By Marvin A. McMickle
However, when the need arose to redeem humankind from the penalty of their sins and when the only person deemed qualified to do so was Jesus, the sinless Son of God, He freely and willingly gave up His eternal prominence and position in heaven in order to enter into the time and space limitations of human existence.
He gave up glory in order to share our grief and sorrow. He gave up heaven in order to save us from hell. He gave up a place at the right hand of God in order to take our place on a cruel cross. He who knew no sin became sin for us so that our sins could be forgiven.
Not only did he empty Himself and give up eternity, but He further humbled Himself and took on the form of a servant. He went from the highest place to the lowest place. He went from the throne room of heaven to the dusty roads of this world where he lived out 33 years of life serving the needs of others. Then, as if being a servant was not enough, He also became a substitute for us on the cross. He became obedient unto death. The Son of God with nail prints in his hands. The King of kings now has a crown of thorns on his brow. The bright and morning star, the fairest of ten thousand, the lily of the valley, the rose of Sharon now had a spear thrust into His side by a Roman soldier.
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That was the mind, the attitude, the phroneo of Christ; He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed (Isa. 53:5). He who counted equality with God as a part of His biographical sketch was willing to give all of that up and empty Himself for our sake.
Now look at Jesus from another angle as He sits with His disciples around a table in the upper room in Jerusalem on the night before He is put to death. In John 13:1-17 we find the story of Jesus getting on His knees to wash the feet of His disciples. When Peter protested and said that he was not worthy to have Jesus wash His feet, Jesus answered, “If I do not wash your feet you have no part with me.” Hearing that, Peter said, “Lord, not just my feet, but my hands and my head as well.” Then Jesus told them the point He was trying to make; “No servant is greater than his master. If I am willing to wash your feet then you ought to be willing to wash each other’s feet.”
The issue here is not entirely about washing feet; the issue here is about the humility that ought to be the characteristic of every Christian. Unlike our impulses in the secular world which are designed to promote and advance ourselves, when it comes to life inside the church, every one of us ought to be saying, “I need to decrease so Christ can increase.” There needs to be less and less of us so that people can see more and more of Him. We ought to get out of the way in our constant search for glory and attention so that the word of God can be heard, so the Son of God can be seen, and so the name of God can be praised.