TRUE GREATNESS

by Kevin Rutherford

The book of Esther is as much about Haman as it is about Esther. Haman was a Persian Prince who was elevated to a position of authority above the other princes (Esther 3:1 ff.). Haman loved this new position. The servants of the king bowed to him and he viewed himself as being very great. Because he thought he was so great Mordecai’s refusal to bow to Haman angered him greatly. He was so angered by this that he determined to destroy Mordecai and all of Mordecai’s people, the Jews.

Haman’s plot was discovered and revealed to the king eventually. However, Haman would face some humiliation before then. For example, the king commanded Haman to honor Mordecai (Esther 6). Mordecai had saved the life of the king. The king asked Haman how he would treat a man that the king wanted to honor. In his puffed up view of himself Haman was sure the king wanted to honor him. Haman then proceeded to describe how he would like to be honored, and then the king told him to treat Mordecai to that honor.

Haman’s arrogance eventually led him to his death. When his plot to kill Mordecai and the Jews was revealed, the king sentenced him to death. What is ironic is the fact that the king had Haman hanged on a gallows that Haman had built for Mordecai (Esther 7).

Haman was arrogant. He had a view of himself that the rest of the world did not share. He wanted to be admired and worshipped by all. His arrogance led to his downfall. He wanted to be great in the eyes of men. Do you?

Jesus Christ is great. He is the Son of God. While He is not viewed as great in the eyes of all men, His greatness is genuine. Jesus Christ has all authority (Matthew 28:18). Jesus Christ is the head of the church (Ephesians 1:22, 23). Truly Jesus Christ is great! Despite His true greatness Jesus Christ did not become puffed up with Himself while here on this earth. A wonderful example of the humility of Christ and what it truly means to be great is found in John chapter thirteen.

Jesus humbly washed the feet of His disciples. When He had finished He spoke of the lesson His disciples should have learned from His example (John 13:13-17). He is Lord and Master and yet He washed the feet of those who followed Him. The greater served the lesser. Jesus washed the disciples’ feet so that we would all learn that the way to true greatness is found in serving others, and not in demanding that they serve us.

What a great contrast we see between Haman and Jesus. Haman was nothing but a man who desired to be admired and served. Jesus is the Son of God who came to serve those He had created by dying for them. Can you see the difference between artificial and true greatness?