Humility

As we celebrated Palm Sunday this weekend, it is always both humbling and emotional to remember all that Christ Jesus endured for us.  Hebrews 12:2 tells us that despite the betrayal, the sorrow, the pain and anguish, Jesus had joy.  “….Because of the joy awaiting Him, He endured the cross, disregarding its shame…”  I love the words to the old song, “When He was on the Cross, I was on His mind.”

Pastor Nathan’s message entitled, “Humility” began in Zechariah 9:9 and Matthew 16:21.  All that Jesus endured was a fulfillment of the scriptures, starting with the triumphal entry riding upon a donkey.  But, why the cross?  Jesus came to die for our sins and the sins of the world.

In Matthew 16:21-26 we find Jesus explaining to His disciples all that He would need to suffer and of His death and resurrection.  Peter could not understand and rebuked Jesus. “Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”  Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”  Pastor Nathan explained to us that sin comes when we allow the flesh to take over.  The devil wants to take us out of God’s plan, so He entices us to respond from the flesh.  As a church body, the devil knows He can prevent the plan of God if he can keep us in the flesh.  Although Peter was likely brokenhearted by this news, he could not see the whole picture. Peter didn’t know the vision; Jesus was going to die for every person, both Jew and Gentile.

In our lives, the devil will often use the people closest to us to try to stop the plan of God, but Jesus is our example in humility.  Humility is doing God’s will instead of responding in the flesh.  Philippians 2:5-9 AMC “Let this same attitude and purpose and [humble] mind be in you which was in Christ Jesus: [Let Him be your example in humility:]Who, although being essentially one with God and in the form of God [possessing the fullness of the attributes which make God God], did not think this equality with God was a thing to be eagerly grasped or retained, But stripped Himself [of all privileges and rightful dignity], so as to assume the guise of a servant (slave), in that He became like men and was born a human being. And after He had appeared in human form, He abased and humbled Himself [still further] and carried His obedience to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross! Therefore [because He stooped so low] God has highly exalted Him and has freely bestowed on Him the name that is above every name..”  As children of God, we are called to walk in love and mercy.  We must be faithful.  Think about Paul.  Others saw a murderer when they looked at him, but God saw what no one else saw.  We are all imperfect, but God loves us anyway.  Even though Jesus was treated with unimaginable cruelty and shame, He responded with love.  In Luke 23:34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”  Likewise, Pastor Nathan encouraged us to not look at people according to the flesh.  We must see people “In Christ.”  When we look at our brothers and sisters in Christ, we must remember that each of us carries Jesus on the inside of us!  For this is the message of the cross.  Jesus came to make us a “new creation….behold the new has come!  May we all take time to reflect upon the love and mercy of our loving Heavenly Father and the life and humility of Christ in this final week leading up to Resurrection Sunday.

II Corinthians 5:17-17

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. From now on, therefore, we regard no one according to the flesh. Even though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.