Philippians 2:1-11
Imitating Christ’s Humility
1 Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, 2 then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. 3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves,4 not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
5 In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus:
6
Who, being in very nature God,
did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage;
7
rather, he made himself nothing
by taking the very nature of a servant,
being made in human likeness.
8
And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross!
9
Therefore God exalted him to the highest place
and gave him the name that is above every name,
10
that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
11
and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.
Psalm 78:10-22
Testing God and the Prophet Moses
10
they did not keep God’s covenant
and refused to live by his law.
11
They forgot what he had done,
the wonders he had shown them.
12
He did miracles in the sight of their ancestors
in the land of Egypt, in the region of Zoan.
13
He divided the sea and led them through;
he made the water stand up like a wall.
14
He guided them with the cloud by day
and with light from the fire all night.
15
He split the rocks in the wilderness
and gave them water as abundant as the seas;
16
he brought streams out of a rocky crag
and made water flow down like rivers.
17
But they continued to sin against him,
rebelling in the wilderness against the Most High.
18
They willfully put God to the test
by demanding the food they craved.
19
They spoke against God;
they said, “Can God really
spread a table in the wilderness?
20
True, he struck the rock,
and water gushed out,
streams flowed abundantly,
but can he also give us bread?
Can he supply meat for his people?”
21
When the Lord heard them, he was furious;
his fire broke out against Jacob,
and his wrath rose against Israel,
22
for they did not believe in God
or trust in his deliverance.
23
Yet he gave a command to the skies above
and opened the doors of the heavens;
24
he rained down manna for the people to eat,
he gave them the grain of heaven.
25
Human beings ate the bread of angels;
he sent them all the food they could eat.
26
He let loose the east wind from the heavens
and by his power made the south wind blow.
27
He rained meat down on them like dust,
birds like sand on the seashore.
28
He made them come down inside their camp,
all around their tents.
29
They ate till they were gorged—
he had given them what they craved.
30
But before they turned from what they craved,
even while the food was still in their mouths,
31
God’s anger rose against them;
he put to death the sturdiest among them,
cutting down the young men of Israel.
32
In spite of all this, they kept on sinning;
in spite of his wonders, they did not believe.
Matthew 16:1-4
16 The Pharisees and Sadducees came to Jesus and tested him by asking him to show them a sign from heaven.
2 He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red,’ 3 and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times. 4 A wicked and adulterous generation looks for a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Jesus then left them and went away.
John 14:6
Jesus is the Way, the Truth, and the Life
6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
1 Peter 2:24
Jesus Died on the Cross for Our Sins
24 "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed."
For me I often think of Jesus's characteristics...And the one characteristic that constantly comes to my mind is His humility...When He could do a miracle or any miracle at anytime and anywhere, He did not...The Pharisees and Sadducees were often at odds with each other...But here they join forces against our LORD...Both groups wanted to test Jesus and see a miraculous sign, in front of them...He refused their request...Were they asking Him for a miracle to strengthen their faith, or were they just testing the Traveling Rabbi?...The Pharisees and Sadducees tested Jesus like the earlier generations tested God and Moses in the desert...The people were fed manna and quail, and ate till they gorged...But in spite of all this, they kept on sinning, and spite of all God's wonders, they did not believe...Miracles are not for show, but for faith...
God could have His Son born anywhere, yet He was born in a manger...Jesus could have been born and raised in a palace with kings and queens all around Him...He could have had personal guards at each of His doors...But God chose another way, the Jesus Way, a Way of Truth and Life...This is God's Way, and this is the Way of Jesus...Jesus, by His very nature, is God...But He never used His Father and being divine to any advantage...Jesus became a Man, a Servant, and helped and taught people about life and about His Father...Jesus knew what poverty was, and what it was to grow up poor...He would not have things that others might have...But material things meant very little to Him...Jesus came into the world and helped the poor, and those who felt that they have been cast aside...And He was rejected by many, in spite of His many signs and wonders...He could relate to the poor and they could relate to Him...And He would die a criminal's death...He could have, but chose not to remove Himself from this way of life and death...He could have chosen not to suffer, but chose to die this violent death on a cross, at the hands of those who could not see the Light...He could have at anytime walked away from His suffering and this violence, but chose to LOVE us and save us from our sins, by dying on the cross...By His wounds, we have been saved and healed...