“JESUS” Phil. 2:1-11
INTRO – When I say the name, “Jesus,” what comes to your mind? Here in this environment w/ the people around us, the response is one of adoration, worship, love, humility, & praise. In fact, let stand & sing to Him a little right now (“Holy & Anointed One” & “Shout to the Lord).
Don’t you love to do that? Don’t you love to worship Him? Don’t you love to just get lost in the wonder of who He is, what He has done, & the hope of His soon-coming return? Doesn’t it make your heart beat to consider His love for you & His faithful intercession for you right now at the right hand of the throne of God?
But it is not at all like that in the world in which we live. Mention the name “Jesus” in the world, & you find yourself immediately on the outside. You will find yourself ostracized, criticized, & scrutinized. You immediately become narrow-minded and brainwashed in the world’s estimation.
The name of Jesus – There has never been any name that has created as much impassioned response from both those who know & love Him and those who do not know Him, & therefore, have a deep hatred for Him & for those who follow Him. The world’s views on Jesus and feelings about Him are absolutely incredible & ought to cause our hearts to hurt for the lostness of millions and millions of people right here in our own country, not to mention the billions who are lost around the world. On the one hand, there are millions who sing to Him & worship Him with passion & purpose. There are the martyrs who have given their lives b/c they would not renounce His name. There are the missionaries who go to the farthest corners of the world to take His name to places & peoples who have never even heard the name.
On the other hand, say the name of “Jesus” & the world will respond in these ways:
RAGE – Say the name of “Jesus” & many in the world will respond in rage. There are tons of websites that are full of hate & rage against Jesus. Some call Him Hitler; some accuse Him of all sorts of terrible things; some simply spew forth words of hatred & anger. Some religions kill those who leave their religion to follow Jesus as Lord. Hundreds of thousands of people are martyred every year b/c they name the name of Jesus as their Savior & Lord. Millions of people rage against the name of Jesus with a burning intensity & passion. Jesus Himself told us in Matt. 10:22 – “All men will hate you b/c of me…”
RIDICULE – Say the name of “Jesus” & many in the world respond in ridicule. The satanic ridicule of our Savior in the world today is nauseating. There is a man in NYC who has developed a “dress up Jesus” – a refrigerator magnet of Jesus hanging on the cross dressed in briefs – take different costumes & dress Him up like a ballerina, a dogcatcher, a clown, or even the devil himself! The depravity of the human mind & heart is so deep! Some of the things that I saw & read this week in my research turned my stomach. Sometimes I found myself infuriated at the hellish things that are being said about my Savior; other times I found myself brokenhearted as I considered the depth of the lostness of our world; other times, I felt almost overwhelmed w/ a sense of the magnitude of our task as Christ-followers to take the Gospel of Jesus to a world that hates Him so much.
RELEGATION – word means “to assign to an obscure place, position, or condition.” Say the name of Jesus & many in the world respond in relegation. They want to assign Him to an obscure place or position, saying that He was just a good man, or a good teacher, or even a prophet, but not the one & only Savior of the world. A Unitarian website said that Jesus was a “great religious poet”& that we should not “expect or assume that He had all the answers to everything.” Even some who would call themselves Christians go as far as to say that Jesus was the greatest of all prophets, but not the Son of God, & not a part of the Trinity.
REFUSAL – Say the name of “Jesus” in the world, & many will respond in refusal – the refusal to hear anything about Him; the refusal to consider His love for them, His sacrifice for them, His desire to save them. Many will refuse to consider anything about Him, His life, His love, His ministry, His teaching, His deity. While this breaks our hearts, it is something that we ought to expect as the Scriptures teach us that many people will not want to hear the truth of the Gospel, but will “gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear” (2 Tim. 4:3).
But what about the Word of God? What does the Bible say about Jesus? Say the name of Jesus in the Bible, and this is what you will find.
JESUS IS GOD – v. 5-6 – In spite of the world’s attempts to relegate Jesus to a place of obscurity or its refusal to accept the truth that He is God, the Word of God teaches us that He is the 2nd Person of the Trinity – He is God. “…from the very beginning of its existence, the Christian church has confidently proclaimed that Jesus is far greater than a wandering teacher or a human prophet sent from God: He is God Himself, in human flesh” (Clinton E. Arnold, “The Deity of Christ, DJ, May/June 2005, 16).
Is this important? Do we have to believe this, or can we take the view of “Atheists for Jesus”, a group of people who respect & admire Jesus teachings, but do not believe that His death was a necessary sacrifice in order for us to get to heaven? Is it really that important to believe that Jesus is God?
The truth is that if we do not believe this foundational truth, every aspect of our lives as Christians would change. Worshiping Jesus, obeying Him, praying to Him would be foolish. “If Jesus is not God, we have believed in vain…Were Jesus a mere man, we would be left w/ a set of nice teachings (and a lot of antiquated stories) rather than a dynamic relationship with the personal God of the universe, made possible through the eternal sacrifice of an eternal Being” (Arnold, ibid).
“being in very nature God” – This verse is foundational to our understanding that Jesus was & is God. He has always been God.” John 1:1 – “In the beginning was the Word, & the Word was w/ God, & the Word was God.” KJV – “being in the form of God” – The word “form” means the “outward expression of the inward nature” (Wiersbe, 74). Col. 1:15 – “He is the image of the invisible God…” Charles Spurgeon – “There are 3 persons in the Godhead, the Father, the Son, & the Holy Spirit; & these 3 are 1 God, the same in essence, equal in power & glory” (www.iclnet.org).
For us as Christ-followers, there is no doubt that Jesus was God, is God, & forever will be God. He revealed the true nature of God – self-giving love. He cannot be placed in any category lower than God. Jesus is God!
JESUS IS SAVIOR – v. 7-8 – The sacrifice of Jesus through His death on the cross is the supreme act of love that God did to show His love for us & to provide us a Savior. “But God demonstrate His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8). Jesus Himself said in Mk. 10:45, “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many.” He did this for you & me b/c He is our Savior – our ONLY Savior! And though the world rages against Him, He died for them, too. Though they ridicule Him in horrible ways, He died for them, too. Though they relegate Him in humanistic ways and refuse to believe that He was anything more than just a man, He died for them, too. What awesome & incredible love!
Jesus death on the cross was one of humility & humiliation. He was willing, not only to make Himself nothing, emptying Himself, but to take the very nature of a servant. But He went even further than that out of His love for you & me. He humbled Himself to the point of death, the most degrading kind of death that could be inflicted on a man – death on a cross, the form of capital punishment that the Romans used for foreigners, slaves, & those guilty of heinous crimes. But Christ’s death was unique b/c He had no crime to pay for. He died not for what He had done. He had no sin. But He died for others, paying the penalty for the sins of the world. Only our Savior would do that. Only our Savior would lay down His life for us. Isaiah 53:6 – “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.” Only our Savior would do that. And He did!
“If our greatest need had been information, God would have sent us an educator. If our greatest need had been technology, God would have sent us a scientist. If our greatest need had been money, God would have sent us an economist. If our greatest need had been pleasure, God would have sent us an entertainer. But our greatest need was forgiveness, so God sent us a Savior!” (Swindoll) In spite of the world’s opinions, Jesus is the one & only Savior!
JESUS IS LORD – v. 9-11 – “Following Jesus’ humility & obedience, G the Father, exalted Him to His rightful position of honor & glory. Through the miracle of the resurrection, G gave new honor to the obedient, humble Son” (Max Anders, Holman NT Comm., 226). His name is above every name. He is exalted now to the right hand of the throne of God, and is Lord of all. He is the object of worship for the church, & is now Master instead of Servant, Lord instead of man.
And b/c He is Lord, there is coming a day – SOON – when every creature will acknowledge Jesus as Lord. Every person who rages against Him; every person who ridicules Him; every person who relegates Him to a place of obscurity; every person who refuses to believe that He is who He is – EVERY person will bow down and confess that Jesus is Lord.
What does it mean that He is Lord? It means that He is supreme; He is Master; He is sovereign; He is Boss, CEO (Ron Reeves); He is King who has all authority. It means that there is no other like Him, no other equal to Him, no other above Him. He is eternal and immortal and the only one who is worthy of worship. “Men gave Him names of ridicule & slander, but G gave Him a glorious name!” (Wiersbe, 76) No matter what the world says or believes, Jesus is Lord!
CONCLUSION – So what do you believe about Jesus? And how has your belief affected your life both here & for all eternity?
“Through the Son we hear G speak. Through the Son we see G’s compassionate heart. And even more, through the Son we draw near & personally experience G’s presence” (Mike Fleischmann, “Loved by the Son,” DJ, Mar/Apr 2005, 46).
- Have you heard G speak today as we’ve looked at His Son?
- Have you seen G’s compassionate heart today as we’ve considered the great sacrifice He made by sending His Son to be our Savior?
- Do you need to draw near today & personally experience G’s presence in your life today?
When your belief in Jesus moves from your head to your heart, you will never be the same!
