Jesus, Humble??

One of the many things said about Jesus was that he was a very humble man. He taught us to be humble and he set the example. However, when I read about Jesus in the bible I don’t see much humility there. His attitude is often condescending, and he spoke like he was higher than everyone else. One might say “well, he was!”, but that’s beside the point. You don’t get to look down on people and then claim to be humble.

 

And yes! He was condescending towards people. He berated people for not having enough faith and for lack of understanding. (Matt 8:26 Matt 14:31, Matt 15:16, Matt 16:8-11. Matt 17:17, John 3:10, John 14:9) He put down people regularly (Matt 12:34, Matt 16:23. Matt 22:18,). A whole chapter is dedicated to a big rant he made where he hurls out insults left right and centre: Matt 23.

 

Not only that, but he trashed the temple throwing out the money changers. (John 2:13-16) He may have had a good reason for it, but the way he did it wasn’t with humility, but of one who believed he was in a position of power in the temple and had authority over the people there. He even did it with a whip in his hand! Yes, he took the aggressive violent approach. 

 

His manner towards people was always that of a teacher or a rabbi, not an equal or a lesser person, as a humble person would.  He claimed to speak on behalf of God! (John 7:16-17, 28-29) He made haughty statements about himself, like being the light of the world (John 8:12) and having overcome the world (John 14:33) He expected people to obey him. (John 8:51, John 14:23)

 

Jesus damns himself even further when in Matthew 26, the woman breaks open a bottle of expensive alabaster perfume, and using her hair as a cloth, washes Jesus’s feet. The disciples berate the woman saying that bottle was worth a year’s wages and should have been given to the poor. What does Jesus say? He scolds them and tells them that you will always have the poor but you will only have me for a short time.

 

That could well be one of the most sickening things Jesus has ever said! (v11) “Forget the poor! Focus on me!” He clearly felt he was entitled to extravagances from people wanting to bless him. (Matt 10:32-33, 37, 40) And it’s not all that surprising really when, even as a baby, he was showered with expensive gifts (Matthew 2:11). He would have been used to that sort of treatment, especially roaming the country as a celebrity who everyone wanted to hear speak. He would have been the Billy Graham and Benny Hinn of the time! He even got to dine with wealthy people. (Matt 9:10-12, Matt 10:9-15)

 

He made the claim to be divine (John 8:58, John 11:25, John 12:46, John 14:20, John 15) and that he and God were one!  (John 10:30)

 

This is not a picture of a humble man.

 

There is a joke that my father sometimes used to say, “I’m proud of my humbleness”. There are other similar jokes. We all know that it’s a joke because anyone who claims to be humble is being the exact opposite! Yet Jesus, himself, declares that he is humble:

 

Matt 11: 29 “for I am gentle and humble in heart.”

 

Kind of the nail in the coffin for Jesus’s humility surely?

 

Oh, no doubt there are many of you out there saying “But what about the times in the bible where he showed humility? Like when he washed the feet of the disciples. Or when he allowed himself to be crucified! Or just being born human!”  Sure, there are sometimes where he did appear to show humility, but that doesn’t make him a humble person. Hitler loved his family and had staunch values when it came to chastity. But that didn’t make him a moral human being. Likewise, with Jesus, just because he did a few things that appeared humble, did not mean he was a humble man.

 

But let’s look at those so-called humble things he did.

 

He washed the feet of the disciples (John 13)

 

This was most likely a one off thing, which is why the story gets mentioned in the bible. It was inconceivable that someone like Jesus would be washing the feet of others. He was a celebrity! A Rabbi. The son of God! Him having his feet washed had clearly been the case up unto this point. So on this occasion he insists on being the one to do the feet washing. That’s a story worth telling.

 

Humble?

 

Probably not, because here he was taking the role of the teacher. (John 12:49-50, John 14:10-11, Matt 7:28) Trying to teach principles that he wanted his followers to adhere too (John 13:15). This wasn’t necessarily a humble act, just like it’s not humble for a teacher to do simple tasks that he is teaching his students to do.  He’s just doing his job.

 

Jesus was teaching from a position of authority, not as an equal. (John 7:16-17, 28-29, John 12:49-50, John 14:10-11). And we don’t know whether he washed another foot after that.  

 

He allowed himself to be crucified

 

Really, he had no choice, unless he wanted to run and hide. They wanted him dead, but Jesus wasn’t the type to hide. No, because he wasn’t a humble man. He was the type who was going to stand his ground and defy the authorities. Thumb his nose at them and continue doing what he was doing whether they liked it or not. He was sometimes cautious about this, but not always.

 

So when they came for him, he came willingly. He even had Judas go quickly and get them so they could find him. (John 13:27) That may be because he was attempting to fulfil prophecy. To cement his position as the messiah. A martyr. 

 

Wanting to become a martyr for a cause is definitely not a humble act. Wanting people to see you as the messiah is not humble either.  Whether he wanted to or not, he was going to be crucified and hung out to die.

 

He was born human

Many say that it was a humiliating thing for the son of God to be born onto this earth as a  lowly human. As if being born a human is some kind of imposition. I see it as a privilege. Something to be celebrated. Something to be proud of.

 

But he wasn’t treated like some lowly human, was he? He was treated as a king from the word go, when he was showered with expensive gifts. Everywhere he went, he was a celebrity. He was considered a rabbi and a teacher.

 

He was certainly no lowly human.

 

Conclusion

 

To say Jesus was a humble man is kind of a joke, just like it’s a joke that the bible claims Moses was the humblest man alive. Moses was far from humble too (and he was a prince). But that’s a whole new discussion.

 

It makes you wonder just what the bible means by humble. Maybe it’s some other form of the word humble we don’t use, but it certainly doesn’t line up with our understanding of the word today:

 

Humble | Definition of Humble at Dictionary.com

·         not proud or arrogant; modest. To be humble although successful.

·         having a feeling of insignificance, inferiority, subservience, etc

·         low in rank, importance, status, quality

·         courteously respectful.

 

 

No. Jesus was not a humble man. That much is obvious in the gospels. 

 

 

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For a great video on the humility of Jesus see...