Scripture does not tell us that Jesus felt humiliated. However, some writers make this assumption because they project their feelings onto Jesus. Besides rage, fear, and sadness, I too would feel humiliation or shamed. For clarity, an explicit definition of humiliation is the feeling or condition of being lessened in dignity or pride.
We affirm that Jesus was fully human and fully divine—a faith statement. So, considering Jesus as fully human, it might seem logical to assume that Jesus would feel humiliated; but I don’t believe this is necessarily true.
I believe Jesus had great clarity about who He was and whose He was (and is). During His life on earth, He was the embodiment of steadfast undaunted faith; mature, not ‘Pollyanna-ish,’ hope; and unbridled, unconditional love. Did He make a tremendous sacrifice? Yes. Did He experience terrible suffering and surely sadness? Yes, but not shame or the loss of dignity. Jesus did not need the approval of people or certainly not of the crowds. Insecurity spawns the need to protect and inflate one’s ego. Because of His great clarity, I can’t imagine Jesus being insecure. Therefore, the abject ridicule and persecution He received would have been only attempted humiliation.
We too can better resist the comparatively mild forms of ridicule we face when we appreciate and value the import of: God’s unconditional love, our covenant relationship with God and neighbor, and the privilege and responsibility of being disciples of Christ because we will know (to the best of our ability) who we are and whose we are. Amen!
