A Picture of Humility

Scripture: John 4:1-3 (NIV) 1 The Pharisees heard that Jesus was gaining and baptizing more disciples than John, 2 although in fact it was not Jesus who baptized, but his disciples. 3 When the Lord learned of this, he left Judea and went back once more to Galilee.

Background: As Jesus spent time in Jerusalem He was becoming popular. Both the Pharisees and the followers of John the Baptist realized that Jesus was becoming more popular than John the Baptist, causing a good deal of anxiety in both groups. When Jesus learned that this was happening He did the exact opposite of what most contemporary politicians would do--He left town immediately. There is another interesting fact listed in this passage of scripture--Jesus was not baptizing anyone. Jesus' disciples were the actual persons responsible for baptizing the people that were becoming followers of Jesus. This tells us a couple of things about Jesus: 1) He wasn't interested in becoming famous. (He obviously cared more about the message that He was declaring and the lives of those that He was reaching more than His personal popularity) 2) He allowed others to participate in meaningful ministry with Him. (He didn't perform all the clergy-like tasks on His own)

Observations: When it comes to spiritual leadership we have two problems that must always be taken into account: Firstly, there are many people who still want to follow a "King." (Most of us like to follow strong, authoritative leaders who will tackle life's tough situations for us) Secondly, there are many spiritual leaders who want to be the king. (Leaders who want power are often dangerous) Jesus--was and is the King of Kings and yet He wasn't hungry for power or for popularity. He was proficient at ministry and yet He included others in "His" ministry. He authorized and empowered His followers to carry on the work of the ministry. Most of us consider the ceremony of baptizing someone into the church as a sacred, clergy-only ministry--and yet, Jesus turned this over to His disciples. If nothing else, we should learn from Christ's example and seek to emulate His true humility.

Prayer: Father, thank you for sending Your Son to rescue me from my sins and to give me a clear understanding of what it means to walk in humility. Words cannot begin to express how impressed I am by my King, Jesus Christ--who was God in the flesh and yet did not consider equality with God as something to be grasped. May my life be marked by moments of humility. May humility take hold in my spirit and cause me to promote the worship of God rather than the exaltation of "me".