 That's what we'll do. Chapter 22 here in the Gospel of Luke, beginning at verse 21. Luke chapter 22, beginning at verse 21, reading to verse 23, Luke writes, But behold, the hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. And truly the Son of man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And they began to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing. So as you know, Jesus is now reclining at meal with his disciples. And as he's there having this meal with them, he has made a startling statement. He has said, The hand of my betrayer is with me on the table. Now this would have been an unbelievable thing for the disciples. Even though earlier in his ministry he had begun to prepare them for this very thing. Matthew tells us in chapter 17 verse 22 how he had said the Son of man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men. Now he had stated that he would be betrayed into the hands of men, but the important thing here is he had not made it clear that his betrayer would be one of them. He'd been saying that he's to be betrayed, but now he is letting them know that the one who is betraying him is one of his very apostles. That was something they didn't know. And so as he's saying this, what he is saying is the one betraying me is actually one of my most trusted companions. It is somebody who has eaten a fellowship meal with me. This is beyond their ability to process, but the Psalmists in Psalm 41 verse 9 in relation to Messiah had written, even my close friend whom I trusted, he who shared my bread has lifted up his heel against me. And that's exactly what is taking place. Jesus is making it very clear that his betrayer is there at the table and he is the one who has betrayed him into the hands of those who would kill him. And he says in verse 22, truly the Son of man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed. And so notice with me, he says, the Son of man goes as it has been determined. That's an important point there because we need to know that Jesus didn't fall into a trap that was set by Judas. In reality, what happened is Judas simply becomes an instrument in God's plan of redemption because it's God's plan of redemption that has previously been determined. Revelation chapter 13 verse 8 says it this way. Revelation 13.8 speaks of Jesus as the lamb slain from the foundation of the world. So salvation is not an afterthought. Salvation is actually a plan that has been predetermined by God. And Jesus was in the divine purpose, appointed from the beginning to redeem man by his blood. When you open up your Bible and you begin to read the Old Testament and you begin to see the series of sacrifices, the offerings that were made. Those were all intended to foreshadow this final sacrifice, the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. The writer of Hebrews in chapter 10 said it this way in verses one through seven. He said the law, having a shadow of the good things to come and not the very image of the things, can never with these same sacrifices, which they offer continually year by year, make those who approach perfect. For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers once purified would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices, there's a reminder of sins every year. For it's not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins. Therefore, when he came into the world, he said, sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you have prepared for me. And burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin, you had no pleasure. Then I said, behold, I have come in the volume of the book. It is written of me to do your will, O God. In the constant sacrifice, there's a constant reminder. But Jesus Christ had come by the predetermined foreknowledge of God to fulfill the types that you find in the Old Testament and to make one offering for all time. It was predetermined by God. So Jesus' death is part of God's plan of redemption. That's something that the Apostle Peter said in Acts chapter 2, verse 23, when he said that Jesus was delivered by the determined purpose and foreknowledge of God. And so it was determined by God. So God set the place, God set the time, God put into effect the events, all with his foreknowledge for the Lord Jesus Christ to be the lamb who is slain from the foundation of the world. And so the treachery of Judas and the hatred of the Jewish authorities were only the incidental means by which the great counsel of God was fulfilled, but the counsel of God intended for Jesus Christ to be sacrificed on our behalf. Remember with me that when Jesus stands before Pontius Pilate, that Pilate makes a statement to him. It's recorded in John chapter 19 in verses 10 and 11, how that Pilate said to Jesus, are you not speaking to me? Do you not know that I have power to crucify you and power to release you? And Jesus answered, you could have no power at all against me, unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered me to you has a greater sin. You see, it wasn't up to Pontius Pilate and it really wasn't up to Judas. It was a predetermined counsel of God. And Pilate didn't have authority unless it was handed to him. And Pilate was simply an instrument that ensured that Jesus would ultimately be sacrificed. Now Judas has made a decision. He's decided to reject Jesus, but God is using his evil decision for good. Even as the Psalmist in Psalm 76 verse 10 writes, surely the wrath of man shall praise you. And so even though Judas has done something that he thinks is going to affect the death of Christ with no concept of what that really means, yet God is going to use that. He's going to turn it around so that he ultimately receives praise. But Jesus going on in verse 22 says, woe to that man by whom he has betrayed. Now when he says woe to that man, Judas' future in hell is so terrifying it would be better that he had never been born. In John 17 in verse 12 when Jesus is praying there, and Jesus said, while I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. Those whom you gave me, I have kept. None of them is lost except the son of perdition that the scripture might be fulfilled. And so he is the one Judas who has made that determined effort to have Jesus place into the hands of those who would kill him and yet God turned that around for good and that's how we got saved. We got saved because Jesus died on the cross for us and we have trusted him. Now as this is taking place, notice verse 23. It says they began to question among themselves which of them it was who would do this thing. This announcement quite obviously took him completely by surprise. Who amongst us is capable of doing something like that? Who amongst us is capable of betraying the Lord Jesus Christ like that? We've been together as friends and companions, co-workers, laboring in the things of God for all of this time. We've developed tremendous relationships, friendships. We've walked the dusty streets with Jesus Christ. We've been empowered by God. Jesus himself gave us authority over demons to the point that we actually rejoice of the authority that he gave to us. We've gone out and we've healed the sick. We have even raised the dead. We have cleansed lepers ourselves. We've seen Jesus Christ as he has gone about and done great and mighty things. We have walked with him. We have slept next to him. We've eaten meals with him. We've heard his teachings, the teachings of God directly from his mouth come to our ears and all of this time not one of us gave the impression that we would be capable in any way shape or form of betraying him and to hear something like that. One of you will betray me. It must have been just an amazing statement coming out of the Lord's mouth to the point that they began to wonder about that. Mark tells us in chapter 14 verse 9 they began to be sorrowful and to say to him one by one is it I? Is it I? Have I done something? Anything? Unwittingly? That has endangered you. Is it me? Practical application. This is one of the most important lessons to learn as a believer. We need to learn to apply God's truth to our own lives. It's okay. When you get in a Bible study like this or whatever church may be your home church you may be visiting today. And your pastor says something that that awakens you. He says something that that might even cut into your heart. It's okay. That's all right. As a matter of fact that's probably a good thing every once in a while to say is it me? It's a dangerous thing to begin to think that you're standing. That you can't fall. That you won't fail. It's a dangerous thing to fall into overconfidence. I'm not saying we shouldn't be confident in the Lord. God is able to make me stand and I do stand in Him. But I also know that I have flesh and I know that my flesh is weak and I know that I can have a temptation thrown at me that might take me coming in an angle that I'm not expecting. And I know that I can succumb to temptation. And that's why Jesus said watch and pray lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing but the flesh is weak. And I know that. I know that about myself and and you know that about yourself. Now maybe when you first got saved you said now that I'm saved I'll never blow it again and a couple days later you did and then you said well how'd that happen you know. It does doesn't it. And it can happen over the course of an entire walk with God. It can happen and it does. So I really think it's important for us when we go to Bible study and by the way I listen to Bible studies too and this is a rule that I apply to myself that that I'm not there to listen to a Bible study to think of how good it would be if somebody I knew who was blowing it in that way was here hearing this. You know some people have good ears to hear for other people. Man I'll get that tape because you know my husband really needs to hear this or my wife should really hear this. So I'll get that tape because my kids really need to hear this. I mean there's some people who have good ears for other people. We hear things that they should hear and in the meantime we're not hearing the things that we're supposed to hear. I really believe that the Lord has something to say to me every time he speaks don't you? I think that God has a way of speaking and he does so through conviction. He does. And there are times that the conviction can be so great but it causes me and it ought to cause every believer to be honest like these disciples because not one of them had been the betrayer except for one. And yet they all began to say it one by one. Is it I? Have I done something unwittingly that has endangered you? Is it me? Have I done something in any way that has put you in the position that you're going to be taken and you're going to be killed? Have I done this? I really believe it's important for us to listen to a message that can change our own lives and help us to become better instead of listening for other people to begin listening for ourselves because that's how it works. It's interesting how Matthew in chapter 26 verse 25 adds this. He says, Judas who was betraying him answered and said, Rabbi, is it I? Now that's a pretty heavy thing. The dog, he knew it was him. Think about that for a minute. Is it I? Judas did that. Judas looked right in the face of Jesus Christ and tried to make everybody around him think that he was solid, that he was right on. He joined and he chimed in with all of the innocent disciples when in reality of course it was him. Of course he was the one. And that's why the Lord Jesus Christ responds to him and says to him, you've said it. By your own words, you have condemned yourself, Judas. Indeed, you know that it is you. Turn with me for a moment to John 13, please. John chapter 13, I want to read to you beginning in verse 23. John chapter 13 and we'll begin reading at verse 23. In John chapter 13 verse 23, actually I'll begin at verse 21, take the whole thing in context. In John 13 21, when Jesus had said these things, he was troubled in spirit and testified and said, most assuredly I say to you, one of you will betray me. The disciples looked at one another, perplexed about whom he spoke. Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom, one of his disciples whom Jesus loved. Simon Peter therefore motioned to him to ask him who it was of whom he spoke. Then leaning back on Jesus' brass, he said to him, Lord who is it? Jesus answered, it is he to whom I shall give a piece of bread when I have dipped it. And having dipped the bread, he gave it to Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon. Now after the piece of bread, Satan entered him and Jesus said to him, what you do, do quickly. But no one at the table knew for what reason he said this to him. For some thought because Judas had the money box that Jesus had said to him, by those things we need for the feast or that he should give something to the poor. Having received the piece of bread, he then went out immediately. And notice with me how he says, and it was night. That isn't simply a chronological reference. It's referring to the darkness not only of the fact that the sun is no longer shining, but the darkness of Judas' heart. It was night. The man was walking in darkness. The man was the betrayer. The man was the one who was there, guilty before God who had sold Jesus Christ out. He's the one who had done it. And so for him, as you turn on back to look, for him to be looking at Jesus in his face and to join in, to chime in with the other disciples and to act like he's innocent is an amazing thing. And yet he does it. He wants the others to believe that he's one of them when in reality he had betrayed the Lord Jesus Christ for 30 pieces of silver. And in the midst of all of this, he has the nerve, he has the gall to be amongst those who truly believe with no sense of remorse, with no sense of conviction. And yet he is the betrayer of the Lord Jesus Christ. And his disciples count for a moment, think that it could possibly be Judas. Listen, Judas was the treasurer. During that day, as is true today, you didn't just hand your money to somebody without trusting that they would take care of it. Unless you were with Washington Mutual, but that's another thing. Um, you just don't do that. You give your money to the person you trust. And so naturally that tells us something about Judas. Judas was very trusted by all of the disciples. That's why not for a moment would they believe that he was capable of doing that. Not for a moment would they think that Judas would actually sell Jesus Christ out. They couldn't fathom that, but indeed he had. And that's why Judas could pretend like he was one of the innocent disciples when in reality he was the betrayer. He blended in. He was a chameleon. And the others were so busy looking at their own hearts that they couldn't even fathom for a moment that it was him. Even when Jesus said to him, what you're going to do, do it quickly. And he got up and walked out and they're thinking he's going out to buy some more provisions for the Passover. Couldn't possibly be the man who is betraying Christ. And I know people, I have met people over the years who have had every outward appearance of being a believer when in reality they didn't have a relationship with God any more than Judas did. I've told you the story of when I got saved, that several people and I went to the Hollywood Palladium and it was a Volkswagen van full of people. I don't really know how many, I don't remember how many of us, but we filled the whole van up and off we went. And the person who had told me that I needed to go, his name is Bill, he's the one who had said, we prayed and God said, you have to go. So turn your car off and climb in the van, you're coming with us. And it was his house that we would go to after going to Bible studies at Calvary Costa Mesa. And we would go to Bill's house every time we went out to Costa Mesa, which was regularly, we'd go to a Bible study, we'd return to Bill's house after the study, we'd have afterglows there, we'd pray and wait on the Lord and sing songs and I spent the night there. Often we had meals together, communal meals with a lot of believers. And Bill and I went into the military together, he and I were very close friends and all, so we went into the service on the same day. We went through basic training, we got separated. I went off to Georgia and he stayed in Northern California for AIT, Advanced Infantry Training. I got stationed in North Carolina, he ended up going to Germany. And he served with an Airborne and Paratroop Division in Germany while I was with the 82nd here in the United States. I didn't see him for, well, for 18 months. And after we got out of the military, I saw him on occasion and all and then I hadn't seen him for some time. He had walked away from the Lord when he was in the military and obviously I hadn't. And so I hadn't seen him for years. And one day he called me up at my house and it was odd, you know, as many years ago now, but he called me at my parents' house actually and he wanted to ask me a question about the Bible because he was listening to K-wave and he heard me speaking and he knew it was me. So he called and he said, Dave, I want to ask you a question about revelation. And so he asked me a question. Now at that time he was a police officer serving with the Los Angeles Police Department. And so we reconnected a little while, for a little while. A few years ago, several years ago now, he and I were together in a wedding for a mutual friend, a close friend of ours from high school. And I went to Bill's house and as I was talking to Bill and all he said, you know, Dave, he said, I've listened to you on the radio off and on. And he goes, you mentioned me recently. Maybe he'll listen to this study, I hope he does. He's retired now. He got old, but I didn't. But he said, you mentioned me over the radio. And I said, really? Because I don't listen to my own studies. Nobody else does either. But anyway, I said, oh, really? And he goes, you mentioned my name. And you talked about some of the things I just shared with you. And you know what he told me? He says, for the life of me, I don't remember any of that. I don't remember any of that. I don't remember prayer meetings at the house, going to Bible studies. He was so far from God that God was not part of his thoughts, that the memories that I still have that I cherish of times of fellowship, times of prayer, times of worship, times of going to church together, going into the military. He told me when we went in the Army, make sure you bring your Bible, make sure you bring some reading material. We don't want a backslide. He and I led a guy to Christ who went AWOL, took off to Canada. But because he had actually given his heart to the Lord, he actually came back, turned himself in, did some time, and finished his time off in the military. He and I had ministry together in basic training. He doesn't remember any of that. Not a single thing. He said, Dave, I don't remember any of that. It's possible. It's possible to be amongst genuine believers, to be considered one of the group, even trusted, when in reality you have no relationship with God. My friend Bill, not only was Bill one of the group, Bill was the leader of the group, of all the believers. We looked to him. He was a very key individual in my life. He put my feet to the fire. He made sure that I read the Bible. He made sure that I learned to pray. He made sure that I went to church. It was Bill who did a lot of that, along with a friend named George Adams. And when it came down to it, guys, doesn't even remember. He listens to me on the radio on occasion and says, Dave, I don't even remember any of that. You were talking about things? I don't remember. It's possible. It's possible. It's possible to be here, even tonight, in this church, here in a Bible study, the way I used to go to this, Calvary Costa Mesa is a 20-year-old, and to sit there amongst hundreds of people and listen to, make little notes in my Bible. It's possible to do that. And to not have a genuine relationship with God. That was Judas. And he could look at Jesus right in his face, and he could say, is it I? When all along, he knew that it was. But keeping it silent from the others, and Jesus looking at him, well, John tells us, Jesus says, that what you're doing, do quickly. And he did. Now, verse 24, there was also a dispute among them as to which of them should be considered the greatest. And he said to them, the kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called benefactors. But not so among you. On the contrary, he who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger, and he who governs as he who serves. For who is greater? He who sits at the table, or he who serves. Is it not he who sits at the table? Yet I am among you as the one who serves. These guys are something else. I mean, think about it for a minute. Jesus is there. He's telling them the hand of my betrayer is on the table. Can you imagine that? And you know what's going through their mind? Which one of us is the best? Isn't that amazing? That's so human nature. It's so in them. Yeah, yeah, you're going to die. But who do you like most? I'm amazed at that. I'm amazed at that. But it's true. That's why I love these guys. I understand them because they're like us. They're like me at least. Probably nobody else in this room, but they are like me. This isn't the first time this kind of question was asked. This is something that has been banded amongst them more than once. Mark tells us in chapter 9, verses 33 and 34, he came to Capernaum, and when he was in the house, he asked them, what was it you disputed among yourselves on the road? But they kept silent. For on the road they had disputed among themselves who would be the greatest. So Jesus is walking, and as a shepherd would be walking in front of the sheep, he's walking there on the road. And as he's walking on the road, behind him are his apostles, his A team. These are the guys who are going to take the message of this salvation through Christ throughout the whole world. And yet what are they arguing amongst themselves? They're arguing which one of us is the best, which one of us is the greatest. That is something that happens. And it happens during the time that Jesus is trying to communicate the deepest things. In the context of Mark 9, that argument started right after Jesus had told him he was going to die. He had told him he's going to die. And you would think that they'd be discussing that on the road as they're walking behind the Mass. You would think they'd be saying, the Mass is going to die. What are we going to do? What does that mean? Now they're saying, I'm better than you. That's an interesting way to be. It really, really is. Now, in context here, because Luke doesn't give us the entire context, you actually can see this as it's given to us in Matthew chapter 20 as well as in Mark chapter 10. In context, what is taking place is this. Jesus' disciples actually ask him a question. They in reality are making a request of him. And they're asking if they can have positions of greatness in his kingdom. You have James and you have John. And you also have their mother, who are basically asking Jesus if he would do something for them. And Jesus says, what would you have me to do? And they said, grant that one of us might be seated on your right hand and the other on your left in your kingdom. And when you begin to look in Matthew, and when you combine that with Mark, you can see that just by doing some simple cross referencing that their mother, James and John's mother, is actually Jesus' aunt through Mary. So they're using their position as relatives to try and get a position of honor in the kingdom of God. And their mama is the one who really initiates the question, but James and John participate in that. And they're asking for positions of power. And now Jesus, when they ask that question, basically says you don't know what it is that you're asking for. In Mark chapter 10 verses 38 and 39, he says, are you able to drink the cup that I drink and be baptized with the baptism that I'm baptized with? And they said to him, we are able. They didn't know what they're talking about. You cannot drink of that cup. You cannot be baptized with that baptism. A cup of suffering and death. This is something that you can't do in a lighthearted, haphazard way. That's not the way it's going to work. Indeed, you will ultimately be empowered and you ultimately will give yourself completely over and you will have opportunities to demonstrate your faithfulness and all. But you're asking for something that you're not really equipped for. You're asking for a position, but you don't understand the cost that goes along with that. You don't realize that to be put in a position is something that you don't necessarily ask for or candidate for. It's something that God does on your behalf. The Bible in Psalm 147 verse 6 says, the Lord lifts up the humble. He casts the wicked down to the ground. They don't realize that it's God who places you where he wants you to be. You know, over the years, I've had conversations with people who will say things to me like, you know, if a great rock star or movie star got saved, they would more than likely bring many people to Christ simply because of their notoriety and their fame. I had a guy in the army who used to tell me he was a Bob Dylan fan. I mean, he loved Bob Dylan. And he used to tell me, I won't come to Christ unless Bob Dylan does. That's what Bob Dylan does. I said, you're kidding me. He said, nope. He said, if Bob Dylan comes to Jesus, I will too. That's the truth. I mean, he said that to me. And then what? Several years later, Bob Dylan puts out his saved album and starts, he actually was going to a Calvary ministry in Westwood, California for a long time. He had actually been part of that fellowship for over a year. He was being discipled by the pastor Ken Gullickson for quite some time in secret because they didn't want his notoriety to be something that caused people to come to see Bob Dylan. And also they basically kept it kind of, you know, on low key and everything like that. Whether or not Bob Dylan actually ever got saved or not, I don't really know. But I do know that there was a period of time when he began to tell us, you've got to serve somebody and all the rest. I mean, this is something he actually started saying. And oh, well, I began to wonder when the report came out that Dylan was going to church and all. I began to wonder if my friend now if he's saved, you know. Well, of course not. Just because somebody that you like gets saved doesn't mean that you're going to. And yet sometimes people think, well, if some very famous person gets saved, then that person is going to definitely going to bring a lot of people to faith in Christ. That's not necessarily true. You don't have to be some shaker, some mover, some well-known individual. You simply need to be available. And then God places you where he wants you to be. You don't campaign for position. You don't, you know, push for position. When I was a kid playing Little League Baseball, I used to sit there on the bench, you know, when I was 10 years old. And I wanted to play, but the coach wouldn't put me in. And I had my glove in my hand, you know, and I'd be hitting that glove and I did the warm-ups. But it's just something depressing about going home with a clean uniform, you know. You want to play, you know. And that's before they made you play, you know, you had to play. And I can still remember that. And the funny thing is, is when my kids started playing ball and all, my son David was a very good baseball player. And yet he wasn't getting any playing time. And I remember telling him, all you need to do, son, is just be ready. Just be ready. Learn your lessons on the bench. I had to learn mine. Just be ready. So when the coach puts you in, you're ready to play. Just always be ready. I said, it's up to him to put you in when he wants to put you in. He'll put you in at the right moment. So just be ready to play. And I learned that lesson in Little League. I learned that you don't push for position when I was 10 years old. That you just kick back and just don't press. Don't be yelling at the coach. Put me in, coach. Put me in. Because chances are, and the ball comes to you, you'll drop it and you'll be benched the rest of your life. So, you know, just, you know, so just learn to sit the bench. I learned that a long time ago, you know, but in the ministry, serving the Lord, Psalm 75 verses six and seven says, exaltation comes neither from the east, nor from the west, nor from the south. God's the judge. He puts down one and he exalts the other. So it's all up to the Lord for them to be saying, we want to be on your right hand and we want to be on your left hand is wrong. Just trust the Lord. He'll put you in the right position at the right time. They wanted to be put in the premier position. Unfortunately, their request stirred up the rest of the apostles and the rest of the apostles got absolutely angry. They all wanted that position. And they believed that James and John were taking unfair advantage of them. Once again, they too had the tendency of the flesh to desire greatness. And so what Jesus is doing here is he's correcting that tendency because what he's saying is instead of selfish ambition, being your motivation, you need to learn to be servant leaders. It's been said the world is full of willing workers. Some willing to work and others willing to let them work. And the bottom line is the world is full of people who push for position. And when you're pushing for position, it always results in division. Proverbs 13.10 says, only by pride comes contention. But with the well advised is wisdom. So pride will always cause contention. It caused contention here amongst the disciples. They got very upset about that. And so Jesus begins to minister to them. Notice what he says in verse 25. The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them. Those who exercise authority of them are called benefactors. So the kings of the Gentiles, the pharaohs and the Caesars, the mayors, governors, the presidents, whatever you want to call them, those who are rulers, those who are leaders, well their tendency is to lord it over people. When he says they lord it over them, they exercise lordship. That literally means ruling down on people. They hold people down. They crush people down. They completely dominate them. They play the tyrant is what he's saying. They do everything in their power to rise to the top. They will squash any who oppose them. And power is the drug they are addicted to. They crave and they will do anything for. Absolutely. And we know that to be a fact. There's no doubt about that. Power, the desire to be powerful and to be close to it, it drives people. I read a book by Charles Colson many years ago in which he stated that President Nixon, when he would travel, often had two men, high-ranking cabinet officials, who would be in the same room with him. And so they would actually sleep on one, he'd be in the center bed, and one high, powerful government official would be on one side and another government official would be on the other side. And this is the truth, according to Chuck Colson. Somebody would have to come in with a measuring tape and measure the distance from Nixon's bed to the beds on either side to make sure that they were exactly within, it had to be exactly the same distance between his two men, or else there'd be a problem. And that scares me when I realize these are the people who are making decisions in this nation. And that wasn't true just then. That's true now. That's true in power and politics. It's always been true. It's always been true. Power corrupts and great power corrupts greatly. We know that, and Jesus is simply speaking about it, and he's saying, listen, religious power is not exercised like secular power. This is not to be so among you. On the contrary, he says in verse 26, he who is greatest among you. Well, he used to be like the younger. And he who governs is one who serves. In the Jewish society, it's natural to afford the older or the elder with respect. You honor those with gray hair. You respect them in Jewish society because you had years of experience that the youth did not have. And so what is true then is still true today. It's just common courtesy, and some of us know that. I was raised that way, and some of you were too. I've said this before, but as I grew up as a little boy, my mom and my dad taught me this. They said that when an older person comes into the room, an older person was, by the way, my parents' age. So they would say when an older person comes into the room, you stand and you show them respect. And I've done that all my life to this day. If I'm seated somewhere and somebody my parents' age comes into the room, the first thing I do is I stand. I'll offer them my seat because that's just polite. That's just proper. That's what you ought to do. That's how I was raised. You honor and respect your elders. Well, at least I was taught to do that. That's not necessarily true with the younger generation today. If you're, you know, if you're coming in, even if you're on crutches and you walk in, they pretend that they're reading a book. They don't want to give you their seat because after all, they deserve it and you don't. You're almost dead anyway. What's the matter? That's true. So we've had to teach our kids. Show respect to your elders. Treat them with honor. Well, that was a Jewish thing. And when you take that in mind, when you see that, that's what Jesus is saying. He's saying, He who is greatest among you, let him be as the younger. Elders expect to be treated with courtesy and honor, but you should humble yourself and not expect special treatment. So he's pointing towards humility. He says in verse 26, He who governs, as he who serves. When he speaks as one who serves, that word serves speaks of a table waiter. It's the person who serves you, food and drink. Once again, this is an upside down relationship concerning the values of the world. Jesus has an upside down kingdom. Jesus is the greatest example. Jesus is the greatest who ever lived. And yet he was a servant. Remember in Matthew 20 verse 28, He said, The Son of man didn't come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. He was the one who was used as the greatest example. And so instead of expecting special treatment, you need to be the one who gives special treatment. Instead of the person who expects people to come and serve you, if you're great in the kingdom of God, you ought to be the person who serves somebody else. And that is the opposite of what the world is all about today, isn't it? Because if you with humility do serve somebody, many times that person you're serving will consider you weak and will actually take advantage of your kindness towards them. And they will. And it's happened to me and that's just the truth. It was asked once, I believe D.L. Moody was asked, How does a man know when he's a servant? And he said, Well, you'll know when you're a servant by the reaction that you have when you're treated like one. And that's the truth. How do you act when someone treats you like one? Because you go to the restaurant, some of you will be going to a restaurant after church today and who is greater? The customer or the waiter or the waitress? That's the illustration Jesus is using. He says, isn't it the one who is seated at the meal? But you're the one who serves. You're the one who is to serve. That's what makes us different, especially in leadership. Now, John 13 gives us insight concerning this. We know that chapter. It's the chapter that records how Jesus was washing the feet of his disciples. And we know that as Jesus had girded himself with the towel and taken a basin of water and began to wash the feet of his disciples, how that at first the apostle Peter refused to let Jesus wash his feet. But Jesus wanted to teach them a lesson. And so in John 13, beginning at verse 12, he said, do you know what I've done to you? You call me teacher and Lord, you say, well, for so I am. If I, then, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I've given you an example that you should do as I have done to you. Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them. I am your Lord, I am your teacher. You have called me that and you say, well, because that's exactly what I am. I am your Lord and I am your teacher. And so what I'm doing now as your Lord and as I am instructing you now as your teacher, you need to follow my example. It's interesting to me that when Jesus is having this Passover supper, ordinarily when you would come in off the road and enter into this room, the person who owned that room or that house would be in charge of making sure that your feet were washed because as you walked in off of the dusty roads, then what would need to be done is you'd need to have a foot washing because you were wearing sandals and the dust was clinging to your feet. And so as an act of courtesy, you would receive a kiss and you would receive some ointment and you would also receive a foot washing. Obviously, none of that had been done, at least a foot washing hadn't been done. Now, one of the apostles could have done that. One of them should have done that. They've been trained to serve, right? One of them should have done that. You're not the kind of person who has to be told to do something, are you, to do something right. Your mom and dad used to have to say, how many times do I have to tell you that? When are you going to learn? You know? Well, that's what's taking place. Why didn't one of the guys get up and wash the feet of his friends? Why did Jesus have to do that? But he did. You call me teacher and you call me a Lord. You say rightly, for so I am. If I then be in your teacher and Lord have washed your feet, you ought to wash the feet of one another. I have done this as an example unto you. Two times in Scripture, the word example is specifically used in reference to Jesus Christ. Did you know that? An example of servanthood and Peter later on in 1 Peter gives us the example of sacrifice. Jesus is the greatest example of both. And here Jesus is washing the feet of his disciples. Now being a servant isn't something that people really like, but being a servant is the key to greatness in the kingdom of God. Years ago, somebody who used to attend our fellowship left, but word was brought back to me that they had said something that I have never forgotten, obviously, because I'm going to quote them right now. They said, I'm going, Pastor David tells us we ought to serve. I'm going to a church that doesn't require any service. And I said, well, of course it does. Somebody else is doing it there for you, too. You know, somebody else is doing it for you, too. You know, you got tired of being told it would be good to give back to the Lord and to serve his people here. So you went someplace else where you don't have to feel convicted because you don't want to serve the Lord and you don't want to serve people. But Jesus said, that's the key to greatness in the kingdom of God. And if that's the key to greatness in the kingdom of God, and if Jesus is the greatest example, and he's the greatest in the kingdom, it makes sense to me that if I want to be used by the Lord, I need to learn to serve. And that's exactly what's taking place. But his disciples are busy saying, we want places of position. It's like the guy who walks into the Kung Fu studio and he says, I want a black belt. And the master says to him, it'll take you about eight years during that. No, no, you don't understand. I want a black belt. I'll buy one from you and I'll put it on. I want it right now. I don't want to work out for eight years. I just want the black belt. And can you wash it a few times so it looks old? You know, it takes discipline and time to move into areas that God wants you to be in. And so the mentality is obvious that we ought to be just aware of the fact that the Lord wants us to serve him because serving is the key to greatness. Jesus Christ is the one who gave himself for us. And as a result of him giving himself for us, then we give ourselves completely to him. And maybe it would be good for us to remember the words of John the Baptist when he simply said in John 3.30, he must increase, but I must decrease. You know, I want him to be exalted. And in order for him to be exalted, I need to get out of the way so that he can have his way in my life. This is a great lesson to learn. The disciples needed to learn it 2000 years ago. And disciples still need to learn it today.