Bible Talks - Sunday Night Church
Series: Committed to the King · Talk No. 3
The Servant King
Sunday, 20 November 2005
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1. Choose your leader.
A while back I caught a re-run of the 90’s movie “The American President”
It’s the fictitious story of the widower President of the US, gearing up for an election year, while falling in love with a women lobbyist.
The Presidents Republican opponent, Senator Bob Runsen, jumps on the chance, and digs up some dirt on the President’s lady companion.
Every TV appearance, he drags down the character of both the President and his girlfriend. And every campaign speech ends with the cry “I’m Bob Runsen, and I’m running for President”
Now, we sit back and laugh a little at US politics and how over the top it all gets, but in case you hadn’t noticed, we are becoming more and more obsessed with issues of leadership in our politicians and other public figures
In the last 12 months alone, there has been much public debate about the departure of two political leaders: Mark Latham and John Brogden.
Latham fell from grace for a variety of reasons, but exited on the premise of poor health.
Brogden fell hard. Accused of sexual harassment of a female journalist. But then came the news of his suicide attempt, and all of a sudden no one knew what to think!
We can be hard and demanding of our political leaders. And whether we like it or not, rarely are political issues seriously debated at election time. The much-publicised TV debates during election campaigns are not so much about policies as they are personalities.
Election ad campaigns seek to smear their opponent, rather than present positive directions for the future. Yet our politicians vie for the “privilege of serving the Australian people”!
But do they exhibit attitudes and attributes of real servants?
Do they genuinely serve the Australian people?
What do we look for in a national leader?
How should they serve the people?
What qualities is it good to look for?
On national radio during the last Federal election, I heard that a poll showed that the one overriding quality Australians want in their politicians is truthfulness - what do you think?
Is it possible to have a leader who is also a servant?
[take answers - stir up, question etc]
2. Choose your Messiah.
This of course, goes right to the heart of the issue we have been exploring in Matthews gospel – the question of people’s expectations of the Messiah v’s the reality of Jesus. And in particular, how the Jewish leaders of Jesus’ day were expecting the Messiah would be a great, powerful, potent, nationalistic leader. And the reality of Jesus and his ministry/leadership style.
We saw two weeks ago how even John the Baptist was doubting if Jesus really was the Messiah promised by the O.,T. prophets. And we saw that this was because Jesus’ style of leadership didn’t match up to John’s expectations.
Last week we saw how Jesus and his teaching and ministry was at loggerheads with the Jewish leaders and their insistence on rigid, harsh obedience to the Jewish law they had modified and added to over the years. Their expectations of the Messiah and his understanding of the Law were very much at odds with the reality of Jesus.
And last week I asked the question whether we, while sniggering at the silliness of the Teachers of the law, were actually little better than they, in that we perhaps make the same error as they did in failing to understand what God wants of us in this life, and why.
In today’s passage, Jesus effectively sums up what he has been saying since the start of chapter 11 in allowing Isaiah to define his role and his radical style of leadership.
And as we look at that, the question we need to be asking ourselves is this: How would people today respond to Jesus’ model of leadership? Indeed, how would we, as God’s people, react if Jesus were re-appear (not to judge) and minister in a similar way to what we have recorded here? Have we really learned very much about the leadership of Jesus and how that impacts on us today?
Well, as I said, the passage we read today sort of sums up a number of the issues about expectations of the Messiah, and makes a number of challenging comments about God’s expectations of His chosen one…
And one of the first things that should hit us is: the contrast between Jesus’ style of servant leadership and what often passes for leadership today.
3. Jesus, the servant King
For starters, have a look at v15-17
Jesus withdraws and spends time healing the sick instead of confronting the Jewish leaders. And he asks those following him not to spread the word.
It’s hard to imagine Howard and Beasley going out of their way to avoid publicity!
But it’s even harder to imagine Jesus standing up, and spending half the Sermon on the Mount bagging out the Jewish leaders, and finishing every public occasion with the cry:
“I’m Jesus of Nazareth, and I’m running for Messiah!”
But we should also note, Jesus didn’t withdraw from the fight and insist on quiet from those he healed out of shyness or embarrassment!
Look at v17 - he did it in order to fulfil the prophecy which follows - in order to be the servant/leader that God wanted him to be!
But if we look further – to verses 18-21 we see it all unfolded in terms that we should be a little familiar with… because the quote is directly from the opening verses of Isaiah 42 – which we looked at just a few weeks ago.
It’s one of the sections of Isaiah often called ‘The Servant Songs’ – because of how they describe the nature and style of the rule that God’s chosen one – the Messiah would have.
Here, Jesus is choosing time and the place carefully as he quotes from the prophet, and we’ll see why shortly.
a. Two qualifiers.
But given what has just taken place since the start of chapter 11, it’s important to see that the quote starts by speaking of what qualities should define the Messiah’s role and leadership style:
18“Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him…”
There were two key signs that would come together in such a way, that people familiar with the O.T. prophets would know when the Messiah had come:
1. The person would be the choice of God himself. The one who is hated and rejected by the world - including his own people - is chosen and loved by God.
2. The anointing of the Messiah by the Holy Spirit. This was necessary to equip him to do the job at hand - a very specific job.
Come with me back to Matthew 3 for the double whammy…
“As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting on him. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” Matthew 3:16-17 NIV
Chosen by God and anointed by the Spirit!
Now go over to Luke 4:18-19 and the occasion of the start of Jesus’ ministry. This is the passage we looked at a few weeks back in the context of Isaiah 61. Jesus has just returned from his temptation in the desert, he walks into the local synagogue, reads these words from Isaiah 61 :
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favour.” – then he rolls up the scroll and says ‘That’s me folks!”.
b. The other characteristics.
So lets step through the rest of the passage from Is 42 that Jesus quotes and tease out some of the ideas…
19 “He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets.”
Jesus did not come to harangue and cajole people with the gospel. He’s not like a politician chasing votes, who inflames his hearers by appealing to their selfish desires and emotions.
He speaks with dignity, gentleness and humility.
Have you ever considered how remarkable it is that although he was the Son of God, Jesus never tried to secure a hearing, much less a following, by political power, physical force or emotional blackmail?
Rather…
20
A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out,
The reed and lamp represent the weak, helpless and suffering in our world - those who are the first to be ignored and thrown away by our society.
Have you noticed how most of our political leaders give only enough attention to the broken and bruised as they feel they can get away with? Now compare that to how it is the nature of the servant king to restore, to bind up and to heal.
In the hands of the servant king, the battered and bruised are not
discarded but restored, and the smouldering wick is not
snuffed out, but gently urged back into life again.
20 “till he leads justice to victory.”
Ultimately, right will win.
In spite of everything thrown against him, Jesus was destined to be victorious. Despite the appearance of everything to the contrary, the cross was a victory! And it looks ahead to when ultimate victory awaits the servant king and those who belong to him, on the Last Day.
To put it in the terms of the O.T. prophets, then the Messiah will be Lord and King, and in the words of Amos: justice will “roll down like waters and righteousness like an ever flowing stream” (Amos 5:24)
Lastly, but perhaps most significantly:
21“and he will proclaim justice to the nations.”
Adding the vital bit of information that Jesus’ reign as the servant king is not for the Jews only, but for all “the nations”.
Already, many regarded Jesus’ leadership style as badly lacking in nationalistic fervour.
To hear him read and apply such ideas as this to his ministry and leadership was going to be a key piece of evidence in the conspiracy to send him to the cross.
This is a king whose “reign” is not one of cynical and manipulative political power, but one of gentleness, meekness and compassion.
When you think of how God could have chosen to have done this, you realise what an extraordinary picture we have of God’s leader, this servant king!
4. Us and the servant King.
But let me pose a question.
Move the entire situation we’ve been reading of forward by a couple of thousand years.
It’s pretty easy with hindsight, to look back and shake our heads at the way the leaders of Jesus’ day misread who he was and how he worked. But what would we think of Jesus’ style of leadership today?
Not that he would be standing for a political election, but would we vote him into a position of power?
What would we really think of the servant king model of leadership?
Think of the implications…
A leader who’s concern for the helpless and powerless in our society would be a priority – and I don’t just mean that Centrelink would get more money.
A leader who would shun publicity and self promotion.
A leader who was committed to true justice, to moral purity, to holiness, who exuded humility and compassion.
A leader, a King with all the opposite character and agenda to most of today’s leaders – including the ones that we actually support.
Now I realise that is an entirely hypothetical and unrealistic question.
But you know what?
I don’t think we would want Him.
Why?
Because as he stands for all those values and qualities, he lives them out as the ultimate role model. And so, He would expect us to live that way too.
He would expect us to embrace the same values, have the same priorities, consider the same issues important, and to live them out.
And you see, we might stand around and say we want our leaders to be like this or that, but I’m not sure we’re ready for the King who exceeds those expectations, but who demands the same standards from ourselves.
It’s been said that many Christians who have discovered salvation through “cheap grace”.
But that’s exactly what the challenge to follow Jesus means..
Years after these events in Matthew 12, Paul wrote these words of encouragement to a young group of Christians in the town of Colossae:
“So then, just as you received Christ Jesus as Lord, continue to live in him, rooted and built up in him, strengthened in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.” Colossians 2:6-7
There is a powerful sense that Paul is calling Christians to stand with Jesus and to model our lives and values very closely on His.
So unless we are to be guilty of the same error the Jewish leaders made, we must think through very carefully what the implications of being identified as belonging to Jesus means.
It’s wonderful to consider what the Servant King has done for us, and to even sing about it!
It’s another thing altogether to take the challenge of living like him, of seeing the Servant King as a blueprint for our own lives - but that’s what growing as a Christian is all about - growing to be more and more like Jesus.
At different times in our church meetings, we will read snippets from 1 John, but listen to these words from 1 John 2:
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. 4 The man who says, "I know him," but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But if anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: 6 Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:1-6
Jesus is more than just a role model for us. He was the living, breathing, servant King who overturned the world’s ideas of how they should live, and made it very clear that his followers should grow into living that way too.
Let’s pray that becomes more and more true of us….
