Day 9 Christmas Countdown Devotional – the humble birthplace of Jesus

There are over 100 leaders in history who added to their name two words: the great. Here are a few you might recognize:

• Alexander the Great from Macedonia.
• Catherine the Great, the Russian Empress
• Constantine the Great over the Roman Empire
• Cyrus the Great the Persian King
• Genghis the Great Kahn.
• Herod the Great from Jesus’ time

Yet, none of them would be fit to carry the name “King of kings and Lord of lords.” The story of Jesus is remarkable because it is filled with such humility. The angels bring that very message to the shepherds watching their sheep in the hills of Judea.

For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling clothes and lying in a manger” (Luke 2:10, 11).

There was so much more to Jesus than a title of greatness. In his message “One Solitary Life,” James Francis makes the point.

Here is a man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty. Then for three years He was an itinerant preacher.

He never owned a home. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never had a family. He never went to college. He never put His foot inside a big city. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself…

While still a young man, the tide of popular opinion turned against him. His friends ran away. One of them denied Him. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed upon a cross between two thieves. While He was dying His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth – His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend.

We all tend to pursue greatness; a better-than-others attitude. Yet the King of kings came into our world choosing humility over greatness. That’s why you’ll never truly meet him if you come intending to impress. Greatness is not the pathway to Jesus. Humility is.

PHIL MOSER is the author of the Biblical Strategies series, and the developer of 4M Training: a unique approach to spiritual growth for men. All of his resources can be found on amazon or at biblicalstrategies.com.