Servant Leadership

Our church is doing a series of sermons about the lives of James and John, ‘the sons of thunder’, and what we can learn from them. We have been thinking about their early call to follow Jesus, go and live with Him and be His closest disciples (together with Peter). They were alongside Jesus as He raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead, and when He was transfigured on the mountain, and they saw His divinity clearly and were told to keep it quiet.

Then Jesus delegated His own power and authority to His twelve disciples. ‘And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases, and he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal’ (Luke 9:1-2). After they had done their first mission trip, they had reported back about the amazing miracles which had taken place. So perhaps we can understand how angry James and John were when Jesus was rejected in a Samaritan village. They asked Jesus whether they were to call God`s fire of judgment down as a punishment. But Jesus rebuked and corrected them. He told them His purpose was to save people, not to destroy them. He was on His way to Jerusalem, where He would die for the sins of the whole world. His power and authority were only to be used in ways which were within God’s kingdom purposes.

Shortly after that, James and John asked whether they could be granted the most important leadership positions when Jesus began His Kingdom rule. ‘“Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, “What do you want?” She said to him, “Say that these two sons of mine are to sit, one at your right hand and one at your left, in your kingdom”’ (Matthew 20:20-21).

Jesus then gently taught all His disciples that leadership in His Kingdom was rather different from that in the world. It involved putting others’ needs before their own and even suffering. ‘But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many”’ (Matthew 20:25-28).

After Jesus had died on the cross, been resurrected from the dead, and ascended to heaven, James and John were filled with the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost and went on to be in servant leadership. James suffered death at the hands of King Herod (Acts 12:1-3), but John wrote his gospel account of Jesus and his letters to the Church, teaching us about so much about living in God`s kingdom, obeying Jesus’ teaching, and loving one another.

It has often been said, “God is interested in who you are and your character even more than what you do for Him.” No matter what role God calls us to, whether it is one of prominent, public leadership or of influence in a small circle of people, He wants us to follow the example of Jesus by putting the needs of others above our own.