Phil2v5to11: THE GREAT EXAMPLE

(A) Introduction

Paul gives the Philippians advice that is as sound today as it ever was:Your attitude should be the same as that of Jesus Christ. v5. He then goes on in a marvellous passage to describe what was the attitude of Jesus. Our lives should be informed by the example Jesus set us. So let us look at that example:

(B) Jesus put others first.

It was because Jesus agreed to be made in human likeness that he was able to show what it means to live up to Paul's injunction: Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others.v4. When Jesus was here upon earth he was:

    (a) Interested in people.
    It is very instructive to examine how Jesus dealt with individuals like Nicodemus and the women of Samaria. Jesus drew out the women of Samaria. He listened to what she had to say and used her answers to reveal the truth about himself. Jesus engaged in a dialogue with the women of Samaria; he didn't subject her to a monologue. It is because he treated her with respect and was willing to listen to her that she was eventually converted.

    Unless we are interested in people we can never know, understand or help them. It amazes me how many Christians, who accept that they should love their neighbour as themselves, monopolise a conversation. They never ask how you are or, if they do, never listen to your answer. I once had a visit from a well-known pastor in our Association whilst my brother Paul was staying with me. Paul was at the time minister of an inner city church in London. After my visitor left my brother said, rather plaintively, "He never once asked how I was getting on." My visitor talked exclusively about himself! I have another brother, Philip, who used to be a policeman. Philip used to excel at door-to-door enquiries. He was very good at establishing a rapport with strangers and drawing them out. I have seen him in operation. He asks questions, shows genuine interest in the answers and makes the person he is talking too feel significant. It is a pity Philip is not engaged in personal evangelism!

    (b) Honest with people.
    I am a good listener. I will sit for a long time listening to stories that I have heard many times before. I am not, however, as honest with people as Jesus was. Jesus did not court popularity. His remarks in Luke9vs57to62 did not exactly encourage men and women to follow him. He says to the companion who promises, "I will follow you wherever you go:" "Foxes have holes and the birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Lk9v57and58. The rich young ruler, an inquirer whom Jesus loved, was told, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me." We read, When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth. See Luke18vs18to23.

    Jesus put the interests of others before his own popularity. He could easily have built a large following in Palestine if he had not offended so many with the truth. However, men and women need to hear the truth if they are to be brought back to God and enter the Kingdom of Heaven. So often we refrain from proclaiming the truth for fear of upsetting someone. I was travelling to a hockey match recently with a couple of younger players. I always travel with younger players these days! One of them said, "My wife has been asked to be church warden at Gulling. We support the church as an institution but have problems with the beliefs. There are so many faiths it is difficult to know what to believe. I think they are all aiming at the same thing." I said, "There is no need for any confusion. You just need to make your mind up about the Head of the church - Jesus." This was not the sort after reply and I subsequently let the matter drop. I should have been bolder and pressed the young man about his attitude to Jesus. Was Jesus genuine or was he not! If Jesus is not genuine then the Church of England, and every other church for that matter, would be better closed.

    (c) Prepared to come down to the common people's level.
    The Authorised version puts it well: The common people heard him gladly. Mk12v37. Jesus told stories, not to baffle his hearers, but to keep them listening and to help them to understand. He drew lessons from people's experience and everyday objects. Jesus made use of the visual aids all around him - the poppies in the field, a discarded yoke, a weedy field and a Roman coin. Jesus asked questions to get the crowd's attention and used irony and exaggeration to excite interest. Our master proclaimed the truth in brief, pithy, and pungent statements. Jesus told his parables elegantly and concisely so that the point was not obscured by the detail. It is a pity that preachers today are not more willing to speak in a way the common man can identify with. Rev Ian Paisley once said, "Sermonettes make Christianettes." This is a remark typical of the man. He and many others confuse quality with quantity. It is the easiest thing in the world to drone on and on and on. It is much harder to do what Jesus did - illustrate an important truth with a well-told, memorable, story. If preachers and teachers put the interests of others first their sermons would be concise, clear, well illustrated, relevant to the experience of the listener and address real needs.

    (d) Willing to include his disciples in his decisions.
    When we make a decision there are three things to take into consideration: what we want, what the church wants and what God wants. Jesus said, "I seek not to please myself but him who sent me." John5v10. Jesus did know what God wanted of him. He spent much time in prayer and had much closer communion with his Father than we do. Even so Jesus communicated decisions to his disciples and dealt with their objections See John11vs1to16.

    I know of Christians who will justify doing what they want in terms of doing what God wants. God may lead them, for example, to give up work in one church to go and join another one or to get a job that greatly reduces the time they can give to Christian service. Now we are not as good as Jesus at knowing what God wants. It seems to me that Christians should consult their churches before making a decision. They should ask their churches to pray about the decision they should make. The interests of the church of which a person is a member are just as important as the interests of the individual making the decision. After Paul and Barnabas had been in the church at Antioch for a year they began to wonder what the Lord wished them to do next. All the elders, and probably the church members, worshipped, prayed and fasted until God revealed to all what his will was for Barnabas and Saul. See exposition on Acts13v1to14. This is good practice. Christians in Britain do not usually follow this practice. Our culture is so individualistic that it has infected the church. Christians think they can make their own decisions even though those decisions will affect the fellowship to which they belong. They only actually consider their own interests. They are secretive - it is their business. The church can pray for them once the decision is made - but that is all. This is UNCHRISTIAN behaviour. It should stop. The church is not a club or job or a supermarket - it is a family - more than that, it is a body. The decision of one member of the body will affect all the other members so both they and the head should have some input into the decision.

(C) Jesus served others.

Jesus took the very nature of a servant. v7. He was first and foremost the servant of God. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert by showing him all the kingdoms of the world and saying, "All this I will give you if you will bow down and worship me," Jesus replied, "Away from me Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." Satan's temptation was a real one. Jesus could have done much good as a wise and benevolent world ruler. He could have used his power to subdue the wicked and promote the righteous. Jesus chose rather to serve God - a road that led to public disgrace and a shameful death.

Jesus also served men. He tells his disciples, who were arguing at the Last Supper about who was the greatest, "I am among you as one who serves." Lk22v27. He washes their feet and says, "Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should do as I have done for you." John13v14. Jesus taught over and over again that true status is found in serving.

Jesus did not do what he wanted but what was needed. Men needed saving and so he was led as a lamb to the slaughter....he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. Is53. At the Last Supper the feet of the disciples needed washing so Jesus picked up the bowl and towel that had been provided and got on with the job. Christian service is not about what we want to do but about what needs to be done. I was talking to a pastor of a Baptist church recently about two people who were leaving his fellowship. These two Christians had been a great help to him for several years but now they were going to pastures new. One of the reasons the couple gave for leaving was that there wasn't anything for them to do. The pastor said, "There is just so much for them to do. We need a church secretary, teachers in the Sunday school, helpers with the mothers and toddlers group, practical assistance at our drop-in." These were jobs that needed doing but the two departing Christians did not want to do any of them. In the winter when the evening service of my own little church closes for lack of support I attend a much larger Baptist church in Bury St Edmunds. I noticed an appeal in their weekly church newsletter for a cleaner of the gentleman's toilet. I was pleased that the appeal did not have to be repeated. Someone was prepared to do what needed doing for Christ's sake.

Jesus did not just mix with those that he liked when upon earth. In order to save the lost he had to mix with the lost. It was because Jesus was willing to spend time with a notorious tax collector and collaborator with the Romans that he was able to say to Zacchaeus, "Today salvation has come to this house, because this man, too, is a son of Abraham. For the Son of Man came to seek and to save what was lost. Lk19v9and10. I expect that Jesus would have preferred to spend more time with his friends - Mary, Martha and Lazarus. Instead he ministered to publicans and sinners!

As I look at my own life I have to admit that there are groups in society that I do not mix with - drug addicts, street beggars, prostitutes, travellers, aids victims and criminals. I am not sure that I could or should. I don't think, for example, that I am the right person to work amongst prostitutes! However some Christians need to work amongst them. I do visit the old, sick and feeble minded and try to cheer them up. These are the people God has given me to work with. Some are my friends - but some are not. The least we can do is to try and love the more unattractive Christians we come across. The most unattractive Christian to us may be a jewel in Christ's crown.

(D) He made sacrifices

Paul reminds the Philippians that Jesus became obedient to death - even death on a cross. v8. A sacrifice involves suffering loss on behalf of others. Jesus suffered many losses at Calvary:

    (a) Material deprivation.
    As soon as Jesus abandoned his trade he had to depend upon the charity of others for lodging, food and clothing. He said, "Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." Lk9v58. Jesus had no financial security. On the cross he was even stripped of his clothes. He literally had nothing to pass on to John, his best-loved disciple - except his mother!

    Nearly every minister in Britain suffers financial loss to follow his or her calling. For some it is worse than others but every church leader could earn more in some other profession. My mother, a pastor's wife, did not enjoy being poor. My father worried continually how he would manage in retirement such was the precarious nature of his finances. My brother lost out when he left the probation service to become a full time Baptist minister. My fellow elder's son, Richard, experienced a big drop in salary when he resigned from his well-paid job as a personnel officer to take on the pastorate of a small Suffolk church. People in this country will pay out huge sums to educate their children, for good legal or financial advice and to secure the best health care, but few are prepared to pay much to ensure their spiritual well being. Several give the impression that they are the ones who should be paid to sit through a sermon!

    (b) The regard of his friends and family.
    The disciples, his most loyal supporters, could not understand why Jesus had to die. When Jesus talked to them about his death Peter said, "Never Lord! This shall never happen to you!" Mt16v22. His death was the ultimate disappointment. They were so disillusioned by his arrest, and the lack of resistance he put up at his arrest, that all forsook him and fled. See Mk14v50.

    It is not easy to lose the regard of colleagues, friends and family. Jesus made it clear that we must expect this. He said, "If anyone who comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters - yes even his own life - he cannot be my disciple. And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple." Lkv26and27. A follower of Jesus must be prepared for rejection by his family. This is a big sacrifice. I feel profoundly sorry for Muslim and Hindu converts to Christianity who are ostracised by their family and marginalized in the society in which they live.

    We prefer to be loved than hated. It is possible to be marginalized within a denomination or even a church for taking an unpopular stand. Christians who question the received wisdom of their denominations acquire pariah status. The ultra strict Presbyterian association that excluded Lord Mackay for attending a funeral in a Roman Catholic church will have a lot to answer for at the judgement seat of Christ who welcomes all who believe on his name into his Kingdom. Exclusiveness is an unlovely characteristic of some who pride themselves on being right. Jesus reserved some of his harshest criticism for the Pharisees: "Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices - mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law - justice, mercy and faithfulness. You should have practised the latter, without neglecting the former. You blind guides! You strain out a gnat but swallow a camel. Mt23v23." We can get so worked up over small things - versions of the Bible, hymn books, the order of service, vestments... that we lose our sense of proportion and act without mercy towards those with whom we disagree.

    (c) His reputation.
    Jesus was, as the prophet Isaiah so accurately foretold: despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ..... we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. Is53. Jesus was ill used upon that cross. He was the scapegoat for the sins of the world. It was a shameful death. There was no dignity hanging naked there - covered in blood, sweat, faeces and flies. He hung between two thieves - the discredited King of the Jews. He had failed; he was seen to have failed; he was taunted with his failure: "He saved others but he can't save himself! .... He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, 'I am the Son of God.'" Mt27v42and43.

    Christians know that he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.

Wounded for me, wounded for me,
There on the cross He was wounded for me;
Gone my transgressions, and now I am free,
All because Jesus was wounded for me.

    When Jesus died upon the cross he was putting our interests first, he was serving the cause of the human race ruined by the fall, he was obeying his Father in heaven and finishing the great work he had been given to do.

    It is sometimes necessary for us to be the scapegoat on behalf of others. I can remember an ugly situation in our church many years ago. A man, a decent Christian man in many ways, was trying to reverse a decision made by the church to pursue a project because of animosity towards the brother who had proposed the project. It was a grim time for my parents. My father, the pastor, had no stomach for a fight. My mother haemorrhaged behind both eyes such was the stress. I returned home from University to oppose the man on the grounds that he shouldn't work towards overturning a decision made by the church but accept it gracefully. The decision was reaffirmed and he and his supporters left. It didn't do my reputation any good! I was a young upstart, a trouble maker...... It was all my fault.

    On occasions we have to lose face for the sake of the fellowship. Our evening congregations declined to the extent that I thought it would improve the quality of worship if we met in the schoolroom rather than in the main church building. This was agreed in the Church Meeting. No one dissented. However when I announced to the congregation that next Sunday the evening service would be in the schoolroom there was a lot of muttering, griping and grumbling. I had to call another meeting and agree to keep evening worship in the chapel. It was the wrong decision. I also lost face... but it was necessary for church unity.

    We may be required to fail in order to do God's will. I have failed during the last 10 years as joint leader of our church. Numbers have fallen. The Sunday school has closed. We have seen no new faces in the congregation. Some young people have left. However I have served those God has given me to serve. It would be hard for the church to continue if I left and then some of the old people who attend would have nowhere to go. It is not pleasant to be associated with failure - whatever the reason for it may be. It is some consolation to me that Jesus did not have great success during his earthly ministry - but he did complete the work his Father had given him to do.

    (d) Broken relationships
    The cross was a lonely place. Jesus lost the company of his disciples. Finally he lost the company of his Father. He cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" Mt27v45.

    I think it can be lonely being a Christian. I am a man who lives alone partly because it was God's will for me to care for my parents in their old age. It is lonely sitting here hour after hour writing these expositions. I often felt alone as I read the books that enabled me to get this website up and running. There was no one at my side to consult. It is lonely going to visit the dying. It is lonely cutting the chapel graveyard grass. It is lonely locking the church up after every one else has gone home. It was lonely standing in front of a class of children year after year.

    God did not forsake Jesus for very long. He was soon assured again of his Father's presence. It is good to know from time to time that self same reassurance.

(E) Jesus glorifies God

As Jesus approached the cross he looked towards heaven and prayed:
"Father, the time has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. .... I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do." John17v1 v4.

To glorify God is to add to his splendour, magnificence and attractiveness. How could Jesus do that on the cross? Some would say that God's magnificence cannot be enhanced - it is what it is - perfectly complete in itself. I once stood in the National Gallery before a picture by Van Goth of a meadow. I could not improve upon that picture. Indeed I would go so far as to say that no one could. However I could add to its splendour and attractiveness by showing it to others and by pointing out its beauty. The people who display the picture - who frame, hang and light it - glorify it. That is precisely what Jesus did on the cross. He drew men's attention to the wisdom and love of God.

In a small way we can glorify God by being united, loving each other and serving humbly and faithfully our brothers and sisters in Christ.

(F) The reward

Therefore, writes Paul, therefore.... God exalts Jesus because he made himself nothing, took the very nature of a servant, humbled himself and was obedient even unto death. There is nothing half hearted about Jesus' exaltation. He is raised to the highest place, given a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow .... and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. I think all Christians love this passage. They do not enjoy the way the world mocks, derides and belittles Jesus. They yearn for his return when every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord.

Our exaltation is dependent upon our poverty of spirit, our humility, our willingness to serve and our obedience to the teaching of the Master. Jesus said, "Everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted." Lk14v11. Paul encourages Timothy with the words, "If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him." 2Tim2v11and12.

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