26 If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
26 And after crying out and convulsing him terribly, it came out, and the boy was like a corpse, so that most of them said, “He is dead.”
43 But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,
55 There were also many women there, looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him,
40 But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, “Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.”
27 For who is the greater, one who reclines at table or one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at table? But I am among you as the one who serves.
We begin with a foundational statement. As Christians we want to hear from Jesus. I am going to give you some foundational statements for the claim that I am making that you are all called to be deacons. I am going to take words from our Bible, and I am going to replace them with the word
deaconif they are deacon in Greek. And if it is a verb, I am going to give you a word that is not a word: Deaconing. So [let’s look at] a foundational statement from Jesus Christ.Matthew 20:26:
Whoever wants to be great among you must be your [deacon].John 12:26:If anyone [deacons] me, he must follow me. And where I am, there my [deacon] will be also. If anyone [deacons] me, the Father will honor him.Mark 9:35: “Sitting down, Jesus called the Twelve and said,If anyone wants to be first, he must be the very last, and the [deacon] of all.Mark 10:43:But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your [deacon].Matthew 20:28:Just as the Son of Man did not come to be [deaconed], but to [deacon], and to give his life as a ransom for many.So we see that Jesus requires this table waiting, this
deaconing, this service for everyone who is a part of the kingdom of Jesus Christ. Now we have to say that this is done out of gratitude for the salvation that is given; this is not how we earn salvation. We are justified through the imputed righteousness of Christ, and then out of gratitude we serve. And that wordserve, as we saw, isdeacon. We begin to serve the church. It is gratitude for the love that Christ has bestowed on us.We can swap out a few words in Matthew 27:55:
Many women were there looking on from a distance, who had followed Jesus from Galilee while [deaconing] him.They were serving Him. And then again, [we have] the Martha and Mary story:Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do all the [deaconing] alone? Then tell her to help me.(Luke 10:40). Again, that is not an instance where Jesus rebukes service, but He calls Martha to have a heart of service – to be doing it out of gratitude and out of happiness.Jesus Himself says,
Nathan EshelmanFor who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who [deacons]? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who [deacons].(Luke 22:27). That is Jesus Christ Himself saying,I am here to be a deacon to the church. I am here to serve the church.He puts Himself in that position of humiliation, into that position of service. Jesus Christ served His church in this way as He was on earth, and he calls for the church in return to take that same position. To not say,The one that reclines at the table is the one that is important.Jesus says,I don’t want you to be that guy. I want you to be the one that pours his water, makes his coffee, or serves his dinner. I want you to take the lowly position.And He calls on the whole church to do that. To humble themselves and to put others before themselves and to serve, or deacon (small D), the church.1
26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,