The Scandalous Servant-King

The Scandalous Servant-King

5 You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
6 Though he was God,
he did not think of equality with God
as something to cling to.
7 Instead, he gave up his divine privileges;
he took the humble position of a slave
and was born as a human being.
When he appeared in human form,
8 he humbled himself in obedience to God
and died a criminal’s death on a cross. – Philippians 2:6-8

The gods of this world demand service

In a pluralistic world in which there is a wide array of deities, we find a common trend among all the gods of different cultures and societies. They are all similar in the fact that they desire and demand much of man: his affections, his worship, his devotion, his attention, his service, his everything.
Often these gods are so transcendent that there is a remarkable and evident gap between them and their followers; the deity is highly esteemed, on the throne, while the follower is of no importance and
is to be committed to his god at all cost. Their only relation is on the terms of boss and servant, the relationship between the two stops at this point and nothing beyond.

Jesus the scandalous King

Then Jesus came and He shook the status quo of society and changed everything.
Jesus who is God, gave up all his divine privileges and took the humble position of a slave.
Wow. Let me just give you a second to pause and think about of the enormity of verse 7.
He became a human being. He willingly humbled Himself to the position of a slave.
Jesus who had everything gave up his divine privileges. That is an enormous statement in which one
would have difficulty and trouble trying to fathom and understand – from the view-point of both saved and unsaved.

The eternal King of the universe and everything that exists, Creator of all, Majestic Lord, the one who is infinitely precious and beautiful. Wrap your mind around Him in all His glory and splendour, and then imagine Jesus taking the position of a slave. Mind-boggling. A King-servant? Who has ever heard of such a thing?

Rowland Croucher captures the imagery well: “In first century Palestine, slavery was very evident. The slave was a pitiable person. He had no name, no possessions, no rights. He was sold into slavery in the marketplace to the highest bidder. He was a nobody. And Jesus came into this world as a slave.”

Everything changed.

The King became the servant out of pure will. Everything was turned upside down.

Man gives his health for his god, while Jesus healed the sick.
Man feeds his god by offering food, while Jesus fed the hungry.
Man makes sure the statue of his god is spot-free, Jesus washed the dirty feet of his disciples.
Man decorates his god with the finest linen and clothing, Jesus clothed us with his righteousness.

I am not claiming that man became the king/god of Jesus, no, that would be blasphemous. What I am pointing out is the outward demonstration of Jesus servant-hood.

Jesus served.

Nothing makes this clearer than Mark 10:51-52 in which a blind man encounters Jesus, and the following ensues:

51 “What do you want me to do for you?” Jesus asked.
“My rabbi,” the blind man said, “I want to see!”
52 And Jesus said to him, “Go, for your faith has healed you.” Instantly the man could see, and he followed Jesus down the road.
In the encounter with the blind man, Jesus does something shocking and scandalous. Jesus asks the blind man how He can serve him. This is not what we expect – How could the Lord of the universe ask such a thing? Because He took the position of a servant.

God-Centered service

But let us remember - lest we become man-centered - that Jesus serving men is only a secondary matter. Let us not forget the primary and ultimate reason why Jesus took the form of a servant and that was to glorify the Father by being obedient to unto death. Jesus ultimate and main aim was to pour out His life as an offering in complete obedience, and this was His perfect service to His Father.

Jesus first and most importantly gives His life in service to the Father, and then secondly and in turn served us as He gave us His eternal life.

This is the Servant-King. He is infinitely different from the deities of the world.
And our ultimate service and honour to Him is to give the entirety of our lives for His glory.