Jaw-dropping Jewels about Jesus
Rarely does Jesus, God the Son, do exactly what we expect of Him. It seems odd that He so frequently surprises us, given that He never changes. Hebrews 13:8 makes this absolute statement: “Jesus the same yesterday, and today, and forever.” Still, though He is blessedly consistent in His goodness, Jesus does unforeseen things. Even when He does what is expected, He does not always do it in the way that we anticipate. Let us join with Jesus on a jaw-dropping journey. (I will be using this opening paragraph for each of the brief messages in this series. The following material will change daily.)
We return to Philippians 2:7 today. Jesus “made Himself of no reputation”; that is, He “emptied Himself.” In the Hymn “And Can It Be?”, Charles Wesley wrote that Jesus “emptied Himself of all but love.” The poetry is powerful, but it should not be taken as an absolute theological statement. No, when Jesus “emptied Himself,” His divine nature was in no way diminished. Instead, He voluntarily chose not to exercise the fullness of His divine rights. This humility was on constant display during His earthly ministry. In John 5, for example, Jesus healed an infirm man on the Jewish Sabbath. The religious leaders (insisting on their rights as religious leaders) excoriated Jesus and even “sought the more to kill Him” (verse 18)! Not only had Jesus, in their twisted perspective, “broken the Sabbath” but, even worse, “said also that God was His Father, making Himself equal with God.” In His response in verses 19-20, Jesus points out that “greater works than these” would be performed, for God is omnipotent. Jesus could have done anything that was consistent with the character of God. For example, He could have judged all of them right then (verse 27). Instead, He withheld His power and later died on the Cross for us – and for them. Some leaders and priests did come to a saving knowledge of this Savior (John 19:38-40; Acts 6:7). Jesus could have exercised His omnipotence against them, but He chose to use it for them. Humility, then, is a powerful thing.