Understanding the King's Work
Series: THE SERVANT KING
Speaker: Steve Jeffrey
Date: 22nd April 2018
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Colonel Gaddafi ruled Libya for 41 years.
00:00:02 --> 00:00:09 Initially, he was a revolutionary with a vision for Libya's prosperity.
00:00:10 --> 00:00:15 He wanted to see Libya really prosper, particularly in the Middle East and Africa.
00:00:15 --> 00:00:19 Eventually, though, he ended up ruling as a despot
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 who would torture and murder anyone who threatened his rule.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Many of his countrymen he did too.
00:00:27 --> 00:00:33 Later in his rule, he declared himself to be the king of kings of Africa.
00:00:34 --> 00:00:36 He's the king of kings of Africa.
00:00:36 --> 00:00:40 He ended up going mad with grandiose visions of himself
00:00:40 --> 00:00:44 before being murdered by his own people in 2011.
00:00:45 --> 00:00:51 At the time of his death, he had amassed a personal wealth of approximately $200 billion.
00:00:51 --> 00:00:58 That was three times richer than the official richest person in the world at the time.
00:00:59 --> 00:01:04 And at the same time that he amassed a $200 billion personal fortune,
00:01:04 --> 00:01:07 his country starved under the weight of UN sanctions.
00:01:07 --> 00:01:12 Every culture, every culture, no matter where you go to,
00:01:13 --> 00:01:19 sees that the way to influence society is through power.
00:01:20 --> 00:01:28 You wield power to conform society to your vision of your life together in that society.
00:01:28 --> 00:01:35 And then along comes Jesus, the king to end all kings, as we've seen in Mark's gospel.
00:01:35 --> 00:01:39 He is the king of kings, not just of Africa, but in fact of the universe.
00:01:39 --> 00:01:43 And he gives us a clear vision here in this text,
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 especially of the character of Christian discipleship
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 and of Christian leadership in this passage.
00:01:49 --> 00:01:55 And it's not about grasping for power in order to assert influence.
00:01:55 --> 00:02:00 It's actually about giving up power in order to gain influence.
00:02:02 --> 00:02:05 And so if we misunderstand Jesus and his mission,
00:02:07 --> 00:02:13 we will totally misunderstand of what it means to follow him and what he requires of us.
00:02:14 --> 00:02:18 Jesus has left us in no doubt so far in the second half of Mark's gospel
00:02:18 --> 00:02:19 that he came to die.
00:02:20 --> 00:02:22 He made many allusions to it at the beginning of Mark's gospel,
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 but in the second half, he's made it really clear.
00:02:25 --> 00:02:27 He made sure the disciples knew it.
00:02:27 --> 00:02:29 We've seen that he told them three times,
00:02:30 --> 00:02:34 chapter 8, chapter 9, and again here in chapter 10, verse 32.
00:02:34 --> 00:02:36 So if you've got your Bibles, it'd be great if you could follow along
00:02:36 --> 00:02:40 because there's a few details I'm going to hone into in a moment.
00:02:41 --> 00:02:45 But first of all, chapter 10, verse 32 to 34,
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 they were on their way up to Jerusalem with Jesus leading the way.
00:02:48 --> 00:02:53 So the first thing we're told here is that Jesus is on the way to Jerusalem
00:02:53 --> 00:02:55 and he's the one who's taking the lead.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:58 He's the one leading his disciples in that direction.
00:02:58 --> 00:03:00 He set his face to Jerusalem.
00:03:01 --> 00:03:01 And then it says,
00:03:01 --> 00:03:09 Again, he took the 12 aside and told them what was going to happen.
00:03:10 --> 00:03:11 Verse 33,
00:03:11 --> 00:03:33 So this is the third prediction of his death.
00:03:33 --> 00:03:38 But in this prediction, he gives us more details about his death.
00:03:38 --> 00:03:44 For a start, we know now for the first time that his death will happen in Jerusalem.
00:03:44 --> 00:03:50 And for the first time, we are told that both the Jews and the Gentiles will reject him.
00:03:51 --> 00:03:55 In chapter 8, we are told only that the Jewish religious leaders.
00:03:56 --> 00:04:00 Chapter 9, we have got this general reference that he will be handed over
00:04:00 --> 00:04:03 or be delivered into the hands of men.
00:04:03 --> 00:04:07 That's a vague reference to the Gentiles.
00:04:09 --> 00:04:17 In chapter 8, he said that he would be rejected by the priests and the scribes.
00:04:17 --> 00:04:21 But now he mentions that he will in fact be condemned to death.
00:04:21 --> 00:04:24 That is, it's a legal term.
00:04:25 --> 00:04:32 Jesus will be, his death will involve him being tried, convicted and executed
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 within the bounds of the criminal justice system.
00:04:36 --> 00:04:39 And he'll be tried by the Jewish leaders,
00:04:39 --> 00:04:43 but he'll be handed over to the Gentiles for execution.
00:04:44 --> 00:04:46 So they're conspiring together.
00:04:46 --> 00:04:50 The arch enemies, the people who hate each other are conspiring together
00:04:50 --> 00:04:52 to get rid of Jesus.
00:04:53 --> 00:04:58 We also have here more graphic detail, description of his final days.
00:04:59 --> 00:05:00 They will condemn him to death.
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 They will hand him over to the Gentiles who will mock him
00:05:03 --> 00:05:08 and spit on him and flog him and kill him.
00:05:09 --> 00:05:13 Now, I haven't got time to unpack each one of those things
00:05:13 --> 00:05:16 as to the significance of being played out in each one of those things.
00:05:16 --> 00:05:23 But what really stands out in chapter 10 is for the very first time,
00:05:23 --> 00:05:26 Jesus tells us not just that he will die,
00:05:27 --> 00:05:29 but why he will die.
00:05:30 --> 00:05:31 Verse 45.
00:05:32 --> 00:05:37 And this verse is the key verse in all of Mark's gospel.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:51 Now, that statement, when Jesus says that,
00:05:51 --> 00:05:56 it sets Jesus apart from every other religious leader in the world.
00:05:57 --> 00:06:00 You see, their purpose, the religious leader's purpose in this world,
00:06:00 --> 00:06:03 or philosophical leaders, is to live and to be an example.
00:06:03 --> 00:06:10 Jesus is to die, to be an example, but to die as a substitute.
00:06:13 --> 00:06:14 Now, verse 45.
00:06:14 --> 00:06:16 Let's just hone in on this for a bit.
00:06:16 --> 00:06:20 It's a key verse for Mark's gospel, and it's rich with implications.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:22 So let's take a really close look at it.
00:06:23 --> 00:06:24 A few words here, which are really key.
00:06:25 --> 00:06:26 He uses the word come.
00:06:26 --> 00:06:34 And he uses this word come to allude to the fact that he existed before he was born.
00:06:35 --> 00:06:38 He came into his world.
00:06:40 --> 00:06:43 And this points us back to the early part of Mark's gospel,
00:06:44 --> 00:06:50 where Jesus established his identity as the king of kings who ruled the universe,
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 who created the universe and exists outside of the universe.
00:06:54 --> 00:07:03 And this is also assumed in his statement that he did not come to be served.
00:07:04 --> 00:07:10 That is, he had every right, every right to be served when he came,
00:07:11 --> 00:07:12 simply because of who he is.
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 But he did not exercise that right.
00:07:16 --> 00:07:21 And the final phrase, to give his life as a ransom for many,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 sums up the reason why he came to die.
00:07:25 --> 00:07:29 Jesus came to be a substitute sacrifice.
00:07:29 --> 00:07:32 And it's there in that little word for.
00:07:33 --> 00:07:34 The little word for.
00:07:35 --> 00:07:40 To give his life as a ransom for many.
00:07:40 --> 00:07:49 And that little word for in the original text means instead of, in place of, as a substitute.
00:07:51 --> 00:07:54 And the word ransom describes the purpose of his death.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:02 In English, it's a word that's rarely used nowadays outside of a kidnapping case.
00:08:02 --> 00:08:10 The word, as Jesus uses it here, means to buy the freedom of a slave or a prisoner.
00:08:12 --> 00:08:18 And the ransom in Jesus' time would be a huge sacrificial payment that matched the value
00:08:18 --> 00:08:22 or the debt of a slave or a prisoner in order to secure their freedom.
00:08:22 --> 00:08:27 And Jesus came to pay that kind of ransom.
00:08:29 --> 00:08:33 The slavery to sin is a cosmic slavery, a cosmic evil.
00:08:34 --> 00:08:36 And so it requires a cosmic payment.
00:08:37 --> 00:08:39 And Jesus says here in verse 45,
00:08:40 --> 00:08:47 I've come to pay that cosmic payment that we could not possibly pay.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:51 And in doing so, he will buy our freedom.
00:08:51 --> 00:08:54 And the price was his death on the cross.
00:08:55 --> 00:08:56 It's a rich verse.
00:08:57 --> 00:08:58 Verse 45.
00:09:00 --> 00:09:03 And there are three things that flow out of that.
00:09:03 --> 00:09:04 Many more than three things.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:06 But at least three things here that I want to look at in this text.
00:09:07 --> 00:09:10 That his sacrifice was a willing sacrifice.
00:09:10 --> 00:09:12 Secondly, it was a humble sacrifice.
00:09:12 --> 00:09:17 And thirdly, it motivates a life of grateful sacrifice on our body.
00:09:17 --> 00:09:20 So first of all, a willing sacrifice.
00:09:24 --> 00:09:30 This issue of Jesus' sacrifice for our sin is one of those difficult concepts
00:09:30 --> 00:09:34 that our modern mind struggles to come to terms with.
00:09:34 --> 00:09:40 And in fact, it's one of the reasons why people have rejected Christian faith.
00:09:40 --> 00:09:46 The concept of a substitutionary atonement, a penal substitutionary atonement
00:09:46 --> 00:09:48 on behalf of the Lord Jesus.
00:09:49 --> 00:09:54 You see, on the surface of it, the cross of Jesus appears to be one of those,
00:09:54 --> 00:10:01 another one of those ancient primitive stories of bloodthirsty gods
00:10:01 --> 00:10:05 worshipped by ancient primitive bloodthirsty societies.
00:10:05 --> 00:10:08 That's what it just appears to be one of those cases.
00:10:09 --> 00:10:10 So is that what's happening here?
00:10:10 --> 00:10:15 Is the cross of Christ another one of those,
00:10:16 --> 00:10:21 a savage culture that's ruled by a cranky God
00:10:21 --> 00:10:25 demanding another blood sacrifice for his appeasement?
00:10:25 --> 00:10:27 Is that what's happening here?
00:10:27 --> 00:10:34 That is, why is there a need for Jesus to die?
00:10:35 --> 00:10:38 If God is loving, I don't know if you've heard this before,
00:10:38 --> 00:10:41 if God is so loving, why doesn't he just say,
00:10:41 --> 00:10:42 I forgive everyone?
00:10:43 --> 00:10:45 If he's sovereign and he's loving,
00:10:45 --> 00:10:46 why doesn't he just say, I forgive everyone?
00:10:46 --> 00:10:51 And the answer is simple and yet profound.
00:10:53 --> 00:10:54 The answer is simple.
00:10:54 --> 00:10:57 Jesus didn't have to die despite God's love.
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 He had to die because of God's love.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:08 He had to die because all life-changing love
00:11:08 --> 00:11:11 is substitutionary sacrifice.
00:11:14 --> 00:11:15 I'll say it again.
00:11:16 --> 00:11:20 All life-changing love is substitutionary sacrifice.
00:11:21 --> 00:11:25 Now, loving someone who has it all together,
00:11:25 --> 00:11:26 if you ever meet such a person,
00:11:26 --> 00:11:28 there's probably four or five of them in the world,
00:11:28 --> 00:11:33 loving someone who has everything together is so easy.
00:11:33 --> 00:11:35 And all the boyfriends lean across to their girlfriends,
00:11:35 --> 00:11:38 you're so easy.
00:11:40 --> 00:11:41 Romantic moment there.
00:11:41 --> 00:11:46 Loving someone, on the other hand, who's messed up,
00:11:47 --> 00:11:49 who has needs, who's in trouble,
00:11:50 --> 00:11:51 who's emotionally damaged,
00:11:52 --> 00:11:55 like all of you and me,
00:11:56 --> 00:11:58 is going to cost you.
00:11:59 --> 00:12:00 It costs you.
00:12:00 --> 00:12:05 You can't love someone like that without it costing you.
00:12:06 --> 00:12:09 And the more messed up someone's life is,
00:12:09 --> 00:12:11 the more it costs you in order to love them.
00:12:12 --> 00:12:13 That is, what happens in that moment,
00:12:13 --> 00:12:15 for you to genuinely love that person,
00:12:15 --> 00:12:18 a transfer has to take place.
00:12:19 --> 00:12:24 Some of their burden has to fall on you.
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 That's why so many people avoid those kinds of people.
00:12:28 --> 00:12:31 They see someone who's desperately needy,
00:12:31 --> 00:12:32 and they look at their watch and go,
00:12:32 --> 00:12:34 I just don't have time for that.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:37 I just don't have time for that.
00:12:39 --> 00:12:43 And we try to find a graceful exit.
00:12:44 --> 00:12:47 It can be exhausting being a friend
00:12:47 --> 00:12:49 to an emotionally damaged person.
00:12:49 --> 00:12:56 And the only way that they are ever going to be emotionally filled up
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 is if someone loves them.
00:13:00 --> 00:13:03 And the only way to love them
00:13:03 --> 00:13:05 so that they're filled up
00:13:05 --> 00:13:09 is to allow yourself to be drained.
00:13:10 --> 00:13:11 It's the only way it'll happen.
00:13:13 --> 00:13:17 It's the only way that you will truly love a poor person
00:13:17 --> 00:13:21 is by becoming somewhat poorer yourself.
00:13:22 --> 00:13:23 It's the only way.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:26 A transfer has to take place.
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 The only way to truly love
00:13:33 --> 00:13:36 is through substitutionary sacrifice.
00:13:37 --> 00:13:39 Another example of this is parenting.
00:13:40 --> 00:13:41 When you have children,
00:13:42 --> 00:13:43 they are dependent on you.
00:13:44 --> 00:13:45 They are so needy,
00:13:45 --> 00:13:47 and they don't grow out of their dependency
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 on their own.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:49 They don't just kind of like,
00:13:49 --> 00:13:52 well, sit back and see what happens.
00:13:52 --> 00:13:53 It just doesn't happen.
00:13:55 --> 00:13:56 And the only way that children will grow
00:13:56 --> 00:13:58 beyond their dependency
00:13:58 --> 00:14:00 into self-sufficient adults
00:14:00 --> 00:14:02 is for parents
00:14:02 --> 00:14:05 to essentially abandon
00:14:05 --> 00:14:07 their own independence
00:14:07 --> 00:14:16 for 20, 30, 40, 50 years.
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 That's the only way it happens.
00:14:22 --> 00:14:24 For a child to go from dependency to independency,
00:14:25 --> 00:14:28 a parent has to go from independency to dependency.
00:14:28 --> 00:14:30 The transfer has to take place.
00:14:30 --> 00:14:33 You've got to lose some of your independence.
00:14:33 --> 00:14:37 See, when children are young,
00:14:37 --> 00:14:38 you have to read to them
00:14:38 --> 00:14:39 and read to them
00:14:39 --> 00:14:40 and read to them.
00:14:40 --> 00:14:42 Otherwise, they won't develop intellectually.
00:14:43 --> 00:14:44 And for most cases,
00:14:44 --> 00:14:45 for most parents,
00:14:45 --> 00:14:47 the books that you read to them
00:14:47 --> 00:14:49 are boring,
00:14:50 --> 00:14:51 tedious.
00:14:53 --> 00:14:54 It's like, come on.
00:14:55 --> 00:14:56 Get on with the plot here.
00:14:56 --> 00:15:01 And you also have to listen to them
00:15:01 --> 00:15:02 and listen to them
00:15:02 --> 00:15:04 and listen to them
00:15:04 --> 00:15:07 as they say all kinds of things
00:15:07 --> 00:15:09 that make no sense whatsoever.
00:15:12 --> 00:15:13 Then there's the dressing
00:15:13 --> 00:15:13 and the feeding
00:15:13 --> 00:15:14 and the bathing,
00:15:14 --> 00:15:15 the teaching them to do things
00:15:15 --> 00:15:17 for themselves.
00:15:18 --> 00:15:19 And add to that,
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 children need at least five affirmations
00:15:21 --> 00:15:23 to every criticism you bring to them.
00:15:23 --> 00:15:27 Unless a parent sacrifices
00:15:27 --> 00:15:29 much of their freedom
00:15:29 --> 00:15:31 and a good bit of their time,
00:15:31 --> 00:15:34 their children will not grow up healthy
00:15:34 --> 00:15:35 and equipped to function.
00:15:38 --> 00:15:40 Either parents have to make the sacrifice
00:15:40 --> 00:15:42 or in the end,
00:15:42 --> 00:15:44 the child has to make the sacrifice.
00:15:45 --> 00:15:48 Either parents suffer in a temporary way
00:15:48 --> 00:15:49 and in a redemptive way
00:15:49 --> 00:15:51 or the children suffer tragically
00:15:51 --> 00:15:52 in a wasteful
00:15:52 --> 00:15:54 and a destructive life.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:56 Either way,
00:15:57 --> 00:15:58 either way,
00:15:59 --> 00:16:00 someone has to give.
00:16:01 --> 00:16:03 Someone has to surrender.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:05 Someone has to sacrifice.
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 All genuine life-changing love
00:16:08 --> 00:16:10 is substitutionary sacrifice.
00:16:10 --> 00:16:13 And anybody who has ever done anything
00:16:13 --> 00:16:16 that made a difference to us personally,
00:16:16 --> 00:16:17 whether it be a parent,
00:16:17 --> 00:16:18 a teacher,
00:16:18 --> 00:16:19 a mentor,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:19 a friend,
00:16:19 --> 00:16:20 a spouse,
00:16:20 --> 00:16:23 they have sacrificed in some way
00:16:23 --> 00:16:26 to love us in that way.
00:16:27 --> 00:16:28 They stepped in
00:16:28 --> 00:16:29 and accept some of the hardship
00:16:29 --> 00:16:32 so that we would not get hit with it ourselves.
00:16:34 --> 00:16:36 And so why would God,
00:16:36 --> 00:16:37 who is more loving
00:16:37 --> 00:16:38 than we could ever be
00:16:38 --> 00:16:39 or imagine to be,
00:16:39 --> 00:16:40 why would he expect him
00:16:40 --> 00:16:41 to be any different?
00:16:42 --> 00:16:44 Why would we just expect God,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:44 just,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:45 don't worry about it.
00:16:46 --> 00:16:48 It makes no sense
00:16:48 --> 00:16:49 that this God,
00:16:50 --> 00:16:51 a God who comes into this world
00:16:51 --> 00:16:53 to deal with the ultimate evil,
00:16:53 --> 00:16:54 the ultimate sin,
00:16:56 --> 00:16:57 it makes no sense
00:16:57 --> 00:16:58 that he would not make
00:16:58 --> 00:16:59 a substitutionary sacrifice
00:16:59 --> 00:17:00 in order to love us.
00:17:03 --> 00:17:05 Even as flawed as we are,
00:17:05 --> 00:17:08 we know that you cannot
00:17:08 --> 00:17:10 just turn a blind eye to evil.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:10 We know that.
00:17:12 --> 00:17:13 Deep down,
00:17:13 --> 00:17:14 we know justice is right.
00:17:15 --> 00:17:16 We call for it all the time.
00:17:21 --> 00:17:23 Evil cannot be dealt with,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:24 it cannot be removed,
00:17:24 --> 00:17:26 and it cannot be forgiven
00:17:26 --> 00:17:27 just by simply saying,
00:17:27 --> 00:17:28 ah, forget about it.
00:17:28 --> 00:17:31 It must be paid for,
00:17:32 --> 00:17:35 and dealing with it is costly.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:37 The debt must be removed.
00:17:38 --> 00:17:39 But the God of the Bible
00:17:39 --> 00:17:40 is so loving
00:17:40 --> 00:17:41 that he was willing to die
00:17:41 --> 00:17:43 in order to do it himself.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:45 This God is radically different
00:17:45 --> 00:17:47 to all the ancient,
00:17:47 --> 00:17:48 primitive,
00:17:48 --> 00:17:50 mystical gods of old.
00:17:50 --> 00:17:51 The ancients understood
00:17:51 --> 00:17:53 the idea of the wrath of God,
00:17:53 --> 00:17:53 and they understood
00:17:53 --> 00:17:55 the idea of the justice of God.
00:17:55 --> 00:17:57 They understood the idea
00:17:57 --> 00:17:59 of debt and necessary punishment,
00:17:59 --> 00:18:01 but they had no concept at all,
00:18:02 --> 00:18:03 no idea,
00:18:04 --> 00:18:06 that this God
00:18:06 --> 00:18:09 would come and pay for it himself.
00:18:11 --> 00:18:14 The cross is the self-substitution of God.
00:18:14 --> 00:18:17 Love that really changes things
00:18:17 --> 00:18:18 and redeems things
00:18:18 --> 00:18:22 is always a substitutionary sacrifice.
00:18:22 --> 00:18:23 C.S. Lewis,
00:18:24 --> 00:18:25 in his classic book,
00:18:25 --> 00:18:26 The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe,
00:18:27 --> 00:18:28 puts it like this,
00:18:28 --> 00:18:29 referring to ultimately
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 the death of the Lord Jesus on the cross.
00:18:33 --> 00:18:33 He says,
00:18:33 --> 00:18:34 when a willing victim
00:18:34 --> 00:18:38 who had committed no treachery
00:18:38 --> 00:18:40 was killed in the traitor's stead,
00:18:41 --> 00:18:42 the table would crack
00:18:42 --> 00:18:43 and death itself
00:18:43 --> 00:18:46 would start working backwards.
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 A willing victim.
00:18:52 --> 00:18:53 The Lord Jesus
00:18:53 --> 00:18:55 willingly went to the cross.
00:18:56 --> 00:18:57 Willingly sacrificed.
00:18:59 --> 00:19:01 But we also see here
00:19:01 --> 00:19:02 that it's a humble sacrifice.
00:19:03 --> 00:19:04 Jesus told his disciples
00:19:04 --> 00:19:05 three times now
00:19:05 --> 00:19:07 the reason why he had come
00:19:07 --> 00:19:08 and the reason was
00:19:08 --> 00:19:09 to suffer and die.
00:19:10 --> 00:19:11 And Jesus' heart
00:19:11 --> 00:19:12 is on full display
00:19:12 --> 00:19:14 in Mark's gospel,
00:19:14 --> 00:19:15 what his passion is,
00:19:15 --> 00:19:16 what his heart is.
00:19:16 --> 00:19:16 And so too,
00:19:16 --> 00:19:18 the hearts of James and John
00:19:18 --> 00:19:20 in the very next verse,
00:19:20 --> 00:19:22 in verses 35 and 36.
00:19:23 --> 00:19:23 It says,
00:19:24 --> 00:19:25 then James and John,
00:19:25 --> 00:19:26 the sons of Zebedee,
00:19:26 --> 00:19:27 came to him,
00:19:27 --> 00:19:27 teacher,
00:19:28 --> 00:19:29 they said,
00:19:29 --> 00:19:30 we want you to do
00:19:30 --> 00:19:32 whatever we ask.
00:19:32 --> 00:19:34 It's a great way
00:19:34 --> 00:19:35 to start a conversation.
00:19:36 --> 00:19:37 Try it
00:19:37 --> 00:19:38 after church.
00:19:39 --> 00:19:40 I want you to do for me
00:19:40 --> 00:19:42 whatever I ask of you.
00:19:43 --> 00:19:44 Make that the first thing
00:19:44 --> 00:19:45 that comes out of your mouth
00:19:45 --> 00:19:46 and see how it goes.
00:19:47 --> 00:19:48 Now add to this,
00:19:48 --> 00:19:48 remember,
00:19:49 --> 00:19:50 these guys
00:19:50 --> 00:19:51 are speaking to the one
00:19:51 --> 00:19:52 who they've just,
00:19:52 --> 00:19:53 Peter's just declared
00:19:53 --> 00:19:54 to be the son of God,
00:19:55 --> 00:19:56 the Christ.
00:19:56 --> 00:19:57 He's demonstrated
00:19:57 --> 00:19:58 that he's the God
00:19:58 --> 00:19:59 of the universe.
00:19:59 --> 00:20:00 And so this is
00:20:00 --> 00:20:01 in effect a prayer.
00:20:02 --> 00:20:03 And so imagine
00:20:03 --> 00:20:04 starting your prayers
00:20:04 --> 00:20:04 with,
00:20:04 --> 00:20:05 dear God,
00:20:05 --> 00:20:06 I want you to do for me
00:20:06 --> 00:20:07 whatever I ask.
00:20:09 --> 00:20:10 I just don't think
00:20:10 --> 00:20:11 it's a great way.
00:20:11 --> 00:20:12 You know,
00:20:12 --> 00:20:13 you start a conversation
00:20:13 --> 00:20:14 like that with me
00:20:14 --> 00:20:15 and I will say,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:15 whoa,
00:20:15 --> 00:20:16 hang on a bit.
00:20:17 --> 00:20:17 Let's go back
00:20:17 --> 00:20:18 and rethink.
00:20:19 --> 00:20:20 Go away
00:20:20 --> 00:20:22 and rephrase
00:20:22 --> 00:20:22 that sentence.
00:20:24 --> 00:20:24 And yet,
00:20:25 --> 00:20:26 what does Jesus
00:20:26 --> 00:20:27 do here?
00:20:29 --> 00:20:30 Verse 36.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:33 What do you want me
00:20:33 --> 00:20:33 to do for you?
00:20:36 --> 00:20:37 Then,
00:20:37 --> 00:20:38 here comes the reply
00:20:38 --> 00:20:39 in verse 37.
00:20:40 --> 00:20:41 Let one of us
00:20:41 --> 00:20:43 sit at your right
00:20:43 --> 00:20:43 and the other
00:20:43 --> 00:20:44 at your left
00:20:44 --> 00:20:45 in your glory.
00:20:46 --> 00:20:47 One at your right
00:20:47 --> 00:20:49 and one at your left
00:20:49 --> 00:20:50 in your glory.
00:20:51 --> 00:20:51 You see,
00:20:51 --> 00:20:52 what they're looking
00:20:52 --> 00:20:52 forward to here
00:20:52 --> 00:20:53 is Jesus
00:20:53 --> 00:20:54 on the way
00:20:54 --> 00:20:54 to Jerusalem.
00:20:55 --> 00:20:56 He's going to beat up
00:20:56 --> 00:20:56 the Romans,
00:20:56 --> 00:20:57 kick everyone out.
00:20:57 --> 00:20:58 He's going to reign supreme
00:20:58 --> 00:20:59 enthroned in Jerusalem
00:20:59 --> 00:21:01 and can one of us
00:21:01 --> 00:21:02 be the prime minister
00:21:02 --> 00:21:03 and the other one
00:21:03 --> 00:21:04 chief of staff?
00:21:05 --> 00:21:05 You know,
00:21:05 --> 00:21:07 when the spotlight's
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 on you,
00:21:07 --> 00:21:07 Jesus,
00:21:08 --> 00:21:09 is it okay
00:21:09 --> 00:21:10 if we just kind of
00:21:10 --> 00:21:11 bask in the glory
00:21:11 --> 00:21:12 in that moment?
00:21:12 --> 00:21:13 Sort of like,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:13 you know,
00:21:13 --> 00:21:14 photo bombing
00:21:14 --> 00:21:15 someone who's on TV
00:21:15 --> 00:21:16 kind of thing
00:21:16 --> 00:21:17 just so that you can
00:21:17 --> 00:21:17 wave to mum
00:21:17 --> 00:21:18 or something.
00:21:18 --> 00:21:18 It's that
00:21:18 --> 00:21:20 we get a bit of glory
00:21:20 --> 00:21:20 in that moment too.
00:21:20 --> 00:21:22 And the irony
00:21:22 --> 00:21:23 of their request
00:21:23 --> 00:21:26 is that Jesus'
00:21:26 --> 00:21:27 moment of greatest
00:21:27 --> 00:21:28 glory,
00:21:28 --> 00:21:29 the moment
00:21:29 --> 00:21:30 he most
00:21:30 --> 00:21:32 shows forth
00:21:32 --> 00:21:33 the glory
00:21:33 --> 00:21:34 of God's justice,
00:21:35 --> 00:21:35 where he most
00:21:35 --> 00:21:37 profoundly reveals
00:21:37 --> 00:21:39 the glory
00:21:39 --> 00:21:40 of God's love,
00:21:41 --> 00:21:42 is in fact
00:21:42 --> 00:21:43 on the cross
00:21:43 --> 00:21:43 just outside
00:21:43 --> 00:21:44 of Jerusalem.
00:21:45 --> 00:21:47 In that moment
00:21:47 --> 00:21:49 when he is
00:21:49 --> 00:21:49 crucified,
00:21:50 --> 00:21:51 there will be
00:21:51 --> 00:21:52 someone on his
00:21:52 --> 00:21:53 left and there
00:21:53 --> 00:21:53 will be someone
00:21:53 --> 00:21:54 on his right,
00:21:54 --> 00:21:56 but they are both
00:21:56 --> 00:21:56 criminals.
00:21:59 --> 00:22:00 Jesus is saying
00:22:00 --> 00:22:02 to these two,
00:22:03 --> 00:22:04 you don't know
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 what you're asking
00:22:05 --> 00:22:06 for.
00:22:07 --> 00:22:08 So let's keep
00:22:08 --> 00:22:08 reading.
00:22:08 --> 00:22:09 Verse 38,
00:22:09 --> 00:22:10 you don't know
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 what you're asking,
00:22:10 --> 00:22:10 Jesus.
00:22:11 --> 00:22:12 Can you drink
00:22:12 --> 00:22:13 the cup I drink
00:22:13 --> 00:22:14 or be baptized
00:22:14 --> 00:22:15 with the baptism
00:22:15 --> 00:22:16 I'm baptized with?
00:22:16 --> 00:22:17 We can,
00:22:17 --> 00:22:17 they answered.
00:22:18 --> 00:22:19 Jesus said to them,
00:22:19 --> 00:22:19 oh, you will
00:22:19 --> 00:22:20 drink the cup I drink
00:22:20 --> 00:22:21 and be baptized
00:22:21 --> 00:22:22 with the baptism
00:22:22 --> 00:22:23 I am baptized with.
00:22:24 --> 00:22:25 But to sit at my right
00:22:25 --> 00:22:26 or left
00:22:26 --> 00:22:28 is not for me
00:22:28 --> 00:22:29 to grant.
00:22:29 --> 00:22:29 These places
00:22:29 --> 00:22:30 belong to those
00:22:30 --> 00:22:31 for whom
00:22:31 --> 00:22:32 they've been prepared.
00:22:33 --> 00:22:34 And when the ten
00:22:34 --> 00:22:35 heard about this,
00:22:35 --> 00:22:36 they became indignant
00:22:36 --> 00:22:38 with James and John.
00:22:39 --> 00:22:40 Now when Jesus
00:22:40 --> 00:22:41 refers to the cup here,
00:22:42 --> 00:22:42 he's talking about,
00:22:43 --> 00:22:44 he's using a metaphor
00:22:44 --> 00:22:45 from the Old Testament
00:22:45 --> 00:22:46 that pointed to
00:22:46 --> 00:22:47 the just judgment
00:22:47 --> 00:22:48 of God
00:22:48 --> 00:22:49 against evil.
00:22:49 --> 00:22:50 And what Jesus
00:22:50 --> 00:22:51 is saying here
00:22:51 --> 00:22:51 is when he talks
00:22:51 --> 00:22:52 about drinking
00:22:52 --> 00:22:53 this cup,
00:22:53 --> 00:22:53 he's saying,
00:22:54 --> 00:22:55 I am paying
00:22:55 --> 00:22:55 the ransom.
00:22:56 --> 00:22:57 I'm going to drink
00:22:57 --> 00:22:57 the cup.
00:22:58 --> 00:22:58 I'm going to bridge
00:22:58 --> 00:22:59 that gap.
00:22:59 --> 00:23:00 I will take
00:23:00 --> 00:23:01 the just punishment
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 of all human evil
00:23:03 --> 00:23:04 upon myself.
00:23:04 --> 00:23:04 I will take
00:23:04 --> 00:23:06 the overwhelming
00:23:06 --> 00:23:07 experience
00:23:07 --> 00:23:08 of being condemned
00:23:08 --> 00:23:10 so that you
00:23:10 --> 00:23:10 are free
00:23:10 --> 00:23:12 from all condemnations.
00:23:12 --> 00:23:16 and yet
00:23:16 --> 00:23:19 these disciples
00:23:19 --> 00:23:20 don't get it
00:23:20 --> 00:23:22 at all.
00:23:23 --> 00:23:24 They just simply
00:23:24 --> 00:23:25 just do not
00:23:25 --> 00:23:26 get it.
00:23:27 --> 00:23:29 I can't tell you
00:23:29 --> 00:23:29 the number of times
00:23:29 --> 00:23:30 I've read this text
00:23:30 --> 00:23:31 and I'm going,
00:23:31 --> 00:23:32 what is wrong
00:23:32 --> 00:23:33 with these disciples?
00:23:35 --> 00:23:35 And yet
00:23:35 --> 00:23:37 I've discovered
00:23:37 --> 00:23:38 how unwise
00:23:38 --> 00:23:38 it is
00:23:38 --> 00:23:39 to ask that question.
00:23:39 --> 00:23:42 how unwise
00:23:42 --> 00:23:43 it is
00:23:43 --> 00:23:43 to just simply
00:23:43 --> 00:23:44 think,
00:23:44 --> 00:23:45 what's wrong
00:23:45 --> 00:23:46 with these guys?
00:23:46 --> 00:23:47 What's wrong
00:23:47 --> 00:23:47 with them?
00:23:48 --> 00:23:49 Why can't they see?
00:23:51 --> 00:23:52 It's better
00:23:52 --> 00:23:52 for us
00:23:52 --> 00:23:53 to ask,
00:23:54 --> 00:23:56 what am I
00:23:56 --> 00:23:57 not getting
00:23:57 --> 00:23:59 about the cross
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 of Christ
00:23:59 --> 00:23:59 right now?
00:24:01 --> 00:24:02 What am I
00:24:02 --> 00:24:02 not getting
00:24:02 --> 00:24:03 about its
00:24:03 --> 00:24:04 implications
00:24:04 --> 00:24:05 for my life
00:24:05 --> 00:24:06 right now?
00:24:07 --> 00:24:08 What am I
00:24:08 --> 00:24:08 missing
00:24:08 --> 00:24:10 about the
00:24:10 --> 00:24:10 magnitude
00:24:10 --> 00:24:13 of the cross?
00:24:14 --> 00:24:14 You see,
00:24:14 --> 00:24:15 when we see
00:24:15 --> 00:24:16 how James
00:24:16 --> 00:24:16 and John
00:24:16 --> 00:24:17 respond
00:24:17 --> 00:24:18 and we
00:24:18 --> 00:24:18 realize
00:24:18 --> 00:24:19 how hard
00:24:19 --> 00:24:20 it is
00:24:20 --> 00:24:21 for anyone
00:24:21 --> 00:24:21 to take
00:24:21 --> 00:24:22 the magnitude
00:24:22 --> 00:24:23 of the cross
00:24:23 --> 00:24:23 and what it
00:24:23 --> 00:24:24 really means
00:24:24 --> 00:24:24 and to understand
00:24:24 --> 00:24:25 it,
00:24:26 --> 00:24:27 then I think
00:24:27 --> 00:24:27 we are
00:24:27 --> 00:24:29 starting to
00:24:29 --> 00:24:30 take steps
00:24:30 --> 00:24:31 towards the
00:24:31 --> 00:24:32 gift of
00:24:32 --> 00:24:33 humility.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:35 Despite
00:24:35 --> 00:24:36 their association
00:24:36 --> 00:24:36 with Jesus
00:24:36 --> 00:24:37 and despite
00:24:37 --> 00:24:38 their piety,
00:24:38 --> 00:24:38 these disciples
00:24:38 --> 00:24:39 saw greatness.
00:24:40 --> 00:24:41 They saw
00:24:41 --> 00:24:42 greatness
00:24:42 --> 00:24:43 according to
00:24:43 --> 00:24:43 the world's
00:24:43 --> 00:24:44 definition.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:46 They saw
00:24:46 --> 00:24:47 Jesus as the
00:24:47 --> 00:24:47 fast track
00:24:47 --> 00:24:48 to power
00:24:48 --> 00:24:48 and glory.
00:24:50 --> 00:24:51 See,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:51 James and
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 John had
00:24:52 --> 00:24:52 fallen to
00:24:52 --> 00:24:53 the world's
00:24:53 --> 00:24:53 idea that
00:24:53 --> 00:24:54 seeking the
00:24:54 --> 00:24:54 place of
00:24:54 --> 00:24:55 authority and
00:24:55 --> 00:24:56 personal power
00:24:56 --> 00:24:57 was right
00:24:57 --> 00:24:58 for them.
00:24:59 --> 00:24:59 They got a
00:24:59 --> 00:25:00 glimpse of
00:25:00 --> 00:25:00 glory,
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 they got a
00:25:01 --> 00:25:01 glimpse of
00:25:01 --> 00:25:02 power,
00:25:02 --> 00:25:03 a glimpse
00:25:03 --> 00:25:04 of influence,
00:25:04 --> 00:25:04 and they
00:25:04 --> 00:25:06 wanted it.
00:25:06 --> 00:25:07 They wanted
00:25:07 --> 00:25:07 the glory,
00:25:07 --> 00:25:08 they wanted
00:25:08 --> 00:25:08 the adulation,
00:25:09 --> 00:25:09 they wanted
00:25:09 --> 00:25:10 the power
00:25:10 --> 00:25:10 and their
00:25:10 --> 00:25:11 hearts are
00:25:11 --> 00:25:11 on full
00:25:11 --> 00:25:12 display here.
00:25:13 --> 00:25:13 As the
00:25:13 --> 00:25:14 Puritans
00:25:14 --> 00:25:15 used to
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 say,
00:25:15 --> 00:25:15 what we
00:25:15 --> 00:25:16 dream about,
00:25:16 --> 00:25:16 what we
00:25:16 --> 00:25:17 hope for,
00:25:17 --> 00:25:18 is the
00:25:18 --> 00:25:18 true picture
00:25:18 --> 00:25:19 of what
00:25:19 --> 00:25:19 our hearts
00:25:19 --> 00:25:20 are like.
00:25:24 --> 00:25:24 So where
00:25:24 --> 00:25:25 does your
00:25:25 --> 00:25:27 mind go
00:25:27 --> 00:25:29 in a moment
00:25:29 --> 00:25:29 of quietness?
00:25:30 --> 00:25:30 What is it
00:25:30 --> 00:25:31 that you
00:25:31 --> 00:25:31 dream for?
00:25:34 --> 00:25:35 Now the
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 other
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 disciples,
00:25:35 --> 00:25:35 I'm not
00:25:35 --> 00:25:36 picking on
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 James and
00:25:36 --> 00:25:36 John,
00:25:36 --> 00:25:37 the other
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 disciples
00:25:37 --> 00:25:37 became
00:25:37 --> 00:25:38 indignant
00:25:38 --> 00:25:39 with them.
00:25:40 --> 00:25:40 And it's
00:25:40 --> 00:25:41 not because
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 they understood
00:25:42 --> 00:25:43 what Jesus
00:25:43 --> 00:25:44 was on about,
00:25:45 --> 00:25:46 but they
00:25:46 --> 00:25:47 were upset
00:25:47 --> 00:25:47 with James
00:25:47 --> 00:25:48 and John
00:25:48 --> 00:25:48 for getting
00:25:48 --> 00:25:49 there first.
00:25:52 --> 00:25:52 It's like
00:25:52 --> 00:25:53 they asked
00:25:53 --> 00:25:54 for left and
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 right,
00:25:54 --> 00:25:54 it's like
00:25:54 --> 00:25:55 what's left
00:25:55 --> 00:25:55 for us,
00:25:55 --> 00:25:56 third and
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 fourth and
00:25:56 --> 00:25:56 fifth.
00:25:59 --> 00:25:59 And so
00:25:59 --> 00:26:00 what Jesus
00:26:00 --> 00:26:00 does here
00:26:00 --> 00:26:02 is he takes
00:26:02 --> 00:26:02 the opportunity
00:26:02 --> 00:26:05 to teach
00:26:05 --> 00:26:06 them a
00:26:06 --> 00:26:08 lesson on
00:26:08 --> 00:26:09 substitutionary
00:26:09 --> 00:26:10 sacrifice,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 about their
00:26:12 --> 00:26:13 life of
00:26:13 --> 00:26:14 substitutionary
00:26:14 --> 00:26:15 sacrifice.
00:26:15 --> 00:26:15 Take a look
00:26:15 --> 00:26:16 at verse 42
00:26:16 --> 00:26:16 with me.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:18 Jesus called
00:26:18 --> 00:26:19 them together
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 and said,
00:26:19 --> 00:26:19 you know
00:26:19 --> 00:26:20 that those
00:26:20 --> 00:26:20 who are
00:26:20 --> 00:26:21 regarded as
00:26:21 --> 00:26:21 rulers and
00:26:21 --> 00:26:22 of the Gentiles
00:26:22 --> 00:26:22 lord it over
00:26:22 --> 00:26:23 them and the
00:26:23 --> 00:26:23 high priest
00:26:23 --> 00:26:24 exercise authority
00:26:24 --> 00:26:25 over them?
00:26:26 --> 00:26:27 Not so
00:26:27 --> 00:26:28 with you.
00:26:28 --> 00:26:29 Instead,
00:26:29 --> 00:26:29 whoever wants
00:26:29 --> 00:26:30 to become
00:26:30 --> 00:26:30 great among
00:26:30 --> 00:26:31 you must be
00:26:31 --> 00:26:31 your servant
00:26:31 --> 00:26:32 and whoever
00:26:32 --> 00:26:32 wants to be
00:26:32 --> 00:26:34 first must
00:26:34 --> 00:26:34 be a slave
00:26:34 --> 00:26:35 of all.
00:26:36 --> 00:26:37 For even
00:26:37 --> 00:26:37 the son of
00:26:37 --> 00:26:38 man did not
00:26:38 --> 00:26:38 come to be
00:26:38 --> 00:26:39 served but
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 to serve and
00:26:39 --> 00:26:39 to give his
00:26:39 --> 00:26:40 life as a
00:26:40 --> 00:26:41 ransom for
00:26:41 --> 00:26:41 many.
00:26:42 --> 00:26:43 So Jesus
00:26:43 --> 00:26:44 is talking
00:26:44 --> 00:26:44 here about
00:26:44 --> 00:26:45 the difference
00:26:45 --> 00:26:45 between the
00:26:45 --> 00:26:46 way his
00:26:46 --> 00:26:46 disciples
00:26:46 --> 00:26:47 influence
00:26:47 --> 00:26:48 society and
00:26:48 --> 00:26:49 the way that
00:26:49 --> 00:26:50 every other
00:26:50 --> 00:26:51 culture and
00:26:51 --> 00:26:51 society thinks
00:26:51 --> 00:26:52 you influence
00:26:52 --> 00:26:53 society.
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 And he
00:26:55 --> 00:26:55 says,
00:26:56 --> 00:26:57 you're being
00:26:57 --> 00:26:57 sucked into
00:26:57 --> 00:26:58 your society's
00:26:58 --> 00:26:59 view of it,
00:27:00 --> 00:27:01 your culture's
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 view it,
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 and he
00:27:01 --> 00:27:01 says,
00:27:01 --> 00:27:02 I'm not
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 so with
00:27:02 --> 00:27:02 you.
00:27:03 --> 00:27:03 This is
00:27:03 --> 00:27:04 not how
00:27:04 --> 00:27:04 you influence
00:27:04 --> 00:27:05 society.
00:27:06 --> 00:27:07 He says,
00:27:07 --> 00:27:08 the way our
00:27:08 --> 00:27:09 world seeks
00:27:09 --> 00:27:10 to influence
00:27:10 --> 00:27:12 society is
00:27:12 --> 00:27:12 not the way
00:27:12 --> 00:27:13 his disciples
00:27:13 --> 00:27:14 are to
00:27:14 --> 00:27:14 influence
00:27:14 --> 00:27:15 society.
00:27:16 --> 00:27:17 Jesus
00:27:17 --> 00:27:18 is,
00:27:19 --> 00:27:20 he's set
00:27:20 --> 00:27:20 the pattern.
00:27:22 --> 00:27:22 He's not
00:27:22 --> 00:27:23 just our
00:27:23 --> 00:27:24 substitute
00:27:24 --> 00:27:25 and our
00:27:25 --> 00:27:26 redeemer,
00:27:26 --> 00:27:27 he is also
00:27:27 --> 00:27:27 our
00:27:27 --> 00:27:28 pay
00:27:28 --> 00:27:28 setter.
00:27:32 --> 00:27:32 So,
00:27:33 --> 00:27:35 the route
00:27:35 --> 00:27:36 to gaining
00:27:36 --> 00:27:37 influence for
00:27:37 --> 00:27:37 the Christian
00:27:37 --> 00:27:38 is not
00:27:38 --> 00:27:38 the taking
00:27:38 --> 00:27:39 of power.
00:27:41 --> 00:27:42 Christian
00:27:42 --> 00:27:42 political
00:27:42 --> 00:27:44 parties are
00:27:44 --> 00:27:45 not the
00:27:45 --> 00:27:45 answer.
00:27:46 --> 00:27:47 Christian
00:27:47 --> 00:27:47 political
00:27:47 --> 00:27:48 parties are
00:27:48 --> 00:27:49 not the
00:27:49 --> 00:27:51 answer in
00:27:51 --> 00:27:52 changing
00:27:52 --> 00:27:52 society.
00:27:52 --> 00:27:55 influence
00:27:55 --> 00:27:56 gained
00:27:56 --> 00:27:56 through
00:27:56 --> 00:27:57 power
00:27:57 --> 00:27:57 and
00:27:57 --> 00:27:58 control
00:27:58 --> 00:27:59 doesn't
00:27:59 --> 00:28:00 change
00:28:00 --> 00:28:01 hearts
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 and
00:28:01 --> 00:28:01 therefore
00:28:01 --> 00:28:02 it
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 doesn't
00:28:02 --> 00:28:02 change
00:28:02 --> 00:28:03 people
00:28:03 --> 00:28:03 and
00:28:03 --> 00:28:04 therefore
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 it
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 doesn't
00:28:04 --> 00:28:04 change
00:28:04 --> 00:28:05 society.
00:28:05 --> 00:28:08 Jesus
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 is calling
00:28:08 --> 00:28:08 here for
00:28:08 --> 00:28:09 a different
00:28:09 --> 00:28:09 approach.
00:28:10 --> 00:28:11 He's calling
00:28:11 --> 00:28:11 his disciples
00:28:11 --> 00:28:12 to be so
00:28:12 --> 00:28:13 sacrificially
00:28:13 --> 00:28:14 loving
00:28:14 --> 00:28:15 that the
00:28:15 --> 00:28:16 people around
00:28:16 --> 00:28:16 you who
00:28:16 --> 00:28:17 don't believe
00:28:17 --> 00:28:18 what you
00:28:18 --> 00:28:19 believe will
00:28:19 --> 00:28:20 soon be
00:28:20 --> 00:28:21 unable to
00:28:21 --> 00:28:21 imagine
00:28:21 --> 00:28:22 society
00:28:22 --> 00:28:23 without
00:28:23 --> 00:28:23 you.
00:28:25 --> 00:28:26 They so
00:28:26 --> 00:28:26 appreciate
00:28:26 --> 00:28:27 your contribution
00:28:27 --> 00:28:28 to society.
00:28:29 --> 00:28:30 I actually
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 think that one
00:28:30 --> 00:28:30 of the worst
00:28:30 --> 00:28:31 indictments of
00:28:31 --> 00:28:31 the Christian
00:28:31 --> 00:28:32 church in
00:28:32 --> 00:28:33 this country
00:28:33 --> 00:28:34 is that there
00:28:34 --> 00:28:35 are large
00:28:35 --> 00:28:36 large parts
00:28:36 --> 00:28:37 of our
00:28:37 --> 00:28:37 society
00:28:37 --> 00:28:40 that do
00:28:40 --> 00:28:40 not see
00:28:40 --> 00:28:42 cannot see
00:28:42 --> 00:28:43 what contribution
00:28:43 --> 00:28:44 the church
00:28:44 --> 00:28:45 makes.
00:28:46 --> 00:28:47 They can't
00:28:47 --> 00:28:47 see any
00:28:47 --> 00:28:48 good that we
00:28:48 --> 00:28:48 contribute,
00:28:49 --> 00:28:50 any value
00:28:50 --> 00:28:50 that we
00:28:50 --> 00:28:51 contribute.
00:28:55 --> 00:28:55 So the
00:28:55 --> 00:28:56 disciples of
00:28:56 --> 00:28:57 Jesus need to
00:28:57 --> 00:28:57 love and
00:28:57 --> 00:28:58 serve in such
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 a way that
00:28:58 --> 00:28:58 those who
00:28:58 --> 00:28:59 disagree with
00:28:59 --> 00:28:59 us will
00:28:59 --> 00:29:00 trust us
00:29:00 --> 00:29:02 because they
00:29:02 --> 00:29:03 can see that
00:29:03 --> 00:29:03 we're not
00:29:03 --> 00:29:04 actually trying
00:29:04 --> 00:29:05 to gain
00:29:05 --> 00:29:06 power and
00:29:06 --> 00:29:07 authority for
00:29:07 --> 00:29:09 ourselves but
00:29:09 --> 00:29:10 in fact doing
00:29:10 --> 00:29:10 it for the
00:29:10 --> 00:29:11 weak and
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 vulnerable and
00:29:11 --> 00:29:11 for the
00:29:11 --> 00:29:12 flourishing of
00:29:12 --> 00:29:12 all of
00:29:12 --> 00:29:13 society.
00:29:16 --> 00:29:16 What that
00:29:16 --> 00:29:17 means is that
00:29:17 --> 00:29:18 when people
00:29:18 --> 00:29:19 look up to
00:29:19 --> 00:29:20 you because
00:29:20 --> 00:29:20 of your
00:29:20 --> 00:29:21 love and
00:29:21 --> 00:29:22 because of
00:29:22 --> 00:29:23 your service
00:29:23 --> 00:29:25 you've
00:29:25 --> 00:29:26 actually gained
00:29:26 --> 00:29:27 influence.
00:29:28 --> 00:29:29 When people
00:29:29 --> 00:29:30 look up to
00:29:30 --> 00:29:31 you because
00:29:31 --> 00:29:31 of your love
00:29:31 --> 00:29:32 and your
00:29:32 --> 00:29:32 service you've
00:29:32 --> 00:29:33 gained influence
00:29:33 --> 00:29:34 over them
00:29:34 --> 00:29:35 and it's
00:29:35 --> 00:29:36 an influence
00:29:36 --> 00:29:36 that they
00:29:36 --> 00:29:38 give you
00:29:38 --> 00:29:38 rather than
00:29:38 --> 00:29:39 influence that
00:29:39 --> 00:29:40 you take
00:29:40 --> 00:29:40 from them
00:29:40 --> 00:29:43 and frankly
00:29:43 --> 00:29:44 well over a
00:29:44 --> 00:29:45 thousand years
00:29:45 --> 00:29:47 of Christendom
00:29:47 --> 00:29:47 in the western
00:29:47 --> 00:29:48 world should have
00:29:48 --> 00:29:49 told us that.
00:29:52 --> 00:29:54 Just because the
00:29:54 --> 00:29:55 government agrees
00:29:55 --> 00:29:55 with Christian
00:29:55 --> 00:29:57 values doesn't
00:29:57 --> 00:29:58 mean that hearts
00:29:58 --> 00:29:59 get changed
00:29:59 --> 00:30:00 at all.
00:30:04 --> 00:30:05 See this is
00:30:05 --> 00:30:06 what Jesus
00:30:06 --> 00:30:06 has done.
00:30:10 --> 00:30:11 How did
00:30:11 --> 00:30:12 Jesus respond
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 to his
00:30:12 --> 00:30:12 enemies?
00:30:13 --> 00:30:14 He didn't
00:30:14 --> 00:30:14 call down
00:30:14 --> 00:30:15 legions of
00:30:15 --> 00:30:15 angels to
00:30:15 --> 00:30:16 fight them.
00:30:16 --> 00:30:18 He died for
00:30:18 --> 00:30:18 their sins.
00:30:19 --> 00:30:20 As he was
00:30:20 --> 00:30:20 dying he
00:30:20 --> 00:30:21 prayed for
00:30:21 --> 00:30:21 them.
00:30:23 --> 00:30:24 That's what
00:30:24 --> 00:30:24 Jesus did.
00:30:24 --> 00:30:28 He didn't
00:30:28 --> 00:30:29 come to
00:30:29 --> 00:30:30 be served
00:30:30 --> 00:30:32 but to
00:30:32 --> 00:30:33 serve.
00:30:34 --> 00:30:35 He didn't
00:30:35 --> 00:30:36 come to
00:30:36 --> 00:30:37 grasp for
00:30:37 --> 00:30:38 power in
00:30:38 --> 00:30:39 order to
00:30:39 --> 00:30:39 influence.
00:30:40 --> 00:30:41 He came
00:30:41 --> 00:30:41 and gave
00:30:41 --> 00:30:43 it up in
00:30:43 --> 00:30:43 order to
00:30:43 --> 00:30:45 influence and
00:30:45 --> 00:30:45 what an
00:30:45 --> 00:30:46 influence he's
00:30:46 --> 00:30:46 had for
00:30:46 --> 00:30:47 two thousand
00:30:47 --> 00:30:47 years.
00:30:50 --> 00:30:51 If at the
00:30:51 --> 00:30:52 very heart of
00:30:52 --> 00:30:52 your world
00:30:52 --> 00:30:53 view is a
00:30:53 --> 00:30:53 man who is
00:30:53 --> 00:30:54 God,
00:30:54 --> 00:30:55 dying for
00:30:55 --> 00:30:56 his enemies
00:30:56 --> 00:30:56 as it is
00:30:56 --> 00:30:57 the world
00:30:57 --> 00:30:57 view of
00:30:57 --> 00:30:58 this church,
00:30:59 --> 00:31:00 then the
00:31:00 --> 00:31:01 way you're
00:31:01 --> 00:31:01 going to
00:31:01 --> 00:31:02 influence in
00:31:02 --> 00:31:03 society is
00:31:03 --> 00:31:04 through service
00:31:04 --> 00:31:05 rather than
00:31:05 --> 00:31:05 through power
00:31:05 --> 00:31:06 and control.
00:31:08 --> 00:31:09 That is we
00:31:09 --> 00:31:09 need to look
00:31:09 --> 00:31:10 beyond ourselves
00:31:10 --> 00:31:11 and we need
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 to look to
00:31:11 --> 00:31:11 Jesus.
00:31:13 --> 00:31:13 What Jesus
00:31:13 --> 00:31:14 has done for
00:31:14 --> 00:31:15 us drives us
00:31:15 --> 00:31:15 out in
00:31:15 --> 00:31:17 grateful sacrifice
00:31:17 --> 00:31:17 ourselves.
00:31:18 --> 00:31:18 If Jesus
00:31:18 --> 00:31:19 is our
00:31:19 --> 00:31:20 substitutionary
00:31:20 --> 00:31:20 sacrifice,
00:31:21 --> 00:31:21 if he has
00:31:21 --> 00:31:22 paid for
00:31:22 --> 00:31:22 our sins,
00:31:23 --> 00:31:23 if he has
00:31:23 --> 00:31:24 proved
00:31:24 --> 00:31:25 to our
00:31:25 --> 00:31:26 insecure,
00:31:26 --> 00:31:27 skittish little
00:31:27 --> 00:31:28 hearts,
00:31:28 --> 00:31:29 that we
00:31:29 --> 00:31:29 are worth
00:31:29 --> 00:31:30 everything to
00:31:30 --> 00:31:30 him,
00:31:31 --> 00:31:33 then we
00:31:33 --> 00:31:33 have everything
00:31:33 --> 00:31:34 we need
00:31:34 --> 00:31:35 in him.
00:31:37 --> 00:31:38 It's all a
00:31:38 --> 00:31:39 gift to us
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 by his
00:31:39 --> 00:31:39 grace.
00:31:40 --> 00:31:40 We don't
00:31:40 --> 00:31:42 do things
00:31:42 --> 00:31:42 in order to
00:31:42 --> 00:31:43 connect to
00:31:43 --> 00:31:43 God or to
00:31:43 --> 00:31:44 feel better
00:31:44 --> 00:31:45 about ourselves.
00:31:45 --> 00:31:46 If we really
00:31:46 --> 00:31:47 understand the
00:31:47 --> 00:31:48 cross, we
00:31:48 --> 00:31:49 are blasted
00:31:49 --> 00:31:50 out into
00:31:50 --> 00:31:51 this world
00:31:51 --> 00:31:52 in joyful
00:31:52 --> 00:31:53 humility.
00:31:56 --> 00:31:57 You see,
00:31:57 --> 00:31:57 in Jesus,
00:31:58 --> 00:31:59 you don't
00:31:59 --> 00:31:59 need to
00:31:59 --> 00:32:00 help people,
00:32:01 --> 00:32:02 you want
00:32:02 --> 00:32:02 to help
00:32:02 --> 00:32:03 people to
00:32:03 --> 00:32:04 resemble the
00:32:04 --> 00:32:05 one who has
00:32:05 --> 00:32:06 done all
00:32:06 --> 00:32:07 this for us.
00:32:07 --> 00:32:07 So this is the
00:32:07 --> 00:32:08 logic of this
00:32:08 --> 00:32:08 passage, it's
00:32:08 --> 00:32:09 really simple.
00:32:10 --> 00:32:11 If the one
00:32:11 --> 00:32:12 who created
00:32:12 --> 00:32:12 both the
00:32:12 --> 00:32:13 supernova and
00:32:13 --> 00:32:14 the superfly,
00:32:14 --> 00:32:17 if there is
00:32:17 --> 00:32:18 a superfly,
00:32:18 --> 00:32:19 firefly,
00:32:19 --> 00:32:21 and holds
00:32:21 --> 00:32:22 everything
00:32:22 --> 00:32:22 together,
00:32:23 --> 00:32:23 including all
00:32:23 --> 00:32:24 the bugs,
00:32:25 --> 00:32:26 by the
00:32:26 --> 00:32:27 power of
00:32:27 --> 00:32:27 his word,
00:32:27 --> 00:32:28 according to
00:32:28 --> 00:32:28 Colossians
00:32:28 --> 00:32:29 chapter 1,
00:32:30 --> 00:32:31 if he
00:32:31 --> 00:32:34 became our
00:32:34 --> 00:32:34 servant,
00:32:35 --> 00:32:37 became our
00:32:37 --> 00:32:38 table waiter,
00:32:38 --> 00:32:42 how dare
00:32:42 --> 00:32:42 we do
00:32:42 --> 00:32:43 anything less
00:32:43 --> 00:32:43 than that
00:32:43 --> 00:32:44 with others.
00:32:48 --> 00:32:48 Count
00:32:48 --> 00:32:49 Nicholas von
00:32:49 --> 00:32:50 Zinseldorf,
00:32:50 --> 00:32:50 a German
00:32:50 --> 00:32:51 nobleman,
00:32:51 --> 00:32:52 he was born
00:32:52 --> 00:32:52 into great
00:32:52 --> 00:32:53 power and
00:32:53 --> 00:32:53 privilege in
00:32:53 --> 00:32:54 1700.
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 He's one
00:32:55 --> 00:32:55 of the
00:32:55 --> 00:32:56 founders of
00:32:56 --> 00:32:56 the Moravian
00:32:56 --> 00:32:57 Church,
00:32:58 --> 00:32:58 and over
00:32:58 --> 00:32:59 the years,
00:33:00 --> 00:33:01 he spent
00:33:01 --> 00:33:02 his enormous
00:33:02 --> 00:33:03 wealth down
00:33:03 --> 00:33:04 to practically
00:33:04 --> 00:33:05 zero,
00:33:06 --> 00:33:06 meeting
00:33:06 --> 00:33:08 needs,
00:33:08 --> 00:33:09 everywhere,
00:33:09 --> 00:33:10 people's
00:33:10 --> 00:33:10 needs
00:33:10 --> 00:33:11 everywhere.
00:33:11 --> 00:33:12 He literally
00:33:12 --> 00:33:13 poured his
00:33:13 --> 00:33:14 life out
00:33:14 --> 00:33:15 for the
00:33:15 --> 00:33:15 sake of
00:33:15 --> 00:33:16 others.
00:33:18 --> 00:33:19 Why?
00:33:21 --> 00:33:22 He
00:33:22 --> 00:33:22 mentions
00:33:22 --> 00:33:24 one
00:33:24 --> 00:33:25 key
00:33:25 --> 00:33:25 crucial
00:33:25 --> 00:33:26 thing in
00:33:26 --> 00:33:27 his life.
00:33:27 --> 00:33:28 It would
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 have been
00:33:28 --> 00:33:28 numbers,
00:33:28 --> 00:33:29 but this
00:33:29 --> 00:33:29 is the
00:33:29 --> 00:33:29 one thing.
00:33:31 --> 00:33:31 As a
00:33:31 --> 00:33:32 19-year-old,
00:33:33 --> 00:33:34 he was
00:33:34 --> 00:33:35 sent by
00:33:35 --> 00:33:35 his parents
00:33:35 --> 00:33:36 to visit
00:33:36 --> 00:33:36 the capital
00:33:36 --> 00:33:37 cities of
00:33:37 --> 00:33:37 Europe to
00:33:37 --> 00:33:38 complete
00:33:38 --> 00:33:38 his
00:33:38 --> 00:33:39 education.
00:33:40 --> 00:33:41 One day,
00:33:42 --> 00:33:42 he was
00:33:42 --> 00:33:44 standing in
00:33:44 --> 00:33:44 front of
00:33:44 --> 00:33:45 a portrait
00:33:45 --> 00:33:46 of the
00:33:46 --> 00:33:47 crucified
00:33:47 --> 00:33:48 Lord Jesus
00:33:48 --> 00:33:48 with a
00:33:48 --> 00:33:49 crown of
00:33:49 --> 00:33:49 thorns
00:33:49 --> 00:33:50 on his
00:33:50 --> 00:33:51 head in
00:33:51 --> 00:33:52 an art
00:33:52 --> 00:33:53 gallery in
00:33:53 --> 00:33:53 Dusseldorf.
00:33:55 --> 00:33:57 He stood
00:33:57 --> 00:33:58 there transfixed
00:33:58 --> 00:33:58 by the
00:33:58 --> 00:33:59 image of
00:33:59 --> 00:34:00 the crucified
00:34:00 --> 00:34:00 Christ.
00:34:02 --> 00:34:02 He said
00:34:02 --> 00:34:03 that this
00:34:03 --> 00:34:04 image of
00:34:04 --> 00:34:05 the servant
00:34:05 --> 00:34:06 king,
00:34:06 --> 00:34:06 king,
00:34:07 --> 00:34:09 so moved
00:34:09 --> 00:34:09 him,
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 and
00:34:11 --> 00:34:11 especially
00:34:11 --> 00:34:14 what the
00:34:14 --> 00:34:15 artist had
00:34:15 --> 00:34:16 written as
00:34:16 --> 00:34:16 an inscription
00:34:16 --> 00:34:17 at the
00:34:17 --> 00:34:17 bottom of
00:34:17 --> 00:34:18 the portrait.
00:34:20 --> 00:34:21 He wrote
00:34:21 --> 00:34:21 this,
00:34:21 --> 00:34:24 all this
00:34:24 --> 00:34:25 I did
00:34:25 --> 00:34:25 for thee,
00:34:27 --> 00:34:28 what
00:34:28 --> 00:34:28 dost
00:34:28 --> 00:34:29 thou
00:34:29 --> 00:34:30 for me?
00:34:31 --> 00:34:32 That
00:34:32 --> 00:34:33 inscription
00:34:33 --> 00:34:33 and that
00:34:33 --> 00:34:34 image of
00:34:34 --> 00:34:35 the servant
00:34:35 --> 00:34:35 king
00:34:35 --> 00:34:37 changed
00:34:37 --> 00:34:39 Zinzendorf's
00:34:39 --> 00:34:40 life at
00:34:40 --> 00:34:41 19 years
00:34:41 --> 00:34:42 of age
00:34:42 --> 00:34:43 and he
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 spent the
00:34:43 --> 00:34:43 rest of
00:34:43 --> 00:34:44 his life
00:34:44 --> 00:34:44 pouring it
00:34:44 --> 00:34:45 out for
00:34:45 --> 00:34:45 people.
00:34:48 --> 00:34:49 Has it
00:34:49 --> 00:34:49 changed you?