The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted. Matthew 23: 11, 12, NIV.
Dear Heavenly Father, thank You so much for being our Father and our God. Please help us to be willing to humble ourselves in Your presence, as we seek to learn from You what it means to be truly great! In the holy name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Today we will take a look at what it means to be humble. We are aware that there are many profound aspects of the virtue of humility that we will not cover. There is so much more to the topic of humility than can be covered in a short devotional. The reason this topic stands out so significantly, in this particular chapter, is because the majority of the chapter focuses on the offensive pride of the Pharisees!
Pride that exalts itself, while putting others down, is always offensive to me. Jesus spoke a parable about the two men who went up to the temple to pray, one a Publican, and the other a Pharisee. What has always called my attention to the behavior of the Pharisee is the fact that, The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, ‘God, I thank You that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector . . .” (Luke 18: 11, emphasis provided). It seems as if his pride made him feel so self- sufficient that he did not even need a God to pray to! He prayed to himself. Some versions read, “about himself” (NIV), with a footnote explaining it as, Or to (himself). The underlining factor, is that it was, all about him! Pride makes room for only one person: self!
The other character in the parable is the Publican or Tax collector. His attitude was the complete opposite of that of the Pharisee. Listen to the following account: “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’ ” (12, emphasis provided). The beauty of a humble spirit or attitude, is that it always feels its need of God! Therefore, God can come to the rescue of the person who is humble.
The holy record informs us, “I tell you that this man (the tax collector), rather than the other (the Pharisee), went home justified before God. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” (14).
Nowhere is this great truth more clearly seen, than in the life of the Redeemer of the world, Jesus, the Son of God. In every phase of His life he demonstrated humility 1) At His birth. He was born in a manger (Luke 2: 11, 12). 2) During His life. He had no home of His own (Matthew 8: 20). 3) In His death. He was crucified among criminals (Luke 23: 32, 33). 4) In His burial. He was buried in a borrowed tomb (Matthew 27: 57-60). And in the manner in which Jesus humbled Himself, God the Father exalted Him:
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2: 9-11).
So whenever you find yourself struggling with the thought of humbling yourself, just remember, humility will put you in the company of the Greatest Man who ever lived – the God-Man, Christ Jesus!