Servant And King

Jesus The King He is the image of the invisible God, the First - born of all creation. For all things were created in Him, the things in the heavens, and the things on the earth, the visible and the invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created through Him and for Him. And He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together The apostle Paul, letter to the church at Colosse, The Bible

Jesus The King All things came into being through Him, and without Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. The disiciple John, The Bible

Looking Up

The Slave King He had equal status with God but didn ' t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what. Not at all. When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human! Having become human, he stayed human. It was an incredibly humbling process. He didn’t claim special privileges. Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that : a crucifixion.

The Cross - life

The most radical social teaching of Jesus was the total reversal of the contemporary notion of greatness. Leadership is found in becoming the servant of all. Power is discovered in submission. The foremost symbol of this radical servanthood is the cross. But note this: Christ not only died the “cross-death”, he lived a “cross-life”. The way of the cross, the way of the suffering servant was essential to his teaching. Jesus lived the cross - life in submission to all human beings. He was the servant of all.

He flatly rejected the cultural givens of positions and power when He said to his disciples – “ You are not to be called Rabbi…Neither be called masters”. Jesus shattered the customs of his day by taking women seriously and by willing to meet children. He lived a cross - life when he took a towel and washed the feet of his disciples. This Jesus who easily could have called a legion of angels to his aid, chose instead the cross - death of Calvary. Jesus’ life was the cross - life of submission and service. Jesus’ death was the cross - death of conquest by suffering.

It is impossible to overstate the revolutionary character of this teaching. It did away with all claims to privileged position and status. It called into being a whole new order of leadership. The cross - life of Jesus undermined all social orders based on power and self - interest……… The cross - life is the life of voluntary submission. The cross - life is the life of freely accepted servanthood. Richard Foster – Celebration of Discipline

The Cross - life brings freedom