A Truly Humble Man

Mark 1:6-11

How many truly humble people do you know?  Humility is a virtue that the world today doesn’t promote or admire much.  We’re always urged to think highly of ourselves, to consider our needs first, and “look out for number one”, meaning ourself.  This is not the way the Bible teaches God’s children to be, and in our reading today from the beginning of the Gospel of Mark, we are introduced to a rare example of godly humility in John the Baptist.

John the Baptist was the son of Zechariah, who was a priest in the Temple in Jerusalem.  As a young man he left his comfortable home life and went out into the desert wilderness, living an austere life of prayer, meditation and fasting. As we read in verse 6, John clothed himself in garments made of camel’s hair, girded with a leather belt. These were traditional clothes of someone who lived in the wilderness, sturdy but not fashionable or particularly comfortable. John’s diet was also a severe one, locusts and wild honey, one that could be easily obtained in the wilderness.  He could have continued living a comfortable life as the son of a priest, living in a nice home, wearing nice clothes and eating good and tasty meals.  John, though, knew what ministry God was calling him to, as the forerunner of the Messiah, and gave up all he was accustomed to for Him.

When John the Baptist came out of wilderness to begin his ministry of calling people to repent and turn from their sins, many of the Jewish religious leaders came to him, questioning exactly who he was John answered that he was not the Messiah (John 1:19-28).  He then made a point to say that he was only the forerunner or herald of the Messiah.  As we read in verse 7, he says the One to follow him was mightier, was greater and of infinitely more importance, and that he, John, wasn’t even worthy to loosen the strap of His sandal. That was one of the most menial tasks for the lowest of the slaves, and John said he wasn’t even worthy to do that.  At the time of our reading John the Baptist had a very successful ministry.  Crowds of people were coming to hear him preach and be baptized.  John could have sat back and basked in his popularity.  He could have passed the collection plate and brought in huge sums of money.  He could have said, like so many TV ministers today, that he is important, and to look at the wonderful ministry he has.  Boy, am I someone special!!   John, being a genuinely humble man of God, only pointed to Jesus.  He says not to look at him, he is nothing.  Look to Jesus! He looks to himself as the humblest and least of the Savior’s servants.

Is this the same type of attitude we have, or do we look at ourselves and all that we feel we have accomplished, and think we are someone special?  Do we have a servant attitude and mentality, or do we think that we are the ones who need to be served?  As a son of one of the priests in the Temple, John might have grown up with servants in his household, wearing nice clothes and eating tasty meals.  John the Baptist, though, knew where he stood in relation to the Almighty God, and to the Messiah and Savior.  He may baptize people with water for repentance, but the Messiah, the one everyone should be looking at, will baptize with the power of the Holy Spirit!  As John the Baptist said in John 3:30, “He (Jesus) must increase, but I must decrease”.

When Jesus came to him requesting baptism, John at first balked, knowing that he was not worthy to baptize the Savior of the world (Matthew 3:13-15). Many people would just puff out with pride if someone like Jesus came to them for baptism.  They would feel that their ministry must be something really special if Jesus came to them.  Boy, I must expand my TV ministry even more, get a new stretch limo, and maybe even a private jet!  Trade this camel hair in for some silk suits!

Humility.  This is a virtue that Jesus values in His followers.  If John the Baptist were to come today, many would say that he was certainly eccentric, maybe even a bit crazy, and the religious leaders of his day may have thought so, too.   However, because of John’s deep humility and acknowledging exactly where he stood with God, Jesus gave him great praise, saying “Among them born of women there has not risen one greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11).   Let’s make John’s motto our own as well - He must increase but I must decrease.