Articles
The Humility of Jesus
I am reluctant to start an article on Jesus by referring to a self-absorbed, narcissistic Hollywood actor, but I do so by way of contrast. In a recent article Kevin Bacon told of an experiment wherein he disguised himself and mingled incognito with the public. He supposedly wanted to see what life was like as a non-celebrity.
Well, he found out, and he didn’t like it: “Nobody recognized me … people were pushing past me, not being nice. Nobody said, ‘I love you.’ I had to wait in line to … buy coffee or whatever. I was like, ‘This (is awful). I want to go back to being famous’” (TVovermind.com 7/7/24). Wah, wah, Kevin. Welcome to the real world. This is the runaway ego of a spoiled celebrity who complains about the burden of stardom and then suffers “adoration withdrawal” when he doesn’t get the pampering he thinks he so richly deserves. You see, true humility is difficult to come by – and not just for high-profile celebrities. It is difficult for us “regular folks,” too, because we tend to think we are better than we actually are (cf. Rom 12:3).
From this vantage point we can gain a better perspective on the humility shown by Jesus in coming into the world to save us from our sins. Jesus’ incarnation was the ultimate “disguise,” for His humanity effectively obscured His divine glory and majesty. There was nothing about Jesus’ appearance per se that identified Him as a heavenly being. He didn’t radiate divinity, though His bearing did demonstrate a dignity that caused the Jewish goon squad to come back empty-handed: “No man ever spoke like this Man!” (Jn 7:45-46).
John notes at the outset of his gospel: “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him” (1:10). Before the creation of the cosmos, Jesus co-existed eternally with the Father and the Holy Spirit, and through His instrumentality the universe came to be. The intellect, power and glory of such a Being boggles the mind, but what is really remarkable is the Creator visiting His own creation as an unassuming and ordinary part of that creation absent any features to demarcate His true identity and status. “Before his incarnation the light which he shed upon the walks of men went, to a large degree at least, undetected. Similarly, when he, even as the world’s Maker, appeared on the stage of human affairs, he went unrecognized by his own creation!” (Dan King, Truth Commentary – John 13).
This, of course, was anticipated: “He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him. He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid … our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him” (Is 53:2-3). Homer Hailey comments: “He will be repulsive to look upon. There will be no beauty, no regal adornments such as the people desire, but only an unimposing peasant carpenter from a small obscure village in Galilee. He will have none of the human glory that men look for and desire … All failed to see the spiritual beauty of His life and teaching and therefore failed to set a proper value upon Him. How blind man must be not to have recognized then, nor to recognize even now, the greatest Benefactor and Benefit ever offered by God to the human family!” (Commentary on Isaiah 437).
Born in a barn and cradled in a feeding trough; a nondescript, working class upbringing; from the “wrong side of the tracks” (cf. Jn 6:42; 7:52); not educated in the rabbinical schools; an itinerant adulthood; no political or elitist credentials; completely devoid of all accoutrements that identify Him either as the Creator or Judge of the souls of men. Such unassuming plainness of Jesus emboldened His enemies, who fraudulently claimed for themselves the prerogatives that He deserved. They denounced Him, defied Him and finally destroyed Him with a self-righteous impunity that blinded them to the reality that they would one day stand before Him and answer for their arrogance.
But, stunningly, Jesus knew all this beforehand and let it unfold. He accepted the anonymity, the humble upbringing, the poverty, the scorn, the scheming and – perhaps most incredibly – the insults and imprecations hurled at Him even as He died in great agony: “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross … He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God’” (Mt 27:40-43). How could He withstand this withering ridicule without leaping from the cross to consume His enemies with the searing heat of His divine wrath?
Humility, that’s how: “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a servant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (Ph 2:5-8). The Creator became a servant because it was the will of God in providing redemption. The One who truly deserved to be admired and exalted for His divinity was willing to live in obscurity and even abuse in order to save our souls. Amazing!
The upshot: we are called upon to develop and display the same kind of humility: “Let this mind be in you …”. It is one thing to admire Jesus for His humility; it is another thing altogether to emulate it. But this is what Jesus demands of His disciples: “Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble” (Rom 12:16); “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself” (Ph 2:3); “whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant” (Mt 20:26).
Christians must cultivate a humility that seeks the praise of God, not the fleeting and fickle accolades of men: “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time” (Jas 5:6). Even as Jesus’ humility was followed by exaltation (Ph 2:9-11), so our humble and faithful service to God will be rewarded with heavenly glory.
Kevin Bacon found a single day as an “average Joe” to be unbearable. It apparently never occurred to him that, instead of jumping to the head of the coffee line as a celebrity, perhaps he should buy a latte for his fans.
