Serving Jesus is a core aspect of our identity as believers, as highlighted in Matthew 20. In this episode, I explore what it truly means to serve, emphasizing that waiting on the Lord should not prevent us from being good servants. The biblical perspective on servanthood challenges our human nature, which often desires recognition and appreciation for our efforts. I discuss Jesus' example of servanthood, illustrating that true service often goes unnoticed and involves selflessness, even in challenging situations. By embracing our role as servants, we can find peace and fulfillment in our lives, aligning ourselves with Christ's teachings and example.
Takeaways:
In our journey of faith, serving others is a fundamental aspect of our identity as Christians.
Jesus exemplified true servanthood by washing the feet of his disciples, even Judas, demonstrating humility.
Being a servant often means doing unnoticed tasks and caring for those who may not be appreciated.
Real service is often performed out of the limelight, showing love in practical and sometimes difficult ways.
Waiting on the Lord does not mean being idle; rather, we are called to actively serve others in our lives.
To fully embrace our role as servants, we must let go of the desire for recognition and appreciation.
Welcome to the Hobo Soul Podcast of Road Advicefrom the Bible and from me, Yvon Prehn someone who's a little further down the road of life.
I'll talk to you every Tuesday and Thursday for about 10 minutes, and if you'd like more in depth information on walking with Jesus, you can find that at my www.bible805.com website. For now, let's get started on our topic for today, which is
Episode number 71, What it means to Serve Jesus.
Now, Jesus is speaking in our verse out of Matthew 20, where he says, "For even I, the Son of man, came here not to be served, but to serve others and to give my life as a ransom for many."
In a previous episode, I mentioned that there is a saying making the rounds of social media, and it goes something like what are you supposed to do when you're waiting on the Lord? Well, what do waiters do? Waiters serve.
Now, I commented at the time that even though it was kind of a corny wordplay, sort of a pun there, but there was a lot of truth in it.
When we're waiting for whatever it might be from the Lord, a different work situation, a relationship, whatever it might be, we are always to be good servants. We're always to serve.
While that's going on now, I realized also that waiting aside, that in our lives as followers of Jesus, again and again in the Bible, we're called to serve.
Whether we're waiting or not, whether we're happy or not, whether we're sad or not, the identity of a servant seems to be a core part of our identity as believers in Jesus. So today, realizing that, I thought it might be helpful to take a few minutes to explore what being a servant really means according to the Bible.
When we look at the Bible, we find that the term servant or bond slave, one with no rights of our own, one whose purpose is to serve another. We see these labels applied to Christians again and again, but ugh, just reading those words, how our human nature wants to fight them.
We want to be recognized for our brilliance, our creativity, if we're doing ministry, or our kindness and our Christlikeness, or for how well we take care of families, or how well we're doing in our role in our family or for the service we do at church. I mean, the list can go on and on and on.
Being labeled a servant isn't often at the top of the list, and it follows that with that same attitude on not wanting to be called a servant, we sometimes grumble in private that we aren't appreciated well, we probably aren't if we're being truly being a servant. That's part of what being a servant means. When we simply do what we're supposed to do, we shouldn't expect great applause from it.
We can't change that reality that we're truly servants and we won't be appreciated for what we do. But when we stop fighting it, when we submit and serve, we can find peace and satisfaction in our lives.
Now let's look at some additional verses that might help get us to that place. In Mark 10 it says, Jesus called them together and said, you know that those who are regarded as the rulers of Gentiles lord it over them.
Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
Jesus had a way of turning things upside down. The world's way to power and admiration is to lord it over others.
Now we might not be a ruler, but think about the ways and the situations where you really do kind of lord it over others. Maybe you feel you always need to be right.
Think about the times when someone under you, in whatever situation, a family member or a lower job or a younger Christian or whatever, you might not think you were lording it over them, but how did you react if they didn't take your advice or do what you wanted them to do?
One variation in the world of servanthood is that it's popular, sort of in contrast, in some Christian circles, to make a big deal out of being a servant. When you do serving in a public way or you choose to serve others, although that's not really how the Bible defines it.
Service, real service, is most often out of the limelight. People don't know you're doing it. It often means doing something you'd rather not do and serving people you'd rather not serve.
Those actions might seem unreasonable, but Jesus doesn't ask us to do anything that he hasn't already done. Let me read another passage and then I'll comment some more on it.
This is out of John 13 where he says, now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one another's feet. I've set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you'll be blessed if you do them.
It was astounding enough that Jesus washed the disciples feet and we all know what a humiliating, dirty job that was. But what was truly astounding is that he washed Judas feet. He knew what Judas was going to do, and yet he washed his feet anyway.
It didn't change what Judas was going to do, and he knew it wouldn't. The others had no idea what was going on, but he washed Judas feet. And in doing that, he showed us what true servanthood is like.
It's doing the job nobody wants to do, showing caring for the person nobody cares for. Doing something that people might have no idea of what it cost you personally to do it. That's what being a servant like Jesus means.
I want to close with a couple of additional verses on this topic that I read over again and again when I need to be reminded of how to serve. This first one's in Galatians where it says, carry each other's burdens, and in this way you fulfill the law of Christ.
Now Jesus of course, carried away our burden of sin, something we could never do. And we can't, of course, do something like that.
But sometimes we can do something for someone they can't do, and it means so much and it doesn't have to be a really big thing.
Here's one example for older people that you might know getting up on a ladder is not safe, and so knowing that because they don't want to risk a fall, changing a light bulb can be an impossible burden. Ask the Lord to make you aware of things you might not see that could carry a huge burden for someone.
One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible kind of sums up Jesus view on servanthood and on him being a servant.
And this is in Philippians 2, 5, 9 where it says your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus, who being in very nature God did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing.
Taking the very nature of a servant and being made in human likeness and being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross. Finally, he who asks us to serve will help us shoulder the load of service, enabling us to be the kind of servants that's pleasing to him.
Remember, he promised he'd do that when he said, come to me all you who are weary and burdened, and I'll give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. That's all for this podcast for transcripts, links to related material, and much more.
To help you learn to know, trust, apply and teach the Bible, go to www.bible805.com for now, let me end with this benediction and prayer.
May you walk each day surrounded by the gracious love of the Father, guided by the gentle wisdom of the Holy Spirit, and conscious of the astoundingly real presence of Jesus, who will walk with you until you're no more a hollow soul, no more a transient wandering heart, but at home in the kingdom prepared for you with your God forever. Amen.
