24. as opposed to false-humility
Posted by:
SeLahGirl on
November 19, 2007 at
12:15PM EST
as opposed to false-humility
(John 2:18-25)
18Then the Jews demanded of him, "What miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all this?"
So here are the Jews, freaking out a little that some nobody would walk
into the Temple and take charge in the name of God, and disrupt the
flow of things that had come to be accepted. So basically they were
yelling at Jesus, "Who do you think you are!" The Temple/church leaders
had not approved of this outburst, they had not condemned the
merchandising that was going on. And they were the voices of authority
second to God. So the Jews were demanding, "you better whip out some
miracle that proves that God has given you permission to do this, or
we're gonna nail you to the wall!"
I don't think they were
really expecting him to perform a miracle. I think it was a bit of
sarcasm because they were so outraged by his barging into the Temple
and acting like he was in charge. They were, however, expecting him to
answer for himself. And so he did...
19Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days."
That was the answer to their question on both counts (though they were
unable to comprehend the Truth of what Christ was saying), "What
miraculous sign can you show us to prove your authority to do all
this?"
1) His resurrection after offering himself (allowing
the destruction of his physical body thru death) as payment for their
sins would be the miracle he would perform. But of coarse, there was no
way to explain that to them in the moment so that they could understand
or accept it. He would have to wait for the right time of fulfillment.
So for now, he endured their scoffing and their assumptions that he was
a blasphemous madman.
2) Offering himself as payment, the
miracle of the incarnation/death/resurrection was the proof and
fulfillment that declared and revealed his authority to do such things.
He was and is God, not second to Him.
20The Jews
replied, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and you
are going to raise it in three days?" 21But the temple he had spoken of
was his body. 22After he was raised from the dead, his disciples
recalled what he had said. Then they believed the Scripture and the
words that Jesus had spoken.
Oh, don't you wish we had
that patience, that ability to be content with stating the Truth
whether people believed/understood us or not. Don't you wish that when
we profess our faith in Jesus to heal or to save or to intervene or to
participate in our joy... that we could remain unaffected by the blank
stares and mocking laughter of the world and of religion?
But here is Christ. Here is God himself setting the example for us. We
must do what the Spirit of God compels us to do, all that the heart of
his word declares, and to remain standing when people (even other
Christians sometimes, even family, even friends) try to shame us or
silence us. The Word of our testimony must go forth. It is that word
combined with the blood of Jesus that ensures that we will overcome
all. Christ overcame it, so that we could follow his example... so that
we could be with him forever and be blessed.
(Eph 6:13-15)
13Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14Stand firm then, with
the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place, 15and with your feet fitted with the readiness
that comes from the gospel of peace.
(Rev 12:10-11)
10Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:
"Now have come the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God,
and the authority of his Christ.
For the accuser of our brothers,
who accuses them before our God day and night,
has been hurled down.
11They overcame him
by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
as to shrink from death.
(John 16:29-33, amplified)
29His disciples said, Ah, now You are speaking plainly to us and not in parables (veiled language and figures of speech)!
30Now we know that You are acquainted with everything and have no need
to be asked questions. Because of this we believe that you [really]
came from God.
31Jesus answered them, Do you now believe? [Do you believe it at last?]
32But take notice, the hour is coming, and it has arrived, when you
will all be dispersed and scattered, every man to his own home, leaving
Me alone. Yet I am not alone, because the Father is with Me.
33I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect]
peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and
distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world. [I have deprived it of power to harm you and have conquered it for you.]
The Jews could not understand what Christ was speaking of. His own
disciples couldn't understand the depth of it all at the start of
Christ's ministry. The revelation of the Truth would only come after
they had walked thru many things with Jesus, but as stated in John 16
above, there came that ah-ha moment when they understood.
We feel so alone sometimes when we think that no one understands us.
Jesus does. He stood in that place of knowing the Truth, knowing that
his heart was following the will of God to the letter, but having to
endure the ridicule -- the looking down their noses of everyone around
him -- the labels put upon him because his words and actions seemed so
removed from the norm and the ritual. Zeal and passion for Christ and
for following hard after his example, will often times put you in that
place. I can never say it enough...
you are not alone.
23Now while he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many people saw
the miraculous signs he was doing and believed in his name. 24But Jesus
would not entrust himself to them, for he knew all men. 25He did not
need man's testimony about man, for he knew what was in a man.
Not here, as they demanded a sign, but later when the heart and motive
was right/pure, Christ performed many miracles and many believed in his
authority because of them. But he was always careful that such things
were performed to glorify God the Father, and God as a whole, never for
a show to move himself to the top of the pack, to the forefront, to the
pinnacle.
It was Satan and the spirit of the world that
moved him to the pinnacle and tried to tempt him to prove himself, to
demonstrate his power, to walk in arrogance elevating self for all to
worship. That was what was in man. That was what Christ was careful not
to do. And that is the example that he left for us in this passage.
humility.
He had the power, but he laid it down. He could have performed a
miracle and showed them who was boss, but he endured their scoffing and
ridicule instead. He could have called a legion of angels to stop the
crucifixion at any given moment, but he committed to it all with zeal
to the end. He had the power to have his own way, but he gave it all up
in Gethsemane -- even before Gethsemane. He emptied his heart of his
own desires as a man, and he yielded himself to the heart of God, his
Father...
for the very ones that stood scoffing and that would later scream, "Crucify Him!"
for the very ones that would choose self and arrogance over love and mercy.
for the Jews in that moment, for the hypocrite, for the sinner, for you and for me.
He emptied himself,
and he asks us to do the same.
To bite our tongue when there is so much we could say to wound an
enemy. To remember kindness when something brilliant pops into our head
that would win an argument. To remain gentle, and always focused on
building people up rather than tearing them down... in every situation.
To be unafraid to walk with zeal and passion as we follow the heart of
God, yet to commit the sting of the pain to him when people don't
understand us or begin to make fun of us. To let anger and violence and
vengeance belong to God, to empty ourselves, and to yield to the heart
and will of God rather than our own wants.
Risking embarrassment when we are sometimes led by God to be loud or violent.
Sacrificing our words/feelings/need for justice when the motive is not purely God.
Can we walk away from the attention of performing a miracle (showing off our talent/gift),
and wait for the right moment to glorify God -- that moment that causes
us to blend in as a member of the team rather than to manipulate the
spotlight so that we can be idolized as the star player.
He emptied himself,
and he asks us to do the same.
