This lesson was taught during the Sunday school hour by J.C. Van't Land as part of the series Tough Teachings of Jesus. The audio for the lesson can be found here. I. Intro. Tough Teachings of Jesus for the Proud. a. Today, we continue the Sunday School series on tough teachings from Jesus. b. As Andrew talked about 2 weeks ago, we all seek comfort in life. We all seek comfort in religion. This is not a bad thing. c. To go over the Heidelberg Catechism (our sister catechism from the Dutch Reformed tradition) Question 1 asks: "What is your only comfort in life and in death? That I am not my own, but belong with body and soul, both in life and in death, to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ." d. We seek comfort, and there is great comfort in Christ. But there is only comfort in the true Christ, the true Son of God. And if we want comfort in Him, we must have all of Him, including His difficult teachings. e. Two weeks ago, Andrew taught us about Jesus' teachings to those that say "Lord, Lord" and that not everyone that claims to know God actually knows Him. Today, we are going to dive into difficult lessons about pride. f. Really, all of Jesus' teachings point to the proud. Because everybody is proud in some capacity. We all think that we are better than we really are. We all think that we contribute to our salvation in some capacity. We all think that we are better than someone else, even if it's only one other person. To some extent, I think that many of us think that God will grade on the curve, so as long as we are better than one other person, we're good enough to make it into Heaven. g. So, we all have something to learn from what Jesus teaches, as uncomfortable as it might be. Let's turn now to Jesus' command. II. The Command of Jesus. a. Jesus commands us to not be prideful and instead to be humble. We're going to look at passages in Luke 14 and Luke 18 to see what He says and to see what pride versus humility looks like and we'll see what each of these reap. b. Luke 14:7-11 "So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: 'When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, 'Give place to this man,' and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, 'Friend, go up higher.' Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." c. This all takes place during a dinner at the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees. He was eating with the religious elite. Jesus saw how the Pharisees chose their seats; probably all vying for the seat closest to the host or the guy at the head of the table, because he was the most powerful. And He knows that it is their pride that pushes them to sit there. They wanted to be thought well of by the other guests, and they want to "get in" with the host, or assumedly, the leader of the group. On top of their desires to be thought well of, each of these men probably already thought quite highly of himself. No one who is ashamed of himself would attempt to sit in a place of power. Only someone who loves himself or thinks he is wonderful does that. d. We all do this to some extent, don't we? We butter up to people in power. We neglect our friends and family when it's beneficial to us socially. In high school we don't talk to the outcast in the hallway for fear that the popular boy or girl might see you with that person and associate you with the lowly. e. But, in the passage, what do we see happens to these people? They were humiliated by being removed from their high place. f. Think of Sunday lunch after the worship service. It's an honor to be called to the front of the line when you're a guest or a host. But what if someone tried to get to the front of the line themselves, sneak in front of the visitors. If Tito caught them and sent them to the back of the line, that would be humiliating! They would walk to the back of the line in shame, past everyone else, knowing that they had been made to look like a fool instead of looking great like they had intended. g. This passage gets to the heart of those who are prideful in relation to other people. Those who think highly of themselves. Those who think they are better than other people. And who are the people who think most highly of themselves? Well, everyone! We are all the most prideful. So, I think we all have something to learn from Jesus' teaching. h. The passage continues in verses 12-14, "Then He also said to him who invited Him, "When you give a dinner or a supper, do not ask your friends, your brothers, your relatives, nor rich neighbors, lest they also invite you back, and you be repaid. But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind. And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just." i. In the first part of the passage, Jesus talks to the guests who think they deserve a noble seat, and in the second portion, He turns to the host of the dinner, the guy who spent time with certain people in order to climb the rungs of the social ladder, and Jesus points out where He has gone wrong. i. The host of the dinner, a ruler of the Pharisees, had invited other Pharisees and religious rulers to his house. ii. He's not saying that it's wrong to invite your friends to events or to your house. What He is saying is that we should not spend time solely with those people who will boost us up the social ladder or with people who can repay us. We shouldn't use our "friends" for our benefit. iii. Why do we invite those of high stature? Why do we want to surround ourselves with important people while distancing ourselves from sinners and the like? Several reasons: 1. Because we think highly of ourselves and think we deserve to have important friends. 2. Because we want to be counted among the important people. 3. Because we think that we are better than to spend time with people that are "less" than us. We think that our time and resources are too valuable to be wasted on a sinner, on a "nobody." iv. Jesus is the most important man that has ever lived. And He surrounded Himself with the outcasts of society, the prostitutes, the tax collectors, and the like. We'll discuss this more later, but Jesus did exactly opposite of what the religious leader did. Shouldn't the religious leader be imitating Jesus? Using his status as a leader to bless others instead of advancing his own career and reputation? j. What we see in Luke 14 is a rebuke of the prideful and a statement that he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. This passage shows us what pride in relation to other people looks like. It reaps humiliation. k. A few chapters later in Luke 18 we see a parallel story, this one looking more at pride in relation to God. Jesus tells a parable about someone who exalts himself and someone who humbles himself and what happens to each of these men: "Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others; 'Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank you that I am not like other men—extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.' And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God, be merciful to me a sinner!' I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." l. The same thing happens in both of these stories, in Luke 14 and Luke 18. The person who thought highly of himself ended up being ashamed and the person who thought lowly of himself ended up being exalted. m. So, if we peel back all of the layers, what is at the heart of pride-both pride in relation to man and pride in relation to God? Trusting in oneself. Thinking that you are better than you are. Thinking that you deserve to have a seat of honor. Thinking that you have saved yourself. n. Why is this teaching so the proud difficult? Why is it difficult for a proud person to hear this teaching and obey? i. Because the proud person by definition doesn't want to learn what they don't agree with. He doesn't want to hear anything that will challenge his beliefs because he knows that he is right and he fears being wrong. ii. Why are news networks like FoxNews and CNN so popular? Because you can listen to the news from a biased point of view that mirrors your beliefs and viewpoint. Both news networks report the news in a manner that belittles the other side. I am guilty of this, of only reading certain news articles that I know will confirm my bias. I don't want to hear from differing views because I know that I am right and I don't want to be challenged. I don't want to even entertain the possibility that there could be an alternate point of view or an alternate/more truthful sequence of events. iii. Humility is a difficult pill to swallow, especially for a self-righteous individual. o. We must heed Jesus' warning that he who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. So, if you are a prideful person (and we all are to some extent) you must listen to Him, even though it goes against every ounce of flesh that is in you. Everything in you wants to listen to yourself and confirm yourself. But, we must listen and obey. III. Who that Applies to. Who Needs to Listen and Obey This Command? a. What are some characteristics of a proud person? Well, pride manifests itself in many different ways. This is not an all-inclusive list. Some of these ways are: i. False humility. "Oh, I'm really not a good cook." Just fishing for a compliment. This statement just begs for someone to praise you. ii. Not asking for help. Thinking that you are good enough and can do it all yourself. iii. Not delegating authority (I'm very guilty of this)-Shows that you think only you can do something well enough. iv. Speaking highly of oneself. Or just talking about yourself all the time. Who knows someone that only ever talks about themselves? They're not fun to be around, because everything relates back to them. v. Thinking highly of oneself. Or just thinking about yourself a lot. vi. Anger in response to criticism. This shows that you know that you're right and no one else's opinion should be allowed to change you. vii. Making fun of others/speaking ill of others/Gossiping. This shows you think more highly of yourself than others. You're putting other people down in order to prop yourself up, whether in your mind or in an effort to influence others' opinions. viii. Things are always somebody else's fault. ix. Holding a grudge. This shows that you don't think that person is worthy of your forgiveness. x. Not listening to others' opinions. You think only your view is right and no one else can be right. xi. Not listening to or seeking counsel or advice. xii. Only hanging out with certain people, the clique. b. I think we are all guilty of at least one of the things on this list! c. At the root of pride is a trust in oneself for salvation, just like the Pharisee in Luke 18. He puts down the publican, but the reason he does that is to show that he is more righteous than the other man, showing that he is good enough for salvation and the other person is not. i. If you've been going to this church or a reformed church for any amount of time, you know that our works have absolutely no bearing on whether or not God saves us. We know that we can do nothing to save ourselves. Hopefully this has been taught to each of us ever since we came to know the Lord. ii. What is the first point in the "Five Points of Calvinism" or T.U.L.I.P.? Total Depravity, or Total Inability or Original Sin. Left to our own devices, we remain dead in sin. What is a dead person able to do? Nothing. Zilch. Nada. He cannot breath, he cannot reach to God. He can't even raise His hand if God asks who wants to be saved. He can do nothing. The only reason that we have life is because God breathed life into us. We can claim no responsibility in this action, contrary to the Pharisee's actions in Luke 18. iii. Notice in the Pharisee's 2-sentence prayer, he says the word "I" 5 times! I, I, I. Look at everything that I have done. He talks in such a way that he makes it sound like it is in God's best interest to forgive Him; that God would be a fool to pass up such a great opportunity. iv. As Paul writes to the Romans quoting Psalm 14: "There is none who does good, no, not one." Nobody can do good save Christ. No, not one. d. In both of these passages, what happens to the proud person? To the person to gave himself the seat of honor. To the host who only invited his friends. To the Pharisee who relied on His own good works to save him? What are the consequences of pride? Humiliation. IV. Dangers and Consequences of Being Prideful a. Just like Andrew taught 2 weeks ago, not everyone who says "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven. Having an appearance of spirituality does not give you a ticket into heaven. This is the same as being proud or self-righteous. b. The Pharisee in Jesus' parable in Luke 18 thought that he was hot stuff. He claimed to have kept the whole law in its entirety. This was typical of the Pharisees. They very strictly followed the law and then some. They added to the law and created traditions just to make sure they didn't come close to breaking the law, and then those laws became their ultimate law that they used to judge. In doing this, they missed the point of the law, which is to show us our sin and make us reliant on Christ as Savior. c. If we do claim to be involved in the works of salvation then we are really just subjecting ourselves to the Law again, and we know from James 2 that he who upholds the whole law but fails at just one point is guilty of all of it. When Jesus is approached by the rich young ruler, he tells the man to keep the law. The man responds by saying that he has kept all of the law since he was a kid. But, Jesus pointed out to him that he broke the first commandment because money was his god. He didn't even make it to the second commandment! Essentially, even if we think that we are keeping every rule, we will break one of the laws. No one is perfect, no not one. d. So, pride is just a false sense of hope. We can make all the rules in the world, and we'll never be able to keep them. We can always find an excuse or a work-around. When we sin, our minds tend to work like a tax lawyer. There is always a loophole to our laws. We can justify almost any sin in an effort to ease our conscience. e. But, what self-centeredness and pride and self-reliance does, is blind us to our true condition before God. We must know our sin and know that we are sinners in order to confess that sin and have God forgive us. f. Jesus says in Luke 5 that "I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." If you don't know that you're a sinner, if you don't admit that you're a sinner, then you are part of the "righteous" that Jesus did not come to call. He's saying that if you think you can do it alone, then go for it. He did not come to save you. g. Which is better, to have a false sense of hope leading to a worry-free life and eventually to an eternity in hell, or live a life like the publican, fully realizing the weight of our sin and knowing that we can do nothing apart from Christ to get rid of it? The publican did not care what other people thought of him. He knew he was a sinner. He knew that God knew that he was a sinner. We cannot pull the wool over God's eyes. He knows our hearts better than we do. That is a terrifying thought that should drive us to our knees in repentance, making us turn from our ways and rely on Him whole-heartedly! If we really look into our hearts, and see the kind of iniquity that we are bathed in, we should realize that we can do nothing apart from looking unto Jesus. h. Do not lie to yourself. Do not tell yourself that you are the best thing since sliced bread (Pastor Tito, do you have a copyright on that phrase?). i. The only thing that pride will bring us is humiliation and death. Just like those guests who chose the seat of honor and then had to walk past all of the guests with their heads hanging low. j. Instead, we must humble ourselves, think lowly of ourselves, see our true situation for what it is, and only by doing that will we ultimately be exalted. That exaltation will not come in this life-it will not come until that last day when all of the saints are raised with Christ. And what a glorious day that will be! k. Do not think that you can be thought of well by men now and then just repent later on down the road. Getting the best of both worlds. Recall the rich man and Lazarus. When the rich man is in Hades, he sees Lazarus (who was poor on this earth) rejoicing in heaven and he begs to join him. What does Abraham tell him? "Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, and likewise Lazarus evil things; but now he is comforted and you are tormented." l. Do not wait until it is too late. Repent of sin early and often. V. How do we fulfill the Command? a. So, how do we fulfill this command? How do we beat our pride? Humility. Be humble. Sounds simple, doesn't it? b. Our natural tendency is to promote ourselves because we want others to think well of us. Yet God wants us to take our eyes off ourselves and to look to Him. If we will act humbly, God will work powerfully through us. He who exalts himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted. c. A couple ways to be humble: i. In relation to man: Stop thinking about yourself so much, thinking that man thinks highly of you. I can almost guarantee that other people think about you much less than you think that they think about you. This is something that I have to constantly remind myself as I tend to be a people-pleaser. ii. In relation to man: Think about how other people need help. Try to see things from their perspective. If the Pharisees in Luke 14 had thought about the other guests at the dinner and had realized that they could give the best seats to them, they would not have been humiliated when Jesus called them out. So, look for ways to boost other people up, encourage them, rather than seeking the best for yourself. iii. In relation to man: Forgive other people easily and often. Forgiveness and humility go hand in hand. For me to forgive someone means that I actually give them something of myself. I forfeit the right to require payment for the wrong done to me. This can be an incredibly humbling experience. Remember, one of the marks of a proud person is that they hold a grudge and this shows that they don't think the other person is worthy of their forgiveness. Remember that we have offended God way more than anybody can every offend us. The worst thing that anyone can ever do to you is to kill you, and that still doesn't compare to us breaking God's law and profaning His holy name. We have no right to withhold forgiveness. iv. In relation to man: Ask for help. Ask for advice. Know that you do not have all of the wisdom in the world. Delegate. Let your kid help you with tasks, knowing that it might take 3 times longer. v. In relation to God: Repent of your sin quickly and genuinely. This really puts your life into perspective, coming before the Holy and true God to tell Him that you have disobeyed Him. It is a humbling experience. vi. In relation to God: Thank Him continually for His love for you and for saving you. This helps reinforce the concept that it is only by His work alone that we are saved. vii. In relation to God: Pray and ask that He would break your heart for what breaks His heart. Just like the publican knew what was evil and offensive to God. He came with nothing to offer except for a prayer. d. Being humble does not mean moping around thinking that you are worthless. We all have great value because we are made in the image of the Creator of the Universe. But, we must think less of ourselves and more of Christ and others. John 3:30 "He must increase, but I must decrease." VI. Christ Has Gone Before Us. a. This might sound like a daunting task, and it is. Keeping God's law and fulfilling His commands is a great and difficult endeavor, however, we can rejoice! Because, just as every other area of life, where we have failed, Christ has met us in our failure and succeeded on our behalf. b. We are not alone in our fight against pride. c. Jesus never commands us to do something that He hasn't done and isn't capable of doing. This is one mark of a truly exceptional leader. A great leader is someone who won't make his subordinates do anything that he wouldn't be willing to do himself. And Christ has done that. d. Hebrews 4:15 states "For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin." e. No one has humbled themselves more than Christ did. And He did it for our sake. So that we might be counted as righteous. f. The Westminster Larger Catechism does a much better job teaching than I do, so we're going to look at several questions and answers that show us how Christ humiliated and humbled Himself and what the result was. i. Q 46: What was the estate of Christ's humiliation? A 46: The estate of Christ's humiliation was that low condition, wherein he, for our sakes, emptying himself of his glory, took upon him the form of a servant, in his conception and birth, life, death, and after his death, until his resurrection. 1. I can think of few things more difficult than leaving the comforts of communion with the Father and Holy Spirit and becoming like a man, living among sinners. The only things that I can think of that would be more difficult than this are other acts that Jesus did (ie-bearing the entire weight of the Church's sin.) Can you imagine this? Leaving your perfect life in Heaven to dwell among sinners. Talk about humbling. Question 47 discusses this: ii. Q47: How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth? A47: Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth, in that, being from all eternity the Son of God, in the bosom of the Father, he was pleased in the fullness of time to become the son of man, made of a woman of low estate, and to be born of her, with divers circumstances of more than ordinary abasement. 1. When He became fully man, he wasn't even the best looking or the strongest! He was ordinary and unpleasant to look at. iii. The Catechism continues in Q48: How did Christ humble himself in his life? A48: Christ humbled himself in his life, by subjecting himself to the law, which he perfectly fulfilled, and by conflicting with the indignities of the world, temptations of Satan, and infirmities in his flesh, whether common to the nature of man or particularly accompanying that his low condition. 1. There are multiple accounts in the 4 Gospels of the disciples arguing and bickering about who is the greatest. Each time, Jesus tells them that they are not here to be served but to serve. And He uses Himself as an example. He humbled himself by serving others! This should be evident in our lives as well. iv. And Q49: How did Christ humble himself in his death? A49: Christ humbled himself in his death, in that having been betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented by his persecutors; having also conflicted with the terrors of death and the powers of darkness, felt and borne the weight of God's wrath; he laid down his life an offering for sin, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death of the cross. 1. Dying on a cross must have been one of the most humbling and humiliating ways to die. Hanging naked on a piece of wood, completely helpless, next to the road for all to see you. v. Q50 finishes the example of Christ humiliation: Wherein consisted Christ's humiliation after his death? A50: Christ's humiliation after his death, consisted in his being buried; and continuing in the state of the dead and under the power of death till the third day, which hath been otherwise expressed in these words; He descended into hell. 1. Cut off from the Father. Tormented by the Devil. If this isn't humbling, then I don't know what is. This if far from the head of the table. vi. Don't get discouraged! This is not where the Catechism ends and this is not where Christ stays! vii. Q51 asks: What was the estate of Christ's exaltation? A51: The estate of Christ's exaltation comprehendeth his resurrection, ascension, sitting at the right hand of the Father, and his coming again to judge the world. 1. The whole reason we had a holiday last weekend is because Christ did not stay dead! Just like Jesus taught, exaltation comes after self-humbling. Because Christ endured those humiliations, He now sits at the right hand of the Creator of the Universe! The best and most noble place to sit. 2. As Q54 asks: How is Christ exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God? A54: Christ is exalted in his sitting at the right hand of God, in that as God-man he is advanced to the highest favor with God the Father, with all fullness of joy, glory, and power over all things in heaven and earth; and doth gather and defend his Church, and subdue their enemies; furnisheth his ministers and people with gifts and graces, and maketh intercession for them. viii. Christ's life did not end with humiliation. After humiliation came exaltation. ix. Joseph's life could be considered a parallel to Christ's. He was humiliated by being sold by his own brothers. He began to gain responsibility in Egypt, only to be thrown into prison after a false accusation. He endured that hardship and remained faithful to the Lord. And what happened next? He was exalted and placed over all of Egypt, greater and more powerful than everyone except for Pharaoh himself.
g. What Christ taught was true. We must learn from His teaching and abide by His word. He who exalts himself (is prideful) will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted.
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