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THE GREATEST PROMOTION IN HISTORY
#3
IS GOD THE BOSS OF JESUS?
Today is going to be Disclaimer Day here on the Voice
of Prophecy, because I want to very carefully put before you something
I want to say right up front is false doctrine. And that's risky strategy,
but perhaps the true will shine forth with more power once we put it up
next to the lies of Lucifer.
We're here in Philippians chapter two, one of the most transforming passages
in the entire Bible. And we studied yesterday how Jesus Christ, who is
the eternal God along with His Father, laid all of that aside. He made
Himself nothing, the Bible tells us, and took on all the attributes of
a servant, or even a slave. He went from the highest to the lowest . .
. and He did that on our behalf - yours and mine.
Verse eight continues the thought:
"And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled
Himself."
But now I want to flash the warning light as we consider
something that is false doctrine, pure and simple. In recent years there
has been a heresy come into our midst, and it's part of something commonly
called the "Word-Faith Movement." And an integral part of their
teaching is to state that the essence of Jesus' punishment was to actually
go into hell itself and be tortured there.
Let me share, word for word, from a prominent Los Angeles television preacher
who is a major proponent of this teaching. Again, this is a direct transcript.
"Do you think," he asks, "that the punishment
for our sin was to die on a cross? If that were the case, the two thieves
could have paid your price." That's an absolute falsehood, but let's
continue. "No, the punishment was to go into hell itself and to serve
time in hell separated from God. . . . Satan and all the demons of hell
thought that they had Him bound and they threw a net over Jesus and they
dragged Him down to the very pit of hell itself to serve our sentence."
Well, there's much more like that exposed as false doctrine in an excellent
book entitled Christianity In Crisis, by Hank Hanegraaff. Isaiah chapter
53, that magnificent prophecy about Jesus, and borrowed so beautifully
by George Handel for his oratorio, The Messiah, makes it perfectly clear
that the cross WAS the punishment Jesus bore for us. That is indeed where
He was pierced for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
And yet, despite the unbiblical nature of this aberrant Word-Faith teaching
about descending into hell, God's Bible students here can still learn
from this mistake and come to appreciate the great sacrifice Jesus DID
make on our behalf.
Because those three words, "He humbled Himself," even though
they don't speak about descending into hell to be punished by Satan, do
contain in them the fullness of what Jesus sacrificed. Remember that crucifixion
was the most painful, most shameful death any person living could face.
The New International Version's text notes contain this observation:
"Crucifixion was THE MOST degrading kind of execution,"
they write, "that could be inflicted on a person."
And really, we see this same consistent, powerful example
of humbling in every aspect of Jesus' life, don't we? His birth: one of
deepest humility - in a manger, to poor, unmarried parents. No money,
no palace, no friends. Then His life: one of poverty and grinding hard
work. No place to lay His head. No far-flung media empire or limousines,
no first-class plane tickets, no huge following. Just 12 ragtag, fumbling,
bumbling guys, all with their own "me first!" plans. Jesus was
the only humble one in the group. And His whole life was characterized
by such humility.
And then crucifixion. Death on a cross - the most shameful, ignominious
way evil men have ever invented to kill the worst among them.
And this brings us to a second pivotal moment as we stand in awe and gaze
at this journey from highest heaven to the shame of Calvary. Because Paul
goes on here in verse eight to say this about Jesus:
"He humbled Himself and BECAME OBEDIENT to death
- even death on a cross!"
The Clear Word paraphrase puts it this way:
"As a human being, He obeyed God in everything, even when God led
Him to Calvary to die on a cross for us."
In The Message paraphrase:
"He lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient
death."
And now let me ask this: what kind of obedience was this? Did God the
Father want Jesus to do certain things different from what Jesus wanted
to do? You and I don't consider it obedience, really, when our kids say
to us, "Yes, Dad, I'll accompany you to Magic Mountain. Sure, Dad,
I'll accept your gift of a free car." We only praise obedience when
it involves setting aside your own desires to follow the orders of another
person. So is there nobility in this verse, is there goodness, in Jesus
obeying?
There's a huge piece of heresy - in fact, let me use the word blasphemy
- to be found in the soundtrack of the Broadway rock opera, Jesus Christ
Superstar. Now, despite its many faults, and its secular premise, Andrew
Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice have captured well the agony of the Cross, the
horror Christ faced in Gethsemane. But as this very human Jesus looks
up at the dark sky on Thursday night, He cries out at this unseen, invisible
Father who is Out There somewhere:
"Show me there's a reason for Your wanting me to
die. You're far too keen on where and how, and not so hot on why!"
The implication being that a Father in heaven is telling
His reluctant Son: "You're going to do this because I say so. I'm
the dad; end of discussion." Friend, is Paul telling us here in Philippians
chapter two that Jesus was obeying this way, falling into line against
His own plans and desires?
Well, the answer is yes . . . and it's no. On that Thursday evening in
Gethsemane, the Bible paints a very plain picture of Jesus in despair.
Remember, He was God - the Son of God - but He was also Man - the Son
of Man. He had flesh and blood; nails would hurt Him just like they would
hurt us. The agony of torn flesh, the asphyxiation caused by being stretched
on those crossbeams, the relentless waves of pure pain . . . that was
scary to Him as a human being. He shrank away from it. The worst Friday
in history was less than 24 hours away.
Even more, the shame of being exposed, of bearing our sins was a terrible
thought to Jesus. To feel rejected was painful. To feel separated from
His Father was going to be a mental and emotional nightmare beyond His
comprehension. That's why, in the darkness of that Garden, even Jesus
prayed:
"My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be
taken from Me."
And yet, over and over in God's Word, we find the clear testimony coming
from Jesus Himself that His plans and the Father's plans are one and the
same. They are never once, not ever, at cross purposes. God never once
has to order Jesus around, because their desires are identical. John 3:16,
the greatest verse in the Bible, tells us that God GAVE His Son; He didn't
force Him. God was "in Christ," we're told, "reconciling
the world unto Himself." And Jesus had every intention Himself of
going to Calvary; He said so on many occasions. "If I be lifted up,"
He told His disciples in John chapter 12, "I will draw all men unto
Me."
I've mentioned before the incredible testimony of actor Bruce Marchiano,
who played Jesus in a four-hour movie, The Gospel According to Matthew.
In his book, In the Footsteps of Jesus, he marvels at some of the Bible
scenes, the confrontations Jesus had with enemies, with politicians, with
powerful, fallen religious forces. Why did Jesus say the things He did,
Bruce wondered. Why did He perform the very kinds of miracles that would
get Him killed? And of course, Bruce was right there in the dust and the
dirt, with mobs all around and movie extras, screaming "Crucify Him!
Crucify Him!", and the emotional punch of being the center of this
drama. And all at once it hit him how Jesus was in control of His destiny.
"Suddenly I saw a Jesus," he writes, "who
was not a victim at all, but who was actually controlling the situation
every step of the way, a Jesus who was intentionally pushing the specific
buttons that would drive them to execute Him! He knew the fulfillment
of His mission, and He knew what He had to do to get there."
You know, friend, we see here this incredible, marvelous,
mysterious blend. Only Jesus was ALL MAN . . . and ALL GOD. I mentioned
yesterday that Greek word, morph_,, meaning that He was completely divine,
and then also completely human, like a servant or slave. On the one hand,
as a man like us, a brother, He wants to turn away from pain and rejection.
What hurts us, hurts Him. And yet this unique Man, this Lamb sent from
God, is so much ONE with His own Father, that when the Bible tells us
Jesus obeyed, it's simply expressing how Jesus turned away from His fears
and the upcoming agonies, and embraced, or RE-embraced the joint plan
He and His Father had made together before the birth of our world. He
obeyed His own perfect plan.
And what a picture for us: to walk so closely with Jesus, to identify
so completely with God, our Father, that obedience turns out to be what
we want too. As Augustine once wrote:
"Love God . . . and do as you please."
Because we'll be pleased to do what pleases the
God we love.
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