140-110 Consider Jesus: The Humiliation of Christ

John 13:1-17

While the birth of Jesus took place over 2000 years ago, it has revolutionized the world. His birth has become the center of history (BC/AD). Yet, the birth of this baby did not come with the pomp and circumstance or grandeur that His position commands. Jesus’ birth was very much a humble birth. Luke 2:1-7 records the simple details of the birth. Luke doesn’t embellish the story. He doesn’t decorate it with sentimental tales—vv 6-7. That’s it. There really isn’t much more said about the actual birth of JC. While it doesn’t come with fanfare, the birth of Jesus is the turning point of human history. Many do not recognize this—even among believers.

In early colonial America, the Puritans had a dislike for Christmas b/c the celebration usually included drinking, feasting, and playing games - all things which the Puritans frowned upon, it reminded them too much of the Church of England whose traditions they were trying to escape, and they didn’t believe Dec 25th was a holy-day (holiday).

They were correct in that point when Rome tried to sanctify a pagan holiday by focusing on the birth of the Savior. What I find interesting—in Scripture we are commanded to commemorate the death of the Lord but nowhere to do so for His birth.

Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting we go back to the Puritan model and certainly not a scrooge. But we ought to recognize that our celebrations are not b/c of biblical command but b/c of the traditions that have been firmly established. I do want have an abundance of joy during Christmas but also want you to know that Christmas is not just about a baby in a manger.

That’s the main idea behind the majority of Christmas hymns:

Good Christian men, rejoice With heart and soul and voice; Give ye heed to what we say: Jesus Christ is born today: Ox and ass before him bow And He is in the manger now. Christ is born today! Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright Round yon virgin mother and child. Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace.

Angels, from the realms of glory, Wing your flight o'er all the earth; Ye, who sang creation's story, Now proclaim Messiah's birth: Come and worship, Come and worship Worship Christ, the new-born King. What child is this who laid to rest on Mary's lap is sleeping

Most of these songs have a great message about the nature of the one who was born and they’re joyful to sing. But the emphases for Christmas should not be only about the birth of Christ. It’s a part of that but not the entire focus. This year our focus is on 3 distinct periods of Jesus Christ. Last time was the Pre-Existence of Christ, today (dive deep into): The Humiliation of Christ.

That’s a theological concept. Humiliation is not like the typical definition we generally assign to it (embarrass, make someone feel ashamed). The words humble & humiliate carry the same idea and are derived from a Gk term meaning “low, lowly”. What we see about Christ in this 2nd period of time is a humiliation (His lowliness) that is self-imposed.

Phil 2:5-11

The Mind of the Son of God—Revealed

In this passage, we are taught the extent of Christ’s humiliation, which is brought about by His own will/doing. Paul is teaching believers to follow the example of the Lord by not elevating ourselves above other people. In a one word summary we are called to be humble (humility of mind—vs 3—1 word in Gk). Nowhere is the example of Christ as clear than in His transition from Heaven to earth, from God to the God-Man.

The mind of Christ reveals 2 things:

1) The Deity of Jesus (He is God)

“existed in the form of God” lit “who existing in the form of God” on-going possession of the essence of deity. “form” morphe which speaks of the reality of one’s essence or being. Paul states Jesus is God—that is His true form/essence—one that is unchanging.

This statement reflects the eternal glory of Christ that is seen in 2 Cor 8:9 “though He was rich, yet for your sakes…”

Jesus is rich in eternal glory b/c He is fully God.

Colossians 2:9 For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,

Jn 1:1 Word=Jesus

Equality with God is an essence shared only among the members of the Godhead (Father, Son, HS).

I’m not going to take more time to develop this. As believers, this is our conviction concerning His nature. Paul reveals something else about the mind of Christ that grabs our attention.

2) The Humiliation of Jesus: He became a servant

Christ whose unchangeable essence is divine, He didn’t think that equality with God was a right that He needed to assert. Today our society is adamant about maintaining individual rights. That’s a side issue for we really don’t have any rights—we’re slaves: either of sin or righteousness. Slaves don’t have rights. That’s what points to the greatness of the act of JC. A slave has no rights but God has the right to be worshiped, to be served, to be adored and loved with heart, soul, mind, strength. Equal to God, fully deserving service and worship from His creation, Jesus did not selfishly cling to that eternal state of equality with God.

“Not regard…grasped” to seize, hold on tightly, to cling. In other words, contrary to those who have the mind and desire to exalt themselves above others, Jesus was willing to lay aside those divine privileges. Now some have taken this to mean He gave up His deity. At no time did JC cease to be God. But He did surrender the privileges and prerogatives that were associated with His divinity—and He did it on His own accord (a key point).

“emptied Himself” –Gk kenosis. “to make empty, the divestiture of position or prestige” What did He empty Himself of? Much debate—what we can say with conviction is that He did not empty Himself of His deity, not of His power, omniscience, not even of His glory—veiled by humanity (transfiguration). He empty Himself of the independent privileges of deity, independent use of these divine attributes in order to live a normal human life.

Why would He give that up? Ultimately for God’s glory and your good. He gave up the independent exercise of His will for the glory of God:

John 6:38 NASB95

38 “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 5:30 NASB95

30 “I can do nothing on My own initiative. As I hear, I judge; and My judgment is just, because I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.

John 17:4 NASB95

4 “I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.

The self-emptying of Christ was for the purpose of glorifying God and it results in our good—coming to us to rescue, deliver—as the Savior.

To what extent did He empty Himself? “taking the form of a bond-servant.”

Mark 10:45 NASB95

45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

I hope you can see how this is truly an infinite contrast—form of God (unchangeable essence of deity)—form of a servant (the fullness of humanity). Not just a man but a particular kind of man—a servant. The lowest position a person could become in the Roman world was a doulos—slave. Jesus became a man-slave. This is what we see Him doing in Jn 13.

Jesus did not use His privileges of deity for personal comfort. Every miracle was for the benefit of the person in need so that the Father would be glorified. Even in the temptations and hardships, he refused to assert His deity to bring about personal comfort.

So He becomes a servant and as a man, He would give Himself to serving others by becoming obedient. Obedience is expected of slaves. He took that obedience to the absolute extreme—to the point of death, and not just any death but the most barbaric, horrific, painful, and cruel death known to man—crucifixion.

“Humbled Himself” also points to the lowering of Himself—which is the example Paul exhorts us to follow.

Heb—He had to be made like His brethren(Heb 2:17). Jesus had to be made like us both in nature and in experience. There are certain human experiences that necessitated the LJC become the God-Man. All along we maintain “impeccability of Christ” not able to sin—perfect holiness.

Humbled himself, “became poor” 2 Cor 8:9. There were 2 classes of poverty in Rome. Those who were poor and had to work in order to make a living. There were those who were poor and had become destitute, in total poverty and thus needed to beg—abject/extreme poverty—this is the term used of Christ.

There is an infinite distance between Christ as “rich” being God and Christ being poor as a servant—obedient to the point of death. In what ways did Jesus manifest this humiliation? Humiliation is not just about His humanity (nature) but His service, the suffering character of His life and ministry as a man.

We see his humiliation

In His Conception

Conception of Jesus was clearly miraculous in every sense.

Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows. When His mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by the Holy Spirit.

Lk 1:26ff

Joseph kept Mary pure until after she gave birth to Jesus. Before that, Jesus spent 9 months in Mary’s womb. For God who had been boundless in space and time, for the 1st time was restricted to the space of the womb for 9 months. The real presence of the Lord was in the womb as indicated when Mary went to visit Elizabeth (mother of John Baptist)—vv41-44

In His Birth

Scripture does not speak of Mary’s social status. People have claimed she was poor, but that’s an assumption that is difficult to substantiate in Scripture. We do know that Bethlehem, where Jesus was born was a little, obscure town.

Micah 5:2 NASB95

2 “But as for you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Too little to be among the clans of Judah, From you One will go forth for Me to be ruler in Israel. His goings forth are from long ago, From the days of eternity.”

Bethlehem was an insignificant town in Jesus’ time.

Lk 2:1-7

Now, of course they had to be in Bethlehem not just for the census but for the birth of Messiah to be the fulfillment of OT. As obscure as this town was, it was the place of birth which shows His humiliation. “No room…” The Gk word for inn simply means a shelter or place of lodging. Bethlehem was a busy place b/c of decree, so Joseph and Mary ended up staying where the animals were kept and where there were feeding troughs—“manger.” These were uncomfortable conditions and certainly not worthy of the birthplace for a king, let alone the Creator. But this entrance into humanity would illustrate His mind throughout His ministry.

In The Flight to Egypt

After the Magi were warned by God not to return to Herod, they went back to their country. Herod then issued the order to kill all male children in Bethlehem and the surrounding areas. So Joseph took his family into Egypt until the death of Herod (few weeks or several months). This homelessness was not only a fulfillment of prophecy but shows the difficult early childhood of JC.

In His Childhood in Nazareth

Joseph and Mary lived in Nazareth. This town was also nothing significant. In fact, when Philip went to tell others He found Messiah, Nathaniel said “can any good thing come out of Nazareth?”

Not much is revealed about the childhood of the Lord. But what is remarkable is the ordinary life He lived. He was the son of a carpenter. He lived a life of labor. Many rejected Him b/c they believed He was ordinary: Mark 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him.—BTW normal upbringing with the familial relationships that most of us had (multiple siblings—Jesus had at least 6)

In His Human Experiences

3 Temptations are spoken of early in His ministry though there were likely many more during those 40 days in the wilderness. Temptations to lay aside His humanity and take up the privileges of deity. Temptations to escape the personal discomfort He experienced and to satisfy human flesh.

Hebrews 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Hebrews 2:18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted.

It wasn’t just temptation but Jesus experienced all the infirmities of humanity. It was these things that God had never experienced until He became man.

John 4:6 Jesus became weary

Jn 19:28 “I am thirsty”

Mark 4:38 Jesus was tired and slept

Jhn 11:35 Jesus wept

Garden of Gethsemane he suffered agony

He had a special love for special people (Lazarus’ family)

He craved human sympathy and support (Mt 26:36-40)

In His Ministry

Even in His ministry Jesus did not have all the comforts that people desire.

Matthew 8:20 And Jesus said to him, "The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head."

Homeless during the 3 year ministry leading to His crucifixion.

Many abandoned him throughout the course of ministry.

John 6:66 As a result of this many of His disciples withdrew, and were not walking with Him anymore. Condemned for unbelief.

His closest friends abandoned Him at his arrest and would even deny Him.

In Enduring the Reproaches of Men

Of course, the greatest display of Christ emptying Himself were the events that led up to the cross and death itself. How impossible it was for God to die before He became a man. How utterly contemptible for Jesus to hang on a cross, to die, to be abandoned by the Father, to be so disgraced. But this was His choosing.

He chose the cross, He endured the bitter reproach of an unbelieving world, He suffered the pain of hell for a moment (for what is more hellish than to be separated from God?) He did that so sinners could escape the judgment of eternal hell. His moment of humiliation for my salvation, His death, for my life, His abandonment for my acceptance.

Oh the humiliation of Christ, God would reside with man in human flesh—taking upon Himself the poverty of humanity (of a servant) that we might become rich.

That is the message of Christmas. And it goes so much deeper than celebrating the humble birth of a baby.

Our closing hymn this morning exemplifies the depth of Christ’s humiliation and the appropriate response of His creatures:

VERSE 1: Thou didst leave Thy throne and Thy kingly crown, When Thou camest to earth for me; But in Bethlehem’s home was there found no room For Thy holy nativity. CHORUS: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee. VERSE 2: Heaven’s arches rang when the angels sang, Proclaiming Thy royal degree; But in lowly birth Thou didst come to earth, And in great humility. CHORUS: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee. VERSE 3: Thou camest, O Lord, with the living Word, That should set Thy people free; But with mocking scorn and with crown of thorn, They bore Thee to Calvary. CHORUS: O come to my heart, Lord Jesus, There is room in my heart for Thee. VERSE 4: When the heavens shall ring, and the angels sing, At Thy coming to victory, Let Thy voice call me home, saying “Yet there is room, There is room at My side for thee.” My heart shall rejoice, Lord Jesus, When Thou comest and callest for me.