Matthew 22:34-40
The Greatest Commandment
34 Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. 35 One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question:
9 To some who were confident of their own righteousness and looked down on everyone else, Jesus told this parable: 10 “Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee stood by himself and prayed: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other people—robbers, evildoers, adulterers—or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’
13 “But the tax collector stood at a distance. He would not even look up to heaven, but beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’
14 “I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God. For all those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted.”
James 4:6
God Opposes the Proud
6 But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.”
Micah 6:8
Walk Humbly with God
8 He has shown you, O mortal, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.
Matthew 20:25-28
Jesus Came to Serve
25 Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. 26 Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever wants to be first must be your slave— 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
John 13:1-17
1 It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2 The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. 3 Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; 4 so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist.5 After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.
6 He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”
7 Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”
8 “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”
9 “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”
10 Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” 11 For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.
12 When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. 13 “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. 14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. 15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. 16 Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. 17 Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.
Jesus sums up all the Books in the Bible that the Prophets wrote, and the Law Books in the Bible by saying, " 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.'...This is the first and greatest commandment...And the second is like it: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'...All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments."...
And in this there is great humbleness...Jesus teaches us that He came to serve...And that it is good that we serve others...Jesus sets the example, and we should do as He has done for us...He humbly washed His Disciples feet...He tells us that no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him...Now that we know these things, you will be blessed if we do them...God's Word tells us to act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with Him...He opposes the proud and shows favor to the humbled...There is this great linkage to acting and being just, being merciful, and being humble...All these things are very much interconnected to love...
When I think about Jesus story of humbleness and the Pharisee and the tax collector, I am not sure the Pharisee realizes he is even exalting himself...Maybe the Pharisee has not thought about it...When I think of the tax collector standing at a distance from the temple and praying to God, I can see a humble man...The tax collector would not even look up to heaven (and he is away from the temple), but he beat his breast and said, ‘God, have mercy on me, a sinner.’...
C. S. Lewis said this about humbleness, "“If anyone would like to acquire humility, I can, I think, tell him the first step...The first step is to realize that one is proud...And a biggish step, too...At least, nothing whatever can be done before it...If you think you are not conceited, it means that you are very conceited indeed.”...
If we want to learn more about love and be closer to God, we need to be humble...