Discipleship – path of humility
(Mat 20:25-28) But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. {26} But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; {27} And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: {28} Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
All through His earthly ministry Jesus’ disciples were jockeying for position – each wanted to be first or most important. It seemed there was an on-going dispute among the disciples as to who was the greatest – “And he came to Capernaum: and being in the house he asked them, What was it that ye disputed among yourselves by the way? {34} But they held their peace: for by the way they had disputed among themselves, who should be the greatest.” Even at the last supper they were disputing over who was the greatest – “And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest.”
These were men, Jewish men, who were looking for the Messiah to come and re-establish the kingdom to Israel and drive out the Roman armies. They did not have greatly accredited credentials – Matthew was a former publican, several were fishermen, one even carried the term of a zealot (one who probably was prepared to actively overthrow the Roman occupation). The one with the better credentials was Judas Iscariot – they trusted him enough to be treasurer.
James and John were so serious about being great with Jesus and his kingdom they involved their mother in the seeking of greatness – “Then came to him the mother of Zebedee's children with her sons, worshipping him, and desiring a certain thing of him. {21} And he said unto her, What wilt thou? She saith unto him, Grant that these my two sons may sit, the one on thy right hand, and the other on the left, in thy kingdom.”
On one occasion Jesus taught them a lesson about being a disciple and humility – “At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? {2} And Jesus called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, {3} And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. {4} Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Jesus taught them and us that a disciple is not to promote him or herself, but be a servant – “And he sat down, and called the twelve, and saith unto them, If any man desire to be first, the same shall be last of all, and servant of all.” This is not an easy part of being a disciple. Most have too high of an opinion of their self to be a disciple of Jesus – it takes humility to be a true disciple. When Jesus extended the call He said, “Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. {29} Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart . . .”
God hates all sin, but if there would be one sin He would hate above others it would probably be pride. It was pride that brought Lucifer down to be the devil. Pride keeps many in trouble with the Lord – their temper gets them into trouble but their pride keeps them in trouble. They are too proud to admit they were wrong, confess and repent of it. We blame others – “Well, they are just as much to blame as I am.” That may be true but neither are acting as a disciple of Christ.
Four burdens roll away when we humble ourself:
1. Burden of pride
2. Burden of pretense
3. Burden of artificiality
4. Burden of self-struggle