Sermon Tone Analysis

Philippians 2:5-11

*Introduction*

If you have ever had the privilege of telling a children’s story, you know what it is like to see the children with their faces turned up waiting with anticipation for the story.

I imagine a similar picture in Luke 10:39.

Mary, the sister of Lazarus was sitting at the feet of Jesus listening attentively.

The verse says that “Mary…sat at the Lord’s feet listening to what he said.”

There was another time when some women were paying close attention to Jesus, watching what was happening to Him, watching Him.

Matthew 27:55 says, “Many women were there, watching from a distance.

They had followed Jesus from Galilee to care for his needs.”

The context was that Jesus was hanging on the cross.

What were they thinking of?

What were they learning as they looked at Jesus?

What happens when we watch Jesus?

What do we see when we sit and wait expectantly for Him to speak?

What happens when we contemplate His life, His ministry, His death?

What do we learn in the presence of Jesus?

What impact does it have to sit quietly, in anticipation gazing upon our Lord?

This morning we want to gaze at Jesus.

Please open your Bibles to Philippians 2:6-11 and join me in looking at Jesus.

*I.

He Humbled Himself*

The words of this passage speak about Jesus.

They have been debated a lot and there is more written on these 6 verses than much other Scripture.

It is a passage filled with theological truth and with divine mystery and is a wonderful passage which leads us to contemplation on Jesus.

*A.

As God – He Was Selfless Philippians 2:6,7*

*1.

Being In Very Nature God*

First of all it says that Jesus was “in very nature God” and that he had “equality with God.” KJV says “who being in the form of God.”

A lot of theological debate has arisen around this word, “form.”

Some have taught that this says that Jesus was not really God, but only in the outward form of God.

The NIV, which I quoted first, gives us the true meaning of the Greek, which is that it expresses the true inner reality of who Jesus was.

It is a strong expression of Christ’s divinity.

It is hard, logically to understand how God could be God in heaven and at the same time that He could come down to earth.

Yet, this is one verse which very clearly shows that Jesus was in fact God - that He was not only a human being, but also a divine being.

The story of Jesus begins in heaven.

He existed in the heavenly glories and held a position as God.

*2.

Did Not Grasp** *

But as we read on we find that Jesus “did not consider equality with God something to be grasped.”

This is a further powerful theological statement.

What does it mean that Jesus did not grasp at being God?

The word here means robbery and some have suggested that unlike Adam who wanted to be like God, Jesus was a man who did not want to be like God.

That does not explain at all what happened, however.

What this phrase means is that Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be taken advantage of.

He did not hold to His position in heaven.

He did not hold to the power of being God.

Right now in Manitoba we are watching our premier announce some welcome spending on road repair and so on.

However, it is obvious to all political observers why this is happening.

He is trying to set himself up for the next election, hoping that he can hold on to power.

Jesus did not do that.

He was willing to let go of position and power in order to demonstrate His love for us.

*3.

Made Himself Nothing*

Instead of grasping onto his position as God, the text says that “he made himself nothing” and became a human being and as a man, a servant of men.

The Greek word here is often translated “emptied” and has raised all kinds of debates about what this means.

Did he stop being God?

What aspects of being God did he let go of?

Some of you may have read the book, “The Prince and the Pauper” by Mark Twain.

It is the story of a poor young fellow who changes places with the prince of England.

They are the same age and look similar.

The story relates the adventure of how the prince has to live like a pauper while trying to get back into the palace and how the pauper lives like a prince.

Although the prince wears the clothes of a pauper, he nevertheless is still the king.

Perhaps the coming of Jesus to earth is similar.

He never ceased being God, but he took on himself the limitations of being human.

I think that the real idea is that Jesus left the glories of heaven in order to pour himself out for us.

The idea of emptying is a metaphor for sacrifice.

Wright says, “The real humiliation of the incarnation and the cross is that one who was himself God, and who never during the whole process stopped being God, could embrace such a vocation.”

What a sacrifice He made!

R.T. Kendall writes that Christ “was dependent, deprived, discredited, degraded and demeaned.”

The Lord of the universe became dependent.

While on earth he said in John 5:30, “I can do nothing on my own” and so indicated His dependence on the Father and the Spirit.

He was deprived which is revealed when he indicated in Matthew 8:20, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

He was discredited when they lied about Him in Matthew 26:60, which says, “many false witnesses came…” He was degraded when they spit upon him, as recorded in Matthew 26:67 and demeaned as they treated him with rudeness and contempt while the soldiers mocked and beat him in Matthew 27:27-31.

This is what happened to Jesus because he did not grasp on to heaven, but was willing to become a man and a servant of humanity.

We see the real heart of God in what Jesus was willing to do.

We see the compassionate heart of God sacrificing himself in order to redeem us.

He gave up His rights.

He gave up his authority.

He acted in complete selflessness for our sakes.

*B.

As A Man – He Humbled Himself Philippians 2:8*

As God, he was selfless and became a man.

As a man, He also manifested a tremendous humility.

Verse 8 tells us, “He humbled himself and became obedient to death, even death on a cross.”

Adam disobeyed God unto death.

When he sinned, the consequence was death.

Jesus, on the other hand, obeyed God unto death.

This is an amazing contrast.

Jesus could not die because He was without sin.

Jesus’ obedience disqualified him from death and it was only an act of obedience, an act of willingly humbling himself that could result in His death on the cross.

Gordon Fee says, “in the cross God’s true character, his outlandish, lavish expression of love, was fully manifested.”

The emphasis is magnified when it says, “even death on a cross.”

We have become used to the cross as a symbol of Jesus, a symbol of Christianity, or for many just a decoration or a piece of jewellery.

We need to see it for what it really is.

The cross was and is the most cruel form of death.

It was nothing less than a gallows.

It was scandalous because only the worst criminals and most hated peoples were crucified.

Jesus humbled Himself to that lowest of all places and did so for our sake.

This passage shows powerfully that “God is love and that his love expresses itself in self-sacrifice.”

What we see here is the strategy of God which in His infinite wisdom, His all knowing love, He enacted in order to forgive our sins.

God did not choose to redeem a people by giving them lots of gifts and hoping they would be nice.

He did not redeem a people by forcing them into the church.