Jesus Emptied Himself.

What does it mean that Jesus emptied Himself? He hid His glory and became a servant. Brian shares some ideas from the letter to the Philippians.

Jesus Emptied Himself

There is a passage about Jesus in Philippians that is so great that I think some of you can guess what chapter it is. Here it is, in Philippians chapter 2, verse 5 to 9:

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” Philippians 2:5-9

As beautiful as that scripture is, there are two words words that make some people think less of Jesus – “emptied himself”.  Some say that when Jesus emptied himself, he stopped being God and became only a human being.

Now I guess we could probably read thousands of  books to get ALL the guesses about what “emptied himself” means.  Or we could save a lot of time and library dust by just doing this.  Use the Bible to figure out the Bible. 

Taking the Form of a Servant

And we don’t have to go very far.  We don’t even need to go the next verse.  The 2^nd half  of  Philippians 2:7 says he, “emptied himself by taking the form of a servant”.  He emptied himself of everything that marked him out as more than a servant. The applause of angels in heaven – nowhere to be seen or heard. If you saw him, he would have looked like any  human servant. 

He did not appear the way he is described in Revelation chapter 1,

“with eyes … like a flame of fire, his feet … burnished bronze, refined in a furnace, his voice … the roar of many waters … and his face … like the sun shining in full strength.”  (Rev 1:13-16) 

Jesus hid his glory. When Jesus emptied himself, he set aside the blaze and beauty of his glory and and walked this earth as a servant.  In fact he even “humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” 

Jesus Revealed His Glory

Not often but sometimes Jesus revealed his glory.  The Apostle John said,

“We have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father” (John 1:14)

On the Mount of Transfiguration Jesus revealed his glory to Peter, James and John. On that shining occasion, Jesus and 2 other people shone with glory.  You know who they were – Yes?  Elijah and Moses. But you know, Moses had seen Jesus’ shining glory many, many times 1500 years earlier.

In Exodus 3:2, it says, “The angel of the Lord appeared to (Moses) in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. (Exodus 3:2) For Moses, “The appearance of the glory of the Lord was like a devouring fire on the top of the mountain in the sight of the people of Israel.”  (Exodus 24:17).

So, Jesus was glory for Moses.  He hid his glory when he “emptied himself”.  And now for us today, here is the takeaway: Look for God’s Glory everywhere. In a Burning Bush … or a Blackberry Bush. In Jesus Shining on a Mountain … or Dying on the Cross. Shining or hiding. Ask God to show you how he is working in your life today, for his glory.

Do the seven statements of Jesus on the cross touch your heart? How? Share with us. Contact us at HopeStreamRadio,  or comment below.