“In the Beginning …”

Scripture: John 1:1-14

As we enter this season of Advent, it seemed appropriate that we should start at the Beginning. I mean the “real” beginning – the time when EVERYTHING began. At that Beginning, there was only God. There was no order, no substance, no joy, no pain, no hope, no reason to hope, no one to even have hope. There was only God, and Him alone.

It was God the Father, God the Son, and God the Spirit. Period. At that time, whatever time was then, God had a plan – he would make something new – he would call it “Creation”. But his Plan would be more than just creating and then stepping back – he would put his Plan into motion and it would continue to move and work as long as creation lasted.

Yes, he knew that there would be problems cropping up from time to time, but the Plan would care for that, too.

Read John 1:1-5

The beginning of John’s Gospel can almost be described as a Hymn of Praise. And why not! Throughout scripture, we read of songs being raised up to the Almighty – even in the laments of the Psalms we read of those who sang praises to God. So it is only right that this Book of Good News should begin with a hymn that is lifted up to the One and True Glory!

This hymn is a Christian praise, written, I believe, for the people of Israel. The Jews fully acknowledged that God had been since before the Beginning, but they had never seen God as Trinity – only as a solitary and singular Being. But John says that the One Being – the Father God – was not solitary, but that there was more to Him than was readily known.
Without actually mentioning the name of Jesus, he says that this other Person had been present before creation. Not that he alone was God, but that he was both part of God and, in the fullest sense, was God. He wasn’t an addendum to their God, he wasn’t a supplement to God, he wasn’t an afterthought to God – he was and is God. And in this thought, he says that Jesus was the Word of God.
So what is the significance of this term? “Word” doesn’t just signify that he is a prophet, or a holy and righteous man, or even one who has had a marvelous and interactive experience with God. It tells us that he is so intimate with Father God that his words and his life and his complete being can relate God’s thoughts to us perfectly. He doesn’t just bring the Lord’s message to our lives, Jesus is the message for our lives.

Then the Gospel goes on to explain three unique things about Jesus.
1. Jesus wasn’t just a part of creation, he wasn’t even part of the Creator - he was Creator. It was Father – Son – Spirit who created. The Creative Being was complex, and in Genesis 1:26 we further read “Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image …’ (emphasis added) - but not for just any purpose - we received his breath and image so that we can do his work on earth.
Jesus was at creation – not as a created being, but as Creator.
2. Jesus is life. In Genesis 2:7, we read that God breathed life into the man. That life-breath was in God, and therefore also came from Jesus. But I believe that John is carrying this image of life even further. He isn’t referring simply to the life we currently have, but to the Life Eternal. Jesus is the double life giver. He breathes life into us at both our first birth and our second birth. And within this life is a light that also fills us.
3. The light of Christ, that light that fills us, is also the light that dispels the darkness. In the Creation Story, we read that on the first day (Genesis 1:2-4), the Lord brought light into existence, and wherever it was placed, it destroyed the darkness. Light would become a sign of “goodness”, and darkness, a sign of “evil”. Not only does the light of day overcome the darkness that we call “night”, but the light of Christ‘s life overcomes the darkness of Evil’s death.

John wants us to understand that Christ is not only the author of life at creation, but that he is also the author of life eternal.

Read John 1:6-9

John the Baptist was an example of how God’s Light begins to work in our lives. “He came as a witness to testify concerning the Light, so that through him, all might believe.” John had a unique witness for us – that the Light of God had finally come into the world. Others had foretold that Messiah would one day come, but John was the first who showed that he had come, and he would not be the last to tell.
This is the same witness that all who have received the Light of Christ must share with anyone who will listen. We are the ones who must now carry the Word of God to the towns and villages and cities and nations of the world, for without our testimony, the Life and Light and Word of God may be silenced, and if that happens, the darkness will win. But our witness is a little different than John’s was – ours is that the Light of God has come into the world, and was hated, and was killed, but is on his way to come once more, to bring the light of eternal life to all who will believe in him,

Those who claim Christ as their Lord and Savior become carriers of the Word, reflectors of the Light, witnesses to the saving grace of Jesus. Once, it was John who sown the light, then it was Jesus who brought the light, and now it is we who lead others into the blessed light of God, and unless each and every person receives that light for themselves, they will continue to stumble around in the darkness of this world. But this opportunity for the Church must never be seen as an obligation, but rather as a privilege given to all who walk with him.

Read John 1:10-14

The Word of God put on flesh and became fully human for us. If folks had trouble believing in a God who they couldn’t see, then God would become visible to them. But it had to be in a way that they could see and understand. Remember the cautions that the Lord had to take in the Old Testament? Every time he appeared to someone, it had to be in an incomplete way. For Abraham, it was a flaming pot; for Moses, first a bush that could not be burned and later as the back of God; for the people of Israel, two pillars – one of fire and another of cloud.
Visibility only happens when the light is turned on, and when it comes to God, it can never reveal the fullness of his Glory. But in Christ, the light shone brightly, God became fully visible to the world, and yet, they still refuse to believe. The Word became real, it has been proclaimed loudly and clearly for 2,000 years, and still, it has been perverted and modified to suit personal interests, and people still won't accept his truth.

God created a Plan, and no matter how hard the people of earth try, they will never cause it to fail! And try, they do. And that is the constant conflict between the darkness and the light. But within that context, there is a lesson for us. Darkness is always surrounding us, and at times, it nearly overwhelms us. But when the Light is revealed, the darkness is forced back, and everything that it tries to hide is revealed. Truth comes to “light” and evil flees! Life comes in the light and death is no more! Hope appears in the light and despair becomes a thing of the past! The Word brings true relationship and the fear of loneliness vaporizes.

And it all begins with the Light that all followers of Christ are called to reflect into this dark and hurting world. There are many beginnings for our lives – the beginning of creation, the beginning of Christ’s humanity, the beginning of our humanity, the beginning of our faith in Jesus Christ, the beginning of our shining the Light of Christ for others.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God, [and] the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us.” This statement is the beginning of our Advent – our preparation to receive the Light and Word of God for our lives. And it is the beginning of our living a life that testifies to the truth of God and reflects his glorious Light on those who have yet to know all that the Lord would have them know.

This is our joy - this is our blessing. And it will only get better!

"Lesson #3: Avoid the Spirt of Fear"

Scripture: Matthew 25:14-30

On the surface, a life in Christ is seen as a joy-filled and glorious existence. But as we grow in faith, and our faith deepens, and our knowledge of the call that Jesus places on our lives becomes clearer, questions inevitably arise. In God’s view, what does it mean to be “good”, and what happens if we are “wicked”? What is involved in being faithful, and what is “falling short” all about? How does joy fill us, and how does fear force it out? How much is enough?

The questions could go on for quite some time, and it is only after years of personal reflection and study that we can even begin to get some of them answered. But even then, the questions will continue to greatly outnumber the answers! But as we read Jesus’ parables and study his teaching, some of the haze will begin to lift, and his light will begin to shine through.
Over the past several weeks, we considered the question of what it means to be great in the Lord, and then we learned the lesson that preparation for his return is not something to take lightly. Today, we begin to scratch the surface of what the difference between “goodness” and “wickedness” is all about, and what it means for our lives.

As we journey through our text today, our tendency will be to try to define the above terms with human understanding, instead of the Lord’s But remember that it is God’s definition and insight that we seek.

Read Matthew 25:14-18

Jesus’ words speak of money that is assigned to three servants, with the apparent, but unspoken, expectation that they will use the resources to grow the master’s estate while he is out of town. But Jesus isn’t concerned with money, and he isn’t concerned with legal obedience, per se, and actually he isn’t concerned with the magnitude of the return on his investment. What he is concerned about is a “good and faithful” response from each of his servants when they use the gifts that he has entrusted to them.

So the first question today is – why does he divvy up the “money”, if indeed this is about money (!) in such a strange way? Why isn’t the allocation more equitable? Why isn’t each servant given the same responsibility?
Let’s begin by establishing who the characters in the parable represent – and it actually is quite transparent. The master is the Lord God Almighty, and the servants are obviously you and me - those who are in the Church. And the “money”? What does that represent? Those are the God-given gifts that each of us have received. So here is the bottom line – God has bestowed on each of his people certain abilities, and while he is absent from the earth, the people are to use each of them in a way that will bring glory to our divine Master.

Well, that seems to be pretty straight forward, but moving back to the servants, there doesn’t seem to be any instructions for them to follow, so how are they to know what is expected from them? Our secular employment has some fairly strict guidelines regarding what is expected from us – production quotas, assignment completion dates and times, sales goals, and other very specific and measurable expectations that are based on volume and quality of performance.
But our 3 servants get none of that. They receive resources that we are told are based on their abilities, but nothing more. No assignment, no goal, no process, no direction whatsoever! So what are they to do?

One more item, before we consider the question, just to establish perspective – one reference that I read indicated that a talent was worth about 15 years of income. If we earn $40-50,000 a year, that would mean that one talent today would be worth somewhere around $600-750,000! Maybe even more!

So what does this mean for us? In Romans 12:3-8, 1 Corinthians 12:1-11, and Ephesians 4:11-16, we read about some of the spiritual gifts that will come to us from God. This list is fairly extensive, but is, by no means, exhaustive. 1 Corinthians 12 would have us understand that no one receives all of the gifts, and that any particular gift isn’t given to everyone. But regardless of the gifts that come and how they are distributed, 1 Peter 4:10-11 tells us what we are to do with them.
We are to use them to serve others in a way that brings glory to God.

Read Matthew 25:19-25

The servant with 5 talents gained 5 more for his master. The servant who had 2 talents gained 2 more for his master. The final result was different for each of them, but the master’s response was identical – (v.21) “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!” The results were different, but the master saw them in identical light – they had done exactly what he had expected of them, and he was very pleased.
But what about the third servant who had buried his talent? What had he earned for his master? The only thing he brought was a spirit of fear! There was no glory, no celebration, no reward, and the master was not pleased! But the servant had preserved the gift – he hadn’t lost it, it hadn’t diminished, it was in the same condition as when the master gave it to him. Wasn’t that enough? And the answer is “Apparently not!” It seems the master wanted him to use the gift, regardless of what may come from his actions!

So what does this mean for us? It means that the Lord doesn’t judge our Christian faith - our Christian life - based on how much we do. It doesn’t matter how many souls we gain for the Kingdom, it doesn’t matter how many meals we serve to the poor, it doesn’t matter how many committees we serve on, it doesn’t even matter if we go to worship multiple times each week – what matters is whether we are sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with others - as John Wesley said, “Do all the good you can. By all the means you can. In all the ways you can. In all the places you can. At all the times you can. To all the people you can. As long as ever you can.” And we do this so that praise and glory and honor might come to our Lord.

Different people will do this in different ways, but we all must be doing these things in a way that others will be welcomed into the kingdom and that God will be glorified. But when we hesitate to share the name of Jesus, when we fail to reach out to the needs of others, when we keep our salvation safely tucked away within our own dark recesses, we bring nothing to the Lord except our own oppressive “spirit of fear”. And that is not glory.

Read Matthew 25:26-30

The third servant was afraid to use the trust that his master had given him. It was his fear of the master that guided his actions - not his respect, and definitely not his love. It grained nothing for the master, and it brought less than nothing to the man. He had the trust and respect of his lord, but he couldn’t return his trust and respect to him, simply because fear prevented it.

What does Jesus want from us? Certainly not our fear of failure, not our hesitation to take a step in Christ’s name, not our reluctance to try, not our limitations. The Lord only wants our trust and respect and love, and he wants us to use the very gifts that he has given us to touch the lives of others.

Is walking and serving with Jesus a scary proposition? Sometimes, but every time we reach out in his name, every time we do some little thing that the Lord is calling us to do, great things will come from it. From 1 Peter 4:11 – “... do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised though Jesus Christ.” The gifts that we use are God’s, and the success that comes from our actions are God’s, and the glory that results from our small, risky steps rise up to the heavens, and when they do, the joy and blessing of God come right back down to us.

But remember what came back down to the one who lived a life of fear? He lost everything that he had been given, and the master told him that he was no longer worthy to be his servant.
Our God is not a god of fear, not a god of limitation, not a god who leaves us on our own, but he is the Lord of expectation – the expectation that we will use the gifts he gives us to his glory, and not to our own. When we are faithful in a few small things, he will return blessings upon blessings upon blessings to us. His glory will one day become our glory, and the victory that is in Jesus Christ will, one day, be ours, too.

And isn’t that enough?

"Lesson #2: Be Prepared"

Scripture: Matthew 25:1-13

“Be Prepared” should be the sermon title for Boy Scout Sunday, not today - but here it is just the same. And maybe that’s good – preparation should be part of our everyday lives, and yet few of us ever take it seriously. Oh, some folks are prepared well in advance of any event – they are packed for the trip to visit relatives 3 days before they leave; all the “fixings” for Thanksgiving dinner are ready by Tuesday; and they are always the first ones to get to church, just so they can greet everyone else as they arrive.
These folks are not the norm, and the rest of us like to call them “obsessive-compulsive”. And yet these are the ones who are never late for an appointment, they always have clean clothes for a week in advance, and they have never, ever, in their entire life, let their car run out of gas.
And 90% of the world looks down on them? Makes you wonder, doesn’t it? And this issue of being prepared is the very lesson that we see in our parable for today.

As with all of Jesus’ parables, there will always be questions regarding the realism of the story. I have known folks who focus completely on the facts of the parable, and try to nit-pick the story apart on that basis alone. And in doing so, they completely miss the theological significance of the narrative. And the truth is that everything that Jesus said, or did, or taught, has a lesson for us that is related to our relationship with Almighty God.
Today’s scripture tells of a group of people who are waiting for the wedding party to arrive for the marriage celebration, so what is it about, if it isn’t about a wedding? What was Jesus trying to teach us regarding our life with him?

Read Matthew 25:1-5

“The kingdom of heaven will be like …” Jesus told 7 parables that began with these words, and from this, we can see that the Lord placed a very high priority on our need to understand what was coming to our lives, and how we must be ready to receive it.
The first lesson in this parable is that being prepared is not the same as being alert! The 10 virgins (some translations read “Bridesmaids”) all knew that the guest of honor would be along soon, but they didn’t know the exact time. They all had their lamps lit, and they all waited, and waited, and waited. The difference, though, is that half of them took additional fuel with them, just in case they had to wait longer than expected. The others had their lamp with them, but assumed, incorrectly, that they wouldn’t have to wait long. And in their wait, they all fell asleep.

There are, of course, many references in scripture to the word “sleep”. Sometimes, it simply means inattentive, such as “he’s asleep at the switch”, but in other instances, it is used as a metaphor for death. Either way, the word implies the inability to do anything further in preparation for a coming event or time.

Lesson #1 – this is about the church. All are eager to see the Lord finally arrive, but only a few are truly prepared to receive him when he finally appears. The preparations in faith that we have already put in place are the only ones that will matter when he calls us home.

Read Matthew 25:6-9

The honored guest is on the way, and the hue and cry goes up – “He’s here - he’s finally here! Come and give him honor!” And everyone wakes up at the sound. And again, whether this refers to the restoration of our attentiveness, or to the time of the great resurrection, we aren’t sure – and maybe it’s both! But the point here is that all 10 “trimmed their lamps”, which means that they cleaned the wick and added more oil to give more light. But 5 of the maids didn’t have any additional oil to fill their lamps with, and no matter how clean your wick may be, if there isn’t any fuel in your lamp, it won’t give any light!

Jesus was telling the people, and in particular the Pharisees, that a “clean life” was certainly important. But if your “inside” – your heart - was empty, there was no way the Spirit could shine within your soul. The 5 virgins who were out of “fuel” went to buy some more, but would the stores be open? Would there be enough time? Could they make up for lost time? Would they be back before the host arrived?

There are many, both within and outside the church, who think there is plenty of time to make their lives ready to receive Jesus, and each and every one has put themselves in the same boat with the 5 foolish women. If we knew the day and hour that Christ will return, that attitude might work, but no one does. Not the preachers, not the evangelists, not the worship teams, not the most faithful Christian you have ever met, not even Jesus! He has warned us about this, and if we don’t listen, whose fault do you think it is?

Read Matthew 25:10-13

“Those who were ready went in ... And the door was closed.” Some folks would say that this just isn’t fair! Why should anyone be excluded from the celebration, just because they weren’t ready to show honor to the groom? So what if their lamp went out – they wanted to come to the feast, and therefore they should be allow to join in!

The answer to the question may be as simple as this - that if they couldn’t put a little effort forth in preparing to be respectful before the banquet began, what makes anyone think that they will be respectful during the banquet? After all, they thought that they were entitled to attend simply because they wanted to attend! But Jesus tells us that the expectation for entry to the banquet is so minimal, that refusal to do what is asked in preparation is paramount to an insult! If the 5 couldn’t show honor and respect, then why should they receive honor and respect?
And when they try to enter the hall after the party has begun, what does the bridegroom say? “I don’t know you!” In Matthew 7:21-23, Jesus says “Many will say on that day ‘Lord, Lord’, did we not prophesy … and drive out demons … and perform many miracles?” The point is that it isn’t enough to do things in the name of Jesus – it isn’t enough to know about Jesus – it isn’t enough to speak his name. The truth of the matter is that we must know him and be known by him.

So what does this parable have to do with the Kingdom? Everything!
1. Jesus is on his way to consummate the grandest “marriage” of all time. In John 14:1-7, Jesus offers some words that may have been confusing to the disciples. He talks about “going to make a place” for them, and actually, this is an integral part of the traditional Jewish marriage proposal. And when he returns, he will take his “bride” – the Church – to be his own for eternity. And he says that this promise is only for those who know him. It is all about our accepting the intimate relationship that he has offered to us.
2. The time of his arrival is still unknown. It could be any day now, or it could be years before he comes, so the best course of action is to get ready now. To wait for a “better time” may be too late.
3. The time to prepare for the Lord’s return is now. To wait until the day of his arrival to develop a relationship with him just won’t work. The “light” of your life will have run out of fuel, and if we aren’t willing to give him the honor he deserves now, “then” will never be sufficient.
4. And if the relationship is insufficient, we will be an unknown quantity, and the door will remain shut to us.

Jesus is calling us into relationship with him while we are still alive in this life, but the full impact, the full significance of a life in him will be obscured until that glorious day when Jesus reappears on earth. And at that time, all will be revealed, all will be made clear, and we will know.

If you have never accepted Christ’s offer of a life in him, then today is the day. Won’t you pray this prayer with me and accept him as your Lord and Savior?

Lord Jesus, I know that I am unworthy to be your beloved. I have sinned against you and have turned away from you. But I am weary, I am carrying a heavy burden, and I just can’t go on anymore. Lord, I know that you have suffered greatly on my behalf – you have taken the death that I so richly deserve, and have destroyed it. I seek your forgiveness for the life I have lived, and I desire the newness and wholeness of true Life that can only come from you. Lord Jesus, my greatest desire is to claim you as my Lord, and my Redeemer, and my Savior this very day. Amen.

Amen.

"Missionaries"

Scripture: Luke 10:1-12

Today, we had a young family - Chris and Tracy Pousseur, along with their young daughters Ella and Jemma - with us in worship. They are currently in preparation to enter the mission field, and in about a year, they will be moving to Japan to serve through an organization called TEAM. The following are some notes that I took during their presentation.

So why do they feel called to go to Japan? The truth is that Japan has not always been their destination, and TEAM was not always their supporting organization! Before Chris and Tracey were even married, they felt the Lord's call to mission, but they both felt that it would be to Africa. So shortly after their wedding, they went to South Africa with Youth With A Mission. They spent two months in outreach there, and both grew significantly in their life in Christ, but the more they experienced, the more uncertain they became over their presence in South Africa. And while in worship one day, Chris became aware that God's call on them wasn't to Africa, but to Asia.

They journeyed to Singapore to explore their call even further, but very soon, they realized that their call wasn't to 3rd world Asia, but to Japan. Japan, they would discover, is the 2nd largest unreached country in the world - only 2% of the Japanese population is Christian. There is a tremendous need for missionaries there, but few who actually go (see the selected scripture again!!) Materialism has a very great hold on the people, and the fathers in nearly all families are not just the "bread winners", but the "luxury gainers". Women, for the most part, remain in the homes to care for the family, and the fathers, due to their obsession with employment, have limited contact with their children. The family is in peril of a breakdown, and both Chris and Tracy feel that a major part of their mission will be to model the Christian Family to the people they will meet.

And the need is not only great, but it is slowly being recognized b y the younger generation. The Gospel is still not readily accepted in Japan, but the young are beginning to seek a way that must be better, and lives are starting to open up to Christ and his way.

They are gifted in artistic ways, as well as in their relationship with each and with the Lord Jesus Christ, and this will be the basis for their ministry to the people of Japan. Their focus will be based in Matthew 28:16-20, Jesus' Great Commission to his Church.

If you are wiling to support them in prayer, please do so. If you are able to support Chris and Tracy financially, please do so through their section on the TEAM website - just enter Pousseur in the "Select a Missionary or Project" field.

"Lesson #1: The Lower Place is Best"

Scripture: Matthew 23:1-12

For the next 4 weeks, we will be looking at some of Jesus’ teachings on what living in him is all about. He was always introducing “upside down thinking” to the people, and it never failed to amaze some, confuse a few more, and irritate all the rest. The problem was always that age old, 7 word adage that some claim will be the death of the Church – “We’ve never done it that way before!”
If we could only live life the way Jesus did, there would never be as much anxiety and uncertainty in our lives. We would never have to change – we would already be on the right track. But for some reason, God’s ways never seem to mesh with ours. And since there seems to be a disconnect between us and the Lord, we decide, since we are always “right”, that it is God who must have made a mistake and that his ways need to change. Good luck with that!

So until Thanksgiving, we will be considering some of Jesus’ “upside down” lessons that we find in Matthew. Today, we read of Jesus presenting a way of life that stands in stark contrast to the ways that the Jewish leadership – the Scribes and Pharisees – lived and taught.

Read Matthew 23:1-4

The reference to “Moses’ seat” is not about a physical place, but rather a position of authority. They are the acknowledged leaders, both societal and religious, in the life of Israel, and the Lord says that the people must follow their teaching. Now note that Jesus doesn’t say that the law is true to the way of God – he simply emphasizes that the Law of Moses is the law of the land. Perhaps this is comparable to his statement to “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s and to God what is God’s.” (Mark 12:13-17, and others) He says that we live under law – the law of society, the law of the church, and the Law of God – and that they aren’t always in agreement with each other, they aren’t always complementary to each other. But give them all honor and obedience just the same.
So his problem isn’t with the law, per se, but rather with the way that the teachers of the law live their lives within the law. “They don’t practice what they preach!” The issue at hand is that teaching the truth is one thing, but the way the teacher acts speaks much louder their voice! They were offering two conflicting messages and the people were never sure which way they should live.
There is some thought that both the Pharisees and the leaders of the fledgling Church were, and would be, placing unreasonable expectations on the people. Leaders and teachers have always had an obligation to live a moral life that is at least one step above that of others. In James 3:1 we read “you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.” While that may not seem fair to the teachers and leaders, it all comes back to the fact that their lives, as well as their words, were a means of teaching, and consistency in thought and action is always vitally important. And the leaders may have been pushing this expectation on all of the people, while ignoring it in their own lives.

Think back in your life to a trusted teacher, a respected pastor, a good neighbor who you were confident with and whose example you were willing to follow. And then one day, some deep dark secret was revealed that destroyed every good thought that you ever had for them. For all intents and purposes, their outward life was but a shell – a camouflage – of the real life that was working its way within them. And you could no longer believe anything they said.

That was the situation that was prevalent in Israel. Jesus said that these teachers were placing great expectations on the people – that they were required to follow every nuance of the law while the teachers gave themselves a pass on many of them. And that was wrong.

Read Matthew 23:5-7

Back in Deuteronomy 6:4-9, God gives the commandment to love the Lord and all that he stands for, to be obvious in your obedience by keeping the commandments in your heart and on your hands and forehead, and to teach your children to obey him at every opportunity. Phylacteries were small boxes that contained the commandment, and they were hung on the forehead and on the wrists.
The Pharisees wore the commandments, but living them was a totally different matter. Micah 6:8 calls us to “walk humbly with your God”, but these teachers were anything but humble. Their pride and arrogance was far more obvious than their phylacteries were.
They wanted to be honored for their position by all who came their way; they wanted to be given the best seats in the house at banquets and parties so that everyone would know that they were important; they wanted to be sought after to teach in the synagogues. They lived for personal honor and glory but they never even came close to deserving it.

Read Matthew 23:8-12

I can see it now – as Jesus is speaking of their desire to be shown great respect, the teachers are all nodding their heads in agreement – why certainly they expect this, they deserve it, and no one had better deny them the honors. But then Jesus begins to take them apart.
I think that the key phrase in this section is “and you are all brothers”. These men of authority believed that they were above the masses, that they had certain privileges that others did not, that they deserved their positions and that others had better do what they said. But Jesus tells the people that they are, in truth, no better and no worse than anyone else – that all are equal in the sight of the Lord.

And now we need to consider once more just who the audience consisted of as Jesus continued in his teaching. At the beginning of verse 1 we read “Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples ...” The crowds always consisted of a mix of people - those who were followers of the Christ, those who wanted to learn from his teaching, those who were curious, and, of course, the Pharisees and scribes who were out to find something that they could use against the Lord. The crowds were a broad representation of society, but the reference to “disciples” was very specific.
Remember that the disciples would become the standard bearers for the Church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension into heaven. So Jesus’ words were more than just a condemnation of the authorities – it was a call to the leadership of the new Church to live Christ-like lives. And it is a call that survives to this day. But remember that Christian leaders are not just those who hold some recognized position or office – they are all who believe in the precepts of Jesus Christ and who others look to as a Christian example.

One of the charges that a Bishop gives to newly ordained pastors is to “Take Authority”. The implication is that they are to take the authority that Christ conveys on them as pastors, which means that they are to be Christ to the world. Unfortunately, some take this charge to mean that they have the authority to do whatever they think is necessary! And with that attitude in their hearts, they become worse than the worse Pharisee who ever lived!

The authority of Jesus means that we live as Jesus lived – humble; servant hearted; loving of all; claiming, living and teaching the truth of God as revealed in Christ Jesus; and never putting themselves, nor allowing themselves, to be put on a pedestal for all to stand before in awe and honor.

Don’t allow your positions and titles to set you apart from others.
Don’t become prideful in your authority to teach and lead and shape.
Don’t seek to be seen as someone who is head and shoulders above everyone else in faith.

But trying to remember all the rules is a trying task to say the least! So instead, just try to emulate the life of Jesus. Be the humble servant whose greatest desire is to wash the feet of their friends; be the person who stands on God’s ways and never deviates, no matter what might come your way; be the one who finds extreme joy in serving God and other people, who loves others far beyond what they deserve and far beyond what they return to you.

That’s what Jesus did and was. The world will tell us to take the high road – that it is the only one that leads to great success, but the way of Jesus is never the world’s way. He took the lower, less significant, more unassuming way in this life, and he tells us that this way is the best one for us, too.