“The Obedient Servant”

Scripture: Philippians 2:1-11

Today is Palm Sunday – the day we celebrate Jesus’ return to Jerusalem from his ministry in the Galilee. We remember the donkey he would ride, we remember the palms that were waved, we remember the hosannas that were shouted (Matthew 21:1-11), but how often do we remember the tears that the Lord shed as he slowly worked his way down from the Mount of Olives and back up to the gates of the City? (Luke 19:41) – “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it”.) With all of the joyful shouts, with all of the exaltation and adoration that was being heaped upon him, why would Jesus express such sorrow?
The Lord had come to offer peace to the people of Israel, and the offer had been declined. He knew what would soon come to the people – that in less than 50 years, a revolt would be violently put down, the city would be destroyed, the temple would be leveled, and the people would suffer in unspeakable ways. The peace that he had brought for Israel could have prevented the coming devastation of the nation – could have prevented the eternal destruction of souls - but now it was too late. The only thing left to do would be the very thing that his followers never understood. He had told them over and over that he would have to die, and the time was drawing near.

A rabbi by the name of Harold Hushner wrote:
I was sitting on a beach one summer day, watching two children, a boy and a girl, playing in the sand. They were hard at work, by the water's edge, building an elaborate sand castle with gates and towers and moats and internal passages. Just when they had nearly finished their project, a big wave came along and knocked it down, reducing it to a heap of wet sand. I expected the children to burst into tears, devastated by what had happened to all their hard work. But they surprised me.
\Instead, they ran up the shore away from the water, laughing and holding hands, and sat down to build another castle. I realized that they had taught me an important lesson. All the things in our lives, all the complicated structures we spend so much time and energy creating, are built on sand. Only our relationships to other people endure. Sooner or later, the wave will come along and knock down what we have worked so hard to build up. When that happens, only the person who has somebody's hand to hold will be able to laugh.
-Rabbi Harold S. Hushner, quoted in Kindred Spirits: Meditations on Family and Friends, eds. Claudia Karabaic Sargent and Peg Street (Viking Studio Books, 1995).

Jesus had offered his hand of friendship to people throughout the world, but for some reason, most have preferred to try to make their relationships difficult and complex, or contingent upon some unreal expectation, or demanding with consequence. Jesus wanted it to simply be a peaceful, loving experience for us all, but it just doesn’t make sense to the world.
The Lord knew exactly how it would go, but he came to teach and heal and reveal just the same. Obedient to the Divine Plan, obedient to the Holy Will, obedient in the hope for each and every one of us.

Read Philippians 2:1-4

The truth is that Jesus simply didn’t fit the image that Israel had of God. The words we just read are fine for humanity – love, fellowship, tenderness and compassion – those are good traits for every Christian. But traits for God? Hardly! God is supposed to be powerful, judgmental, demanding, strict. But loving? Tender? Compassionate? Humble? Peace loving? A servant’s for heart? You’ve got to be kidding! NEVER! Jesus could have made great in-roads into Jewish faith if he had just taken on the image that they were prepared to see, if he had just been willing to let them continue to seek salvation through the law and to make that way effective, if he would but remain aloof from the masses, if he would just act and look like their God should.

But if we are to be encouraged in our relationship with God, and that is one huge “if”, isn’t it, we have to be like God, and in his way. It’s not so much about the things we do, but more importantly about our attitude in doing them. In Micah 6:8, God affirms that very thing. We aren’t to think about and talk about justice – we are to be just in all that we do. We aren’t to simply be merciful toward others – we are to love the mercy we show. We aren’t to simply walk the path that God has laid out for us – we are to set our arrogance and pride aside so that we can walk with him in a humble way.
Jesus gave us every example that we will ever need, and it leads us into an arm-in-arm relationship, not one that demands subservience. Jesus was completely obedient to the plan for salvation, and never even once would he deviate from the path that it would have to take.

Read Philippians 2:5-8

Paul begins this passage with the thought that it truly is about our attitude. Are you a disciple of Christ? Is your life and his inexplicably tied together? If it is, then act like it! If we are to be seen as one in the Lord, then we also must have the same attitude that he had.
You may be wondering why this is such an important concept. First, it’s about the relationship. We all know the old saying “Opposites attract.” As convinced as I am that that isn’t always true in our human relationships, I’m even more convinced that it isn’t true in our relationship with God. Being the opposite of God is the very reason that Jesus had to come to earth! We were drowning in our own “difference”, and there was no way out. Christ’s way is the only way. And second, if we want others to see Christ in us, if we want others to come to his way, then we had better be showing him in his truth, not in our desires! We are to be just as obedient to Jesus as he was to the Father. It’s all about the attitude.

So let’s consider, for just a moment, what obedience to the plan of salvation would require of Jesus.
1. Jesus’ very nature was that of God. He is eternal in existence, infinite in wisdom, all powerful, perfect in every way, and worthy of praise from all of creation. Remember that this is the very thing that the Satan aspired to, as did Adam, and as has humanity since the time of creation. Everyone wants to be like God, and yet, Jesus did not consider these attributes as something that he must hold on to. He would be willing to set them aside so that he might be faithful to us.
2. The infinite God chose to become nothing. He was not forced into this assignment – it was his will to do it. He placed his glory on hold so that he could take on the human image – imperfect in body, limited in ability, filled with emotion, and susceptible to pain and injury and death. And what would he gain from it? Everything that was needed, and everything that he wanted.
3. Eternal and unbounded God set it all aside and took on the form of a man. And why would he do that? God can’t suffer. God can’t die. Only a created being can do that, and without his human form, Jesus could never have given us his all at Calvary.
Jesus gave up every one of his Divine attributes, but he never gave up his Divinity. Jesus took on the characteristics of a human being, but he never gave up being God. The New Interpreter’s Bible says “it is in his self-emptying and his humiliation that he reveals what God is like, and it is in his taking on the form of a slave that we see ‘the form of God’”. Obedience to the plan has not demeaned God, but rather has revealed all that God truly is. In John 14:7, Jesus says “If you know me, you will know my Father also. From now on you do know him and have seen him.”

Read Philippians 2:9-11

Because of Jesus’ obedience to humility, and servant hood, and the Godly love for all of his created beings, his has become the name that is greater than any other name that has ever been given. From the humble to the superlative! Glory is once again his mantle; Eternity has been reclaimed; “Worthy is the Lamb” has again become the song of the ages; and all will know exactly who he is and will acknowledge him as Lord.
But for many, the opening of their eyes will come too late. They will see “Glory”, they will understand eternity, they will try to sing the song, and will even proclaim that Jesus is Lord, but the time for choosing to follow Jesus will have passed. Jesus was obedient for us, but our obedience will always be in question.

Remember the three parts of the Great Commission? (Matthew 28:18-20) First, make disciples of all nations – bring others to Christ. Then baptize them in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit – mark them as belonging to Christ. And finally, teach them to obey his commandments – this is our obedience to Christ.

Our obedience will never be perfect, but that doesn’t mean we should quit trying! Jesus knows our struggle; he knows our oppression; he knows our persecution; he knows our need of him. Why do you think he wept over Jerusalem as he journeyed down those steep slopes from the Mount of Olives, into the Kidron valley, and up through the Golden Gate - his gate of destiny? For his own benefit? Never! It would be the only possible recourse that God could take to satisfy our great need for salvation. Obedient to an overwhelming love for you and me, and a servant to the very nature of God – that is what would lead him through the Hosannas, and over the palm branches, and onto the cross.