He humbled Himself…

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus,

who, existing in the form of God,
did not consider equality with God
as something to be exploited.
Instead he emptied himself
by assuming the form of a servant,
taking on the likeness of humanity.
And when he had come as a man,

he humbled himself by becoming obedient
to the point of death—
even to death on a cross.
For this reason God highly exalted him
and gave him the name
that is above every name,
so that at the name of Jesus
every knee will bow—
in heaven and on earth
and under the earth—
and every tongue will confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

-Philippians 2:5-11 (CSB)

The word humble, as a verb, means to lower someone in dignity or importance, and as an adjective, it refers to one who is submissive, respectful, and obedient.  The root of the word means “earth.”  Jesus humbled Himself – He chose submissive obedience to the ultimate will of God and lowered Himself – our Sovereign Creator – to the physical plane of Earth itself.  He took on the limitations of an earthly form, a form originally created from the dust of the Earth, a form that would return to dust after death.  Jesus humbled Himself.  He chose to lower His dignity and His importance.  He had the form of God and chose to take on the form of a human.  Can we even fathom the depth of Jesus’ choice?

Jesus is the Word made flesh (John 1).  He was with God in the beginning, and by Christ, everything was made and is held together (Colossians 1).  He, who is our Creator, chose to be born as a small, helpless child.  He went from omnipotent Creator to seemingly insignificant baby. 

As a baby, King Herod threatened Jesus’ very life (Matthew 2).  Jesus – who rules over all human kingdoms and gives them to whom He chooses (Daniel 4) – was threatened by a very human king.  Then during Jesus’ earthly ministry, He healed all manner of diseases, drove out demons, and commanded the actions of nature itself.  He demonstrated His God-power and authority time after time, yet the people did not understand.  His own disciples were amazed and confused by Him (Matthew 8).  Those He helped begged Him to leave (Matthew 8), mocked Him (Matthew 9), called Him demon-possessed (Matthew 9), and plotted to kill Him (Matthew 12).  He was their Creator, their King, their Savior, and they could not recognize Him.  Jesus humbled Himself, knowing the very people He came to save would seek to demean Him even more.

Is it any wonder Jesus grieved over Jerusalem: “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” (Matthew 23:37b)?  Even in His grief, though, Jesus reveals His priorities – His heart was for the people, longing for them to return to Him.  Jesus’ desire for renewed relationship and connection with us, then and now, shows His motive for choosing to bind His deity in human form.  This motive would carry Jesus to the cross – the ultimate humiliation.

The night before the crucifixion, while Jesus was in the Garden of Gethsemane, He asked the Father, “…if it is possible, let this cup pass from me.  Yet not as I will, but as you will” (Matthew 26:39b).  Jesus knew what was to come (John 18:4), the final pieces of His humbling, yet He remained obedient to the Father’s will. 

Jesus could have called “twelve legions of angels” (Matthew 26:53) to His side, but He didn’t.  He allowed Judas’ betrayal; the arrest by the soldiers; and the mockery, beatings, and false accusations by those who sought to discredit Him.  Jesus knew those closest to Him would desert Him, abandoning Him at His darkest hour.  Yet Jesus remained obedient “to the point of death – even to death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).

The Giver of Life humbled Himself to allow death to overcome Him.  Paul writes in Colossians, “…he is…the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything” (1:18b).  Jesus died in His human form, but He was always God too, and death cannot hold God.  Because Jesus humbled Himself, God the Father “highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow…and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:9-11).  Jesus ended His earthly life in humility, and God raised Him up in exaltation and glory.

There was always a plan for Jesus’ humbling, and it was always meant to glorify God, exalt Jesus., and return us to right relationship with Him.  Today is Easter Sunday when we celebrate the fulfillment of all Jesus came to do on Earth.  He completed His mission on Good Friday with His death, and with His resurrection on Easter morning, He opened the doors to an entirely new life and a new relationship with Him. 

Thanks be to God.