The New Definition of Greatness: What Dr. King Taught us About Following Jesus

Today, as we honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., I go back to a sermon he preached just two months before his assassination. Standing in the pulpit at Ebenezer Baptist Church, he talked about something he called "the drum major instinct," a deep human desire we all have to be out in front, to be recognized, to be first.

Dr. King offered something radically different. He said, "If you want to be important—wonderful. If you want to be recognized—wonderful. If you want to be great—wonderful. But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. That's a new definition of greatness."

Dr. King was quoting Jesus. But he could have just as easily been reading from Philippians 2.

When the Church Got It Wrong

Here's what hits hard and close to home about Dr. King's ministry… Five months before he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial casting his vision of the "beloved community," he sat in a Birmingham jail cell writing a letter. But he wasn't writing to the KKK or violent segregationists. He was writing to eight white pastors, his fellow Christian brothers, who had called his nonviolent protests "unwise and untimely."

These weren't bad men. They were respected pastors who believed in equality, at least in theory. They just thought Dr. King was moving too fast, being too disruptive, asking for too much too soon.

Listen to what Dr. King wrote from that cell…

"I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Counciler or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice."

Do you catch what Dr. King is describing? Followers of Jesus who agreed with equality in principle but prioritized their own comfort above the freedom of their neighbors. People who had the privilege of saying "not yet" and "wait for a more convenient time" while their brothers and sisters suffered.

Here's what makes this even more uncomfortable… They used the Bible to defend their position. Romans 13—submit to authorities. First Corinthians 14—do things decently and in order. They could quote chapter and verse why now wasn't the time.

But you know what they weren't reading? Philippians 2.

The Pattern Jesus Set

Paul writes to a diverse church experiencing the natural friction that happens when people of different backgrounds try to build community together: "Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others. Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves. Don't look out only for your own interests, but take an interest in others, too." [Philippians 2:3]

Then he points to Jesus as the ultimate example…

"Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal's death on a cross." [Philippians 2:6-8]

If anyone had the right to cling to privilege, to protect his position, to demand his own way, it was Jesus. But look at what he does…he descends. From heaven to earth. From equality with God to the form of a servant. From servant to death. From death to the most shameful execution possible.

Paul says Jesus gave up his privileges. Not because privilege is evil, but because love required it.

The Question We Must ALL Ask

The pastors who opposed Dr. King weren't inventing a new problem, they actually were repeating an ancient one. The prophet Amos confronted the same issue in Israel. God's people were being very religious, but God said, "I hate, I despise your religious festivals... Away with the noise of your songs! But let justice roll on like a river, righteousness like a never-failing stream."

Why? Because they were comfortable with injustice as long as they got to keep their religious routines.

Today, it's easy to judge those pastors and say, "I'd never do that." But standing with Dr. King meant disruption, risk, surrendering control, admitting the status quo wasn't working for everyone.

So the question isn't, “Were they wrong?” Yes, of course they were.

The question is… Where am I getting it wrong today? What privilege am I defending? Whose pain am I minimizing because it disrupts my comfort?

Everybody Can Be Great

Dr. King said, "Everybody can be great, because everybody can serve. You don't have to have a college degree to serve. You don't have to make your subject and verb agree to serve. You only need a heart full of grace, a soul generated by love."

That's the new definition of greatness. That's Philippians 2. That's Jesus.

Because Jesus didn't cling, God exalted him. Because Jesus descended, he was raised. Because Jesus surrendered his privileges, every tongue will confess his name.

Paul is showing us the pattern. This is what it looks like to follow Jesus. If Jesus, who had every right to demand we come to him on his terms, instead came to us on ours, how can we do anything less for each other?

The Cost Is Real

Following Jesus this way costs something. It means listening more than defending when someone else's experience differs from ours. It means examining the privileges we carry without realizing it. It means choosing discomfort when it serves our neighbor's good. It means surrendering our preferences when they create barriers for others.

But when we surrender like Jesus did, we don't lose. We gain authentic community that reflects God's Kingdom. We discover that God's plan is better than our comfort. It always is.

Today, as we honor Dr. King, let's remember that his new definition of greatness came straight from Jesus. Let's ask ourselves the hard questions about where we're clinging to privilege and comfort instead of descending in love. Let's choose to be servants.

Because surrender isn't giving up. It's opening up to God's better plan.

What privilege are you carrying that you don't even see? Where are you prioritizing your comfort over someone else's belonging? What is Jesus asking you to surrender? These are the questions worth wrestling with today.

Keep looking up, 

Pastor Alan is the lead pastor of Allegheny Center Alliance Church. To find out more about ACAC, go here.