To be perfectly honest, I find the Christmas story to be one of the most outrageous stories I've ever heard. Think about it. Here we have this teenage virgin girl, pregnant by the Holy Spirit, married to a teenage boy. They traveled over the hills in the last days of her pregnancy, the girl riding on a donkey. Arriving at their destination, they find there is no place for them to stay except in a stable. In the midst of that hardship she goes into labor, and there's this miraculous birth. Then out on the hillside, angels in a whole chorus break through the sky and proclaim this great message to shepherds, of all people, and evidently no one else sees or hears them. The shepherds rush off to see the baby. Then to round out the story, we have some Magi--whatever they are--following a brighter-than-usual star that locates itself right over the place where Jesus is so they can come and offer him precious gifts. Now, isn't that some kind of story?
The problem with this story is that we've heard it too often. One of two things usually happens to us when we hear a story like this over and over again. We may choose to not believe it, to relegate it to the category of nice myths, pulling it out during the Christmas season so we can inject a little religiosity into the whole celebration. Or we may believe this story but lose sight of its incredible impact, of what a marvelous thing really happened. So it may be helpful to look behind the scenes at the rest of the story. Philippians 2:5-11:
Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
This to me is the real Christmas story. Its context is interesting and instructive to us, for Paul is dealing with a problem in the church at Philippi. Some people aren't getting along in this church that has been so important to him, and that has supported him and prayed for him. So Paul wants to call them back to a spirit of unity. And he knows the only way to get them united again is for them to turn away from themselves and serve one another. So where do you turn to drive home the point of what it means to look not at yourself but at the needs of others, and to serve them? Paul reaches back into eternity past and teaches through the Christmas story what it means to obey and to serve.
In verse 5, Paul says, "Have this attitude in yourselves..." This is how they are to live. And then he goes on to explain the story. They are to be like Jesus, who, Paul says, existed in the form of God. Now that gives us a clue. The words that Paul uses are difficult to understand. They've been translated and expressed many ways. But let me try to explain some of them. Paul describes, first of all, who Jesus was in all eternity. He existed (literally, "existing" or "being") in the very form of God, the eternal, sovereign One. Jesus is fully God. The word "form" is difficult because we know that God is a spirit, so what form does he take?
Sometimes God has manifested himself in the midst of human beings, and it has always been majestic and powerful. Remember the Old Testament story of when the nation of Israel was being led into the promised land, and God manifested his presence among them with a ball of fire at night and a pillar of cloud by day. There was no doubt in the minds of the people of Israel that this was the sign of the presence of the almighty, sovereign God. And it was a majestic sign. We can think back to the giving of the Law on Sinai. A thick cloud descended on the top of the mountain with rumbling thunder. The expression of the presence of God as he came down to speak to Moses was one of power and majesty and of glory.
What Paul wants us to see is that the rightful way Jesus should be manifested to us is in glory and power, for he possessed that as the sovereign, eternal God. But in contrast, Jesus took on himself the form of a servant. We see him in humility.
The next image is powerful: He emptied himself. He poured out all of that glory that was his, because he didn't regard equality with God a thing to be grasped or held onto. Think about that. Let's suppose today you were given the opportunity to be fully God, to have all of the glory and majesty of the eternal God of gods, the true and sovereign Ruler of all, the Creator of all things. I don't know if I could say, "That's not something I want to hold onto." But this is precisely the attitude that Christ had. He was willing to lay aside the glory and majesty that was rightfully his because there was something more important to him than that glory.
Paul goes on, straining at the limits of human language, as I am, to explain the inexplicable. "...Being made in the likeness of men." This humiliation, this condescension, this taking on the form of a servant meant that the eternal God took on humanity. "And being found in appearance as a man..." When Mary and Joseph first personally encountered the manifestation of the God of gods, what did they see? A baby of flesh and bone, nursed at the breast of his mother. This is the God of the universe, now seen in appearance as a man, without ever laying aside his deity, only its glory and majesty. He had the full humanity that you and I share. So the writer of Hebrews can say, "...We do not have a high priest [Jesus] who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin" (Hebrews 4:15).
And if that weren't enough, Paul says Jesus humbled himself further by becoming obedient even to the point of death on the cross. Now the cross is a religious symbol that has lost its power in our day, isn't it? In the same way that the manger has become a nice, warm, little picture for us at Christmas time, crosses are forged to be worn around our necks. The cross is now a piece of jewelry, whereas in that day it was a piece of shame.
Sometimes when I try to create pictures in my mind of what it would be like for Christ to humble himself to the point that he did, I recall a different event that helps me put it all back into perspective. The story is told in John 13. This event happened the night before the cross, and it serves as a reminder to us of just what this Servant, Jesus, was like. He met with his disciples in an upper room to share the Passover meal. As they all gathered together, I'm sure in great anticipation of once again celebrating Passover with the Messiah, no one remembered to wash their feet, which was a traditional act of service and greeting that was normally performed by a servant of the host. Perhaps since there wasn't anyone designated as the host that evening in the upper room, no one thought about it. So we have this beautiful picture: The eternal Son of God, knowing that he was God, knowing where he had come from and that all things were going to be returned to him as the King of kings and Lord of lords, took a towel and basin and washed the feet of the disciples. He did this before Judas Iscariot left to betray him. So often, when I want to picture the meaning of servanthood, I remember Jesus, the eternal Son of God, who deserved all the glory and praise and worship of the universe itself, placing himself at the feet of the one who would sell him to the Roman soldiers.
Paul goes on in Philippians 2, to tell us that because of Jesus' very great gift of sacrifice on the cross, God exalted him highly and gave him the name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. You see, there will be a day when the Son of God will manifest himself to all of us in the form of God. We'll see him in all his power and majesty and glory. But in order for us to see him in that way, Christ first manifested himself as the humble Servant.
As I said, the language of humanity is so limited that it's difficult to describe that. But there is a poem, written by H. R. Bramley, that captures a bit of the essence of this beautiful night that we celebrate:
A babe on the breast of a maiden He lies,
Yet sits with His Father on high in the skies.
Before Him their faces the seraphim hide,
While Joseph stands waiting, unscared by His side.
O wonder of wonders that none can unfold!
The Ancient of Days is an hour or two old,
The Maker of all things is made of the earth.
Man is worshipped by angels and God comes to birth.
The Word in the bliss of the Godhead remains,
Yet in flesh comes to suffer the keenest of pains,
He is that he was, and ever shall be,
But becomes what he was not for you and for me."
And now you know the rest of the story.
The Scripture quotations in this message are all taken from New American Standard Bible, © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
Catalog No. CH-97-3
Philippians 2:5-11
Single Message
Danny Hall
December 24, 1997
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