“…And as he was praying…” Luke alone of the gospel writers makes this note surrounding Jesus’ baptism. It is something we see throughout the gospel - Jesus continually in prayer. Considering who Jesus is, the Son of God, this is a bit striking. Think about what happens at Jesus’ baptism. The heavens are opened, the Holy Spirit descends upon him and God proclaims that Jesus is his beloved Son and the promised Messiah. All of that is true of Jesus, yet we still see him often and always submitting himself in prayer before God the Father. In Jesus, power and humility are wrapped together unlike they are in anyone else. We do see examples of these traits meshing in other human beings, and these are the individuals we tend to hold in the highest regard. You can probably think of someone in your life or from your experience that had a good deal of power or prestige but still carried themselves with a great deal of humility. It is a rare but very noble combination.
Jesus takes this to a whole other level. No one could have more power, he is the one through whom all things were created, yet we hear Jesus say things like, “By myself I can do nothing…” (John 5:30), yet we see Jesus humbly bowing before the Father in prayer and submitting to his will. The title of Jesus as the Son of God really captures this combination of power and humility well. He is God, and exudes all the power and divinity that come with that, but he also humbly submits as a Son to the authority of his Father. Only one who is fully God and fully human could perfectly blend power and humility as Jesus does. And if we are drawn toward people in our lives who exhibit even a bit of this, how much more should we be drawn to Jesus, who has humbled himself for our sake and has used his power to grant us life?
Seeing these traits in Jesus is a challenge for me, and I hope for you also. In Christ, we have been given a measure of authority and power. We are greatly privileged and empowered as God’s children and Jesus sets the example for us to mix this status with great humility as well. If Jesus continually submitted himself in prayer before the Father, who am I to not do so? When we bow in prayer and humble ourselves before God, we share company not only with the saints that have gone before us, but also with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Prayer is a humbling exercise. It reminds us of our place before God. It reminds us that we should not think more highly of ourselves than we ought to. Instead we have the example of Jesus to imitate. We can serve as Jesus served, can submit to God the Father as he did, can remember his sacrifice and that in Jesus’ power and because of his humility we have been brought from death unto life.