The Road to Greatness

Isaiah 50:4-9a Psalm 31:9-16 Philippians 2:1-13 Luke 19:28-44 22:24-27

The Road to Greatness

In Act 2, Scene 5 of the play, Twelfth Night, William Shakespeare wrote these famous lines: “Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.” It’s a well-known statement, perhaps even a cliché, and, as such, it is often used out of context. Within the context of the play, the quote is used as part of a joke. It is part of a letter that an employer by the name of Olivia supposedly wrote to Malvolio, one of her employees. He reads it, thinking that it suggests Olivia is in love with him and that she is trying to encourage him to better himself. But what he doesn’t know is that the letter was written by his fellow servants to play a joke on him. It encourages him to do the very things that annoy his mistress the most. After reading this letter, Malvolio declares that he is going to “be proud,” “read politic authors,” and “baffle Sir Toby.”

Obviously, the kind of ‘greatness’ Molvolio had in mind was of a worldly kind – a greatness born out of self-interest and a thirst for personal elevation and popularity, and, in Molvolio’s case, the respect-filled admiration of his employer.  This is the kind of ‘greatness’ Jesus spoke about in verse 25 of our Gospel lesson for this Palm Sunday. “The kings of the Gentiles,” Jesus told his disciples, “lord it over them; and those who exercise authority over them call them benefactors.” The word translated ‘benefactors’ was a word used for people who would seek to gain fame and status through acts of public liberality and charity. Often, the motivation behind such beneficence was driven by greed and egocentricity and the act of charity would ultimately lead to a sense of obligation on the part of those who benefitted from the patron’s kindness.  “I did this for you and now you owe me.” Many politicians do the same thing, but backwards. “If you vote for me, then I will do this for you.” There are strings – if not chains – attached.

But Jesus emphatically stated that his followers ought not to be like that. This is one of those times when Jesus turned things upside-down, or dare I say, right-side-up. If you want to be great, Jesus taught, you must be the least. If you want to rule, you must serve.  The exact opposite of the world’s definition of greatness. 

So, here we must ask the inevitable question. What exactly is the ‘greatness’ Jesus advocates in this passage? Once we have grasped the meaning of his use of the word, then I think we will have a clearer idea of how it can be achieved. 

The kind of greatness Jesus wanted for his followers then and now is one born out of selflessness. It is the kind of greatness Paul refers to in his letter to the believers in Philippi. A greatness that is not based on selfish ambition or vain conceit or even self-interest…no, it is a greatness that is founded on humility and other-person-centredness…always considering others better than ourselves…always looking out for their best interests rather than our own. 

This greatness is clearly demonstrated in the attitude of Jesus. “Jesus,” Paul said, “is God and yet, at the incarnation, he made a deliberate choice to never live his earthly life as anything more than a human being.” 

Did you get that? Jesus was God…he never ceased to be God, nor did he temporarily put his Godhead on hold…no he was and always will be God…and yet he chose to live an earthly life as a finite, frail, and dependent human being. 

And notice that Jesus chose not to come at the height of Israel’s power…he could have chosen to come during the first years of King Solomon’s reign! But no, he chose to come at a time when Israel was nothing but a backwater vassal of Rome. Yes, both Jesus’ parents were of the royal Davidic line and yes, his mother was also a descendent of the first High Priest, Aaron. But after having been suppressed by the Babylonians, the Persians, the Greeks, and the Romans, Joseph and Mary were simple, poor, hardworking labourers, eking out their existence in a small village in Galilee. Jesus chose to come at a time when his oppressed people were regarded as scum and as rebellious irritants. 

In the hit single, Bohemian Rhapsody, the rock band Queen sang in defence of the killer: “He’s just a poor boy from a poor family, spare him his life from this monstrosity.” But Jesus never used his tough childhood as an excuse for sin. Despite being denied the proverbial silver spoon reserved for those ‘born great’, Jesus accepted his socio-economic position and lived the life expected of those in his so-called class. He took on the nature of a servant, Paul said. 

But neither did Jesus seek to achieve greatness by means of political manoeuvres nor through zealous rebellion. In Acts 5:36-37, a Pharisee by the name of Gamaliel, who also happened to be the teacher of Saul who became Paul, mentioned two would be Messianic figures in his statement to the Sanhedrin. Theudas and Judas. Both these men led revolts against Rome, and both were slaughtered together with their followers. According to the first century Jewish historian, Flavius Josephus, there were many other would-be messiahs in Judah at that time. But the glaring difference between all these deluded individuals and Jesus was that Jesus did not seek to achieve greatness by force or by human ingenuity. He could have…after all, Jesus was God. Jesus could have played his God-card, as it were. He could have called on legions of angels. But he did not…he intentionally and consciously chose to make himself nothing. The Son of Man came, Jesus said to his disciples, to serve. He came as a servant.

How strange then, that the followers of Jesus often seek to be served…to lord it over others…to achieve greatness…to seek elevation, the spot-light, the limelight, the fame, the recognition, the popularity. Sadly, it is rare to see followers of Jesus truly considering others better than themselves. But this, Jesus taught, is the road to greatness.

It is a road of self-denial and of total obedience. For Jesus, this meant the road would lead to death on the cross. As we read through the various records of his death, we see that his life ended in apparent failure, not greatness. Instead of recognition, there was mocking, spitting, rejection, flagellation, and a death sentence founded on jealousy, fear, greed, and hatred. Instead of cheering crowds, there were scoffers. Instead of a victor’s crown, a crown of thorns. Instead of a mega-church, a handful of women disciples and only one of his male disciples. Instead of an enthronement, a shameful and agonising execution. Instead of a dignified funeral, a hasty embalming and burial in a borrowed tomb. All a result of Jesus denial of self will.

Now, this is not the Buddhist concept of self-abandonment. This is not a growing unattachment to anything outside of the self…a detachment, if you will, from all external dependence…a focus on independent self-realisation. 

No, Jesus’ self-denial was an abandonment of self-will and a surrender to the divine will. It is a dependence, not an independence. It is a relinquishing of self-governance and an embracing of submission. Not my will be done, Jesus prayed, but your will be done…even if that would lead him to the cross.

This is the road to greatness. This is the foundational principle for Christian faith and practice. It is the exact opposite of the teaching of the world…the exact opposite of the mantras of many modern-day motivational speakers. If you want to be great, Jesus taught, you must be a servant…you must be a slave…you must be the least and you must be the last…and, ultimately, you must take up your cross daily and follow him one day at a time. 

This is the kind of mind we, as people who claim to follow Jesus, ought to have…need to have…must have if we are to walk as Jesus walked…if we are to love as Jesus loved. If the world is to know that we are his people…if the world is to see him in and through us, we need to have his mind. 

Let this mind be in you, Paul wrote. May this humble other-person-centred kind of loving be your attitude and observable practice. If you do this…if you truly conduct yourselves according to the principles of the Gospel…if you are like-minded and united in the same love…if you are one in spirit and purpose…then you are on the road to Gospel greatness together with Jesus because it is only when you are in him that you can truly live like him. 

Unlike worldly greatness that must be achieved by intentional determination and effort, kingdom greatness is a gift…it is something we are when we truly abide in Jesus. If we are in him, we are like him. Of course, this abiding is a day-by-day lifestyle based on surrender and obedience to his will. It is a daily relinquishing of self-centredness…a daily submission to his tenderness and compassion. It is something God works in us as we walk with him, and as he works in us, he causes us to will and to act according to his good purpose. In short, it is the imitation of the day-to-day life of our Lord Jesus. Jesus did nothing except what he heard and saw from the Father. 

In this sense, greatness is thrust upon us who are in the one whose road to greatness is defined by self-denying and self-sacrificing love for God and love for others. If we truly love the Lord our God, with all that we are as human beings and if we truly love others and esteem them better than ourselves…if we live in total obedience to God’s will…if we walk in step with his Spirit or a daily basis…then we will be on the road to greatness in the kingdom. 

Let us pray.

© Johannes W H van der Bijl 2022