At the end of the Last Supper, after Jesus had demonstrated that He was to be the sacrificial Lamb of God, taking away the sins of the world and redeeming His people, the disciples had a big argument!  That meal, which set the pattern for the Holy Communion, became a springboard for power politics amongst the disciples.  Somehow, the sacred solemnity of the Passover with all its prophetic significance for Jesus and every believer, and the gravity of Christ’s coming Passion, was ignored because of the long running sub-agenda of which of the disciples was going to be the greatest when Jesus came to power.
 
The trainee apostles, who should have known better, had already argued about it in Capernaum (Mark 9:33-37).  They repeated their lobbying on the way up to Jerusalem (Mark 10:35-45).  Even the mother of James and John begged Jesus that her boys should have top jobs in His Kingdom (Matthew 20:20-28).  It was not right.  However much it may have  reflected the age old practices of bribery, patronage and favouritism – it was offensive to God.  It would be nice to think that that sort of thinking and behaviour disappeared before the church was formed.  But, no!  One of the sad facts of the history of the church is that human power struggles have defaced the Lord's glory in order to elevate the power and patronage of His people.

James, the half-brother of the Lord Jesus, wrote against power politics in the church (James 2:1-13).  Peter challenges church leaders to be servants rather than slave drivers (1 Peter 5:1-4).  Paul writes similarly (1 Timothy 3:1-13).  These are serious issues in our day also.  Clear leadership needs to be firm and uncompromising on the truth but gentle towards people (2 Timothy 4:2-5).  Leaders who please the people in order to be popular or paid are like Aaron who created a false god (Exodus 32:1-8).  Leaders who dominate the people to preserve their own power, or the power of their wives, are like Ahab (1 Kings 16:29-33) who wanted to destroy truth and the truth-teller rather than be God’s servant.
 
Whereas favouritism can happen at any age, patronage by older or richer benefactors can be a sanitised façade behind which people exercise power over others.  It can pretend to support others in their ministry, but practically, patrons hold the strings and play with their puppets.  So, it is as easy for influential church members or whole families to manipulate the church as it is for tribal heads to assume the right to govern it, making the teachers and pastors dance to their tune. Of course, not every benefactor or patron thinks and behaves like that; many are a real blessing.  But our human nature is easily tempted into thinking and behaviour which is worldly and fleshly. Jesus said that is wrong.  The antidote to a craving to control is to serve; instead of telling the youngsters what to do, demonstrate that you are willing to do it.  That is precisely what Jesus did, and those who follow Him have no right to assume any greater privilege.