Jesus is God, Yet, in Humility, Walks On from the Rejecting Samaritans
Let’s continue looking at the combination of Jesus’ divinity and His humility! I am combining these two aspects of Jesus because it inspires awe and worship!
In Matthew 23:34 Jesus says something, almost in passing, as He is confronting the Pharisees about the gravest deception and hypocrisy imaginable. The Pharisees are deceiving the people of God at large and Jesus calls them on it. In the middle of this declaration Jesus makes the most interesting statement relative to His true identity:
“Therefore I am sending you prophets and sages and teachers. Some of them you will kill and crucify; others you will flog in your synagogues and pursue from town to town.” Matt 23:34
C. S. Lewis comments on this passage from his paper “What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?” from his book Undeceptions:
“… quite suddenly, almost incidentally, He is claiming to be the power that all through the centuries is sending wise men and leaders into the world.”
Fascinatingly, Jesus reveals that He is the One who has been sending all the prophets and true teachers into the world. He is the One who has been calling and anointing prophets like Abraham, Jeremiah, Isaiah and Isaiah into the world. He is the One who has been sending leaders like Joshua, David and Daniel into the world. In one moment, He claims to be God who sends all the wise men and prophets into the world. It is a staggering claim that He makes almost incidentally.
Combine that with 1 Peter 1:19-20
“For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 20 He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake.”
Jesus existed before He ever became a human baby because He is God. Human beings do not exist before we are born into the world. There was a time and place we were we are created. But Jesus has always existed.
Hold Jesus’ God-hood in mind for a minute. Flip to Luke 9:51-56. Jesus knows that the time of His death is near. He walks through Israel for the last time, as a human being, heading for Jerusalem. He and his disciples pass through a Samaritan village. He sends two disciples ahead to get things ready to stay overnight. The Samaritans reject Him and refuse to extend hospitality to Him because they find out that He is going on to Jerusalem. The Samaritan and Jews have strife between their peoples. James and John are furious about this. In fact, they are so angry they ask Jesus, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?” Jesus sharply corrects them. The footnote in the NIV text for vs 55 & 56 says, “You do now know what kind of spirit you are of, for the Son of Man did not come to destroy men’s lives, but to save them.”
Then the text goes on to say, “… and they went to another village.”
Think about it. Jesus is God. Jesus has always existed. Jesus can turn water to wine, calm a raging storm with a couple words, walk on water and enable Peter to walk on water! Jesus power over nature is so complete that He can command the very fish to gather at the side of Peter’s boat so Peter can catch them. When the soldiers come with Judas to arrest Jesus He says, “I am he” and they all fall to the ground! (John 18:6) Given all that… when the Samaritans are offended with Him and refuse Him the comfort of a fire, food and shelter… He simply moves on. In radical humility He puts his foot on the very ground He created and walks another 2 or 3 miles down to the next village to “ask” for lodging. Unlike James and John, He does not have a meltdown, He does not get angry, He does not retaliate! Think of it. If He wanted to He could release the 12 plagues of Egypt and wipe Samaria off the map!
Jesus uses His power in such different ways than ordinary human leaders do. It is almost hard for us to comprehend His power because it is cloaked in such humility.
Take Away
God Is Just Like Jesus:
Colossians 1:15 says, “He [Jesus] is the image of the invisible God…” Jesus is the perfect visible image of God who is invisible. Jesus humility reveals the Father’s humility. Jesus refusal to get offended by the offense of the Samaritan’s reveals God’s refusal to get offended. Jesus humility to start walking further down the road, tired as He probably was, reveals God’s humility. It is amazing to know the “kind of person” that Jesus is.
1st Commandment Prayer:
Jesus, You are the One who has sent all the prophets and leaders into the world. You have been involved with human history from the beginning. In fact, you have existed before the world was even made! Combining all that with how humble you are stretches my heart in strange ways and inspires me to worship You! You are epic! You are amazing and really worthy of praise and honor!