It’s three weeks and just twenty-one days until Christmas. Christmas is so exciting for so many reasons: students are soon to be out of school, teachers are soon to be off from school, and lights are everywhere. Who doesn’t like presents for everyone brimming from underneath a Christmas tree? Andy Williams captured the sentiment of the season for many of us:
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
With the kids jingle belling
And everyone telling you be of good cheer
It’s the most wonderful time of the year
It’s the hap-happiest season of all
With those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings
When friends come to call
It’s the hap-happiest season of all.
Today, Christmas is a worldwide phenomenon observed in a million ways every year by billions of people. Churches will celebrate Christmas with candlelight celebrations to pageants to even live nativities with many of the animals that witnessed the first Christmas. Christmas has come a long way.
Go with me to the Louvre in Paris, France, for a moment. Two years ago, an anonymous bidder paid $98,000 to see the Mona Lisa out of her display case at Paris’ Louvre museum. This bidder was able to get up close to the famous painting with the thick layer of bulletproof glass and all the barriers set up to protect the Mona Lisa. The Louvre described the experience this way: “You will be able to look straight into the eyes of the Mona Lisa and admire this iconic work from up close. The magical experience will continue with a private tour of the Italian masterpieces … Leonardo da Vinci [and] Raphael.” Surely paying $98,000 just to see something even as great as the Mona Lisa at its essence and without any filters is a bit much.
Sometimes you want to see something just as it is, at its essence. Sometimes the layers of Christmas can be more like barnacles on a ship that needs to be removed in order to see the essence of Christmas. As fun as Christmas trees and winter breaks are, you need to see the essence of Christmas. Let’s peel back the layers of our Christmas in order to understand the essence of Christmas.
Today’s Scripture
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so 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” (Philippians 2:5-11).
Sixty years after the first Christmas and 1,400 miles away from the birthplace of Jesus, Paul mentions why the birth of Jesus is important. To put that in perspective, Toronto, Canada, is a little over 1,219 miles from Fort Worth. Could we really think that a birth in Toronto some sixty years ago impact us here and now? Paul shows us how the message of Christmas can impact us no matter how far away we are from Bethlehem.
One scholar called this piece of writing “one of Paul’s finest hours.” Modern New Testament scholars believe Paul is quoting an ancient hymn. I think you would agree that there’s so much going on here in this passage. This is a mountain peak passage in the New Testament and the Bible itself. It’s pretty heady stuff, after all – Jesus emptying Himself and taking the form of a servant. Who am I to tackle such a beautiful, moving passage?
I feel like the guy who thought that five was his special number. He was born on 5-5-1955. He lived on 55th Avenue. He had five children and five cats. One day he went to the horse races. He put his life savings – $50,000 – on horse #5, and you guessed it … it came in fifth!
In front of a beautiful passage such as this one, I feel a lot like that guy! Explaining Jesus is Impossible but Necessary. Yes, to explain Jesus Christ is impossible. But to ignore Him is disastrous. And to refuse Him is fatal. My speech is too limited to describe Him; my human mind is too finite to comprehend Him, and my heart is too small to contain all the love that this one Lord Jesus has.
Despite this, we need to pull back the curtain to view the glory Jesus laid aside for a while for the health of our spiritual lives.
1. The Depth Jesus Came To
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
You and I have no idea of how high an honor it is to be equal with God. And we have no concept of how far Jesus descended to become human at Bethlehem. We have no idea just how low Jesus stepped when He laid His glory aside for a little while. The Apostle Paul wants to take us down the steep stairs of humility that Jesus took all the way back then. He wants us to adopt the same mindset Jesus had back then by going down the same stairs. Paul speaks of Jesus’ mindset prior to His birth at the end of verse 7 when he says, “being born in the likeness of men.”
1.1 The Incarnation in the Background
In the background is the Bible’s teaching on the incarnation. Paul brings up the incarnation because there is a problem in the church. Paul isn’t teaching directly on the incarnation; he simply mentions the incarnation because of the problems in the church. Paul is asking the Christians in the ancient city of Philippi to adopt a mindset of love, selflessness, and humility. He wants every Christian to adopt the mindset of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus. Philippians 2 shows us how to live in harmony with one another by increasing our love for another and decreasing how highly we view ourselves.
1.1.1 What If?
What if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, and assumes your schedule? Your boss becomes His boss, your mother becomes His mother, and your pains become His pains? With one exception, nothing about your life changes. Your health doesn’t change. Your circumstances don’t change. Your schedule isn’t altered. Your problems aren’t solved. Again, only one change occurs.
What, if, for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with His heart? Your heart gets a day off, and your life is led by the heart of Jesus Christ Himself. Again, what if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, and assumes your schedule? What difference do you think it would make?
1.1.2 Jesus’ Thinking before His Birth
The Bible tells us that Christmas is important because of what Jesus was thinking before His birth. Christmas was just the beginning of a round-trip that Jesus took from heaven to earth and back to heaven. Jesus did not begin to exist at Bethlehem, and Jesus’ thinking and motivation of what made Him become human is critical to our harmony and unity.
1.2 What is the Incarnation?
The incarnation is when the eternal, infinite God became a human being in Jesus Christ. The Bible’s teaching on the incarnation is at the heart of Christmas. Remember it was the angel of the Lord who said to Joseph speaking of Mary: “She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us…” (John 1:14a). The term “the Word” in verse 14 is another name for Jesus. The incarnation is a belief that’s unique to the Christian faith. None of the other world religions talk about God becoming man. So Jesus took on flesh and became man.
1.3 Jesus, the Man
“but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Philippians 2:7).
The Greek word for “likeness” there at the end of verse 7 is rare in secular Greek at the time, and the word means a copy of something. Jesus wasn’t a man in disguise, as if you could zip off His skin and there is an alien in a human body. No, Jesus was fully human in every way. Jesus even referred to Himself as a Man: “but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did” (John 8:40).
1.3.1 Did Jesus Really Exist?
You may be skeptical of the Bible at this point. You may be wondering if Jesus really existed. Or perhaps you are talking to a skeptical friend, and you’ve been asked, “How do we even know Jesus even existed?” There are seven historical facts we know of the life of Jesus that come from four ancient documents that could not be considered pro-Christian. We learn these seven facts from Josephus, Tacitus, Plinius Secundus, and a Jewish Rabbi, Eliezer.
1) Jesus was executed in Judea when Tiberius was the emperor (AD 14-37), and Pilate was governor (AD 26-36).
2) The Christian movement spread from Judea to Rome and soon became a worldwide movement.
3) Jesus claimed to be God and stated he would depart and later return.
4) His followers worshipped Him as God.
5) He was “the Christ,” another word for the Hebrew word “Messiah.”
6) His followers were called Christians.
7) and His brother was James.
All seven of these facts come from non-Christian first-century sources. So we know Jesus existed, but we know so much more than Jesus simply existed!
1.3.2 Christmas and Jesus
It really is quite remarkable that all over the world, billions of people will stop everything they are doing to celebrate this Son of a carpenter, born in a “no nothing” town that didn’t even have one red light, to a teenage girl and a young man that wasn't even His biological father. Christmas is a celebration of Jesus’ descent down the steep stairs of humility that Jesus took at Bethlehem.
1.3.3 Jesus, the Man Continued
Jesus was every bit human except for one thing: He didn’t sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). Jesus had a real human body. Christmas was just the beginning of a round-trip that Jesus took from heaven to earth and back to heaven. Now He came into existence “in the likeness of men.” Christmas celebrates incarnation, where God took on flesh.
The Bible tells us some of the facts of Jesus’ humanity. Jesus grew through childhood to adulthood just as other children grow (Luke 2:40). Luke tells us that “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). Jesus became tired just as we do, for we read that “Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well” in Samaria (John 4:6). He became thirsty, for when He was on the cross he said, “I thirst” (John 19:28). After He had fasted for forty days in the wilderness, we read that “he was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). Wow! the Infinite became an infant. The Creator was seen as nothing more than a creature.
1.3.4 Leap Over Time
If it pleased Jesus, He could have leaped over the time as a child and moved straight to a time when He was a fully grown adult. If it pleased Jesus, He could have leaped over time as He gradually developed from a child to a time where He was a fully grown adult. If it pleased Jesus, He could have leaped over being born into tremendous poverty.
1.4 Jesus, the Servant
Instead, Jesus took the form of a servant who lived just like a slave. Remember, slaves owned nothing, and Jesus never owned anything. In fact, Jesus borrowed everything. He borrowed a place to be born. He borrowed places to sleep. He borrowed a boat to cross the sea of galilee. He borrowed a donkey to ride into town. He borrowed a room to have the Lord's Supper. And He even borrowed a tomb to be buried in! Yes, Jesus was a servant and a slave. If it pleased Jesus, He could have leaped over being born into tremendous poverty. He might have been born in a marble palace and clothed in purple and fine linen.
1.5 Becoming Obedient to the Point of Depth
Yet, the depth Jesus came to isn’t just that He became human like you and me. The steep stairs of humility that Jesus took descended all the way to His death on the cross. The cross and His death was His lowest point. The apostle adds, “even death on a cross,” at the end of verse 8. That was the worst kind of death. It was a violent death. Jesus did not fall asleep gently into death. No, he died by murderous hands. Crucifixion was an extremely painful death where death lingered long afterward. Thieves were crucified alongside Him. His enemies stood and mocked Him. The cross was one reserved for slaves and the worst of the worst. Jesus was rejected by men and despised by God.
1. The Depth Jesus Came To
2. The Height Jesus Came From
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:5-8).
Again, the Apostle Paul wants us to increase in our love for one another but also increase in humility when we consider ourselves. To accomplish this, Paul points us to the message of Christmas. Paul says, “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).
2.1 Jesus Is God
Christians have historically understood passages such as Philippians 2 as teaching that when the Son of God became human, He did not lay aside his deity. Jesus is exactly God. The word for “equality” in verse 6 is the word “isos.” Do you remember what an isosceles triangle is from your school days? An isosceles triangle is a triangle with two equal sides, and the word means “equal in size, quality, and character.” Jesus was equally God.
You and I have no idea how high an honor it is to be equal with God. We have no concept of how far Jesus descended to become human at Bethlehem. We have no idea how low Jesus stepped when He laid His glory aside for a while. Christmas was just the beginning of a round-trip that Jesus took from heaven to earth and back to heaven.
2.2 I AM
“‘Your father Abraham rejoiced that he would see my day. He saw it and was glad.’ 57 So the Jews said to him, ‘You are not yet fifty years old, and have you seen Abraham?’ 58 Jesus said to them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I am’” (John 8:56-58).
The Hebrew teachers said in response, “Wait a minute. Abraham has been dead for centuries. You’re not even fifty years old. How can you say, ‘Abraham saw my day?’” Now, don’t miss the last two words here. The most holy name that the Jews had for God is the name “I AM.” When Moses was ready to lead the children of Israel from Egypt to the Promised Land, he said to God the Father, “I need some credentials when I go to Pharaoh. I need to tell them who sent me.” And God, The Father, said to Moses, “Moses, you tell them ‘I AM’ sent you.” Now, notice “I AM” is not “I was” or “I’m working on it.” “There never was a time when I was not. I have always been, and I will always be. I am the great ‘I AM’ “I AM” is the most holy, sacred name for the self-existing Almighty. Now, everything I just said applies to Jesus as well as God, the Father!
2.2 What Was Jesus Thinking
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5). Before the first Christmas at Bethlehem, what motivated Jesus to become a human? If a reporter could have been given access to Jesus before He made His way to Bethlehem and asked Him, “What do you hope to accomplish by becoming human?” Why would Jesus leave a place where He is exalted and worshipped to come to a place where He would be executed?
2.3 Top of the Organization Chart
Before the first Christmas, Jesus was the pinnacle of the organization chart of the universe. He was God and enjoyed all the rights and privileges associated with being God. But Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins at the end of His human life. He never pulled rank. He never asked to be first in line. He never demanded His rights. He never leveraged who He was. This is the message of Christmas. This is the meaning of Christmas.
2.4 What If?
“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:5).
What if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, and assumes your schedule? Your boss becomes His boss; your mother becomes His mother; your pains become His pains. With one exception, nothing about your life changes. Your health doesn’t change. Your circumstances don’t change. Your schedule isn’t altered. Your problems aren’t solved. Again, only one change occurs. What, if, for one day and one night, Jesus lives your life with His heart? Your heart gets a day off, and your life is led by the heart of Jesus Christ Himself. Again, what if, for twenty-four hours, Jesus wakes up in your bed, walks in your shoes, lives in your house, and assumes your schedule? His priorities now govern your actions. His passions drive your decisions. His love directs your behavior. What would you be like? Would people notice a change? Your family, would they see something new? Your coworkers would they sense a difference? What, about the less fortunate? Would you treat them the same? And your friends, would they detect more joy? How about your enemies, would they receive more mercy from Christ’s heart than from yours?
2.5 Jesus’ Motivation
To say that Jesus humbled Himself is an incredible understatement! Jesus went from sitting on a throne to lying in a manger to hanging on a tree. He went from being a king with a crown to a baby with diapers to a criminal on the cross. Why did He do this? What was Jesus thinking? What motivated Jesus to do this?
Because your soul was more important than His blood, your eternal life was more important than His earthy life. Your place in heaven was more important to Him than His place in heaven. He gave up His place so that you could have your place.
