The society in which Jesus and his disciples lived was hierarchical. Everyone was ranked according to a perceived value. For example, men were considered more valuable than women, adults more valuable than children, the healthy more valuable than the infirmed, Jews more valuable than Samaritans, and so forth.
Obviously, they were not the first society to order themselves in this fashion, nor would they be the last. Adolf Hitler was attempting to do much the same when he tried to establish his so-called “master race.”
Hierarchies are chiefly concerned with power. The people at the top have more power—it’s just as simple as that! They wield more influence, exercise more control, and usually command more respect.
Of course, if some are at the top that automatically necessitates that others will be at the bottom. In other words, a hierarchy requires that there be the haves and the have nots … the greatest and the least … the powerful and the powerless.
Into that worldview Jesus introduced what must have seemed like pretty strange advice—namely, if you want to be at the top, then put others ahead of yourself. If you want to be first, then go to the back of the line. If you want to achieve greatness, then consider becoming one of the least.
Contrary to how that might sound, Jesus is not suggesting that the disciples suddenly begin devaluing themselves. He is not encouraging them to have false humility or develop a poorer self-image. Instead, he is inviting them to question the hierarchical structure itself, and, in effect, render it meaningless by refusing to comply with society’s arbitrary pecking order.
Put another way, I don’t believe that Jesus had anything against power per se. He didn’t tell the disciples, “You shouldn’t be great.” He told them, “If you want to be great, here’s how to go about it.”
What he was pointing out is that any structure that elevates a few at the expense of the many doesn’t understand power. True power, he told his disciples, comes from empowering others—for the Son of Man came not to be served … but rather to serve.
Obviously, they were not the first society to order themselves in this fashion, nor would they be the last. Adolf Hitler was attempting to do much the same when he tried to establish his so-called “master race.”
Hierarchies are chiefly concerned with power. The people at the top have more power—it’s just as simple as that! They wield more influence, exercise more control, and usually command more respect.
Of course, if some are at the top that automatically necessitates that others will be at the bottom. In other words, a hierarchy requires that there be the haves and the have nots … the greatest and the least … the powerful and the powerless.
Into that worldview Jesus introduced what must have seemed like pretty strange advice—namely, if you want to be at the top, then put others ahead of yourself. If you want to be first, then go to the back of the line. If you want to achieve greatness, then consider becoming one of the least.
Contrary to how that might sound, Jesus is not suggesting that the disciples suddenly begin devaluing themselves. He is not encouraging them to have false humility or develop a poorer self-image. Instead, he is inviting them to question the hierarchical structure itself, and, in effect, render it meaningless by refusing to comply with society’s arbitrary pecking order.
Put another way, I don’t believe that Jesus had anything against power per se. He didn’t tell the disciples, “You shouldn’t be great.” He told them, “If you want to be great, here’s how to go about it.”
What he was pointing out is that any structure that elevates a few at the expense of the many doesn’t understand power. True power, he told his disciples, comes from empowering others—for the Son of Man came not to be served … but rather to serve.
posted by Dr. Robert Crilley at
1:55 PM
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