Humility

Lesson prepared by Richard Chambers

For that reason, I want to begin with the definition of humility. It is, 'the quality or condition of being humble; modest sense of one's own importance, rank, et cetera. Notice that, a modest sense of one's own importance, rank, et cetera. Some synonyms, words that could be used in place of 'humility': the act of being humble would be lowliness. We see that used in the King James' version several times in the New Testament, and we'll see one of those toward the end of the lesson. Another word that could be used is 'meekness,' 'submissiveness,' and there are other words that could be used in place of 'humility.'

Now, we mentioned 'meekness,' and whenever the topic or the word 'meekness' comes up, I think it's important to understand. A lot of times, people within the world, outside of the church, will look at 'meekness' as a sign of 'weakness.' I'm here this morning to tell you that 'meekness' is the exact opposite of 'weakness'; it shows great strength in the life as a Christian, in the way that we conduct ourselves.

Now, the opposite of 'humility' — there are some others words that we could use for the opposites — but one of which would be 'to exalt.' And sometimes we do have — and I'm talking in general terms — we do have problems, or people in the world have problems, with trying to exalt themselves rather than humble themselves. The definition of the word 'exalt,' according to the College Dictionary, is 'to elevate in rank, honor, power, character, or quality.' Remember, 'humility' involves the modest sense of one's rank and importance and so on. But unfortunately, as I already said, there are many who try to exalt themselves. And many times, people within the world — we see this in the business world, we see this in school, we see this in various aspects of life — they try to exalt themselves by putting others down. When we need to humble ourselves and help raise people up, to encourage others.

There are a lot of people out there, unfortunately, who seek the attention of mankind, who seek the praise of mankind, who seek the glory of mankind, and there are warnings against this in the scriptures.

Let's begin here in Matthew Chapter 6 in verse 1. Jesus, in His sermon on the mount, said,

"(1) Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.

"(2) Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you They have their reward."

These folks were doing these things for that purpose and with that intention, to gather attention to themselves, the attention of other men, the glory of other men.

If we go down to verse 16 of this same chapter, Matthew Chapter 6, it says,

"(16) Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces" — why? — "that they may appear unto men to fast" — again, to gather attention unto themselves — "Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.

"(17) But thou, when thou fastest, anoint thine head, and wash they face;

"(18) That thou appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Father which is in secret: and thy Father, which seeth in secret, shall reward thee openly."

See, we are to strive to humble ourselves in the aspects of our lives, and it is God who sees that. It is God who knows that and it is God who then exalts, rewards others. We'll talk about that in a moment.

If you go Matthew Chapter 23, beginning in verse 1 (Matthew 23:1),

"(1) Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples,

"(2) Saying, The scribes and the Pharisees wit in Moses' seat:"

They were in the place of authority.

"(3) All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not.

"(4) For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers.

"(5) But all their works they do" — notice this — "for to be seen of men...."

Were they humbling themselves? Absolutely not. They were trying to exalt themselves amongst those around them, have others look up to them, try to get the glory of men. Notice, in verse 6, they loved—

"(6) And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues."

Now, notice this, if you go down to verse 11.

"(11) But he that is greatest among you shall be your servant.

"(12) And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased" — 'abased' is another word for 'humbled,' so whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled — "and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted."

Again, there are a variety of warnings within the scriptures against exalting ourselves, and many instructions given on the fact that we are to humble ourselves.

In the book of Obadiah in the Old Testament, only one chapter long, a very short book, notice what it says in verse 4. (Obadiah 4)

"(4) Though thou exalt thyself as the eagle, and though thou set thy nest among the stars, thence will I bring thee down, saith the Lord."

If we exalt ourselves, we are going to be brought down by God. If we humble ourselves, we are going to be exalted by God.

Let's look at a couple of passages in the book of Proverbs. First of all, in Proverbs Chapter 16 verse 19 — actually, let's back up to verse 18, because one of the things that stands as an obstacle to our humility is pride. And I would like to be able to touch on pride a little more this morning and talk about pride, but time doesn't allow it for this particular lesson. So hopefully, we'll have a lesson on its own on pride before too long. But notice in verse 18,

"(18) Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.

"(19) Better it is to be of an humble spirit with the lowly, than to divide the spoil with the proud."

Directions, instructions to be humble; warnings against exalting ourselves.

In Proverbs 22 verse 4,

"By humility and fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life."

If we wanted to live a rich life — obviously, not in physical terms, money terms, but a rich life, a life of good quality — if we wanted to live within honor and look forward to eternal life, we're going to do that with humility and the fear of the Lord.

In Isaiah Chapter 57, in verse 15 — Isaiah 57:15,

"(15) For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit" — Where is it that God dwells? He dwells in heaven. Who is it that's going to be in heave? Those of a humble and contrite spirit — "to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones."

Again, God is the one to give the reward.

In James Chapter 4 verse 10, "Humble yourself in the sight of the Lord, and He will lift you up."

In Romans Chapter 12, we have further instructions for us to be humble, to avoid exalting ourselves, to avoid trying to do things just to gather attention of those that are around us in hopes that they will lift us up, place us upon a pedestal.

In Romans Chapter 12 verse 1, we see that we are to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. That is our reasonable service. Verse 2, we're not to be conformed to the world, but be transformed through the renewing of our minds. And notice in verse 3.

"(3) For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every many the measure of faith."

Whenever the topic of being humble comes up, the passage that first comes to my mind is the passage that we looked at here within the last week or two. That is, Philippians Chapter 2 and verse 5 through 8.

"(5) Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

"(6) Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal to God:

"(7) But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

"(8) And being found in fashion as a man" — he did what? — "he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

So there upon the cross of Calvary, our Lord and Savior died for us. As a matter of fact, when Ru (phonetic) led the song, "How Great Thou Art," I'm glad that he led verse 3 with that also. You know, a lot of times when a song has four verses, verse three rarely is sung, because a lot of times we sing the first, second, and last verse. But I think that's one of the best verse in any song we'll find, is verse three in "How Great Thou Art."

Jesus gave the ultimate example of humility when he want to that cross of Calvary. Just think of the humility involved in the very Son of God, all powerful.... You think of the humility involved when those men who gave him that false trial, when he was held before the Jewish council, when they slapped Him and when they hit Him and took pleasure in doing so while they spit in His very face. Think how humble Jesus was, to stand there and take it. Just think of the humility that Jesus exhibited as He was shipped by the Roman soldiers. And their whips would have several, many, strands of leather on them, and at the ends of these strands would be tied sharp pieces of a variety of different things, bones, sharp pieces of stones. The person that was being scourged, or whipped, would be put up against a column that was at an angle with their arms around that column designed to stretch the skin across that back so that, when that person was whipped, their skin was tight, so that those pieces, those fragments of bone and stone, would rip into the flesh of that person being whipped. They did that to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and He allowed them to do it, showing how humble He was. Just think of the humility involved as Jesus walked along the road, heading toward Golgotha, the place of the skull, the sight of His crucifixion. Think how humble He was, as He walked along, knowing exactly what He was headed toward, knowing what it was that was awaiting him. Just think of the humility involved with Jesus, when he was laid on that cross and nails driven through His hands and through His feet.

I've often wondered what the attitude of the person, or persons, driving those nails was while they put those nails in the body of our Lord and Savior. That Jesus was humble and allowed them to do it. Just think how humble Jesus was as He was placed on that cross, that cross raised up, there in the sight of all these people still verbally abusing Him, making fun of Him, as He hung on that cross and slowly and agonizingly died for the sins of the world, for my sins, for your sins, each and every one of you. Think how humble Jesus was to do that.

If you turn to Matthew Chapter 26, I want to notice a couple other things regarding some of the events leading up to the crucifixion of Christ. First of all, let's go to Matthew Chapter 26 and verse 51. This is at the time in which Jesus is betrayed, when the mob comes out to get Him and, of course, Jesus being pointed out by Judas.

"(51) And, behold, one of them which were with Jesus stretched out his hand" — we know, from other passages, that was Peter — "and drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest's, and smote off his ear.

"(52) Then said Jesus unto him, Put up again thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."
Notice this, in verse 53.

"(53) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

"(54) But how then shall the scriptures be fulfilled, that thus it must be?"

All this time, when Jesus was being hit and slapped and spit in His face and the crown of thorns but on His brow, whipped, lead along the road, nails in His hands and His feet, hanging upon that cross, slowly and painfully dying, at any moment, he could have called to His father for twelve legions of angels. But He didn't do it... giving the ultimate example of being humble.

When I think about that and when we dwell upon that — and we should, to remind us of our proper place and service to God in response to the loving sacrifice of Jesus Christ, I say, Shame on me. And I also say, Shame on you. Because we struggle in our lives to be humble in the smallest of situations, yet Jesus was humble in all of these things... and went to that cross of Calvary and died for our sins.

Yes, humility is something that we do struggle with from time to time. It is something that we need to continue to work on. But do we let pride stand in our way? We need to be careful that we don't.

Notice here in Matthew 26, though, some other things in this particular passage. Let's back up to verse 47. Again, same context: Judas coming out with the mob to betray Jesus.

"(47) And while he yet spake, lo, Judas, one of the twelve, came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders of the people.

"(48) Now he that betrayed him gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that same is he: hold him fast.

"(49) And forthwith he came to Jesus, and said, Hail, master; and kissed him."

Notice the response of Jesus here in verse 50.

"(50) And Jesus said unto him, Friend, wherefore art thou come? Then came they, and laid hands on Jesus, and took him."

Notice how Jesus referred to Judas? One of the twelve apostles that had spent so much time with Jesus, right there by His side, but yet turned away from Him and betrayed Him. Jesus knew exactly what Judas was doing, but notice how He referred to him: "Friend." I can guarantee you, there was no sarcasm in the use of that word 'friend.' That would go against the very nature of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

But that word 'friend,' in the Greek, means 'a comrade, a companion, a partner.' Not just a casual friend, but a comrade. Not just a casual friend, but a partner. Not just a casual friend, but a companion. And according to Vine's Dictionary, it is used in a term of a 'kindly address.' What does that mean? Well, here's Jesus knowing what is about to happen, knowing that Judas is going to betray Him. When Judas does, Jesus still addresses him kindly. The very Son of God being betrayed by mankind, but yet He still addressed the betrayer kindly. That takes some humility, to do that. We would be challenged to do that, and we would find that, I would think, extremely difficult to do. But Jesus didn't; He addressed Judas kindly.

But actually, there's another account that I want to refer to. Again, to point out the deep humility of Jesus. And that is in John Chapter 13, along with the scripture reading that we had this morning. In case you were wondering how that was going to fit in, now we'll see.

In John Chapter 13, in verse 1, here we find Jesus. He is gathered together to observe the Passover with the apostles. This is in the night in which He is betrayed; He knows His time is short. It says,

"(1) Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world unto the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

"(2) And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him.

"(3) Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;

"(4) He riseth from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.

"(5) After that he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded."

Here, we find Jesus washing the feet of the apostles. This was an act, in that time in that day, that was very humble. It also was a sign of good hospitality. As a matter of fact, if you go over to I Timothy Chapter 5, in the context of care of widows and what widows are to be cared for, bits of information are given here that needs to apply to these widows for those that the church was going to support. Notice in verse 9 (I Timothy 5:9),

"(9) Let not a widow be taken into the number under threescore years old, having been the wife of one man,

"(10) Well reported of for good works; if she have brought up children, if she have lodged strangers, if she have washed the saints' feet, if she have relieved the afflicted, if she have diligently followed every good work."

We see that the washing of feet was a sign of good, of great, hospitality. As a matter of fact, we could go all the way back to the book of Genesis and talk about, in Genesis Chapter 18, a passage involving Abraham when angels came to him. And what did Abraham do? He washed their feet. I believe that what Hebrews Chapter 13 verse 2 refers to when it says — actually, I have written down the — yes, Hebrews 13:2. I started to think I'd written down the wrong verse. (Hebrews 13:2)

"(2) Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."

That's what Abraham had done.

So we see that it was a sign of great hospitality in Luke Chapter 7. This is in the context of which there was a Pharisee, in verse 36, who invited Jesus over to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and this was in the context in which the woman who was a sinner came to Jesus, and what did she begin to do? Wash His feet with her very tears and with her hair. The Pharisee criticized this, because he thought that Jesus should have nothing to do with her, should not let her come hear Him, let alone touch Him, because of the type of person she was, a sinner. But notice, in verse 44, Jesus, after he had addressed some things with the Pharisee, He turns to the woman and then He said—

"(44) ...unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet...."

See, he points out, You were not hospitable to me. You didn't even provide water for my feet for me to wash them, let alone wash them yourself. Jesus didn't only provide water for the apostles to wash their feet, in John 13, He washed their feet.

Now, why was this such a sign of hospitality and the idea of being humble? Let's just think about things for just a moment. We're dealing in a place of a hot climate, sandy and dusty. The people walked from place to place, and they wore sandals. It doesn't take long to figure out what the condition of a person's feet would be like: not pleasant whatsoever. So the washing of the feet would give comfort to the person, would give hospitality to the person, and the washing of those feet was definitely a humble act.

Now let's go back to John Chapter 13 verse 6.

"(6) Then cometh he to Simon Peter: and Peter saith unto him, Lord, dost thou wash my feet?"

Peter realized this was a humble act. Lord, why are you doing this?

"(7) Jesus answered and said unto him, What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.

"(8) Peter saith unto him, Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me.

"(9) Simon Peter saith unto him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head."

So Peter questioned Jesus. Why are you doing this? This isn't your place, to do this. But yet again, we see another sign of the humility of Christ. But wait a minute. Which apostle's feet did Jesus wash? I believe the context here shows that He washed them all, one at a time. Including the feet of Judas.

Now, notice this, back in verse 2, Judas had already determined and had already decided that he was going to betray Jesus. And of course, Jesus knew that. But yet, Jesus washed his feet. How many of us, if we knew somebody was going to do something like that, could we be humble enough to still show that person the good hospitality to wash their feet, knowing in that same very night that person was going to betray us? And then once that person did that, to still be able to look that person in the eyes and say, friend, companion, partner?

And notice, it goes on to say, in verse 13 — well, actually, let's back up to verse 11. Jesus knew who should betray Him. Again, He knew that. That's why, in verse 10, at the end of that verse He says, "...ye are clean, but not all." That was in reference to Judas. But notice in verse 15

"(15) For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you.

"(16) Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.

"(17) If ye know these things, happy are ye if ye do them."

Yes, we need to strive in our lives to follow the example that Jesus gave us, which was the greatest amount of humility, to be humble in our lives and the things that we do, to try to be more like Him.

I mentioned 'lowliness' earlier as one of the words that is used in the King James' version to give the idea of being humble. Ephesians 4:1

"(1) I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called,"

Walk worthy, do those things that are right. What does that include? Notice in verse 2,

"(2) With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love."

Yes, we need to strive to humble ourselves, which is a challenge, which is something that we do have difficulty with at at times. But let's always remember the example of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who humbled Himself and whet to that cross of Calvary so that we could have a home in heaven, so that we could be exalted by God. How is it that we're exalted by God? Well, Jesus established His kingdom, the church. We find in Acts Chapter 2 upon that day when those that did what was necessary to be saved, the Lord added them to the church daily. In Ephesians Chapter 5, w read that it is the church that Jesus will present... glorious... holy... without spot, blameless. Yes.

But wait! We are not blameless. We do have spots. We are not perfect. But yet, through the sacrifice of Christ, we can be accepted as such, as a part of the Lord's church, delivered into a kingdom of heaven for eternal life. If we'll do as we've been instructed. If we will believe in Jesus as the Son of God. If we will confess that belief. If we will repent of our sins and be baptized for the remission of sins. That's when we are placed within the church. We have a home in heaven reserved for us. But we need to walk according to the words of God, the instructions of God, to walk worthily so we can maintain that place in heaven.

But at times, we do make mistakes. Yes, we do. But we need to realize those, we need to correct those, and ask forgiveness for those to God. If we will confess our sins and pray to God and ask for His forgiveness, He will forgive us of those sins, restore us back to our rightful place in His church, with a home in heaven awaiting.

But we need to humble ourselves and say, "You know, I don't always know what's right, and I don't always do what's right. But God knows what's right, and He'll forgive me for the mistakes that I've made and I'll have a home in heaven. Will you humble yourself and be a child of God? You have that opportunity while we stand and sing.