Zechariah 9:9
Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout in triumph, O daughter of
Jerusalem! Behold, you king is coming to you; He is just and endowed
with salvation, Humble, and mounted on a donkey, even on a colt, the foal
of a donkey.
NASB
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost, amen.
A humble king? Can it be true? Is it even proper? Kings of all people
have the right to be proud, they are top dog. They are waited on hand
and foot. They answer to no one. Shouldn't they be proud?
It is interesting that the very first sin--not the first sin of man, but
the very first sin, was pride. We read in 1 Timothy 3:6 "He must not be
a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same
judgment as the devil." Pride is a word we never see God use of Himself.
He never even says, "I am proud of the work of my hands." Rather, the
Lord condemns pride and praises humility. Moses was praised as being the
most humble man who ever lived. On the other hand, the Lord repeatedly
says that He opposes the proud. The only way that pride is used in a
good way is when we, or God, takes pride in someone else, and that seems
to be exclusively in Christ. For this reason some people today argue
that we should have "Christ Esteem," and not Self Esteem. What they are
saying is that our worth comes from Christ, and not from ourselves. (If
you search in English you will find pride used in a good way in the New
Testament, but that is because there are several different words that are
translated as "Pride" in English. Greek has some different shades of
meaning that we don't have in English. The idea of an inflated self
worth is always an evil thing in Holy Scripture.)
To further this thought we should look at our Savior. He always spoke
and acted in a humble manner. He said He came to serve, and not to be
served. He washed the feet of His disciples. What about us? Are we so
humble? Do we look to what is good for other people? Or are we more
concerned about what effect things will have on us? Or, are we so humble
that we take pride in our humility? We are in the "I, Me" era. The
advertising slogans confirm it--"Have it your way," and "You deserve a
break today," just to mention a couple. We worry more about our spouse
bringing us a cup of coffee than our bringing a cup to him or her. We
expect our parents to provide for us, but we are so slow to lift a finger
to help around the house.
Thank God our Savior was not like that. This is very important for us,
because we are incapable of pleasing God. If God were proud, we would be
damned. Rather our Lord became our servant. Pride is Satanic, humility
is divine. The only proper pride we can have is pride in Christ our
Savior who humbled Himself and became obedient even to death on a cross.
He who is exalted humbled Himself so that we who are humble are exalted.
What a strange and wonderful mind our God has!
Tomorrow we begin to trace our Savior's path to the cross. As you watch
Him walk that path, remember His humility. Remember too that our Humble
Savior is the one to whom we cry, "Judge me O God and plead my cause
against an ungodly nation." Because of His humility, He forgives our
sins of pride.
Prayer:
Dear heavenly Father, you are the God of glory, you are the One Who is
worthy of honor and glory and praise. Yet, in so many ways we steal your
glory for ourselves, even when we think that there is something in us
that can will to follow you. Forgive our foolish pride and give us your
Holy Spirit--the Spirit of humility, so that we may give all glory to
you. We ask this in our Savior's name, who was not too proud to become
man and live among us so that we could be your dear children. Amen.
The next devotion is scheduled for Monday. May the Lord bless you
participation in the Divine Service tomorrow!