Philippians 2:5-11 Emptied for You

Philippians 2:5-11 (Evangelical Heritage Version)

5Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. 6Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, 7but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant. When he was born in human likeness, and his appearance was like that of any other man, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross. 9Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, 10so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Emptied for You

I.

Have you ever been in a crowd like that? A crowd like the Palm Sunday crowd as Jesus rode in to Jerusalem?

We can’t go back and witness what happened that day; we only read about it in the Bible. There was a great deal of excitement; a festival atmosphere. Crowds filled the streets. There was singing and dancing. People were carried away with their emotions. Often, individuals in a crowd are influenced by the emotions of others in the crowd around them. How many knew what they were doing? How many understood what they were witnessing? We won’t ever really know.

We can’t replicate it, but we like to commemorate it. Every year on Palm Sunday the children wave palm branches to start our service. The choir and the children sing about the events of Palm Sunday.

The Psalm of the Day is Psalm 24, which is used to anticipate the arrival of Christ the Lord. The Psalm begins: “The earth is the Lord’s and everything that fills it, the world and all who live in it” (Psalm 24:1, EHV). The Psalm asks and answers an important question: “Who is he, this King of Glory? The Lord of Armies—he is the King of Glory” (Psalm 24:10, EHV).

How does a ruler like a king come? There’s lots of fanfare. Crowds of people gather and line the parade route to cheer him on. This King is the King of the world—the King of the universe. Even if he had come into the city on a prancing warhorse it would have been a gigantic step down.

But he didn’t come that way. He came on a young donkey. Donkeys were used to carry a load; they weren’t flashy enough for a king. Those who were very poor might ride on them, like pregnant Mary as she rode to Bethlehem to be counted in the census. Occasionally a king would ride on donkey; it was done to announce victory; the enemies had been defeated; everything was so safe that even the king could ride along on a donkey.

Jesus didn’t even come that way. The enemy hadn’t been defeated yet. Sin, death, and hell still seemed to be well in control. Paul says: “Though he was by nature God, he did not consider equality with God as a prize to be displayed, 7but he emptied himself by taking the nature of a servant” (Philippians 2:6-7, EHV). The King of the universe came in humility, as if he had nothing.

II.

In some years the Lectionary—the readings appointed for each Sunday—include the prophecy from Zechariah about this day. Did the euphoric crowd gathered to cheer Jesus on into the city think about the words of that prophecy? “Rejoice greatly, Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! Look! Your King is coming to you. He is righteous and brings salvation. He is humble and is riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9, EHV). It may have occurred to them. If so, they were probably anticipating an earthly king and an earthly kingdom, free from the powers of Rome that they dealt with every day.

But there were others there that day, too. Underneath the singing children and the cheering crowds there were murmuring voices. I would imagine they were acutely aware of the words of Zechariah and how the actions of the people seemed to reflect how they might be identifying Jesus. They could not allow it to stand. Already they were plotting and planning for the events that were to come later in the week. They intended to silence this voice once and for all. It was simply intolerable that so many hailed him and praised him.

Our theme of the day today said, in part: “Palm Sunday sets the tone for all of Holy Week. It perfectly illustrates that Jesus came to be kind of king this world will never understand.”

It is true, isn’t it? Sometimes Christians are mocked for what we expect to celebrate in this coming week. These days certainly seem dark and foreboding. Jesus celebrates the Passover with his disciples, but at that same special meal he announces to the group that one of them will betray him. We will accompany him to the Garden of Gethsemane and witness his intense prayer life—dripping sweat like drops of blood falling to the ground. The betrayer will waltz in jauntily, with mocking voice and a kiss and Jesus will be hauled off to court and an illegal trial. Christians will gather to hear about the crucifixion, and the words Jesus spoke from the cross as he hung there to die.

“His appearance was like that of any other man, 8he humbled himself and became obedient to the point of death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:7-8, EHV). Kingly? Not so much.

III.

Why do we gather and watch all this? Is it the kind of excitement the same crowds exhibited later in the week when they shouted: “Crucify, crucify”? Is it, perhaps, some intrigue with gory things, like those who enjoy horror movies? Many gathered at the foot of the cross the same way people of 150 years ago might picnic as they waited for the spectacle of a hanging.

No. Christians won’t be coming this week to revel in the gore of the crucifixion. We come to witness the kind of king this world will never understand. We come to witness a King who was obedient even to the point of death; a King who came to take what we deserve.

If I were to list your sins, just from the past week, I would be up here for hours. It would be embarrassing and humiliating for you. My own list of sins would be embarrassing and humiliating, too. Think about your own study of the Ten Commandments. Remember your catechism days. The first set of Commandments deal with your relationship with God, the rest deal with your relationship with your neighbor—all human beings. The First Commandment says: “You shall have no other gods.” Every single sin you commit places someone or something above the One true God.

That’s what Jesus took to the cross. Not just your sins of the last week, but of your lifetime. Not just the sins of your lifetime, but of every person’s lifetime.

With a lot of imagination we can wrap our minds around the physical pain and torture of hanging on a cross, but we can never understand the torture of the hell Jesus suffered for the sins of every human being when he cried out: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me!” God abandoned God as the only way the payment for the debt of all those sins could be made.

“Indeed, let this attitude be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 2:5, EHV). The attitude Paul speaks of is the attitude of Jesus’ humility. Those who aren’t Christian can’t understand why we come together for this during the week we call Holy Week. To a certain extent, Christians can’t understand it, either. It is humbling, isn’t it? Our Lord Jesus, the One the Psalmist identified as the King of glory, the One who made everything and everyone, was willing to die and to be abandoned by God the Father to pay the price to buy back from hell each one of us.

That’s Holy Week. Jesus loved us so much he was willing to do all that for us.

IV.

Of course, there is more to the story than the death of Jesus. Paul writes: “Therefore God also highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name” (Philippians 2:9, EHV).

Jesus came in humility and he died in humility, but our remembrance of Jesus’ death on the cross comes with a sense of expectation. We know that he rose again from the dead. We look forward to the celebration of the resurrection next Sunday. There is nothing more joyous in all the Christian calendar than to gather around the empty tomb and rejoice that Jesus is risen.

The resurrection reassures us that God accepted Jesus’ payment for our sins. We are redeemed. We are forgiven. Not only have all our sins been wiped off the books, but we have the perfection of Jesus to wear when we stand before the throne of God. We will be welcomed into heaven because of what Jesus has done for us.

“At the name of Jesus every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11, EHV). Not every knee will be bowing willingly or in great joy. At the Last Day, those who rejected Jesus’ work of salvation will be bowing in submission. You and I, however, those who gather this week to rejoice in the work our Savior did for us, will be bowing before our Lord Jesus in faith and joy. With the angels, our tongues will forever confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

It wasn’t just on Palm Sunday that Jesus humbled himself—it was his whole life. Everything he did was to lead up to that moment on Good Friday, when we will be reminded of the culmination of all he came to accomplish, when he says: “It is finished.” One word, in the Greek. The word which was used to mark a bill of sale paid in full. Tetelestai: “It is finished”: paid in full. Palm Sunday’s joy is also completed in that one word. Jesus emptied himself to fill you. Amen.