A Servant's Heart

…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. Matthew 20:28 (NIV)

Wanna know a secret about me?

I’m not proud of this but I believe if you’re going to trust me when reading these devotions each week, I need to be honest with you.

My secret is…

I don’t always have a servant’s heart when it comes to my husband.

I’m not talking about positionally being his servant or maid wherein I would be viewed as perhaps less than him. Where I would do things out of duty or fear because of his ownership of me or being in his employ. Any acts of service under these circumstances have nothing to do with having a servant’s heart but rather doing a servant’s job.

Having a servant’s heart is not about duty but humility. A servant’s heart stirs within us a willingness to put the needs of others above our own and have a selfless and compassionate attitude towards them.

Okay, now that I’ve beaten to death what I’m referring to as having a servant’s heart, let’s move on with the rest of my secret.

My secret isn’t so much that I don’t always have a servant’s heart towards my husband as much as it is I can have a vengeful heart toward him. If I’m upset with him because I’m hurt, angry, or hangry, it is game on!

When game is on, you better believe I’m not setting up the coffee maker—which I normally do and he appreciates—so he can have coffee when he gets up at 3 am to go to work to provide an income for us. I will, in fact, be that petty—that vengeful.

You may be thinking not setting up the coffee maker isn’t really being vengeful, but you should know my husband’s love language is acts of service. So, in my twisted little mind I have delivered the winning blow when I don’t do this little act of service that he appreciates so much.

In choosing to not set up the coffee maker I have allowed my emotions to have control over me.

Imagine if Jesus would have allowed His emotions to have mastery over Him instead of His obedience to and love for His Father.

We would have no reconciliation.

We would have no hope.

We would have no future.

Jesus, who was without sin (Hebrews 4:15) and no deceit found in His mouth (1 Peter 2:22), never allowed His emotions to keep Him from having a servant’s heart. Not even when the three disciples, whom He asked to keep watch while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, fell asleep (Matthew 26:40-4) instead of doing as Jesus asked.

Jesus had gone to Gethsemane to pray knowing that the hour of his crucifixion was drawing near. The weight of that impending suffering was pressing on Him to the point where He asked God if it was possible, to “let this cup pass from me” (Matthew 26:39).  But Jesus had such a servant’s heart that the words He immediately prayed after this were, “Nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

So, even though Peter, James, and John all fell asleep while Jesus was wrestling with the weight of THEIR sins, He didn’t allow His emotions of sorrow, anxiety, and sense of abandonment to keep Him from serving those whom God sent Him to serve.

In Scripture, Jesus is known as the Suffering Servant (whom Isaiah prophesied) because of His humility and the suffering He endured on our behalf.  If I’m suffering, I’m not serving anyone…unless I’m serving payback.   

As the Suffering Servant not only did He humble Himself and put our needs above His own, He paid the ultimate price by laying down His life for us while we were still sinning (Romans 5:8). I won’t even make my husband coffee if I feel he has “sinned” against me.

Matthew 20:28 tells us, “…the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Did you know that before Jesus paid our debt on Calvary–gave His life as a ransom–He also paid another debt He didn’t owe?

Matthew 17:24-27 records the account of the Temple Tax collectors asking Peter if Jesus paid the Temple Tax. This tax was part of the Law given by God to Moses, which stated that Jewish males over the age of twenty were obligated to pay the tax for the upkeep of the Temple in Jerusalem.

Why is this important to know?

Let me show you...

The Temple was God’s house.

Jesus is God’s son.

It was a known fact that sons of earthly kings were not obligated to pay the taxes and tolls imposed by their fathers on those who were not their sons.

Based on the sons of earthly kings being exempt from paying taxes because of their fathers’ “house,” Jesus could have argued that He was the Son of God whose house was the Temple. Therefore, this fact would have made Him exempt from the Temple Tax.

But He didn’t make that argument.

Instead, He paid the tax for both He and Peter.

In paying the Temple Tax, Jesus acknowledged that the debit isn’t His to pay but He is willing to pay it anyway.

Friend, if you have ever wondered if Jesus loves you, please know that He loves you so much that He paid a debt He didn’t owe. And while it was a coin with which He paid the debt of the Temple Tax, it was His own blood with which He paid the debt of our sins.

Our Jesus, the Suffering Servant and Son of God, had no sin and no obligation to pay any debt. Yet, He humbled Himself and put our needs above His own. He put our position—separated from God— above His position—Son of God—and offered Himself as payment for the debt that was ours to pay.

This year, as you prepare to celebrate Easter with your family and friends, I pray that you will remember what Easter has prepared for you and your family and friends…all because of a man with a servant’s heart.

Let me ask you, what will you do with this truth about Jesus?

Will you have a servant’s heart towards others?

Will you put your faith in the Son of God who came to serve and not be served?

Me?

I’m going to do my best to put the needs of others before my own.  I think I’ll start with a cup of coffee.