He Humbled Himself...(Part II, Conclusion)

"No sacrifice should be too great for Him who gave Himself for us."   - Harry Ironside

Last week, we began our discourse on how there is no limit to what Jesus Christ would do to save our guilty souls. This week we shall expand on this and then conclude, hopefully leaving you with a better understanding of the subject.

We have already briefly examined Christ prior to His incarnation. Now we shall look at the act by which He became man, as well as He was God, otherwise known as the act of incarnation.

Without a doubt, His incarnation was the distinctively, special union of, both, the divine and human nature in Christ, where He became the God-man. This required an act of great humiliation on the part of God's son.

Let's consider this, shall we? Christ totally unpacked Himself of his dignity and majesty. And while He did empty himself of the form of God, He still retained its essential glory. He became a true human in all respects, yet remained divine.

Christ did not arrive in splendor and glory, but rather in weakness and poverty. He was born to a virgin; a delicate and helpless baby in a manger (Matthew 1:23).

He had no assumed position of worldly greatness, nor did he seek any. Christ came that He might save men and make them abundantly rich in glory (Matthew 8:20; 2 Corinthians 8:9). But make no mistake, Christ was a real man; being one in every way (Hebrews 2:17).

He was flesh and blood, meaning he also hungered for food, thirsted for drink, became tired and needed rest. But Christ did not just humble himself to the ways and form of a man. He graciously and gladly accepted the manifestation of a servant.

He said that He "did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many" (Matthew 20:28). And "came to seek and to save the lost" (Luke 19:10).

We are now at the final portion of our discussion where we will inquire into the period of Christ's incarnation and what He did. This was an important period with many significant and wonderful things being done during this time.

Notice here that His humiliation has clearly grown and become more evident. Christ desired to get much closer to us than the mere fact of His incarnation would show. Thus, He became the humble man, reaching down to save the worst sinners.

For example, Christ saved the wicked woman at Jacob's well in Samaria. He cast seven demons out of Mary Magdalene, opened the eyes of blind men, helped the deaf to hear again, the lame to walk, healed the sick, and even raised the dead (John 4:4–42; Luke 8:2).

Christ also became a suffering man (Isaiah 53:3; 1 Peter 3:18; Hebrews 13:12). He became so close to us, in sympathy and love, that He "he took up our pain and bore our suffering," was "punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted," and "pierced for our transgressions; crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:4-5).

Christ's fate in respect to suffering was greater than to be wounded, bruised, and punished for us. He was to die for us in order to bring us back to God, which He willingly did. The tragic story of the cross and the scene on Calvary more than demonstrates this.

He suffered a despicable and humiliating death on the cross. His disciples forsook Him, and his friend's ran off.  False witnesses condemned Him in a mock trial, and His enemies nailed Him to the cross.

The sun withheld shining its light on that awful place, and darkness covered the earth. Christ cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Matthew 27:46). "And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit" (Matthew 27:50).

In conclusion, no matter what your state in life is at this very moment, know that Jesus Christ loved you enough to go through all the above and more, to save your guilty soul. Who else would do that..? Did He have to do this..? Of course not!

Christ set the standard of what unconditional love should be. He died for you and me. The motivating force behind his actions was His deep, undying love. Without question, all of us today need to re-visit and revive His example!

Scripture: Romans 5:8; 1 Corinthians 13:13; Philippians 2:6-8; John 1:14; Hebrews 10:10

Prayer: Dear Jesus, thank You for Your goodness and blessings, Your love, care, mercy and grace. I love You and need You today and always. To You alone I give praise and thanks. Amen.

May God always bless you,

Judith