When you think of a heroic leader who
and what comes to mind? Perhaps you think of military hero like Eisenhower or Stonewall
Jackson. Perhaps you think of a political leader like Lincoln or Roosevelt or
Churchill or Mandela or even Gandhi. When people in the ancient world thought
of heroic leaders, rulers and kings they often thought of Alexander the Great
(356–323 bc). At the age of 20 he
succeeded his father Philip to the throne of Macedonia, quickly made himself ruler
of all Greece, and then set about the task of conquering the whole world. To
him this seemed like a reasonable and achievable goal. He died at the age of 33
and had conquered most of the known world. He was regarded by many as divine
and he had suggested such himself.
In the Roman
world they looked at emperor Augustus as a similar figure. He had put an end to
the long-running Roman civil war and had brought peace to the whole known
world. It wasn’t long before many grateful subjects came to regard him, too, as
divine. They saw his military and organizational abilities and believed him to
be divine. The cult of the emperor was born and was carried on by those that
followed Alexander.
With that in
mind consider how much of the world would have looked upon Jesus. Jesus was the
opposite of what many looked for in a heroic leader. As we consider the words
of Philippians 2 we see a reality that is vastly different than the caricature
of world sovereignty portrayed by Alexander and Augustus. Read the words
of Mark 10:42–45 to see the stark contrast.
It should not surprise
us that Alexander and Augustus and many after them (to North Korea today for
instance) would seek to be divine. In Genesis 3 we see Adam and Eve trying to
do the same thing, they arrogantly grasped at the chance to be ‘like God,
knowing good and evil’?
The poem Paul
now places here, at the heart of this letter, is so profoundly concise. It
gives a new definition of greatness and of what it means to be the people of
God in a mighty way. Greatness does not
come by trying to be God, but by submitting to God. Greatness is not about
Lording over others, rather greatness is achieved through humility and being a servant.
This was and is very countercultural, it changes everything doesn’t it.
We see a picture
of God in Christ that is profoundly different than that of the Father. We see
that the Lord Jesus was willing to abandons his rights for the sake of sinners
like you and me. If this does not bring us to our knees we do not understand
it. We too are to follow the example of Jesus with the “mind of Christ” because
we belong to Christ. If we are living in Him and by His example with the power
and leading the Spirit it sets the pattern for our whole life and no doubt
redefines greatness and our own aspirations.
Just a few
thoughts that I left out of the sermon from this past week, there is never
enough time on Sunday mornings.
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