Title: True Authority/Matthew 20:20-28
Now in Korea, President Roh Moo-hyun formed a new government and announced his cabinet not long ago. But looking at the cabinet, everyone is amazed. This is because there was an unconventional greeting that completely exceeded the common sense we had until now. Among them, the most unconventional person is the Minister of Justice. At the age of 46, lawyer Kang Geum-sil was appointed as the Minister of Justice, defeating many seniors in the bar exam and appointed as Minister. To borrow President Roh's words, he is trying to destroy the hierarchical system that is prevalent in our society and to place talented people in the right places. The president's authority is breaking the old customs and ills in Korean society. When you rise to a position of authority, you have the power to achieve what you have not been able to achieve below. Therefore, it seems that many people struggle to take a seat of power in order to achieve their dreams.
1. Wrong Zeal
Today's text is about what happened among the disciples of Jesus.
The problem started when the mother of Zebedee, that is, the mother of James and John, appeared when all of Jesus' disciples were gathered.
The starting point of the problem is the scene where the mother, who has been watching Jesus, whom her sons believed and followed as their teacher, finally demonstrates maternal love.
You want your child to do well. What can you say, but the problem is that the difference in thinking about how to really do well has created the problem today.
In other words, it was a mantra to come to Jesus and have my two sons sit at the right and left sides of the Lord when His kingdom comes.
Perhaps Zebedee's mother had one conviction after watching Jesus for a long time. Surely this is the one who will be our King! I look forward to seeing the many miracles and miracles that Jesus performs, the miracles of giving birth to many sick people, feeding 5,000 people with 5 barley loaves and 2 fish for the hungry people, and seeing the multitudes of people who gather wherever this Jesus goes. Seeing the children who are fully performing their role as his disciples while watching them, it must be natural for the mother of Zebedee to act from the standpoint of wishing for the success of her children as a parent. Besides his children, there are still 10 competitors who are in the same position around Jesus, so the heart that he must go even one day sooner and use his hand was demonstrated today. So you can see how Jesus answered the question, "Are you going to drink the cup I am about to drink?" without fear, saying, "You can drink it."
How are you? Our church is not a very large church, so it is not like that, but in some churches, when the church is small, this is not the case, but as the church grows little by little, and if you are the founding man or at least attended the church for a long time, greed for the right position at the right time is probably everyone.
Do you have any thoughts like this in your heart? Aren't we reassured in the community when we are treated appropriately according to our age and experience?
2. What the Lord Wants
But what did the Lord do?
“Whoever wishes to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you must be your slave. The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Ham” (26-28)
The Lord sees through the disciples' desires to be exalted, those who tried to rise to the position of authority, and emphasizes to the disciples about being humbled and serving.
What are your reasons for wanting to be exalted? Why would you want to sit in a seat of power? Isn't everyone trying to sit in a high seat because of the expectation that there will be so much to come? Isn't it the desire to have many people as they please, the desire to taste the pleasure that everyone moves with one word, and the selfish heart for a comfortable and comfortable life for oneself? That's why Jesus also says in verse 25, "They know that the rulers of the Gentiles have dominion over them, and that great men exercise authority over them." In other words, when you sit down, the idea that you can do whatever you want is what makes you covetous. But the Lord says it is the Gentile way of thinking. The way Jesus thinks is the opposite. The teaching of Jesus is that those who want to become great must become servants, and those who want to become first must become servants.
The teachings of Jesus are the exact opposite of our thinking. In heaven, he changes the mind of his disciples by saying that those who humble themselves like little children are the greatest. Our thinking must change that way. Only then will the smell of believing in Jesus begin to come within us.
Regarding the National Tax Service, which has been recognized as a representative authority when President Roh Moo-hyun formed a new cabinet this time, he said, "The Commissioner of the National Tax Service prefers people who faithfully carry out their duties." “He said. That's right. It is a position of great power if you want to use that position to secure your own profit, but considering the original task of that position, it is a really troublesome position, and it is also a position where you have to work hard to get someone else to do it. So Jesus tells us to take a seat of service. What does a humble person say when they sit down? Don't you say, "I will serve you more diligently, knowing that you have put me in this position to serve you more." This is the virtue of humility that the Lord requires of us.
This humility was not only demonstrated by Jesus speaking, but also by himself as an example. “For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many.” Although Jesus certainly came as the Son of God as King Uiwang, He was born in a stable. The Son of Man wandered here and there, saying he had nowhere to lay his head. The people around him were always poor and sick souls. Although he was the Son of God, he was crucified. His entire life was a life of service. It was a life of humility. It was a life of humility. What is service? The one who showed it himself tells you to do the same.
Now we must change our thinking. It must be lower than it is now. You have to serve more. It should be more paper. As John the Baptist said, "He must increase and I must decrease" should be our confession. Jesus must increase, I must decrease, my neighbor must increase and I must decrease. This is the teaching the Lord gives us. What Jesus really wanted to give us is authority, not authority.
3. Jesus gives authority.
What Jesus has given us is not power, but authority. Power and authority are different. The world seeks power. It's for wielding. But we know that through our weakness God's power is made perfect. We know that when we are weak we become strong. We also know that humility and meekness are more powerful than pride and arrogance. But we do not remain weak. God gives us spiritual power. This is not for ourselves, but to serve God and to accomplish His will on earth. Jesus said you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you (Acts 1:8). This spiritual power, or authority, comes from the Lord. To whom does the Lord give?
It is given to the humble. Humility means being humbled from a high place to a low place. Water flowing on flat ground has no power. However, when the water flowing down the flat land falls to the bottom, it creates a tremendous force. Its power becomes a waterfall and comes down vigorously. It's spectacular. It generates electricity with that power. I see that electricity accomplishes great things. Being low is such a great thing. The humiliation of Jesus was great.
Power is given to those who humble themselves in humility. In front of this authority, people realize and come to know what true power is. It is the authority given by God that a small Israeli girl who was taken captive by General Naaman, the commander of the army of the king of Syria, could confidently say that your leprosy would be given to us if we went to our prophet Elisha. (2 Kings 5) When the disciples who had fled, the little girl asked, "Are you with that person too?" Peter denied three times and ran away, crying, met the Resurrection Lord, and was filled with the Holy Spirit in Mark's upper room on the day of Pentecost and was filled with the Holy Spirit. When you were arrested for preaching and stood before the judge, you proudly said, "Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). It is the authority that the Lord wanted to give us to be able to confidently say, “Whether it is right to hear or not to hear the word of God” (Acts 4:19).
dear saints
In our prayers, is there a selfish prayer asking that these Gentiles to sit on the seat of power they have sought and wanted? Isn't one of the reasons I believe in Jesus that I want this kind of worldly success?
Jesus wants to give us the power of the Holy Spirit. The life of those who possess this power of the Holy Spirit is humble. A person who sits in the lower seat knowing that it is always his or her seat. I know how to serve others, and I don't want other people to do anything for me, but what should I do? And he's the one looking around. This is the spirit man the Lord wants. He wants us to live the same way Jesus did.
We pray that you will be living the life the Lord wants you to live with joy this week.