Why Jesus Came to Serve, Not to Be Served
It started with Christmas music. Pastor Keith Roberson told the room at New River Church how much he loves this season’s songs — some we sing in church, some we save for the car, all of them wonderful. And then he brought up one of the all-time classics: “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town.”
Great song. Also, if we’re being honest, a little messed up.
Because if you drill down to the bottom of it, the nature of the song is: you better not mess up, or else you will not get the gifts coming to you. It’s effectively a threat. Be good — or else. Which means the reason you would do good, be kind, help others, serve others, or bless other people is for the benefit you’ll eventually get out of it.
That little observation pulled something to the surface for the whole room: the question of motives. Being kind and serving people is noble, a beautiful idea. But if it’s tied to “what’s in it for me,” it doesn’t really help with the purity of the motives. Does our joy in giving come from helping make others great — or from being seen as great, from what we get out of it?
In a Christmas message from the SURPRISED series called God Who Serves, Pastor Keith opened Matthew 20 and John 13 to show how radically different God’s motives are. When God came in the flesh, he told us exactly why he came — and it turned the entire world upside down.
What this sermon is about
Here’s the thesis: the eternal God, the King and Creator of the universe, did not come to earth to be served. He came to serve — to give himself away, freely and fully, as a straight gift with no catch and no fine print. That is his stated motive, in his own words. And it’s the most surprising thing about Christmas.
If you’ve ever caught yourself asking “what’s the catch?” — with people, or with God — this message is for you.
How the world works, and how it won’t work among you
The anchor text is Matthew 20, where Jesus — God in the flesh, the eternal Son — makes his motivation plain and clear:
Matthew 20:25-28 — “Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’”
Pastor Keith slowed the room down on the first half. Jesus is saying: here’s how the whole world works. There is this incredible temptation in all of humanity to fight for status, position, and power. Look around — everyone’s trying to look great, maybe even lord it over others, enjoying the position they have over the people around them. And you might feel it yourself, because we’re all human: this inner thing that asks, how can I get status and be above?
Notice what Jesus does not say. He doesn’t say the desire for greatness is something to repent of. There is a real desire for greatness in the human framework, and he doesn’t condemn it. He redirects it: whoever would be great among you must be your servant. The world gains greatness by grabbing it and lording it over everyone else. In Jesus’ kingdom, greatness runs through serving.
And then comes the staggering line — the one that’s easy to skim past if you grew up in church. Pastor Keith asked everyone to pause and feel the power and weight of it.
“I came not to be served. I’m not here as the king and creator of the universe to get you to serve me. I came to serve you — to give my life freely, fully. That’s my motive for why I’m here.” — Pastor Keith Roberson
It’s shocking. It’s stunning. God’s glory and beauty would be on display not by coming in and taking by force, but by coming to give himself away.
“What’s the catch?” — ten CDs for a penny
We live in a world where it’s incredibly easy to question motives. You’ve heard the phrase: if it’s too good to be true, it probably is. When someone shows up to be kind, to serve, to care for you, the reflex kicks in — what’s the catch? What’s your angle? What are you going for here? Very few things, we’ve learned, are done without some expected repayment.
Pastor Keith dated himself to make the point. Some of us remember when listening to music required acquiring a physical object — a CD — and on the regular, a piece of mail would show up promising 10 CDs for one penny. As a kid, that’s the greatest deal in the world. You sign up eagerly — without reading the fine print that commits you to buying ten more CDs at full price over the next year, spending more than a hundred dollars to get your ten CDs for a penny.
Here’s the cool thing. Here’s the good thing. But there’s a catch. There’s a hook.
And Jesus came and said: I am coming as King, but I’m not here to be served by you. I’m here to serve you. And here’s how I’ll do it — you can have my life.
“You can have my life. You get it all. It is a straight gift. You can’t earn it. You can’t buy it. And there is no small hidden print to try to hook you in. I’m here to lay down my life. What’s the catch? No catch. There’s no catch. I’m just here to serve.” — Pastor Keith Roberson
No one-cent teaser. No hidden terms. The God who made you, serving you at the cost of his own life — a ransom for many — and asking nothing but that you receive it.
The King with a towel around his waist
And Jesus didn’t just say it. He demonstrated it — he kept doing things that revealed this heart to serve. The clearest picture comes at his final supper, the night before he would be arrested and go to the cross:
John 13:4-8 — “He rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, do you wash my feet?’ Jesus answered him, ‘What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.’ Peter said to him, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’”
Pastor Keith filled in the context, because the scene is grosser than we imagine. First-century feet were bad — sandals, dirt roads, all of it. (Twenty-first-century feet are probably gross too, he conceded, but first-century feet were really bad.) When guests came in to dine, there would be a lowly servant tasked with untying the sandals and washing those nasty feet. That was the job at the absolute bottom of the ladder.
And Jesus — the King — took it.
The disciples couldn’t get their heads around such lavish serving. You’re the King. How could you do this? This is so beneath you. Peter flat-out refuses: you shall never wash my feet. And Jesus’ answer is the hinge of the whole sermon: if I don’t wash you, you have no share with me.
“He’s saying: if you want to enter into this family, if you want to come into this kingdom, you’ve got to get this. I will serve you.” — Pastor Keith Roberson
You can’t hold God off, saying “no, let me try to repay you” or “I should be washing your feet.” The gift has to be received freely and fully. That’s the door into the family. That’s the surprise of Christmas: not a God who came collecting, but a God who came in the flesh with a towel around his waist.
What this means for your week in Franklin
If you take this sermon seriously, four things change about this week.
- Check the “or else” in your goodness. “Santa Claus Is Coming to Town” theology is sneaky — be good to get the goods. This week, notice when you’re serving to be seen as great rather than to make someone else great, and ask God to purify the motive.
- Let Jesus serve you first. Peter’s instinct is ours: you shall never wash my feet. But the gift can’t be repaid, only received. Before you do one more thing for God this Christmas, sit still long enough to receive what he’s already done for you.
- Retire the “what’s the catch?” reflex with God. There is no fine print, no ten-CDs-for-a-penny hook. His life, freely and fully given. If you’ve been holding the gift at arm’s length waiting for the hidden terms, there aren’t any.
- Pick up a towel. Whoever would be great among you must be your servant — and the desire for greatness doesn’t need repenting, just redirecting. Find the unglamorous, foot-washing-level task in your home, workplace, or church this week, and take it on purpose.
Watch the full message
The full sermon — “God Who Serves” from the SURPRISED series — is in the video above. We post a new message every Sunday from New River Church in Franklin, TN. Browse our message library for more from the SURPRISED series and other recent teaching.
Coming Sunday at New River Church in Franklin, TN
If this message resonated and you’d like to experience worship and community in person, we’d love to have you with us. New River Church meets Sundays at 9:00 AM and 10:45 AM at 1153 Lewisburg Pike in Franklin, TN 37064 — just minutes from downtown Franklin and easy to reach from across Williamson County, Brentwood, and Spring Hill.
You don’t need to dress up. You don’t need a good voice. You don’t need to know much about church or the Bible to come. We’re a community of ordinary people walking through ordinary life, trying to do it together with Jesus at the center. Whether you’ve been a Christian for forty years or you’ve never set foot in a church, you are welcome here.
If you’re new to the area or new to faith, our First Time Guest page walks through everything you need to know before your first visit: parking, what to expect on Sunday morning, what your kids will experience in River Kids, and how to find us when you arrive.
If you’re looking for deeper community beyond Sunday morning, our Community Groups meet across Franklin and the surrounding area throughout the week. Groups are where Sunday morning faith becomes Tuesday afternoon real life.
Whatever you’re carrying right now, you don’t have to carry it alone. There’s a place for you at New River Church in Franklin, Tennessee. Come as you are.
Watch more sermons: newriverfranklin.com/messages Plan your visit: newriverfranklin.com/firsttimeguest Find a group: newriverfranklin.com/groups
📍 New River Church | 1153 Lewisburg Pike, Franklin, TN 37064 | Sundays 9:00 AM & 10:45 AM
