Jesus: The Man Going Down

Jesus came down from heaven to be with us as one of us. That we can easily see. But His descent didn’t end there—with becoming like us. He descended further and became what we had always been meant to be. Then He descended even further to become what we had never been meant to be. We, on the other hand, can hardly wait to rise higher. We all too often hate and fear the descent, even though it is life-saving and soul-transforming.     

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. Therefore God has highly exalted him. Philippians 2:5-9

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

The Man Going Up

The Bible is full of ironies. Picture this one: Saul storming across the Syrian plains towards Damascus, “hell-bent” on crushing the infant sect of Nazarenes there.[1] Holy indignation over their religious error inflames his zeal. Unholy ambition to make a name for himself spurs him on. Then, from out of the blue, a totally unexpected revelation literally knocks him off his “high horse.” Saul has been persecuting the very God he believes he is serving!

Until this moment Saul is a man going up, blinded by pride. It's only when he meets the "Man Going Down" that his spiritual eyes are opened. His life will never be the same. He, too, becomes a man going down. And so do we, once we meet Jesus.

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ. Philippians 3:7-8

A Divine Humility

What is it about Jesus that can produce such a change? Many things, no doubt, but for now let’s focus on this one: His perfect humility.[2] This is one of His most endearing characteristics, but it is also one of the least expected. Let us remember that none of the ancients would ever have thought to see humility in their gods—those exalted beings (demons really) demanded obedience, respect, worship and service worthy of their high rank. Not Jesus. He didn’t come expecting to be served.

"For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many."  Mark 10:45 

We should have been willing to live for Him and die for Him, our Creator and our Supreme Lord. He could have stayed in heaven where He belonged. Instead, He chose to live and die for us. He descended in order to rescue us. Seeing this about Him crushes our self-centered blindness. In conversion we see our sins: that humbles us. We also see our Savior taking our place: that humbles us even more. We see in Him what we should have been and what we now desire to become.

Saul wasn’t the only man going up. All of us, men and women, have been going up into pride ever since birth. This primary temptation underlies all of our temptations: to become “like God” in our own little worlds—just as Adam and Eve were tempted before us.[3] Part of what this means is that we enthrone our own opinion as Truth and then use our wills to act independently of God. As “gods” with Self stubbornly set on the throne, we are restless, un-trusting and resentful under the conditions and limitations of our humanity. 

The Divine Reversal

Jesus never “grasped at” god likeness as Adam and Eve did, though He had every right to do so. Ironically, Jesus was the only person ever born who was willing to become fully and only human. Paul says that He “emptied Himself” of His divine attributes in order to become man.  This mysterious and marvelous event is called the kenosis of Christ.[4]

If Jesus had not done this, He could never have been a genuine human representative who could legitimately die in our place. Neither could He become an Example we could follow.  It is only because He lived within the conditions of our humanity that we can hope to follow in His steps. Consider this carefully lest old-fashioned, “super-human” ideas of Him still prevail in the back of your mind: All that Jesus did on earth He did in His Humanity.

1) He lived by trusting the Father with His life—a faith-life same as ours.

2) He did only what He believed God desired Him to do—a faith-walk same as ours.

3) He was anointed by the Holy Spirit for all of the works—a faith-empowerment same as ours.

His Humility; Our Humanity

Consider also, what true humanity meant for Jesus. Jesus “came down” into all that it means to be “merely” human.

Dependence
Weakness
Limitations 
Hunger and thirst
Temptations
Humiliations  
Sorrow   
Suffering    
Mortality

We are told by Paul in Philippians that Jesus humbled Himself further by becoming “a slave” to the Father’s will. Then, He went down further still, carrying his obedience “to the extreme of death, even the death of the cross.”[5] Ultimately, and most terribly, He sank into the lowest depths our humanity ever reaches, when He was “made to be sin”—our sins—and suffered our punishment.[6]

The Way Up

Now watch this: First the Father raised Jesus up from death and the grave and then the Father highly exalted Him.[7] The way down was in reality the way up. Going down is the way to be raised by God! He always raises those who go down into true humility.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you. 1 Peter 5:6

What Going Down Means for Us:

1) Go down into your mortality, completely accepting that you will die yet trusting God to raise you one day to heaven, and you will be raised from all fear of dying even now.

2) Go down into your weaknesses and make peace with the fact that you will always have weaknesses in one form or another, but you will also always have a Helper to call on, and you will be raised and sustained by His supply of strength.

3) Go down into your physical being and totally accept the body God has given you and you will be raised above all vain concerns about your body.

4) Go down into your lack of knowledge and accept that there will always be many things that you don’t know and you will be raised to the higher wisdom of trusting God rather than your own understanding.

5) Go down into your sinfulness, be honest about how bad it truly is, and you will be raised to a greater realization of His mercy and love.

6) Go down in surrendered obedience to rightful duties and they will become a path of life, raising you into integrity and joy.

7) Go down in humiliation before others, looking only to God, and God will raise you into the unassailable reality of His acceptance and love for you.

May this mind be in us that is in Him!

Explore More about Jesus

Thirty Hidden Years  Our Lord loves to keep secrets for us to discover. Take a peak at His "hidden" years in Nazareth. Here was God Incarnate quietly going about daily life with no one but Mary and Joseph suspecting the astounding truth. He desired the privacy!

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Scriptures on the Humility of Christ

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. Isaiah 53:7

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. Isaiah 57:15

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. Zechariah 9:9

“Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." Matthew 11:28-30