Zephaniah 2:3 “Seek the Lord, all you meek of the earth, who have upheld His justice. Seek righteousness, seek humility. It may be that you will be hidden in the day of the Lord’s anger” (NKJV).
There is a great separation upon us that has been prophesied all throughout scripture. All of mankind will choose their place on either side of this separation regardless of colour, denomination, race, age, gender, or creed. This event is so crucial to understand that Jesus warned and admonished using multiple parables to illustrate the two classes of people being separated. Some examples are: the good fish and the bad fish (Matthew 13:47-49), the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30), and the wise and foolish virgins (Matthew 25:1-12) to name a few.
Two main characteristics that are spoken of in the opposing groups are the humility of the righteous and the pride of the unrighteous.
But what does humility have to do with righteousness?
But what does humility have to do with righteousness?
Let’s open up another parable Jesus gave describing Himself as The Shepherd dividing His sheep from among the goats.
Matthew 25:31-32 “When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goat” (NKJV).
Firstly we must approach Scripture with the same Eastern philosophy that the Hebrew writers of the Bible intended for it to be interpreted and understood by.
In this ancient Eastern philosophy, an object is described by its character and function, unlike the Western (English) view that describes an object in relation to its appearance.
Eastern thought:
objects described by their character
Western thought:
objects described by their appearance
Now with this understanding, let’s think about the character and function of sheep and goats. Sheep are meek animals that are known to travel in herds led closely by their leader to whom they show great obedience and esteem.
John 10:27 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me” (NKJV).
Goats, on the other hand, are known to be rebellious, aggressive, independent, and love to wander off by themselves without the guidance of a leader.
Sheep are symbolic of those with the humility to hear and obey their great Shepherd Jesus as He guides, nourishes, and protects them. Goats are the prideful in heart who lean on their own understanding and selfish desires to direct their own path.
Sheep = humility to hear & obey the Shepherd
Goats = prideful & trust their own understanding
Jesus explicitly instructs His disciples to learn from Him and to follow Him and His instructions (the Law).
Matthew 11:29-30 “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (NKJV).
This yoke Jesus is referring to is a long piece of wood tied across the necks of two animals such as oxen, in order to make them walk close together when they are pulling a plough. A younger ox will be yoked to an older, mature ox in order to train the younger ox and prevent it from straying away from the path set before it to plough. This is another beautiful ancient Eastern parable that uses an earthly example to reveal a spiritual truth: God’s desire to teach us and guide us through the narrow path that leads to life (Matthew 7:14).
Without humility we cannot be teachable and therefore cannot be His disciples who are characterised as abiding in His Word.
Without humility we cannot be teachable and therefore cannot be His disciples who are characterised as abiding in His Word.
John 8:31-32 “Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’” (NKJV).
‘Disciple’ is the word ‘mathetes’ in Greek, and the Strong’s dictionary defines it as:
(from math-, the “mental effort needed to think something through”) – properly, a learner; a disciple, a follower of Christ who learns the doctrines of Scripture and the lifestyle they require; someone catechized with proper instruction from the Bible with its necessary follow-through (life-applications).
True disciples not only learn the doctrines of Scripture but also follow the lifestyle application required of them. Let us follow in the steps of our older Ox Jesus Christ who is our true example and perfect embodiment of humility. Jesus increased from childhood growing “in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men” (Luke 2:52 NKJV).
His ultimate act of humility in obedience was shown by His death on the cross.
His ultimate act of humility in obedience was shown by His death on the cross.
Philippians 2:5-8 “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross” (NKJV).
Keywords:
Humility
Humble
Humility Definition
Examples of Humility
Humility in the Bible
Humility Meaning