Walk Humbly
John the Baptist stands out to me as one of the most humble men in the entire Bible.
Did he have reason to be proud? Do you remember what Jesus said about him? ‘I tell you, among those born of women there is no one greater than John’ (Luke 7:28).
What was his ministry? John saw himself fulfilling Isaiah 40:3-5. He was ‘a voice crying in the desert.’ He was to ‘prepare the way for the Lord; make straight paths for him …’ (Matthew 3:3). So he was to prepare the way for Jesus’ ministry.
What kept John humble?
(1) he saw his ministry as a preparation for Jesus’ ministry.
After me will come one more powerful than I, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie’ (Mark 1:7). John’s eyes were fixed on Jesus as the awaited Messiah. He cared little for what people thought. Many ministries today claim to only have eyes for Jesus but jostle for position to be on the highest rung of the ladder. John refused to think like that.
(2) he saw the boundaries of his ministry entirely defined by God.
There was a time when Jesus’ followers began to increase and John’s decrease. Many of those following Jesus had been John’s followers. How does John respond? ‘A man can receive only what is given him from heaven’ (John 3:27). In other words: “this is God at work. Who am I to disagree with Him?” Not many Christian leaders today carry this kind of humility. Too many criticise those attracting more people than them. John refused to act like that.
We need men and women today who think and act like John the Baptist – who walk humbly with their God.
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