Humility – 4

Humility – 4

Subject – Humility According to Jesus

By Rick Welborne

Matthew 11:28-30 (NIV) ²⁸ "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.
²⁹  Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
³⁰  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light."

Matthew 20:25-28 (NIV) ²⁵ Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
²⁶  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
²⁷  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--
²⁸  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

--We obviously see the humility in the life of Christ as He revealed to us in His heart and the Word. He gives us an invitation to come and learn from Him. Why? He is gentle and humble in heart.

1. Jesus Teaches Us Humility.

--Notice how Jesus starts His ministry and how He starts His teaching in the sermon on the Mount. How significant is it that He starts the Beatitudes with this subject of humility?

Matthew 5:3-5 (NIV) ³ "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
⁴  Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted.
⁵  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. 

--Jesus’ very first words about the Kingdom of heaven reveal how you and I may enter His Kingdom. His kingdom comes to those who are poor, who have nothing in themselves. 

--The earth is for the meek who are not seeking anything for themselves. The blessings of heaven and earth are for those who are humble. Humility is the secret of these blessings.

Matthew 11:29 (NIV) ²⁹ …learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.

--What a beautiful understanding that Jesus offers Himself as Teacher. Jesus and Holy Spirit come to teach us the humility of the Son of God so we can find perfect rest. Humility is our salvation.  

--Imagine the disciples arguing among themselves about who would be the greatest and then, going to Jesus for the answer. Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?

--Jesus called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.”

 --Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. How that must have blown their minds and crushed their egos. Same story in Luke:

Luke 9:48 (NIV) ⁴⁸ Then he said to them, For he who is least among you all--he is the greatest." 

2. Jesus Confronts Pride.

--The mother of Zebedee's sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down (false humility), asked a favor of him. They had to get momma to speak up for them. Let them grow up.

--"What is it you want?" he asked. She said, "Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom." James and John are right there.

--Again Jesus defers to His Father, it is not for me to give. It will be given to the ones who it has been prepared for. Key: the humble would never ask for it or seek for it.

--But, Pastor, John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. That statement is mentioned four times in the New Testament and guess which book it was in…Book of John. Hmmm.

Matthew 20:24-28 (NIV) ²⁴  When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.
²⁵  Jesus called them together and said, "You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.
²⁶  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,
²⁷  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave--
²⁸  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."

--Jesus was saying that the standard of heaven and the standard here on earth will be humility because the person who is the lowliest is the one who is nearest to God. 

--Luke 14 Jesus speaks about when you go to a special occasion like a wedding or a feast, don’t seek the best seat in the house. It’s deplorable in the Kingdom to seek out attention for yourself.

Luke 14:10-11 (NIV)
¹⁰  But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, 'Friend, move up to a better place.' Then you will be honored in the presence of all your fellow guests.
¹¹  For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

--If there was ever a parable that confronts us with our pride and self-righteousness, it is the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector.

--This story pulls the covers back on those in church who are self-seeking and who have an overly important value of themselves. We can all be guilty if we are not careful.

Luke 18:9-14 (NIV)
⁹  To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everybody else, Jesus told this parable:
¹⁰  "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
¹¹  The Pharisee stood up and prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector.
¹²  I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.'
¹³  "But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.'
¹⁴  "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." 

--Church should never be a place where we look down on anyone else because it only by grace any of us are saved. We were all lost. Jesus looks for the humble and judges those who are prideful.

--I find it interesting they both were going to church (a good thing) and they were both going to church to pray. How many of you understand it matters how you pray?

--What arrogance and pride from the Pharisee. Prayed about himself: 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers--or even like this tax collector. 

--We may not ever say what this Pharisee said out loud but pride is a condition of the heart. Years ago we had a family of Pharisees in our church. One came in the office and was loud.

--She was calling names and putting down brothers and sisters in our church. I left my office and invited her to talk in private. Trying to do Mat. 18.

--No. Rebuke me openly! Come to my office. No, rebuke me in front of everyone. Please, come to my office. No! So I told her how self-righteous and judgmental she was. She left without a word.

--About a week later she came back. Here we go. She said I went home and told my husband everything you said about me and he told me, I have told you that for years. Pride is obvious.

--But the humble…"But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, 'God, have mercy on me, a sinner.' 

Luke 18:14 (NIV) ¹⁴ "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted."

3. The Last Supper and the Gethsemane – Humility.

--How lost and blind we are when it comes to humility before God and man. On the night Jesus would be betrayed, after three years of teaching, they are still arguing about who is the greatest.

--The One Who was humility personified is telling them about His death and burial and all they can think about is what is in it for me. Glory seekers are blind Pharisees.

Luke 22:26-27 (NIV) ²⁶ But you are not to be like that. Instead, the greatest among you should be like the youngest, and the one who rules like the one who serves.
²⁷  For who is greater, the one who is at the table or the one who serves? Is it not the one who is at the table? But I am among you as one who serves.

--I was sharing with someone the other day how Jesus in the garden praying was, to me, one of the greatest revelations in the Bible about the humility and relatability of Jesus.

Matthew 26:38-42 (NKJV)
³⁸  Then He said to them, "My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Stay here and watch with Me."
³⁹  He went a little farther and fell on His face, and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will."
⁴⁰  Then He came to the disciples and found them asleep, and said to Peter, "What? Could you not watch with Me one hour?
⁴¹  Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak."
⁴²  Again, a second time, He went away and prayed, saying, "O My Father, if this cup cannot pass away from Me unless I drink it, Your will be done."

--Please see the humility and sincere honesty of Jesus right before they come to arrest Him. My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even to death. Extreme anxiety…sweating as drops of blood.

--His humility makes Him be honest about His sorrow and then, Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will." I can relate to Him here.

--If Jesus struggled, we will struggle. If Jesus was able to humble Himself, before He went to the cross and impending death, surely we can find humility in our mess.

--Paul said, I die daily. Greatest prayer, Your will be done.