Matthew 2:13-23
Suggested further reading: Philippians 2:1-8
Jesus was “a man of sorrows”, even in infancy because trouble begins for Him as soon as He is born. Herod seeks to kill him, and His father is obliged to take Him away by night and flee to safety. This was a sign of what awaited Him throughout His entire life.
Our Lord is the kind of Savior that all who live in pain need. He knows well what we mean when we tell Him in prayer of our troubles. He can sympathize with us when we cry to Him under cruel injustice. Because we can tell Him everything, we can pour out our pains and sorrows, and troubles to Him. He has the understanding that experience alone can give.
Further He teaches us humility by where He lived His early life. Nazareth was a small town in Galilee. It was so obscure a place that it is not mentioned even once in the Old Testament. Kings are born in palaces, not in Hicksville. This is just one of many instances of His humility.
Our Lord lived in small-town Nazareth from early childhood until He was about thirty years old. We know little of His life during this time except that almost five-sixths of His life on earth was lived among the poor of this world and in complete obscurity—another example of His humility.
We must learn from His example. We have lots of ambition, but not to be humble. Instead, we seek status and security in a world that is passing away and very insecure. In His eyes, it is no sin to be poor. He is not impressed with human pomp, power, and position. Humility, the rarest and most beautiful of graces, is what He looks for and rewards because that is the virtue He had and lived.
Lanny Tanton is the Pastor at The Bible Church of the Lakes in Horseshoe Bay, Texas – just outside of Marble Falls. Pastor Tanton welcomes you to our website and hopes that you’ll enjoy reading these insightful blog posts. Please contact us if you have further questions!!
