|
About Jesus - Steve (Stephen) Sweetman Humility
Wins A prideful arrogance
seems to be the way of the world these days.
It's the way to win, whether in politics, economics or any other
aspect of life.
It consumes our culture and is seen in news reports, social media
and in our personal discussions. Have
we forgotten that pride precedes destruction (Proverbs 16:18).
That being true, then, humility eventually wins.
Humility doesn't mean
weakness. I define humility as
a quiet strength, an inner conviction, a self assurance that has no need
to proudly argue a point of view. On
the other hand, pride often shows a lack of self confidence or low self esteem.
Prideful assertions are meant to hide this lack, that is, unless
one is inherently narcissistic. When thinking of pride
and humility I am reminded of Palm Sunday, the day Jesus rode into Jerusalem
on a donkey, a service animal. That
speaks of humility. In
contrast, around the same time, Governor Pilate rode into Jerusalem
on a horse accompanied by an army that might be seen as a demonstration of
gubernatorial pride. Unlike a donkey,
Proverbs 21:31 states that "the horse is made ready for the day of
battle." There was a huge
difference between Jesus and Pilate, between the donkey and the horse, between
humility and pride.
Pilate appeared strong
as a horse while Jesus weak as a donkey.
While being interrogated before Pilate, Jesus refused to answer a
question. Pilate responded by
saying, "do you not realize I have the power to either free you or
crucify you" (John 19:10). "Pilate
held all of the cards," or so he thought.
Knowing who really held all of the cards Jesus simply sat before
Pilate with a humble quiet self confidence.
In another moment during the interrogation, Jesus, in a
non-argumentative fashion simply said, "My
kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to
prevent my arrest" (John 18:36). Jesus did not
aggressively argue to prove a point. He
knew God's will, and that was it. There
was no need for an arrogant argument. In
contrast, Pilate appeared on the surface to be self assured, but deep
within he was worried, especially after hearing about his wife's dream
that scared her (Matthew 27:19).
We see a stark contrast
between Jesus and Pilate, between a donkey and a horse, between humility
and pride. When it's all said
and done, Jesus and humility will win because He holds all of the cards.
Scripture References Proverbs 16:18 "Pride
goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall." Matthew 28:19 "While Pilate was
sitting on the judge’s seat, his wife sent him this message: 'Don’t
have anything to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered a great
deal today in a dream because of him.'"
|