Day Two: Phil.
2: 5-11 “Make your own attitude that of
Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with
God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself
by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had
come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to
the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted
Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of
Jesus every knee should bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and under
the earth— and every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the
glory of God the Father.
HAVE YOU EVER experienced public shame? There are all sorts
of ways it can happen. It can happen accidentally through some circumstance
like slipping and falling in the middle of the hallway between classes, or
dropping an easy fly ball in a baseball game. It can also happen intentionally,
as someone uses shame to embarrass and hurt you. Teachers may do this by making
you stand up in class because you got caught talking as they were teaching. A coach may make you drop and do
push-ups in front of the team because you messed up the play. Public shame can be a form of
punishment.
Public shame is one the ways the Romans
of Jesus’ day would punish people. The use of crucifixion was simultaneously a form of
physical punishment and shame. It brought shame on the person in multiple ways: they were
naked and they were put on public display. With Jesus, they not only did this, but they brutally beat
him, mocked him by placing a crown of thorns around his head, and placing a
sign above him that read “King of the Jews.” Jesus Christ our Lord became obedient to the point of
death, even death on a cross. He humbled himself by taking on flesh, marching to the
cross, despising its shame.
Why did Jesus embrace this shame? To
accomplish the Father’s grand design in salvation. Through his willingness to suffer pain and public
humiliation, he became the propitiation (wrath-diverting sacrifice) for our sins. He did the work of redemption for us
that we could never do for ourselves. In this way, he submitted to the Father’s will, embracing
the humiliation and shame.
PAUSE AND REFLECT
▷▷What public shame have you endured before? How does it make you
feel to look back on it?
▷▷How is shame related to suffering? Why
would God allow Jesus to be exposed to both?
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