The Humble Mind - Jesus Knew Who He Was

Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power John 13:3 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/jhn.13.3.NIVUK "Do you know who I am?" These words have often came out of the words of someone who believes themselves to be entitled to special treatment by virtue of their own power or wealth or celebrity, but isn't getting what they believe they deserve. The story may be an urban legend, but it is said that a man decided to try this outside a nightclub door in Glasgow. He was already drunk and had made the mistake of being a bighead in a city that shoots down anyone with a high opinion of themselves. "Yes, I do." the security guard at the door replied. "But do you know who I am?" "No, my man, I do not!" The drunk would-be celebrity replied. "In that place, get lost! You're not getting in!" the security guard shot back. Or words to that effect anyway. We live in one of the most entitled cultures in history. Some of it has merit. There is no doubt at all that there have been people who have been held back for decades by their ethnicity, culture or religion. And that cannot be anything other than wrong. But alongside them we have people who claim their human rights are being breached because they don't have what they call "the good life" without having to work for it first. Or, unfortunately, because they are being asked to inconvenience themselves for a short while for the safety of others. This is not the cry of a human rights activist. No, this is the cry of a spoilt brat. John's explaining of Jesus' mindset before He washed the disciples' feet blows all of this out of the water. He says this about Jesus: Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power. This is truly startling. Why? Because we read this in Philippians 2: Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:9‭-‬11 NIVUK https://bible.com/bible/113/php.2.9-11.NIVUK But Paul says this happened as a result of what Jesus achieved on the cross (Philippians 2:8-11). Jesus washed His disciples' feet before the cross. So what could this mean? These two Scriptures are two different viewpoints of the same truth. Paul in Philippians is emphasising the reward Jesus received in heaven following His obedience. But Jesus already had this position. It was just concealed while He was on earth. Paul is talking about the truth being revealed that Jesus has authority over all. In John, however, the emphasis is different. Jesus is demonstrating humility here because He has authority over all but does not use it to His own advantage (something Paul mentions in Philippians 2:6). Instead, He uses it to serve. This reveals quite a tough truth for us to take in. Jesus took on a menial task because He was secure in His position. He knew who He was. Perhaps the reason why we are less willing is because we do not feel secure in our position. We feel that if we are involved in a menial task then someone might believe it is our rightful place. Our insecurities prevent us from service. In other words, our lack of willingness to serve does not show strength. Instead, it exposes us as being weak. One of the most difficult aspects of coming back from missionary work is the terrible bruise to your ego that is inflicted. There were churches I could go to in Romania where they would approach me at the door and ask "Brother, do you have a word for us?" as I was entering the church. I would soon get a place in the pulpit. This was, of course, because I was a foreign missionary who spoke the language and liked to preach. But nonetheless, it bolstered my ego. Perhaps a little too much. I freely admit that it went to my head. I have a close friend who went on to become the leader of the organisation in Romania. I went back on a visit and the two of us went out to a nearby church. I was asked to bring a short greeting, which, as my ego was a little too inflated by then, was over-long. And had three points. He, however, declined to speak. "I'm just here to feed." he said. He was secure in His position. He didn't need to speak every Sunday to reinforce it. I, however, was not. You can imagine what went on inside of me when I returned home and the invitations to speak quickly dried up. I ended up on the projection team, putting up slides for other people to speak. And it often hurt. The thought that "I could do so much better than this!" would fester inside of me. God was teaching me humility. He was teaching me to learn from others, to receive a blessing from them and to serve them rather than being the man up front. Now I can't say this was an easy lesson to learn. It hurt. And it took a long time to sink in. But it was a lesson I had to learn. There is a core, and uncomfortable, truth behind all this. If we feel like we need to exploit our position and throw our weight around to retain it, then we are not strong. We are, in fact, weak. And our reluctance to step down or aside to help others is a clear indication of this weakness. Our position is strong only when we are willing to step down from our high position to lift others up. Weak people flee from humble service because their fragile position cannot be undermined. Strong people care little for the reputational hit and serve anyway. So are we truly weak or strong? Having seen that Jesus knew who He was, we will now go on to see that HE KNEW WHERE HE CAME FROM.