Jesus is Lord and… (Week 3:2)

Topic: Week 3- Jesus as Lord
Theme for 6 Weeks- Who is Jesus and what difference does it make?

Read Philippians 2:5-11

If you are new to Christian faith and this Jesus way, or if you were raised in a home where you rarely missed a church service on Sunday, these words from a letter Paul wrote to the church in Philippi will likely sound familiar. This was a hymn by these early followers of Jesus that Paul quotes.

Two things from this hymn (out of the vast reservoir of meaning and implication that can’t be addressed here): first, that Jesus is Lord is the climax of these seven verses. Jesus of Nazareth, does not cling to his equality with God, but empties himself, takes on the form of a servant, and becomes human. He humbles himself even to the point of death on a cross. Then he is lifted high: he is Lord of all.

Jesus is Lord. Not Caesar, whom Rome demanded you to declare lord at that time. Not anyone or anything else. We might even say, “Yep, Jesus is Lord. I believe that.” It makes for good hymns, litanies, a scripture verse on a bookmark, or a good passage on my-verses-to-memorize-list some day.

If you meditate on this passage it can lead to some pretty profound implications on the nature of Jesus.

But, here’s the second thing: don’t miss verse 5, which leads into this hymn about Jesus. Here’s the kicker: “Let this same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.” The same. Emptied. Servant. Humbled. Obedient. Downward mobility. Now it’s more than a sweet hymn or confession about Jesus.

Jesus is Lord. And, we are called to this same way of the cross- the way of the servant and self-sacrificial love. While that way may not always be easy, it is good news for others, good news for the world, and good news for us.

Question: What will having “the same mind” of Jesus as a servant look like in my life?

Prayer: Jesus, you are Lord. I can only begin to grasp what it meant for you to take this downward mobility posture as servant- becoming human and the way of the cross. Help me to take this way of the servant, and reveal to me what this means for my life. Amen.