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Articles
No, not One!
“There’s not a friend like the lowly Jesus,” is the opening stanza of a favorite hymn that is sung by Christians extolling Christ. We understand that no man is like Him and He is truly the greatest to have ever lived. But Jesus is more than just a man or friend; He is the Savior of mankind. Jesus left the glories of heaven to come in the form of a bond-servant to save man from their sins (Philippians 2:5-11). We forget that our love for Him is because He first loved us (1 John 4:10). The character and life of Jesus Christ motivates the Christian to a higher level of service to God. Through His manifestation of heavenly powers over all earthly ailments, He gives peace to the Christian troubled by his circumstances, because Jesus is still in control of it all. His humility and unselfishness are characteristics all but lost in a world of self-preservation. We would do well to remember and acknowledge the One whom we serve, because there is none like my Jesus, “No, not One!”
When a person thinks about Jesus, it is easily assumed that His unselfishness, or humility is not the first thing that comes to mind, but in the hymn this is where our thoughts begin. We want to think about Jesus walking on water or healing the sick, but the greatest impact of His life is found in His humility. As Paul said, “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests (emphasis mine - bcj), but also for the interests of others” (Philippians 2:3-4). Jesus’ humility goes beyond simply looking out for His own physical family or even the good of His disciples. The impact of Jesus’ humility not only changed their lives, but also the lives of everyone who will ever live. Even while being the Son of God and holding immeasurable power, He chose the greatest importance - submission to His Father’s will. He demonstrated throughout His ministry that His life on earth was not given over to selfish desires, but strictly to observing and fulfilling God’s will (Luke 2:49; John 5:30). The very fulfillment of the Old Law was a fulfillment of His Father’s will (Matthew 5:18).
One of the greatest depictions of humility ever recorded is found in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-46). He was grieved over the coming days’ torment, scourging, and His eventual death. Jesus understood that death on the cross would be the end to His ministry, but in His final hours this did not diminish the anguish He endured. Jesus did not shy away from fulfilling His Father’s will, - “not as I will, but as You will.” Jesus in every moment of His life chose to suppress any wanton desire so that His complete devotion to the Father was ensured.
There is no one like my Jesus in power. Jesus walked the earth as God incarnate and proved time after time the power of the Son of God (John 1:1-3). In a moment of compassion, He looked out over a multitude, and with two fishes and five loaves He fed 5,000 men, not including the women and children (Matthew 14:13-21). His power existed beyond the quantity of food, but was also found in the healing of hundreds of people with various diseases and ailments (Matthew 8:16; Mark 1:33-34). When John the Baptist’s disciples came to ask, “Are you Expected One?” (Matthew 11:3), Jesus gave the signs necessary to show that He was indeed the fulfillment of the prophesied Highway to Holiness (Isaiah 35:5-8). What impact this must have had upon the John. When his disciples returned and proclaimed that Jesus was indeed the Son of the living God and the Messiah.
Another great manifestations of His power was Jesus’ ability to forgive sins. The healing of the paralyzed man and the forgiveness of his sins were a shock to the scribes, but the power of Christ is never more evident than when sins are washed away (Mark 2:5-9). His ability to forgive was not used to condone sinfulness, but He told those that were healed or forgiven to sin no more (John 5:14, 8:11). This again speaks volumes to the dramatic change that occurred in people’s lives after meeting Jesus. Not only were their ailments taken away, but more importantly their lives were renewed to faithful service to God’s will. We read that men did not want to admit Jesus as the Son of God, that He was nothing more than the carpenter’s son, but the evidence overwhelmingly confirms that Jesus is the One (Mark 6:3). The power that was displayed through Him gave proof that He was more than just a common man, but indeed the superior Christ (Hebrews 2:1-4).
The motivation of Jesus’ humility and power is that all of these things were done so that you and I could be saved. Jesus humbly accepted death on the cross, bearing the shame and curse, because He loved us and desired for us to be His brethren (Galatians 3:13; Hebrews 12:2). There is no one like the lowly Jesus. He gave everything so that we could be saved from our sins and no longer live selfishly for ourselves, but for Him (2 Corinthians 5:15). Our lives ought to be dedicated to the fulfilling of God’s will. We have nothing without the power and humility of Christ, and because He died we now can experience true living (Colossians 3:3-4). We must become the servants of righteousness, to which we have been called, and live every day shining God’s light through our lives (Romans 6:18; 2 Thessalonians 2:14; Matthew 5:14).
