December 19 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Philippians 2:5–11

Devotional

Christ “made himself of no reputation.” Who took any consideration of Him? The masses of people wanted to eat of His bread, but we then later read that they did not want to walk with Him anymore. He was not honored. They wanted to throw Him down a cliff; they wanted to stone Him. They asked Him to leave their country; even His disciples all left Him. Finally the masses cried out, “Away with Him, give us Barabbas.” He “took upon him the form of a servant.” He became the lowest of men. Pilate mockingly pointed to Him and said, “Behold the man” (John 19:5). It was as if Pilate wanted to say, “Look what has now become of the man.”

What is man? He is subject to all kinds of struggles and miseries and then finally to death and judgment. That is when the real misery starts. Christ experienced all this. He knew what it meant to become man to the full extent. He knew that it was not just to be forsaken of men, but also to be forsaken of His God. Christ was with God from everlasting, as one brought up with Him: and He was daily His delight, rejoicing always before Him (Prov. 8:30). God casts out this servant, however, and we hear Christ cry, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani.” That is because He “made himself of no reputation.” He became as nothing before men and before God. He no longer counted. The earth did not want Him and neither did heaven want Him. That is the life He asked for. Sometimes when life is heavy, people can groan that they did not ask for this life; they can hardly take it anymore. But Christ did ask for life on earth. He desired to live such a life and to die such a death. He bowed beneath divine judgment. He was born under the curse and descended into the deepest reproach and pains of hell.

Why did Christ do this? He was not obliged to. He “made himself of no reputation,” but He could have easily made the whole of mankind of no reputation. That would have been just. Only one gesture of His almighty power was needed and all sinners would be condemned. That would have been just, but instead of condemning sinners, He condemned Himself.

No man can see God and live, and yet God came to man. Therefore, He laid His divine glory aside to be able to come to man. We think back to Paradise. There man wanted to be like God. That is why God had to become man. Man wanted to usurp the majesty of God. Therefore, God had to lay His majesty aside in order to save man. That is how terrible sin is. Man ought to perish forever, but God did the opposite. God became as man, as fallen man in all his weakness, under the law, and under the guilt. Christ did this all for man. “Then, O my God, I come, I come, Thy purpose to fulfill; Thy law is written in my heart, ’Tis joy to do Thy will” (Psalter [1912] 109:2).

 

From The Everlasting Word by Frans Bakker, compiled and translated by Gerald R. Procee. Reformation Heritage Books and Free Reformed Publications, 2007. Used by permission. For further information, click here.