John
Wilkes suggests, “Responsibility without authority disables rather than
empowers followers.”[1] So it is that Jesus gave his authority
and blessing to his disciples.
Jesus gave them opportunities to practice the challenges to leadership
through an environment in which they were formed spiritually and
empowered. It’s interesting to
note that Jesus sent the twelve disciples on a responsibility-based
action-learning experience early on in his ministry.[2] He then did the same with seventy-two
followers.[3]
But
with authority came also the necessity of humility to pass on ministry to the
next generation. “Let the little
children come to me, and do not hinder them,” Jesus said. And, perhaps by no coincidence, Jesus
calls his followers his children, and then passes on responsibility to them.[4] He then intimates that his disciples
will carry on his mission after him through the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.[5]
These
emerging leaders were entrusted not just with the responsibility of continuing
the mission of Jesus, but also enabled with the permission, opportunity and
capability to do so. “All
authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,”[6] Jesus
said. And the authoritative
responsibility transferred to this group of next generation leaders was specifically
in the interest of developing further successive generations of leaders. In fact, because all of Jesus’
authority had been transferred to the disciples, their appropriate action was
to “therefore, go and make disciples of all nations.”[7] Jesus demonstrated the fruitfulness of
generational transference by sharing the responsibility of God’s mission with
others. To give authority and
responsibility to the disciples demonstrated how much Jesus valued these people
as leaders. Wilkes comments, “when Jesus called the disciples to
himself on the side of a hill and commissioned them to continue that mission,
he was not abdicating his own responsibility for it - he was sharing that
responsibility.”[8]
The
Gospel of John illustrates the transfer of leadership in terms of mission and
character. For instance, John the
Baptist, resolute in purpose, promoted Jesus through personal humility. John the Baptist described Jesus
saying, “the one who comes after me has surpassed me.”[9] There is not a hint of possessive
leadership with John the Baptist.
When Jesus came onto the scene, John the Baptist encouraged his own
disciples, in whom he had been investing himself, to follow Jesus. While this example is not generational
according to age, it is generational according to transference of ministry
leadership. John the Baptist, in
many ways, ordains Jesus publicly and releases others to follow him.
The
Gospel of John then portrays Jesus as a leader who raises other leaders up
through personal humility. “I am
the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep,” Jesus told his
disciples.[10] Before the Last Supper, John reveals
the posture of leadership that effectively transfers ministry. John wrote:
“Jesus
knew that the Father had put all things under his power... so he got up from
the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his
waist. After that he poured water
into a basin and began to wash his disciples‘ feet.”[11]
Bruce
Milne noted the self-sacrifice for others and the humility of Jesus as the true
model for leadership. There can be
no possessive tendency for the leader of biblical patterning. As Jesus led his disciples through
humble service and releasing strategies, so he instructs them to do the
same. Jesus says, “Now that I have
washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.”[12] Milne argued:
[1] Wilkes, C. Gene. Jesus on Leadership: Discovering the Secrets of Servant Leadership from the Life of Christ. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998), 181-182
[2] Matthew 10:5
[3] Luke 10:1
[4] John 13:33
[5] John 15:26-27
[6] Matthew 28:18
[7] Matthew 28:19
[8] Wilkes, p.181
[9] John 1:15
[10] John 10:11-15
[11] John 13:2-5
[12] John 13:14
[13] Milne, John. The Message of John (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1993), 149

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