Jesus, as the Son of Man, never sought veneration from anyone in this world (John 5:41). Apart from His ability to preach the truth and perform unprecedented miracles, nothing about Him appeared spectacular. Judas Iscariot had to use a kiss to identify Him to the soldiers who came to arrest Him, because He was not visibly different from most men of His time. He was indeed the indisputable expositor of biblical truth in all history, yet He never sought to be venerated.
“Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” Nathanael asked (John 1:46 NIV). There is no basis for judging Nathanael as racist. His comment appears to have been based on the reputation of the city of Nazareth. According to the general human viewpoint, the Messiah should have emerged from an exquisitely reputable city of that time. There is nothing unusual about judging people according to the general behavior of those from a particular region.
Human character is commonly shaped by the environment in which a person is brought up. Yet the opposite was true of Jesus. He came to influence His environment, however eroded and degraded it might be. Similarly, true Christians are not associated with erudite personalities but with the down-to-earth and unassuming—those who do not boast about what they know to be true. There is a strong possibility that Jesus was brought up in Nazareth as another way of hiding His identity from the proud.
Nazareth was held in low esteem because it was small, seemingly insignificant, and reputed to be morally and socially backward. Its lack of grandeur, compounded by its association with Galilee’s mixed population, contributed to this negative perception. Biblical figures reinforced the contempt, especially when they questioned Jesus’ origins and whether anything good could come from Nazareth.
Yet God chose this humble town as the place where Jesus would grow up, fulfilling the prophecy that He would be called a Nazarene (Matthew 2:23). This choice underscores a recurring biblical theme: God often uses the lowly and overlooked to accomplish His divine purposes (1 Corinthians 1:26–29). Human behavior is the same, whether racial or religious. It is not disputable that whiteness is a brand that can earn respect among other races, followed by Asian identity.
Those of mixed race are often treated better than Black people. Black people are among the most despised races in this world. Many Black people experience pressure to conform to Eurocentric beauty standards and may use skin-bleaching products in pursuit of social acceptance. The prejudiced human race fails to appreciate the simple fact that there are good and bad people among all races.
Any area could contain more bad people than good, or vice versa. Any background is influenced by culture. Humanity has been irretrievably degraded, so much so that it necessitated the arrival of Jesus. Each person is influenced by the general social behavior of the society from which he or she comes. For instance, when someone comes from a callous culture, that person is judged as callous, even when the opposite may be true about him.
When someone comes from a culture that does not value other races, that person can be considered inhospitable to other races, even when the opposite might be true. When a person is influenced by an area where the accumulation of wealth is considered more important than dignity, that person becomes self-centered. Like Nathanael, humans commonly make judgments based on regional influence.
The trigger of racism comes into play when culture demands it. Racial judgment considers skin color important, although skin color does not always accurately portray character. Humans move from one continent to another as frequently as can be unpredictable. Perhaps the idea of judging people by racial appearance has become more complicated than it was during Nathanael’s time.
Nathanael was perplexed when Jesus proved that good things could still come from degraded cities, as was the case with Nazareth. The works of Jesus dissolved the idea of judging by appearance. It is no longer necessary to judge people according to their regional origin. Black people are commonly judged negatively by other races because of the influence of naked racism. This dangerously invites the insanity of categorizing humanity according to skin color, where racism allows one race to assume that other races are inferior to its own.
But those who condemn racism can themselves be guilty of racism, which is no different from tribalism, regionalism, and many other isms. The Jews and the Samaritans were not in communication. Those who complain about racism are often unaware of other conditions of separatism. Human classifications are a result of ignorance. It is wrong to sympathize with those who complain of racism if their behavior may suggest that they are among the worst racists.
This was clearly manifested in Zimbabwe when former President Mugabe peddled propaganda that white people were the most evil. His followers, buying into that propaganda, assumed that Black people were the saints. When considering the current state of Zimbabwe, one can conclude that white people were saintly when compared to Black rulers. There is no truth in either assumption. Humans are the same, except when susceptible to environmental influence rather than rational reasoning. All are created in God’s image, but all are in need of redemption.
Rational reasoning is possible when one is helped to understand one’s true origin, enabling one to discover that one is God’s child. Unfortunately, education can actually reduce a person’s intelligence when Christ is not in the picture. Education is another field that was invaded by the evil one, so that it has created another condition of separatism, further dividing people by class. This describes those who feel too superior to associate with those considered uneducated. The Greek philosophers despised the less educated in view of their superior knowledge.
A group of Epicurean and Stoic philosophers began to debate with him. Some of them asked, “What is this babbler trying to say?” Others remarked, “He seems to be advocating foreign gods.” They said this because Paul was preaching the good news about Jesus and the resurrection. Then they took him and brought him to a meeting of the Areopagus, where they said to him, “May we know what this new teaching is that you are presenting? You are bringing some strange ideas to our ears, and we would like to know what they mean.” (All the Athenians and the foreigners who lived there spent their time doing nothing but talking about and listening to the latest ideas.) (Acts 17:18–21 NIV)
Those philosophers prided themselves on possessing superior knowledge. There may have been nothing wrong with pursuing knowledge. But unless any form of education is tailored to meet the needs of other people, it is regressive. The knowledge of such an educated class would be just as useless as long as it does not impact other people for the better. The Greek philosophers were considered superior, so they spent time only with those matching their level of understanding.
A truly educated person cannot be an introvert who seeks to keep knowledge to himself. Rather, a truly educated person spends time with the uneducated rather than only with those considered educated. Such a person takes no pride in his accumulated education, except in desiring to share what benefits the less privileged. Jesus had no match, considering the superior knowledge that He had, leaving a legacy that a truly educated individual is not affected by background or anything. He uses reason at all times when making decisions.
Every conclusion arrived at would be based on reason rather than on the influence of the community. Jesus provided the only model of how education should be applied. He was originally considered lowly by Nathanael, yet even today none can be as educated as Jesus was. He was not so introverted as to display being more knowledgeable than others. He dealt with people at their level of understanding; hence, to the general public He taught in parables rather than overwhelm such an audience with misunderstood words.
He surrounded Himself with the less educated, giving them knowledge according to their level of understanding. He did not hide the fact that His knowledge was superior, but He did not seek to impress anyone that He was the most educated. This is different from those who glamorously line up strings of educational titles against their names, intending to impress. Satan attempted to inflame Jesus’ ego, but obviously he could not succeed.
The tempter came to him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.’” Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple. “If you are the Son of God,” he said, “throw yourself down. For it is written: ‘He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.’” Jesus answered him, “It is also written: ‘Do not put the Lord your God to the test.’”
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendour. “All this I will give you,” he said, “if you will bow down and worship me.” Jesus said to him, “Away from me, Satan! For it is written: ‘Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.’” Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him (Matthew 4:3–11 NIV).
The three bouts of Satan’s temptation were prefaced by the conjunction “If,” which simply sought to appeal to Jesus’ ego. The first two sought to validate Jesus’ superiority, appealing to His ego, that He was different from other fellow humans. The last sought to grant Him the promotion that ordinary humans are known to have an insatiable appetite for. Without looking at Jesus as the standard in our Christian conduct, we are all not immune to these temptations.
Theologians have elevated Jesus to the position of being a member of the Trinity. Jesus never elevated Himself to that position. Assuming they have done Jesus a good favor, the same theologians remain with the ego of having been able to venerate Jesus above ordinary humans. They miss the fact that Jesus always insisted being identified as the Son of Man, inviting those believing in Him to adopt His teachings and to follow Him accordingly. The character of Jesus, as accurately depicted by Paul, is described with more emphasis on His humility:
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:5–11 NIV).
Jesus was the Christ, whose title cannot be compared to any other authority in terms of superiority, but He never forced people to recognize Him as such or bestow respect upon Him. This was obviously one of the reasons why the religious authorities could not understand Him, thereby denouncing Him as an impostor. They expected Jesus to exert authority and distinguish Himself as different from everyone if He was the Messiah.
There were occasions when Jesus asserted being the Son of God to the Pharisees, but His words were always uttered according to the Scriptures. He would do so when asserting the truth, when facing a barrage of obnoxious questions from those people. In other words, Jesus never sought to convince anyone without citing Scriptural references, revealing His identity. Judas Iscariot had to identify Him by a kiss for His betrayal because He was as ordinary as any other person. That drama signifies that He never sought to make Himself different from those surrounding Him.
The three and a half years of Jesus’ ministry were sufficient to fulfill His mission. Rather than give Him a good send-off, His detractors gave Him a weirdly bad send-off, spitting their maliciously wicked saliva on His face. No other lowly person could deserve such treatment. The bottom line is that Jesus never sought to be respected or praised by anyone during His time on Earth. His joy was basically found among those considered lowly in society. He aimed to bring joy to other people rather than to Himself.
Jesus’ behavior, as recorded in Scripture, was the opposite of what is portrayed by the religious leaders of our time. Nothing is stranger than doing anything outside Jesus’ teachings when insisting on being identified as a “Christian.” The level of deception is dangerous and can expose a person to possible blasphemy. To emphasize the principle of humility, Jesus never left anything to chance. The foot-washing ceremony was designed to emphasize the point, so that the truly committed, in desiring to follow Him, would adjust accordingly.
When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. “Do you understand what I have done for you?” he asked them. “You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:12–17 NIV).
A servant who washes his master’s feet is a servant indeed. But the most intriguing reality is that while Jesus washed the feet of His disciples, those disciples did not wash His, even at any other time, except for the woman who used expensive oil to wipe His feet at dinner (John 12:3). Prominent leaders in modern Christianity choose to ignore the clear instruction above. Others reduce this instruction to ceremonial practice, yet Jesus sought to emphasize the principle of humility.
Had Jesus allowed them to wash His feet, prominent Christian leaders today would demand to be washed by the laypeople rather than wash the dirty feet of the “laypeople.” Jesus did not require His disciples to wash His feet, but He advised them to wash each other’s feet. None among them would assume being a leader over others. Jesus could not have commanded the act of foot washing without significance. What is important is to consider the spiritual intent rather than focus on the ceremonial aspect of foot washing.
Jesus carried the responsibility of an unprecedented teacher. But at the same time, He had to practice the meaning of servanthood, which included dying on the cross. If there is anything required of a Christian, it is, as was emphasized to the disciples: “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them” (John 13:17 NIV). In other words, it is impossible to be blessed without practicing what Jesus taught. Of particular interest is that Jesus came to show us the way to our Father in God’s Kingdom. This included Him practicing being the servant of all, yet at the same time, He was not answerable to anyone.
If Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, there is nothing suggesting that it is proper to be answerable to anyone except Him—who preferred washing His disciples’ feet rather than having them wash His. Had Jesus instructed them to wash His feet, the Christian leaders would have validated the idea of being worshiped by their disciples, citing Jesus’ example. The value of the man from Nazareth can be found in anyone in this world. There is no human being who would necessarily be judged according to their background. The background of any person does not describe, or not describe, the value of the man from Nazareth.
Jesus was not identified by race, which carries no significance in matters of Christianity. True Christians also cannot be identified by race today, but by their Father in Heaven. Jesus was not identified by class; just as true Christians cannot be identified by class today. Jesus cannot be identified by any other human attribute, except that He took the position of a servant, so that everyone is covered, leaving racism and other separatisms exposed.
Andrew Masuku is the author of Dimensions of a New Civilisation, which lays out standards for lifting Zimbabwe out of its current economic depression and into a model for other nations worldwide. A decaying tree provides an opportunity for a blossoming sprout. Written from a Christian perspective, the book is a product of inspiration, offering relief to those who have witnessed the strings of unworkable solutions leading to the current economic and social decay. Most Zimbabweans should find the book to be a long-awaited providential oasis of hope, in a simple conversational tone.
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