Jesus Is Worth It

In Acts 5:40–42, we see a fascinating situation unfold. The religious leaders in Jerusalem beat the apostles for preaching and teaching the gospel of Jesus and charge them to cease and desist. And what happens next? The apostles leave the council, rejoicing!

What leads to this kind of response to suffering and dishonor? Simply put: Jesus is worth it. The apostles treasure Jesus and his gospel promises.

 

Man’s Honor or God’s Honor
Luke notes that the apostles rejoice because they were deemed worthy on behalf of the name to be dishonored (Acts 5:41; My translation). Luke does something interesting here. A few verse before this, a Pharisee named Gamaliel counsels the religious leaders concerning the apostles. Luke makes this observation of Gamaliel: he was held in honor by all the people (Acts 5:34). While this is just an observation on Luke’s part and not necessarily an indictment on Gamaliel, Luke makes this observation to add a flourish of irony to this scene. Desiring honor among the people is the heart of the religious leaders’ problem.

The religious leaders resist the gospel and Jesus because he threatens their influence and authority over the people. Their desire of not wanting the gospel to spread among the people (Acts 4:17) motivated their original ban on gospel preaching by the apostles. The religious leaders covet their glory, authority, and honor among the people. Therefore, when the apostles grow in their influence and the followers of Jesus exponentially increase, the religious leaders are filled with jealousy (Acts 5:17). Jealousy, James notes, goes hand-in-hand with selfish ambition (James 3:16). The religious leaders’ are so bought into their own glory and honor among men that they would gladly trade the glory of God for it. But not the apostles. The apostles, God’s people, gladly choose dishonor among men for Jesus’ sake in order to gain honor from God. Therefore, they rejoice. And this honor from God is guaranteed because they gain it through their treasure Jesus and his gospel promises.

 

Jesus and His Promises
Jesus offered his apostles these words in Luke 6:22–23,

 

“Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man! Rejoice in that day, and leap for joy, for behold, your reward is great in heaven; for so their fathers did to the prophets.”

 

The apostles suffer dishonor among men to gain honor from God because they hold fast to Jesus’ gospel promises. Jesus promised his disciples that their suffering for his sake would lead to great reward in heaven. Here in Acts 5:40–42, with every strike of the rod or whip upon their back, the apostles hear these words ringing in their ears “Your reward is great in heaven! Honor from God!” They hold fast to Jesus’ gospel promises of reward and honor. What is the essence of that reward and honor? Eternity with their treasure, Jesus. How do they know it’s guaranteed? Because Jesus gain it for them.

The apostles suffer dishonor among men to gain honor from God because they hold fast to their treasure, Jesus, who is their life. The apostles are able to endure and hold fast to these promises because they are not the first ones to walk this road. In fact, the path to eternal life in heaven with God has already been paved for them by a forerunner, a pioneer, the Author of Life, their Savior, Jesus (Acts 3:15; 5:30–31). They hold fast to these promises because they hold fast to Jesus who suffered the dishonor and shame of the cross for the sake of the joy that was before him (Hebrews 12:1–2). And, he rose victorious, exalted to God’s right hand as the Author of Life (Acts 3:15; 5:30). Therefore, when the apostles suffer dishonor for Jesus’ sake, they do so because they cling to him as their savior, trusting in the life he won. Furthermore, when they suffer dishonor among men for reward set before them, they have never looked more like Jesus. This last observation—looking like Jesus in suffering—is worth a closer look.

 

Deemed Worthy of Dishonor
Luke notes that the apostles rejoiced not just because they suffered dishonored, but because they were deemed worthy to suffer dishonor. The apostles saw their suffering as an affirmation from God of their worth. This is remarkable. We often consider our suffering to be tied somehow to our being unworthy in the eyes of God, but here we see it is often just the opposite. While the apostles do suffer persecution, which is a unique kind of suffering, the purpose of suffering in general in Scripture points to this same remarkable reality. First Peter 1:7 notes that various trials grieve us in this life for the purpose of proving the genuineness of our faith.

Trials and suffering are not applied because of lack of faith. God applies trials and suffering to reveal for all to see the true, genuine, worthy faith that was there all along, like gold encased in raw ore that only appears once its passed through the crucible. When Christians suffer it is because God has deemed us worthy to suffer. And, we are only worthy because we are united to the great sufferer, Jesus. Because he was perfectly worthy we can rest assured that our suffering points to our worth in him. And so, in the eyes of the world and the heavenlies, when the Christian suffers and still clings to Jesus, God is glorified. And, when the Christian suffers and clings to Jesus, God adds another jewel into the unfading crown of glory that he deems you worthy to receive amidst much praise, glory, and yes, honor (1 Peter 1:4, 7; 5:4). This calls for rejoicing.

 

Rejoice
Whether we suffer persecution for the gospel or suffer the trials of life, let us rejoice. Rejoice because in God’s eyes, we have been deemed worthy of the highest honor: suffering like our king who endured for the joy set before him. Rejoice because of the life we have in and with Jesus our greatest treasure now, and because of the reward he won for us in that awaits in eternity. And as you rejoice, be like the apostles and continue to proclaim Jesus (Acts 5:42). Let the psalmist in Psalm 73:25–28 instruct us,

 

Whom have I in heaven but you?

And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you.

My flesh and my heart may fail,

but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

For behold, those who are far from you shall perish;

you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you.

But for me it is good to be near God;

I have made the Lord God my refuge,

that I may tell of all your works.

 

When suffering and dishonor come in this life, rejoice! Jesus is worth it.

Humility Comes Before Honor

Does humility come before honor? Proverbs 15:33 and 18:12 tell us it does. But look around. Is that what you see?

Many politicians, athletes, entertainers, business leaders, academics – and even pastors – show little sign of humility. Instead, they exalt themselves, making sure everyone knows how great they are, and how inferior others are (especially those they see as competitors).

And if we’re honest, we must admit that we too are tempted to self-exaltation. This displays itself:

  • When we twist a story to make ourselves look better
  • When we mishandle a responsibility and try to cover up what happened
  • When we work harder to improve our external appearance than our internal character
  • When we respond to someone else’s success by speaking of our even greater success.

Furthermore, self-exaltation often seems to work. Others may well believe my twisted story that makes me look good. Self-promoting politicians often win elections.

Sure, we sometimes see the proud disgraced, the boaster brought low. But not always. Indeed, from our perspective, not in most cases.

So what is Scripture saying?

Consider Proverbs 15:33 in its entirety:

The fear of the LORD is instruction in wisdom, and humility comes before honor. (ESV)

The two halves of the verse are in parallel: Humility comes before honor as the fear of the Lord comes before wisdom. Furthermore, humility and the fear of the Lord go together. When we see and acknowledge how great God is and how small we are, we necessarily humble ourselves before Him. This humbling is one part of wisdom – and one necessary step to honor from God.

Seen in this light, the honor mentioned here is not honor from men. While humility on occasion will lead to honor from men, oftentimes it will not. But a humility tied to the fear of the Lord – a humility that bows before Him, that admits sinfulness and rebellion, that delights in Jesus as Lord, Savior, and Treasure – that humility always leads to honor from God.

Scripture emphasizes this truth again and again:

  • Isaiah: “The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day.” (Isaiah 2:11 and 17)
  • A psalmist: “Be not afraid when a man becomes rich, when the glory of his house increases. For when he dies he will carry nothing away; his glory will not go down after him. For though, while he lives, he counts himself blessed– and though you get praise when you do well for yourself– his soul will go to the generation of his fathers, who will never again see light. Man in his pomp yet without understanding is like the beasts that perish.” (Psalm 49:16-20)
  • Mary: “And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation. He has shown strength with his arm; he has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; he has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he has sent away empty.” (Luke 1:50-53)
  • James: “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.” (James 4:10)
  • Peter: “Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.’ Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you.” (1 Peter 5:5b-6)
  • Jesus: “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12 – see also Luke 14:11 and 18:14)

So, yes: Humility comes before honor – the only honor worth pursuing, the honor and exaltation given by God. Humble yourself before Him – and He will give you the honor of saying to you, “Well done, good and faithful servant! Enter into the joy of your Master.” (Matthew 25:23)

The Path to Honor, the Path to Disgrace

What is the path to honor?

We don’t have to look far in our society to find those who have achieved considerable earthly honor through their hard work combined with their self-promotion. Whether in business, in politics, in sports and entertainment – and even within the Christian church – we see example after example of people working on their craft, marketing themselves, and thereby acquiring some degree of fame. There are many coaches, consultants, and schools who – for a fee – will teach you how to be among those who successfully exalt themselves.

But Scripture warns us, “God opposes the proud” (1 Peter 5:7); “everyone who exalts himself will be humbled” (Luke 14:11).

Yet God’s Word also gives us a promise in these same verses: God gives grace to the humble; he who humbles himself will be exalted.

Jesus tells a brief story to illustrate this point:

Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand?  And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. (Luke 14:31-32)

You are the first king. You have resources: Your physical abilities, your intelligence, your training and education, your experience, your skills, your contacts, your finances. Perhaps these are quite impressive compared to others. Like the first king with ten thousand, you can look at who you are and what you have and think: “I can go somewhere! I can exalt myself! I can achieve something!”

If you take the world’s advice and exalt yourself, you may well achieve a degree of honor for a time. Perhaps in a worldly sense you will acquire considerable fame because of great accomplishments.

Yet whether you realize it or not, by acting in this way you are advancing in war against the second king. And that second king is God Himself. For you are acting in pride – and as we saw, God opposes the proud. Furthermore, His fighting force is far beyond yours. If He opposes you, you will be humbled; you will be thrown down; in the end, you will lose all the fame, all the status, all the honor that you thought you had gained.

So like that first king going out to war, you have two options. The first option is to sue for peace. He will demand unconditional surrender to Jesus. This means that you will have to renounce all that you have (Luke 14:33). All that is yours becomes His: All your goods. All your family. All your time.

However, He then will give you His grace. He will exalt you. He will give you Jesus Himself – the greatest treasure, the greatest honor, the greatest joy.

That’s the first option. The cost is high. But the benefit is incalculable.

Your second option is to enter into battle with Him. To fight Him. To oppose Him.

If you choose option two, you will hold onto your fame and your resources a little longer compared to option one. While the battle is engaged, you can continue to be impressed with yourself. But your 10,000 cannot fight His hordes. The end is inevitable. He will overwhelm you. He will humble you. Option two is the path to disgrace. One day you will lose everything. And you will have to confess what you refused to acknowledge before: Jesus is indeed Lord (Philippians 2:10-11).

So note: Whether you choose option one or option two, eventually you lose all that you now have. That cost is the same.

But under option one, He exalts you. He lifts you up. He gives you what you never earned, what you clearly don’t deserve, what you can never be proud of: one hundred times more joy than you had from what you gave up, as well as the greatest gift of all: Himself, for all eternity (Mark 10:28-31).

So acknowledge what is true. Realize your position. You have no ability to achieve any lasting honor; if you resist Him, you will lose all. Humble yourself under God’s mighty hand. This is the path to honor. And the greatest honor is that He will give you what you could never earn: Himself.