POWERFUL VULNERABILITY
Philippians 2.5-8
S: Incarnation
C: Christmas Eve
Th: I Love It When a Plan Comes Together
Pr: BE HUMBLE LIKE JESUS.
Version: ESV
RMBC 24 December 08 Christmas Eve
Understand this on this special Christmas Eve evening…
Jesus was humble.
Attempt to wrap your mind around the fact that all of that power and strength and knowledge and holiness was stuffed into the physical body of a completely human male infant.
Helpless.
Weak.
Completely and totally dependent on a human mother, on a human father.
Both without any support structure of their own, far from home, with the best option for this newborn to sleep being a cattle feeding trough.
That is certainly not the kind of entrance our world would expect of the King of Kings.
Certainly not a Hollywood beginning.
Certainly not leading in strength and glory.
There, in all the weakness and helplessness of infancy, in the dirt of a stable, lay God.
You see…
Jesus left His exalted position.
This is powerful vulnerability.
For Jesus preexisted in the divine form of God, equal with God the Father in every way.
But…
The Creator took on the form of created.
The Infinite became finite.
The Sinless took sin upon Himself.
He refused to selfishly cling to His favored position as the divine Son of God.
He left heaven, and…
Jesus took the form of a servant.
He experienced what it was to be fully engaged as a human being.
He took upon Himself all the frailties, limitations, problems and sufferings that came with the Fall.
He knew what it was to be hungry.
He knew what it was to be tired.
He knew what is was to be sad.
And, in the eyes of those around him, he lived an unexceptional life.
His followers were common men.
Most only had a little education and skills.
Most had no position.
They were unlikely to be “change the world type of people.”
When the political and religious elite turned against Him, Jesus submitted to every humiliation and indignity from His enemies.
He refused to defend Himself.
He refused to call on heaven’s power, or His own.
For what He most desired to do was to prove His love.
Jesus proves His love.
He was mocked.
He was falsely accused.
He was spat upon.
He was beaten with fists.
His beard was pulled out.
Yet He was never defensive, never bitter, never demanding, never accusing.
Instead, He powerfully allowed Himself to be vulnerable.
He suffered the most cruel, most excruciating, most shameful form of punishment.
He purposely died.
And as the text says, “Even death on a cross.”
Effectively, the highest of all became the lowest of all.
So here is my encouragement to you today…
BE HUMBLE LIKE JESUS!
There is no better example.
Don’t ever think that God is proud!
Don’t ever think that God is undeserving of our worship!
For He is deserving.
He is the example of humility.
ILL Christmas (S)
It was time for the Christmas program and there was a seventh-grade boy by the name of William Spurling. William Spurling was big for his age and a little slow. But he was a good boy and all the kids liked him.
William Spurling wanted to be a shepherd, but the teacher decided that he would make a better innkeeper than a shepherd since he was so big. So she gave him the task of being the rough, mean innkeeper.
It was the night of the play. When Mary and Joseph came to the inn and knocked on the door, William Spurling opened it. And when they asked for a place to stay, he said harshly, "There is no place for you to stay. There is no room in the inn."
Joseph said, "But my wife is tired and weary, and she is expecting a baby. Isn’t there just a small room somewhere where we could rest?"
Once again, William Spurling said, with roughness in his voice, "You’ll have to find a place somewhere else. There is no room in the inn."
Once more Joseph pleaded just for some place for them to stay the night. Then there was a long pause, one of those pauses that is as embarrassing for the audience as it is for the cast. William Spurling had forgotten his next line.
Back behind the props you could hear the prompter saying, "No, be gone! No, be gone!" That was his next speech. Finally, William Spurling said, with softness in his voice, "No, be gone."
Mary and Joseph sadly turned to leave. But as they did, suddenly William Spurling regained his voice and said, "Wait a minute! You can stay in my room, and I’ll sleep in the shed."
Can you give room to Jesus tonight?
Can you give room to the One who loves you more than anything?
Can you give room to Him tomorrow as you open gifts?
As Philip Brooks has written, and we are about to sing:
How silently, how silently
The wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
The blessings of His heaven.
No ear may hear His coming,
But in this world of sin,
Where meek souls will receive him still,
The dear Christ enters in.
Let’s pray!
RESOURCES:
SermonCentral
Grant, Steve Simala When God Became Weak
Kim, Martin He Came in a Box of Cowfeed
MacArthur, John, Jr. Philippians. The Macarthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 2001.
