Life
of Christ 7
Humility.
That is the word that hangs like a signboard over the advent of Jesus Christ.
His parents were humble.
By this I mean that they were not famous or wealthy; their station in life was
humble. There are those who would assert this is not the case since both Joseph
and Mary were descended from the line of David. That is certainly true, but
David lived nearly a thousand years before the time of Christ, and he must have
had many descendants in Israel after a millennia.
One of the evidences of
Joseph and Mary's humble station in life is the very facts surrounding the
famous Christmas story that takes place in Luke 2.1-7. The taxation and census
that called them from Nazareth to Bethlehem was a property tax. You may recall
that the Old Testament instructs landed property to always remain in the family
line, and, if sold, it had to be returned at the Year of Jubilee (Leviticus
25). As a family's descendants multiplied over time the title deed to these
properties became rather involved, with many distantly related people all
having a small percentage of ownership in the land in question. Thus, when the
Romans wanted to tax property they had to first identify how many people owned
what percentage in order to fairly assess the tax. Joseph and Mary, both being
descended from David, would have owned some small percentages of properties in
the Bethlehem area, and thus they both had to make the journey there from
Nazareth. This, of course, also explains why it was so crowded when they
arrived, as many other people were required to travel there for the same
reasons. If Joseph and Mary had been one of the primary descendants of David
they would have owned more percentage of the property. They probably would have
been living in Bethlehem already, or barring that, they would have had much
nicer accommodations available to them when they got there. They obviously
didn't, however. They were not royalty; they were just common, ordinary,
everyday kind of people.
The location of Jesus'
birth was humble. The inns of Jesus day were not rambling buildings with a hot
fire burning in the cozy common room, rather they were square, one story
structures that were not even enclosed. Along the two side walls and the back
wall of this structure open rooms were available, completely unfurnished, with
only a roof and two side walls for protection from the elements. The fourth
side of each room was entirely open facing a common courtyard in the middle.
Travelers would pay a small price for the privilege of staking their animals in
the courtyard directly in front of their room, and would furnish their rooms
with whatever they brought with them. It was actually kind of like camping with
the addition of a touch of privacy and sturdy wall between you and whatever
lurked outside.
It was to just such an
inn that Joseph and Mary arrived that cold December night. I can imagine how relieved
Mary was, in her condition, to find shelter out of the wind, and on a floor up
off the cold ground. I can imagine how relieved Joseph was that they had
finally gotten to Bethlehem where such shelter was available – until it wasn't,
for the inn was already packed full. I can imagine him finally, in desperation,
pleading the mitigating circumstance of Mary's condition, and negotiating with
the owner to let them stay in the middle courtyard amongst all the rest of the
animals staked there. I can imagine him gathering together what straw he could
to make a bed for Mary on the cold, hard ground as she did her best not to
complain. And it was there, just one step above a ditch on the side of the
road, that the King of Kings came into the world. I think because of this
story's close association with Christmas that we have somewhat romanticized the
birth of Christ. It wasn't romantic. It was cold. It was embarrassing. It was
undignified. It was almost desperate. Above all, it was humble.
When I was a young man I
confess I use to get irritated at God. For instance, He instructs us not to be
jealous but He is jealous. He calls for us to be humble, but He is Himself
almost proud, demanding glory and praise and exaltation. Wasn't this hypocrisy?
What I completely failed to grasp back then is the humility of Jesus Christ,
and thus, by extension, God Himself. Jesus' entire earthly career is marked by
humility. We see it in the events of His birth. We see it in His chosen
approach to life, first as a blue collar laborer and then later as an
itinerant, poverty stricken rabbi. We see it in the events of His death,
crucified like a criminal between two thieves and then placed in a borrowed
tomb. In fact, God's entire decision to offer redemption by presenting His own
Son, in human flesh, to die for us, means He humbled Himself (Philippians 2.8).
What did He leave? To what did He come? How did He arrive? How did He live? How
was He treated? How did He die? There is humility in the answer to all of these
questions. It is wrapped up in the very fabric of who Jesus is.
If holiness is being
like Jesus then humility must form a large part of my own life as well. If our
very spiritual life is birthed in the humility of admitting our sin and our
total inability to do anything about it as we cast ourselves on the
mercy of God through belief in the claims of Jesus Christ, well then that
humility must continue if our spiritual life is to thrive. Humility is
necessary for faith, and without faith it is impossible to please Him (Hebrews
11.6). Humility is a necessary ingredient for successfully serving the Lord, as
we must come to Him for 'grace to help in time of need' (Hebrews 4.16).
Humility is a necessary prerequisite for growth since you cannot grow without
being teachable. Humility is necessary for prayer. Indeed, I do not go too far
when I say that it is necessary for every spiritual grace.
The simple truth is that
humility is something that everyone comes to, sooner or later. Some come to it
early, humbling themselves under the mighty hand of God (I Peter 5.6). Others
come to it later, in chains, on their knees before the Ancient of Days on that
Great White Throne (Philippians 2.10). But all, without exception, will come to
it.
My friend, there is no
good reason to wait to be humble until Judgment Day. Indeed, there is every
good reason to humble yourself now. Wonderful blessings come our way when we
humble ourselves. Additionally, it is only reasonable for us to humble ourselves
before God when He is so obviously superior and we so inferior. But, most of
all, when we humble ourselves we are being like Jesus.
Humility.
That is the word that hangs like a signboard over the advent of Jesus Christ.
Does it
hang like a signboard above you?
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