[H]e humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
(Philippians 2:8)
One of the teachers of religious law was standing there listening to the debate. He realized that Jesus had answered well, so he asked, “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”
Jesus replied, “The most important commandment is this: ‘Listen, O Israel! The LORD our God is the one and only LORD. And you must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength.’ The second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ No other commandment is greater than these.”
The teacher of religious law replied, “Well said, Teacher. You have spoken the truth by saying that there is only one God and no other. And I know it is important to love him with all my heart and all my understanding and all my strength, and to love my neighbor as myself. This is more important than to offer all of the burnt offerings and sacrifices required in the law.”
Realizing how much the man understood, Jesus said to him, “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” And after that, no one dared to ask him any more questions. (Mark 12:28–34 NLT)
The last few weeks, we’ve been painting a “picture of the Son of God as a humble servant – a servant king” as we’ve walked through multiple verses from Philippians. This week, we are focusing on Jesus’s humility. In this verse, the Greek word for “humbled” is associated with “one who stoops to the condition of a servant,” clearly connecting this verse to our overall theme.
I’m challenged by our continual callback during Lent to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as a Servant King. Paul is not simply writing this passage as a character study on who the Son of God is. Instead, we must allow these words to form and shape us and then seek to put them into practice. That being the case, in following the way of Jesus, how can we humble ourselves and become obedient like a servant is?
These questions bring to mind one of Jesus’s famous teachings on The Great Commandment, part of today’s Scripture reading:
A few things stand out to me about these verses. The greatest and most important thing we’re called to do as Jesus’s disciples is to follow and love him with our whole selves – our desires, our thoughts, and our actions. As we aim for this, the transformation in our souls should lead to a different way of being with and loving others – a self-sacrificing, servant-hearted love.
May I propose that this servant-hearted love for others is one way we can humble ourselves and become obedient? It’s unlikely we’ll find ourselves facing a literal cross in our lifetime – but these two action steps can help us follow in Jesus’s footsteps and are lived out in the call to love our neighbors as ourselves.
Loving others in this way – valuing them as much as we value our own well-being – isn’t something we can do out of our own strength. Rather, as we become more like Jesus, little by little and day by day, we will more easily “stoop to the condition of a servant” – placing the will of the Master above our own and loving those around us no matter the cost.
I’m reminded of the sending prayer our church prays together each Sunday before departing:
Father, may our hearts, souls, minds, and strengths prioritize being in your presence. May the selfless way we love others be a small taste for them of your love for all of us. May the way we live our lives reflect your incredible gift of humble obedience.
Carissa Steinhart is Stu Streeter’s executive assistant and worships at Disciples Church in Medina, Ohio.