The Matrix of Seeking Honour, Status, and Prestige

Jesus very astutely observes that the Jewish religious leaders (the scribes), the Roman leaders, and the disciples (future leaders of Jesus’ ministry) all have the same underlying problem of secretly seeking honour even though they may belong to different social groups that have more surface level differences. Jesus sees beneath the surface of these humans from different groups and discerns that not only do the Romans chase after honour and status above others (Luke 22:25), but also the Scribes (Luke 11:43, 14:7-11) and his very own disciples (Luke 9:46-48). According to Joel Green “one of Jesus’ severest criticisms of the scribes and Pharisees is that they act too much like Romans in their claims to honor and desire for status as benefactors”. 

Jesus discerns that this is not merely a subcultural problem, but a human condition of the world under the kingdom of darkness where Satan has invisible chains on peoples’ hearts and minds that spiritually enslave them to desire the idols of honour, status, and prestige and find their fulfillment in them. If we do attain them, we grow accustomed to their pleasure and paranoid about losing them, which affects our mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being. If we don't successfully attain them, then we're miserable. Jesus fights against these worldly values that occupy the dark and sinful wallpaper of collective human consciousness and paints a new spiritual background of humility involving selfless leaders serving their followers without any desire for seeking honour, status, and prestige. 

Jesus demonstrates this by being one who serves his disciples (Luke 22:27) and tells two of his top fellow leaders, Peter and John, to serve the disciples by preparing a guest room to eat the Passover (Luke 22:7-13).  In the modern day context this involves not naively believing that certain sins central to the human heart which Jesus talks about (e.g. desire for status, lust, greed, lack of faith) primarily have subcultural roots although they may have some environmental influences. Deep under all these twisted desires lies a hidden system of dark values of the world controlled by the kingdom of Satan. 

Jesus has come to set the captives of this Satanically hidden system of values free by inviting enslaved people to be his disciple and experience a new system of values in the kingdom of God. He offers to free us from this Matrix which enslaves us without us even knowing that we're enslaved. This involves not only having the transformed desire to serve without attaining human honour but also the baptized desire for God-centered intimacy to treat people as subjects instead of objects for lust and the new desire for generosity instead of greed.