Jesus, being equal to God, walked a perfect, sinless life. He has equal status to God, yet took on the form of a human. There is so much we can learn from Him: from the way He acted, to how He loved others, to how He put others first. In reading our Bibles, we get to know Him more and we can look to Him to know how we should be living our lives. One important quality that we see Jesus display is humility. When we read about His life when He walked the earth, we can see how humble Jesus was; even from the moment He was born to the moment He died. So, what are some different ways that Jesus humbled himself that we can learn from?
The first one I want to talk about is how Jesus was humble when He was born. There are a few ways we see how He was humble: being born in a stable and being fully-human. Jesus was born in Bethlehem in a stable. He laid in a manger wrapped in cloths. Our Saviour, Messiah, the Light of the World, was born in a stable in what seemed to be an ordinary place at the time. He was not born in an expensive or luxurious place, but a stable. This wasn't just something God made up on the spot, it was something that He had planned. In Micah 5:2, there is a prophecy that a ruler will be born in Bethlehem. His humble birth was the start of His humble life. The second way Jesus was born humble, was that He was born fully-human, yet fully-God. We see this play out throughout His life-how He suffered and was tempted-yet was sinless and perfect. Think about it this way; Jesus had equal status to God, but made Himself nothing and took on the status of a human (Philippians 2:6-7). How incredible is that?
"...who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men." -Philippians 2:6-7
Another way Jesus humbles Himself is when He asks John to baptize Him in Matthew 3:13-17. Could you imagine the Messiah asking you to baptize Him? John usually baptized people who were willing to repent of their sins. John was confused as to why Jesus would want him to baptize Him. Jesus was sinless, to John, there was no need for Jesus to repent or be baptized. But Jesus insists that John baptizes Him, so He does. Jesus is humbled here because although He is perfect and has no sins to repent of, He still asks John to baptize Him. Jesus also says here that His baptism is essential to fulfill all righteousness.
"Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”Then he consented. And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him,and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”" -Matthew 3:13-17
Jesus served others. Jesus even says, in Matthew 20:28, that He came to serve others, not to be served. Serving others is humbling because we are putting others in front of ourselves. One of the ways that Jesus served others while He walked the earth was when He washed His disciples' feet, which we read about in John 13:1-17. Similar to when John baptized Jesus, His disciples were confused as to why Jesus, the Son of God, would wash their feet and not the other way around. But while washing His disciples feet, Jesus is humbled. He puts others first and serves them. Later in the passage, Jesus explains that Him washing His disciples feet was to set an example that they should serve others too.
"...even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”" -Matthew 20:28
Jesus was treated brutally. He was insulted, mocked, spit on, and crucified all because He "claimed" to be the Son of God. They didn't believe Him so they sent Him to His death instead of a murderer. Of course, Jesus knew and we now know that this was all a part of God's greater plan. That Jesus' humble life, suffering, death, and resurrection was so we could be reconciled to God. Sometimes it's so difficult to wrap my head around all that Jesus went through for us-the ungodly (Romans 5:6). How beautiful is that? That Jesus loved us so much that He went through so much suffering so we could be saved. Guess what? Jesus suffered so much suffering, and He never once retaliated or complained. He said nothing. Jesus shows so much humility here. "And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." -Philippians 2:8.
"When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly." -1 Peter 2:23
"For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly." -Philippians 2:6
"And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross." -Philippians 2:8
How amazing and wonderful is Jesus? The bible verses above are some of my favourite because we see how great Jesus' love is for us. He humbled Himself in every circumstance in His life. He was perfect. Now, after taking a short look at Jesus' humble life, let's look at our lives.
We are imperfect. We sin. We are selfish. But we can look to Jesus' life as an example for how we should be living. So, how can we humble ourselves in our everyday lives to become more like Christ?
We must know and understand our nature. We are sinful by nature. We are in need of a Saviour, even today, because we will sin. Luckily for us, Jesus' death means we now have grace. But just because we have that grace, does not mean that we should still sin. We must become conscious of our sin (Romans 3:20.)
We must surrender to Christ (1 Peter 2:13.) Surrendering means to give up power. Often times surrendering to Christ is saying to God "I can't do this alone, I need your strength." I know you may see the saying "I am enough" all over Pinterest or Instagram or whatever social media you use, but we are not enough. I'm not saying this to put you down, but often times we talk up ourselves. We are not enough, BUT Christ is enough for us. That's why it's so important for us to surrender to Him; aka give up our need to be in control. Surrendering to God can look like praying and asking God for help or guidance.
We must submit to Christ. You may think this is the same as surrendering, but submission and surrendering are different. While surrender means to give up control, submission means to trust fully and wholeheartedly. Submitting in our everyday lives looks like submitting to human authorities or submitting to your spouse if you're married. Often times people will wonder why we should be submitting to others who are sinful just like us. Shouldn't we be submitting to Christ. Well, first of all, when we submit to others-whether that's your spouse or an individual with authority-it's not meant to say that one is more important than another. We all fall short of the glory of God. Secondly, when we submit to others, we ultimately are submitting to Christ.
We must serve others (Ephesians 6:7.) This is a big way that Jesus showed humility; when He served others. Serving others is ultimately serving God. There are many different ways to serve others, here are a few examples: Volunteering at a food bank. Keeping granola bars-or even gift cards for food-in your car for those in need. Volunteering at church. Bring a friend a handwritten card, a coffee, and lunch. Serving others can look different for everyone. Serving others is also loving others, which is another way we can walk in humility.
We must read His Word. Reading our Bibles is an important part of our relationship with Jesus. It helps us understand who God is and Jesus' life on this earth. It gives us a better understanding of who we are as humans-our sinful nature, in need of a Saviour. It tells us how we should be living. Reading our bibles can sometimes be something we have to force ourselves to do, but it shouldn't be. We should have a desire to read His word; ultimately knowing Him more. The entire Bible-the Old Testament and the New Testament-are essential parts to our lives. Although it may seem that the gospel is only in the New Testament, it actually starts right at the beginning of the Bible in Genesis. If you want to read more about seeing Christ throughout the Bible, I encourage you to listen to The Daily Grace Podcast about it: https://podcasts.apple.com/ca/podcast/daily-grace/id1450011728?i=1000497047055.
We must be pure in heart (1 Samuel 16:7.) When you are serving others, submitting to others, picking up your cross, or anything else; where is your heart. Are you doing it for your own selfish desire? Or are you doing it simply to serve others and be kind? The posture of our heart must not be selfish.
I could go on and on about ways we can humble ourselves, but I'll stop there. I encourage you to dive deeper into the Bible to discover more ways that Jesus was humble and how we can be humble like Christ. Jesus is the ultimate example for how we should be living our lives.
If you are struggling with reading your Bible, I encourage you to visit The Daily Grace Co. website to find studies and resources to help. They have an app, so most studies can be bought and done on there. As I said above, they also have a podcast. I love using their products and listening to their podcast because it is Christ-centrered.
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