Theme: God's Gifts to the Humble
1)
To Bethlehem: A Savior for the world
2)
To Sinners like us: Grace and Forgiveness
There’s
something unique about the attribute of humility. No one denies that it’s a
good virtue to be humble, but no one really wants it. We naturally resist being
looked down upon, scorned, and ill-treated; some of the very things that define
a life of humility. Yet, it’s still a virtue in the eyes of the world. Even
non-Christians recognize the importance of humility. It’s not like other
well-known virtues such as peace, happiness, compassion, equity, and so on.
Sometimes it’s difficult to be virtuous in those areas but the difficulty isn’t
because they bring hardship. Humility does though, and that’s why it’s a hard
thing to put into practice.
Most
of you know Sir Edmund Hillary, the first man to scale Mount Everest. The
following story is told about him. On one of his many trips back to the
Himalayas he was spotted by a group of tourist climbers. They begged for a
photo with the great man, and Hillary obliged. They handed him an ice pick so
he would look the part and set up for the photograph. Just then another climber
passed the group and, not recognizing the man at the centre, strode up to
Hillary saying, "Excuse me, that's not how you hold an ice pick. Let me
show you."
Everyone
stood around in amazed silence as Hillary thanked the man, let him adjust the
pick, and happily went on with the photograph.
It
doesn't matter how experienced that other climber was; his greatness was
diminished by this intrusive presumption. We commend Edmund Hillary’s humility
in the matter, partly because our natures so often react differently. It would
have been easy for him to promptly chastise that foolish climber, but he didn’t.
And part of the result is that Hillary’s virtue in the eyes of people is enhanced.
The
humility that comes along with faith in Jesus often works the same way. We
despise and resist it by nature, but it makes a profoundly positive impact on
our lives. And when others see it, they recognize its value. The life and
ministry of Jesus was built around humility. He was not the Teacher that many
people expected Him to be, and the number one reason is that He didn’t come for
earthly power. Early on in His ministry, He opened His most famous sermon by
saying, “Blessed are the poor in spirit,
For theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” When His disciples argued about who
would be considered the greatest in heaven, He told them to become like little
children. Even in the moment of highest praise on Palm Sunday, He rode on a
baby donkey. All examples of humility, from the very Son of God. And that’s
just a few examples from the Gospel accounts.
The
Apostle Paul’s life was also filled with humility as he made mention often in
his letters. To the Corinthians he wrote, “I
am the least of all apostles (1 Corinthians 15:9).” To the Ephesians he
said, “I am the least of all the saints
(Ephesians 3:8).” And to Timothy he stated, “I am the chief of sinners (1 Timothy 1:15).” We see why Paul was a
good leader for the Early Church. Theirs was a time of harsh cruelty and
physical tolls for confessing Christ. Humility was just a way of life, but it
doesn’t mean it was any easier for them than it is for us.
Today,
we try to practice the same humility in our hearts but it’s difficult when our
lives are void of much of the persecution that the early church endured. Perhaps
because of that very reason, humility is an even more important virtue for us
to pursue. Even the most fundamental aspects of our faith are based in
humbleness. Repentance does not come easy for the proud, yet the lowly
understand it well. The sins of covetousness and vanity come quickly on the
heels of an arrogant attitude. The very pinnacle of our faith, justification
through Christ, is a product of God’s underserved
love for us sinners.
The
Biblical theme of humility reminds us how important it is to God, and also how
essential it was to the coming of His Son into the world. We’ve looked at many
examples from the New Testament, let us look at one from long before Christ’s
birth. A prophecy of the Coming Savior from Micah 5:2-5: But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands
of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel,
Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting. 3 Therefore He shall give
them up, Until the time that she who is in labor has given birth; Then the
remnant of His brethren Shall return to the children of Israel. 4 And He shall
stand and feed His flock In the strength of the LORD, In the majesty of the
name of the LORD His God; And they shall abide, For now He shall be great To
the ends of the earth; 5 And this One shall be peace.
In
Biblical lore, Bethlehem was actually a pretty significant city. It was very
near Bethlehem that Jacob’s wife, Rachel, died while giving birth to their
youngest son, Benjamin. She was buried in Bethlehem. It was also in Bethlehem
that Ruth met and married Boaz. It would be their great-grandchild, David, who
would be the most well-known Bethlemite in history. During the years of slavery
in Egypt, the idol worshipping Canaanites made Bethlehem the city of their
fertility god, Lachama. Little did they know that this tiny village would one
day be the birthplace of the true God, Jesus.
From
a global perspective, though, Bethlehem meant next to nothing. It wasn’t even
regarded as a province worth noting in the Roman historical records. From human
eyes, it seems like a strange location for the birth of God’s Son. The human
mind thinks that it surely would have been much better to make a grand entrance
in the great city of Jerusalem. But the tiny village of Bethlehem represents
something that often escapes the intuitions of the human mind, humility.
Through Bethlehem, God kept his word that Jesus would come from Judah’s line,
as Mary and Joseph were required to travel back to their homeland for the Roman
census. But through it God also kept His consistent word on the importance of a
lowly attitude in mankind’s relationship with Him.
No
one expected anything special from Bethlehem, but now it will always be
remembered as the birthplace of Jesus. Even the Wise Men of the East needed
help from the Scriptures in ascertaining the birthplace of the Messiah, as they
heard this record from Micah in Herod’s court. Today, the name Bethlehem is
known among all nations. When one hears it, it automatically points to Jesus. This
was God’s gift to that humble and lowly village, and it was a product solely of
His own power.
This
prophecy of the birthplace of the Messiah is pretty amazing. Micah recorded it
some 700 years before Jesus was born. The very insignificance of Bethlehem
shows the Spirit’s influence through inspiration, for no human would have
picked out this tiny village on his own. What a blessing to see in great detail
one more piece of evidence of the fact that Jesus was God’s Chosen One! But, in
the end, as far as prophecies go, it’s not all that important to God’s plan of
salvation. In the end, it’s really just a piece of geography. Bethlehem itself
doesn’t hold any great spiritual purpose for our lives.
But
as we consider God’s theme of humility in our lives, seeing His gift to
Bethlehem helps us appreciate the gifts He gives us. We too, are small and
insignificant as Bethlehem was. When the world looks at us, they don’t see
power and influence. Often, scoffers of Christianity mock our abilities to
change the world. In our day to day activities it can often feel like we’re
spinning our spiritual wheels, even though we have great enthusiasm to serve
our Lord.
It’s
at this point that this prophecy really hits home for us. Knowing Jesus would
be born in Bethlehem is nice, but God tells us something much more important.
This Savior to come, although born in humility, would also be the eternal God
and the One to tend God’s people as a shepherd tends his flock. In this
prophecy is not just as geographical clue, but the clear Gospel message of hope
and peace. But that too would come with a healthy dose of humility. The
Almighty child born in Bethlehem would grow up to be the Almighty Man who would
die on the cross. As Paul tells us, this sacrificial death was the greatest form
of humility, Make your own attitude that
of Christ Jesus, 6 who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality
with God as something to be used for His own advantage. 7 Instead He emptied
Himself by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And
when He had come as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point
of death-- even to death on a cross (Philippians 2:5-8).
Because
Jesus chose to become obedient to God’s law and humbled himself under the pain
of death, you and I have gifts from God. God comes to us in our lowly state,
just as Mary and Joseph descended upon lowly Bethlehem at the fullness of time,
and He blesses us by His undeserved love. In Jesus, we see a connection
between all the references to humility in the Bible. It’s okay to be
despised, to be lowly, and to live simply, for God loves to come to sinners
with His grace. Sinners are the ones humbled before the weight of God’s law.
Any thought of self-reliance that enters our minds is quickly extinguished in
view of our mistakes and failures. But in a much more powerful way, the
Gospel humbles us under God’s almighty protection. Our self-righteous,
sinful natures are taken to the grave and replaced with a humble gratitude and
thanksgiving for God’s promises.
God’s
grace and forgiveness are so powerful that they keep us in that humility too.
We know humility is a virtue, but our sinful flesh daily wrestles against it. In
our sanctified lives under Christ’s love, we are able to stay the course in the
humbleness of faith, and hang on to the virtue of humility that is so elusive
in the world. The result, of course, is the natural fruit of faith in our lives
produced by the Gospel. We are able to give the very gift that God so
graciously gave us, and help change others.
The
little town of Bethlehem is a testament today of the importance of Christ’s
birth into the world. It also serves as a symbol of His entire life of humility
that culminated at Golgotha. In the same prophecy we see a lesson of humility
for our lives. As Judah was, so too are we God’s remnant today. We don’t look
like much. We don’t always accomplish much. Sometimes, there are days where it
feels like we just need to hold the ground against everything going on in our
lives. There’s nothing glamourous about being the remnant. The very word
is filled with humility. It means being overlooked, underappreciated, counted
out, and even scorned.
But
the humble remnant is pleasing to Jesus. To Him it means, blessedness,
faithfulness, and prosperity. Not because of ourselves, but because of His
great love and how it changes our lives. It’s okay to be humble. Our Savior’s
birth was humble. Our Savior’s life was humble. And He desires to be with the humble.
That gift far outweighs anything the world can offer. Amen.
The
peace of God which surpasses all understanding will keep your hearts and minds
in Christ Jesus. Amen.
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