by Greg Baker
The following column appeared in the online edition of the Des Moines Register on Easter Sunday 2025.
Over 2,000 years ago, the most powerful person in the world was Ceasar Augustus, who ruled with absolute power over a growing and dominating Roman Empire.
Yet while Caesar ruled from a massive palace in Rome, another king entered this world – not born in a palace, but rather in a feeding trough in a distant region of the Empire. No mere Caesar, this second king would be called King of Kings, all powerful, Son of God. Yet his time on earth would be marked not only by his humble birth (celebrated today at Christmas), but even more so by his humble ending, which we celebrate at Easter.
Christmas and Easter show us the story of this King, Jesus, who does not match our understanding of how to rule. Christmas and Easter tell us that true power and leadership are found not in domination, but in service and sacrifice.
This Easter, let reflect not only on Christ’s sacrifice on the Cross and victory in the resurrection, but also on the incredible model of leadership Jesus provides. Christ’s perfect example of servant leadership is needed more than ever in our country today. We desperately need it in our homes, businesses, schools, and capitols.
Jesus was not the savior hero, the Messiah, that the Jewish people wanted. He was not the Messiah they thought they needed. They were looking for a political warrior. They were looking for someone who could overthrow Rome and deliver them from their political woes.
This is the Easter story. It is a story of a King fighting to be the leader the people needed, even when they did not want it – or even want Him, for that matter.
As a result, the very people who should have recognized their savior … missed Him. Herod the so-called “king of the Judea” missed Him. Rabbis and scribes missed Him. Even among the Pharisees, Israel’s most religious sect – no one knew God’s Word and its prophesies better – most missed Him.
People missed recognizing their Savior, because they were not looking through the correct lens. They missed Him because they were looking in the completely wrong direction.
They missed what we so often miss today: Jesus was and is the leader people need. Jesus’ eyes were not on what the people wanted; His eyes were on what they needed most.
A good leader does not give the people what they want, especially when so often what we want is not good for us. A good leader gives the people what they need, no matter what it costs them.
“For the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve and give His life as a ransom to many” – Mark 10:45.
A good leader leads people to what they need, even when they do not know they need it or even do not want it. A good leader always holds true to the best interest of others, even at the expense of His own.
This is the Easter story. It is a story of a King fighting to be the leader the people needed, even when they did not want it – or even want Him, for that matter. It is a story of an all-powerful King paying the ultimate cost, literally laying down His life to give them what they needed, as they shouted, mocked, beat, and crucified Him.
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” – John 10:11.
Jesus knew that mankind’s biggest problems were not political, but spiritual. People needed rescue from sin and death, and only He could provide it.
As a good leader, or what the Bible calls “a good shepherd,” Jesus focused on the mission at hand. He did not let the politics of His age, nor his own interests, change His direction. He stayed the course, all the way to the Cross.
Because of Jesus’s focus and leadership, sin and death were defeated. On Good Friday, we celebrate the defeat of sin in Christ’s perfect sacrifice. On Easter Sunday, we celebrate His victory over death through His resurrection. And through both His death and resurrection, we celebrate the hope of eternal life in Him.
We are so incredibly blessed through the shepherd leadership of Christ. And His model is the leadership our world desperately needs today in our homes, schools, businesses, churches, and government. We do not need to elect another Republican or Democrat; we need to elect a shepherd, a leader willing to do what the people desperately need, no matter the cost to the leader’s life, fortune, or reputation.
We need this not only from our leaders, but from ourselves. We can begin by coming under Christ’s Lordship and modeling it into our homes. This Easter, as you praise your risen Savior, reflect on what kind of leader you are, and commit to following the path of Christ!
Greg Baker is executive vice president of The FAMiLY Leader and the founding director of its Church Ambassador Network.
