Lowliness and Humility
Mark 3:13-22 - And He went up on the mountain and called to Him those whom He desired, and they came to Him. And He appointed twelve (whom He also named apostles) so that they might be with Him and He might send them out to preach and have authority to cast out demons. He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter); James the son of Zebedee and John the brother of James (to whom He gave the name Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder); Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.
Then He went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, “He is out of His mind.” And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons He casts out the demons.”
Our Lord suffered greatly at the hands of men well before His trial and crucifixion. The people around Him grievously misunderstood His words, intentions, and showed signs of envy, hatred, and malice despite His love for them. For example:
They thought Him mentally unwell (Mark 3:21)
They said He was possessed by a demon (Mark 3:22; Luke 11:15)
They said He was a servant of Satan (Matthew 12:24)
The people questioned whether He was suicidal (John 8:22)
They called Him a sinner for healing someone (John 9:24)
They insinuated He was a tax evader (Matthew 17:24)
They called Him a drunkard (Luke 7:34)
They called Him a glutton (Matthew 11:19)
They accused Him of being a blasphemer multiple times and wanted to kill Him (John 8:58-59; John 10:30-33)
It must have been heart breaking to be so misunderstood by people time and time again. He only showed goodness towards people, but evil was returned to Him. He forgave sins and then He was cursed for it. He invested His time with those in need of spiritual and physical healing and was accused of being a sinner.
When He slipped away from the noise to find a quite place to pray, did His heart grieve for those who were hurting Him? If He did sorrow, it was not in a selfish way of wanting to be popular, but because He loved them more than they could possibly comprehend.
Isaiah 53:2-3 - For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
We don’t see Jesus attack people for disparaging His character. He often retorted with parables or questions which proved His point and that would infuriate them, but He did not try to win the favor and fame of the people. In fact, we see Christ doing the opposite with regards to popularity. He would tell people to not talk about His miracles (Mark 1:40-44; Mark 5:41-43; Mark 7:35-36). We see that He instructed James, John, and Peter not to mention the transfiguration (Matthew 17:9). We see that He instructed Peter not to share that He was the Son of God yet (Luke 9:20-21).
He was by no means a prideful, arrogant, megalomaniac. There was no beauty or prestige that we would esteem Him. He was not kingly or rich. He did not speak of Himself so that we would think highly of Him. He did not come riding in on a chariot with a band of soldiers. He didn’t wear the finest clothes. He was not to be found in palaces. He did not ride a stallion into the city of Jerusalem. No, He rode a donkey’s colt (Matthew 21:7). He came in gentleness. He came to us humbly. If someone truly wanted to know Him, they would have had to humble themselves. They would have to let go of their own pride and listen to a Man that outwardly did not inspire them to admire Him. They would have to leave their own ego at the door because He would not flatter them. They would have to be willing to leave their own worldly desires behind and submit themselves to His commandments. They would have to humble themselves before the Son of God who came to us in lowliness and humility.
Likewise, we too must humble ourselves before the humble King of glory to seek His mercy and forgiveness.