A Word about leading on the Road to the Cross

 

Today I want to share a word about leading on the road to the cross as I comment on John 1:35-51.

The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour.  One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus^[k] was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ).  He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!”  Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

Introduction:

We are continuing to walk the road to the cross with Jesus and today we come to the point in time in which Jesus called to Him twelve disciples to learn from Him and to carry on His work. In calling these twelve men, Jesus proved himself to be a master of leadership.  Last time we saw that Jesus did all things well, and this included exercising the skill of leadership, which is our focus today.

I have been a student of leadership all my adult life and I still have a lot to learn.  I have held numerous leadership positions and yet I know that I am not a master leader in the way Jesus is.  For example, When I was line officer before I became a chaplain, I served as a company commander in the Louisiana Army National Guard. One day, some of my full-time staff put up a plaque in my little office to honor my efforts.  It said:

I am their leader!  Which way did they go?

Leadership is a craft; it is not a pure science, and yet it is not done just for the sake of the art.  It is a very practical skill, yet one that is not easy to define.  To paraphrase an old statement about art: “I can’t tell you what I like, but I know it when I see it!” Today we will see the master of leadership demonstrating His craft.  We need to watch Him and learn.

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Compelling:

As we can see from our focal passage, Jesus was a compelling personality. He knew that leadership is different than command.

Command is defined by the legal authority to compel compliance. That’s why the Uniform Code of Military Justice allows commanders to punish troops who don’t comply with their orders. Leadership is different.

Leadership is the ability to inspire the willing cooperation of those being led. As leadership expert John Maxwell said, “If you look back and no one is following you, you are not a leader.” Jesus was a leader because people followed him willingly, including:

·      People who were already seeking God (Simon and Andrew).

·      People who were sinners & outcasts (Matthew and the sinful woman).

·      People who were struggling to make ends meet (Fishermen).

·      People in the establishment (Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea).

This is a rare gift, and we must take full advantage of its power in our society. Every church, every organization, every community, has members that people look up to. Influence like this can cause good to happen, bad to happen or nothing to happen!

Jesus said that good things and bad things cannot come from the same source, so leaders must be wise stewards of their gift!

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus had a Moral Character:

John 2:13-22 tells us more about the Master Leader.

The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there.  And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.” So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?”  Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” But he was speaking about the temple of his body. When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.

People invest their trust in their leaders. They believe them and do what they say. They trust them with important parts of their lives. They expect them to take due care of this devotion. Like when a person entrusts a financial advisor to wisely invest their life savings, people invest their trust in their leaders. Therefore, leaders must be trustworthy.

In the case of Jesus, we can see from this passage that He embodied righteousness.  He could not abide injustice, or pride, or arrogance, and He revealed this when He cleansed the temple. He also showed this when He forgave the sin of those repentant persons who came to Him. He was as comfortable Proclaiming the woes on the Pharisees as He was in healing the ear of the high priest’s servant on the night He was betrayed. Jesus embodied righteousness and that righteousness infused His exercise of leadership.

We must insist that our leaders must be of the highest moral character. Too often we shoot ourselves in the foot by focusing on gifting and job performance but ignoring the issues of maturity, judgment, and morality. Leaders must be sure to guard their hearts, minds, and passions, because the damage leaders do when they fail morally is beyond measure!      

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Courageous:

Luke 5:18-32 shows us that the Master Leader was courageous.

On one of those days, as he was teaching, Pharisees and teachers of the law were sitting there, who had come from every village of Galilee and Judea and from Jerusalem. And the power of the Lord was with him to heal. And behold, some men were bringing on a bed a man who was paralyzed, and they were seeking to bring him in and lay him before Jesus, but finding no way to bring him in, because of the crowd, they went up on the roof and let him down with his bed through the tiles into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.” And the scribes and the Pharisees began to question, saying, “Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” When Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answered them, “Why do you question in your hearts? Which is easier, to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven you,’ or to say, ‘Rise and walk’? ²⁴ But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the man who was paralyzed—“I say to you, rise, pick up your bed and go home.” And immediately he rose up before them and picked up what he had been lying on and went home, glorifying God. And amazement seized them all, and they glorified God and were filled with awe, saying, “We have seen extraordinary things today.” After this he went out and saw a tax collector named Levi, sitting at the tax booth. And he said to him, “Follow me.” And leaving everything, he rose and followed him. And Levi made him a great feast in his house, and there was a large company of tax collectors and others reclining at table with them. And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” 

Leaders, being out in front of the group, are exposed and that makes them vulnerable. They often see things others don’t, and they often take stands others don’t like. This makes them easy targets for criticism.

Jesus was the model of courage. He did the right thing, all the time, even if people misunderstood. Here, He forgave the man’s sin, and He did not just heal him. Then, He called Matthew, even though he was a hated and despised tax collector. He even had supper at Matthew’s home!

Some so-called leaders practice a form of lowest-common-denominator leadership which is highly influenced or even dominated by public opinion. While this is not really leadership at all, it is very common among politicians and other civic leaders. Opinion polls drive US politics far more than convictions do, but Jesus was the epitome of leadership, and He was not dissuaded by uninformed public opinion from doing what was right.

Assuming risk is inherent in the process of leading. We must not be afraid to lead if called to do so. A turtle gets nowhere unless it sticks out its neck so we must trust God and enjoy His love. As 1 John 4:18 reminds us, “Perfect love casts out all fear.” God’s love is perfect, even if ours is not!

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Committed:

Luke 9:57-62 shows the commitment that leadership requires:

As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.” And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God.”  Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say farewell to those at my home.”  Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God.” 

A leader does what it takes to accomplish the mission. Jesus, of course, was the inventor of the phrase, “going the extra mile” and He did that and more Himself.

Leadership is about helping people overcome obstacles. It is about also achieving your goal, while also taking care of people. One of my favorite leadership sayings encapsulates this concept:

Mission first! People always!

One of our biggest needs is for balance in our lives and in our work and our leadership. Airplanes have 2 wings for a reason. They need both wings to be able to fly straight and true.

When I was a young boy, and I would get upset about something, my mom would always tell me to straighten up and fly right. The fact, is, however, that you can't fly straight, and you can't fly right if you are out of balance and this idea of “Mission First, People Always” gives us the balance that we need in our lives and our leadership.

This motto begins by reminding us that we have a mission to accomplish. If we don't accomplish this mission, then we have no reason to exist. We have a purpose, and we need to carry out that purpose.

Although we must put mission first, we must also understand that we cannot accomplish that mission without people. We cannot do our job without our people. Therefore, it is incumbent upon us to always take care of our people. And not only our people at work but our people at home, in our communities, in our churches, and our schools. Taking care of people is essential so that we can accomplish our mission. It is also essential because it is the right thing to do.

Let me put it this way, if we just focus on our mission then we become bureaucrats. If we just focus on people, we become politicians. We must have both wings to fly the airplane of leadership straight.

Jesus did what needed to be done to achieve His mission and to take care of people:

·      He turned water into wine and saved the wedding at Cana.

·      He healed the sick and He revived the dead.

·      He taught in parables, and He fed the 5,000.

·      He put up with 12 whiny disciples.

·      He died on the cross for our sins and He rose again to defeat death and hell, 

Our leaders must be committed as well. We must take responsibility because the saying “Everybody’s job is nobody’s job” is a reality.

We must follow the command of God from Paul in Galatians 6:9 that says. “And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.”

As He Exercised Leadership, Jesus was Highly Competent:

Finally, Luke 5:1-9 reveals to us that Jesus was highly competent.

On one occasion, while the crowd was pressing in on him to hear the word of God, he was standing by the lake of Gennesaret, ^and he saw two boats by the lake, but the fishermen had gone out of them and were washing their nets. Getting into one of the boats, which was Simon's, he asked him to put out a little from the land. And he sat down and taught the people from the boat. And when he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” And Simon answered, “Master, we toiled all night and took nothing! But at your word I will let down the nets.” And when they had done this, they enclosed a large number of fish, and their nets were breaking. They signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. But when Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord.” For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish that they had taken, and so also were James and John, sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid; from now on you will be catching men.” And when they had brought their boats to land, they left everything and followed him.

Since followers place at least a portion of their lives in the hands of their leaders, leaders must be competent for their followers to trust them.  They must be able to accomplish the tasks they set forth. What if there were no fish in that net? Would the disciples have followed Jesus? If leaders are not competent, they may be liked, but they will not be followed.

To show their competence, leaders must lead by example, unlike the church pastor who hid in the church basement when teams went out to visit prospects.

 Also, to be competent takes work. We do not learn how to lead by osmosis, so we must study and train. We also must try our wings and learn from our mistakes.

Conclusion:

As the master of leader, Jesus set the standard for those who lead. Jesus was (and still is):

·      Compelling

·      Courageous

·      Committed

·      Competent,

·      Of the highest moral Character

He taught His disciples to be leaders, who became models for Christians to follow down through the ages. As Paul instructed the church at Corinth:

Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ.

Paul’s statement was a bold one. If was based on his understanding of Christ’s character, and it was empowered by the work of the Holy Spirit in his life. We may never be so bold as to ask people to imitate us, but we do need to follow Paul example as he followed Christ.

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt