You Have Been Served

Jesus is the “Son of Man,” and He identified Himself as such (Luke 5:24). The title has quite a history. It is difficult to carry all the stones out of the quarry of its meaning.

Nearer to the end of His ministry Jesus did lift at least one heavy rock and show it to His disciples. He needed to confront their short-sighted vision of authority. In Matthew 20 He talked about the behavior of true greatness. He said that whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant (Matthew 20:26). Whoever wishes to be first among you shall be your slave (Matthew 20:27).

Then He connected that to His own authority and His own activity. In verse 28 He said, “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’ service was not passive. He initiated. Jesus’s service was only responsive insofar as He saw the need, but not responsive as in He waited around to be asked. Jesus’ service was obviously not easy. The ransom required His blood. The life of spending oneself for others is a model that the master intended His disciples to follow. Also His ransom is our redemption, our reconciliation, our cause of rejoicing.

The bread and the wine are a call to remember that you have been served. They are a call to joy. And they are a call to follow the Son of Man.