Jesus said, “Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!”
– Matthew 11:11 (NASB)
What’s “great” nowadays? Well, let’s see. In the United States of Liberal Acrimony, this is “great” and celebrated by the Lunatic Left.
- If you’re a six-foot, four-inch, two-hundred-and-fifty-pound, twenty-one-year-old dude, who now calls himself Sabrina and currently dominates in women’s sports, well then … you’re awesome!
- Those who champion murdering unborn babies are “great heroes” to the Left’s Death Cult.
- If you’re a child-sniffing, half-dead, sleepy, creepy, octogenarian carrier pigeon for radical Marxist ideals, you’re considered a “great president” by the wombats who worship Soros, China, and Satan, of course.
- In addition, if you are a drag queen that bumps and grinds in front of terrified eight-year-old school kids, the lascivious Left will sing your praises, give you glory, and deem you a “great they/them.”
In Hollywood, you’re great if you do the ensuing …
- Endorse movies that paint Caucasians as blue-eyed white devils and declare that other races are pure as the driven snow and are owed reparations by the evil crackers. If that’s you, then say, “Hello!” to greatness.
- If you celebrate man-boy love, approve of soft-core porn in Disney movies, and parlay more sex on the silver screen than Sodom & Gomorrah did in the days of yore, then La-la-land deems you fabulous. Indeed, if that’s you or your company, then you, my friend, are a zeitgeist. Yea, a veritable au courant trendsetter for the glorious glitterati.
- This one will really rack up great points for you in Tinseltown: If you paint Jesus in some kind of sin-sullied, slanderous way, then they will love you with mad love. I’m talking about Oscar award-winning approval.
The Church, like the culture, has the same jacked-up definitions of true greatness. In the Church, you’re “great” in the eyes of the enfeebled evangelical hosts if you do the following …
- If your pastor sports skinny jeans and your church has big screens and smoke machines, then … boom … you’re hot, baby! I said, hot!
- If you have at least 5,000 people in attendance on Sundays, then congratulations … you’re “great”.
- If everyone likes your pastor, then you’re “great” in the eyes of today’s church, especially if you can also make it on to MSNBC.
Even Jesus’s disciples, after three years of hearing Him teach and being personally mentored by God in the flesh, were still carnal to the core when it came to understanding what God deemed truly great. Check it out …
And a dispute also developed among them (the disciples) as to which one of them was regarded as being the greatest. And He said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles domineer over them; and those who have authority over them are called ‘Benefactors.’ But it is not this way for you; rather, the one who is the greatest among you must become like the youngest, and the leader like the servant. For who is greater, the one who reclines at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who reclines at the table? But I am among you as the one who serves. (Lk. 22:24-27)
Jesus told His dunderheaded disciples, who were gunning for greatness, hungry for titles and accolades, that the greatest in the group is the dude who operates as the least privileged junior amongst them. The person whose joyful job it is to serve others more than himself.
Question: How many Christians do you see queued up to take that role of a servant on? Not too many, eh? But Jesus did, and via His servant spirit, He was highly exalted. Or as Paul put it …
Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility consider one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, as He already existed in the form of God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking the form of a bond-servant and being born in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death: death on a cross. For this reason also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. – Phil. 2:3-11 (NASB)
Let’s recount Christ’s attitude while He was ministering here amongst us mortals two millennia ago and see how He differs from the vibe in most churches today.
Number One: “... With humility consider one another as more important than yourselves?”
I hate to seem negative, but you’re more likely to see a Yangtze Finless Porpoise swimming in the L.A. River than see evangelicals consider someone else more important than themselves. That’s particularly true amongst ministers and Christian “entertainers”.
Number Two: “Do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others.”
Again, that sentiment is very rare within our egoistic ecclesiastical environs.
Number Three: “Empty oneself?”
Yeah, right. Emptying oneself is selling in evangelical circles about as well as fried horny toad legs slathered with cricket squishin’s would on Gweneth Paltrow’s GOOP platform.
Number Four: “Take on the form of a servant?”
Uh … no gracias, saith the self-infatuated saint.
Number Five: “Humble oneself to the point of death on a cross?”
“H … E … double hockey sticks … to the No”, cries the fair-weather, supposed follower, of the lowly Nazarene.
However, the aforementioned is what Jesus exemplified, namely: the setting aside of privileges, taking on the status of a slave, and not claiming special rights. Instead, He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death – and the worst kind of death at that – a crucifixion (Phil. 2 MSG).
That is true greatness, ladies and gents.
That is what gave Him the highest honor.
God help us all because very, very few people are seeking to attend that School of Christ, and yet, that is The Way of our Master.
So, what did John the Baptist embody that made him great in God’s eyes? Well, it’s stuff like …
- John wasn’t a puppet of public opinion. He went against the grain, following God, and declaring only what God prompted him to preach. Yep, John had zero reticence in rebuking whomever, wherever, and whenever if they had it coming. He served the Lord in that manner with his prophetic gift.
- John was cool with being unique and living bold, wild, and free before the Father versus following religious traditions, dietary customs, and stodgy wardrobe trends. You gotta know that God had a great chuckle seeing the stark life contrast between John, God’s special boy, and the finical, overly plumed, Pharisees.
- John’s unabashed and brutal honesty when preaching definitely distinguished him from the herd of religious wafflers and warblers of the Temple’s bogus and bondage-inducing blather.
- The fact that John sought to decrease his stature at the apex of his ministry is some weird, wild stuff you don’t hear much about amongst the Instagram mavens.
- John’s comfortability with being alone with God for three decades in the desert before a short stint of ministry had to also refresh the Father because that trail is seldom taken by those who claim they know God best.
- Jesus called this prophet great, and yet, he didn’t speak in tongues. He performed no miracles. He cast out no demons. He didn’t have a Youth Group or an epic Children’s Ministry. He’s got no money, no prophetic blog, no action pics of him preaching. No massive ministerial RV. No multi-purpose sanctuary. No YouTube channel. Rome, the Pharisees, and the Sadducees all hated him. He didn’t have a 10,000-square-foot mansion and a ministry yacht. He wrote no books and took no selfies, and yet, the Son of God said of him …
“Truly I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist!” (Mt. 11:11)
At this writing, I just turned sixty years old. At sixty, I care less about the all “ministerial” drivel I did in my thirties. I’m sure there still lurks within my whirring tin brain pockets of inglorious self-love, but at this juncture, I’m concerned less and less about what people think of me and more and more about what God does. I know … I know … I’m a slow learner. But at least I’m learning, eh? From an eternal perspective, I’d rather have God’s approval than man’s. Can you imagine being regarded by religious peeps as being “great and marvelous” and God doesn’t think that highly of you? Or worse yet: He declares He doesn’t even know you (Mt. 7:23)? That would suck. The only way for you and me to curtail that fate is to, like John the Baptist, live solely before the Audience of One and not for the fickle masses.
Clash Ministries is here to do two things, namely, put brains and cojones on Christians. Yep, our holy job is renewing minds (Rom.12:1-2) and emboldening hearts (Prov.28:1). Your generosity helps us throttle the enemy by equipping God's people to live bold, wild and free in Him. You are a vital part of this ministry and we could not do this without you. Thank you for your faithful gifts and partnership and remember to always ... stay rowdy!
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Doug Giles is Pastor of Liberty Fellowship in Wimberley, TX, and is the founder of ClashDaily.com
Follow Doug on Instagram and Twitter @TheArtOfDoug.
