Lowly and Humbly
February 13
Yesterday, we touched on Jesus looking back to Isaiah’s description of the coming Messiah, a prophecy written seven hundred years before His birth. He does the same in today’s Bible reading in Matthew 11:2.
John was confused, possibly doubting. His relative, Jesus, had been ministering for some time now, and John had told his audiences Jesus was the Lamb of God Who would take away the sin of the world. (John 1:29) Now, however, things didn’t look quite like he’d expected. Had he missed it entirely on Jesus’ identity?
As we read the Gospels, we find that Jesus’ disciples also experienced doubt and confusion. Often, these sprang from their own hearts, their expectation or desire for something else—something bigger, flashier.
But Jesus held no interest in big and flashy. He wanted spiritual depth. He wanted people to see God for He truly was—not as they wished Him to be. We will see in Jesus’ parables that the Kingdom of Heaven seldom looks like what we’d expect. The Kingdom of Heaven operates by a different set of rules.[1]
Matthew concludes this chapter with some of the Bible’s most comforting words, as Jesus says:
“Come to me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, because I am lowly and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28–30 (CSB)
Rather than a conquering King overthrowing Roman oppression of the Jewish people, Jesus came as a low and humble servant. That is, He came lowly and humbly in His first coming, but will come a second time as the conquering King. He will reestablish God’s order and create a new heaven and earth. He will redeem the world from its crushing bondage under the current reign of sin.
Application
I don’t know about you, but I’ve never met a world leader. In fact, I’ve never met anyone with more political influence than a state governor or a U.S. congressman. Many of us are impressed by influencers and flashy things—big things, important things. But, in His first coming, Jesus appeared lowly and humbly. He came in a way we all could relate to and understand.
Think about that. The Creator and reigning King of the universe stepped down into His creation and took up residence. He put on a human body and became one of us. (John 1:14) We needed Him to come as that low and humble servant the first time—the perfect Man to represent us before His Father, replacing the imperfect man, Adam, with whom we all relate to in sinfulness.
[1] Matthew is the only Gospel writer who uses the term “Kingdom of Heaven.” Others refer to it as the “Kingdom of God. There is no difference between these terms. As with his birth narrative, Matthew is drawn to the royal motif of Jesus’ ministry.
© Copyright 2026 Craig Beaman