Jesus was treated with the vilest disrespect—utterly undeserved by the One now worshipped as the coming King who will take authority over all the kingdoms of this world. Only a handful of His followers remained convinced that He was indeed Lord as He submitted to the humiliation of the cross. The crown of thorns was designed to disgrace Him, to persuade unbelievers that there was no truth in His claim to be born a King. Identifying with Jesus, therefore, means being willing to accept the same dishonor that was heaped upon Him.
This raises a profound question: Are the most respected Christian leaders, arrayed in their splendid regalia, truly representatives of Jesus? Is it possible for people, shaped by tradition, to be freed from such serious misinformation? Jesus was explicit: His disciples cannot expect to be treated with honor while He was treated with contempt. “Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will persecute you also. If they obeyed my teaching, they will obey yours also” (John 15:20). The truth is that when Jesus walked the earth, He was the servant of humanity, bearing the cross on behalf of all.
His disciples were instructed to become servants of humanity in the same way (Matthew 23:11-12). Before we explore the mystery of His Lordship, we must first recognize an enigmatic reality in this sinful world: those who are truly Jesus’ brothers are also servants, just as He was a servant in this world. Blessed are those who can recognize such people, just as Peter, who recognized Jesus as Lord, was blessed.
Why is Jesus called “Lord of Lords” and “King of Kings” (Revelation 19:16), rather than “Lord of the world” or “King of the world”? During His earthly ministry, only His disciples called Him “Lord.” The secret of His Lordship is hidden from the world at large. Those who remain in confusion will always act in the same spirit as those who crucified Him. Scripture, rightly understood, can unlock this debilitating confusion and set us on the right path.
After washing His disciples’ feet, Jesus put on His outer garments and returned to His place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” He asked. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:12-17).
Jesus was their Lord, yet He performed the work of a servant toward His disciples and commanded them to do likewise for one another. The implication is simple: one cannot seek honor in this world and still expect honor at His second coming. It seems the majority of Christians are suspended between knowledge and ignorance. They assume the title “Lord of Lords” simply confers power on Jesus above earthly rulers. This describes zealots who refuse to examine information that does not originate from their own leaders.
The greatest danger is calling Jesus “Lord” without being convicted of that reality. If Jesus truly is Lord, His teachings cannot be ignored. Only the disciples regarded Him as Lord, and they were expected to take Him seriously when He spoke of servanthood as the hallmark of His followers. He is Lord only to those who obey His commandments. Nothing appears amiss until one scrutinizes Scripture and discovers how devastating it is to fall into that trap. Jesus is Lord solely to those who identify with His teachings.
“Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes, and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison, and you did not look after me.’ They also will answer, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?’ He will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (Matthew 25:41-45)
This is profound, and utterly true. Those commended for having catered for the brothers of Jesus are not the ones the world expects to call Jesus “Lord” here on earth. Those catered for in their miserable needs, are the very ones Jesus identifies as His brothers—portrayed not in splendor but in need: unclothed, sick, and in prison. This suggests that the most difficult challenge, even in our day, is to identify such people. The world simply cannot recognize the brothers of Jesus; they remain hidden in plain sight.
When Jesus asked His disciples who ordinary people said He was, their answers revealed the inaccuracy that characterizes public opinion. After Peter gave the accurate confession, Jesus declared that flesh and blood had not revealed that truth to him. The mystery of His identity is the very foundation of His Church, and Jesus later instructed His disciples to keep it hidden from the general populace (Matthew 16:13-20).
Before leaving them, Jesus told His disciples that the world would see Him no longer, but they would see Him. They would have the privilege of beholding the One invisible to others, and those others would be unable to recognize His true disciples (John 14:12-21). The name of Jesus is common across the globe, but the vast majority of “Christians” are not qualified to call Him “Lord.” His Lordship is mysterious, unknown to the ordinary mind, and those privileged to address Him as Lord can never do so casually.
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’” (Matthew 7:21-23)
Many who are known as Christians may ultimately be disqualified from calling Jesus “Lord.” He is the “Lord of Lords,” not the Lord of ordinary people persisting in their sinful endeavors. Anyone familiar with monarchy knows that you cannot disobey your king without severe consequences. A Lord is served; He does not serve human ambition. The only stable qualification for calling Jesus “Lord” is keeping His commandments. Therefore, only His true disciples—those who obey His instructions—are presently entitled to call Him Lord. The rest are counterfeit.
“Why do you call me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say? As for everyone who comes to me and hears my words and puts them into practice, I will show you what they are like. They are like a man building a house, who dug down deep and laid the foundation on the rock. When a flood came, the torrent struck that house but could not shake it, because it was well built. But the one who hears my words and does not put them into practice is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. The moment the torrent struck that house, it collapsed, and its destruction was complete.” (Luke 6:46-49)
As far as Jesus is concerned, calling Him “Lord” while disregarding His commandments is criminal. This is straightforward, yet terribly complicated for those entangled in deception. No one is permitted to address Jesus as “Lord” without genuine commitment to His teaching. The only way out of this morass of confusion is to disentangle oneself from denominationalism. The comfort derived from denominational belonging is devastatingly dangerous. Safety is found in Jesus, never in a religious institution.
This may be difficult to accept, but it is true nonetheless. When a person is baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, how does a denomination come into the picture? The Book of Acts provides a powerful illustration. The apostle Philip, led by the Holy Spirit, encountered an Ethiopian eunuch struggling to understand Scripture. Philip explained the gospel, baptized him, and then “the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again but went on his way rejoicing” (Acts 8:36-39). Nothing indicates that the eunuch was ever connected to Philip again or to any institutional structure.
Denominational advocates would undoubtedly attempt to spin this account. How could the eunuch simply go on his way without remaining connected to a “godfather,” that title of honor often conferred upon so-called “men of God”? In the eyes of denominational loyalists, worship outside the framework of an organization is a serious crime. The eunuch, they would insist, ought to have stayed attached to the one who baptized him. Tragically, for many worshippers today, only their pastor is accorded ultimate respect; everyone is expected to obey the pastor while disregarding the explicit teachings of Jesus:
“But you are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have one Teacher, and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called instructors, for you have one Instructor, the Messiah. The greatest among you will be your servant. For those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:8-12)
Strangely, Jesus’ words are not treated with reverence by most Christians. It is no wonder that the services of theologians are esteemed more highly than the teachings of Jesus himself. Yet this phenomenon is consistent with how God’s true Church is identified. Many who call themselves “Christians” are perfectly comfortable impressing their pastors instead of applying the words of the One they cannot see. This is as observable as it is lamentable. As it is written: “they may be ever seeing but never perceiving, and ever hearing but never understanding; otherwise they might turn and be forgiven” (Mark 4:12).
Ordinary humans are more eager to please their peers than to please Jesus. No wonder He promises them a terrifying judgment: “Away from me, you evildoers! I never knew you.” (Matthew 7:21) It may seem unfair for Jesus to deal so severely with such naïve worshippers, but what other treatment do such fools deserve? There is no danger in truth, nor in falsehood; no danger in knowledge, nor in ignorance. The danger lies in the treacherous middle ground between those opposites—a space that the pretenders and the untruthful find so attractive. Jesus confirms this:
“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: … I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked.” (Revelation 3:14-17)
The reason the Lord threatens to spit such people out of His mouth is not complicated. A careful examination of their conduct is nauseating. They conveniently settle somewhere in between for the sake of their own false security. Some of them even mistake hatred for opponents as a sign of being “hot.” They behave like political thugs, wielding machetes against those who disagree with their ideology, considering themselves faithful party cadres. In their shortsighted reasoning, they never pause to imagine how they would feel if treated the same way. This is the behavior bred in the space between knowledge and ignorance.
There is a twisted comfort in being lukewarm, even while remaining in bondage. In the political world, those who carry out savage acts are rarely the ones benefiting from their party’s corrupt dealings. They are mere pawns on a chessboard, concerned only with impressing their superiors while receiving nothing of substance in return. They never stop to evaluate their actions, assuming that their “leaders” are beyond criticism. Those outside that system know exactly how disgusting such behavior is—the very disgust that the Lord likens to being spewed from His mouth.
The behaviour of such Christians is just as revolting as political violence. Their leaders are often implicated in heinous actions, and yet these leaders draw support from a mass of myopic believers threatened with being spat out by the Lord. It is self-centeredness that fuels such conduct. Authentic Christians are the only ones who truly treat Jesus as Lord, taking their direction from Him in everything.
The rest of humanity is free to continue behaving as they please. What places a person in the gravest danger is zealously worshipping God primarily to receive “blessings.” The idea of escaping to heaven while everyone else burns in hell motivates such people far more than applying the teachings of Jesus. God is incensed by this foolishness. Those who do not pretend to be hot but honestly acknowledge they are cold are, in a sense, safer.
The threat of being spat out is aimed squarely at those who present themselves as committed worshippers while inwardly remaining ravenous beasts—the very people who provoke God’s extreme anger. What is most discouraging is that such people may go their entire lives without ever encountering truthful material. Only God’s sovereign grace can reach them. Inside their denominational enclaves, gatekeepers ensure that truthful information never penetrates. These gatekeepers act just like political leaders, warning their supporters never to read material from the opposition.
Zimbabwe’s politicians, in fact, deserve a certain credit for their ingenuity in clinging to power. They know exactly which side their bread is buttered on. They approach self-styled “spiritual leaders,” hand over cash and other perks, and then request them to twist Scripture to persuade their followers to endorse nefarious party activities. This is shameful, but it is the stark reality of the religious landscape.
The question remains urgent: Jesus is Lord—but whose Lord is He? Only those who serve as He served, obey as He commanded, and stand apart from the comfortable, self-serving middle ground can truly call Him “Lord.” To all others, He will one day deliver the most chilling verdict: “I never knew you.”
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, laying down standards for uplifting Zimbabwe from the current state of economic depression into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, relieving those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions, leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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