“You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones are tyrants over them. It will not be so among you, but whoever wishes to be great among you must be a servant.” — Matthew 20:25-26.
Today’s verse presents a radical, counter-cultural mandate that flips the understanding of authority on its head. I suppose it is natural for leaders and rulers to gravitate to power over service, but history tells us that the truly great leaders were servants, first and last, not tyrants. History is replete with examples where power, once secured, corrupts. Tyranny, in all its forms, is power untethered from humility and accountability. It seeks to extract value and obedience from the populace.
The initial design of the American system, with its checks, balances, and ultimate reliance on the electorate, was a deliberate attempt to codify servant leadership by preventing any single person or branch from “lording it over” the others. It is an ongoing, fragile experiment. The next election, from the local school board to the highest office, requires us to look past rhetoric and charisma and apply a decisive question: “Who among the candidates is a servant, and who is inclined to be a tyrant?” A servant leader seeks responsibility; a tyrant leader seeks control.
The tragedy of the “great ones” Jesus mentions is that they confuse authority with greatness. They achieve status, but they fail the ultimate test of humanity: utilizing power for those who are powerless. But, Jesus does not limit his prophetic words to politics. His words describe a principle applicable to every sphere of life—family, workplace, community, and personal relationships.
If we limit his prophecy to voting, we miss the daily, personal revolution Jesus is advocating — moving from a mindset of entitlement to a commitment to contribution. The daily, defining question must be: “How may I serve, not how may I be served?”
It is the path of influence born not of coercion, but of impact.
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