For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as He that serveth. Luke 22:27
Nobody knows if it really happened, but there is a story told of a visit to Canada by the Queen, and of a dinner given in her honour during that visit. As the story goes, among the people serving tables for that meal was a country lass who had no experience with the finer points of etiquette for society meals. As she was helping to clear away the dishes from the main course, the young woman whispered to the Queen, ‘Keep your fork; there’s pie!’ The Queen would surely have chuckled at that one, because, being the Queen, she would get a clean fork for every course of the meal. She was the Queen, after all. People treated her like the sovereign that she was, and everybody expected that. But even the Queen would admit that her title was inferior to that of the King of Kings. And yet, the King of Kings declares that His role during His first appearance was that of Servant and not of Master.
Our text, a statement from the Lord Jesus, comes as the disciples are arguing over which of them was the greatest. We are not told who was winning that argument, but it must have grieved their Lord as He listened to them. He is only a matter of hours before He is to be betrayed and to begin the agonizing ordeal of false trials, torture, and crucifixion. For His disciples to be arguing over who is the greatest at such a time showed they had not been understanding what He had been describing to them. And He had been telling them, telling them that He would be betrayed and put to death. But they argued over which of them was the greatest. They were all looking for personal glory. How shocked they must have been to hear their Lord tell them that He had come to serve, not to be placed on a pedestal. They needed to be reminded that the most important matter was not who was going to hold the highest position, but who was going to serve the most.
The picture the Lord Jesus was painting with his question was that of a dinner table. Who was the greatest, He asked, the one seated and eating the food, or the one serving the meal? Normally speaking, the lesser would serve the greater. But that is not the order that the Lord Jesus followed. None could be greater than He. And yet, He was the One Who was doing the serving. His act of washing the disciples’ feet gave them the same message. His life was not one of seeing position or power. He healed and fed and comforted and blessed all the way to Calvary, and when He arrived there, he served us all by suffering in our place. At no point during His life, or in His death, did He shun the low place, the humble position, the meek role. In doing so, He displayed to us that, if we would be His followers, we would place serving others higher than taking any position for ourselves.
Consider again our Lord’s words: For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? Is not he that sitteth at meat? But I am among you as He that serveth. Would we be so humble? – Jim MacIntosh