Hello, my friends,

Many of you responded to my ​newsletter last week ​with your mental health journey and untangling yourselves from the bad theology that has contributed to your mental turmoil. Thank you so much for sharing your journeys with me so openly. Hearing from all of you after sharing my own story was so very encouraging. I am pretty convinced that I have some of the best and brightest people following this newsletter. So sincerely, thank you.

It has been quite a couple of weeks, hasn’t it? The events of ​Louisiana legislating the Ten Commandments​ in public schools throughout the state, then ​Oklahoma mandating that both the Ten Commandments and the Bible ​must be taught in schools throughout its state. Then, if that weren’t enough, the presidential debate, all the decisions from the Supreme Court, and the demands for the country laid out in ​Project 2025.​ A few of you wrote me and said that you hadn’t felt this heartsick about your country on the 4th of July since 9/11. I resonated with that kind of grief.

I think what many of us Christians are feeling on days like these is grief and anger. We love our faith and we love our country and the idea of either one being used as a tool of oppression and control towards our fellow human beings causes us deep grief and anger.

Something I hear from many online is a deep sense of hopelessness at the state of our country. A sense that feels so wrong to have as a Christian. We want to be a people of hope. I have felt those moments of heartbreak far too frequently these days.

The encouragement I want to give you today is to process your grief and your anger. Journal about it. Speak to a loved one about it. Sing about it. Read Lamentations and allow your heart to lament your pain. Process it in a healthy way that prevents you from bottling it up and turning it against yourself and your loved ones.

Then look for goodness and love. I have to remember that the news and the algorithms will always skew towards the negative because that is what grabs our attention. That is where the higher ratings and revenues are. So you have to be intentional about looking for good news. We can’t just wait for it to come to us like the bad news does.

Look for the people pursuing goodness and love in this world. Allow your heart to be encouraged by what you see. Then allow your soul to be motivated to work towards goodness and love right where you are too.

Love can cause us great grief and anger when that which we love is misused to hurt others and ourselves. Process that grief. Process that anger.

Then when you are ready, let’s pursue love together again. Trusting that love will have the last and final word over us all.

To that end, I want to focus on how Jesus talks to his followers about not using power to lord it over others in Matthew 20:20-28.

But first, here are some resources to consider:

​​​-' If You Can Keep It: The End Of The Supreme Court's Term​​ I am not a legal expert, so I always want to learn more about the ins and outs of things like the recent Supreme Court decisions. I found this brief podcast by the team at 1-A to be a helpful explanation of all the recent decisions.

​​​-Project 2025 ​​If you haven't yet read about Project 2025, which is the proposed strategy plan from the Heritage Foundation for a second Trump presidency, I would encourage you to do so. It is so important to know what it contains so that we can be better prepared to both talk and respond to it.

​​​-Othered: Finding Belonging with the God Who Pursues the Hurt, Harmed, and Marginalized​​ by Jenai Auman. My friend Jenai was kind enough to send me her beautiful new book recently. I am excited to read it through for the first time soon. I thought I'd share it here and allow you to check it out as well.

​​​-Trust That Love Will Get The Last Word.​​ My most recent sermon focuses on the trust exemplified by several people in Mark 5:21-43 who were experiencing deeply difficult and uncertain circumstances. I hope it is an encouragement to you.

Okay, onto today’s content.

See How They Lord Their Power Over Others?

Let’s first read Matthew 20:20-28

A Mother’s Request

20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him.

21 “What is it you want?” he asked.

She said, “Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.”

22 “You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?”

“We can,” they answered.

23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.”

24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers. 25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

The Greek

I honestly think the Greek used in this passage paints the picture of what Jesus was trying to convey here so clearly. It is profoundly moving when you see the comparison Jesus is making here about power and then use it as a lens to look at our world today.

I want to just look at 4 different words with you today:

The Greek word we translate into “lord it over” in verse 25 is the verb: ​katakurieuo​, which means. I exercise authority over, overpower, and master. In this particular passage, it means to lord against, i.e. Control, subjugate -- exercise dominion over (lordship), be lord over, overcome.

The Greek word we translate into “exercise authority over” also in verse 25 has the same root word “kata” but is more intense. It is the verb ​katexousiazó​, which means, properly, to exert authority downwards (oppressively); to strongly dominate (bring down, note the force of the prefix kata).

In contrast to these words, the Greek word for “servant” Jesus uses here in verse 26 is ​diakonos​, (diá, "thoroughly" and konis, “dust”). In that context, it would be understood as one who “thoroughly kicks up dust by moving in a hurry to minister to the needs of others.” Isn’t that beautiful? In this passage, this word is used figuratively to describe those who advance others' interests even at the sacrifice of their own.

Lastly, the Greek word we translate into “slave” here in verse 27 is ​doulos​, which is someone who belongs to another; without any ownership rights of their own. This term is used over 120 times in the NT and is given the highest dignity, expressing those who willingly live under Jesus’ teachings as his devoted followers. In this context, the word is referring to those who are completely devoted to others to the disregard of their own interests, an idea Paul would later illustrate in Philippians 2.

Jesus then concludes this comparison by clearly stating that he came to be a servant to all rather than someone who came to lord power over others.

An Upside-Down View of Power

These words shape Jesus’ response to a very specific question brought by the mother of Zebedee’s sons.

She requests that Jesus would choose her two boys as the ones who would sit on his right and his left when he came into his kingdom.

She was asking that they be made second and third in command in the hierarchy of Jesus’ kingdom. She was asking if they could be like his vice president and secretary of defense.

Jesus then highlights that they do not understand what they are asking. Jesus tries to point out that they are assuming he is operating from the same category of power as all other world rulers, but he isn’t. As we saw in his response to them, he has a different definition of power than they do.

He asks them if they are willing to drink from the same "cup" as he does, which is a symbol of God’s wrathful response to evil throughout the Bible.

This insinuates that he was going to take on the consequences of all evil in the world upon himself. Being God incarnate, his death would be how God would respond to evil.

They respond “we can,” again from a different definition of power that prevents them from hearing Jesus clearly.

As you read throughout the gospels you get this clear picture that many of the disciples are waiting around for Jesus to get a revolution against Rome started.

This is why Jesus predicting his own death and resurrection to them multiple times continues to not sink in because Jesus being crucified just doesn’t remotely fit into what they thought God’s plan was for their nation.

Their definition of power would result in their enemies being crucified, not their messiahs.

Their definition of power included an earthly kingdom, not one that isn’t of this world.

Their definition of power had them at the top and in charge of everyone else beneath them, not being the servants of others.

They were in for a rather rude awakening.

The disciple’s definition of power is much like what we are seeing from many today, including many who claim to follow Jesus.

Simply listen to the definition of power from those who are advocating ​Christian nationalism ​and Project 2025, where mostly only Christian men are in positions of power and everyone else is subject to them and their laws.

Simply listen to the definition of power from those advocating stanch gender roles, where men are at the top and women and children are subject to them in both the home and society.

Simply listen to the definition of power in the recommended response to political issues some claim Christians should be against. From ​certain books​ in our libraries to reproductive rights, what is recommended is the “exertion of authority downwards,” which takes the form of bans and even ​criminalization​ of those who they see in violation of these beliefs.

Simply listen to the definition of power when it comes to opposing and confronting climate change. Even our planet is seen as being a subject under our authority, where we exert power from a place of dominion over creation rather than as a good steward towards creation.

The response I hear from those who take such a strong, coercive view of “Christian politics” is along the lines of “Well, we know the truth and the world doesn’t. Enforcing these values is how to love the world best. They may not like us for that, but we can’t compromise the truth simply because other people disagree with it.”

This kind of logic completely misses the point of Christ’s entire earthly ministry.

Jesus had all cosmic power. Jesus was “one with God.” Jesus had all the authority and power given to him. Jesus was God’s truth, God’s Word incarnate.

Yet how did Jesus respond to a broken world? Jesus could have used all cosmic and political power to bend the world to his will, and “enforce the truth,” which was ​the temptation Satan offered​ to him in the wilderness. He could have responded this way, but he didn't.

Instead, he embodied a servant. Jesus showed healing, and compassion, and pursued justice, putting the needs of those around him above his own, even at the expense of his own life.

By doing this, good news was brought to the poor, healthcare was brought to the sick, captives were set free, the oppressed were liberated, and debts were paid off. ​Luke 4:14-21​

Jesus didn’t even force anyone to follow him. He invited people to follow him. Because of the power of his love, the power of his message, and the strength of his character, crowds flocked around him wherever he went. Jesus didn’t need to put up posters of his beliefs in public places or make the government enforce his beliefs. Jesus lived them out and people saw the positive difference it made in their world and they wanted to live like him too. That’s what truth looks like. Love in action.

While everyone else around Jesus operated by a definition of power that required strict hierarchies or top-down enforcement of authority, Jesus operated by a bottom-up definition of power. Bringing power for and with others, rather than enforcing power over them.

Who Ended Up On Jesus' Right and Left?

The Zebodee sons didn’t know what they were asking because they had the wrong definition of power. They envisioned Jesus becoming the new king of the nation of Israel. If they had their desire, they would sit on his right and his left as his second and third in command on thrones of their own. Given how the other ten disciples became indignant with the two brothers after hearing their mother’s request, this was their definition of power too and they wanted those positions for themselves.

Do you know when their definition of power was probably challenged the most? When they saw Jesus hanging on the cross and they saw who was on his “right” and his “left.” That is when Jesus “came into his kingdom” and they must have realized at that moment that they really didn’t know what they were asking for before. They were asking for thrones, not a cross.

I don’t think many know what they are asking for today either. I think many want to be on thrones over others rather than taking up their own cross with Jesus out of love for others.

From Project 2025 to the Christian nationalist’s vision for America, to the Ten Commandments rulings, to many of the Supreme Court’s decisions, the definition of power revealed by these things is just like those who Jesus was talking about “lording it over” the Gentiles and “exercising their authority” over them.

It is a definition of power that was not only clearly opposed by Jesus--“not so with you”--but it is completely opposite from the way he lived his own life.

You see, what this comes down to has less to do with what we believe about certain political and social issues and more to do with how we believe we should respond to political and social issues.

For many, the response to political and social issues of our time looks like being the first on top and enforcing strict hierarchies of “Christian” power over everyone else. It looks like conquering enemies. It looks like creating a dominion.

Jesus rejects that kind of power.

For Jesus, the appropriate response looks like being a servant of all. It looks like caring so much for the needs of our neighbors that we refuse to see them as our enemies and we find ourselves asking, “What are the needs of my neighbor within this particular issue?” rather than “What are the interests of my personal beliefs within this particular issue?”

These two definitions of power could not be more opposite from one another.

How Do We Respond?

As we continue to watch all the “Zebodee brothers” and their mother vying for thrones over everyone else around us, I believe we need to do our best to remind them that Jesus said this wasn’t the kind of power his followers were to pursue. We should then not only look for those who are actually serving others around us and support them but then create a bold movement that prioritizes serving the needs and interests of others, even socially and politically.

Because not even Jesus came to be served himself and have dominion over others. As he said himself, Jesus came to serve others instead.

We who claim to follow Jesus should be seen doing the same.