humility – Page 2 – Three Minute Bible

August 22, 2019August 22, 2019

Humble Glory – John 17: 10

All I have is yours, and all you have is mine. And glory has come to me through them.

As Jesus began his prayer, he looked to heaven and prayed to the Father, “Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you.”

This idea of being glorified might seem simple to some, but to me, it seems like a very deep well. How does glory coexist with humility? The glory Jesus speaks of is not the glory of a star athlete or that of a rock star or a military hero. The glory Jesus speaks of is no more than the honor due to the one who is the source of all life, the Creator of everything. In a sense, it is simply recognizing God for who he is.

Jesus has just affirmed that the disciples know “with certainty” that he has come from the Father. (Verse 8b) They believe this absolutely. All doubt is gone. Because of this, they obey the Father’s word. (Verse 6b) This belief honors God. Obedience honors God. Honor is the kind of glory that God is looking for. This honor is not the flattery that comes from man’s lips. Rather, it is the respect that is made visible through man’s actions.

I have a very simple and somewhat embarrassing example of this principle.

April 20, 2019April 20, 2019

Greatness – John 13: 16

Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.

When I read today’s verse in the context of this chapter, I am inclined to sort of BLEEP right over it. It is like the narrator’s voice in my head reads, “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am,” and that is what I hear. When I get to, “Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him,” I seem to hear YADDA YADDA YADDA. Why?

For one thing, this saying seems out of context. Why would Jesus suddenly mention something about who is greater?

As I ponder this passage now, I think I see why.

March 20, 2019March 19, 2019

Humility – John 12: 14-16

Jesus found a young donkey and sat on it, as it is written:
”Do not be afraid, Daughter Zion;
see, your king is coming,
seated on a donkey’s colt.”
At first his disciples did not understand all this. Only after Jesus was glorified did they realize that these things had been written about him and that these things had been done to him.

These days, if visiting royalty were to come to town, or the President of the country, or even the Pope, they would be conveyed in a very nice limousine. They would also be accompanied by other people in more limousines. They might even have a police escort or other security around them.

Years before Jesus’ time, in the days of King David, people did something similar. When David’s son, Absalom, was plotting to take over the kingdom, he exalted himself by buying the fanciest chariot he could and then hiring fifty men to run ahead of him. (2 Samuel 15: 1)

Throughout time, the more important the person, the fancier the car, and the more people they have attending them.

Enter Jesus.