Humility, Power, Relationships

Introduction

One of my favorite moments in cinema comes from the great stage play, “Les Miserables”. If you’re not familiar with the play or the movie(s), let me take just a moment to enlighten you concerning two characters - the primary ones in the story - and then one more - a secondary character - but whose role is critically important.

Jean Valjean is a prisoner. during the French Revolution, he was living in destitution. The poorest of the French could barley afford the day-to-day necessities of food and water. Jean Valjean and his family were among those abject and poverty stricken people. In an effort to save his niece from starvation, Valjean slips a loaf of bread from a street vendor and falls captive to French authorities. Falling right in stride with the subjection by the French Gendarmerie, Jean Valjean is sentenced to life in prison… obviously an unjust fine for lifting a loaf of bread to feed a starving niece.

Javert… a French police inspector is a staunch legalist. Men are bent toward one direction. If that direction is wayward and allows for corrupt actions at any point, than corruption is the ONLY action they are capable of committing. The idea of forgiveness, the possibility of transformation, or the hope of being reborn anew… is ludicrous. Once a criminal, always a criminal. And for those crimes one must pay.

At a strategic point in the drama, Valjean is given an opportunity to break his parole and run free from an unjust punishment. Valjean takes that opportunity, and to be sure, proves in some degree that the point of Javert… once a criminal, always a criminal. Frantically evading all people in an effort to live free, but struck with the dilemma of his poverty after living in French confinement, Valjean breaks into a home to obtain enough loot to survive.

Enter pivotal, secondary character with critical impact. The humble Bishop Myriel. Valjean embellishes his experience to win the favor of his keeper. Soft and tender in disposition, Bishop Myriel offers Valjean solace for the evening - a warm bed, bath and fresh clothing. In the night, Valjean steals extremely valuable housewares and makes for an escape. Servants call for the police and all of the sudden Valjean finds himself in a new dilemma; once he stole out of necessity and for survival… now he’s stolen - yes for survival - but in bitterness and self-servitude.

Eventually, French authorities capture Valjean and return him to the home of the Bishop. The 1998 film featuring Liam Neeson portrays wonderfully the humility of Valjeans keeper. The Bishop recognizes this moment as a climactic opportunity to share the love, grace, mercy, and clemency of Christ his King.

In the musical, the Bishop sings this song over Valjean:

Monsignor, we have your silver

We caught this man red-handed

He had the nerve to say you gave him this

That is right

But my friend you left so early

Surely something slipped your mind

You forgot I gave these also

Would you leave the best behind?

Monsieur, release him

This man has spoken true

I commend you for your duty

And God's blessing go with you

But remember this, my brother

See in this some higher plan

You must use this precious silver

To become an honest man

By the witness of the martyrs

By the passion and the blood

God has raised you out of darkness

I have saved your soul for God.

Explanation of the Intro.

You see in this moment a poetic representation of a mortal man living out the humility that his position and situation did not demand.

Think this through for me… you have the basics of the story up to this point. How exactly would you have felt if Bishop Myriel heard the French authorities, responded to Valjean in untamed anger, and demanded Valjean’s arrest and remuneration AND going beyond fair remuneration; demanded his life in payment for his sin?!

You would be crushed… You would know that what the Bishop (of all people!) did was wrong.

The fact that the bishop chooses humility OVER pretentiousness lures you toward his character wetting your eyes with tears of gratitude. You feel like you can relate to Valjean in that moment. You experience the meekness of the Bishop as though he had sang such lyrics over you when YOU were in MOMENT OF DESPAIR and knew while trying to set life “right”… you chose your condemnation!

But rather than give you JUST PUNISHMENT… he stops your accusers, positions himself in lowliness and “saves your soul for God.” - BTW - don’t make the song say something that it doesn’t. The precious metal the Bishop GAVE in addition to what Valjean had stolen is all the more significant when you know that Valjean originally assaulted the servants of Bishop Myriel as he was leaving. The Bishop is referring “saved” his soul for God… Now God can save Valjean for the benefit of others!

Introduction of Passage

The Scripture I’d like to lead you through this evening rings with notes much like what we heard in the life of Jean Valjean and Bishop Myriel. An oft overlooked aspect of our Savior’s complete divinity is unmistakably wrapped in his complete humanity. The two, divinity and humanity, are what the Apostle Paul is speaking of when he writes to the Philippians.

Read Philippians 2:1-11

Philippians 2:1–11 ESV

1 So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. 3 Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves. 4 Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others. 5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

This letter is one of Paul’s most positive. Themes of rejoicing show up in every major section of the letter. Yet Paul’s circumstances are no mystery to anyone who has some familiarity with Paul’s life. He writes this letter from a prison likely in Rome. While under some form of house arrest, he’s been able to pen these words in light of an internal struggle within the Philippian congregation.

In the section we read, we see Paul sharing the examples of Christian conduct that he intends the saints, overseers, and deacons, imitate. First, among the examples of Paul himself, Timothy, and Epaphroditus is none other than the Lord, Jesus Christ.

Let’s make a few pertinent observations of the text

First…

Note the tone Paul begins with. He assumes there is encouragement, comfort from love, and the reality that the listeners have joined together in a work greater than themselves. The letter could not be more empathetic in it’s nature. The language and the wording Paul was lead to use through the Spirit constitutes a readiness on the part of the audience. A readiness to band together yet again. So he reminds them of the history of their relationship by asking them to make complete his joy and be of the same mind, same love, being of ONE mind…

To really understand why Paul makes such extensive comments about the quality of the Philippian church and their oneness, you need to know that chapter 4 begins with an admonition. It’s actually a bit terse… Paul exhorts 2 ladies, Euodia and Syntyche, to “agree in the Lord.” While we are focusing on this specific passage revolving around Christ, you must keep in the back of your mind that Paul is aiming toward sorting out a disagreement that particularly existed between two women. The letter resonates with the need for Christ-like intervention to continue the very work of Christ!

ILLUSTRATION

Let me simply ask this… Have you ever joined a mission, an endeavor, a particular occasion bigger than yourself? In so doing, you recognized very quickly that you could NOT be a ONE MAN OR ONE WOMAN show!

Perhaps it was a dinner to feed 50 - 100 people. Maybe it’s designing an intricate pergola and you need the skills and experience and tools that only a friend and craftsmen can employ; if you’re here tonight and you’re a teenager, perhaps it’s a show in theater, a quarterfinal game or a cleaning out project at home. If you’re a young one hearing this message… have you ever made a mess of your toys ONLY TO HEAR YOUR PARENTS SAY, “CLEAN UP TIME!” At which point tears, tantrums and time wasting spill into the room and flood the house with tsunami strength… you simply CAN’T CLEAN IT ALLLLL ALONE! (Parents… you know what you say… “Oh, you can’t clean it all up can you? Well… you could mess it up; so I think you can clean it up.” Many times Mom or dad or a grandparent jumps in, offers help, and lightens the unbearable load… 5 minutes later, job well done. :)

Have you ever, in any of those situations, been so intricately woven in the mission that you accomplished WAY MORE than you ever thought possible?! Have you ever come to a point - after all the work, all the accomplishments, and all the collective sacrifice… only to disagree with the partners you had in the work? Have you ever experienced that moment of screeching disruption when all the synergy you experienced fell to the wayside because your fellow partaker in the mission did something nigh unforgivable?!

It might sound like this… We were BOTH creating a well groomed and finely tuned WELCOMING HOME! AN ENVIRONMENT FIT FOR THE PRESIDENT AND HIS FAMILY or a KING AND QUEEN! BUT… MY PARTNER IN THE MISSION CROSSED AN UNFORGIVABLE LINE! THEY’VE LEFT MULTIPLE WATER CUPS, COFFEE MUGS, AND UN-RINSED DISHES IIIIIIN THE BEDROOM, ON THE END TABLE, SHOVED INTO THE SINK!? AND THE DISHWASHER WAS EMPTY AND WAITING THIS WHOLE TIME! READY FOR DIRTY DISHES?!?!

Has some such travesty every happened to you?!

Here is what I want you to see. And it’s why you needed the look ahead in the text at Euodia and Syntyche to make sens of this passage. The issue which Paul brings into view that requires 3 (Himself, Epaphroditus, Timothy and the ultimate - Jesus) examples of humility and sacrifice is NOT a battle of supernatural proportion. We aren’t given the specifics… But we are able to see that Paul is addressing a relational ‘bump in the road’. It’s a hardship that could decimate the momentous work of the Philippian church. He’s addressing an everyday, relational, disagreement that can only be overcome by BOTH PARTIES - “laying down their guns” and preferring the needs of another over their own…

Regardless that one may “have the right’ to make demands for their own interests… Paul stresses humility and sacrifice over self-aggrandizement.

Return to the text...

Look back with me at the text and the next section, verses 3-8. Let’s call this section “The Embodiment of Humility”.

Here, Paul gives the most human view of the Savior perhaps given anywhere in the Scriptures. He begins with an all-encompassing command… “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, ...”

Paul leaves no room for question. The “nothing” listed means what it plainly states - “DO NOTHING”. Look no further at the text and “search” for it’s fuller meaning. Selfish ambition and conceit could be no further from Christ’s likeness than the east is from the west. He says, therefore, seek it not - ever!

Next Paul introduces a contrast - “BUT IN HUMILITY” … Paul asks the Philippians to do the one thing NO ONE in all humanity is naturally inclined to do - “count others more significant than yourselves.” The verb “count” has cognates that at times give the connotation of “lead” - as in Matthew 2:6 “6 “ ‘And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, are by no means least among the rulers of Judah; for from you shall come a ruler who will shepherd my people Israel.’ ”” The idea there being to gently lead them… Paul is stressing here the need for the brothers and sisters to be an example “to consider”, to be in the practice of “thinking of” or “counting” others as more significant that yourself. Give the higher ground to someone else! Why?!

Selfish ambitions have no place among Christ.

Paul emphasizes this in verse 4 and looks inwardly - letting the Philippians know that they have a comparative situation that will allow them to understand what he’s saying. You look out for yourself… but look out for others more!

Verse 5 he addresses whether or not his command is even possible. Indeed it is! He commands them to embody this self-denial because they, in fact, share the mind of Christ! Jesus will enrapture them to do what they could not of their own accord. They cannot argue their way out of accomplishing this - they’re one in Christ… and this is the mind of Christ. Therefore, they can have this mind - to consider others above themselves.

Verses 6-8 are climactic. Paul now explains who Jesus is and how he treated others in light of his position.

JESUS IS GOD! The word to describe “form” means the very form of. Indicating there’s no difference by distinction. Rather, the one in reference is equal with and the same as. He is the embodiment of God!

And how does God, in Christ, decide to act toward humanity? He “did not ‘count’ equality with God something to be grasped. Remember the last time you saw the word “count”? It was just earlier as Paul said to “count others as more significant that yourselves.” So, in this moment, Paul shows us Jesus did the very thing he is counseling us to do! Instead of “pulling rank”. Christ does the exact opposite. He is the embodiment of God come to serve… born in the likeness of men. Verse 8 is more descript than what we are perhaps at first aware. It describes ‘degree’. The degree to which Jesus is like us: He IS human… He WILL die… and His death is an embarrassment of incomparable scope. Much earlier in the Old Testament, Joshua hung the King of Ai out on a tree at the gates of the city. He removed it at nightfall in accordance with The Law. However, to be hung on a tree was a sign of disastrous defeat. Not only was the king seen as defeated, but defeated and mocked in his weakness. So Christ takes on the same such death and mockery.

Finally, at verse 9, we see Christ receiving a gift from God the Father. because of the depth of his humility, the Father bestows upon him the name that will command the attention, the praise, and the adoration of every matter filled being on the face of the earth and in the existence of mankind. In light of having worn a name defamed by all this world could use to defame it: shame, meekness, patience, and long-suffering… God gives him a name that is above EVERY NAME and all of heaven and earth and all the dead in the earth will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

You see… it wasn’t some pomp from Jesus that Paul commands Christ’s followers to abide by. Rather, it was a life of imitation! A life so bound to the very fabric of the mind of God, that we should in unity with his example, take the position of humility when we could express power, patience when we could give way to frustration, love when we could easily hate, and count as insignificant what Christ counted significant enough to GIVE HIS LIFE FOR!

Tonight… how does “revival” impress itself upon you? Have you returned for an event that’s a shadow of times past? Have you awaited the fellowship that’s a part of the natural gathering of family and friends in Christ to hear the Word of God and enjoy songs uplifting his name? Or, in the most humbling of senses, have you come to hear the Word, Sing the Praises of His work… and beg that He would CONFORM YOU TO HIS IMAGE!? If it is the latter… then may revival fall most afresh upon you! May you and I come together and brace ourselves for the call of God in Christ to both believe in Him and suffer for his sake as we proclaim His salvation and return.One thing is for sure.. just like the struggle of the Philippian church; just like the disagreement of the sisters in Christ Euodia and Syntyche; just like the servants in Victor Hugo’s epic moment where Bishop Myriel “saves” Valjean’s soul for God by offering him the priceless candlesticks - the very objects used to assault Myriel’s servants but given to offer Valjean freedom… So to Christ has called us to live an exemplary life. A life that is taken advantage of; perhaps “run over”, one that’s costly; one where only God the Father can one day say “well done good and faithful servant”.

Are you ready to walk in humility, oneness of mind and Spirit, united in a mission to share Christ with others by working WITH your brothers and sisters? Are you - am I - willing to lay aside whatever pretense we have and refuse to need credit so that the name of Jesus is lifted high and exulted before the Father by our lives and not overlooked because of our self-aggrandizement? The Scriptures tell us WE HAVE this mind - THE MIND OF CHRIST! So too may we walk “worthy of the Gospel of Christ!