1.
Please pray with me. May the words of my mouth and the meditation
of our hearts be pleasing in Your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our
Redeemer. Amen. The message from God’s Word as we reflect on
the Sunday of the Passion of our Lord is taken from Philippians 2:5-11 and is entitled,
“It Just Doesn’t Seem Fair.”
2.
Firstborn
infants learn to say these three words (not necessarily in this order): Mom, Dad, and Mine!
But, those born after the first child learn Mom, Dad, and It’s not fair! It’s a
wise parent who has one child divide a prize (cake, pie, etc.) and the rest
choose their piece first. I remember in
my family growing up that my younger brothers would often say of me, being the
oldest of three boys, that it wasn’t fair that I got to do everything first,
from using the chain saw to driving a car. It wasn’t fair, but it’s the way
life works. It’s not fair that the God
of the universe should become one of his own creatures. It’s not fair that he
should suffer in any way, let alone undeservedly. It’s not the way life works! Everything
we know about the way life works flies in the face of God’s amazing love,
grace, and mercy. Thank God.
3.
The
injustices of Jesus’ life begin with his birth and are only compounded through
the events leading up to his death. St.
Paul writes in Philippians 2:5-7, “Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature
God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own
advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a
servant, being made in human likeness.”
This is a mind-boggling truth: the Creator—who made the universe and
everything in it—humbled himself on our behalf. Though eternally existing “in very nature God,” Jesus was willing
to let go of his heavenly position and privileges. He “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being
made in human likeness.
4.
It’s
hard to grasp the magnitude of this divine condescension—God becoming one of
us. C. S. Lewis explained: “The Second
Person in God, the Son, became human Himself: was born into the world as an
actual man—a real man of a particular height, with hair of a particular colour,
speaking a particular language. . . . The Eternal Being, who knows everything
and who created the whole universe, became not only a man but (before that) a
baby, and before that a foetus inside a Woman’s body. If you want to get the
hang of it, think how you would like to become a slug or a crab.”
5.
It’s
tempting to think that Lewis’s example is a bit extreme. But consider
theologian Bruce Ware’s words regarding the incarnation of Christ: “Would this be like you, fully a human
being, joining yourself also to the nature of a worm or a slug or a fish? Yes,
but . . . no. No matter how lowly the creature was that you joined with, it
still would be one creature being joined to another creature. We simply cannot
imagine or understand what God the Son has done in obedience to his Father when
he, the eternal and infinite God, Creator of all that is, came and took on also
the nature of small, finite, creaturely manhood.”
6.
The
Gospels tell us that during his life on earth, Jesus is described in His state
of humiliation, as experiencing fatigue, hunger, thirst, physical pain,
emotional grief, and all the things he does not experience in the rest of
eternity. At the time of his trial,
Jesus’ obedience to death includes being subject to a barrage of false charges,
belittlement, abuse, mockery, physical savagery, and the humiliation of being
stripped naked. That God should die is
incomprehensible. That he should die undeservedly is inexcusable. That he
should die in an accursed manner (cf. Deut 21:22–23; Gal 3:13) is indefensible. Deuteronomy 21:22–23 says, “22“And if a man has committed a
crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, 23his
body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same
day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the
Lord your God is giving you for an
inheritance.” And Galatians 3:13
says, “13Christ redeemed us
from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed
is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
7.
But,
the good news is that God the Father exalted Jesus at his resurrection. He
vindicated him! In the resurrection the
Father shows that Jesus was righteous and just.
It’s interesting that neither Jesus nor the Father “rubbed it in” on Pilate, Herod, the soldiers, or anybody! We call
that grace upon grace. Following the resurrection, Jesus’ mistreatment and
wrongful death deserved vengeance. In human thinking, not to avenge him is just
not fair.
8.
God
has already made it true that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in
heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. It will happen before we die or
after. It will happen before Christ comes again or when he does, but it will
happen. Some will bow in respect, honor, love, and praise, others in dreadful
fear. God wants no one to be outside of his love, mercy, and forgiveness. He
wants no one to bow only in terror.
9.
Every
bit of Jesus’ birth, life, suffering, and death confronts our sense of fair
play, right, and justice. It just isn’t fair! At the same time, none of that is
as mind-boggling as why he did it. The most difficult and yet most important
thing to comprehend is the intimate connection between these two phrases: “It just isn’t fair” and “He did it all for me.” It was for me
that Christ came. For me he was born in that stable. For me he lived as a
humble human. For me he suffered. For me he died, and for me he rose and lives!
10.
Having
the same attitude as Christ is a tall order, but one thing we can all do is to
care, as he did, for those less fortunate. Our greatest fortune is our faith in
Christ. Those who do not know of the unfairness Jesus suffered for them are the
least fortunate people on earth. Rejoice in what Jesus did and still does for
you and tell the Good News about Jesus to all who do not know what he did for
them.
11.
It
just isn’t fair that an innocent Jesus should be found guilty. It just isn’t
fair that he should be punished like a common criminal. It just isn’t fair that
he should be ridiculed, tortured, and mocked. It just isn’t fair that he should
die in a way that is particularly agonizing and that his people considered to
be especially cursed. It wasn’t fair that he should have given up all his
divine rights, possessions, and powers to become a human being in the first
place. It isn’t fair that it all happened to him instead of me. But thanks be
to God!
12.
While
trying to comprehend what God did in becoming human, we should also
ask ourselves why he went to such drastic measures. He did it so he could fulfill his mission of “becoming obedient to death—even death on a
cross!” (Philippians 2:8) in order to pay the penalty for our sins, with
the ultimate goal that “every tongue
acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (v.
11). In other words, he did it for us.
He did it so that we could know him and live with him forever—as our forgiver,
leader, and friend. God’s divine
condescension should provoke us to praise: “Thank
you, Lord, for going to such incomprehensible lengths to become one of us, so
that ultimately you could die for my sins, forgive me, and make me your child.” Thanks be to God! Lord, God Almighty, thanks
be to God! Amen.
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