While I was in college I worked the graveyard shift at the local Holiday Inn in Muscle Shoals, Alabama as a night auditor. Now, this particular Holiday Inn was not your typical, run of the mill Holiday Inn…because we didn’t have your typical, run of the mill guests.
You see, on a regular basis famous recording stars stayed in our motel. We even had a special suite of rooms set aside for these musical celebrities. It had king size beds, walls lined with signed photographs of all the stars who had stayed there and a huge bathroom equipped with a Jacuzzi-which was a much bigger deal back in the early ’70’s than it is today.
All these singers stayed with us because that northwestern region of Alabama was, and I guess still is, well-known for its recording studios which put out the famous, Muscle Shoals sound.
During my four years there I met people like: James Taylor, Paul Simon, Art Garfunkel, and Cat Stevens. The Carpenters, the Doobie Brothers, and the members of Chicago also stayed there even though I wasn’t on duty when they checked in.
When I first started working at this unique motel and heard of the caliber of people who regularly resided there, I was very excited. I could hardly wait to meet these stars-these musical legends. But you know, after I did actually meet a few of them it quickly ceased to be such a big deal for me because when I met all these celebrities, I found them to be pretty much normal people. Their pants may have been more expensive than mine but they still put them on one leg at a time!
There was very little about them that was all that special. I mean they rarely gave good tips for room service. When they left they took they towels just like so many other guests. They even complained about their room. So, over the years checking them in became just like checking anyone else in. And I guess I didn’t expect this because there’s this wide-spread belief that FAMOUS people are extra-ordinary people…SUPER people…bigger and somehow better than the rest of us. But that’s just not true. All people, even world-renowned people, are still just people. They have problems and fears-and even FLAWS-just like you and I do.
And the same could be said of those FAMOUS twelve men who first followed Jesus Christ. They didn’t have halos floating over their heads. They didn’t go around looking PIOUS, as some artists portray them. No, they were just normal imperfect human beings like you and me. This is certainly true of the next two disciples I want us to examine. James and John, brothers and fishermen, were the third and fourth to follow Jesus. Along with Peter, they made up Jesus’ inner circle. Scripture records that our Lord took them places and told them things that He never did the others. They were singled-out from the rest of the 12. James and John are mentioned frequently in the New Testament. They were always where the action was….but unfortunately this was because, usually they were the ones causing the action.
1. Sometimes this was due to the fact that, like many of us, James and John had trouble controlling their temper.
We see this in Luke chapter 9 which tells of a time Jesus was heading toward Jerusalem. The most direct route would have been through Samaria so He sent messengers ahead to a village to arrange a place for them to stay over night. But the people who lived there said they would not welcome Jesus. When this report was given, James and John quickly stepped forward and said,
Lord do you want us to call fire down from heaven and destroy them [even as Elijah did]?
Luke 9:54 .
I think it was this particular outburst that gave these brothers their nickname because it seems that from then on Jesus referred to them as the sons of thunder. Well, when they asked permission to nuke this Samaritan village Jesus rebuked them and no doubt reminded them that He had come to heal and transform people….not to attack and destroy.
It is interesting to read this incident in Luke 9 and then skip forward to Acts chapter 8 where it says that after Jesus’ ascension Christianity began to spread through the villages of Samaria. And when this happened, Peter and John were sent by the church in Jerusalem to minister to all these new believers. Well, can you imagine how John…now much more mature in his walk with Christ….can you imagine how he felt when he came to that village full of new Christians, a place that years earlier his temper had made him want to destroy!?
2. Another one of James’ and John’s imperfections is seen in the fact that they had tongue troubles.
I mean, like many of us, they were always shooting their mouths off without taking careful aim. Time after time they ignored basic common sense and thundered before they thought. A good example of this is seen in Mark 9 when John told Jesus of a time that he and his brother found a man casting out demons in Jesus’ name. They warned this man to stop since he wasn’t one of the twelve and condemned him because in their opinion he was operating in the Master’s name without a license. Once again Jesus had to rebuke these two, reminding them that the Good News of the Gospel is not copyrighted…and that as disciples, …whoever is not against us is for us.
And then, the Bible shows that James and John had one other flaw…
3. They had a pride problem.
In Mark chapter 10 verses 35-45, we read of a time when these two brothers again elbowed their way into the limelight. Take your Bibles and let’s read of it together:
35 – Then James and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to Him. Teacher, they said, we want You to do for us whatever we ask.
36 – What do you want Me to do for you? He asked.
37 – They replied, Let one of us sit at Your right and the other at your left in glory.
38 – You don’t know what you are asking, Jesus said. Can you drink the cup I drink or be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with?
39 – We can, they answered. Jesus said to them, You will drink the cup I drink and be baptized with the baptism I am baptized with,
40 – but to sit at My right or left is not for Me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared.
41 – When the ten heard about this, they became indignant with James and John.
42 – Jesus called them together and said, You know that those who are regarded as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
43 – Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
44 – and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.
45 – 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.
Now, in this text James and John came to Jesus and pridefully treated Him as you would a genie in a bottle, asking Him to grant them one wish. When Jesus asked what they wanted, they proceeded to put in early bids for cabinet level positions, asking in essence to be vice-president and secretary of state in the new kingdom Jesus was about to set up.
Now, why would they do this? I mean just a short while earlier Jesus had rebuked all twelve disciples because they were arguing over who was the greatest. In Mark 9:35 we read that when this happened Jesus had sat them all down and said, Look, if anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the servant of all.
Well, why would James and John then presume to bring this up again?
a. One motive might have stemmed from the fact that they were half-cousins of Jesus.
Scripture teaches that their mother, Salome, was Mary’s sister. So maybe James and John made this lofty request because they thought their physical kinship gave them a special claim to a favored place in Jesus’ coming kingdom.
b. Another possible reason for their bold request may have been the fact that James and John were higher on the social ladder than the other disciples.
After all, their father owned a huge, successful fishing business. Scripture records that he was well-enough off to afford servants and hired men. So maybe the fact that their bank books were good and thick led James and John to feel that they were a cut above the rest of Jesus’ followers.
But whatever their motive, this time Jesus did NOT rebuke James and John. Instead He gave them a very sobering reply intended I think, to humble them into the awareness that they would, share in His AGONY before they would share in His GLORY.
But James and John didn’t realize what Jesus meant. So, when He asked them if they were willing to drink from His cup… or share His fate…they said, Sure! Then Jesus went on to say two very important things.
c. In verse 39 He said they would indeed share in His coming suffering.
And they would. James, the older of the two, would be the FIRST disciple to die for his faith, beheaded by Herod in 44A.D. John would eventually be exiled to years of hard labor on the Isle of Patmos and then ironically he would be the LAST disciple to die…of old age.
Now, as I said, I don’t think these two grasped this when Jesus said it but He was reminding them of the COST of discipleship. Following Jesus does not insure fame and fortune. No, it often involves pain and sacrifice on this side of eternity.
When Sir Ernest Shakelton sought personnel in 1900 for his expedition to explore the South Pole, he ran the following advertisement in the London Times. Men wanted for hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful. Honor and recognition in case of success. Well, similarly, Jesus did not invite His followers to any picnic. Rather He said, If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for Me will find it. (Matthew 16:24-25 )
Well, then Jesus went on to tell James and John a second thing. He said that when it came to leadership in His kingdom they had things upside down, that in His kingdom SERVING…not BEING served…would be valued. And this is a lesson we need to learn today for we also have a problem with pride. Just like James and John we tend to selfishly GRAB rather than GIVE. Most people in our culture think the way UP is UP…the way to GAIN is to GET. But with Jesus things are reversed…GIVING is important…ministering to others is cherished. According to our Lord’s way of thinking, greatness is not a measure of self-will but self-abandonment. Kenneth Leech writes, Christian spirituality is the spirituality of the Poor Man of Nazareth Who took upon Himself the form of a Servant. To follow the way of the Kingdom is therefore to follow Him Who fed the hungry, healed the sick, befriended the outcast, and blessed the peacemakers.
And James and John eventually learned to practice this TRUE Christian spirituality. The rest of their lives they served. They focused on the needs around them. Tradition says that James traveled to Spain and after twelve years of founding churches he returned to Jerusalem to serve the church there. John not only went on to write the five New Testament books that bear his name. He also served for many years as a missionary along the coast of Asia Minor basing his ministry to the hungry and the sick and the outcast in the church at Ephesus. These flawed men BECAME wonderful….powerful servants in Jesus’ kingdom.
This week I read a story in MOODY magazine written by John Trent that tells of a Christian by the name of Albert Lexie who has also obviously learned this important discipleship lesson. Albert is moderately retarded…limited in his ability to learn…but not in his ability to give love. To make a living Albert shines shoes. I think of him as sort of a modern-day full-time foot washer. One day Albert heard of Children’s Hospital in Pittsburgh and of the needs of many of the children there whose families cannot afford to pay for their treatment. The minute Albert heard this he changed into his best clothes, went down to his bank and withdrew the entire $750 he had in savings. Then he took it to the hospital and gave it to help these children. That was 20 years ago. Since then Albert has given every cent of his tips to this same cause. Shoe by shoe, tip by tip, year by year, since 1981 he has given over $44,000 to serve the needs of these hurting children. Because of this he has been written up in local papers and even Reader’s Digest. He was awarded the prestigious Jefferson Award for Public service. But he never mentions these things-he just keeps shining shoes-because his life is not about being a celebrity. It’s about being a servant. If you were to ask Albert why he does this he would tell you it is because of what Jesus has done for him. The cross of Christ motivates him to get on his knees day after day and SHINE SOMEONE ELSE’S LIFE…one shoe at a time. And that same cross should motivate you and me to minister to the needy around us…
As Christians we should live every day not to be served but to serve others. Then when our lives end, God will welcome us to heaven saying, Well done thou good and faithful…SERVANT.
Now, being a servant — GIVING to meet the needs of others — is a difficult thing. It is contrary to our nature because we humans are so oriented to GETTING, even from the beginning of life. Bill Hybels writes: When you were just a newborn infant, like all babies you came out with your hands closed. And every time somebody put their little finger by yours, you would wrap your hand around it, hold on tight, and not let go. As a toddler…you started grabbing rattles and little toys. When another kid came in your direction and wanted to take them away from you, you said, MINE! and held on tight. When you were in Junior High School, you hung on tightly to bicycle handlebars and batons and other things. In High School you hung on to the hand of Betty Lou, and you were not about to let that go. In college you hung on to a lot of different stuff…maybe some stuff we don’t even want to mention here but when you left, you were clutching a diploma in your hands. When you started a career, you grabbed the lowest rung on the ladder and hung on. Then you reached for the second one and you hung on, and then the next one and the next. Since then you have been climbing ladders, clutching rungs.
Someday retirement will come and you’ll hang on to golf clubs or gardening tools, pension funds, and social security. When you near the end of your life, you will start hanging on to canes and walkers. And then do you know what happens to some people in the final moments of their life? They clutch the edge of a hospital bed. They hang on tightly as if to life itself. And then…when they die, only then do they finally relax their grip.
Like James and John, by nature you and I are prideful clutchers. We scrape and claw and work and fret, and if we get ahead just a bit, we hold on. It doesn’t matter who or what tries to convince us to relax our grip.We have a reflexive response when it comes to giving up something that is dear to us that says, No way…not for him, not for her, not even for God. For most of us, clutching is like breathing…it just comes naturally.
But, think about it. What a difference there is between our hands and the hands of God. In Creation, God lavishly formed and fashioned with His hands. He created that which was good….very good. And then He opened up His hands. He gave His creation to those He created as a gift to be cared for and enjoyed. Throughout the history of God’s people, God opened His hands and generously provided them with food, drink, and protection, and blessing, and love. In Psalm 145:6 it says that God …opened His hand to satisfy the desires of every living thing. And this has never changed. God’s kindness and generosity continues today. As the prophet Jeremiah proclaimed, …God’s compassion never fails. They are new every morning; great is His faithfulness. (Lamentations 3:22-23 ) You see, bound up in the very heart of God is the desire to shower His children with goodness. And this is most clearly seen when God became flesh. When Jesus came and saw the needs of people, He opened HIS hands and served. He taught, healed, touched, loved, fed, and freed. And the greatest example of God’s open hand policy came when His only Son opened His hands so that they could be nailed to a cruel cross as a sin payment for us all. As Jesus told James and John, Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many. We remind ourselves of this powerful truth today through the observance of Lord’s Supper. As we do let me invite all Christians present to partake with us. Even if you are not a member of this church….If you are a Christian…if you are His, this is Yours.
THE OBSERVANCE OF THE LORD’S SUPPER
Well, what about you? I mean, how are you doing at practicing servanthood? Let me put it as Albert Lexie might, and ask: Whose shoes need shining in your world? Perhaps it’s some toddler-size shoes…a child you know who needs your time and attention. Perhaps the owner of those little shoes needs you to quit being so distracted with work or maintaining a perfectly kept house and instead be there for him or her with your whole heart and mind and attention. Or, perhaps the shoes that need your attention are some teenager’s scruffy Nike’s that would shine up a bit if you offered to be a mentor for him or maybe you know of an old pair of slippers that have been longing for a home visit from someone. Perhaps it’s a tired and lonely widow whose shoes need buffing with your words of continued encouragement. I think shining shoes is a wonderful metaphor for Christlike servanthood. Don’t you?
You see, celebrities don’t get down on their knees to shine shoes, but servants do. Celebrities don’t focus on making other people look better to the world, but servants do. So I ask again: Whose shoes need shining in our world today?