Humble Servant

SERMON TITLE: Humble Servant

TEXT: Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)

SPEAKER: Josh Hanson

DATE: 3-24-24

TURN MIC ON / WELCOME

As always it’s a joy to be with all of you this weekend at Gateway Church. And there’s one thing I want you to know — and this is true if you’re worshiping with us for the first time or are joining us at our North Main Campus — I want you to know that God loves you and that I love you too.

SERIES INTRO

As many of you may be aware of — today begins Holy Week. This is a time of the year when Christians all around the world are reflecting on the final week of Jesus’ life. This Easter, we’re going to look at three roles Jesus fulfills that each have important theological and practical implications for all of us — Christian or not. Today we’ll be looking at how Jesus was a humble servant — more specifically — what theologians have called the humiliation of Christ. On Thursday, Pastor Robert will explore how Jesus was a perfect sacrifice. And then — on Easter — we’ll look at how Jesus is an exalted Savior. Humble servant. Perfect sacrifice. Exalted Savior.

INTRODUCTION

But — first — our text for today. If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Philippians chapter two. We’ll be looking at Paul’s letter to the Christians living in Philippi together today. We’re in Philippians chapter two — beginning in verse five.

Philippians 2:5–11 (ESV)

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.

To be a servant is to be someone who serves others — I think that’s obvious. Once — when his disciples were arguing about which of them would get to be the greatest in Jesus’ Kingdom — Jesus said this to his disciples.

Matthew 20:25–28 (ESV)

25 But Jesus called them to him and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. 26 It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, 27 and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, 28 even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Jesus came not to be served — but to serve? And how did he serve us? By giving his life as a ransom — or a payment — for the sins of others. Now — Jesus coming to serve — is how we come to his humiliation. In verse eight Paul tells us that Jesus “humbled himself.” And I know that — for some of us — Jesus being humiliated may be foreign language to our ears. It may sound a bit shocking or offensive. Jesus humbling himself sounds or feels different to us than Jesus’ humiliation. But the two mean the same thing. And I think that once you see what the doctrine of Christ’s humiliation is teaching that you’ll see that Jesus did indeed fulfill the role of a humble servant.

In our church tradition, we appreciate the theological clarity found in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The confession also has two catechisms — which are questions and answers to help instruct people in the Christian faith. One of the catechisms has more questions and longer answers — it was written for adults — and the other has less questions with shorter answers — written primarily for children.

The Larger Catechism asks this question.

Q. 46. How was Christ humiliated?

A. For our sakes, Christ emptied himself of his own glory and took on the form of a servant, and so was humiliated in all the poor circumstances involving his conception and birth, life on earth, death, and after his death until he was resurrected.

So when we think of the humiliation of Jesus — how he fulfilled the role of a humble servant — we’re to think of what it means for him to be born, his life, death, and resurrection and how these give us a reason to have great hope and joy as well as modeling for us how we’re to live as his followers.

A HUMBLE BIRTH

Let’s look at Jesus’ birth — which I know is weird — “it’s Easter Josh, not Christmas!” I know, I know. In verse six Paul writes…

Philippians 2:6–7 (ESV)

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.

Paul makes it clear that part of Jesus’ humiliation — a way in which he humbled himself — was in “being born in the likeness of men.” How did Jesus humble himself in “being born in the likeness of men.” Or — here’s how the catechism asks the question.

Q. 47. How did Christ humble himself in his conception and birth?

A. Christ humbled himself in his conception and birth in that being from all eternity the Son of God in the bosom of the Father, it pleased him in the fullness of time to become the son of man, born of a women from a poor family and into conditions that were even worse than ordinary.

Jesus — the eternal Son of God — the One through whom all things were created — in order to be the servant who would save many from their sins — was born in the likeness of men. This is act of humility is astounding when we pause to consider God becoming man. Born as a helpless babe. Born into a poor family — he left the infinite riches of Heaven, after all. Born with no baby shower celebrations. No family showing up at the hospital. Not even a home birth. Born in a cave among animals. As the catechism says, “conditions that were even worse than ordinary.”

Without Christ humbling himself in his birth we would have no hope — no reason to rejoice.

A HUMBLE LIFE

In verse eight Paul writes…

Philippians 2:8 (ESV)

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

Jesus not only humbled himself in his birth — his life was an act of humble service — it too was an act of humiliation. As the catechism asks…

Q. 48. How did Christ humble himself in his life?

A. Christ humbled himself in his life by subjecting himself to the law, which he perfectly fulfilled, and by struggling with the indignities of this world, the temptations of Satan, and the frailty of his body, whether common to the natural human condition or particularly associated with his own poor situation.

Jesus did not know hunger or thirst or pain or even what a blister on a foot felt like until he humbled himself as a servant. He did not know temptation until he humbled himself by becoming one of us. He never had need to rest before he became man. He never knew frailty until he took on human flesh.

But — in order to serve us by giving his life for our sins — he had to become one of us. As Isaiah prophesied about Jesus…

Isaiah 53:2–3 (NLT)

2 My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him. 3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Being God — Jesus is the definition of beauty and majesty — yet — in becoming man — there was nothing beautiful or majestic about him. The extraordinary became ordinary to our eyes. He was despised — rejected — experienced sorrow and grief. And we didn’t care — nor understand — that he humbled himself for our eternal good.

A HUMBLE DEATH

Again verse eight states…

Philippians 2:8 (ESV)

8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.

It’s not just his birth and life — in which Jesus humbled himself — but also his death.

Q. 49. How did Christ humble himself in his death?

A. Christ humbled himself in his death by being betrayed by Judas, forsaken by his disciples, scorned and rejected by the world, condemned by Pilate, and tormented with physical persecution. He struggled with the terrors of death and the powers of darkness; he felt and bore the weight of God’s anger. Finally, enduring the painful, shameful, and cursed death on the cross, he laid down his life as an offering for sin.

Judas betrayed him. His disciples all abandoned him. The people called for his death as they rejected him. Pilate allowed the trial to continue even though he knew Jesus was innocent. He was beaten. Mocked. Whipped. Had a crown of thorns placed on his head. Nails driven through his hands and feet. He experienced the wrath of God as he atoned for — which means he paid for — the sins of his people. Physical pain. Emotional pain. Relational pain. Spiritual pain. Christ was humiliated in his death.

A HUMBLE BURIAL

And the Son of God was humiliated in his burial.

Q. 50. How was Christ humiliated after his death?

A. Christ’s humiliation after death involved his being buried and continuing in a state of being dead and under the power of death until the third day.

Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb. And…

Matthew 27:62–66 (NLT)

62 The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. 63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” 65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” 66 So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.

The soldiers sealed the tomb to ensure that the disciples wouldn’t steal his body in order to make false claims of a resurrection. Think of the humility of him who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life” to allow his tomb to be sealed as his opponents thought they’d finally gotten rid of a deceiver. A deceiver? Do you like when people lie about you? I’m sure you don’t. What humility must Jesus had practiced for him to not rise — right then — from the dead — as these wicked men call him a deceiver? To wait until the third day — in order for Scripture to be fulfilled — to rise from the dead? What an example of humility by God’s servant.

FOLLOWING CHRIST IN HUMILITY

But — before we end — let’s remember how Paul began this passage on the humiliation of Christ. He began with…

Philippians 2:5 (ESV)

5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus,

What does Paul mean when he says to “have this mind among yourselves”? I think another Bible translation helps to answer our question.

Philippians 2:5 (NLT)

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.

So what attitude are we to have? The same attitude that Jesus had. And what was his attitude — what have we been learning about Jesus today? That he was a humble servant. Thus, the attitude that all who follow Jesus are to have — is the attitude of a humble servant. And we’re to have this humble attitude — not just individually — but corporately. The “you” is plural. “We’re” to have this attitude as the congregation of Gateway Church. A humble attitude. The posture of a servant. Where we view ourselves — together — as a humble servant of God.

As I recently read in a book on preaching, “Without a biblical vision of God and man, we think little of him and far too much of ourselves.” (Beeke, Reformed Preaching, 386)

The biblical vision of Jesus — as we’ve seen today — is that of a humble servant. Who experienced humility in his birth, in his life, in his death, and in his burial. The biblical vision of us — those who believe in and follow Jesus — it that of a family of humble servants. Humble servants who serve one another. Who serve the world. As we humbly serve our Savior.

EXALTATION IS COMING

But — before we end — and I’ll only touch on this as we’ll explore this more on Easter Sunday — we’d miss the point Paul is making about Christ’s humiliation if we don’t finish his thought.

Philippians 2:9–11 (ESV)

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.

Therefore — because Jesus faithfully humiliated himself — even to the point of death on a cross — his Heavenly Father has highly exalted him. We’ll look more closely at the exaltation of Christ next week. But — for now — know that the promise — or warning, depending on how you view it — is that we either humble ourselves now — before Jesus who is not only a humble servant — but an exalted King — or we will be humbled when he returns to complete the rescue of his people.

Those who refuse to humble themselves by trust in Christ alone for their salvation — believing that he accomplished what he came to do — to give his life as a sacrifice of service for the sins of all who turn to him in faith — either we believe that he accomplished what he came to do or we reject him, believe him to be a liar — or a deceiver — just like those who had him killed.

We humble ourselves now — and receive the hope and joy that comes with the victory of the humble servant — or we’re humbled later — and receive the just judgment that comes from the One we rejected. Humility now or later. Joy now or justice later. Hope now or judgment for eternity. Which will you choose?

Christ humbled himself for your joy and hope and so that you might live. That’s what he chose for you. How will you respond? Let’s pray.

PRAYER

Father of grace, wisdom, and power — today we’ve caught glimpses of all three at work in the life of Jesus as your eternal plan of salvation unfolded before our eyes, ears, hearts, and minds. The Son of God sent to be our humble servant. Humility in his birth, life, death, and burial — as he served us as our Savior.

Spirit of God, what an anointing you placed upon Jesus. Your power sustained him as he emptied himself. Your wisdom guided him. Your strength provided for his every need.

And — Jesus — to your our humble servant and Savior — how much more do we have to be thankful for all that you’ve done for us now that we better understand what it means that you humbled yourself on our behalf. May we — those who believe in you — follow your example and humble ourselves in service to each other and to the world. And may those among us — who don’t yet believe — humble themselves now before the time comes when humility will no longer be their choice. For to humble themselves now — is to receive the hope, joy, and life that you gave your life for them to experience. And we pray this in your name. Amen.

BENEDICTION (Prayer teams available)

May you go having the same attitude as Christ Jesus — that of a humble servant. Amen.

God loves you. I love you. You are sent.