The King Who Is a Servant

Jesus is our King - the One who was hailed as such who rode into Jerusalem less than a week before His death will return in all His glory and majesty. And, even though He was the Son of God, He was full of humility. In Mark chapter 10, Jesus says:
(43) whoever desires to become great among you shall be your servant.

He goes on to say:
45 For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

Even though His disciples were followers of Christ who swore allegiance to Him, He was telling them that His desire was to serve.  Jesus humbled Himself before the people to whom He ministered, and ultimately humbled Himself to the point of death. He is an example to us and empowers us to walk in the way He would intend.  He was God who came in the flesh, who came down to earth, so that we might be taken up with Him to heaven through salvation.

+++++

As Jesus shared His final meal together with His disciples, He made some comments about servanthood, in advance of His incredible act of service in order to redeem humanity. In Luke 22, we find that He said:
25 And He said to them, "The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those who exercise authority over them are called 'benefactors.'
26 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.
27 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.

One of the initial reports after the deadly shooting recently in Boulder, CO at a grocery store involved the death of a police officer who gave his life to save others.  ChristianNews.net had a portion of the story from TheDenverChannel.com.  51-year-old Eric Talley "was the first to respond to the King Soopers minutes after initial 911 calls around 2:30 p.m. He was shot and killed," according to Boulder Police Chief Maris Herold.  A total of 10 people lost their lives, and the alleged shooter is in custody.

The story says that Eric's father, Homer Talley, shared this statement with ABC:

“He took his job as a police officer very seriously. He had seven children. The youngest is 7 years old. He loved his kids and his family more than anything. He joined the police force when he was 40 years old. He was looking for a job to keep himself off of the front lines and was learning to be a drone operator. He didn’t want to put his family through something like this and he believed in Jesus Christ.”

Chief Herold said, "I'm grateful for the police officers that responded, and I am so sorry about the loss of Officer Talley..."  Another article at the same website quotes the chief as saying: "He's everything policing deserves and needs," adding, "He cared about this community, he cared about Boulder Police Department, and he cared about his family. And he was willing to die to protect others." The story also notes that Mayor Sam Weaver said, "Many are alive today because of the actions of Eric Talley and other first responders and their bravery is a blessing to us all."  Both leaders used the word "heroic" in their statements.

Eric Talley certainly demonstrates for us a man who was devoted to saving lives, even to the extent of putting his life on the line, as our law enforcement and first responders are willing to do every single day - and we should never take them for granted.  And, as it's been noted, Talley went into an active shooter situation, a life-or-death situation, and according to the mayor, his willingness to give of himself helped to save lives.

Yesterday, Christians around the world celebrated a moment in which someone who was willing to give his life put himself in harm's way and rode into Jerusalem into what became a dangerous situation.  Within the course of a week, our Savior went from being hailed as King to being scorned as criminal.  But, Jesus was intent on His mission - at the time of Passover, our perfect Passover Lamb, who said Himself that He came to serve and give His life, fulfilled that mission: not only to die, but to be raised from the dead so that we can have new life in Him.  Our King exemplified what servant-leadership is all about.

So, in this Holy Week, as we consider the King who gave His life, we can think about what that means for us, and how that can affect our attitude. Because of our Savior, we can live a fulfilling, selfless life.  And, we can demonstrate a willingness to give our lives so that others can be free. Our Savior calls us to present ourselves as living sacrifices.