JESUS AS A SERVANT

From the Long Beach church of Christ
Long Beach, Mississippi
www.lbcoc.com

We continue this morning in a series about Jesus and his personality. Philippians 2:5 tells us that we are to have the same mind as Jesus. Colossians 3:9-10 says "do not lie to each other since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator." We all know that Jesus is our example… that we are to imitate him. One of the popular catch phrases in the religious world today of Christianity is to ask the question "What would Jesus do?" At camp this year we went beyond that question and stated that we must not only ask "What would Jesus do?" but "Do what Jesus did." It's difficult to imitate that which we do not know.

I believe much of the confusion and division in the church today is a result of people not knowing Jesus. They know he's the Son of God, they know he died on the cross, they know he rose from the dead…But they don't know the man… what made him tick, what he was like…People have been taught and formed an image in their mind of Jesus that is unrealistic. They've made him to be less than a man when in fact that's exactly what he was. Hebrews 4:15 says "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are…yet was without sin."

And Hebrews 2:14 says "since the children have flesh and blood, he too shared in their humanity so that by his death he might destroy him who holds the power of death…that is, the devil"

When the eternal Word became flesh and took on humanity, Jesus experienced all the ranges of emotion we experience. He became one of us and gave up so much in order to do so… being in the flesh he even had to communicate with His Father the same way we do… through prayer. From the time he was old enough he worked as a carpenter, learning the trade from Joseph his earthly father. He had brothers and sisters that he interacted with… he had aunts and uncles, grandparents, nieces and nephews and friends. When he smashed his fingers with a hammer, he hurt just like you and I would. But who was he?

Was he this mystical religious stiff… who could do magic? Did he like people, was he a recluse? In Luke 8 when Jesus calmed the storm, the disciple asked in amazement, "Who is this"…. In order for us to imitate Jesus and have the same mind he had, in order for us to paint an accurate picture of Jesus to others we must first know who he is. What he was like? What kind of person was he? 

A couple of weeks ago we looked at the personality of Jesus as a teacher. He used Humor, he was caring, he was patient. Today we will look at Jesus' personality as a Servant and a Savior.

AS A SERVANT:

1. UNSELFISH

A. we know that there are people who serve with impure motives. Either for recognition or reward or just so others will notice, but Jesus was compassionate, genuine, and unselfish. Jesus wasn't bothered by people who needed him to heal them. He had the ability to heal people of their illnesses. He didn't use this power for himself. In Matt. 9:35-36 "Jesus went through out all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and illness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd." Jesus was something so many of us need to be… Unselfish. One of the definitions of love in 1 Cor. 13 is that it is "not self seeking". Jesus used the power he had not for selfish reasons but for others. He never once used the power he had for his own benefit and he was genuinely compassionate. He honestly felt for the people he healed. He saw what sin had done to them… that is he knew that it was because of man's sin in the garden that these diseases were in the world more than anything man needed healing from the sickness of sin and he would unselfishly go to the cross to heal that sickness. He would give his blood to heal us. 

Just after the text in Mt. 9:35-36 he said in vss. 37-38… "Then he said to his disciples, 'the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of harvest, therefore, to send out workers into the harvest field." Jesus not only had compassion because of their physical illnesses, but he realized they needed spiritual healing as well. That's why he told the disciples…"the harvest is plentiful" and Jesus would provide the healing for the spiritual illness on the cross. In Mark 2 when the paralytic was brought to Jesus… Jesus wasn't ignoring the fact that the man was paralyzed but he recognized that the man, more than needing physical healing needed to have his sins forgiven…that was his greatest need. And so Jesus told him first…"Your sins are forgiven". The paralytic didn't complain at all….he didn't say "hey, what about my legs?" If Jesus had just healed their physical illnesses he would have been a great man. Jesus came to serve not to be served Mt. 20:28 "just as the son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. He never received a penny for healing anyone but he went beyond physical healing as a servant and gave his life unselfishly for spiritual healing.

B. but while on earth he was touched by those who came to him in need. How does it make you feel when you see a sick child or someone with a terminal illness? Do we think Jesus felt any differently? Was he without emotion? Was healing another sick person just another duty to fulfill, just another task to complete, just another patient to collect an office visit fee from? Oh I think not! I know not. When Jesus sent out his disciples in Matt. 10 to preach that the kingdom of heaven was at hand, he told them in vs. 8…"freely you've received, freely give." Imagine how it really might have been when Jesus healed people. That he was thrilled to see them renewed… to see a man with terminal, painful, leprosy who had become an outcast because of his disease be healed as we saw 2 weeks ago… Jesus was full of joy and I can just see him leaping for joy and laughing and rejoicing with the leper who was healed. Jesus wasn't afraid to get his hands dirty… he didn't put on the latex gloves….he could have healed the leper by just speaking a word but how long do you think it had been since this leper felt the touch of another human being and in Matt. 8:1-3. notice vs. 3… as soon as Jesus entered the next town an army officer came up to Jesus begging for help and Jesus said "I will go and heal your servant" to see a woman who had been sick for 12 years, who believed not only in the power of Jesus but also in his compassion… who said…"if I can only touch his cloak I will be healed." She crawled through the crowd and touched the hem of his garment…. and Jesus turned around and said "WHO TOUCHED ME?" "How dare you get your greasy grimy dirty disease ridden hands on my clothes…!!!!!!!"

Jesus wasn't like some arrogant snotty better than you are Movie Star… looking down at the common little people…bothered by their presence and constant hounding for an autograph… and this woman, she knew something about Jesus' personality to hear the compassionate words… "take heart daughter, your faith has healed you." Daughter? What more compassion can one have than that of a parent for a child? To see a young girl who had died… be given back her life. Jesus hated death, he wasn't big on funerals… in fact he broke up every funeral service he came across when he entered this grieving family's house, he restored the dead girl's life. When he encountered a funeral on the way to the graveyard, he brought the widow's son back to life. When he stood outside a dear friend's tomb, he brought him back from the dead. Jesus wasn't big on funerals… because he was in the business of undoing that which funerals represent. To Jesus death was the great enemy and it was His mission to conquer death. He conquered death by raising himself from the dead and Jesus will do the same for us one day who have participated in his death, burial, and resurrection. If this isn't compassion…. Then I don't know what is.

C. Jesus didn't come to earth to go through the motions. Jesus didn't have the attitude… "great another sick person… all they want is for me to heal them. Jesus was genuinely compassionate for those who were sick. That same Jesus is genuinely compassionate for the sick today… He is just as concerned about those with physical illnesses today as he was then. But even more, he is genuinely compassionate for those who are spiritually sick. Jesus is compassionate toward the single teenage mother who is where she is because of the sin that has taken its toll on her. Jesus is compassionate toward the person who has contracted aids because of their sinful lifestyle. Jesus is compassionate for the person trying to overcome the grips of alcoholism. Jesus is compassionate toward the elder, deacon, preacher, or any other Xtn who has sinned. 

"Come to me all who are weary and burdened, and I will 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." Matt. 11:28-29. Oh Jesus let us come to know you. Jesus is the servant with the compassionate personality…Learn from him. Jesus is saying "if you don't believe I can and will give you rest for your souls then you don't know my personality as a servant… "Learn from me…learn I am compassionate… and I will forgive you… regardless of what you've done". You're weary and burdened from the life of sin, I'll give you rest for your soul… I will heal you… believe it… learn this about my personality…it is who I am. Take heart daughter, take heart son, because of your faith in me, my grace has healed you.

Conclusion:

Oh what a wonderful, humorous, caring, patient teacher our Savior was and is. What a wonderful compassionate, unselfish servant our Savior was and is….

How well do you know Jesus? Is your perception of him that of "He could never forgive me," "all he wants to do is punish me for my sins," "my sins are so great why would he die for me?" 

Doubt… Satan's #1 tool. To doubt the love of God… to doubt the grace of God. Listen people… many of you are struggling … I know it … you know it. The great physician Jesus Christ, has given you a prescription for your disease. "Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved" Mark 16:15. Are you as stubborn as I am sometimes about following the Dr's orders? Don't take your medicine like you should and since you watch ER you think you know as much as your Dr.?
Jesus came to serve us… but his service to us is of little use if we ignore his directions and instructions. Jesus is here to serve you today. If you're sick with sin… he is ready to forgive you and heal you. If you're weary and burdened with problems… he's ready to put them on his shoulders. If you've never been buried with Christ for the forgiveness of sins, he 's ready to crucify the old man and raise you up completely new. Whatever your needs are, he's here to serve you 

Unselfishly

compassionately

Joyfully