We’ve been going through the book of Philippians. For the last couple of posts, I’ve been talking about the attitude of Christ as an example for us. He went further than anyone in His service.
Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:5-8 NIV
Christ, Himself, set the standard of living that we need to follow. He said that He came to live a life of service. That should be our attitude as well.
Jesus served God step by step, all the way to the cross. Even though He was without sin, He paid the price for all of mankind.
Jesus was taken before Pilate for trial by the Jewish leaders. Pilate examined Christ thoroughly and found Him not guilty of any crime. He found no basis for any death penalty. He then presented Christ before the people and publicly pronounced Him not guilty.
As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”
But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”
John 19:6 NIV
The Jewish leaders refused to accept Pilate’s answer. Again and again the governor tried to explain that they had no basis for a charge. Jesus had done nothing worthy of the death penalty. It’s at that point that the Pharisees say something very interesting.
The Jews insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”
John 19:7 NIV
Jesus had no sin in Him. But they had a law! According to that law, Christ had to die. Why? What was this law that insisted that the Lord of Glory be put to death?
According to the Jewish leaders, “He made Himself the Son of God.” We must understand that to the ancient Jews the term Son of God was equivalent to saying God in the flesh. They understood what Christ was saying about Himself.
God took it upon Himself to clothe Himself in our weaknesses and live among us. He made Himself one of us. That truth is very clear throughout the Scripture. Remember the passage we started with.
Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death — even death on a cross!
Philippians 2:6-8 NIV
“He made Himself…” “He humbled Himself…” This was all His work. He needed no one else’s assistance. The God of the universe took on flesh and lived among us.
It turned out that the Jewish leaders were marching right in step with God’s plan. There was a great mystery hidden in the mind of God. God had a law. According to that law, the true Son of God must be put to death on the cross.
The fact is that Jesus had tried to tell this to His disciples over and over again. They were just too unbelieving to grasp it. They kept thinking that when the Lord spoke about His death, He was being allegorical. The cross had been a part of God’s plan since before the universe was created.
The cross was not an accident or an unforeseen tragedy. It had been the Lord’s plan all along.
This is an example of ultimate service to God. Few of us will ever have to serve the Lord to that extent. We need to remember that when the road ahead seems hard. Christ is our strength, and He’ll see us through to the end.
Question: Why are you thankful for the cross of Christ?
© 2023 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 