NIV Philippians 2:5-11 Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, 7 but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death-- even death on a cross! 9 Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, 10 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.
"THE GOD WHO LOVES YOU YOU THAT MUCH."
Imagine being part of the crowd that cheered for Jesus as he rode into Jerusalem that Sunday many years ago. What did they all shout again - do you remember the word? It was "hosanna!" Do you know what that word means? "Hosanna!" It means "Save!" That's what they were shouting as Jesus entered Jerusalem. Save us, Son of David. Save us, in the highest!
Today we're going to look at the humility of Jesus, as he came to save us. We see his humility as he chose a donkey as the animal he would ride on. And as the week progressed to Good Friday, we see his humility even more clearly, as he died on the cross for the sins of all mankind.
Today is Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. Today is the beginning of that moment in time when God looked at all the ugliness of sin in the world, and he did something about it. And as we watch what God did during Holy Week, it becomes very clear just how much God really loves each and every one of us. Today we marvel at God's love as we see our Savior's humility in Philippians chapter 2.
Here we are told that Jesus, even though he was in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped. Wasn’t that the sin of Adam and Eve, to strive to be equal to God the Father. They were trying to boost themselves up. But Jesus was the opposite. Yes, he was God, but love is not about boosting yourself up. No - if you really love someone, you are willing to lower yourself, humble yourself, and that's exactly what Jesus did for you. The Bible says that he “made himself nothing.” He didn't just lower himself a little bit. He made himself nothing. In other words, he emptied himself of all of his glory. All of that praise and worship and obedience from the angels in heaven - he emptied himself. All of that incredible power, total wisdom, total glory – he emptied himself of all of these things.
If you think about it, this is the greatest demotion that has ever taken place. Imagine walking into work one day, and your supervisor says to you, "We are going to demote you. We are going to pay you a lot less money, and make you work harder." How would you feel about that? Would you like that? No! But that's what Jesus did - he took a voluntary demotion, and made himself nothing. Why? Because he loved you that much.
He took on the very nature of a servant, the Bible says. We’ve all had moments when we've served other people. Maybe we thought to ourselves, "I'm above this, but I'm going to do this anyway." A parent serves his child. An employee serves the customer. But Jesus? Becoming a servant? Maybe you've stumbled across the show "Undercover Boss" - I watched it for a couple episodes until my attention span couldn't take it anymore. The CEO of McDonald's disguises himself as a McDonald's worker, and makes French fries, and gets yelled at by customers, and washes dried ice cream off the floor. That's interesting. But more interesting is Jesus, the CEO of the universe, taking on the very nature of a servant. He washes the feet of his disciples. But an even more dirty job than that, he washes sin off the souls of the world. Why did he do this? Because his love for you was that great.
He was made in human likeness, the Bible says. Amazing, that God would become a human – a creature who gets hungry and thirsty and tired and feels pain and sadness. Just last month were the Academy Awards, as people were awarded for being great actors. Some say that Jesus did a great job of acting human - maybe he should get an Oscar for that! No, Jesus wasn't acting, he really was human. God who is unlimited became obedient to all the limitations of a human being. And then the ultimate moment - he became “obedient unto death.”
Remember, Jesus is the opposite of death. Jesus is the inventor of life! And yet, he allowed death to take his soul from his body. And not just any kind of death… “He became obedient unto death, even death on a cross.” The cross was the lowest way for a human being to die. Today we say that the worst way to die is to spend the last 20 years of your life in a rest home, and you have Alzheimer's, and you can't take care of yourself. Today we say that the worst way to die is to be hooked up to all kinds of tubes and wires for a long long time. That is not the worst way to die. The worst way to die is to be placed onto a cross. When you are on a cross, you are officially cursed by your Heavenly Father. Crosses were for the worst of sinners. It was the equivalent of hell on earth. Jesus was willing to die the worst way known to man because he loved you that much.
Yes, Jesus sees our sin. He sees the messes that we make in our lives. He sees the trouble we experience every day, because of the sinful world in which we live. And instead of turning his back on us and saying that it's too much trouble to love us, he loves us. He lowers himself farther than anyone has ever done, for you and me. Normal human love would look at you and me and say, "This is too difficult. I can't love you - you're too much of a mess." But not Jesus. His love for you is that great.
On Palm Sunday, we catch just a glimpse of our Savior’s humility. We also catch a glimpse of his glory. People were cheering for him, placing their cloaks on the road before him. This is just a glimpse of the glory that was yet to come.
His glory began on Easter and continued through his Ascension. Death was defeated. Sins were atoned for. God gives him the name that is above every name. Someday every knee would bow to Jesus, in heaven and on earth and under the earth. Rather than just a few people on Palm Sunday, it would be trillions of people on Judgment Day.
And you and I will someday be one of those people. Even as we speak, Palm Sunday is taking place in heaven, as Jesus is being exalted by all the saints and angels in heaven. Even the Devil, and his evil angels, and all the unbelievers in hell are being forced to acknowledge right now what they didn’t want to believe – that Jesus Christ is Lord. Even as we speak, Christians all over the world are singing “Hosanna to the Son of David,” celebrating Palm Sunday in different ways. All this is just a sample, a glimpse of the great exaltation that will take place someday when our Lord returns.
This is what Holy Week is all about. It answers the question, “How much does God really love me anyway?” A few weeks ago the little kindergarteners sing the song in church entitled "No one loves me more than Jesus." And as I was sitting there watching my son sing that, I thought to myself, it's kind of an insult, but it's good. I thought I loved my son more than anyone else. How can there be someone who loves my son more than me? But there is! Have you ever thought about that? Who is it in your life that loves you the most? Is it your spouse - your husband or wife? Who loves you the most - is it your son or daughter? Who loves you no matter what - is it your mom or dad? A friend? Do you realize that no matter how much someone loves you in this world, no matter how many sacrifices someone makes for you, no matter how many times someone tells you that he or she loves you - there is someone who loves you more? And that someone is Jesus Christ. This Holy Week, watch Jesus as he does all these things for you. And remember, as you watch him, that his is how much God loves you. Amen.
