“Brethren we have met to worship and adore the Lord our God.” That is the beginning verse of a song Bro. Keith leads us to sing a few times a year. The name of the hymn is “Brethren We Have Met to Worship.” I love this song except…a certain phrase in the fourth verse causes me problems. The words are very biblical, but my old nature says, “Don’t sing those words.” This is the verse, and the underlined portion just sticks behind my teeth. “Then he’ll call us home to heaven, At his table we’ll sit down, Christ will gird himself, and serve us, with sweet manna all around.” My pride says, “Don’t let Him serve you; you ought to be serving Him. He’s the King of kings and Lord of Lords. He’s the one sitting on the throne.” Yet Luke 12:37 says, “Blessed are those servants whom the lord when he cometh shall find watching: verily I say unto you that he shall gird himself, and make them sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” I told you it was biblical. Luke 22 is another passage where we see this happen. That’s the focus of today’s blog. The setting is the upper room. Jesus sits down with His disciples desiring to celebrate the Passover with them before He begins His passion, His suffering, which is only a couple of hours away. He breaks the bread and pours the fruit of the vine, administering the Lord’s Supper. Conversations after supper begin to happen, just as we sit and talk after having a meal. The first words are from Jesus. He tells them that one of them will betray Him (v.21-23). After the initial, “Is it me?” (Matthew 26:2) dies down, the second topic comes up quickly. This was more to their liking. Who would be the greatest in the Kingdom (v.24)? That was the burning question in the hearts of these men. Jesus begins once again to teach them a life lesson. May we learn it as well.

  1. Education (v.25-27a). Each of these men knew that the Gentile authorities had kings that lorded over others and were the beneficiaries of others serving them. In the history of the world, each time a kingdom would conquer another kingdom, there was another battle. Who would be in the position of power? It is no different today. Coming up in November we will have an election in the United States. People are posturing now so if their candidate wins, they will be in the administration and have a seat at the table. They know at that table comes power, prestige, and money. The taxpayer trough is filled with goodies. That’s why men and women will spend millions trying to get elected for a position that pays a few thousand dollars. Think Pelosi, along with a multitude of others. But the Kingdom of God isn’t going to be like that. You change that thinking because Christ’s kingdom is totally different. To be great in His kingdom, you serve!
  2. Example (v.27b). “I am among you as he that serveth.” In all the paintings of the Last Supper, Jesus is seated at the center, John is closely leaning in near Jesus’ breast, and some of the others are listening from a short distance. But if you pay attention to the text, it tells us Jesus has moved into the place of a servant. The disciples are so immersed in power and position they don’t even see Jesus as He moves from administering the Lord’s Supper to now girding Himself and carrying a basin of water to wash their feet (John 13). The greatest in their midst is doing the job designated for the lowest servant. In the Lord’s work there are no big Me’s and little You’s. If the Lord was willing to serve, how much more should we willingly serve. When a task needs addressing, I’ll do that. I fondly remember the pastor of my home church. Dr. Cecil Hodges was a meticulous dresser, and every hair was always in place. One day he and I were walking across the parking lot. A cigarette butt was laying on the asphalt. He stopped, reached down grabbing the cigarette butt. He walked into the building and threw it in the trash can. I thought that wasn’t his job, and I guess he picked up on my lack of understanding from my look. He said, “If I wasn’t willing to pick up the trash, why should anyone else in the church be willing?” That was a lesson I never forgot as a new Christian. We should always be looking for ways to help and bless others in the work of the Lord.
  3. Elevation (28-30). Luke 22:28, “Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations.” A life lived serving the Lord is to be admired. I’m not talking about serving for a few months and then sitting down. I’m not talking about serving for a couple of years and then sitting down. I’m talking about serving until we take our last breath. Our jobs can change, but our service in the Lord’s army is always at the ready. These men served with Christ during His earthly ministry. They would continue after He was back in heaven. Every single one died a martyr’s death except John. They tried to kill him by poisoning and later by boiling in oil but couldn’t. Jesus promised these an appointment in His kingdom. This appointment would be judging the nation of Israel (v.30). They received recognition by the Lord and over the past, almost two thousand years, have been receiving accolades from the church. We revere them and see how they were elevated by Christ, and we still elevate today. They were faithful their whole life, not a part of their life. A play on an old military phrase, “They died with their sandals on.” A few days ago, I received an email from a lady. She and her family had come to the church years before and now lived in another city. She wanted to thank us for loving the Lord. She said, “Because of the children’s and youth ministry of Corinth, my whole family got saved.” Today, she is still serving the Lord. I have buried some of her family in the past few years, but she just keeps on serving the Lord no matter how hard life becomes. What a wonderful testimony she has for us to be encouraged by.

I would like to think if the Lord one day girds Himself and serves me, that He would immediately allow me to reciprocate perhaps in spades. If Jesus was willing to take on the most insignificant of tasks, may we be willing to do the same.