Phil. 2:5-8; Luke 22:39-46, Death

We need to be sure we understand the significance of Jesus’ taking the form of a bondservant.  In Rom. 1:1 Paul described himself as a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God.  The key to Paul’s identity was that he was a bondservant, yielded totally to Jesus Christ so that His Lord could do whatever He wanted with Paul’s life.  What His Master decided was: “You will be an apostle for Me, with the special task of preaching the gospel to the nations” (see 1:5).

Now think of Christ.  The key is that He took on the form of a bondservant, becoming fully obedient to His Father.  What did His Father give Him to do?  The Father said, “You will become a Man with the special task of dying the death of a criminal.”  For Jesus to become Man is itself a great act of humility.  To become the Man of sorrows required yet more humility.  And we find that there is more humiliation to come as we come to the next station of the cross.

·        Station #6: And became obedient to the point of death.

Jesus became obedient “unto” death.  That term indicates there was a journey involved; it assumes the need to persevere to get there.  What made death so difficult for the Lord Jesus?  It is, of course, the connection of death to sin.  The wages of sin are death (Rom. 6:23).  The soul that sins shall surely die (Ezek. 18:4).  The Messiah, the holy and sinless Son of God, was numbered with the transgressors (Isa. 53:12). 

Jesus’ death was related to His role as the second or “last Adam.”  The first Adam stood for all men and when he sinned he brought death upon the entire human race (Rom. 5:12).  Jesus, born of a virgin, was not under the penalty of death; He had no sin.  But He died because He was obedient to His Father.  He became sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21). 

And this was not easy.  The description of His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane was an indication of this.  He was in agony.  His soul was troubled (Jn. 12:27).  Yet He did not ask His Father for legions of angels to come and deliver Him.  As John 12:27 says: Now My soul is troubled, and what shall I say? ‘Father, save Me from this hour’?  But for this purpose I came to this hour.  He was obedient to the point of death!

His words on the cross also are an indication of His agony.  But they help us to understand the reason for the pain.  It was not simply the physical trial, which certainly was beyond imagination.  The problem was that for three hours of darkness the perfect and mysterious Oneness of the triune God was shattered.  Jesus became so identified with our sin that His Father could not look upon Him.  Again we must proclaim: Hallelujah!  What a Savior!!