The Lutheran Hour
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"True Greatness"
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Text: Mark 9:30-37
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Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! Look into the open tomb and see the victorious proof of Jesus’ greatness. True, He wrote no books, commanded no armies, made no great inventions, nor discovered any new lands. Nevertheless He has, by fulfilling the laws that we had broken, dying the death we deserved, conquered the enemies of sin, Satan and death. He has done what we could not. He, our suffering Servant, is our Savior for salvation.
“So, Reverend Klaus, who are the greatest Christians you ever met?” This was one of many questions I was asked years ago, during a radio interview.
I know the interviewer expected me to mention one of any number of great church leaders that I had encountered. It is possible he expected me to put forth the name of some giant of industry who had managed, in spite of his position of power, to remain passionate to his Christian principles. I don’t think my interviewer would have been surprised if I had mentioned some nationally known pastor of a mega-church, or some profound professor. Such people have truly been an inspiration to me, and many others; but my list contained no celebrity clergy or noteworthy theologian.
“Who are the greatest Christians I know?” In that list would be a wonderful, kind, gentle pastor. During the darkest days of the Depression, he picked up his wife and children and moved them to a church in South Dakota. That wonderful state was, in those days, having some terrible times financially. When his children asked him why they had to move, he replied, “If I don’t go, who will?” He spent the rest of his life there, underpaid, underappreciated, serving congregations that other pastors wouldn’t. When he retired, his children helped him fix up a small house. It was all he could afford. Yet he smiled, and considered serving the Lord to be an honor. He taught me what it means to be a loving shepherd of God’s flock.
Another pastor who receives honorable mention on my list, is one who found himself involved in a congregational battle. Those things occasionally happen within the family of faith. This time, the battle was not the pastor’s fault, but a fair number of people felt he was responsible. The pastor had information that could have cleared up the problem; it would have cleared his name and set everything right. All he had to do was share some information that had been given to him in confidence. It would have been so easy. It would have been so wrong.
There are others on my list. The woman who found out she could never have children. It tore her heart apart. And then with that torn heart, she became a spiritual mother to all of the congregation’s children. For thirty years, as a kindergarten teacher, she educated everyone else’s children. She told them about sin, and how Jesus loved them, in spite of those sins. She shared the Savior’s love, and His suffering, His sacrifice, His crucifixion, and she always shared the Lord’s resurrection. Her face glowed when she talked about how Jesus rose, and conquered sin, death and devil. The older she got, the more the smile lines showed when she talked about the love of Jesus. After her students left the class, she continued to remember their birthdays. Just like a mother, she followed their lives as they grew up; she prayed for them when they went off to college or the military. She sat, unseen, in the back row of the church, shedding a tear or two, when they were married. She showed me that Jesus’ love can conquer a severe setback.
On the list there is a widowed farmer. When the church had to build an addition to its school, and did not have the wherewithal to finance the project, he quietly visited the town bankers. He put the family farm, his home, his equipment, his vehicle, his insurance policies, everything he owned – down, as collateral. The congregation never understood why the bank all of a sudden, become so friendly, and was willing to complete the loan they so desperately needed. That farmer makes my list. He taught me how to give sacrificially.
Then there were the families. There are five of them. Differing in circumstance, but united in mourning. These five all suffered the death of a child. These five all dealt with the darkest night that can descend upon human souls. These five families did not understand the why or the wherefore of their tragedy; but they did know Jesus was their Friend. With that confidence, the Sunday after their child’s funeral, they, and I mean every one of them, came to church. The worship hall became respectfully silent when they entered. None of us could imagine the heaviness of heart they had experienced as they had gotten ready for worship; the pain of their lonely drive to church; the courage it took to come in and sit down in the pew – the pew that now had an empty spot which would never be filled again in this life. But they came, and they showed to me, to the community, and now to the world, that Jesus is the Lifeline, the Anchor, the Hope, the Consolation, the Reunion for those who feel adrift and alone.
Then there are others on my list of great Christians. Years ago I had a confirmation student. This one was special because he was slower than others in the class. Confirmation is a time when a person makes a commitment of faithfulness to the Lord, and it is not to be taken lightly. For that reason, my final exam is not easy. Yet, this confirmand studied. How hard, I can’t say. I can say he answered every question correctly. Only once did he hesitate. At the end, those who knew they had seen a miracle, had tears in their eyes. There are two other confirmands who also need to be mentioned. They are far brighter than most. Years after they had completed the class, they showed up in my office with a present. They had computerized the entire class. I’m still proud of them. On the list is the blacksmith who wrote poems of love to his wife. He showed me that a Christian man can be a man. There was the fellow who showed up before dawn on snowy Minnesota Sundays and plowed out the church, so people could have a place to park. There was the loving lady who dedicates every Saturday to baking goods for her church Bible Class. It is her labor of love. There is the woman who writes five letters every week. Not letters to her friends, but to people she thinks never get a letter. So many. So many more should be talked about.
These are ordinary men and women and families. But they are people who have, because of Jesus, been empowered to do extraordinary things. Fully conscious of their sins and shortcomings, they have come to Jesus for help. With nail-pierced hands, He reached out to them. He raised them up; He reformed, reshaped them, recycled them into His witnesses of love. To the world, they may live unknown; they may die unknown. But God sees how Jesus’ love and sacrifice has made it so these ordinary lives can be spent doing extraordinary things.
Who are the greatest Christians I have known? These are just some of them. There are others who are equally special. But special, and all of them would agree, not because of some inborn quality. They are special, because they know Jesus. And when I die and go to heaven, if I can, from my little cottage, see their heavenly mansions with a very good set of binoculars, I will count myself blessed by God. So now you have my answer to the question. But of course, my answer is not really all that important, is it?
The really important answer comes from Jesus. So, let’s ask Him: “Jesus, who are the greatest Christians that You know?” We’re not the first to ask Him that question. The disciples asked Him almost 2,000 years ago. They had spent some time discussing, well, arguing actually, about the answer to that question. You can almost hear them. Although Scripture doesn’t record the conversation, it could well have gone something like this: Peter, of course, would have begun. “Hey, hey, hey, guys, I am the big fisherman. I am the guy who walks on water. I am the guy that Jesus has nicknamed Rocky. I am the greatest.” Matthew might well have been upset by Peter’s boast, and countered, “Well, you may be the guy who walks on water, but you’re also the guy who sinks. How about me? You know, I left a very lucrative government job to follow Jesus. I think I’m the greatest.” And Thomas would have said, “I doubt it.” John would have quietly confessed, “But I’m the disciple that Jesus loves.” His words would have been lost by the claim of Andrew, “But I was picked to be a disciple first. First is first, guys” Judas could have hopped in, and said, “Yes, but Jesus trusts me with the money.” Nathanael would have said, “Jesus selected me before He ever saw me and I think that makes me very special.” Simon would have laid his special qualifications as a political activist before the group, and Philip would have said, “But with my Greek background, I do have some very special connections.”
Eventually, the question about who was first among equals went to Jesus. “So, Jesus, who is the greatest?” Now this is the point in time where most people expect me to say, “Before Jesus, all people are the same. He has no favorites.” Well, that’s kind of true, and kind of not. When it comes to guilt, all of us are sinners. In that way we are the same. Because we are all sinners, we all deserve to go to hell. In this, we are also all the same. If we are to escape damnation, it will not be because of anything we can do. It will depend thoroughly, and totally, on whether we believe Jesus has substituted Himself for us, has taken away our sins, and therefore, is our Savior. In this, as well, we are all equal.
But it is also true that some people are different. In the Old Testament, I imagine Enoch was different. The Bible says “for his entire life, Enoch walked with God, and then God took Enoch to heaven without him dying.” (Gen 5:24; Heb 11:5) Then of course, Luke records: “God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph … the angel said to her, ‘Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God.'” (Luke 1:25ff [excerpts]) To find favor with God is special. To be the mother of the world’s Savior, is more special still.
No, we’re not all equal, all the time. When James and John asked for positions of honor in Christ’s kingdom, Jesus didn’t say “sorry, boys, there ain’t no such places.” No indeed, Jesus said, those positions were going to be given by His heavenly Father.” (Matthew 20:23) They do exist. But, if Jesus were to be pressed for the greatest Christian He had known, I know what He’d say. He’s say, “John the Baptist.” I know He’d say John the Baptist, because He did. (Luke 7:28a) Jesus said, “I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John.”
In Jesus’ eyes, John was the greatest. I can almost hear the disciples go ballistic. “You mean Your long-haired, loud-voiced, locus-eating, desert-dwelling cousin? “Yup”, Jesus would have replied, “He was the one who pointed me out as ‘the Lamb of God.’ (John 1:29) He was the one who stepped aside so that I might increase, while he decreased. (John 3:30) He was the one who kept on preaching, even when he was threatened with death.” (Mark 14:3ff) And then Jesus would lower His voice, and add, “But guys, I’ve got a secret to tell you, ‘the one who is least in the kingdom of God is greater than (John was) he.'” (Luke 7:28b) Armed with that revelation, the disciples would have gone back to arguing. They would have, if Jesus had let them. But Jesus didn’t let them. No, He had something else to say. That something was this: “if you want to be first in My Kingdom, you have to be last.” That’s when Jesus brought in a little child and said, “You’ve got to be like a little child, if you want to be really great.”
Jesus said that kind of thing at other times. To one of Israel’s leaders, a man by the name of Nicodemus, Jesus said, “… no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” (John 3:3) Can’t get much littler than that. Then there was that time, when the disciples were trying to keep mothers and children away from the Savior. That upset Him. As part of the tongue lashing He gave to His disciples, Jesus said: “let the little children come to me, do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” (Mark 10:14) In short, if you want to be special to Jesus; if you want to be one of His great followers, be like a little child. Be like a little child. That doesn’t sound right.
Most of us live like the fellow who thought himself indispensable to his family, his work, church, community, country, universe. As he thought everything depended on him, he felt very, very important. That’s why, when he caught the flu and the doctor told him to stay in bed, he objected most strenuously. He simply had too much to accomplish; too many places to be; too many people to see. Eventually he was convinced to stay home, at least for a morning. During that time, he fell into a fevered sleep, the kind that is filled with all sorts of strange mental movies. In his case, he dreamed that he had entered the pearly gates of heaven. The angels were scurrying around. Papers were flying; the prayer phone rang on, unanswered, and nobody seemed to be in charge. Our man eventually spotted an angel with a mission. The angel slowly worked his way through the heavenly host and made his way to the Lord. Standing before the throne, He handed God a piece of paper. God’s brow furrowed as He read. He was obviously distraught. Then God arose from His throne, wrung His hands, and said, “Impossible. Unbelievable.” The angels wanted to know: “Lord, what is unbelievable?” God explained, “I do not know what we will do? Our best worker has the flu!”
Indispensable. That’s the way most of us act. The truth is, Jesus is the only One Who cannot be replaced. Jesus is the One Who is absolutely unique. Jesus is the Son of God Who stepped down from heaven and the praise of countless angels which was rightly His, so that He might be born into this world to save mankind. He is the only One Who could live a perfect life and fulfill the law. He was the only One Who could carry our sins. He was the only One Who could die the death we deserved. He was the Only One Who could rise victorious on the third day. If we are to be saved, and we are, it is because Jesus humbled Himself and walked the way of poverty, and suffering, to the cross. Now, for those who have seen Him, Who have been saved by Him; a life of true greatness is a possibility. How? Jesus tells us: “If you want to be great, be like a child.”
Which brings us to the question . . . what does a child have that makes him, or her, so great, so worthy of emulation? Jesus doesn’t spend a great deal of time talking about children, and because He isn’t specific in telling us what He means, all kinds of theories have been offered. Some scholars have said we are to be selfless like children; others have promoted the positions which say we are to be noble, honest, truthful, sharing, kind, trusting. Still others have said you have to be low man on the serving totem pole. But are children selfless, noble, honest, truthful, trusting or sharing? I don’t think so. Not most of the children I’ve seen. Maybe not even your children, although I’m sure all of them are as good as gold. What does a child have, or do, that makes them so great that we should copy them?
I believe, and it is nothing more than a belief, we are to be like children in a desire to be close to our Father. The other day I had the opportunity to watch a reality television show about policemen. The camera crew rode with the police as they made their rounds. One of the stops the police made in this particular show, was at the home of a supposed drug dealer. Neighbors had called the officers when they heard a great family fight. The police came in, and found the wife of the house bruised and abused. The house was a mess. This was not a normal mess. This was a vermin infested, drug despoiled mess. Dogs had done their business in the living room; roaches were everywhere. Looking around, the police decided to take the two children away from the parents and place them in a clean home, with caring adults. The reaction of the children to this news was amazing. They cried. They pleaded. They begged to be left with their parents. The children’s hearts yearned to stay with the pitiful adults who were pathetic excuses for parents. They wanted to be close to their parents, no matter what.
To be filled with an overwhelming desire to stay close to God our Father, may be the way we should be like children. A Christian’s life may not always be good; it may not always be smooth, but those who call Jesus, “Savior” should hold fast to their desire to be with their all-kind, all-caring, always-gracious, heavenly Father. He, Who gave His Son, so that all who believe might have eternal life, has shown us His love. With all our hearts, we should yearn to stay in that love. That’s the one thing that all the people on my list have in common. Humbly having, and truly trusting, the Triune God is what makes a Christian great. And in case you wonder, it’s also what makes for a great Christian life. Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for October 12, 2003 Topic: The Holy Spirit (part 1)
ANNOUNCER: Now Pastor Ken Klaus answers questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer, and today we’re going to be talking about spirits in general, and the Holy Spirit in particular.
KLAUS: The topic is spirits and the Holy Spirit?
ANNOUNCER: Yes sir.
KLAUS: “Reverend Klaus has left the building …”
ANNOUNCER: That’s an unusual reaction.
KLAUS: Well, we’ve only got four minutes to cover this topic. It’s huge.
ANNOUNCER: Well, we can divide it into two parts.
KLAUS: At least. May I ask, Mark, what brought this up?
ANNOUNCER: Actually it was suggested by a listener. She says her boyfriend doesn’t believe in God, but he believes in ghosts. She wants to know how she can use that as a starting point to share with him the Good News of Jesus.
KLAUS: Let’s try to keep it simple. The boyfriend believes there is a visible world – the world we can experience with our senses. He also believes in an invisible world – one that cannot be measured by regular tools. In spite of that, he doesn’t believe there is a God. That’s very unusual.
ANNOUNCER: Why do you say that?
KLAUS: Well, the best way I can explain it is this, Mark. You and I both drove to work today in our respective cars. Those are real, tangible, they can be experienced. Who, looking at those cars, would say those vehicles just happened into being?
ANNOUNCER: Well, nobody, there had to be a car maker.
KLAUS: Exactly. This world is a pretty complicated place. The most simple of single cell animals is still extremely complicated, human beings far more so. Now, if we don’t believe a relatively uncomplicated thing like a car just happened into being, how can we believe this universe just happened? It’s untenable.
ANNOUNCER: And I imagine that applies to other things as well.
KLAUS: Surely. Did the clock on the wall make itself? Did this microphone evolve from a paper cup? Logically, when it comes to the making of humans, the Maker had to be Someone more brilliant and powerful than we can imagine.
ANNOUNCER: You mean, God?
KLAUS: I mean God.
ANNOUNCER: But how can this lady use her boyfriend’s belief in ghosts to talk with him about God, our Maker and Redeemer?
KLAUS: First, let’s define what we mean when we say ghosts. Mark, the Bible is clear that there are invisible realms in which spiritual powers and beings exist. In Ephesians 6 (v.12), St. Paul says, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Now, although we know there are such powers, the Bible isn’t very specific on what form, or to what extent these spirits or ghosts are active in our world.
ANNOUNCER: Now, I don’t see how this is going to help our listener or her boyfriend.
KLAUS: Well, it ought to help. Just as this visible world tells us that a very wise, very powerful, very organized person brought what we experience into being, so the existence of an invisible world tells us some things about the Creator as well.
ANNOUNCER: And what would that be?
KLAUS: Well, that He is Someone who cannot be measured by any standard that we possess. If He works in our time and space, and in another time and space, or is above all time and space, this would be a unique Power and Person. “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.” (Isaiah 55:8-9)
ANNOUNCER: Anything else we might expect from an all-powerful Creator?
KLAUS: Well, me might expect all these other forces, no matter what they are, no matter who they are, to be under the control and authority of God.
ANNOUNCER: And does the Bible tell us that’s the way it is?
KLAUS: We can let the Bible answer. From Matthew (8:16), “Many who are demon possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed the sick.” From Mark (1:34), “Jesus healed many who had various diseases. He also drove out many demons, but he would not let the demons speak because they knew who he was.” From Luke (11:20), “But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, Jesus said, then the kingdom of God has come to you.”
ANNOUNCER: And did Jesus ever fail to Lord it over these forces?
KLAUS: Never. And His resurrection proclaims Him the Victor, hands down.
ANNOUNCER: So let me try to summarize: the visible and invisible world both point to an all-powerful God, and Jesus’ power over the invisible world tells us that a loving God is in control.
KLAUS: That’s pretty good.
ANNOUNCER: And we’ll have more to say about this next week. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.