To serve and to give

Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.  – Matthew 20.28

The Jews in Judea were suffering under the yoke of Roman rule. For centuries they had been looking forward to the coming of Messiah to set up His kingdom. They just knew that when He came He would lead a mighty army to overthrow the Romans and give the Jews their freedom in their land.

So when Jesus came and the disciples began following Him and thinking that maybe He was Messiah and that maybe He was going to lead an uprising and raise an army and establish a kingdom and reign as king that maybe they could have a position of power in His government.

I imagine, in a way, their hearts broke when they found out the reality. Even though Jesus gave them hints and flat out told them a few times they did not want to accept why He came. He did not come to be ministered to as king of an earthly empire. He came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.

Paul picked up on this theme in Philippians chapter 2. Here Paul speaks of the church being united by having the mind of Christ. It is the mind that allowed him to veil His deity, become a man, and take on the form of a servant all the way to the point of death.

And that is the mind that we are called to have. It is the mind that should unify us. It is the mind that guides our lives and attitudes and actions. Jesus chose to serve and give Himself – that is our pattern.