Enter Jesus (Pt. 2)

 Jesus’ life began and ended in humility.  One would think when God himself came to this earth it would have been to straighten humanity out and set things on the right course but it was much more than that.  We do know that Jesus had a destiny.  If you look back in Luke 1:26 you can see what his destiny is.  The angel proclaims that Jesus will be great and called the Son of the Most High, He will received the throne of David  and reign over all of Israel and there shall be no end to His kingdom.  However before we could recognize Him as the King of Kings and Prince of peace we need to grasp the humility of our God in flesh.  While on this earth, He was God in the flesh living a life of humility showing others the path to the Kingdom of Heaven.

The humility of Jesus is showin in His birth.  There is nothing spectacular about his entrance into this world.  It all begins with our God coming into the flesh in the form of a baby… a weak, helpless and needy baby.  Not a strong warrior, but a baby.  He was born in a little town called Bethlehem and it was an insignificant town as Micah 5:2 prophesies, so insignificant that it is not even listed in the list of Judah’s towns in Joshua 15.  Not only was he born a little weak baby in an insignificant town, he was born to a simple carpenter and a young mother in a cave.  To top it off the angels did not proclaim the birth of the savior of the world to.  Instead they proclaimed the Savior’s entrance into this world to a group of Shepherds.  Smelly, stinky, and insignificant shepherds!  Don’t you think Jesus could have had better PR than that?  Wouldn’t it have been better announcing the birth to the city of Jerusalem?  Or maybe they would send a wire to the Jerusalem Times that the long awaited Messiah had come and now He will start the process of setting up His eternal Kingdom?  Maybe they could have called JNN Jerusalem News Network and had an anchor come and report on this event for the world to see?  No, God chose shepherds.  We have in the Biblical account… The Savior of the world comes to the earth in the form of a weak, helpless baby, born in a small insignificant town in a cave to a young mother and a Jewish carpenter father (who wasn’t his biological father).  His birth was heralded by angels to a group of stinky, smelly shepherds who were tending to their sheep and eventually (probably one or two years after his birth) some wise guys come along and give Jesus some pretty sweet gifts.  There is certainly no glamour in that! 

Ok, so he had a rather humble beginning to life, certainly things will get better as he gets older right?  Wrongo!  A quick glance at Jesus’ life and we will see the opposite is true.  First, Jesus was tempted by Satan as an average ordinary man.  You can read the account in Matthew 4.  Why was he tempted?  Isn’t He God?  Couldn’t He have just told Satan to take a hike and got on with his life?  Hebrews 4 says, "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin."  He was tempted so he could sympathize in our weaknesses and yet show us that we do not need to give in to temptation.  Why would a king allow this to happen if He didn’t truly love and care for his people? Secondly, Jesus was a carpenter from an average family.  Mark 6:3 says the people questioned Jesus’ wisdom by asking, “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.  The leaders question implied, “He is a common laborer like the rest of us.” All His immediate family—mother, brothers, and sisters—were known to the townspeople, and they were ordinary people.[1]  Thirdly, we see Jesus’ humility in the fact that He didn’t even have a home.  Look at Matthew 8:20 when a Scribe told Jesus He would do whatever it takes to follow Jesus he responded, "And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”"  He could have lived in mansions created for glory or even a semi decent house but the Bible tells us that He had no home.  Fourthly, Jesus did have a moment where He accepted worship as a King however it wasn’t as a valiant knight on a white steed parading into town as a victorious warrior.  Instead He came into town on a colt a simple work colt.  Fifth, he referred to himself a servant and a servant King is what He was.  In Philippians 2:5 – 7 it says,  "Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men."  This tells us a lot about Jesus Christ.  He made himself nothing and became a servant.  How many leaders or kings do you hear who believe that’s their calling in life?  Lastly, we see the humility of Christ in the way He died.  He did not die of old age or die during battle as a warrior.  No, He was crucified and died an excruciating, painful and dishonorable death.  The fact that He gave himself over to death is an act of humility.  He has the power to defeat death and yet, he became subservient to it.  Yet He did this because this was the plan from the beginning and He needed to make a way for man to receive salvation.

Okay, let’s wrap this up and get to the point of the message.  Jesus was born in humility and lived a life as a carpenter, a servant, who being tempted to sin yet not giving in, had no home, was eventually hailed as the Messiah but on the back of a donkey and was killed a week later as He hung on a cross.  I think we can see and understand that our Lord lived a life of humility on this earth.  Of course today He is seated at the right hand of the Father and will someday return as a triumphant King.  But for now we have an example as to how we should live our lives here on this earth.  Our Lord lived as a humble servant.  He served the needs of those who had needs, He became subject to earthly leaders, and He didn’t put His own needs before the needs of others.  What does this show us today?  As we close out the Christmas season, let us humbly serve others, not just our own families or church body, in the name of Jesus Christ.  Truly seek out ways that you can serve someone in the name of Jesus Christ.  

​Merry Christmas!

[1]Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-c1985). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (2:126). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.