Humility in the Teaching of Jesus

Our Purity for Life segment this week looks again at the subject of humility. Last week we looked at Jesus' own example of a humble lifestyle. Today Jeff and Mike look at this vital subject in Jesus’ teachings.

Mike: This week, we want to talk about humility in the teachings of Jesus. Let’s just start off by talking about Jesus' overall ministry and what His message was as He began His ministry here on earth.

Jeff: Well, we see it from nearly the beginning of Jesus’s ministry when He gave the Sermon on the Mount that humility was one of Jesus’s greatest teachings. One of the things He said in the beginning of the sermon was “Blessed are the meek.” And from the beginning to the end of His ministry, He was always trying to convey that spiritual truth to His disciples and to others. As human beings, we naturally oppose the spirit of humility, the same spirit that Jesus displayed throughout His life.

Mike: You mentioned the word meekness. In our current culture, especially as men, the term meek is just something that we are repulsed by. We think, “I'm not meek, I'm a man.” Since we have been ingrained with this false idea of what meekness and humility truly are, how do we begin to understand them biblically?

Jeff: First, we need to realize that Jesus is inviting us to draw near to Him so that He can teach us. In Matthew 11:29 He says, “Come all you who are weary, and I will give you rest. Learn from me.” In other words, I want to teach you because I am meek and lowly. Basically, Jesus is saying to come enter His yoke and follow Him so that He can teach us what it means to walk as He does.

Mike: What motivated Jesus to be humble?

Jeff:  It’s His nature. God is love, and love is always willing to yield itself and give itself for another. It's willing to serve. It puts another’s needs above its own. It is God's nature. We don't think of it that way because He's such an all-powerful and Mighty God, but yet He's humble and He's willing to humble Himself.

Mike: He sent His own Son in the form of a man to die on a cross; how could his nature be anything but humble? It's almost hard to wrap your mind around it when you think about it. But that really leads us into what I want to talk about next, which is how Jesus interacted with His disciples. Because this idea of humility is something it took them a while to understand and apply to their lives.

Jeff: It was obvious that they had issues humbling themselves. We see many times in the Scriptures where Jesus was with them and they were arguing about who was going to be the greatest or who would sit at His right hand. It was a common theme amongst them, and yet really, when we look at our own lives we see the same attitude of the disciples inside of us.

Mike: When they had an argument about who was going to be the greatest in the Kingdom of God, how did Jesus respond to that?

Jeff: Well, there were many times Jesus would teach on what true humility was. I remember He was at a Pharisee’s house, and He told a parable about guest that was invited to take the better place at the table.
Now he told a parable to those who were invited, when he noticed how they chose the places of honor, saying to them, “When you are invited by someone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in a place of honor, lest someone more distinguished than you be invited by him, and he who invited you both will come and say to you, ‘Give your place to this person,’ and then you will begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit in the lowest place, so that when your host comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, move up higher.’ Then you will be honored in the presence of all who sit at table with you. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted. (Luke 14:7-11 ESV)
I feel like in a roundabout way, He was trying to help His disciples see that it's not about who gets the best seat at the table. He taught them what it means to exercise humility. He told them it is better for you to take the lower place and then if God chooses to, He will elevate you to a higher position.
I think about how we as people often try to climb the ladder of success. Jesus saw that heart in the Pharisees and that is why many times He gave them examples where the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven was the one who was willing to come down the ladder and go the opposite direction that the world teaches us to go.

Mike: Jesus dealt with the disciples again at the Passover. Talk a little bit about what the issue was there.

Jeff: We see even at the Last Supper. His disciples were there again arguing at the table. And Jesus, in an act of such humility, took off His robe and girded Himself just like a servant would and knelt to wash the disciples’ feet. Then He told them, “As I have done to you, you also should do to one another.” In other words, He wanted them to be servants of all. Right up to the very end He was teaching them that they should all be willing servants.

Mike: As I look at my own life, I think of how if I had truly grasped what He was teaching the disciples here, which was to be a servant to all, I would have avoided many difficult situations. And He teaches us because He knows that this isn't what comes natural to us. He knows that true humility isn't part of our nature.
Now I'd like for you to talk a little bit from personal experience. What has it been like for you to learn what true humility is through the teachings of Jesus?

Jeff: God has saw fit to put me in different positions here at the ministry. It has drove me to Him and the reality that I can't do this without the Lord. But I also have had to be very careful that I didn't see my position as something to lord over people, or something I had to possess. I’ve had to realize that my position really is to serve. That's how I try to look at my position. Jesus also looked at His position as a place of servanthood. So my prayer has become, “Lord, let me always put others’ needs before my own.” My role is really about me helping them do the best that they can do and serving them however I can. And I want to do that. Whether it's to pray for them or just encourage them, I never want to lose sight of the fact that God has called me to serve.

Mike: I appreciate you sharing that. And it goes to show again, this doesn't come natural to us. But as you've expressed, the only way you were able to be a servant was to turn to Jesus. He is the only one that can instill humility in us through His life living in us.

<pull-quote>He can impart His humility and His love into our hearts, and He will come and live in that way in a heart that wants His humility.<pull-quote><tweet-link>Tweet This<tweet-link>

Jeff: It's true. If we understand that humility is one of our greatest needs, and we go to Jesus believing in what He shows us and then yield to what he teaches us about humility, then He gives us what we don't have in ourselves. He can impart His humility and His love into our hearts, and He will come and live in that way in a heart that wants His humility.

Mike: Amen, I want to highlight what you just said there. We must want His humility to be imparted to us. It's a matter of choice that we make. We must choose to yield our hearts to that.

Jeff: And the invitation is still there. Jesus is still speaking today. He is still inviting anyone that will listen to enter His yoke and learn from Him. I would just invite anyone to come to Jesus and learn this precious gift of humility that involves losing your life for other people.