Remembering and Proclaiming Jesus
What amazing words we just sung to help us remember and proclaim the cross, remember and proclaim Jesus. And now we’re going to follow Jesus’ command to remember and proclaim him by taking a piece of bread and a cup of juice.
These things are not magical. They don’t make us right with God, but they point us to the one through whom we are made right with God. They’re physical reminders of Jesus and what he accomplished for us with his body and blood.
We’re going to read part of Philippians 2, the same passage that Eric read for us earlier. Philippians 2, starting in verse 5, Paul writes:
Have this way of thinking in yourselves, which was also in Christ Jesus, who, although existing in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself by taking the form of a slave, by 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 the cross.
The Heights from Which Christ Descended
First, to understand Jesus’ humility, we have to look at how high he was, the heights from which he descended. Before Bethlehem, before creation, before time itself, Jesus, the Son, was and always has been God. Jesus didn’t begin at the manger. He had no beginning. He always has been the eternal Son.
And yet, he did not use his equality with God to his own advantage. What this is saying is that he has always inherently possessed every right and all authority, but Jesus used his position for the good of those he came to save.
Paul summarizes this when he says that Jesus emptied himself. Jesus didn’t empty himself of his godness. He didn’t lay aside any of his deity. Instead, Paul explains what emptying looks like. It looked like taking the form of a slave, being made in the likeness of man.
The eternal Son became truly human without ceasing to be God. He became truly human and never sinned. The one whom angels worship became a man, took the form of a slave. This is the only place in the Bible where Jesus is described in those terms. Paul was grasping for what could be the lowest, most humble, most shameful class that he could describe.
This great humbling that Jesus took, it’s more humbling than a king becoming a slave. It’s God the Son stooping from divine glory to live among us as a man. There could be no more humble act, it would seem.
Obedient to Death on a Cross
But look what Paul goes on to say. Jesus went lower still. He didn’t merely humble himself to become a man. He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death in the most humiliating manner possible, death on a cross.
The one who commands creation obeyed his Father. The one who possesses life submitted to death.
The death he died on the cross was painful, it was shameful, it was cursed. It was the death of slaves and rebels. Think of the one who died there, that kind of death. The highest one willingly went to the very lowest place to hang naked before a watching world, and even worse still, to be judged by God the Father for sins not his own.
Why? Not because he lacked power or honor, but because he used his power to love and to save. He came not to be served, but to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.
At the cross, Jesus was numbered with the transgressors, though he wasn’t one. He had no sins of his own, but as he died there, he carried mine. He carried yours if you would trust in him. He bore our sins in his body on the tree. He became a curse for us. The wrath of God, the right wrath of God against my selfishness, my grumbling, my rebellion, fell on him.
The Risen Lord We Proclaim
Therefore, also God highly exalted him.
The one who died the shameful death of a slave is now the risen Lord. Every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And it’s this Jesus who we proclaim and remember until he comes again.
Why This Section Is Here in Philippians
Let’s step back and think, and this is a really helpful thing to think about: why is this section here in Philippians? Paul is teaching us good theology, but why?
Consider the commands that surround the explanation of Jesus’ humility and obedience. Paul doesn’t merely tell us of Jesus and his death and his godness to make us marvel, though we should. Paul is writing to a church tempted by selfish ambition and grumbling. Think of Euodia and Syntyche, chapter 4. Think of the very command that precedes this.
I see that same tendency to selfish ambition and grumbling in me, and you do too. That is the most natural human thing. I want to rise the ranks. I want to get more prestige. I want to get more honor. I want to climb the ladder.
And Paul says in verse 3:
Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourself.
Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent children of God.
Church, do you get this? Remembering Jesus rightly must change how we treat one another. It must change how we relate to God.
God’s children, which it says in verse 14 you are when you respond this way, God’s children by grace alone through faith alone, should bear the family resemblance to God’s Son. So be who you are. Remember Christ in his sacrifice, what he paid, and the example he gave.
Examine Yourself and Come to Christ
So as we take the bread and juice, let’s make sure we’re doing it rightly. This is the very context in 1 Corinthians 11 when Paul tells us to examine ourselves. What was the church there doing? They were coming to the meal with their thoughts on themselves, selfishly grasping. And Paul says it’s not the Lord’s Supper that you’re taking. You’re doing something else altogether because they weren’t remembering Jesus rightly.
Taking the bread and juice must have effects in our life. It’s a contradiction to praise Christ for not grasping his rights while we clutch our own. It’s a contradiction to praise Jesus for humility while being proud and selfish. It’s a contradiction to worship him for serving while we refuse to serve, or to praise his obedience while we defend grumbling or remain in disobedience.
So examine yourself. Look for where your life isn’t in step with the gospel. And you know what Paul says? He doesn’t say, “Examine yourself, and then let the bread and juice pass if you haven’t had a good week.” He says, “Examine yourself. Remember Jesus. Confess your sins where they’re there. Turn from them. And so eat and drink.”
So if you are a Christian, look to your Savior. He is your only worth, your only merit before God. And look at your life and get your life in alignment with who God saved you to be. And then eat and drink.
But if you have not trusted Christ, just let the elements pass when they come. But please don’t leave without speaking to me, or the person who brought you, or anybody here. There will be people available after the service to talk and to pray with you about how you can be reconciled to God through Jesus.
As your heart is prepared, take the bread and juice on your own.
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