Humble with a Lowercase ‘t'
Bible Passage:
Matthew 20:17-28
Pastor:
Pastor Mike
Download:
Sermon Date:
2011-04-02
For the last few weeks, we’ve been learning about the Evil One—Satan. We’ve studied the tactics he uses in this spiritual assault on our souls. How he contradicts God and suggests we don’t believe our Creator. How he drags us away from being confident of our salvation and into pits of despair. How he sows weeds of doubt that choke out seeds of faith. But today’s tactic is his secret weapon. It’s a sin that some theologians have called the “complete anti-God state of mind”. Author C.S. Lewis writes, “It is the essential vice, the utmost evil. [Impurity], anger, greed, drunkenness…are mere fleabites in comparison.” So what is the sin? Pride.
Does that surprise you? At first glance, pride doesn’t seem that tempting. After all, nobody likes proud people. You can strive to be outspoken or aggressive or a party-animal or rich, but no one is proud of being proud. We avoid adjectives like arrogant, conceited, and full-of-herself like a Democrat avoids Fox News. No, no one wants to be proud. But we have to admit humility is tough to catch. Maybe you’ve heard the story of the 2nd grader who won the “Most Humble Award” at her school. The students, teachers, and principal all voted and little Maggie was the unanimous choice. But when Maggie accepted the award with a smile, they decided to take it right back! She couldn’t be that humble.
Humility is hard to find. That shouldn’t surprise us. The Evil One hates humility and tries to hide it. He puts pride in its place and watches as the world falls apart. The devil does that out in the world. And, as we read today, he does it right here in the church. In fact, if you are committed to following Jesus, you are the Evil One’s biggest target. Let’s learn our enemy’s tactics and how Jesus helps us defend ourselves.
We read today in Matthew 20—“17Now as Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside and said to them, 18 ‘We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law. They will condemn him to death 19 and will turn him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified. On the third day he will be raised to life!’” With Jerusalem just ahead, Jesus tells his closest followers what’s ahead. Betrayal. Condemnation. Crucifixion. The Son of God is about to become nothing, to humble himself on a cross.
But a few of those disciples had a less-than-humble idea. “20 Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Jesus with her sons and, kneeling down, asked a favor of him. 21 ‘What is it you want?’ he asked. She said, ‘Grant that one of these two sons of mine may sit at your right and the other at your left in your kingdom.’” Zebedee’s sons were named James and John. Two of Jesus’ closest disciples. Fishermen. Hands calloused from hauling in nets. Beards that smelled of the sea. And apparently 100% momma’s boys. They come with Salome, their mom, asking for a favor. “The best seats in your kingdom! Let the others sit at the other end of the table. We want to be at your side.” Like people at a parade, the disciples wanted to reserve an early spot—set up their lawn chairs and throw down their blankets so they’d have the best seats for all eternity.
22“You don’t know what you are asking,” Jesus said to them. “Can you drink the cup I am going to drink?” “We can,” they answered. 23 Jesus said to them, “You will indeed drink from my cup, but to sit at my right or left is not for me to grant. These places belong to those for whom they have been prepared by my Father.” 24 When the ten heard about this, they were indignant with the two brothers.” These were Jesus’ closest followers! Wrestling for the best seats. Pouting like preschoolers. For years they had followed their humble Savior, seen his modesty, witnessed his meekness. But as their journey comes to an end, all they want is the best. The Evil One isn’t mentioned in this text, but he has a leading role. Puffing up the apostles’ heads with selfish ambition. Tempting them with pride.
The tactic hasn’t changed. I saw a commercial the other day for a law firm. A distinguished-looking gentleman in a pin stripe suit. Mahogany table. Rows of legal books perfectly lined up in the background. “Unlike some other law firms,” he stated to the camera, “we don’t have to brag about the millions of dollars we’ve collected for our clients.” Wait. Huh? So you’re not going to tell us about what you just told us? That’s like you saying to your sister, “Unlike a mean brother, I’m not going to say you look fat in those pants.” Pride, pure and simple. Or think of the dreams of 4th graders. Have you ever heard a kid say, “One day I’m going to be in the championship game and the clocks going to be ticking down—3-2-1—and I’m going to pass the ball and have the winning assist!” Never! But everyone dreams of being the hero. In 2006, the Pew Research Center conducted a survey of 18-25 year olds asking what the top goals of their generation were. 10% said, “To become more spiritual.” 30% said, “To help others.” 51% said, “To become famous.” 81% said, “To get rich.”
But the Evil One isn’t just watching basketball practice and hanging out with lawyers. He sneaks past the ushers into the church. Remember James, John, and their mother Salome weren’t bandwagon disciples. They were closer to Jesus than perhaps any other people on earth. That fact reminds us that Christians, devoted Christians, are not safe from the temptation of pride.
The challenge is seeing it. Pride is like food on your face. You might not know it’s there unless someone tells you or you go look in a mirror. So how do we recognize pride? By asking ourselves a few questions: Do you dream about being the star, the hero, or the center of attention? Do you listen, assuming that others have better answers than your own? Or do you talk, assuming that your opinion is the best one out there? Are you competitive? Do you hate to lose, even at trivial things like board games or pick-up matches? Do you get easily discouraged when no one recognizes your work? Are you jealous when other people get awards, recognition, or thanks and you don’t? Do you take criticism well or are you quick to become defensive? Do you take a genuine interest in other people’s stories or do you grab the spotlight by immediately telling a story of your own?
The devil prays we are proud. Because he knows while we are looking down on others, we cannot be looking up at God. He knows while we are boasting about our success, we cannot be confessing our failures. If we don’t humbly confess our sins, we cannot want the forgiveness of them. And, if you confess, the Evil One will be waiting with the weapon of despair, “How could a disciple of humble Jesus be so proud?” First the pride. Then the fall.
So what did Jesus say? To that ambitious mother and her proud sons? To us? “25Jesus called them together and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” In love, Jesus pulled out a mirror and showed them their pride. “You guys know how the who’s who’s act. They love to be lords. To have the title, the nameplate, the power. You’ve seen the chest-pounding, the awards-touting, the proud to be proud people in this world.” “Not so with you.” “You are different. You are different because you know me. I am the Son of Man, the Promised One, the Messiah. And yet I serve. I am about to give my life for you. Why? To be your ransom. To pay the price to set you free from these chains of pride.”
Jesus says the same thing to us today. “You know how the world acts…but not so with you.” “You are different. Because I have redeemed you. Whatever price you owed because of your pride, because of your sin, I paid it. You were condemned to hell, but I freed you. Whatever human height you reached on your own, I have brought you down so I could raise you up to higher ground, to heavenly places. You don’t have to achieve so you can earn God’s love. You already have it! You don’t have to work to get your spot in heaven. It’s a gift.
And right there is the perfect place to be. Millions of people give in to despair, that pit that sucks every drop of joy out of our lives. Millions of others fall into pride, the pit of constant fear that they’ll lose, be overlooked, or fail. But in between those two pits is a secure place where Jesus stands. Where the despairing cry, “I am nothing!” is never heard because those who stand with Christ cannot be nothing. Where the proud boast, “I am everything!” is never heard because we cannot be everything if the Son of God had to die for us. Instead, Christians stand on that solid ground by faith and cry, “We are not nothing! We are not everything! But we are something because of Jesus. Something special. Something priceless. All because that’s what he made us to be!”
So what does that mean for us as the freed and forgiven followers of God? It means we can be like the moon. Do you know what the moon does? It reflects. It takes the light of the sun and reflects it back on our earth. The moon has no light of its own. Its job is simply to show our planet that the sun is still shining. Do you know what else the moon does? It revolves. It works its way around the earth about every four weeks.
What a perfect description of our job as believers—Reflect and revolve. Reflect the light of the Son. Take every compliment that comes your way and redirect it back to the source. “You did an amazing job on that project!” “Thanks. Without God’s help and all the gifted people who did their part, we never could have gotten it done.” “You are a really giving person.” “Thanks. I know God has given so much to me. I’m just trying to give a little back!” And as you’re reflecting, keep revolving. Revolve around others. “Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave.” Realize that humble service makes you great in God’s eyes. Listening to her story. Giving them the credit. Serving your wife. Giving your neighbor a hand. These things make the front page of the paper in heaven.
Once upon a time, Anthony, a bashful grade schooler made it to the finals of his school’s spelling bee. His parents sat in the front row of the auditorium, fidgeting as their son waited for his final word. Mrs. Limpkins, the crabby librarian, leaned into the microphone at the judges’ table. Peering over her black-rimmed glasses, she pronounced, “Humble.” Anthony grinned and shot a quick glance at his father. He was grinning, too. This was a word they had practiced for weeks. Anthony took a deep breath. “Humble. Lowercase t. Humble.” With a smirk, he stepped back from the microphone. Mrs. Limpkins already wrinkled face wrinkled even more. “Young man, that is incorrect. You can sit down now.” But Anthony didn’t sit down. “Actually, I am correct. Humble. Lowercase t.” The other students held their breath. No one crossed Mrs. Limpkins. “Young man,” she growled, “you are wrong. In fact, you are not even close to right. Humble is spelled h-u-m-b-l-e. There isn’t even a lowercase t in it!” But Anthony didn’t back down, “Mrs. Limpkins, you’re right, too. But you can also spell humble with just a lowercase t.” The old librarian was shocked into silence. But before the vein on her forehead grow any larger, the boy explained himself. “Every weekend my parents take me to church. And every time we sit down, my dad leans over and whispers in my ear, ‘That, son, is how you spell humble.’ And he nods to the front of church. So, Mrs. Limpkins, you can spell humble with just a lowercase t.”
Brothers and sisters in the faith, this (the cross) is what humility is all about. It’s where our humble Savior reached down and rescued us. It’s where we learn how to close our ears to the Evil One’s proud temptations and serve one another in love. Amen.
K3/K4 Early Childhood Info
Get Involved!
Scrip Program
Eastside Eagle Gear Store
Post new comment