But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Matthew 23:11, TLV

Context. This verse is part of a revealing and brutal moment where Jesus exposes the hypocrisy and corruption of the spiritual leadership of the Jewish people.

Other than the obvious need to expose sin so someone can repent, was there a broader scope of purpose? Yes.

For thousands of years, the Jewish people were commanded by God to stay away from the pagans — the Gentiles, the nations, the non-Jews.

But, this was never intended to be permanent. One day, a rag-tag team of Jewish men and women would go to those very pagans and offer them them the greatest gift of all. Redemption through the sacrifice of the Jewish Messiah Jesus, adoption by the Creator of the Universe, and the His very presence in us through His Holy Spirit.

This is why Yeshua was so hard on the leadership. It was time to expand God’s purposes to the world but the people chosen by God for this task were so proud and profoundly misusing the Torah, they were ill-equipped to handle it.

No, it would take the humble, not the proud. It would take those excited to see others’ redemption, rather than fear losing power. It would take love first then discipline, not the other way around.

I feel like Yeshua is reprimanded us again. To step outside our status quo and return to His plan and purposes. What does that look like?

It will be something different for each of us, but one thing is the same. The first step is to seek Him. Truly seek Him.