240317 Sermon on greatness in the Kingdom of God (Lent 5) March 17, 2024

 Audio recording

Sermon manuscript:

People want to be the greatest because being the greatest is
a lot of fun. It is fun to be the best at a sport. It is fun to be the best at
an activity. Jesus’s disciples, James and John, wanted to be the greatest. That
is what they are driving at when they say to Jesus: “Let
us sit in your glory. One of us can be on your left and the other can be on
your right.” Jesus did not rebuke them. He gently says, “You do not know what you are asking.”

James and John didn’t know what they were asking because glory
in God’s kingdom is strange. It doesn’t operate by the same rules that make for
greatness in this earthly life. The rules for greatness in this life are well
known: Work hard, practice, prepare, set goals, and so on. If you follow these
rules, and if you have been given the prerequisite genetics and talents, then
you too might achieve greatness.

Greatness in God’s kingdom operates by the rules that are
seen especially in Jesus. Jesus asked James and John: “Are
you able to drink the cup that I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with
which I am baptized?” The cup that Jesus speaks about is the cup of
suffering. On the night when Jesus was betrayed he prayed to his Father three
times that he be spared the cup of suffering that was coming upon him. The
baptism with which Jesus was about to be baptized was the baptism of blood on
the cross. Jesus would be smeared with it, dying like a criminal in disgrace.
Greatness in God’s kingdom involves suffering and being regarded as the least.

Why are suffering and being regarded as the least the rules,
so to speak, for greatness in God’s Kingdom? Here, again, we must think about
Jesus. Why did he suffer? Why was he regarded as the least?

There are perhaps several reasons for that. I would like to offer
three. The first reason why Jesus suffered was because of evil-doers who wanted
to continue with their evil-doing. Jesus annoyed them because he would speak
against them. They wanted everyone to think that they were fine, upstanding
people. Jesus, however, knew the truth and spoke the truth. They weren’t fine
upstanding people. They were liars, hypocrites, hungry for power, honors, and money.
Like whitewashed tombs, they kept themselves looking respectable on the outside
but inside they were full of death and uncleanness.

Jesus could have kept his mouth shut. If he would have left
them in peace, they would have left him in peace. In fact, things would have
gone much differently for Jesus. They would have given him promotions and
honors. They would have hailed him as a great preacher with a pastoral heart.
But then Jesus would have become a snake just like them. He would no longer be
a reliable guide, teaching people how they may attain eternal life.

Which brings us to the second reason why it was necessary
for Jesus to suffer and be regarded as the least: He believed. He believed in
the power of the Word of God to change people’s hearts. He wasn’t a cynic. He
didn’t assume that things are how they are and have to remain the same. If it
was impossible for sinners to repent—to change their ways, to turn from evil to
righteousness—then there certainly would be no point in the Son of God suffering
and dying. If it were impossible for people to change, then people should be
left to follow whichever course suits their fancy. The Word of God should die
out, and perhaps be replaced by more modern methods of education and
inspiration that help people achieve their earthly goals. But Jesus continued
to believe that the Word of God would do what God wanted to achieve when he
causes it to be spoken.

The third and final reason I’d like to offer for why Jesus
suffered is love. Jesus loves us. He’s a lover who goes after his beloved. Jesus
pursues us. He says, “Don’t stay off on your own, doing your own thing. Be with
me. I want to be with you, and I want you to be with me.” And the amazing
thing, of course, is that we are evil-doers, and yet Jesus wants to be with us.
Jesus isn’t disgusted by all our disgustingness. He truly loves us, and wants us
to be together with him and with God eternally.

This is where Jesus’s cross especially comes in. The cross is
how we were redeemed and separated from our sin. The cross is how we have died with
Christ to sin. Paul says, “I have been crucified with
Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me.” The
cross makes what should be impossible to be possible. It should be impossible
for evildoers to live happily with the holy God. However, we have been
crucified with Christ. It is no longer we who live, but Christ who lives in us.
If we have died and it is Christ who lives in us, then it is no longer merely
possible to live with God, it’s the way it should be! We belong together.

These reasons show how Jesus’s suffering and cross are
awesome. To be sure, it is a hidden awesomeness. When Jesus drinks the cup and
is baptized with blood he looks terrible. He looks poor, weak, and utterly
defeated. What is really going on, however, is that he is rewriting the rules.

Among the rules that are rewritten are the rules for
greatness. Greatness is otherwise achieved by killing, crushing, lying,
stealing, and, in general, using every resource—including human resources—to
their fullest. Chew everyone up until you’re done with them. Then spit them out
and move on to the next one. There is no other way for anyone to accumulate the
powers that the greatest of this world have amassed for themselves. They
achieve what they achieve by taking advantage of others, and making sure that
they are never taken advantage of.

They believe that they are great because everyone tells them
they are great. They believe they will always be remembered because they’ve
been in the news. However, how small their victories really are! How fleeting their
memories! They achieve nothing that lasts.

Contrast them with what you and I have been given. You and I
have the Gospel, the good news that Jesus is king. The Gospel connects sad and
helpless sinners to almighty God, making them righteous by the forgiveness of
sins. You have been given this Gospel. In that way you are no different than
the apostles James and John. James and John believed the good news. You believe
the good news too. Because James and John believed the good news, they spoke it
to others. You should do that too if you believe it. You don’t have to be an
apostle or a pastor or a professional church worker to do that. The Gospel is
no less effective coming from you than it is coming from me. The Gospel does
what it says.

This is an encouragement to evangelize. You’ve probably
heard about evangelism many times over the years. What you don’t hear as often
is how you are called to suffer and to be regarded as the least while you are
doing your evangelism. Here, again, you are like James and John. You have the
very same Gospel as they. You have the very same cross. Jesus first asked them
if they were able, then he flat out told them: “You
will drink the cup that I drink. You will be baptized with the baptism that I
am baptized with.” Those words apply to all true preaching of the
Gospel. The cross is our banner. It is our battle standard. It is how we can
recognize true preaching from false preaching. If we preach what is true, then
we will suffer and be regarded as the least just as it was with Jesus, James,
and John.

The reasons why we will suffer and be regarded as the least
are the same reasons Jesus suffered and was regarded as the least. We have
evil-doers today who want to go on doing evil, and they don’t want anyone to
say anything about it. They don’t want to be disturbed. God’s Law, which we are
to speak just as forcefully as Jesus ever spoke it, disturbs them.

We will suffer and be regarded as the least because we have
faith in the working of God’s Word. We won’t give up speaking God’s Word even
if the whole world should declare that it is no longer relevant, helpful, or
powerful. God’s Word converted us, and so we will speak it.

Finally we will suffer and be regarded as the least because of
love. We will pursue our fellow sinner whom we love, even if it makes us look
like a fool. We will talk to them even when we don’t know what to say. We’ll
get turned down, which hurts. We’ll be regarded as the least—like that poor,
ugly, awkward guy whom the girls laugh at.

If our mission and James and John’s mission involves such
suffering and humiliation, then why should we ever do it? The answer is glory.
We should say, along with James and John: “Jesus, let us be seated with you in
your glory.” Jesus’s glory is that good! That’s why James and John wanted it.
That’s why we should want it too.

The writer to the Hebrews agrees. He says: “Look to Jesus, the founder and perfector of our faith, who,
for the joy that was set before him, endured the cross, despising the shame, and
now he is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Don’t be
afraid of suffering or humiliation. These powers can look so daunting and
intimidating. Jesus is victorious over all things. Whatever suffering or setbacks
or hardships we experience are so very temporary. Jesus is forever.