The Infinite Became an Infant
For the Advent season, the Octet Collaborative is delighted to publish a Christmas reflection from one of our partners in ministry, MIT Chaplain Rev. Danny Yamashiro, PhD.
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 2:5-8)
This beautiful poem is also known as the Kenosis or “self-emptying” hymn in the Bible. One that takes us deep into the heart of the Gospel. If the Bible is centered on the person of Jesus Christ, this poem reveals the heart and mind of Christ, a kind of center of the center. As the apostle Paul sits in a Roman prison, there’s a high probability he may die there. Yet he writes with a tone of joy and hope in the face of strife, pressing for unity that is possible by having the attitude of Christ. What is the attitude of Christ?
The attitude of Christ is one of immeasurable descending humiliation. He was in the form of God…equal with God v. 6 This was unchangeably true about him. But how much do we really know about what it means to be equal with God? We may understand orthodox Christian theology, yet our highest thoughts of God are but a mere tinge of his greatness and glory. How are we to measure Christ’s descent when the heights from which he came are incomprehensible? What did he do? He descended in humiliation.
Descent #1: He emptied himself v. 7a. He did not consider equality with God a thing to be grasped. He was not guarding his divinity. He was not holding on to it. That is the attitude of ekenosen. This does not mean he stopped being God. Nor did he put aside some of his divine attributes. He is fully God. But he did set aside his glory. His glory was veiled (Matthew 17:1-3; John 17:1-5).
Descent #2: He took the form of a servant v. 7b. He could have been born a king. He could have possessed the greatest wealth. Instead, He came to serve not to be served (Mark 10:45). He came to be a slave, a foot washer (John 13:14-17). He came to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28).
Descent #3: He was born in the likeness of men…found in human form vv. 7c-8a. This is the marvel of the incarnation. The eternal God unites himself with our human nature. Astronomers have said that our sun is just one of 200 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy. There are at least 100 billion galaxies in the universe. We are told The universe was created by the word of God (Hebrews 11:3). For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together (Colossians 1:16-17). Jesus, the creator of the universe becomes a creature.
An embryo conceived by the Holy Spirit became a fetus and gestated nine months. Laying in amniotic fluid of a virgin’s womb until he was forced to squeeze through the birth canal, the infinite became an infant.
There’s more—Christ Jesus descends further.
Descent #4: He humbled himself…v. 8b1. Charles Spurgeon says, “What will Christ Jesus not do for us? The lower He stoops to save us, the higher we ought to lift Him in our adoring reverence. Blessed be His name. He stoops, and stoops, and stoops, and when He reaches our level and becomes man, He still stoops, and stoops, and stoops lower and deeper yet.”
Descent #5: He humbled himself by becoming obedient v. 8b2 Jesus’ way of humbling himself was by obedience. Obedience is the ultimate form of humility. As in 1 Samuel 15:22, Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to listen than the fat of rams. Obedience means to act upon God’s leading. Jesus focused on seeking and saving the lost (Luke 19:10). He waited on the Father and finished the work (John 19:30). For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me(John 6:38).
Descent #6: He became obedient to the point of death v. 8b3. He descended still further. He died willingly. It is appointed unto men once to die and after this comes judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Jesus said, I lay [down my life] on my own accord. I have the authority to lay it down and I have the authority to take it up again (John 10:18). He chose not to open his mouth even when he was pressured to give a defense (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 27:12-14).
Descent #7: He became obedient to death on a cross v. 8b4. But death alone is not the end. His humiliation drops further. Roman crucifixion was the most shameful death. Purposely planned during or near feast days for that is when the largest crowds could be struck by the horror of the execution. He died as a criminal. He was made a curse for us. Cursed is everyone that hangs on a tree(Galatians 3:13; Deuteronomy 21:23). Mangled and bloody, the atoning sacrifice for you and me. He made him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might be the righteousness of God in him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
He descended lower than anyone has ever plunged; and he is exalted higher than anyone was ever raised. A parabola. Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so 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 (Philippians 2:9-11).
What is the Christmas reminder? The lowest point of Christ’s descending humiliation, the cross, is where we find redemption, hope, and unity. The lowest becomes the highest for in Christ, God will raise us up! Let us remember that the greatest humility is self-emptying obedience as shown by Christ. And that “we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
How might the attitude of Christ in us influence those around us this Christmas and New Year?
Rev. Danny Yamashiro, Ph.D. is the Cambridge Roundtable Faculty Chaplain at MIT and hosts a daily radio/podcast talk show in New England called, "The Good Life with Dr. Danny." He is the founder and president of JCCY, Inc. and miraculously survived falling 400 feet from a cliff in Hawaii while free climbing, at age 18.