Nepaug Bible Church - http://www.nepaugchurch.org - Pastor's Prayer Meeting Lesson Notes - http://www.nepaugchurch.org/pm/pm19990310.htm

LUKE: GOSPEL OF CERTIFYING THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
Part LXXIV: Certifying The Christian Faith By Its REVERSE Order Of Leadership Style
(Luke 22:24-38)
  1. Introduction
    1. There has long been a problem in governments because man is selfish: when he gains authority over others, that selfishness tends to make them use their power for personal reasons at the abuse of subordinates.
    2. Thus, if Jesus is God's true Messiah, we should expect Him to react against selfishness in his rule models.
    3. Luke 22:24-38 reveals Jesus' new order of governmental rule that attacks leadership selfishness head-on, and gives further credibility to His divine calling as the true Messiah.
  2. Certifying The Christian Faith By Its REVERSE Order Of Leadership Style, Luke 22:24-38.
    1. Luke's Gospel was written to give Theophilus insight on the credibility of the Christian faith, Luke 1:3-4.
    2. In the process, Luke recorded Jesus' installation of governmental leadership that actually opposes the role of usual human governmental leaders' tendencies to be selfish as follows (Luke 22:24-38):
      1. At the Last Supper gathering, a dispute arose as to who was the greatest of the disciples, Luke 22:24. The fact that there was a dispute on the issue reveals selfish pride motivated the discussion, and that meant the disciples were locked into the selfish values the world's governmental leaders used to rule.
      2. Jesus responded to this dispute, revealing that it mirrored the mentality of the world's godless leaders:
        1. He said that the Gentile rulers exercised lordship over their subordinates as dominators in such a way that they were called Benefactors to their subjects, Luke 22:25.
        2. This word, "Benefactor" means one who bestows gifts, and carries with it the idea of those who wanted to be viewed as God's gifts to their subordinates, an idea that promoted pride in selfishness!
        3. Then, in a very strong adversative, literally, Jesus said, "But it will not be so with you!" (UBS Grk. N.T., p. 303; G. Campbell Morgan, Luke, p. 246)
        4. Jesus revealed that the greatest of the disciples would be he who was the younger, a totally revolutionary concept in a patristic society where the elder man was the ruler, v. 26b, Ibid., Morgan.
        5. Additionally, He taught that the chief would be the servant, an equally revolutionary model, 22:26c.
        6. Jesus then revealed that He, their Leader, was like one who served them, for He had just said that His body and blood would be sacrificed for them, Lk. 22:27 in light of 22:19-20!
      3. Then, Jesus applied this new leadership model to the disciples to reveal how it affected them, 22:28-38:
        1. Jesus noted that the twelve had continued following Jesus into His trials, Luke 22:28.
        2. Accordingly, He would reward them by appointing them to lead Israel in the kingdom, Lk. 22:29-30.
        3. Nevertheless, the route toward obtaining those positions would be through learning to sacrifice self for God's glory: (a) When Jesus told Peter that "Satan has desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat," the first "you" is plural, Ibid., UBS Grk. N.T., p. 304. (b) Thus, Satan was after all of the twelve, and this became evident when all of the disciples later forsook Jesus, Mtt. 26:56b. (c) Yet, the Lord said He had prayed for Peter that his faith not fail, an obvious referral to Peter's low point upon denying the Lord, Lk. 22:61-62 with 22:32a. (d) After Peter rebounded from this defeat, Jesus was concerned that Peter strengthen the other disciples who had also abandoned Jesus, Luke 22:32b. In this way, Peter, as a SERVANT to the other disciples could use his HUGE defeat and REBOUND as a source of teaching and encouragement to the others who had failed not as dismally as he, and would thus be a LEADER in Christ's humble, selfless way!
        4. Peter at the time stoutly denied his coming denial as he was still in the proud, selfish mentality, but Jesus asserted Peter would yet fail in order to get that leadership value system reversed, 22:33-34.
        5. Jesus then revealed that the time for their leadership training that would invert their selfishness into true selfless leadership was about to start. They would have to get ready for the fire, Luke 22:36-38!
Lesson: Jesus is God's TRUE Messiah, for His leadership model REVERSES the world's selfish leadership model that helps leaders at the cost of subordinates to form a self-sacrificing leader model.

Application: To lead uprightly as God desires, we who lead must NOT sacrifice the welfare of our subordinates for our own welfares, but sacrifice our welfares for the benefits of our subordinates.