As we attempt to navigate the roads of life that lead us this way and that, it is important that we remember that Jesus Christ, our Savior, our Redeemer, our Brother, is the way. His efforts today are aimed at getting us to return to Him as perfect as possible, and one of His prescribed aids is the scriptures. In this comprehensive piece, we will look at the three "eras," we'll say, of Jesus' mortal life: His birth, His ministry, and His Atonement. As I have studied the Savior's life, I have recognized one specific aspect of His life that can be applied swiftly to our lives. There are many aspects of the Savior's life that are difficult to apply because of His majestic perfection. But the components that made (and make) up His humility are applicable and impactful in our pursuit of the Christlike standard that He himself set. When we break down that humility with specific examples, it is rather easy to see where we can improve in our level of humility, and how that will impact our lives going forward. I hope that you can study this will your scriptures handy, so that you can have your own insights into this insights, that you may grow beyond what I have in my preparation in writing this. If you have any further insights, please comment below, that we may also all benefit from your further revelations on this topic.
His Birth
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| The Nativity |
Once in royal David’s city
Stood a lowly cattle shed,
Where a mother laid her baby
In a manger for his bed:
Mary was that mother mild,
Jesus Christ her little child.
He came down to earth from heaven,
Who is God and Lord of all,
And his shelter was a stable,
And his cradle was a stall;
With the poor, and mean, and lowly,
Lived on earth our Savior holy.
(From "Once in Royal David's City" LDS Hymn 205)
On a cool April evening two centuries ago, a child was born. Born to a virgin, Mary, this child didn't have a birth like most. Luke recounts, "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn," (Luke 2:7). No, His birth was not like others--it was far more humble. Months before, the child's mother received a visitation from an angel, bearing news of what this child would become: "And behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus. He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: and he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end," (Luke 1:31-33). More than six centuries prior, the great prophet Isaiah saw in vision the condescension of the very Jehovah whom he worshipped: "For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace," (Isaiah 9:6).
So, the "Son of the Highest," "the mighty God," the very "Prince of Peace," the Savior of mankind...
...was born in a stable.
Athos M Amorim, former member of the Quorum of the Seventy said, "From the moment of His birth, the Savior taught humility through His actions. The great Creator of all things condescended to be born into the humblest of circumstances. He entered mortality in a shelter for animals and was laid in a manger, a crib that was also used for the feeding of animals. His first visitors were humble shepherds..." This child also received visitation from wise men from the east, who bore gifts. If you thought you had disappointing Christmas presents as a kid, Jesus got fragrances (I guess gold's not that bad, is it?). Of course it's not a competition--its just the reality. Jesus, "once of humble birth," is the very embodiment of humility.
A couple more scriptures, transcribed from the mouths of prophets, highlight the gravity of this humble birth:
"And behold he cometh, according to the words of the angel, in six hundred years from the time my father left Jerusalem. And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they spite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his longsuffering towards the children of men," (1 Nephi 19:8-9)
"And this is the gospel, the glad tidings, which the voice out of the heavens bore record unto us--That he came into the world, even Jesus, to be crucified for the world, and to bear the sins of the world, and to sanctify the world, and to cleanse it from all unrighteousness," (D&C 76:40-41).
Despite the manner in which He was born, the Christ-child came with a mission. He came with divine endowment and an inspired potential. This child would grow, and He would come to fully realize that potential. It was He who said, "These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world," (John 16:33). What a message to us, that despite the manner in which we come into this world, or the condition, we may overcome. We may, because He did.
I myself am not at all a perfect person. My birth was not at all showy. I was born in a hospital--as most of us were--in Tucson, Arizona. As I grew I realized that physically I was not perfect. I was extremely bony and skinny, with some deformations in my chest and back. Kids called me "Stickboy" and "Twig," told me I should tie myself down or the wind would take me away. I was shy, I had big teeth and big eyes, and my hair would hold (and still does hold) onto the pattern of my bedhead, making my hair stick up embarrassingly like Alfalfa from "The Little Rascals." I got sick really easily--I survived Swine Flu, I suffered Typhoid Fever, I've had 2 stomach ulcers and a kidney stone (which is by far the worst pain I have ever felt--I don't recommend it). I have many weaknesses that I wish I didn't have to have. But none of that matters.
Jesus was perfect spiritually during his earthly ministry, but He was not perfect physically. I'm sure He had physical imperfections that He wasn't so proud of as a child (See Isaiah 53:2). I'm sure children made fun of Him. I'm sure He felt at times that He wished He didn't have to have the physical weaknesses He had. I think sometimes we fail to realize that Jesus was human. He had to go through the same physical pains we had to, and I think in a sense more so. Obviously in the end He would feel all of the pains we do. I'm sure when He was younger He got sick-- maybe He too had Swine Flu, Typhoid Fever or a stomach ulcer or two. I'm sure He got called names by the children around him. I'm sure He had some insecurities and anxieties. But the thing is, He wasn't born in a hospital. He was born in astable and laid in a trough for a bed. The King of kings, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel, the very Son of God was born in humbler conditions than we can fathom in our time of modern medicine and scientific breakthroughs. He knows humility. He is humility. He knows how to succor us when we feel inadequate. Of all the people who would know that you can overcome, it'd be Him. He was born amongst cattle and grew to become a prophet and ultimately the Savior of all mankind. He calls on us to come to Him not out of some selfish desire for more followers like many of us on Instagram or Twitter. No, He calls on us humbly because he knows all of us can overcome our weaknesses by doing so, just as He did.
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| Painting by Simon Dewey |
John records the following episode during Christ's ministry: "And as Jesus passed by, he saw a man which was blind from his birth. And his disciples asked him, saying, Master, who did sin, this man, or his parents, that he was born blind? Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him," (John 9:1-3). When the Pharisees interrogated the healed man, trying to trip him up in his words in some way or another, he said, "I have told you already, and ye did not hear: wherefore would ye hear it again?...Why herein is a marvellous thing, that ye know not from whence he is, and yet he hath opened mine eyes," (John 9:27,30). Despite his tender testimony, the man was cast out from among them. Christ heard of it, and lovingly went to him.
He asked him, "Dost thou believe on the Son of God?"
"He answered and said, Who is he, Lord that I might believe on him?
"And Jesus said unto him, Thou hast both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee.
"And he said, Lord, I believe. And he worshipped him," (John 9:35-38).
I know many people who have been born with physical, mental, or emotional shortcomings. I have friends who have sudden uncontrollable panic attacks; I have known people born without ears, or with other serious deformations; I have worked extensively with children and adults with mental disabilities like autism, Asberger's Syndrome, Down's Syndrome, and others. I'm sure many of those people, or their loved ones, have questioned the Lord, crying, "Why?? Why must I suffer this? Why did my life have to be so affected?
"What did I do to deserve this?"
My message to you today, is that as you cry, that same Being cries right along with you. "Wonderful, Councellor,...the Prince of Prince," "the Son of the living God:" He wants you to know that you have done nothing wrong. If you will but turn to Him, humbling yourself, He will hold you in his arms and say, "Peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment; and then, if thou endure it well, God shall exalt thee on high; thou shalt triumph over all thy foes," (D&C 121:7-8). If you ever question whether or not He loves you, please, get down on your knees and open up your heart to Him. He will let you feel of that love. That I can promise you in His Holy Name.
In these bustling busy days that are leading us up to Christmas Day, I would invite you all to take those moments to ponder on the humility of Christ, even as He was born in a stable and laid in a manger, and what that means to you personally as you go about your daily lives. He was born so humble, and was the greatest of all. We can at least overcome our petty shortcomings if we can just turn to Him.
And our eyes at last shall see him,
Through his own redeeming love;
For that child so dear and gentle
Is our Lord in heav’n above,
And he leads his children on
To the place where he is gone.
From "Once in Royal David's City" LDS Hymn 205)
His Ministry
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| Painting by Heinrich Hofmann |
Moving on then to Jesus' example during His earthly ministry, we see that as the very embodiment of humility, Jesus provides us with a perfect blueprint of what our attitude should be as we strive to be more humble in our lives. Luke recounts that Jesus grew and "increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man" (Luke 2:52). Are we not trying to do the same?
But life is hard, isn't it? We so easily fall where Christ did not. It's easy to understand that Jesus was perfectly humble, but what aspects of that humility can we easily pick up on and then apply to our daily devotion? I will touch on just three of the many aspects of Jesus humility--a perfect humility: sacrifice, compassion, and ultimate submissiveness to the Father.
We talked previously about how the King of kings, the Son of the living God was born in a stable, and laid in a trough for a bed. Let's contrast that to something that was recorded by the apostle Matthew in his recounting of the gospel:
A man came to Jesus and boldly stated, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." I'm sure Jesus smiled at this man's faith. I'm sure He was pleased with the man's willingness to follow. But His answer to that statement is a great example of how humility and sacrifice are so powerfully connected. He said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:19-20), Remembering His birth, the manger became a necessity when "there was no room for [Him] in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Apparently, there was still no room for Him. He was the Son of the Father. He was Jehovah, Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. He had created the earth. Could He not conjure up some shelter with a nice pillow and a warm blanket? Surely He could--but He did not. Why? Because with humility comes perspective--an Eternal one. What Christ was teaching this man, and what He teaches us is that with humility comes the necessity to sacrifice. He wasn't complaining to this man that He didn't have a set home to live in. He was making the point that if he really wanted to follow, he would have to give up everything. And so it is with us. In order to enjoy the eternal blessings, we must sacrifice some of the temporal possessions that most of the world enjoys: football on Sundays, a fancy car that one gets by utilizing 100% of their earnings, and not just 90%, and so on. We demonstrate humility as we give those things up, for the greater good of promised eternal blessings.
One of the more poignant and powerful examples of Christ's overall humility came when He was challenged by a particularly bold group of Pharisees. John recounts how a woman, who was found in the very act of illicit, immoral affairs, was brought violently before the Savior, and challenged of His devotion to Jewish law. His thought-provoking answer of "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her," caused the group to momentarily disperse. John then records, "He said unto [the woman], Woman...hath no mancondemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:7-11). What is of note is Jesus' perfect example of humility through compassion. The world today completely misunderstands this example and the application of it amongst those of certain groups. Jesus did not say, "I forgive you right this minute, just minutes after you were committing a gross act of infidelity to your husband and to your God." He did not say, "Even though you're a sinner, it's okay." He said, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." Compassion and love do not imply an unconditional acceptance of everyone's actions. What it does imply is a complete, unconditional acceptance of the person. In truth, Jesus has a standard of excellence that is required for us to reach eternal life. Not living up to it in this mortal sphere does not condemn us, nor does it take away from His love for us. Isn't that a lesson to us? If Christ, who was perfect, can love us all unconditionally despite the many ways in which we mess up, shouldn't we love our fellow brethren and sisters unconditionally, also? We are imperfect just like them, after all, though in different ways. What we learn from this: we must be humble enough to realize our imperfection and apply the following truths as a result:
We have no right to judge others. We have no right to think less of anyone because they commit what we judge to be a "greater sin." I hope we can begin to apply that more fully.
After the episode with the woman, the Pharisees for whatever reason felt particularly courageous to contend with Jesus, and the accusations began. As a result, Jesus began to preach clearly and powerfully about His identity as the Messiah. In that very chapter, John records, "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (John 8:28-29). Of all of the examples of humility that I have studied, this is one of the more powerful declarations of it from the Savior himself. From the statement itself, this may seem like an arrogant one. Spoken by anyone else and it certainly would be. But this is the Savior, after all; He was perfectly aware of His perfection because He was perfectly aware that if He were to slip up, His mission would immediately fail. One of the main and great ways in which Jesus showed humility during His ministry (and a way that we must learn to show as well) was perfect and ultimate submissiveness to the Father's will. For us, it has been asked that we follow the perimeters that Jesus set as our Mediator before the Father in order to do so. Those who have been baptized know what they are. Those who have gone through the temple know even clearer.What we learn is this: true discipleship is being humble after the manner of Christ, or in other words, doing nothing of ourselves, but instead doing all for the good and pleasure of our Father in Heaven. If we are not at that level, we should study our Savior's ministry: He knew exactly how to do just that.
In John 6, we find one of Christ's great sermons about how He would be our means of atonement. He had gained a particularly great following as a result of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, but this discourse was difficult for them, because it specified their own effort to be performed as key to its success. Many were not willing, and we read. "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (John 6:66). Imagine Jesus' sorrow as He watched His brothers and sisters walk away, offended by His teachings, and unwilling to follow what He knew perfectly well was to be the only means of obtaining eternal joy. He turned then in humility to His twelve apostles, and asked genuinely:
"Will ye not also go away?" (v. 67)
Peter, as would become the norm, stood with confidence and answered boldly with a question and a testimony: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 68-69).
We have seen many recently who have turned away, offended by the policies and stances of Christ's modern Church. These stances have been in direct contradiction to those of the world. That has put many in a tough spot. It was the same with Jesus' disciples during His ministry. As we watch our friends and our spiritual brothers and sisters turn away offended, Christ asks us what He asked His apostles, "Will ye not also go away?"
What is our answer? Will we be true, humble disciples, or will we turn away, offended?
To conclude, let me share a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in lieu of our day off on tomorrow as a result of his courage:
"We need to pledge ourselves anew to the cause of Christ. We must capture the Spirit of the early church. Wherever the early Christians went, they made a triumphant witness for Christ. Whether on the village streets or in the city jails, they daringly proclaimed the good news of the gospel." Let us follow suit, and answer as Peter did: "Lord, to whom shall we go?..."
We have come to the culminating moment of Jesus' mortal life. The moment where He went from being just Our perfect example to being Our perfect Savior. We've reached His life's climax, the moment when the power-hungry members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership counsel, had decided that this man, Jesus, had gone too far. The plotting had ended, the betrayal had occurred, and their devilish plan had begun to unfold. It was near an olive tree garden called Gethsemane that they found Him, completely exhausted...
It was there that Jesus had taken upon Himself all--our pains, our struggles, our sins. The pain would have killed any other man, but not He who was the only One who could endure it. He was taken, He was spat upon; He was brought before the High Priest and before Pilate; He endured the terrible scourging, and was forced to carry His own cross after hearing the condemning chant of His brethren, who He loved: "Crucify Him." He was nailed to that cross and forced to suffer that most diabolical form of execution imaginable. In this we see the true Humility of Christ: His submission in the garden, His perspective on the road to Golgotha, and His empathy and love upon rising gloriously on the third day.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gate
of heaven and let us in.
("There Is A Green Hill Far Away", LDS Hymn 194, verse 3)
Remember back to a time when you were in the depths of despair--when the only thing left to do was to get down on your knees and cry to your Heavenly Father to ask for relief. Remember what you felt next. Our Savior fell on His face in the greatest despair anyone could feel, as the burden of all sin and all pain and all despair came upon Him. Luke records, "He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me." How many of us in that moment of despair have cried through spiritual fatigue-caused tears that we could have our burden removed? Have we not all asked for it? But how many of us have then said, as Jesus did, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done?" The submission and acceptance that the Christ showed came as a result of perfect humility and a perfect understanding that God knew what was best, and would bless Him if He was willing to go through what wasnecessary to go through in order to fulfill His will. Once the Savior had said this, we read, "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:41-44). That was what was necessary for Jesus to endure. For us, nothing can compare, except that same Christlike recognition that ultimate submission to the will of the Father will bring us the ultimate blessings of now and eternity. Next time you feel you are in the depths of despair, try to change your attitude from "remove this cup from me," to "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." What an example, also, we see in the fact that the Lord will always give us the strength to overcome. Angels will give us strength, just like the angel that came to Jesus in the lowest point in human history. I testify of the power of humbling ourselves to the point of becoming willing to go through whatever is necessary in order to become our best selves.
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.
(1 Nephi 19:9, The Book of Mormon)
I have often pondered the type of restraint that was required to endure the type of physical suffering the the Jews and the Roman soldiers inflicted upon the Savior on that day. I have never been spat upon. Nobody has ever beaten me or whipped me or degraded me verbally like they did to Him. The people that I have come to love have not turned on me for unjust, selfish reasons, and subsequently called for my execution. How would I react in a situation like Jesus'? I sure as heck would not be able to keep my mouth shut as they did so! For the purposes of my preparation for this piece, in pondering how Our Beloved Savior showed His trait of humility, I came to the deep realization that an important part of humility is perspective. The Jews taunted Him, but He said nothing and did nothing, because what He was doing was far greater and far more important than a witty comeback or a firey rebuke. He was in the process of dying for the sins of the world. He did not need to react. It was that type of perspective that allowed that restraint. It was that perspective that allowed Him to bestow His own forgiveness upon the soldiers who were ignorant of His true identity. It was that perspective that allowed Him to think of His mother while rusty nails were all that supported Him on that hunk of wood. That type of perspective can't come to us unless we have a perfected understanding of what should really matter in our lives. That understanding can only be perfected through humble inquiry to that very Being that went through it Himself. We would do well to remember this moment when persecution comes upon us in any way, shape, or form: sometimes we just need to keep our mouths shut, because it just doesn't matter.
Abide with me; 'tis eventide,
and lone will be the night
if I cannot commune with thee
nor find in thee my light
O Savior, stay this night with me:
Behold, 'tis eventide.
("Abide with Me; 'Tis Eventide" LDS Hymn 165, verse 3)
Through this piece on the humility of Christ, we have seen examples of the specific ways in which He exemplified His perfect humility, and how then we can develop a Christlike humility. He accepted the circumstances of His life and overcame them. He trusted in His Heavenly Father to do that. He sacrificed in life and in death. He had perfect compassion and love for His brothers and sisters. He was perfectly submissive to the will of the Father. He had gained a perfect, eternal perspective of His own role and mission, and could act according to it. He had perfect understanding and empathy of those around Him. Most of all, and through a combination of these specific components, He performed the Atonement, vicariously suffering for the suffering that we would have to go through to pay for our mistakes and sins. That is why He pleads with us, "Repent, lest...your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent" (D&C 19:15-16). It is because of the love He has for us that He says, "Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit and you shall have peace in me. I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will" (D&C 19:23-24). Our Savior knows who He is, and He knows perfectly who we are. He knows that if we have the same type of humility that He has (for He still has it), we cannot falter in our pursuit of becoming perfect, just like He did. If we can accept, overcome, sacrifice, show compassion, submit, realize, and empathize just like He did--and does--(leaning on Him for strength) there will be nothing that will get us down. There will be nothing that will lead us astray. There will be nothing that will keep us from entering the Eternal Fold of the Good Shepherd in the eternal realms of the Celestial Kingdom. It is not easy. But it is possible. How do I know that? Because Jesus did it, and He offers His help so that we can do the same.
But life is hard, isn't it? We so easily fall where Christ did not. It's easy to understand that Jesus was perfectly humble, but what aspects of that humility can we easily pick up on and then apply to our daily devotion? I will touch on just three of the many aspects of Jesus humility--a perfect humility: sacrifice, compassion, and ultimate submissiveness to the Father.
We talked previously about how the King of kings, the Son of the living God was born in a stable, and laid in a trough for a bed. Let's contrast that to something that was recorded by the apostle Matthew in his recounting of the gospel:
A man came to Jesus and boldly stated, "Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest." I'm sure Jesus smiled at this man's faith. I'm sure He was pleased with the man's willingness to follow. But His answer to that statement is a great example of how humility and sacrifice are so powerfully connected. He said, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man hath not where to lay his head" (Matthew 8:19-20), Remembering His birth, the manger became a necessity when "there was no room for [Him] in the inn" (Luke 2:7). Apparently, there was still no room for Him. He was the Son of the Father. He was Jehovah, Yahweh, the God of the Old Testament. He had created the earth. Could He not conjure up some shelter with a nice pillow and a warm blanket? Surely He could--but He did not. Why? Because with humility comes perspective--an Eternal one. What Christ was teaching this man, and what He teaches us is that with humility comes the necessity to sacrifice. He wasn't complaining to this man that He didn't have a set home to live in. He was making the point that if he really wanted to follow, he would have to give up everything. And so it is with us. In order to enjoy the eternal blessings, we must sacrifice some of the temporal possessions that most of the world enjoys: football on Sundays, a fancy car that one gets by utilizing 100% of their earnings, and not just 90%, and so on. We demonstrate humility as we give those things up, for the greater good of promised eternal blessings.
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| Painting by Walter Rane |
One of the more poignant and powerful examples of Christ's overall humility came when He was challenged by a particularly bold group of Pharisees. John recounts how a woman, who was found in the very act of illicit, immoral affairs, was brought violently before the Savior, and challenged of His devotion to Jewish law. His thought-provoking answer of "He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her," caused the group to momentarily disperse. John then records, "He said unto [the woman], Woman...hath no mancondemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more" (John 8:7-11). What is of note is Jesus' perfect example of humility through compassion. The world today completely misunderstands this example and the application of it amongst those of certain groups. Jesus did not say, "I forgive you right this minute, just minutes after you were committing a gross act of infidelity to your husband and to your God." He did not say, "Even though you're a sinner, it's okay." He said, "Neither do I condemn thee. Go and sin no more." Compassion and love do not imply an unconditional acceptance of everyone's actions. What it does imply is a complete, unconditional acceptance of the person. In truth, Jesus has a standard of excellence that is required for us to reach eternal life. Not living up to it in this mortal sphere does not condemn us, nor does it take away from His love for us. Isn't that a lesson to us? If Christ, who was perfect, can love us all unconditionally despite the many ways in which we mess up, shouldn't we love our fellow brethren and sisters unconditionally, also? We are imperfect just like them, after all, though in different ways. What we learn from this: we must be humble enough to realize our imperfection and apply the following truths as a result:
We have no right to judge others. We have no right to think less of anyone because they commit what we judge to be a "greater sin." I hope we can begin to apply that more fully.
After the episode with the woman, the Pharisees for whatever reason felt particularly courageous to contend with Jesus, and the accusations began. As a result, Jesus began to preach clearly and powerfully about His identity as the Messiah. In that very chapter, John records, "Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me; the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him" (John 8:28-29). Of all of the examples of humility that I have studied, this is one of the more powerful declarations of it from the Savior himself. From the statement itself, this may seem like an arrogant one. Spoken by anyone else and it certainly would be. But this is the Savior, after all; He was perfectly aware of His perfection because He was perfectly aware that if He were to slip up, His mission would immediately fail. One of the main and great ways in which Jesus showed humility during His ministry (and a way that we must learn to show as well) was perfect and ultimate submissiveness to the Father's will. For us, it has been asked that we follow the perimeters that Jesus set as our Mediator before the Father in order to do so. Those who have been baptized know what they are. Those who have gone through the temple know even clearer.What we learn is this: true discipleship is being humble after the manner of Christ, or in other words, doing nothing of ourselves, but instead doing all for the good and pleasure of our Father in Heaven. If we are not at that level, we should study our Savior's ministry: He knew exactly how to do just that.
In John 6, we find one of Christ's great sermons about how He would be our means of atonement. He had gained a particularly great following as a result of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000, but this discourse was difficult for them, because it specified their own effort to be performed as key to its success. Many were not willing, and we read. "From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him" (John 6:66). Imagine Jesus' sorrow as He watched His brothers and sisters walk away, offended by His teachings, and unwilling to follow what He knew perfectly well was to be the only means of obtaining eternal joy. He turned then in humility to His twelve apostles, and asked genuinely:
"Will ye not also go away?" (v. 67)
Peter, as would become the norm, stood with confidence and answered boldly with a question and a testimony: "Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal life.And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God" (v. 68-69).
We have seen many recently who have turned away, offended by the policies and stances of Christ's modern Church. These stances have been in direct contradiction to those of the world. That has put many in a tough spot. It was the same with Jesus' disciples during His ministry. As we watch our friends and our spiritual brothers and sisters turn away offended, Christ asks us what He asked His apostles, "Will ye not also go away?"
What is our answer? Will we be true, humble disciples, or will we turn away, offended?
To conclude, let me share a quote by Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, in lieu of our day off on tomorrow as a result of his courage:
"We need to pledge ourselves anew to the cause of Christ. We must capture the Spirit of the early church. Wherever the early Christians went, they made a triumphant witness for Christ. Whether on the village streets or in the city jails, they daringly proclaimed the good news of the gospel." Let us follow suit, and answer as Peter did: "Lord, to whom shall we go?..."
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| Still from LDS Bible Videos |
His Atonement
We have come to the culminating moment of Jesus' mortal life. The moment where He went from being just Our perfect example to being Our perfect Savior. We've reached His life's climax, the moment when the power-hungry members of the Sanhedrin, the Jewish leadership counsel, had decided that this man, Jesus, had gone too far. The plotting had ended, the betrayal had occurred, and their devilish plan had begun to unfold. It was near an olive tree garden called Gethsemane that they found Him, completely exhausted...
It was there that Jesus had taken upon Himself all--our pains, our struggles, our sins. The pain would have killed any other man, but not He who was the only One who could endure it. He was taken, He was spat upon; He was brought before the High Priest and before Pilate; He endured the terrible scourging, and was forced to carry His own cross after hearing the condemning chant of His brethren, who He loved: "Crucify Him." He was nailed to that cross and forced to suffer that most diabolical form of execution imaginable. In this we see the true Humility of Christ: His submission in the garden, His perspective on the road to Golgotha, and His empathy and love upon rising gloriously on the third day.
There was no other good enough
To pay the price of sin.
He only could unlock the gate
of heaven and let us in.
("There Is A Green Hill Far Away", LDS Hymn 194, verse 3)
Remember back to a time when you were in the depths of despair--when the only thing left to do was to get down on your knees and cry to your Heavenly Father to ask for relief. Remember what you felt next. Our Savior fell on His face in the greatest despair anyone could feel, as the burden of all sin and all pain and all despair came upon Him. Luke records, "He was withdrawn from them about a stone's cast, and kneeled down, and prayed saying, Father if thou be willing, remove this cup from me." How many of us in that moment of despair have cried through spiritual fatigue-caused tears that we could have our burden removed? Have we not all asked for it? But how many of us have then said, as Jesus did, "Nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done?" The submission and acceptance that the Christ showed came as a result of perfect humility and a perfect understanding that God knew what was best, and would bless Him if He was willing to go through what wasnecessary to go through in order to fulfill His will. Once the Savior had said this, we read, "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling to the ground" (Luke 22:41-44). That was what was necessary for Jesus to endure. For us, nothing can compare, except that same Christlike recognition that ultimate submission to the will of the Father will bring us the ultimate blessings of now and eternity. Next time you feel you are in the depths of despair, try to change your attitude from "remove this cup from me," to "nevertheless not my will, but thine, be done." What an example, also, we see in the fact that the Lord will always give us the strength to overcome. Angels will give us strength, just like the angel that came to Jesus in the lowest point in human history. I testify of the power of humbling ourselves to the point of becoming willing to go through whatever is necessary in order to become our best selves.
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| Painting by Carl Bloch |
And the world, because of their iniquity, shall judge him to be a thing of naught; wherefore they scourge him, and he suffereth it; and they smite him, and he suffereth it. Yea, they spit upon him, and he suffereth it, because of his loving kindness and his long-suffering towards the children of men.
(1 Nephi 19:9, The Book of Mormon)
Painting by Harry Anderson
I have often pondered the type of restraint that was required to endure the type of physical suffering the the Jews and the Roman soldiers inflicted upon the Savior on that day. I have never been spat upon. Nobody has ever beaten me or whipped me or degraded me verbally like they did to Him. The people that I have come to love have not turned on me for unjust, selfish reasons, and subsequently called for my execution. How would I react in a situation like Jesus'? I sure as heck would not be able to keep my mouth shut as they did so! For the purposes of my preparation for this piece, in pondering how Our Beloved Savior showed His trait of humility, I came to the deep realization that an important part of humility is perspective. The Jews taunted Him, but He said nothing and did nothing, because what He was doing was far greater and far more important than a witty comeback or a firey rebuke. He was in the process of dying for the sins of the world. He did not need to react. It was that type of perspective that allowed that restraint. It was that perspective that allowed Him to bestow His own forgiveness upon the soldiers who were ignorant of His true identity. It was that perspective that allowed Him to think of His mother while rusty nails were all that supported Him on that hunk of wood. That type of perspective can't come to us unless we have a perfected understanding of what should really matter in our lives. That understanding can only be perfected through humble inquiry to that very Being that went through it Himself. We would do well to remember this moment when persecution comes upon us in any way, shape, or form: sometimes we just need to keep our mouths shut, because it just doesn't matter.
Abide with me; 'tis eventide,
and lone will be the night
if I cannot commune with thee
nor find in thee my light
O Savior, stay this night with me:
Behold, 'tis eventide.
("Abide with Me; 'Tis Eventide" LDS Hymn 165, verse 3)
It was Sunday, the third day since the leaders of the Jews had thought themselves victorious. "They" had killed He who had been the oppressor of their fight to hold to tradition. Not too far outside Jerusalem, two disciples walked to a village called Emmaus, talking of the events of the days prior--how the man they had thought would be their Savior and King was dead, but that His body was nowhere to be found on this day. They were down, depressed, and confused. The voice of a fellow traveler came to them, teaching them of the words of the prophets and the prophesies of the Messiah. Uplifted and enlightened, the disciples reached the fork in the road, the road going on to Jerusalem, and Emmaus before them. "And they drew night unto the village, whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further," Luke writes. The humble and perfect empathy of this fellow traveler, who was the Resurrected Christ, shows through. These uplifted yet still tender and ignorant disciples said, "Abide with us." Essentially their petition was, "Please don't go; stay with us, for we still need thy help." And He did stay (Read the full account, in Luke 24:13-35). He stayed because through His mortal life and His suffering to death, the Savior had gained a perfect understanding of what these men and all men and women who were living or who would live on earth were feeling. He knows how He can comfort us accordingly. The question then comes: do we ourselves strive to be empathetic? Do we strive to live our lives trying to be considerate of the feelings and desires of those around us? If we are to become Christlike, we must humble ourselves. C.S. Lewis said, "True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less." Christ in His beautiful and perfect humility had lived His life and died thinking not at all of Himself, but of all of us. Can we not strive in our pursuit of perfection to do the same? I think we would do well to ponder how we can be more empathetic of others' needs as we go about our daily lives.
Painting by Simon Dewey
Through this piece on the humility of Christ, we have seen examples of the specific ways in which He exemplified His perfect humility, and how then we can develop a Christlike humility. He accepted the circumstances of His life and overcame them. He trusted in His Heavenly Father to do that. He sacrificed in life and in death. He had perfect compassion and love for His brothers and sisters. He was perfectly submissive to the will of the Father. He had gained a perfect, eternal perspective of His own role and mission, and could act according to it. He had perfect understanding and empathy of those around Him. Most of all, and through a combination of these specific components, He performed the Atonement, vicariously suffering for the suffering that we would have to go through to pay for our mistakes and sins. That is why He pleads with us, "Repent, lest...your sufferings be sore--how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not. For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent" (D&C 19:15-16). It is because of the love He has for us that He says, "Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit and you shall have peace in me. I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will" (D&C 19:23-24). Our Savior knows who He is, and He knows perfectly who we are. He knows that if we have the same type of humility that He has (for He still has it), we cannot falter in our pursuit of becoming perfect, just like He did. If we can accept, overcome, sacrifice, show compassion, submit, realize, and empathize just like He did--and does--(leaning on Him for strength) there will be nothing that will get us down. There will be nothing that will lead us astray. There will be nothing that will keep us from entering the Eternal Fold of the Good Shepherd in the eternal realms of the Celestial Kingdom. It is not easy. But it is possible. How do I know that? Because Jesus did it, and He offers His help so that we can do the same.
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