Pastor Timothy Patoka Palm Sunday – March 25, 2018 Hosanna To The Humbled And Exalted King Philippians 2:5-11 1) Jesus willingly humbled himself 2) God exalted him above all What a day Palm Sunday must have been when Jesus triumphantly entered Jerusalem. The crowds gave him a king’s welcome – palm branches and cloaks spread on the ground, people going ahead and announcing that Jesus was shortly coming, and shouts of Hosanna filled the air. At last the Jewish people’s hopes and dreams were being fulfilled. At last the Messiah had come! But how exactly would this Palm Sunday King reign? We know it wouldn’t be like a regular king, like King David did from the Old Testament. Rather Jesus would reign by willingly humbling himself to the point of death on a cross so that God would exalt him above all else. It is as we look at our verses from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians chapter 2 we see why we give our Hosanna praises to our humbled and exalted king. In the previous verses (Philippians 2:1-4) the Apostle Paul encourages the Christians in Philippi to be united in mind and spirit by adopting the mindset of Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5) who willingly humbled himself to be our servant. The more they did this, the more united they would be. But how is it that Jesus humbled himself? Our verses tell us, Christ Jesus “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness” (Philippians 2:6-7). When the Bible says that Jesus humbled himself, it does not mean that Jesus stopped being God. Rather it means that Jesus did not make full and frequent use of his divine powers.i From time to time he made an exception by performing miracles. But by and large Jesus humbled himself by becoming like us in every way except without sin (Hebrews 4:15). And why did he do this? Because of his servant-like heart. A heart that serves our interests before his own.ii And it is at the cross where we see Jesus’ willing self-humility come to a head. The Apostle Paul continues, “and being found in appearance as a man, [Jesus] humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8)! It was a big deal that Jesus died on the cross. Not only because it’s death, which is already a big deal, not only because Jesus’ death is God’s death, which we’ll come back to in a little bit, but also because of the public shame associated with crucifixion. Whether you were a Roman or an Old Testament believer, dying by way of crucifixion was one of the most shameful ways to go.iii Yet this is what Jesus willingly endured. He went from the heights of glory to the depths of humility. From being in heaven with God himself, free from shame and pain of any sort, to willingly humbling himself to be our servant to the point of dying on a shameful cross. We do not associate positions of power with shame or humility. Are you ashamed to call the crucified 1
Pastor Timothy Patoka Palm Sunday – March 25, 2018 Lord your King? When we fully grasp the shameful humility that Jesus went through, we can be tempted to change our tune from “Hosanna in the highest!” to “Hosanna? Yeah…about that…” It’s tempting to become a fair-weather believer who easily praises Jesus until things take a turn for the worse for him or for us. Don’t given into that temptation of withholding your shouts of Hosanna because of Jesus’ shameful humility at the cross. If anything, let that death be the cause for renewed rejoicing. Jesus is worthy of praise because he willingly humbled himself. As we read before, Christ Jesus “who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:68)! Jesus willingly gave up the full and frequent use of his divine powers to take on human flesh so that he could serve us in humility. And it is his death on that cross that we the forgiveness of sins. Because who was it that died on that cross? It wasn’t only Jesus the man. It was Jesus both God and man. As man, he was under the same demands of the law that you and I are. As God, he kept those requirements perfectly all the years he willingly humbled himself. Why is Jesus’ death the cause for our renewed rejoicing today? Because as true man, Jesus really died on that cross. And as true God, his death was received as payment for our sins by God himself. And it is this same God, who looked upon Jesus’ willing self-humility to the point of dying on a shameful cross, who in turn exalted Jesus by giving him the name that is above every name (Philippians 2:9). It is the name of Jesus – and only his – that is the name for our Savior. Who else, being in nature and equal to God, made himself nothing by willingly humbling himself to be our servant? Who else bore the religious and cultural shame of the cross by dying on it? Who else can bring us blessings by that death as only Jesus does who is true God and true man? There’s a reason why the Apostle Paul writes in Romans chapter 10, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved….for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” (Romans 10:9,13). God exalted Jesus by raising him from the dead and connecting the promise of salvation with his name. And one day, all people will exalt that glory that Jesus has as true God and true man one way or another. And they will do this in two ways. As the Apostle Paul tells us in our verses from Philippians, “that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Philippians 2:10-11). Every person will bow and publicly acknowledge Jesus’ exaltation – that he is Lord – whether they be angels and those eternally rejoicing in heaven, believers and unbelievers on earth, or demons and those eternally perishing in hell. 2
Pastor Timothy Patoka Palm Sunday – March 25, 2018 This bowing and public acknowledgement is already happening on the part of believers. Those who call themselves Christians should already know who Jesus is – God himself who took on human flesh so that by his death on the cross we receive the forgiveness of sins. He is our Savior as no one else is! If we had the practice of kneeling during the worship service, why would we not be willing to bow the knee before our Lord in reverent worship?iv Nearly every week we publicly acknowledge our faith with the words of the Apostles’ or Nicene Creed. These words are not just another part of the worship service we go through so we can get on with our day after church. They are a summary and public acknowledgement of the truths we believe as said by countless Christians for 1,000+ years.v Truths that I pray are remembered and shown during the week as they are in Sunday worship. But when the Last Day arrives and Jesus comes on the clouds of glory, this bowing and public acknowledgement will also happen on the part of unbelievers. But sadly the motivation will not be the same. For it is in that dreadful day of judgment when all will see that the same Jesus Christ who died on a shameful cross is the exalted Lord himself with the power to judge for eternity. And as a defeated enemy unwillingly concedes to the victor’s superiority, so too will unbelievers bow the knee and acknowledge with the tongue the truth they rejected – that Jesus Christ alone is Savior and Lord. I pray that you all bow the knee and acknowledge with the tongue that Jesus Christ is Lord with the right motivation – in joyful thanksgiving of what he has done for you on the cross. I pray that you all shout your Hosannas to your humbled and exalted king with the joyful spirit of the Palm Sunday crowds for the reasons that the Apostle Paul outlines for us in Philippians chapter 2. The key to a united mind and spirit is to adopt the mindset of Christ Jesus who willingly humbled himself to be our servant. He placed our interests over his own and was willing to endure whatever came because of that. Even if it meant going from the heights of heaven to the depths of a shameful cross. Believe that when Jesus died on that cross he did as true man and true God to secure the forgiveness of all your sins. Because of his self-humility, God exalted Jesus and gave him the name that alone can save because he alone is our Savior. Don’t hide your faith within the walls of this church building. Don’t be ashamed to speak about your Savior’s cross. Gladly share the news that Jesus Christ is Lord with those who live in rejection of the Bible’s truths so that when the Last Day arrives and Jesus comes on the clouds of glory, they too may bow the knee and acknowledge with the tongue that our salvation has come at last. Amen.
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Pastor Timothy Patoka Palm Sunday – March 25, 2018 End Notes Theologians call this time of Christ’s life as “his state of humiliation.” From the time Jesus was born to his death on the cross, Jesus willing humbled himself by not making full use of his divine nature. Yet he did, from time to time, make limited use of his divine power as shown with the miracles and Transfiguration account. After the cross Jesus’ humiliation is no longer the case as Jesus is now in “his state of exaltation.” This is where Jesus makes full and frequent use of his divine powers as God. Jesus’ state of exaltation will be covered in part two of the sermon. But a quick comment to correct a common misunderstanding – was Jesus’ human body part of his humiliation? At first glance the answer may seem to be yes as Jesus’ humiliation started when Jesus took on human flesh. But as we see in Jesus’ post-Easter appearances to the believers – in his state of exaltation – he still has a real human body with the nail and spear marks from the cross. It is for this reason we can confidently say that Jesus’ human flesh was not part of his humiliation although the two happened in close chronological proximity. ii The Greek word that is translated as “servant” is literally the word for “slave.” Unfortunately in the USA the word “slave” has such a negative connotation that it is rarely translated as such. I agree with the NIV translators that it is best to use the word “servant” instead of “slave” due to our cultural conditions. But let the reader gain this insight. The intended importance of Paul’s usage of “slave” is to indicate the submissive attitude that Jesus took upon himself. He considered himself a slave in regard to our salvation who was willing to put aside any of his own desires so as to be our Savior. With this insight we fully understand what Paul means in his words in Philippians 2:7 that Jesus Christ “made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant.” iii Much more information can be found in a Bible dictionary. My preferred Bible dictionary is the Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary available from Holman Bible Publishers. While their theological views include the misguided physical millennial kingdom and thus requires a discerning eye, their research is solid in most of their entries. I recommend their entry on “Cross, Crucifixion” for this specific end note. iv In no way do I wish to insult those who cannot kneel due to physical limitations. This is one, among other reasons, why Grace Lutheran does not have kneelers. Yet notice my emphasis is not on the physical act of kneeling, but the willingness to kneel before our exalted King. A person can be willing to kneel even if they physically cannot or should not. v The Nicene Creed was originally written in 325 A.D. and the Apostles’ Creed has roots going back to late 100s A.D. For those who have an interest in history, it is encouraging to think of the number of Christians who have lived since the Early Church and to be reminded that we are joined in faith with countless other believers. This is one thought behind the phrase “the Holy Christian Church, the communion of saints” as found in the Nicene Creed. When you consider liturgical worship which is largely drawn from biblical texts and historic songs, Christians today can grow in appreciation of the heritage they have inherited and the achievements accomplished by those who came before us. i
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