YEA Lesson Library

The Lesson

Who do you think is a really great person? Would you say Albert Einstein? Or do you think Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart is really great? Maybe you would pick Tiger Woods for winning the Masters at such a young age. If you’re a girl, you might think Princess Diana or Marie Curie was really a great person.

What about U.S. Presidents? Which one would you say was the greatest? Would you say George Washington? How about Abraham Lincoln? Perhaps you would consider a more recent president such as Ronald Reagan, Jimmy Carter or Donald Trump. When President Clinton went to China for a state visit, who do you think considered himself to be the greatest, the President or Chairman Jiang, the Chinese leader?

Have you attained recognition or an award which you consider to be a great achievement?Have you made the honor roll? Have you been elected to be a cheerleader, captain of your football team, president of the student body, or first place in a music contest? Now these are noteworthy, commendable accomplishments. Did the recognition or award make you feel that you might just be greater than your friends? If so, you’re not alone with this kind of attitude.

A few months before Jesus was crucified, He took Peter, James, and John up on a mountain top. His face began to shine with glory and His clothes became dazzling white. Then Moses and Elijah appeared and began talking with Jesus. Just in case you don’t remember, Moses and Elijah had been dead for millenniums. This situation was so remark- able they didn’t have a clue as to what they should say. True to form, Peter replied impulsively, “We will make three shelters here, one for each of you. . . .” Even while Peter was still talking, a cloud blotted out the sun and covered them and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son. Listen to him.”

Suddenly Moses and Elijah were gone and only Jesus remained with them. As they descended the mountain, Jesus asked His disciples not to tell anyone about what they had seen until after His resurrection. The purpose of Jesus’ transfiguration may have been to strengthen the disciples’ faith in Him being the Messiah. They would soon be facing very difficult times.

Jesus and His disciples left that area and traveled through Galilee where He tried to avoid a lot of publicity. He wanted very much to spend time teaching His disciples that He was the Messiah and that He was going to be betrayed, killed, and resurrected three days later. But the disciples didn’t understand what Jesus was talking about and were afraid to ask Him what He meant.

They all settled into a house in Capernaum that probably belonged to Peter and Andrew. Jesus wanted to know what the disciples had been arguing about. They were ashamed to answer Him because they had been arguing about – guess what – which one was the greatest! They had spent almost three and a half years studying with Jesus and were still concerned with status and self importance. They just didn’t get it. Rather than spending time contemplating who Jesus really was and His impending suffering and crucifixion, they were more concerned about the senseless argument of their own greatness.

Are you any different from Peter, James, and John? Are you influenced by the culture of today? Do you have a real desire to be great? Is that desire wrong? What did Jesus say about it? He didn’t say it was wrong to want to be great. He just clarified what “the greatest” is.

Too often television, movies, teen magazines, and peer pressure encourage teens to be self- centered, grasping, and egotistical. Being the greatest is depicted as what you wear, how cool you look, what you own and other physical achievements. Jesus taught a complete reversal of the value system many of your peers may follow. He told His three disciples that, “Anyone wanting to be the greatest must be the least – the servant of all.” In other words, being the greatest has to do with what you do and how you treat others.

How do you get started being “the servant of all?” You may think that you’re not very talented or have little or no training. So what do you do? Learn a lesson from the birds. “Use what talents you possess, the woods would be very silent if no birds sang here except those that sang the best” (Henry Van Dyke).

Maybe being “the servant of all” just doesn’t fit your schedule. The kind of service Jesus was talking about requires sacrifice. Sacrifice means to give up something valued for the sake of something having a higher or more pressing claim. Giving up your time, a valued possession, will require sacrificing. So why should you do it?

When you visit a diabetic lady in a nursing home who has had both legs amputated and is almost blind, you brighten her day more than you’ll ever know. That is one day in her very boring and lonely life when she knows someone loves her and cares about her. You give her hope because she knows at least one person in the world cares enough to visit her.

What’s in it for you when you sacrifice your time to visit a person in a nursing home or do other good deeds for lonely people in need? Think how you will feel when they hold your hand and tell you how much your visit means to them. What’s it worth to see the tears of joy in a person’s eyes and to know your visit has provided this person with the best day they’ve had in months. It doesn’t take training or talent to do this. It takes caring. It takes giving up a little of your time and just a little bit of you.

Matthew 19:29 says, “Anyone who give up his home, brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers, wife, children, or property, to follow me, shall receive a hundred times as much in return, and shall have eternal life.” Jesus says your passport to gaining entry into His Kingdom is being willing to follow Him. Sometimes Jesus wants you to sacrifice your time and efforts in service to others - in His name. If you’re willing to follow Him wherever He leads, you’ll have an entire eternity full of rewards! Now that’s great stuff!