On the first day of
Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Where do You want us
to prepare the Passover so You may eat it?” “Go into the city to a
certain man,” He said, “and tell him, ‘The Teacher says: My time is near; I am
celebrating the Passover at your place with My disciples.’” So the
disciples did as Jesus had directed them and prepared the Passover.
Insights: In General George
Patton’s biography, Patton describes the way in which he selected leaders. He would assign the men a task, a menial task
I might add, and then standoff “hidden,” but close enough to hear them. Patton then describes the complaining and
frustration and the attempt at figuring out his motives and so on and so forth
through which the soldiers went.
Finally, one soldier would say, “What difference does it make what [he]
wants to do with this trench! Let’s get
it dug and get out of here.” Patton said
that man would be the one to get the promotion.
God too is looking for people to whom He can give authority and
responsibility. Like Patton, God gives
us assignments and then watches us to see how we respond to Him. Do we complain or are we obediently
faithful? In today’s verses we read
about a picture being painted of disciples preparing the Passover meal for
Jesus. Another gospel tells us it is two
disciples. The point is they take on the
responsibility of serving Jesus by getting the upper room set up for Jesus’
final meal on earth. Obviously, these
disciples did not know the significance of that meal at this moment in history. For them it was just another year of
preparing for the Passover. They,
however, took their assignment seriously.
There is another servant mentioned in these verses and that is the man
who opens up his property for the meal.
Theologian Alfred Plummer believes this man to be John Mark’s
father. Whoever this man was is
irrelevant to the point. This man also
served Jesus in any way the Master saw fit for him to serve. In this specific case it was to open up his
upper room for the disciple to prepare the meal. Jesus requires us, as His disciples, to have
a servant’s heart. Servants obey! Servants do not seek glory or praise, they
obey! Servants do not seek popularity or
prestige, they obey! Servants do not
seek their will and desires, they obey!
Beloved, let us obey our Master, Jesus!
Questions:
- What kind of heart do you have: one of service or
selfishness?
- In what ways are you displaying your servant’s heart?
Prayer: O God, we live in a very self-centered world, a world in which
people often only serve if it benefits them directly. Father, I pray this kind of attitude is not
my own. I pray You mold me into a true
servant and follower of Your Son, Christ Jesus.
Amen.
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