“Not my will, but yours be done”. We remember these famous words from our master. They really set the tone for us who want to be like him. In everything he submitted himself to the Father. In fact, you might say that his life was characterized by submission, and not just to the Father.
We remember how Jesus got lost at Disneyland…er…Jerusalem when he was 12 years old. His parents searched frantically for him and found him in religious discussion with theologians down at the temple. An exasperated mom wanted her son to know how they had been looking all over the place for him (as parents are wont to remind their children). He replied that he had to be about his Father’s business (and he didn’t mean Joseph).
The next thing that Luke tells us is what is most astounding. “Then he went down to Nazareth and was obedient to them” (Lk. 2:51). Think about it, most kids think that they know better than their parents, but Jesus DID know better. Still, he went home and was obedient to them.
Jesus had no need to be baptized, but still he submitted himself to the rite to “Fulfill all righteousness” (Matt. 3:15). He submitted himself to the government by paying taxes, despite the fact that the government was corrupt. He submitted himself to religious and political leaders at his crucifixion, even though he could easily have called in the cavalry (Matt. 26:53). The apostle Peter put it like this.
“Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.
“He committed no sin,
and no deceit was found in his mouth.”
When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly” (1 Pet. 2:21-23).
Not that submission was easy for Jesus. Can you imagine what it would be like to know that everyone who seems to have control over your life is an idiot? If Jesus was really tempted in all the ways that we are tempted, he surely was tempted to show all of those idiots a thing or two. Instead, the book of Hebrews tells us he learned how to be obedient by all of the suffering he went through (Heb. 5:8).
Did you catch that? Jesus had to learn HOW to be submissive. It’s one thing to be submissive to God, who is not an idiot, but it is another thing to be submissive to someone who is. That takes some effort. Because idiots have a way of producing pride in us. They challenge our pride and we feel compelled to respond.
In submission we refuse to allow pride to have its way. When I choose to submit to the government, even though I think it is corrupt, something is happening within me. I am learning to be an obedient and submissive person. I am learning to not let pride lead the way in my life. I am learning how to be humble. I am learning to be like Jesus.
In submission to others we are saying that “I am more concerned about you than I am about me”. To the believers in the town of Philippi, the apostle Paul said “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others” (Php. 2:2-4). And why should they do this? Because that is exactly what God has done for us. God was thinking about our best interests when he “Emptied himself” and became human.
This does not mean that I am going to give you whatever you want under the guise of being submissive. It means that I am going to look out for your best interest, which might entail me challenging your self-destructive behavior. It might mean that you want me to do this, but I think what you really need is that. This attitude can be summed up simply by the word “Love”. When I love another I seek to do them good, not to do what they want.
The apostle John tells us that when we love, when we look out for the interest of others above ourselves, we have crossed into another world. We have left the world of self-centeredness and death for the world of love and life. “We know that we have passed from death to life”, he said, “because we love our brothers” (1 Jn. 3:14).
