being served.
Stop to consider this: Jesus, God in the flesh, took on the most humble of positions and became the ultimate servant to all of humanity. Meditate again on Paul’s description of this inverted picture of greatness and share your thoughts with Jesus:
[Jesus], “…being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!” - Philippians 2:6-8
Read Luke 22:24-30 again with this in mind.
The kingdom Jesus confers on the twelve apostles is a kingdom in which the position of servant is the most exalted. It is not that the servant, once he or she has served, is then elevated to a place where others will serve him or her. In God’s Kingdom the very act of service is an act of greatness.
The twelve apostles will go forward to fulfill God’s call to Abraham and his descendants. They will become a blessing to all the families of the earth – not through their domination and rule of the nations but through their sacrificial service to every person they encounter in the coming years.
They will not fully grasp their identity as servants of Jesus and servants of humanity until the Spirit of Jesus, the Holy Spirit, comes to dwell within them. But for all who turn to follow Jesus after them, the message and the mission are clear. Our identity is that of a servant whose purpose is to live out the mission of Jesus and spread shalom to the world. This is the definition of greatness.
Get quiet and listen to Jesus for a while.
What do you sense Jesus saying to you today?
How will you respond?
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