Great Leaders

Matthew 20:20-28; Mark 10:35-45; Luke 22:24-30; John 13:12-17

Talent does not make one a leader. The best player on the team is not necessarily the leader. The mistake that is often made is that the person with the most skills and talents are almost automatically made the leader. A person is born with talent, but that talent must be developed. Great athletes are persons that work hard to sharpen their natural abilities. In 2007 and 2008 the Tennessee Lady Vols won the NCAA Basketball Championship. Candace Parker was undisputedly the best player on the team. However, it was the little known Nikki Anosiki who was able to gather the team together. She approached every team member and got them to commit to doing something extra to make the team successful. Candace had the talent, and Nikki was the leader.

In the context of the Christian church too often persons are placed into positions of leadership based on talents and skills. Sometimes persons are placed into leadership because of their relationship to other prominent members of the church. The most skilled preacher is not necessarily the best candidate to be pastor. There are many books written on leaders and leadership development. In this article I want to address what Jesus teaches His disciples about leading others. I believe that this is a crucial matter for the church. All four gospel writers give an account of Jesus teaching His disciples about leadership as noted in the scripture passages listed above.

Jesus has many disciples. He calls twelve of them to become apostles. These twelve travel with Him and learn what His ministry is about. Jesus calls Peter and his brother Andrew who are fishermen. He says to them ‘“Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men”’ (Matt. 4:19, NASB). The twelve disciples come from several backgrounds. James and John are fishermen also. Matthew is a tax collector, and Simon is a Zealot (Matt. 10:2-4). Jesus gives these twelve instructions to “proclaim the kingdom of God and to perform healings” (Lk. 9:2). After they are successful they began to ask Jesus about their rank in the kingdom (Matt. 18:1).

The dispute of who will be greatest in Jesus’ kingdom becomes a problem that has the potential to cause division in the group. This will mean that they will be less effective in their ministry. The dispute becomes so great that James and John along with their mother go to Jesus and ask that the brothers be given the seats of highest honor (Matt. 20:20-21; Mark 10:35-37). Jesus uses this occasion to teach the twelve about rank in the kingdom of God and how to become great through leadership. At this time I will use Mark 10:35-45 as a launching pad for this discussion.

When James and John ask Jesus for the seats of honor, Jesus tells them that the occupiers of the seats are not determined by their works. It is God who determines beforehand who will occupy the seats. Although they will suffer as Jesus will suffer this will not guarantee them any particular position in the kingdom. Their drinking of the cup will not make them greater than the other ten. Why is this true? It is because everyone that is called by God and sent out to do the work of kingdom building is subject to suffering. The drinking of the cup and the baptism (vv. 38-39) refers to death and burial that Jesus and the disciples will suffer.

As we read this passage of scripture it is obvious that there is competition for the highest position. Jesus hears their disputes and calls them to explain to them how things work in the kingdom. Jesus tells them that God does not do things the same way that the Gentiles do. Why did Jesus raise the issue of the Gentiles? Is it because their concept of greatness is learned from the Gentiles? After all, it is the Romans (Gentiles) that rule over them. They have seen how on advances in the Roman world. They see hard work rewarded. They see that one must be able to compete for position. The disciples know that the Greek games are competition between athletes and the winner out performs all the other athletes. Until now, this has been their model for obtaining positions and greatness.

Now, this is important because those who have high positions are able to use their position as rulers to take advantage of the other people. Jesus uses the phrase, “the Gentiles lord it over them.” Let me give an example. Three years ago I am a substitute teacher. I notice that students who make the higher grades and have the best behavior are given the privilege of having lunch with the teacher in the room instead of lunch in the cafeteria. Rewards can be a good incentive for students to work harder and be on their best behavior. The dangers are that other students might feel that they are not good enough in spite of the fact that they are doing the best that they can. These students may resent the ones that are rewarded, and come to believe that the system is against them. This can be discouraging and cause the students to give up. As a result they do not reach their highest potential. Jesus gives another way that is totally opposite of that of the Gentiles.

Jesus says; do not use your work as ground to obtain personal privileges. God measures greatness by how one uses what they have to serve others. Now, when we reflect on this instruction by Jesus we can see that Jesus is telling them to obey the two greatest commandments found in Matthew 22:36-40. The first commandment is to love God completely. The second commandment is to love neighbor as you love yourself. This means looking out for the welfare of others in the same way that you look out for your own welfare. Don’t sit down and eat two sandwiches while ignoring the fact that the person next to you has no food to eat. James writes that faith is more than a statement of belief. Faith is accomplished through works of kindness to the person in need (James 2:14-17). So, what makes a great leader?

A great leader is one who is called by God to minister unto others. They seek to relieve others of their sicknesses and diseases. These ailments are not limited to the physical realm. Great leaders go about discovering what things are causing people to suffer. These include mental illnesses and emotional disorders. They ask, how can the church help its members to better manage their finances? How can mothers and fathers raise their children based on God’s principles as seen in the scriptures? Do parents even know that the bible has anything to say about raising children or do they depend on the school system’s methods and what they learn from social media? In today’s world the opportunities to heal people are almost limitless.

A great leader does not focus on gaining a position so that they can take advantage of others. They do not use their authority to use people for their own desires. Rather, great leaders are those who learn from Jesus that greatness comes not from being served, but it comes through serving others.

Jesus is the supreme model of greatness. He gives the best of His service when He dies for the sins of the world. He gives up all the rank, position, and privileges that He has. It is because of His service to others that God gives Him a name above every name, and every knee will bow to Him (Phil. 2:5-11).