Sermons | FBC Boerne

Why He Came: To Serve & Give His Life as a Ransom

• FBC Boerne • Season 2 • Episode 2

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Pastor Jason Smith unpacks the cultural pull to “lord it over” others—chasing power, image, and control—and contrasts it with the basin-and-towel leadership of Jesus. Foot washing is not a sentimental detail; it’s a disruptive definition of authority. From there, we explore the heart of the Gospel: ransom. In a world where debt meant bondage, Jesus paid the price we could never cover, nailing our record to the cross and freeing us to serve from fullness rather than fear. That freedom turns everyday moments into holy ground: doubling back to run with a tired friend, praying through the real details of someone’s life, trading scoreboard thinking for small, faithful acts of love.

We also lift our eyes to a staggering promise: the Servant-King continues to serve his people, unfolding grace and joy into eternity. If that’s the shape of God’s greatness, we don’t need to clutch at status to matter. We can pour out, knowing the verdict over us is secure. Whether you carry spiritual fatigue, nagging comparison, or a quiet ache to matter, you’ll find clarity, conviction, and hope for a different way to live—strong and low, bold and gentle, grounded in the finished work of Jesus.

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SPEAKER_00:

All right, good morning, church family. If you are a guest with us this morning, let me uh welcome you. Let me uh my name is Jason Smith. I have the awesome privilege of being the pastor here, and it is a privilege that you are with us this morning. Okay, so we're in the middle of our Christmas series, Why Jesus Came, looking at passages within the scripture that tell us specifically a specific reason for why Jesus came. So turn with me in your Bibles to Matthew chapter 20. Matthew chapter 20. Today we're gonna see that the scripture says specifically that Jesus came to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many. If you do not have a Bible, there is a Bible in the Purec in front of you. You can take that as a gift from us to you. So that you can have a copy of God's word. We would love, we would be privileged for you to take that as a gift from us and keep a copy of God's word. So as you know, this week is also Thanksgiving week. The holiday built around the idea of gratitude, right? A great attribute. We sit around tables, we pass the food, and we rehearse all the ways that God has been kind to us. We thank God for our food, for our homes, for our family, for the Aggie's 11 and 0 season. Just trying not to get our hopes up too high. All right, but if we're honest, Thanksgiving often exposes another issue within us too. We love blessings, but we don't always love serving. We love full plates, but we always don't love being poured out for others. You see, it's into that tension that Jesus walks. Okay? In Matthew chapter 20, okay, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem to suffer and to die, but the disciples are caught up in a completely other discussion about who's the greatest, about position, about being first. But as we will see, Jesus has a lot to teach us as he completely redefines greatness forever. So listen as I read, Matthew chapter 20, beginning in verse 17, 17 through 28. As Jesus was about to go up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside by themselves, and on the way he said to them, Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death, and will hand him over to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify him. And on the third day he will be raised up. Then, Matthew wants you to see this as tied to what was just said. Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came to Jesus with her sons, bowing down and making a request of him. He said to her, What do you wish? She said to him, Command that your that in your kingdom these two sons of mine may sit one on your right and one on your left. But Jesus answered, You don't know what you're asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am about to drink? And they said to him, We are able. And he said to them, My cup you shall drink, but to sit on my right and my left, this is not mine to give, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my father. And hearing this, the ten became indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus called them to himself and said, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great men exercise authority over them. It is not this way among you. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant, and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave. Now listen, this is why Jesus came. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life a ransom for many. Will you pray with me? Heavenly Father, as we have gathered together as your people around your word to sing your praises, to pray, and to come before your holy throne. Father, it is our deep desire this morning that you would teach us. Father, teach us your ways. Your ways are not like our ways. Father, we are full of comparison and pride and so much that weighs us down. Father, teach us your ways and set us free. Teach us why you came this morning, Jesus. It is in your name we pray. Amen. Alright, can I confess to you guys a secret? I want to be great. I want to be great. And I always have. As a young kid in the backyard, always imagining myself as my sports heroes. So when I played basketball in a grass lot in my backyard, I was always Michael Jordan practicing the move, getting about that high off the ground. And when I played woofle ball, I always liked to bat left-handed for Ken Griffey Jr. I couldn't hit that well left-handed. I got better. Always because I and I wanted to be great. And guess what? So did you. You were always the princess waiting to be rescued or the prince who was brave enough to storm the castle. But as we grow up, right, we we realize that very few of us can run as fast as Usain Bolt or sing like a dell. And we just kind of settle into the normal life. I guess I'm not destined for greatness, just an ordinary life. But can I still confess to you that the desire, it's still there. It's still deep within me. Now I know we're not supposed to talk that way as a culture. We have this pseudo-false humility. We would never say this out loud. It's embarrassing that I started the sermon this way, but listen, I am convinced that that desire that is inside of me is a God-given, God-ordained desire because I've been made in the image of God. And as we will see this morning, Jesus came so that I and you could be great. Now, what I love about the Bible is it does not hide these sorts of issues. Okay? It actually speaks directly to them. Please note that in multiple locations, in multiple locations, it says that the disciples were walking along, and behold, they were discussing which one was the greatest among them. Okay? That was the topic of conversation. Mark 9, 34, Matthew 18, verse 1, so two chapters before ours. Matthew 18, 1, okay? They're walking along discussing which one of them is the greatest. Now, in that section, okay, uh, Jesus defines, he says, listen, the greatest in the kingdom are those who humble themselves like a child. Come to God with full dependence. Now, to the disciples, that goes in one ear and out the other. They didn't hold on to that part. Now, a short bit later in Matthew chapter 19, the disciples certainly heard this because Peter asked Jesus, he says, We've left everything to follow you. And Jesus says, Listen, your heavenly Father is going to reward every sacrifice you've ever made. And then he actually says to the 12 disciples, and you 12 disciples, are, when I come into my kingdom, you are going to be seated on twelve thrones next to me and ruling over the twelve tribes of Israel. Now they heard that part, okay? They heard that part. They didn't hear the part, the end part of that where it says the last shall be first, okay? They didn't hear that part, but they heard, okay? They've been chewing up, wait a second. We are gonna be ruling with you, Jesus? Now enter our scene in Matthew chapter 20. Because they are leaving Jericho, making their way to the capital, Jerusalem, and their eyes begin to go big with anticipation. Because they expect very soon Jesus is going to take the throne. By the way, you understand that Jesus is the anointed king, that he is the Messiah, that the word Messiah means anointed king, and they know he's the king. They've pieced all that together. So as they go to Jerusalem, they are thinking, we're about to be ruling with him. This is about to get rockin' awesome. But look again at verses 18 and 19. Jesus tells them plainly, he's going to Jerusalem to suffer and to die. Scourged, mocked, crucified, and resurrected. Now, this would seem like a pretty dramatic moment, wouldn't it? If Jesus just pulled you aside and told you these things? You might expect that the disciples would respond with sympathy, with comfort, with questions. How can this be? Is there any way we can stop it, Jesus? Resurrected, but instead, their response is a comedy of selfish ambition. Because James and John, okay, the sons of Zebedee, brothers, okay, they're actually part of the inner three. James, John, and Peter. They got to go up on Mount Transfiguration, the inner three. After hearing about the twelve thrones, okay, guess what they've been thinking about? Seat order. Pretty reasonable, right? Seat order. Who is going to be closest to Jesus? Who's going to be greatest? When Jesus is sitting there, then there's a pecking order. So catch this. What do they do? They have their mom go ask Jesus for positions of honor. Now, I know you're thinking, well, different culture, different time. Listen, it was never cool to have your mom go and ask something of this sort of prominence, right? That was never cool. What a lame move to have your mom go and ask for you. Jesus says to her, Listen, you guys don't know what you're asking. Can you drink the cup that I am about to? Now, the cup throughout the entire Old Testament meant suffering and judgment. Jesus explained that he's going to be scourged. He's going to be crucified for the sins of mankind. He's going to be betrayed. He's going to sweat blood. You see, the difference between Jesus and them is Jesus knows exactly what awaits him. They, on the other hand, have given it zero thought. Okay? They are the promises of a little child that says, Daddy, my room will never get dirty again. It will never get dirty again. It's always, just please buy me that giant-sized gummy bear. Okay, I'll do whatever you want. That's the extent of their promises. And the other ten get wind of the conversation, and they are furious. Not at the insensitivity, not at, fellas, Jesus has just told us he's going to die, suffer and die in Jerusalem. No, no, no, no, no. That's not the source of it. They are afraid, they've gotten elbowed out because these two beat them to the punch. So, Jesus, perceiving their hearts and motives, proceeds to again teach them about greatness in the kingdom of God. Now Jesus begins by defining greatness according to the world. And in doing so, he is exposing their selfish motives. Look at verse 25. But Jesus called them to himself and says, You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them. Their great men exercise authority over them. Now hear me, the disciples long to be recognized as special, valued, honored, but their concept is warped with the pride of this world. The world says that greatness is shown by being superior because you get to live the ideal lifestyle. You get to have servants who get to do all the things that you don't want to do, like take out the trash and scrub toilets. Who wants to do that stuff? Get a servant to do that. That greatness is power and control of resources. You see, the world's greatness is rooted in pride, so that you can be seen as over others. I'm special because I'm better. The pride of comparison is as old as Cain and Abel. And Jesus is exposing their hearts. Guys, your motives of position are just so that you can lord it over the others. And believers, so often these are our same motives. Unless you have gone through a radical change, we still believe that greatness is defined the way the world does. In 2018 in Santa Monica, California, all of town was suddenly in buzz over the opening of a new shoe store called Pilosi. Fashion influencers were raving about the must-have fresh trends, while others were fawning over the quality. These are the best-made shoes. Actual quotes, they are very upscale with a European look. These shoes are a setter. Ones that you are going to get compliments on, ranging from$300 to$650 a pair. They were flying off the shelf as people commented, they are a steal at this price. So what's the catch? Well, after each person completed their sale and their purchase and they were interviewed, their money was returned to them as it was revealed to them that Pilosi shoes was none other than payless shoes. Now the story doesn't say, but I want you to guess with me. What do you think those influencers did with the shoes when they got home? I bet they felt pretty foolish. I bet they either destroyed them or gave them away and never mentioned the name Pilosi again. I share that with you to reveal the pride of life, the pressure to keep up an image, which is at the heart of all of this is the pride of comparison. Looking around and saying, I'm as good as them and I'm better than them. And it easily creeps into every single one of us. Do you have a critical spirit? Do you find it so easy to find fault in others? Are you yourself defensive and not correctable? Are you driven for attention, longing for the approval of others? Listen to me. All of this stems from our longing, a God-given longing for greatness, to be great, but believing the world's definitions that greatness is being better than others. Listen to Jesus. It is not this way among you, verse 26. You see, Jesus is redefining greatness according to the kingdom of God. It's opposite of the world. Please hear me. Jesus does not chastise the disciples for the desire of greatness. It's never chastised, it's redirected, it's redefined. But whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant. And whoever wishes to be first must be your slave. You see, in the kingdom of God, the servant is great, not the one being served. The slave is first, not the king. See, it's not those who exalt themselves over others, rather, it's those that consider others more important than themselves and serve. Those who are superior sacrifice. You see, they don't have to take. Instead, they actually are full in and of themselves and have something to give to others. Now they know that giving has a cost. But they are willing to deny themselves, to lay down their rights and their preferences, and spend their limited energy and resources to serve others. It was the night of the Passover. And unusually, when the disciples walked into the upper room, unusually the washman that stood by the door, he wasn't there tonight. The disciples chalk it up to, it must have been an oversight. Jesus put this thing together. He didn't get a washman by the door. And so they recline at the table, undoubtedly still arguing about seat order. And then shockingly, during the middle of the meal, Jesus himself stands up, walks over, takes a towel, girds himself as a servant, picks up a wash basin, and begins to wash each of their feet. Rabbi, you can't do this. You are greater than us. That he took a towel, he girded himself, he took a wash basin, he got down on the floor and began to wash your feet. You say he wouldn't do that. I mean, do you know how dirty and disgusting the ancient world was? No, no, no. I mean, he wouldn't do that for me. Listen to me. If he would wash Judas' feet, knowing that he had already betrayed him, he would wash your feet. For the greatest in the kingdom are servants. Verse 28. Just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many. Jesus came to serve. From eternity past to serve. He took on flesh to serve. He taught. He healed. He calmed the sea to serve. And to give his life as a ransom for many. Ransom means to pay a price in order that someone might be set free. You see, in the ancient world, if you had a financial debt, there was no bankruptcy. You couldn't file chapter 9 or chapter 7 or any of those things. There's no bankruptcy. Instead, you had to sell yourself into indentured servanthood or become a slave. And be sold at the market square. And the tag, the price above your head, was the debt you owed and what it took in order to set you free. Jesus came in order to pay a debt you owe of your sins so that you might be set free. It was your sin. Your sin was the price tag above your head, and the payment required was death. And Jesus came to pay that debt in full. Your certificate of debt and nail it to the cross so that the slave might be set free. Behold the greatness of God who condescends into his creation. Becoming a man, he took on limitations. The eternal sovereign now cried for his mother's milk. You ask, did he come in exalted royalty? Did he come with the privilege of wealth or education? No, he was born into a peasant family. His earthly father was a simple carpenter. They were displaced as they made their way to Bethlehem, faceless in the crowd, as he was born amongst the animals. Behold the greatness of God, as the King of Kings and Lord of Lords lays in a feeding trough. He did not come to serve. But friend, his condescending, his condescension does not stop there. For the very night that Peter denied him and Judas betrayed him, he got up from the table and he washed their feet. For the very night that his disciples slept in the garden, he prayed alone by himself, falling to the ground, sweating blood and agony, crying out to the Father, if there is any other way, would you let this come pass? But not my will. Your will be done. For while Pilate washes his hands of him, Roman guard scourged his back. And then thrust a crown of thorns upon his head. For while the crowd spit upon him, he carried his cross up Golgotha. For while the soldiers, while they cast lots over his garments, he was nailed to the cross. For while the crowd mocked him and said, why don't you save yourself? He laid down his life as a ransom for many. Behold the greatness of God on full display. Friend, do you see the humility of God? Do you see his accessibleness? Do you see his nearness? That he knows every detail about you, every thought, every desire, and he came to save you. What is holding you back from him? Will you allow your pride to get in the way? Will you not surrender to him? Will you not repent and look upon his finished work, his death and resurrection? And will you not find life in him? For those of us that are believers, can I take this another step further? In Luke chapter 12, one of the most ridiculous statements in the whole of Scripture, in Luke chapter 12, Jesus is talking about disciples be ready for when the king returns. And he says, that is like a servant that is ready for when the master is returning from the wedding banquet. And then there's the most ridiculous statement. Jesus says the master will return. And when he walks back, he will gird himself as a servant, and he will sit the servants down, and then he will again wait on them. Believer, do you understand? It's not just that Jesus laid down his life in order to save us. That's not where the greatness stops. Do you understand that the rest of eternity, because God is great and true greatness is servanthood, that the rest of eternity, God Almighty and Jesus Christ and the Spirit of God will continue to serve us and unfold the grace and the mercy of God with pleasures and delights that you cannot even comprehend. Who am I that you would be mindful of? Of me. Who am I that you would serve me all through eternity? That's what the scripture says. Can you believe it? So the application for the believer, it's it's pretty straightforward, right? It is go and be like Jesus. Go and be great. Serve. That the God who has suffered for me, that the God who calls me his own, that he redefines greatness. Not the world. I don't have to listen to the world and the comparison of life. Beloved, can I share with you the freedom in my heart? The freedom in my heart of being set free to know that Jesus defines greatness. And he calls me into greatness, and my life can be great. Just by using all that I am to serve, to serve others, to lift them up, to point them to Jesus. So at the beginning of this year of 25, I started working out at Hill Country CrossFit. All right? And so there are a few of you here that are Hill Country. So Gibbs and Garrett and Mark and Clay, there's a whole team of people that work out there. So I started. Now, one of the reasons I I love uh working out there is because uh when I work out in a group, I push myself quite a bit harder than I would if I were working out by myself. Now, full confession, that is using my pride for good, okay? I'm using my pride to whip myself into shape. So this this week, it was on Wednesday, it was it was a brutal workout, okay? And I was gassed. And I was falling behind my group. I worked out at 6 a.m. and I was falling behind my group. And uh we we're doing lots of uh lots of exercises, and then we were on this run. And as we go on this run, I'm falling further and further behind from the group. I look like a zombie running. I'm just I'm just dead. And uh in my mind, the whole time I'm thinking about man, my my name on the scoreboard is really gonna be it's gonna fall down a few notches here. But as we're running, we we run in the parking lot, and it's you have to go down to this point and come back. And so the group is ahead of me. They've already turned the corner and they're coming back, and I'm coming up just lagging. And suddenly, one of my workout buddies, he peels off from the group that's already done this, and he comes along and he just says, I'll run with you. It was great. I needed the encouragement, but honestly, like in that moment, it's it struck me because here I was, like, worried about pecking order, like the scoreboard. And here he is, like, yeah, I I've already done that, but I'll I'll come back and I'll I'll go with you so that you can be encouraged. I share that with you because guys, there are opportunities to serve everywhere. Everywhere. Serve your family, to serve your your kids, your parents, to serve your friends, your name. They're everywhere. One other I I was thinking this week, so as a pastor, a thousand people know me like 70% of the way. It's probably like this in in your life, maybe not a thousand. So a thousand people know me 70% of the way, but there are a few people that that know all of me. And there there are a few of those that meet with me regularly to to pray for me. And when they pray for me, they know the details of my wife and my kids. They know each kid by name, they know them, like their personalities. And like so, when we sit and pray and they they press into just the mundane things in life, I was just reflecting upon that this week. Like, what an act of service. To pray for someone, to know them, and to genuinely enter into their mess and to and to pray for them. Again, I I share that because opportunities to serve, it it's everywhere, right? You guys know the movie Hacksaw Ridge? Okay? It's a great movie. It it gets the pastor's endorsement if you can handle the it it's it's rated R only because of the blood and guts, okay? If you can handle that, alright. But it it's a movie about Army medic uh Desmond T. Daws, who served in the Pacific in World War II. He actually became the first American in history to receive the Medal of Honor without ever firing a shot. Okay, he he was a conscientious objector, he refused to carry a gun. So the movie's set and the scene is set at the Battle of Okinawa, where his unit is up on the island, but uh they are getting overrun. They're getting pushed back by the Japanese, and they have to go, they have to go down the ridge to safety back to home base. And uh Doss is there, he's a medic, but there's this incredible scene in all the chaos of the war. So imagine the scene, you're getting overrun by the enemy. There's there's all these bombs, and everyone is retreating, and and they're as fast as they can, they're going down the cliff. And Doss is sitting right at the top of the cliff, and he is crying out to God. But he says to God, God, I I don't understand. I can't hear you. What is it you want me to do? And suddenly at that moment, he heard cries from his fellow soldiers who were back in the battle. And he lifts his chest, he gets some resolve, and he says, Alright, Lord, I hear you. And then he runs into the chaos. And I thought, what an incredible picture. Of us hearing the voice of the Lord, of us saying, You've called me here to be a servant, and then running after whatever God calls you to do. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this day. We thank you for your word. God, we are not like you, but we want to be. And and your truth of servanthood, of laying down your life, your truth of the gospel, it changes everything. It is true. It is true. The lies of this world are not it. Your truth is the truth, God. You have set my heart free. Father, I pray across this room that you would continue to set hearts free, that your spirit would convict us about how we get so caught up, so caught up in comparison. Father, allow us to see the beauty, the magnificence of being a servant, of running to those in need, of hearing your voice and realizing you define greatness, not this world. It's not being better than others, it's it's actually being able to pour into others. Father, help us to see that. And most of all, help us to understand the gospel that you are pouring into us. That nothing I've said this morning means that we go out and we do this in our strength, but we do it in your strength. Father, if there's anyone here today under the sound of my voice that does not know you, I pray right now in Jesus' name that they would cry out to you. That they would be saved, that they would see the finished work, the death and resurrection of Jesus. And that they would repent, and that they would believe with all of their heart. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Church family, the praise team is gonna come and lead us in two songs of response, and that is a chance for us to respond. Whatever the Spirit of God has pressed upon your heart, you must respond. You must be obedient to the word of God. I can't tell you what that looks like, but I can encourage you, I can charge you, respond. With abandonment, respond. Do not let your pride hold you back. We'll have ministers down here at the front who would love to pray with you. Okay? We want to carry that burden with you. We don't want to be here for a show. We want to bond in unity and carrying one another's burdens. If you want to use these steps as an altar to pour out your thanksgiving to the Lord, because he is so good, then you can do that. If you need to come and talk to a pastor about, I need Jesus. Today is the day of salvation. Whatever the Spirit of God has pressed upon you, you come, you be obedient, you sing, respond to the Lord.