“Jesus Wins The Best Everything!”
Philippians 2:5-11
David P. Nolte
I’m not “into” the Oscar thing or the Emmy thing or the Pulitzer Prize thing. They are not quite as exciting to me as watching grass grow. These matter greatly to some but I’d have more fun sitting there watching paint dry. However, “To each his own.”
To Whom belongs the highest award? Who deserves the loftiest acclaim? For Whom should we stand and applaud?
You know the answer to that! Of course it is Jesus Christ! Let’s check the Scripture to see why God gave Jesus the highest award! HIGHER THAN ANY OSCAR, EMMY OR PRIZE OF ANY SORT!
“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. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” Philippians 2:5-11 (NASB).
So, with God the Father, we accord to God the Son these awards:
I. THE AWARD FOR BEST HUMILITY:
A. The Text says:
1. He emptied Himself: That does not mean He divested Himself of deity. He emptied, or poured Himself out, as God into human flesh.
a. It’s like pouring milk from a pitcher into a glass – it’s still milk but in another container and another shape.
b. John tells us that The Word was God and the Word became flesh an dwelt among us. John 1:1-14.
c. Paul tells us that all the fulness of God dwelt in Him in the human body. Colossians 1:19 & 2:9.
d. Hebrews tells us that He is the exact image of God. Hebrews 1:3.
2. He did not selfishly cling to that equality but He humbled Himself:
a. He was not coerced but willingly became lower than the angels for a time.
b. He willingly put off the Royal Robes of Heaven to put on the robe of a peasant carpenter and itinerant preacher.
B. Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 (NASB).
1. An arrogant Lord would send us away; the lowly Jesus calls us to Himself.
2. The Lordly often impose heavy burdens on their subjects – Jesus invites us to rest and a light load.
C. Contrast the humble Jesus with the arrogant gods of Mythology:
1. Athena was furious when she heard about a woman named Arachne, who boasted she was better at weaving than the goddess herself. So she challenged the mortal and lost, and was so mad she turned Arcahne into a spider.
2. These gods could steal, rape, torture, or kill pretty much anyone at any time.
3. They were capricious, arrogant, seekers of personal pleasure, vidictive, cruel and merciless. And those are their good points! I’m glad they are fictional!
D. For each negative trait of the mythological gods, there is an opposite positive trait of Jesus –and not least of these is His humility!
1. He was humble in that He gave up equality with God the Father.
2. He was humble in that He took up the lowly life of a peasant, and ultimately His own cross on which He bore the sins of the world.
E. To be like Him, we must humble ourselves. Let me illustrate the importance of humility: “On the evening of April 14th, 1912, the Titanic’s wireless operator Jack Phillips had received ice warnings from other ships in the area. Some of the messages had even been given to the bridge but were ignored.
The Titanic, traveling at 22.5 knots, was heading straight for the ice field. Radio operator Phillips was trying to send stacks of backlogged passenger messages but the other ship’s signals were interfering. The Titanic operator told the other operator to stop transmitting just as he sent the Titanic a final ice warning:. Phillips transmitted, “Shut up. Shut up. I am busy. I am working Cape Race.”
Shortly thereafter the unsinkable did the unthinkable. Because Phillips and others did not humbly heed the warnings but arrogantly sailed into disaster, the mighty Titanic struck an ice berg and sank, sending many to their death. Because Jesus humbled Himself, many will be spared death and will have eternal life.
The song said,“Amazing Grace Will always be my song of praise.
For it was grace, that brought me liberty,
I do not know, just why He came to love me so.
He looked beyond my faults and saw my need.”
IN HIS HUMILITY HE WAS AMAZINGLY GRACIOUS AND THAT LED HIM TO SERVANTHOOD WHICH EARNED HIM
II. THE AWARD FOR BEST SERVICE:
A. He became a bond-servant. Now, there were servants and there were bond- servants:
1. The former were a little more privileged and might be tutors or secretaries or clerks. Under certain circumstances a slave might even become a freed man.
2. But the bond-servant was the property of the master and was bound for life.
3. “Bought to serve his master’s needs, to be at his beck and call every moment, the slave’s sole business is to do as he is told.” (Packer).
B. Jesus came to serve, not to be served and
1. He served by healing the sick and casting out demons.
2. He served by revealing God to mankind.
3. He served by washing His disciples’ feet as an example.
4. He served by giving hope to the outcasts and rejects.
5. He served by laying down His life to save us.
C. It is ironic:
1. The Highest served the lowest.
2. The Best served the worst;.
3. The King served the peasants.
4. The Heavenly served the earthly.
5. The Holy served the unholy.
D. That’s humility that serves. Very few people see anything desirable or attractive in serving others; BEING SERVED, YES! THAT HAS A LOT OF APPEAL!
1. It is much more enjoyable being the “back-scratchee” than it is being the “back-scratcher!”
2. So, instead of seeking to serve, even the Apostles debated which of them was greatest and jousted for position!
a. James and John asked Him for seats on the right and left side of His coming throne. They didn’t seek to serve but to be served!
b. The world gauges greatness by how many serve us. True greatness is measured by how many we serve!
c. Jesus said, “the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.” Matthew 23:11-12 (NASB).
E. Here’s an example of serving. During the American Revolution a man on horseback rode past a group of soldiers repairing a barrier. Their leader was shouting instructions, but making no attempt to help them. Asked why by the rider, he retorted with great dignity, “Sir, I am a corporal!” The stranger dismounted, and proceeded to help the soldiers. The job done, he turned to the corporal and said, “Mr. Corporal, next time you have a job like this and not enough men to do it, come to your commander-in-chief, and I will come and help you again.” The one who humbled himself and served was George Washington.
JESUS LOOKED BEYOND MY FAULT AND SERVED TO MEET MY NEED. AND SO HE WINS
III. THE AWARD FOR BEST OBEDIENCE:
A. The Scripture says that He was, “obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”
1. The cross was one of the most painful and lingering deaths to which one could be condemned.
2. It was humiliating to hang naked, judged to be a criminal worthy of execution.
3. It was considered to be a curse of God to die like that.
B. You will remember that in the last hours of His life He prayed three times that the cross would be diverted from Him and that He might be spared the agony of Calvary.
1. He recoiled not from dying because He knew He would rise again.
2. He recoiled from the sin of the world for which He would bear the blame.
3. He recoiled from the abandonment by His father that He knew He would experience.
4. But overriding that was a commitment to obey and he said, “Not My will but Yours be done.”
C. How important is obedience to the Lord?
1. We cannot br saved without faith that obeys: “Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation.” Hebrews 5:8-10 (NASB).
2. We cannot truthfully claim to know God if we don’t obey: “By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;” 1 John 2:3-4 (NASB).
3. We cannot claim to love Him if we don’t obey. “He who has My commandments and keeps them is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and will disclose Myself to him.” John 14:21 (NASB).
4. We cannot expect God’s blessing if we don’t obey Him: “God blesses the one who reads the words of this prophecy to the church, and He blesses all who listen to its message and obey what it says, for the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 (NLT).
D. Jesus has merited the highest honor and award for best humility, best service, and best obedience.
1. “For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
2. When He comes again, we will share His glory: “And since we are His children, we are His heirs. In fact, together with Christ we are heirs of God’s glory. But if we are to share His glory, we must also share His suffering.” Romans 8:17 (NLT).
E. John Kenneth Galbraith, tells about the obedience of Emily Wilson, his housekeeper: It had been a tiring day, and he asked Emily to hold all telephone calls while he had a nap. Shortly thereafter the phone rang. Lyndon Johnson was calling from the White House. “Get me Ken Galbraith. This is Lyndon Johnson.” “He is sleeping, Mr. President. He said not to disturb him.” “Well, wake him up. I want to talk to him.” “No, sir, Mr. President. I work for him, not you.” When Galbraith called the President back, Johnson said, “Tell that woman I want her here in the White House.” Her obedience won her esteem and praise.
The Oscars are all about worldly acclaim, esteem and honor. But the wrong movie was honored with the Oscar at the most recent Academy Awards show. It was announced that “La La Land” had won the best picture award but that euphoric moment was dashed when a correction was made giving the award to “Moonlight.”
That was a timely illustration of what the world does. It mistakenly honors things of the world, and the richest, most popular, most powerful, sexiest people of the world, while all along Jesus Christ deserves to have highest esteem and honor.
One day that mistake will be rectified! Don’t make the mistake of awarding the top prize to the wrong person! The one we need to recognize is “Jesus, Who was given a position ‘a little lower than the angels,’ and because He suffered death for us, He is now ‘crowned with glory and honor.’” Hebrews 2:9 (NLT).
PRAY / INVITE
Make Jesus Lord of life while the choice to do so is yours because the day is coming when everyone will make that confession but for many it will be too late There’s still time and room for you to receive Him as Lord and Savior. In His amazing grace He looks beyond our faults and sees our need – He became a humble servant and obediently died on the cross. That’s what makes forgiveness and eternal life possible. What amazing grace!
