4 February 2018
Dear Phyllis,
Last
week I began a series on the character of Christ. I am totally
convinced that the four living creatures before the Throne as seen by
Isaiah, Ezekiel, and John are the image of the character of Christ that
we see in the presentation of Christ in the four gospels. The LION, the
OX, the MAN, and the EAGLE clearly represent the KING, SERVANT, MAN, and
GOD. This is exactly what we see in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I
see things but I don't understand them, and I can scarcely describe what
I see. What we have here are two twos that are opposite – the King and
Servant, and Man and God. Very clearly this is Christ. He is both King
and Servant, and Man and God. I see this and know it is true, but I am
utterly incapable to explain it. I know that God made man in His own
image, but sin destroyed that image. Four thousand years later the earth
was visited by another Man who was the perfect image of God, and the
Lord intends that we should bear that image. Or in other words, we should be like Christ.
Last
week we considered that Matthew presents Christ as King. It is amazing
that more than any other gospel, in Mark, we see Jesus as the Servant.
Mark is by far the shortest gospel but in Mark we see more detail than
in the other gospels. Kings are concerned with the big picture, servants
take care of the detail. Servants are the ones who make sure the tables
are all set properly. Both Matthew and Luke discuss the temptation in
the wilderness but only Mark mentions that Jesus was there with the wild
beasts (Mk. 1:13). Both Matthew and Mark cover the incident of a storm
at sea but only Mark inserts, “also with Him other little ships” (Mk.
4:36). These are little details that only the servants cover. (I got all
this from Dave Lanum who was the greatest Bible scholar I ever met.)
But
regardless of which gospel record we read, the basic character of
Christ as having the heart of a servant comes out conspicuously. Here we
have a glaring an example of the Inverted Kingdom where the laws of the
Kingdom of God are reversed from natural laws of the world. More than
that, here again we see contradictions co-existing. Here we have the
King is the Servant.
This
was never more clearly demonstrated than at the Last Supper before the
crucifixion. The disciples had gone ahead and prepares everything
necessary for that last supper. But one embarrassing detail had been
left uncovered. For an occasion like this it was necessary that someone
wash the feet of the guests. This, of course, was the bottom task
relegated to the lowest servant. Everyone was seated but no one had had
their feet washed. The disciples were probably looking at each other
suggesting that the other guy should do it. When no one volunteered,
Jesus stood up, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around himself as the
lowest servant, and washed the disciples feet. You can't get much lower
than that.
Thailand
is probably the most monarch sensitive country in the world. As an
American it was a shock to me to see the extreme respect the entire
country has for its king. If the king of Thailand ever held a door for a
lessor dignitary it would be the event of the century. But for the king
of Thailand to take his robe off to wash the feet of others, that would
burn the fuse box out of every social minded person in Thailand. Only
the lowest servant would do this.
Jesus
was every inch a King. And yet the most descriptive word we have for
Him is, “He had the heart of a servant”. Of the many different types of
Christ we see in the OT, Joseph is unchallenged as the closets to
Christ. He was sold by his brethren for 20 coins. He was lied about and
sent to prison. He was promoted from prison to being the number two man
in the country. He started his ministry when he was 30. He was the
quintessential model of a forgiving spirit, and he took care of his
brothers. Joseph is the closet model of Christ we have in the Bible. If
there is one word to describe Joseph it would be “servant”. His entire
life was devoted to serving. The first view we have of Joseph is where
he was feeding his fathers flock (Gen. 37:2). The next view that we have
of Joseph is in Potiphar's house where it is recorded that “he served”
(Gen.39:4). Even when we was in prison the scripture says that “he
served” (Gen. 40:4). The Bible does not use the word serve in connection
to his job as Prime Minister but that was clearly what he was doing
administratively. He provided for his family when they came to Egypt,
and even after his father died he committed himself to taking care of
his brothers. More than any other person in the Bible Joseph was a
servant and that is why he was the most like Christ.
It
is ironic that the most dominant characteristic that we see of the 12
disciples while following Christ was disputing among themselves who was
going to be top man (Mk. 10:35-41). It is sad that even the Last Supper
was marred by that dispute (Lk. 22:24). On more occasions than one Jesus
warned them that in His Kingdom the system was different. He said the
top man must be the servant. And to emphasize that Jesus said, “I came
not to be ministered unto (served), but to minister (serve) (Mk. 10:45).
Every motion we see in the life of Christ was that of a servant. On two
occasions when there was a large group of people who had come a long
ways to hear Him, He was concerned about feeding them – the 5,000
(probably more than 15,000) and 4,000 (Mk. 6:34-44; 8:1-9). When Jesus
calls Himself the Good Shepherd, what He is doing is pointing to His
ministry as a servant. And even when nailed to the Cross His first three
utterances were directed to the needs of others – concerning those who
nailed Him, the thief, and His mother (Lk. 23:34, 43; Jn. 19:26,27).
It
should be self-evident that anyone who claims to be filled with the
Spirit of Christ should manifest the same Spirit of Christ – that of a
servant. But I find it odd that many of those who are the most vocal
about being Spirit filled, what they display is anything but that of a
servant. Even after Jesus clearly told us on several occasions that if a
man wants to be on top he must take the low position (Mk. 9:35;
10:42-44); of the many mission leaders and big men in Christianity that I
have met there is only one man that stands out as truly being a
servant. That is Neil Verwey. Neil was absolutely unique. He told me
that in the early days of Japan Mission – before cars were available –
he always rode the junkiest bicycle in the mission. When we were
building the Joy Corral, he told me it was so hot in his bedroom that he
couldn't sleep until 1:00 AM but he would not put air conditioning in
his own bedroom until everyone in JM had air conditioning in theirs.
When it came to 3:00 PM for afternoon tea, you couldn't beat Neil to the
kitchen to fix tea. He would always walk around the room pouring tea
for everyone there. And it was impossible to beat Neil to washing the
dishes. This was not a display. This was who he was. There was no one in
Japan Mission who was a greater servant to do the lowest job than Neil
Verwey.
It
causes me intense grief to write on this subject – that Jesus is the
Servant. Lord, no, No, NO!!! Jesus is not the servant! Jesus is KING!!!
Jesus is Lord!!! Let everyone prostrate flat before Him. Had I been with
the disciples in the Upper Room the night of the Last Supper I would
have been far more vocal than Peter when he balked at having Jesus wash
His feet (Jn. 13:6-9). I don't know what I would have done. Crawl under
the table? I can't endure the thought of Jesus giving me His chair or
washing my feet.
I
find it utter insanity that most of the Christian world considers Jesus
as an ATM machine or that His main job in heaven is to serve them to
keep them supplied and happy. And they get bent out of shape when things
go against them. When 9-11 happened, the cry went up, “Where was God?”.
The better question that should be asked is, “Why should He help us?”.
If any country has thumbed its nose at God and shown Him to the door it
is America. And the rank an file of many Christians are not much better
in expecting Jesus to serve them.
I'm
out of time and space, and I haven't even mentioned the main subject.
It is one thing to think of Jesus as the Servant, but it is a totally
different subject when we realize that He also is the sacrificial Lamb;
who took our place, traded garments with me (Zech. 3:1-5; 2 Cor. 5:21),
and died in my place.
What can I say? I'm sorry. There are no words. All I can do is hang my head and weep.
bill
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