Deuteronomy 34:1-12 Matthew 22:34-46 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8
Who is it that you remember?
Each of us has lived and worked under people who have been placed in authority over us. Our parents were first. But after our parents we were under the authority of a host of teachers, employers, pastors, club presidents, drill sergeants, military officers, and others. And in each case, whether we thought about it consciously or not, we have filed away the memory of that leader with a personal evaluation, or opinion, of their leadership. Some leaders were good, others were terrible, some were easy to work for, some were hard, and some leaders stood out because they somehow made every one of their subordinates better by their encouragement, support, teaching, and mentorship.
And so, as you remember the leaders with whom you have worked, learned, and served, think about what it was that makes the best of them stand out in your memory. What is it about great leaders, whether that leader was the boss of three employees or the President of the United States, what is it that made them memorable and stand out in our memory as good, or even as great or exceptional?
With that question in mind, let us look at our scriptures for today and see what kinds of leaders we find there, what stands out about them even thousands of years later, and consider how those qualities inform us about how we evaluate leadership today, but also what qualities we should cultivate in ourselves as we lead others. We begin this morning by skipping to the end of Moses’ leadership and the end of his time on earth as we hear the words of Deuteronomy 34:1-12:
34:1 Then Moses climbed Mount Nebo from the plains of Moab to the top of Pisgah, across from Jericho. There the Lord showed him the whole land—from Gilead to Dan, 2 all of Naphtali, the territory of Ephraim and Manasseh, all the land of Judah as far as the Mediterranean Sea, 3 the Negev and the whole region from the Valley of Jericho, the City of Palms, as far as Zoar. 4 Then the Lord said to him, “This is the land I promised on oath to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob when I said, ‘I will give it to your descendants.’ I have let you see it with your eyes, but you will not cross over into it.”
5 And Moses the servant of the Lord died there in Moab, as the Lord had said. 6 He buried him in Moab, in the valley opposite Beth Peor, but to this day no one knows where his grave is. 7 Moses was a hundred and twenty years old when he died, yet his eyes were not weak nor his strength gone. 8 The Israelites grieved for Moses in the plains of Moab thirty days, until the time of weeping and mourning was over.
9 Now Joshua, son of Nun, was filled with the spirit of wisdom because Moses had laid his hands on him. So, the Israelites listened to him and did what the Lord had commanded Moses.
10 Since then, no prophet has risen in Israel like Moses, whom the Lord knew face to face, 11 who did all those signs and wonders the Lord sent him to do in Egypt—to Pharaoh and to all his officials and to his whole land. 12 For no one has ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.
There is something that struck me when I read this that stands out because over the last few weeks, we have, at least twice, encountered passages, such as the incident with the golden calf, in which the people essentially asked, “who is Moses”? Moses was unfamiliar and the people of Israel, at several points, felt that they couldn’t trust him, and they struggled with his leadership over them. But here, the people weep and mourn over his death for thirty days before moving forward once again under Joshua’s leadership. The writer of Deuteronomy goes on to describe Moses as being so exceptional that no prophet, in the entire history of Israel, was like him, no one spoke to God face to face as he did, no one performed signs and wonders the way that Moses did, and “no one had ever shown the mighty power or performed the awesome deeds that Moses did in the sight of all Israel.”
That shift, from “who is Moses?” to “no prophet has risen like Moses” is an enormous shift. What was it that Moses did that, in the span of forty years, so dramatically changed the people’s opinion from “who is he?” to “how will we ever live without him?” But those of us who have read the parts of the events that happen between Israel’s escape from Egypt, and the time of Moses’ death have a good idea about why the opinion of the people had changed so dramatically. We will come back to that before we finish but next let us consider a confrontation between Jesus and the Pharisees, this time found in the words of Matthew 22:34-46.
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: 36 “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
37 Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and greatest commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.”
41 While the Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, 42 “What do you think about the Messiah? Whose son is he?”
“The son of David,” they replied.
43 He said to them, “How is it then that David, speaking by the Spirit, calls him ‘Lord’? For he says,
44 “‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
until I put your enemies
under your feet.”’
45 If then David calls him ‘Lord,’ how can he be his son?” 46 No one could say a word in reply, and from that day on no one dared to ask him any more questions.
What we see in this confrontation, is a little bit of politics, a little theology, and a lot of ego. The Pharisees and the Sadducees were rivals, both politically and theologically. The Sadducees were generally wealthier and more closely related to the Roman government, but who also had some strongly held theological beliefs that were quite different than those of the Pharisees. The Pharisees were politically well-connected, and they did have dealing with the Roman government, but they were also more associated with scholars and orthodox belief as well as making an attempt to communicate their theological beliefs to the common worshiper, even if they often completely misunderstood the poor. And so, having heard that their rivals, the Sadducees, had failed at testing Jesus, they obviously thought that their smart guys were smarter than the Sadducees’ smart guys, and they decided to try to best Jesus with a trick question and wave it in the face of their rivals. But it didn’t work. Jesus thoughtfully answers their question without giving them an answer that could be used against him, and Jesus proceeds to ask the Pharisees his own trick question. The understanding of the time was that an elder was always superior to the younger, even if, perhaps especially if, the younger was a descendant of the other. But Jesus asks, if that is so, then how is the Messiah, a descendant of David, described as David’s Lord? And the Pharisees have no answer, perhaps because admitting that the Messiah would be greater than David, was to overturn decades of tradition that demanded that the elders were always right and the younger generations were always subordinate.
But considering our earlier questions about leadership, we notice that there are two distinct leadership styles present in this part of Matthew’s gospel message. The leadership of the Pharisees is driven by its connection to power, its dependence, even its addiction to authority and influence, but also by the ego that drive it to always be wealthier, bigger, more powerful, more connected, more righteous, and more influential. But the leadership of Jesus is different. Jesus’ leadership highlights faithfulness, thoughtfulness, wisdom, humility, and sacrifice.
But again, before we tie these threads together, let’s look at our final scripture this morning that we find in Paul’s letter to the church in Thessalonica in 1 Thessalonians 2:1-8 where he says:
2:1 You know, brothers and sisters, that our visit to you was not without results. 2 We had previously suffered and been treated outrageously in Philippi, as you know, but with the help of our God we dared to tell you his gospel in the face of strong opposition. 3 For the appeal we make does not spring from error or impure motives, nor are we trying to trick you. 4 On the contrary, we speak as those approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel. We are not trying to please people but God, who tests our hearts. 5 You know we never used flattery, nor did we put on a mask to cover up greed—God is our witness. 6 We were not looking for praise from people, not from you or anyone else, even though as apostles of Christ we could have asserted our authority. 7 Instead, we were like young children among you.
Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, 8 so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well.
In his letter, Paul tells the church how things have been going on his missionary journey. But as he does so, he reminds them of who he is and his own leadership style as a follower of Jesus Christ. Everyone knows that Paul was once a Pharisee, indeed he described himself as a Pharisee of the Pharisees. But once he chose to follow Jesus, his leadership style changed to match the example of Jesus. Now, Paul ministers in the face of suffering, enduring outrageous treatment, and is marked by integrity, humility, and faithfulness as he seeks to teach while living and working together alongside the people of the church.
Let us review. In the span of forty years, the people’s opinion of Moses shifted from “who is he?” to “how will we ever live without him?” But why? Why was Moses so beloved by the people of Israel at the time of his death, when they had repeatedly doubted him, argued, whined, and resisted him, and even went behind his back to demand Aaron cast a golden god to worship? The reason was because of the kind of leader, and the kind of a person that Moses was. Moses always sought to do what was right before God, he took his biggest problems directly to God and asked for help, he led God’s people as faithfully as he could, he never asked for more than he needed, he worked alongside of the people and lived his life both thoughtfully and sacrificially. Yes, Moses performed great signs and miracles, but he had done those things even before the times when people doubted him. The transformation of his leadership happened because of who he was, how he lived, and the example that he set, and not because of the power and influence that he had.
The Pharisees came and went. Yes, they had a following, but the leadership style for which they are remembered bears the hallmarks of ego, selfishness, and the search for more rather than on faithfulness and the kingdom of God. In contrast, we remember Jesus by his faithfulness, thoughtfulness, wisdom, humility, and sacrifice. And Paul is remembered for his ministry in the face of suffering, and for his integrity, humility, and faithfulness as he lived and worked alongside the people of the church.
In one way or another, each of us is a leader.
We remember the leadership style of the Pharisees. But we remember that the style of Moses, Jesus, and Paul was altogether different. Only one of those two styles is remembered for the way that it transforms lives.
The first might make you rich, but the second enriches all the people around you and makes every one of your subordinates better by your encouragement, support, teaching, and mentorship.
One is selfish, the other selfless. One is arrogant and ego driven; the other is driven by integrity and humility.
Only one is transformational.
Which example will you follow?
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*You have been reading a message presented at Christ United Methodist Church on the date noted at the top of the first page. Rev. John Partridge is the pastor at Christ UMC in Alliance, Ohio. Duplication of this message is a part of our Media ministry, if you have received a blessing in this way, we would love to hear from you. Letters and donations in support of the Media ministry or any of our other projects may be sent to Christ United Methodist Church, 470 East Broadway Street, Alliance, Ohio 44601. These messages are available to any interested persons regardless of membership. You may subscribe to these messages, in print or electronic formats, by writing to the address noted, or by contacting us at secretary@CUMCAlliance.org. These messages can also be found online at https://pastorpartridge.com . All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.comThe “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™
