SERMON TITLE: Humble Servant
TEXT: Philippians 2:5-11 (ESV)
SPEAKER: Josh Hanson
DATE: 3-24-24
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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.
As you probably know — 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 — here at Gateway Church — we’re going to look at three roles Jesus fulfills that have theological and practical implications for all of us — Christian or not. Today we’ll be looking at how Jesus was a humble servant — 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.
But — first — our text for today. If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Philippians chapter two. 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.
Paul tells us that Jesus came in the form of a servant — meaning he took on the position of a servant or a slave. Once — when his disciples were arguing about which of them would get to be the greatest in his Kingdom...
Matthew 20:25–28 (ESV)
25 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 our sins.
Now — Jesus coming to serve — is how we arrive at the theological idea of his humiliation. Back in Philippians — in verse eight — Paul tells us that Jesus “humbled himself.”
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 different to us than his humiliation. But know that the two phrases mean the same thing. And I think that — once you see what the doctrine of Christ’s humiliation is teaching — you’ll have a greater appreciation for what Jesus accomplished in fulfilling the role of a humble servant.
In our church tradition, we appreciate the theological clarity found in the Westminster Confession of Faith. The confession has two catechisms that are part of it. Catechisms are questions and answers meant 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 — the one for adults — 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, to live as a man, his death, and his burial — and how each of these give us a reason to have great hope and joy as well as modeling for us how to live as his followers.
So let’s look at Jesus’ birth — which I know is weird — “it’s Easter Josh, not Christmas!” I know, I know. Just bear with me for a moment. 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.” But how did Jesus humble himself in “being born in the likeness of men”? 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 woman 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 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 showed up to celebrate with Mary and Joseph. 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 — for all that he will accomplish as our Savior would not happen without his birth.
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 needed to rest before he became a 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. Take the words of the prophet Isaiah written centuries before Jesus’ birth.
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 — at least not according to us. The extraordinary became ordinary to our eyes. He was despised — rejected — experienced sorrow and grief. And we didn’t care — nor understand — that he was humbling himself for our eternal good.
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. Mental pain. Emotional pain. Relational pain. Spiritual pain. Christ was humiliated in his death on the cross.
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.
We tend to give this little thought. But think of how humiliating it would be to know that you’re dying and having to trust others to take care of your body after you die because you didn’t put your affairs in order.
We have a tradition of honoring the dead. Soldiers who die in battle know that they will be honored. A flag draped over their casket. A twenty-one gun salute. Soldiers in uniforms.
And it’s not just those who served — funerals are a time when the dead are remembered and honored. Think of the ornateness of caskets that we bury in the ground. We honor the dead.
Yet — in his humiliation — 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 we’re seeing displayed by Jesus. He’s the one who said “I am the way, the truth, and the life” and — yet — he allowed his borrowed tomb to be sealed by his opponents who thought they’d finally gotten rid of a deceiver. A deceiver?
Do you like it when people lie about you? I’m sure you don’t. So think of the humility Jesus displayed in not rising — right then — from the dead — as these wicked men called him a deceiver. Instead — in humility — he waited 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.
Humiliation in his birth, his life, his death, and his burial. Now 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”? Another Bible translation helps to answer our question.
Philippians 2:5 (NLT)
5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
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? We’ve seen how 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 as individuals — but corporately. The “you” is plural in verse five. “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 — is that of a family of humble servants who serve one another — and who serve the world — as we humbly serve our Savior. Which — by the way — is why serving is part of our discipleship process here at Gateway. We’re to humbly serve one another because we’ve first been served by Jesus Christ, the humble servant.
But — before we end — and I’ll only touch on this now as we’ll explore it more on Easter — 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 humbled himself — even to the point of death on a cross — his Heavenly Father has highly exalted him. We’ll look 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’ll be humbled when he returns to complete the rescue of his people.
Those who refuse to humble themselves by trusting 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 deceiver — just like those who had him killed.
We humble ourselves now — and receive the hope and joy that comes with the victory of God’s humble servant — or we’re humbled later — and will receive the just judgment that is certain to come.
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 so you might live. This is what he did for you in his birth, life, death, and burial. How will you respond to his humble service? Let’s pray.
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.
Spirit of God, what an anointing you placed upon Jesus. Your power sustained him as he emptied himself. Your wisdom guided him in his life. Your strength provided for his every need — even as he was killed on a cross.
And — Jesus — to you our humble servant — we now have more reasons to be thankful for all that you’ve done for us. For we now 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 before you now — before the time comes when humility will no longer be their choice. For to humble themselves now — is to receive all the benefits and blessings that you accomplished in serving your people. Open their hearts to receive these gifts you’re offering to them. And we pray this in your name. Amen.
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.
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