Philippians 2:6-7 (NIV) 6
Who, being in very
nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7
but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
In His book Dying
to Preach Steven Smith develops an illustration to draw out the meaning of
this text and help us think about what Jesus did in the Incarnation…
“While Christ took on the form of
a human, he set aside his rights as God. In other words, all of Christ's time
on earth he was always Godlike. When he was tried in Samaria, he was
all-powerful; when he was asking questions in the temple, he was all-knowing;
and when he was present in a particular place, he was omnipresent. It is simply
that he made a choice not to take hold of what was always, and always will be,
his—namely, his God-like properties.
Imagine that you are visiting a
hospital. You cannot find a parking place close to the hospital, so you park
way in the back, and now you are lost. You stop another driver in the lot to
ask directions, and he kindly says that he will just park beside you and walk
with you to where you need to be in the hospital. Now suppose that as you get
to the front of the hospital, you find out that this man is actually the chief
surgeon of the hospital, and as you near the door, he adds, "Oh, yes, and
this is my parking place." He had a superior advantage because of his
status. However, in deference to your needs, he did not take his rightful
parking spot but walked with you the whole way. So here is the question: As he
was walking with you, did he stop being a doctor? No. Did he have a parking
place? Yes. He had all of these things and at any time could have laid hold of
those things and used them, but for your sake he just chose not to in that
particular moment.
As thin as that metaphor is, it
illustrates that Christ's walking among human beings did not mean he was not
God. Then why did he not reverse his tiredness or overcome all his physical
limitations? It is because if he were to override his humanity, he would not
have been fully in the form of a man and therefore could not fully empathize
with our weakness or save us by his perfect life. The Incarnation was not just
an event at Bethlehem. The Incarnation was the moment-by-moment choice of
Christ to lay down his privileges, his rights as God, and to acquiesce to
ungrateful sinners every second in order to effect our salvation.”
Jesus was the ultimate servant. His
life is the very definition of sacrifice. He lived and died in a totally
others-centered manner. And because of it, His Father was and is glorified
again and again in greater and greater glory. Jesus’ obedience means our
salvation. May your Christmas be blessed with the joy that these truths bring.
Mark 10:45 (NIV) For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to
serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."
Hebrews 2:17-18
(NIV) 17 For this reason he had to be made like his brothers in
every way, in order that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in
service to God, and that he might make atonement for the sins of the people. 18
Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to
help those who are being tempted.
Hebrews 4:15-16
(NIV) 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to
sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every
way, just as we are--yet was without sin. 16 Let us
then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy
and find grace to help us in our time of need.
PRAYER: Father, thank you for the willingness of your
Son to lower himself for my sake, and for the sake of the world. Give me grace
to comprehend just how far Jesus went for me, and may I always worship him
appropriately because of such love. In His name, AMEN.”
Jesus
Christ is Lord!
Scott
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