Who do you think of as great?
Churchill leading Britain through WWII, Napoleon sweeping all before him or one of the Caesars ruling the known world? But what makes them great?
We see them as supremely successful, dominating the world in which they lived. They had great power, commanding thousands of men and anyone thwarting their purposes was crushed. But what does God think of as greatness?
Jesus is the Messiah. He's the promised king of the Jews who is to reign over the nations. But when He's heading up to Jerusalem with His disciples, He says that He going there to be handed over to the Romans to be crucified.
“We are going up to Jerusalem,” he said, “and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death and will hand him over to the Gentiles, who will mock him and spit on him, flog him and kill him. Three days later he will rise.” Mark 10:33-34
That doesn't make sense. The great king of the Jews being humiliated on a cross?
But the problem is our view of greatness. Jesus says
“You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority 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. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.” Mark 10:42-45
Sacrificial love is the measure of greatness.
Making yourself nothing for the sake of everyone else. Doing the dishes, cleaning the toilets, picking up litter and doing all the jobs that people hate, not for the praise you'll get, but because you consider others more important than you. That's what counts.
So why is Jesus going to Jerusalem? He going to die. For us. Why did He leave the unimaginable splendour of His throne in Heaven and live a tough life in Israel? To set us free. You may not agree that Jesus needed to die for you. But just savour the picture the Bible presents us with. The Word of God who made you, left all His majesty and honour, to die for you. On a terrible cross. He didn't command great armies. Or rule a nation. He wandered through Palestine healing the sick and teaching people. All with the aim of going to Jerusalem to die. Doesn't such self-giving love make your heart sing? And turn all our other views of greatness upsidedown?
