TRINITY EVANGELICAL LUTHERAN CHURCH
  • Home
  • About
    • Christian Education
    • What We Believe >
      • Baptism
      • Worship
      • Confession and Absolution
      • Holy Communion
    • Missions
  • Our Pastor
  • Sermons
    • Old Sermons
  • Calendar
  • Choir
  • Bible Study Podcast

"For faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ." ~ Romans 10:17

Humble Like Christ

4/3/2023

0 Comments

 
Picture
Albrecht Dürer, Christ as the Man of Sorrows, Circa 1493. Public Domain.
Palm Sunday  
Philippians 2:5-11 
Pastor James Preus 
Trinity Lutheran Church  
April 2, 2023 
 
What does it mean that Christ Jesus was in the form of God and did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped? It means that before Christ Jesus emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, He was already equal with God and possessed the majesty of God. Before He was conceived of the Holy Spirit in the womb of the Virgin Mary and made a man, Jesus was God. Jesus did not become God after He was crucified and risen. He did not receive His divinity at His Baptism or at His transfiguration. Christ Jesus is God from eternity. On the night on which He was betrayed, Jesus prayed to His Father, “And now, Father, glorify Me in Your presence with the glory that I had with You before the world existed.” (John 17:5) 
This Jesus, who was in the form of God from eternity, who is God from eternity, who did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped, because He had been and always will be equal to God, this Jesus emptied Himself and took on the form of a slave, becoming obedient to the point of death on a cross. This is called the Humiliation of Christ. In the Humiliation of Christ, Jesus hides His divine glory. He does not cease to be God. Even as he grows in His mother’s womb and when He is born a weak infant and laid in a manger, He remains God. He is God as He hungers and thirsts, as He is scourged and spit upon, as He wears the crown of thorns, as He is nailed to the cross and dies. While Christ’s humiliation corresponds in time with His incarnation, Jesus did not need to humiliate Himself to become a man. Jesus today is still a man in His exalted state, sitting at the right hand of the Father with His enemies under His feet. Jesus can be a human being without being humiliated. But He chose not only to be a human being, but to become a servant for our sake.  
Jesus Christ did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life as a ransom for all people (Matthew 20:28). Although He had the right to demand the praise of all men and angels and to order them to serve Him, He put aside His kingly rights, so that He could reign from the cross. Words cannot express this humiliation. Christ was infinitely exalted, equal with God the Father and Holy Spirit in glory and majesty from before the foundation of the world, and He lowered Himself down to a slave. Although He Himself is the author of the Law, who gave the Law to Moses, He was born of a woman, under the Law (Galatians 4:4-5). He did this to redeem us who were under the Law. Jesus in human flesh was obedient to God. He loved Him wholly and perfectly. He not only understood the Law better than the Scribes, Pharisees, and chief priests, but He lived it perfectly. Jesus was the only man ever to live to earn His way to heaven. Yet, He did not take His prize. Instead, He took upon Himself the guilt of all people and died worse than a slave’s death. He was obedient to God’s wrath against our sins, even to death on the cross, being crucified between two criminals. 
This is the Humiliation of Christ. He was infinitely high, and He brought Himself infinitely low for our sake, to pay for our offense. He is literally God in the flesh, yet He did not boast or exalt Himself above others.  Why then is it so difficult for us to humble ourselves before others?  
St. Paul says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Jesus is God, yet He humbled Himself to the point beyond human semblance (Isaiah 52:14). That is the mind of Christ we should imitate. St. Paul wrote immediately before this epistle lesson, “Do nothing from rivalry or conceit (that is from selfishness or vainglory), but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” (Philippians 2:3) It’s a healthy thing to remind yourself that you are not God. If God could humble Himself for the sake of mankind, you certainly can humble yourself.  
But this disease of sin makes us foolish and prideful. We want to think we’re the smartest in the room, or the most sensible, or the best looking, or the most righteous, or the hardest worker. We laugh at the disciples for arguing which one of them was the greatest, yet we don’t argue because we think it is a forgone conclusion! By exhorting us to be humble, St. Paul simply continues the work our Lord Jesus did. This Thursday we’ll hear Jesus tell His disciples, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.” (John 13:14) Another time, Jesus said to His disciples, “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20:27-28) 
Brother puts down sister, sister puts down brother. We think our way is best. Yet, our pride is a delusion. Like Yertle the Turtle, it will only make us king of the mud. Everything we have has been given to us from above, so don’t act as if you have made yourself great! (1 Corinthians 4:7) And if God has made you great, then you should use your greatness to serve others.  
A common theme throughout Scripture, which Jesus repeats several times is, “Whoever exalts himself will be humbled, but whoever humbles himself will be exalted.” (Matthew 23:12) This is a lesson we must continue to learn our entire lives. When we stop learning this lesson, we lose our salvation.  
It is important for us to humble ourselves, because being humble is honest. We are sinners. We should not claim to be better than others. Also, being humble guards us from wicked sins caused by pride. How often have Christians refused correction by a faithful pastor or other fellow Christians because of their pride? Yet, none of us is above correction.  
By being humble we also follow the path of Christ, which is the only path to salvation. Jesus humbled Himself by submitting to the Law, we were under and by bearing the guilt for our sins. So, we should repent of our sins for which Jesus died and follow Him to receive His grace. By being humble, we receive our salvation by grace, as a gift.  
The Humiliation of Christ is when Jesus hides His divine glory and power. This took place when He became a servant, suffered, and died for our sins. As Jesus was humiliated, so also was He exalted. The Exaltation of Christ is when He exercises His full divine glory and power. This happened when He finished His suffering on the cross, proclaimed His victory in hell, rose from the dead, and is now ascended to the right hand of God the Father.  
When we follow Jesus in His humiliation, we then also follow Him in His exaltation. St. Paul quotes Psalm 68 in his letter to the Ephesians, “When He ascended on high He led a host of captives.” We were those captives. Jesus does not ascend alone. He ascended leading us in His train, who humbled ourselves with Him.  
God has highly exalted Christ and given Him the name which is above every name. That means that Jesus is God. We know no God but Jesus. Therefore, at the name of Jesus every knee shall bow, in heaven and on earth, and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Every knee shall bow. Every knee. Those in heaven, those on earth, and those in hell. Every knee will bow. Every tongue will confess. Every tongue in heaven, on earth, and in hell. Yet, not all will confess willingly. They will not all confess with joy. Many will confess with gnashing teeth, cursing under their breath that they rejected Christ and tried to exalt themselves above God in this life.  
Yet, those who have humbled themselves in this life, who have confessed their sins to God and have repented of them, and who have accepted God’s grace as a free gift, they will bow willingly. They will confess joyfully. And they will be lifted up to live with Christ in His heavenly Kingdom.  
On Palm Sunday, we sing hymns of praises to our King Jesus, remembering how He road into Jerusalem triumphantly on a donkey, with the praise of the people and children with palm branches waving. Yet, He is a strange champion. He carries no weapon. He conquers no physical enemy. He refuses to protect Himself. He lays down His life and dies. Yet, He is our champion. He is our God, who paid for our sins by His suffering and death, putting to shame Satan and hell and opening the gates of Heaven for us.  
And so, we learn to humble ourselves before God. Because, as God the Father exalted Christ when He humbled Himself, so God will also exalt us for Christ’s sake when we humble ourselves before Him. And we learn to follow Jesus’ example and humble ourselves before men. What do you have to prove? What do you have to lose by being humble before others? Nothing. If you lose anything by it, God will restore you a hundredfold in the life to come. Yet, by exalting yourself, you lose everything.  
This Holy Week, we will watch our Lord Jesus descend into the mire of sin, shame, guilt, death, and condemnation. Yet, He descends into this muck to retrieve us out of it and bring us to heaven. If we try to meet Christ in heaven, we will be cast down. But if we humble ourselves before Him, He will bend down to bring us up.  
Just as Jesus did not cease to be God when He humbled Himself for our sake, so also He did not stopped being a man when He was exalted. He continues to intercede for us before the Father’s Throne as the representative of the human race (Romans 8:34). Our human nature has been exalted to the Father’s right hand in heaven in the person of Jesus Christ. Therefore, we have no fear of being left behind if we trust in Jesus. We cannot ascend to Him. But He most certainly will take us to where He is, if we humble ourselves in faith. Amen.  
0 Comments



Leave a Reply.

    Rev. James Preus

    Rev. Preus is the pastor of Trinity Evangelical Lutheran Church in Ottumwa, IA. These are audio and text of the sermons he preaches at Trinity according to the Historical Lectionary. 
    You can listen to sermons in podcast format at 
    [email protected]. 

    Archives

    April 2025
    March 2025
    February 2025
    January 2025
    December 2024
    November 2024
    October 2024
    September 2024
    August 2024
    July 2024
    June 2024
    May 2024
    April 2024
    March 2024
    February 2024
    January 2024
    December 2023
    November 2023
    October 2023
    September 2023
    August 2023
    July 2023
    June 2023
    May 2023
    April 2023
    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    June 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    June 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    June 2019
    May 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016

    Categories

    All
    Advent 1
    Advent 2
    Advent 3
    Advent 4
    All Saints Day
    Angels
    Ascension
    Ash Wednesday
    Augustana
    Baptism Of Our Lord
    Christmas 1
    Christmas 2
    Christmas Day
    Christmas Eve
    Circumcision And Name Of Jesus
    Confirmation
    Conversion Of St Paul
    Easter 2
    Easter 3
    Easter 4
    Easter 5
    Easter 6
    Easter Sunday
    Easter Vigil
    Epiphany
    Epiphany 1
    Epiphany 2
    Epiphany 3
    Epiphany 4
    Exaudi (Sunday After Ascension)
    Funeral
    Good Friday
    Good Shepherd
    Jubilate
    Last Sunday
    Lent 1
    Lent 2
    Lent 3
    Lent 4
    Lent 5
    Lenten Services
    Maundy Thursday
    Means Of Grace Lenten Series
    Name Of Jesus
    Nativity Of St. John The Baptist
    Palm Sunday
    Pentecost
    Presentation Of Our Lord
    Quasimodogeniti
    Quinquagesima
    Reformation Day
    Robert Preus
    Second Last Sunday
    Septuagesima
    Sexagesima
    St. James Of Jerusalem
    St. Michael And All Angels
    St Stephen
    Thanksgiving
    Transfiguration
    Trinity
    Trinity 1
    Trinity 10
    Trinity 11
    Trinity 12
    Trinity 13
    Trinity 14
    Trinity 15
    Trinity 16
    Trinity 17
    Trinity 18
    Trinity 19
    Trinity 2
    Trinity 20
    Trinity 21
    Trinity 22
    Trinity 24
    Trinity 25
    Trinity 26
    Trinity 27
    Trinity 3
    Trinity 4
    Trinity 5
    Trinity 6
    Trinity 7
    Trinity 8
    Trinity 9
    Trinity Sunday
    Trintiy

    RSS Feed

© 2017  www.trinitylutheranottumwa.com
  • Home
  • About
    • Christian Education
    • What We Believe >
      • Baptism
      • Worship
      • Confession and Absolution
      • Holy Communion
    • Missions
  • Our Pastor
  • Sermons
    • Old Sermons
  • Calendar
  • Choir
  • Bible Study Podcast