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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
Jesus Was Humble (2/5)
Concerning His own mission here upon this earth, Jesus said, "…just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20.28). His entire purpose here had to do with service to others – after all, what was there in this material universe to attract the Christ to it. He had made this entire universe with the breath of His mouth and He could have made ten thousand more should His desire have been such. When He came to serve, He came to do what He could not have done in any other capacity or from any other position or perspective.
Please note that the passage cited above from Matthew 20 begins with the expression "…just as." The phrase "just as" invites comparison of one thing to another and the usage this passage is not an exception. The service of Christ upon this earth was to be a model to the disciples and that is the exact point of this passage. James and John had enlisted the services of their mother in asking Jesus to guarantee them a special place in His kingdom (see Matthew 20.20-21 & Mark 10.37). The response of Jesus to this request demonstrated their gross misconception of the kingdom and one's position within the kingdom. It was in this connection that He said, "Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." (Matthew 20.26-28). So it becomes obvious that His service was a model for all who would enter His kingdom! Those who enter it enter a world that is entirely, even opposite in some senses, from the norm! We would do well to understand that world from His perspective and entirely separate from our own lest we miss the point even as two of His closest disciples!
"And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be you slave." That concept is reflected in some other statements of Jesus during His ministry. A passage that is equally straightforward is, "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." (Matthew 23.11-12). The humility which Christ exhibited and which he demanded was not a false humility of vain religions (see Colossians 2.18, 23). Rather, the humility that Christ modeled and the humility that He desires is one that is based upon His model of service. Or as He put it on other occasions, "The first shall be last and the last first!" (see Matthew 19.30 and 20.16).
Somehow, He managed – somehow beyond the pale of human knowledge – He knew what an impact His life of service would have on humanity and knew that it was the key to our hearts! With the might of Creator God, He could have forced His way into our hearts by brute strength, but he chose to win us with humble service. Wisdom and humility were perfectly wed in the life and work of Messiah!
The basis of Messiah's appeal is lowly service. Just as there is no language in which the universe does not whisper the name of its Maker (see Psalm 19.1-4), there is no culture which the message of Christ cannot penetrate. His love is universal and so is His appeal because it was and is perpetuated by His life of unfaltering humility!
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