“But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them.

But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;

And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: ...”

Matthew 20:25-27

“LORD MAKE ME A SERVANT”

By Jay H. Graham

From the Chapel Glen Church of Christ Bulletin

One of the many things that separates The Christ from man’s idols and fables of false gods is that He is described as a Servant. Isa. 42:1 is a prophecy of the Christ, and He is mentioned as the Lord’s Servant. Certainly, Jesus came to do the will of the Father, and in that He was the Lord’s Servant. However, Jesus is also described as being our Servant! Jesus Himself said in Matt 20:28 – “...just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." The apostle Paul describes Jesus as such in Phil. 2:7 “... but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men.”

This concept may baffle the minds of many. To actually think that the Son of God came to earth, not just as a man, but as a lowly servant. There are many fables of how false gods came to the earth to lead armies and to fight battles in the name of their own Glory. Christ certainly came to earth to be glorified among men, but His primary purpose was and is to serve mankind.

Jesus came to serve mankind in several ways. He came to become a Holy Sacrifice so that mankind can be saved. He came to teach and bring a better way for mankind to live. He came to be a path for righteousness for those who humbly will bow down to their Creator. He accomplished this, not as a victorious captain, not as a prince from heaven, but as the suffering Lamb of God, Who came to serve.

Many times in the gospels Jesus is pictured as a servant. Whether as a servant who healed the sick and fed the hungry, or as one who washed His disciples’ feet. It is interesting how we see Jesus portrayed in Revelation chapter five. He is portrayed as a Lamb who was slain. Even as He rules over his churches He rules for the good of His people as only a true servant would.

Jesus portrays service as the highest ideal for his Christians. Jesus said if you want to be great in the kingdom of God you need to be a servant. Therefore it is a holy and right desire to want to be a servant as He is. Therefore his Christians should pursue service as the highest calling they can receive.

I like the lesson our Lord was trying to teach those who would be His apostles in Jesus’ discussion with them in Mat 20:20- 28. His disciples were arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest in the Lord’s coming kingdom. I especially liked what Jesus gave them as an answer to their arguing in Matthew 20:26-28-“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.” What a great answer to bickering! To our bickering! If we concentrate on serving others we will not have the time nor the inclination to try to be the “greatest” because we are busy serving!

There is also the thought the apostle Paul wrote of in Galatians 5:13, ”For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” When we are tempted to use our liberties as an opportunity for our flesh, we are reminded to concentrate on something far greater and spiritually profitable, “through love serve one another”. As a side note, it has been an observation of mine through the years, that when a brother or sister has a reputation of constantly complaining about others they would make better use of their time to serve those who they may be complaining about. And by serving them they may actually lessen what they may be complaining about in the first place!

With these thoughts in mind I am reminded of the song that goes – “Lord make me a servant, Lord make me like You, for You are a Servant, make me one to. Lord make me a servant, do what you must do, to make me a servant, make me like you.” Indeed, make us like Him!