The Humility of Christ

“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.” Philippians 2:8 NKJV

The apostle Paul in writing to the church in Philippi admonishing them to be like minded, united in spirit, and dedicated to one purpose, used the humility of Christ as an example. Jesus, God the Son, humbled Himself while on the earth from His incarnation through to His death on the cross. He identified as wholly man while He was also wholly God. Jesus was obedient to the Father throughout His entire earthly life up to and including His crucifixion. The humility of Christ is witnessed at the beginning of His ministry on earth at His baptism by John the Baptist.

Most of us have trouble today understanding why Jesus was baptized. John, himself, questioned why Jesus came to him to be baptized. After all, John’s mission was to prepare the sinners of the world for the coming Messiah by a baptism of repentance. Jesus was no sinner and had no need of repentance. He was the Lamb of God who will take away the sins of the world. Yet, Jesus came to him and despite John’s rejection said, “Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.” (Mt. 3:15 nkjv) John obeyed and baptized Jesus, God the Son.

Jesus, in His baptism, identified with the sinners He came to save. He was the fulfillment of all righteousness as He alone is able to meet all of God’s righteous requirements. Truly the Messiah who came to save would need to be sinless and perfect in every way. Jesus would continue to live a life without sin right through the humiliation of the unjust trials, the beatings, and the public humiliation of the cross.

The humility of Christ is seen throughout the New Testament in various forms. His baptism marked the beginning of His ministry to save us which began by humbling Himself to identify with sinners. Indeed, Jesus’ baptism shows His humility.