Friday, August 24, 2012
If
you had to describe yourself in one sentence, how would you do it? If you had
to describe Jesus in one sentence how would you do that? There is on passage of Scripture where Jesus
describes himself using one sentence. In
doing so, He uses only two words, two words that we should strive to apply to
our lives. It’s amazing to consider what
Jesus doesn’t say about himself. He
doesn’t say greatest teacher ever. He doesn’t mention that he is a caring
healer. He didn’t mention that He is wise and powerful, holy and eternal or all
knowing and all powerful. All of those
things would be true of him and are true of Him. So how did Jesus describe
himself?
Jesus’ description of himself is found in Matthew 11: 28-29 - “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”
I am gentle and I am humble. Gentle and humble. Gentle means ‘strength under control’ – like a wild stallion that has been tamed. Humble in heart means lowly – the picture of a helper. Unselfish and thoughtful. The gentle and humble nature of Jesus is nowhere more evident in the account of John chapter 13 verses 1-5 where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples – true servant hood. It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
And in Matthew chapter 6, verses 1-4, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He said; “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure – play actors I call them – treating prayer meeting and street corner like a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it – quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.” (The Message).
As followers of Jesus we cannot be all knowing and all powerful. We can’t be all holy and all wise. But we can be gentle and humble. We can serve the way Jesus served. May we take Jesus’ yoke upon us. May we learn from him. And may we find rest for our souls.
Jesus’ description of himself is found in Matthew 11: 28-29 - “Come to Me all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you shall find rest for your souls.”
I am gentle and I am humble. Gentle and humble. Gentle means ‘strength under control’ – like a wild stallion that has been tamed. Humble in heart means lowly – the picture of a helper. Unselfish and thoughtful. The gentle and humble nature of Jesus is nowhere more evident in the account of John chapter 13 verses 1-5 where Jesus washed the feet of His disciples – true servant hood. It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
And in Matthew chapter 6, verses 1-4, in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, He said; “Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don’t make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won’t be applauding. When you do something for someone else, don’t call attention to yourself. You’ve seen them in action, I’m sure – play actors I call them – treating prayer meeting and street corner like a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that’s all they get. When you help someone out, don’t think about how it looks. Just do it – quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.” (The Message).
As followers of Jesus we cannot be all knowing and all powerful. We can’t be all holy and all wise. But we can be gentle and humble. We can serve the way Jesus served. May we take Jesus’ yoke upon us. May we learn from him. And may we find rest for our souls.
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