Walk in the path of the greatest who ever lived — Jesus

This is my first year in Alaska. I came from Wisconsin, and slowly my vocabulary is changing from talking about “greats” using names like “Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers” to “Martin Buser and Lance Mackey.”

We all have a desire to be considered great. Some of you maybe have even read books or watched videos on how to become a great parent, worker, employer, investor, etc. Can you imagine reading a book titled “The Path to Greatness: Let Someone Else Do It for You?” Sounds nice, doesn’t it? But you’d be a little skeptical of this approach.

It can’t be that easy, can it — just let someone else do all the work? What if I told you you’ve been reading from that book your whole Christian life? In the Bible, we read that the greatest we can be is saved, forgiven children of God. That’s the most important thing we should be concerned with. But we can’t be known as great on our own. That’s why, on our paths to greatness (which is eternal life), we must first be served by the greatest — Jesus.

As we get closer to Holy Week, Christians focus on parts of Scripture that show Jesus preparing his disciples for Holy Week as well. We see him repeatedly teaching them about his sacrifice. He knew that when Passover arrived, so would his death. He taught the disciples about his true kingdom to prepare them (Matthew 20:20-28). Yet they still did not fully understand. The mother of James and John (called “the sons of Zebedee”) must have heard some of these teachings. She brought a special request to Jesus when his kingdom was established. She wanted one of her sons to sit on the right hand and the other on the left.

Once again, Jesus shows his great patience. He had told the 12 time and again that he was going to die for everyone’s sins. No one has to do anything to get to Heaven. He, and only he, was going to do it all for them. Once more he told them this: “The Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus told the disciples that none of them were going to get ahead of another. They, like everyone else, were totally lost in sin. No requests they made, no works they did, were going to change that. Only Jesus can do anything about the sinful state of humankind. He was going to win forgiveness for the disciples by becoming their substitute and servant.

The greatest we can be is forgiven. The only way we are forgiven is with Christ as our substitute, our servant. We must place all our trust on him. He is the greatest. He has told us that he came to save us. The only way we can be saved is to be served. And we have been served by Jesus, the greatest.

In his service to us he has spared nothing. He sacrificed heavenly glory to come to earth. He did not participate in sinful pleasures, but kept the law perfectly. Jesus took upon himself all our sins. He gave us all his holiness. He stepped into our place to endure the divine wrath of God and the punishment of hell.

Since Christ has already given us everything, don’t expect or demand rewards from him. Understand that the only reason we have anything is because of his greatest service. With this knowledge in our hearts and minds we will be led to thankful service. We will show our thanks by serving others as Jesus has served us.

We have peace with God. Now we act and serve like the greatest. But what does that look like? First, Jesus tells us what it does not look like. “The rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you.” Our model for service while we are in the world is not those who are of the world. Those who live by the standards of this world are concerned with themselves. Their sinful mindset does not allow them to live for the greatest — Christ.

Jesus has also told us what it does look like to serve like the greatest. “Whoever wants to become great must be a servant. Whoever wants to be first must be a slave.”

Of course, Jesus did not speak these words to say that acting as a servant or slave will get us to heaven. The service of the greatest has already done that. We are great only because of what Christ has done for us. Our service done in thanks to him is seen as great in God’s eyes. It is done with a heart of love, and is God-pleasing.

How, then, do we act as servants and slaves to others? We serve like the greatest. We look to Jesus and what he has done to show us how to live. We also look to what the Lord has revealed to us in his word. He has given us the Ten Commandments to show us how to live. He has kept the whole law to not only save us, but also to show us how to live.

The path to greatness is only found in the greatest, Jesus Christ. He has made us as holy and great as he. As you await your place in the greatest place — heaven — seek to serve every person, in every place, at every time. Do so out of love for Jesus Christ, our great Savior.

Our church will be hosting a free event, “Journey to the Cross,” from 2 to 4:30 p.m., March 23 at King of Kings Lutheran Church, 1601 N. Lucille St., Wasilla, and you can walk through 12 stations that will remind you what the greatest did for all people that first Holy Week. I will be the foot washer, so please stop in and say hello.

Robb Robbert is pastor of King of Kings Lutheran Church in Wasilla. Contact him at kokw@mtaonline.net.

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