Jesus is the greatest leader in history. Why should we care about how he was a follower?
There are three reasons. First, the Gospels clearly reveal that Jesus is the perfect follower of God the Father. We see this most dramatically in his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane: “Abba, Father, all things are possible to you. Take this cup away from me, but not what I will but what you will” (Mk 14:36). In the Gospel of John, Jesus describes himself as the radically obedient follower of the Father at least a dozen times. Second, the Gospels reveal that the leadership of Jesus grows out of his relationship with the Father. The Father gives Jesus his mission, and the Father’s will is the criterion by which Jesus executes his leadership. Third, humility is the foundational virtue of Jesus’ leadership. It is because Jesus is the humble follower of the Father that he is the leader at whose name every knee must bend (Phil 2:7-11).
This is the pattern of leadership to which our Lord calls us. The foundation for everything we do as Christian leaders must be our filial relationship to the Father, established through Jesus, and our lowliness before the Father’s transcendent glory.
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JOSEPH MCINERNEY is vice president of leadership and ethics education for the Knights of Columbus.








