The Lutheran Hour
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"Be Like Jesus"
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Text: Philippians 2:5-11
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Grace, and mercy, and peace be to you in the Name of Jesus, the One who humbled Himself so that you and I might indeed be saved. Amen.
Some of you might remember an athlete named Michael Jordan. I realize that was a bit of a joke, since his name is pretty well known still today in the United States and around the world. One of the reasons for that is that he was, as they say, “highly marketable.” In fact there was a campaign designed to get even non-NBA basketball fans to get to know him. Do you remember the campaign? Yes, it was the Gatorade commercials called, “Be like Mike.” It was a little song that started out like this, “Sometimes I dream, that he is me…..like Mike, I want to be like Mike.” Now when it comes to winning basketball games, I guess that commercial works. And, there is no doubt that he is personally successful from a monetary point of view. But, if you’ve followed Mr. Jordan’s career since his basketball retirement, it hasn’t been as stellar as when he was a player. There have been all kinds of failures, many just like the rest of us, some even worse. So, when it comes to being like Mike, maybe we should leave it at that, “Drink Gatorade, play basketball, like Mike.”
Now I’m not picking on him so much. He was one of my favorite players then and now. But like so many idols of our culture, he too had a whole lot of chinks in his so called armor. In that way, he’s just like us. And we’ve seen other famous, successful people go through even greater struggles after their playing days. There are all kinds of stories like that about leaders in the public eye, from politicians to athletes, from celebrities to business tycoons. The latest fall of one respected by millions of people is Lance Armstrong and his fall was even greater than many before him. It wasn’t merely chinks in the armor of his private life that devastated, it was the whole package that was a lie. Wow! In our cynical age, can there be any true heroes? In our self-serving age, can there be any real role models?
Well, St. Paul tells us straight out today, yes! Not be like Mike, not be like Lance, not even be the “best you can be” because that too is never going to be good enough. No, be like Christ!
Our text says, “Have the same mind among yourselves, which is yours in Jesus Christ.” Be like Christ. He is the ultimate Role Model when it comes to success. Like the text says, “He has a name which is above every name.” And you can see why. Just look at His accomplishments. He lived a perfect life. He overcame all kinds of obstacles in His life and in the lives of others. He literally saved the whole world, He saved you and me.
Jesus indeed is a role model worth following. He is a hero worth the worship. But, “Be like Christ?” You’ve got to be kidding pastor. Lead a perfect life, imitate the Savior of the world? I can barely handle the challenges before me each day, let alone conquer them all for everybody else too. If you told me to be like Mike, that would be hard enough, almost impossible in many ways. “Be like Christ?” that really is impossible.
Well, make sure that you hear exactly what Paul is saying. He isn’t saying “be like Christ” in regards to the things that only Jesus can do. There is no way that we can imitate the unique essence of His divine exaltation nor mimic the eternal success of His saving servanthood. We are asked, though, to model His humility as His people, especially towards others. That is how we are to be like Christ. To you who are loved and forgiven by the humble, victorious Savior, be humble like Christ in your love for one another. After all, the road to glory is found only on the trail of humility.
But that doesn’t sound right, does it? That sounds like a paradox. You know, a paradox is when two statements, both true, seem to contradict each other but they really don’t. Or, as I like to say, “a paradox is a statement that seems to make sense to everybody else but me!” Well, I hope this makes sense. In the Bible, God has a gracious habit of using paradoxes to proclaim His Good News for all. How else can you explain the biblical fact of a little Baby named Jesus also being the eternal Son of God, God in the flesh? What a paradox! But even more, what a miracle? Just look at the incarnation, the birth of Christ. There not only is the eternal God in human flesh, but God become Man so that you and I might be saved. Why, because He loves you. And not only does He love you, He wants you to know it for yourself, so God even communicates that love to us in ways that we can understand, through simple words, water, bread and wine. The King of Kings and Lord of Lords uses common, everyday, ordinary things. Yes, for the simple fact that these things can be received and believed by people like us!
Or how about another incredible paradox? The God of heaven, who created the heavens and the earth, was willing to suffer the eternal damnation of all humanity, on the cross of calvary. Wow! The God of heaven, who could so easily come to judge and punish, comes to serve and to save. God heals His people when Christ suffers in our place. God’s power is seen in weakness when Christ takes on our weakness so that He can make God’s power and strength available to us as a gift! Paradox, yes, but true nonetheless. Like our text says:
In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,…..he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross!Now, maybe you already have an opinion about who God is. Maybe you have thought about His power, His wisdom, His strength. But Paul challenges us all to think about His willingness, incredibly, to serve you and me back into His kingdom when we didn’t deserve it at all. The Bible reminds us that “Jesus, who though he was God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, a thing to be held on to, but He made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant. Becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” It took that for forgiveness, love, and salvation to be poured out on a world that paradoxically deserved none of it.
Humility, God’s power in action to save. God’s salvation, then, through a manger, God’s salvation through a cross, in the Person and work of Jesus the Christ. It’s incredible that God works this way, don’t you think? I mean let’s be honest. We live in a time and place where people are not generally impressed with the ordinary and we tend to despise the humble. Perhaps we live in a culture addicted to sensationalism. We have the X Games. We have extreme sports like ultimate fighting – from pugilism to potential masochism. We have extreme movies about vampires and serial killers. We have extreme roller coasters at our amusement parks. Everything seems to need to be extreme to catch and keep our attention. This humility thing just doesn’t seem to cut it.
But this humility thing and this ordinary thing really are not out of character for God. In fact, to win the battles that really matter in life; humility, character, holiness, perseverance, they are the key to it all.
One of the truly great leaders of the American Revolution was George Washington. He was a man of courage, he was a brilliant tactician in battle, but his greatest attribute may have been his humility. Such character was evident before, during, and after America’s battle for independence.
“One day, as preparations were being made for a battle in the Revolutionary War, Washington noticed a corporal arrogantly ordering his men to lift a heavy beam. Now he was dressed in civilian clothes, and as he walked by, he said to the corporal, “Why don’t you help them?” “Sir,” he replied indignantly, “I am a corporal!” Well, Washington apologized for his misperception, then he stripped off his coat and helped the soldiers himself. Now, when the job was finished, he said, “Corporal, the next time your men need help, you go ahead and call on me, your commander-in-chief. I’ll be glad to help.” With that, George Washington put on his coat and left” .
That’s a leader that can win the big battles in life. That’s a leader who people will follow, who people can trust. But Washington’s humility and bravery were nothing compared to that of Jesus Christ.
In Jesus Christ, God does humility perfectly. In fact God has a fondness for the ordinary and an affinity for the finite and a hankering for humility. Why, because He loves people like you and me, simple and plain, and He wants you to know that for sure!
God’s humility in the Person and work of Christ, really saves. And, such gracious humility draws us to Himself, draws us to Him. You might even say that Perfect Humility is attractive. Throughout His earthly life, Jesus attracted people. Look at His triumphant and magnetic entrance into Jerusalem.
A Lord like that, One who rides donkeys instead of stallions, is one that can be approached. A Messiah like that who washes feet, is One who can understand my pain. A Savior who eats with tax collectors and sinners, calling them to repentance and faith, is One who can rescue any life that is in His care. A God in heaven who goes to crosses to overcome sin, death, and the devil himself, is the God to trust in, to hope in, to believe in.
Jesus displayed His humility not because He had to, but because He wanted to. It’s not like He put His being God on hold. He was and always is God. Rather, Jesus willingly and voluntarily denied Himself the honors of His glory. But that makes no sense in a “If you’ve got, flaunt it” age. But Christ’s humility saves. Jesus had to come down to our level to save us. And that He did. And that kind of Divine Humility attracts us too. Such Humility in action shows that God is not distant and abstract and unapproachable. In Christ, God becomes very close, very real, very inviting for You!
With a Savior like that, we get to “be like Christ” so that others might be attracted to Him as their Savior too. Jesus achieved His humility through selflessness. We reflect the power of His humility in service to those God brings into our lives.
Our great God became so very humble in Christ Jesus. Jesus emptied Himself so that you and I might be filled. He accepted the cross so that you and I might be offered eternal life and salvation. He loved us with an everlasting love so that we could indeed love others in His Name!
Be like Christ! Be ready to love and care for the people that God Himself sends into your lives. In this, we can be like Christ, like Him. We can take time to see the real needs of others. Like Him, we can visit the sick and comfort the dying. We can feed the hungry, or better, empower them to work again so that they might be able to give of themselves too. And most of all, we can offer real rescue to souls in danger. Like Christ, we can respond to real needs with the real grace and real mercy that He provides for us all!
So, be like Christ. But, do we dare? Can we be like Him when even our best can’t even come close to His standard of humility? Yes, be like Christ.
By depending on Him. As Christ emptied Himself, put Himself at the very mercy of the Father to save us. We, too, need to empty ourselves, to humble ourselves before Him. We are full of failure, saturated with sin, popping with pride. We need to empty ourselves in humble confession. And let the very mercy and forgiveness of the exalted Lord Jesus refresh us to life and salvation again and again!
Be like Christ, trusting in the very words of God in the Scripture for your life and salvation.
For the very word of grace from the Humble, yet exalted Jesus Christ, is the Word that holds us now and forever.
Filled with Christ we can have the same attitude of Jesus. Filled with Christ, we can be like Him in our relationships with others. Filled with Christ, by the power of His Holy Spirit we can exercise our faith in humble service to those God brings into our lives. Christian life is simple, yet powerful; it is faith towards God, and fervent love toward neighbor. Humility in and through Christ works!
The Apostle Paul states humility’s case in our text:
In your relationships with one another, he says, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who,…made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant,…..he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death-even death on a cross! Therefore God highly exalted him and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow…and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Into this world of power-hungriness, pride and self-importance comes a message of real power, through the humble Savior, Jesus Christ. Into our heart and life, He comes. What a great paradox, what a great salvation.When I hear a message like this, there are times when I’m a bit like Leonard Sweet, in his book, “Jesus Christ Drives Me Crazy.” He says:
“So much of what Jesus teaches is just nuts according to the world… He taught that: the way up is down; the way in is out; the way first is last; the way of success is service; the way of attainment is relinquishment; the way of strength is weakness; the way of security, vulnerability; the way of life is death – death to self, society, and family.
“And, know your strengths,” he says. Why, because that’s the only way that you can lay them down. For God’s power is made perfect…where? In weakness. Do you want to be free? Give complete control to God. Do you want to find yourself? Forget yourself. Do you seek honor? Practice humility.”Sweet reminds us that having “this Mind of Christ” might seem crazy at first, but it is the very power of God for your salvation, for your abundant life, now and forever!
Be like Christ, be attracted to His humility and connected to His Name in faith. Read His Word, gather around His means of grace in His church where He pours out the very blessings that He Himself has earned for you, “humble unto death, even death on a cross.” Let Him cover you with His humility and empower you with His grace.
And refreshed in Him, having emptied ourselves in confession, having filled up with Christ in forgiveness and power, we can now go out into a self-centered, narcissistic world and humbly serve whomever God brings. And who knows? Some self-centered, egotistical person might be attracted to our humility, much like we were attracted to Christ’s humility. Drawn to Him, what a great opportunity to complete the connection – to attach them to the source of our humility, Jesus Christ your Savior, my Savior, and their Savior too.
Be like Mike? No, I think, if Mike was truly honest, even he might say, “No, be like Christ.” But, Paul surely invites you and me today to do just that, trusting in Christ as our Savior, Be like Him, live like Him. For Jesus Himself promises, “Whoever exalts himself with be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted” by God (Luke 18:14). As it was for Jesus, the One “highly exalted above every name;” may it also be for you.
Amen.
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for March 17, 2013
Topic: Why Doesn’t My Son Believe?ANNOUNCER: Now, Pastor Gregory Seltz responds to questions from listeners. I’m Mark Eischer. We have a rather painful question to talk about today. A listener says, “My son does not believe in Jesus. I pray for him everyday. I pray that God would bring my son to faith, but he still doesn’t believe. Why won’t God answer my prayer?” How can God’s Word help us in this situation?
SELTZ: Wow, Mark, that truly is a painful question and I’m sure it’s one that many parents face today. So, let me assure all of you who are enduring this painful reality that God hears those prayers and even more, He is at work to bring your kids to faith too.
ANNOUNCER: I hear you say that, but if God is at work, wouldn’t her son be a believer?
SELTZ: Well, we’ve got to be careful here. Remember what the Bible says, “If people believe, it is all God’s work, a gift from Him (Eph. 2:8-9). But if people don’t believe, it is because of their rejection of God’s grace. Jesus, in Matthew 23:37 talked about how even Israel had rejected the prophets that God sent them. And Paul spoke about people rejecting the good news of Jesus in Acts 13:46 as the reason they moved on to preach to the Gentiles. So, according to the Bible, when we’re saved, it’s all by God’s grace. If we’re not saved, it’s by our sinful choice, our rejection of God’s offer of grace.
ANNOUNCER: I’m not hearing a whole lot of comfort in that.
SELTZ: Well, but, it actually is, because if you think about it, God wants her son saved, with an eternal future with Him, even more, He wants it even more than his mother does. She can rest assured that her prayers are being heard and that God is bringing His Law and Gospel to bear on her son’s life in hopes of blessing him with faith.
ANNOUNCER: But, his present rejection of that grace is the problem.
SELTZ: It very much is. He is choosing to stand outside of God’s grace and forgiveness in Christ and his mom is rightfully concerned. But, just because things aren’t there yet, doesn’t mean that it’s hopeless.
ANNOUNCER: Right. So, in a way, her prayers, her words to him, that could all be part of God’s testimony as to how much this boy is loved, even an example of what people who love you do; they lift you up in prayer before God’s throne of grace, all the time, right?
SELTZ: Yes, and what a blessing that is. When we’re young, we may not appreciate very much the way our parents loved us. So, maybe her son is going through one of those times where he’s trying to find his way, so he’s rebelling against the things of his youth. A mother’s continued prayer and concern is one of those things that often times hits you later, when you are a bit older. Maybe, that’s what’s going on.
ANNOUNCER: Or maybe there are some issues that have come up that have caused him to run away from God and from the faith of his family.
SELTZ: Yeah, this is a sinful, broken world, that’s for sure. As a mother, or father, we can try to be there for our kids when such brokenness hits, but, we can’t shield them from everything that’s out there. If his faith has been challenged in some way, causing him to doubt or reject what his parents have tried to share with him, they can rest assured that God too will try to bring circumstances and voices to bear in his life that will help challenge him to see the emptiness of this world and the fullness of life in Jesus Christ alone.
ANNOUNCER: These things won’t happen overnight, though. Sometimes it could take months, years, even decades.
SELTZ: Exactly. I’ve read that one of the great saints of the church, St. Augustine, well, he wasn’t always a Christian. In fact, he was a bit of a brat early on in life, doing all kinds of things that broke his mother Monica’s heart. But she continued to pray for him and share God’s Word with him for 30 years and finally, such love got through. So, for her son, faith can happen, God wants it to happen, and so to this dear mother, keep praying for your son, keep sharing God’s Word as time presents itself and know that God is at work seeking to bring him to that gracious salvation that comes through faith in Jesus.
ANNOUNCER: It is good to know that God is at work even when we don’t see things going the way we hope they would.
SELTZ: And that’s especially true when such struggles involve those whom we truly love and for who we truly care.
ANNOUNCER: Well, Pastor, we hope our listener is comforted to know that God loves her son even more than she can imagine. Perhaps that truth can be a powerful motivation for her to keep praying, keep sharing God’s love with her son even now.
SELTZ: Absolutely.
ANNOUNCER: Thank you Pastor Seltz. This has been a presentation of Lutheran Hour Ministries.
Music Selections for this program:
“A Mighty Fortress” arranged by Chris Bergmann. Used by permission.
“Let Us Ever Walk with Jesus” sung by the Lutheran Hour Chorus. Used by permission.
“Glory Be to Jesus” arr. Timothy Moke. From Magnificent Christian Hymns, vol. 2 by Timothy
Moke & Georg Masanz (© 2005 T. Moke Recordings)
“Fugue in d minor” by J.S. Bach. From Organist Frederick Hohman & J.S. Bach by Frederick
Hohman (© 1988 Pro Organo)