Walking with Jesus, Part 4, An Unlikely HeroMay 20th, 2012

I’d like to continue our series this morning called Walking with Jesus, where we’re focusing on specific aspects of who Jesus is…

- that have not only changed the world but that are meant to truly impact our lives as well.

- Today we're going to look at a part of who Jesus was and is that literally changed the kind of person our world admires.

A Georgetown professor named Francis Ambrosia talks about two different paradigms for living a meaningful life through Western History.

- One is the way of the hero; while the other is the way of the saint. Let me explain what he means.

- You see, in the ancient Greco-Roman world into which Jesus was born, what was admired was the hero.

- And, the idea of a hero is somebody who overcame obstacles to achieve his full potential of excellence, and, as a result, would typically receive honor, recognition, and mostly, status!

And so, because that’s what they celebrated, they viewed all of life as kind of a contest or a competition. For them, this was the meaning of life.

- That's why for the Greeks, the Olympics was far more than just a game; In a very real way, it was like a religious ceremony,

- because they were a reflection of what makes for a good life: a striving against obstacles for excellence and status and honor.

The word for that kind of striving, that contest, was the Greek word agon. We get our word agony from that.

- Some of you might remember the Wide World of Sports… "the thrill of victory and the agony of defeat."

- So that led to the creation of a society where status, the pecking order, who's up high, who's down low was absolutely fundamental.

- Cicero wrote, "Rank must be preserved." In other words, in this society, your identity is based on where you stand in the pecking order.

And so, clearly, your goal ought to be to try to get as high up on the ladder as possible. At least don't let yourself slip down at all!

- And how you reflect your status to the world around you, then, takes on particular importance...

- In fact, it’s expressed in many different ways. - And so, what I’d like to do in the first part of this message is

to consider how one’s status was most often expressed… - Which will be important when we really begin to focus in on

Jesus later on.

Well, it shouldn’t be any surprise that even back 2000 years ago, the clothes you wore were a reflection of your status.

- If you were free and not a slave, you could wear what was called a freedman's cap.

- That showed, "I'm not a slave," which was important because, as you can imagine, slaves were at the bottom of the societal ladder.

- If you were a citizen, than when you were a boy and you turned about 14 or 16, you could wear what was called the toga virilis.

- Isn't that a great phrase? Toga virilis. The toga of manhood.

If you were an equestrian (that's kind of a high-level aristocrat), not only could you wear a toga, which was a fine robe,

- but you were also allowed to put gold rings on your finger to mark your status as an equestrian.

- By the way, this is part of what's behind a warning in the New Testament. James is writing to the church, and he says,

- "Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes…" (James 2:2) The toga virilis.

So this is like a high-status guy. Everybody knows exactly what James is talking about.

- He says if that guy comes in there and you favor him (which by Roman law and custom you were supposed to do) over a poor man in shabby clothes, James says that's flat out wrong!

- See the church is going to mess with Rome. - The church is going to do a number on the pecking order, and

clothes are a big part of this.

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If you were a senator in the senatorial class (like way, way high), you were able to wear a toga and a gold ring and you got to have a big purple stripe on your toga robe.

- Wouldn't that be cool to have a purple stripe? Isn't it crazy that people's clothes were an expression of status?

- Isn't that a goofy way to live? The Romans thought they were so smart. Unbelievable.

But it wasn’t just one’s clothing that reflected their status and worth… but their occupations as well.

- In fact, one’s status was typically ordered around rank. - The most honorable was to own vast tracks of land and have

slaves that work on it. - And why? Because the more people who worked for you and

the more leisure time you had… - And the more leisure time you had, the higher up on the pecking

order you must be.

The elite would never, whatever they do, do manual labor. They would never work with their hands.

- They would actually look down on anybody who did. They would compete with each other for honor.

- They wouldn't vie with somebody who did manual labor for honor because that guy was way too low.

- Cicero wrote, "Vulgar are the means of livelihood of all hired workmen whom we pay for mere manual labor."

- So your occupation is about your status.

Your legal standing in society also reflected your social status. A judicial decree in 2nd century Rome, for example,

- said that there was one law for the more honorable (those with honor, those with status), & another law for the more humble.

- In other words, it wasn’t a good thing to be one of the humble! - For example, a Roman citizen could never be crucified. They

could be punished in other ways; but they couldn't be crucified.

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Crucifixion was reserved for non-citizens, particularly for slaves who were the guys down at the bottom of the pecking order.

- By the way, the apostle Paul, a follower of Jesus, writes to a church in Rome one time, and he starts his letter by

- describing himself not as “Paul, a citizen of the Rome empire” (which he was), not as “Paul, a wearer of the toga,”

- but, "Paul, a slave of Christ Jesus." You see, culturally speaking, this is social suicide. Nobody talked that way.

Paul writes later on to the church at Corinth, "we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles." (1 Cor 1:23ff)

- Now he's not just picking words out of the air; he's being surgically precise here.

- The Old Testament says that, "Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree," so the Jews thought someone who was crucified was cursed by God.

- So “Christ crucified” is a stumbling block to the Jews.

To the Greeks, to the Romans, it's all about honor. It's all about status. It's all about the pecking order.

- A slave who was crucified is as low as you can go. To have a group of people who say,

- "We admire, we venerate, and we serve a crucified slave named Jesus. We consider ourselves slaves to a slave," that's crazy!

- And yet, Paul knows exactly what he's saying.

Seating at public events reinforced status. At theaters, seats were arranged not as we do by how much your ticket cost, but by rank.

- The higher rank you were, the closer you got to sit to the stage and so on.

- Everybody knew from where you sat where you stood on the pecking order.

- Even at a private party, all guests would be seated in order of their status, where they were on the pecking order.

Hosts would sometimes invite guests of inferior rank just to highlight their own social status, to elevate themselves.

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- If you were a guest of inferior rank, you would actually be served inferior food at the banquet to reinforce your inferiority.

- You would even be given cheaper wine in cheaper cups, and everybody knew about this. It’s just the way things worked.

- If you're a low status, you're not allowed to speak at a party until everybody of higher status has spoken.

- If you're low status, you don't get to interrupt somebody of high status. If you're high status, you get to interrupt low status people anytime you want to. Again, just the way things worked!

Even the giving of gifts reinforced status. Rich people might build public baths or parks or buildings.

- Their names would go on them, and, not unlike today, it was done to display their own status.

- In fact, gifts were never free in the ancient world.- A wealthy person might offer a gift as a sign of, "I got wealth; I

got status," but there was a string attached.

There was a reciprocal dynamic that was invoked when a gift was given, where the receiver was expected to reciprocate.

- In fact, sometimes, just to show off, a rich guy might deliberately ruin a less rich guy he did not like…

- by inviting him to a banquet and then giving him a gift that was so expensive that the less rich guy would go bankrupt trying to reciprocate!

Plutarch, an ancient Roman writer, wrote, "Most people think that to be deprived of a chance to display their wealth is to be deprived of wealth itself."

- So they would look for expensive stuff to buy, clothes with expensive labels, chariots that were really expensive, just to let everybody know, "I'm a rich guy. I can afford it."

- Isn't that a goofy culture? Can you imagine one time people actually lived that way?

Titles were a big deal. In fact, they would generate honorary titles for themselves because life was all about receiving honor.

- It was about winning glory, which came from your status.

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- Let me read an ancient document that had been displayed at one time all over Rome.

- It's called The Deeds of Divine Augustus (emperor Caesar Augustus), written by… you got it… Emperor Augustus!

"Three times I triumphed adoration. Twenty-one times I was named emperor. The Senate voted yet more triumphs for me, which I declined because of victories won by me. The Senate voted thanks to the immortal gods. Fifty-five times in my triumphs, nine kings or children of kings were led before my chariot. I have been counseled 13 times. I was highest-ranking senator for 40 years. I held the office of Pontific Maximums. All citizens with one accord unceasingly prayed in every holy place for my wellbeing."

Well good for you! Good to be Emperor! The crazy thing, though, is that this kind of self-praise wasn't considered embarrassing.

- Plutarch actually wrote a book called How to Praise Yourself Inoffensively.

- Wouldn't that be a bestseller in our day? Who wouldn't want to buy that book?

- Now “the way of the hero” may reflect a number of wonderful qualities: courage and excellence and persistence, overcoming obstacles, self-discipline, and self-mastery.

But they weren't so big on humility! Humility was not an admired quality. It was not considered desirable. What was desirable was greatness.

- In fact, historian, Robin Fox, wrote, "Among pagan authors, humility had almost never been a term of commendation.

- It belonged with ignoble and abject characters, modest little men with much to be modest about. Men, great men, should cherish no humble thoughts about their nature."

That's kind of how they thought about humility in that day. You see, life in the ancient world was about greatness. And yet…

- There is a carpenter in a humble little country called Israel who's going to play by an entirely different set of rules.

- He said to His friends one day, "You know that the rulers of

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the Gentiles lord over them and their high officials exercised [or you could say flaunt] authority over them."

Of course they did. That's what the world was about. It's all about climbing up on the pecking order.

- No Roman would have been offended by what Jesus said. It's like they wouldn't have taken that as something derogatory.

- They would say, "Yeah, of course. That's us. Man that's our system. That's how we pursue greatness and excellence."

- The whole point of making it to the top of the pecking order is that you get to peck those below you.

- But… "Not so with you," Jesus said, not so with you!

"Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave…"

"…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many."

He's saying, "Now there is this way over here, but I'm making a new community with a new way,

- and so, in the kingdom of God, there'll be the way of the saint."- You see, a saint doesn't try to grab worth through an endless

race of achievement, but just receives worth by grace. - A saint does not choose as an ultimate value self-fulfillment, but

self-giving love.

A saint doesn’t seek glory, but gives glory to a glorious God. A saint doesn’t impose her will on an impersonal world;

- but surrenders her will to a loving, good God- You see, a saint like Abraham would never have been a hero

in Greece or Rome. But in a place called Israel… - he becomes a model for a new way of life, a life lived in

covenant relationship with a good and loving God.

In Jesus, this other way, this way of one called & loved by God, this way of humility & servanthood,

- would stand in stark contrast to the pecking-order world

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around Him. Jesus’ whole life is about this. - It started with the doctrine of the incarnation, God becoming

human, so that He could bare the sins of the ones He created on His own back in order to die and be resurrected and restore us back to Himself.

- On His last night, nearing the final moments of His life, He is so concerned His followers get this that He models it in a way no one could have imagined…

“Jesus knew that the Father had given him authority over everything and that he had come from God and would return to God. 4 So he got up from the table, took off his robe, wrapped a towel around his waist, 5 and poured water into a basin. Then he began to wash the disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel he had around him. John 13:3-5

What He's saying to them is, "You might not fully get it now, but you will. You will soon understand what it really means to live.

- You’ll understand what a hero is really looks like in the kingdom of God.

- Now you’ll see the heart of the Heavenly Father on display."- In fact, I think they began seeing everything differently from

that moment on…

That what made Jesus so different from the heroes of the Roman world wasn’t a weakness, but a sign of greatness & strength.

- What about His clothes? When Jesus was born, the angels come to the shepherds and they say, in Luke 2:12…

- "This shall be a sign unto you: you shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes."

- You don't get swaddling clothes at Neiman Marcus. They're the rags a peasant would wrap her baby in.

That Jesus comes into the world in swaddling clothes… It’s no mistake. In fact, "That will be a sign to you!"

- He came into the world born of impoverished parents in a filthy animal stable…

- And the night before His death, He takes off His outer garment… and wraps a towel around Himself.

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- It's what a slave did. Who is this guy? What kind of hero is this?

What about His occupation? Jesus worked most of His life with His hands, did menial labor as a carpenter.

- No hero in Greek or Roman literature did this. But Jesus was a different kind of hero.

- Now, you know that washing feet is a really important part of ancient life. It was a really important act of hospitality.

- And yet, it was a thoroughly demeaning job. And so, as you can imagine, it was always done by slaves.

In fact, even in Israel, it was considered so demeaning that a Jewish slave could not be forced to wash anybody else's feet.

- There is a first century story in Israel of a couple named Joseph and Aseneth.

- Aseneth is the bride, and she is so in love with her husband that he comes home and she actually goes to wash her husband's feet. He's stunned by this.

He says, "No, no, no. Don't do that. Get up. A servant will do that." She says to him, "No. You are my lord from now on. Your feet are my feet.

- Your hands are my hands. Another woman will never wash your feet." Isn't that a beautiful story?

- Joyce wouldn’t think so either because here’s what you never read: You never read about any husbands washing their wives' feet. It simply wasn’t done.

There’s another really extraordinary story about some disciples. They loved their rabbi so much they try to wash their rabbi's feet.

- You never read of a higher status person washing the feet of a lower status person.

- You never read of a rabbi washing his disciples' feet. Well, in all of history, there is One… this rabbi, who by the way, is the Messiah;

Who, by the way, is the Son of God; who, by the way, has come from the Father and is returning to the Father;

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- of whom, by the way, the Father says, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased";

- of whom, by the way, Thomas will say, "My Lord and my God."

- What kind of God is this? What kind of God humbles Himself?

And what about His legal status? This is Jesus' last night. We're told it's already entered into the heart of Judas to betray Jesus.

- That same night, He will be arrested… and will soon be convicted… and sentenced and executed as a criminal.

- That will be His status. - Think about this… Judas is present at the Last Supper. Jesus

now washes the feet of Judas.

Did you ever have somebody betray you? How do you get down on your knees and wash their feet?

- Ok, maybe as an act of reconciliation after it’s all said and done… after they’ve asked for your forgiveness.

- But not right before you know they will have you killed in exchange for a small bag of silver coins.

- What kind of heart does He have that He can love like this? Who is this guy?

Seating was always about expressing status and honor. Jesus is seated at the Passover table where all the other guests are seated…

- And then gets up from the table like a servant would do… and begins to serve them.

- It’s what Jesus had just taught them in Luke 22:27. - He's teaching His disciples and He asks, "For who is greater,

the one who is at the table or the one who serves?"

Of course they all knew. This is the way the world works, the pecking order. The great ones sit; the humble ones, the not-so-great ones serve.

- We would expect the answer is, "Of course the greater one is the one sitting at the table."

- At a banquet the guests are seated. Sometimes there is a special guest, and we have a title for that person.

- We would say, "This is the guest of honor."

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If there is a guest of honor, if it's a really formal banquet, they actually get to sit at a special table. And what’s that table is called?

- The head table. You never go to a banquet where the guest of honor is a busboy. Never.

- So, Jesus asks them, “Who is greater? The one who sits at the table or the one who serves?” Then He goes on…

- "Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as One who serves." I am among you as a busboy.

Next time you go into a restaurant, you look around and ask yourself, In God's eyes, who are the great ones in this room?

- We all know about how life works and who's wearing what designer label…

- and who can afford what’s on the menu and who has how much in their wallet.

- But how does God see it? Where is greatness in God's eyes?

As I shared earlier, the giving of a gift is all about status... about how it makes you look.

- So, Jesus goes to Peter. He's going to wash his feet. - When Jesus came to Simon Peter, Peter said to him, “Lord, are

you going to wash my feet?” Jesus replied, “You don’t understand now what I am doing, but someday you will.” “No,” Peter protested, “you will never ever wash my feet!” Jesus replied, “Unless I wash you, you wont belong to Me.” John 13:5-8

Peter says, "No, You shall never wash my feet." In other words, "Jesus, this is beneath You. I will never be the occasion of your humiliation."

- But Jesus says, "Unless I wash you, you wont belong to Me." - It’s so amazing. In this one act, Jesus is not only modeling a

whole new way or “doing life,”- But He’s sharing this metaphor of our true spiritual condition…

that we're all sinners…

And that, without His cleansing work in our lives, our hearts can never be right with God….

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- That without Him we could never belong to Him… that we can’t do it ourselves… that we can’t clean ourselves up.

- That, like it our not, we absolutely need the gift Jesus will give in His ultimate humiliation: death on a cross.

You see, all of us in this room have this problem called sin. It'll kill us. Jesus says, "You must receive this gift. There is no other way."

- So, let me ask you? Have you just gotten down on your knees and humbled yourself before God and said,

- "God, it's killing my pride. It's killing my self-sufficiency. I want to be great on my own, but I want to confess to You I'm a sinner, and I need the gift Jesus brings."

Jesus says there is no other way to be part of His family. You see, back in the ancient world, every giver wanted something back in return.

- He’s not washing Peter’s feet so Peter would agree to wash His. In fact, he refuses Peter’s offer to wash His feet.

- He says, "I have given you an example to follow. Do as I have done for you… Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them." John 13:15-17

- We make you into a little community of foot-washers.

Then there is the title thing. In John 13, Jesus says, "You call me 'Teacher' and 'Lord'…" Those are titles of respect in that day.

- "You call me Teacher and Lord and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another's feet." John 13:14

- You see, what Jesus is saying here is that titles are just about opportunities to serve and help.

He says, "Now we're going to start this little community with no pecking order."

- It’s what made Paul’s words so radical in Galatians 3:28 that “There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male or female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.”

- You see, with Pentecost came the birth of the Church… that counter-cultural assembly of people where masters and slaves were worshipping together as equals.

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Paul would write to a group of Christ-followers in another colony of the empire at Philippi and say,

- "Let this same attitude be in you that was in Christ Jesus. Though He was God, He did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, He gave up His divine privileges; He took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. And being found in human likeness, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-8.

He humbled Himself! Nobody in the Greco-Roman world was doing that… because no one in the G-R world valued that!

- Paul writes to the church at Rome. You think about Rome getting these words. Just think about these words.

- "Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited," Romans 12:16.

How am I doing at that? How ‘bout you? Are we living according to the “way of the hero” or the “way of the saint?”

- Really, Jesus is just redefining what a hero is… because, without a moment’s hesitation…

- Even as I was preparing this message, I kept thinking to myself what an unbelievable hero Jesus is to me.

- And yet, I know I can feel that way… and yet, still live life differently than Jesus modeled.

Jesus concludes His time washing His disciples feet in John 13 by reminding us that we’re not above our master.

- And so, it’s time we let go of our concern for earthly status… our concern for titles or occupations or clothes.

- Maybe it's time we humble ourselves and offer the words, "I'm sorry. Would you forgive me?" to someone who has hurt us.

- I mean, wouldn’t it be cool if there was an outbreak of humility and servanthood within the White House, Congress, & Senate?

Wouldn't it be cool if that could start with us… an epidemic of humility starting with us and spreading in & around Morris County throughout

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the NY Metro area? - If there was just an outbreak of humbleness & servanthood

and freedom from self-aggrandizement & self-promotion? - Can you imagine if we, as Jesus-followers… and we, as the

church, let go of rank, title, honor, recognition…- And chose to live more like Jesus… by living humbly as

servants and agents of life and blessing? Wouldn't that be cool?

I mean, can you imagine what it would look like if we served one another like that?

- Can you imagine what it would look like if, without caring whatsoever who got the credit for anything, we began serving the needy in Morris Plains and beyond?

- I only know that it needs to begin with us… today… as soon as you get up out of your seats.

- How will you live out, right now, the Jesus way of life?

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