January 28, 2023: Philippians 2:8 - Jesus, the Perfect Example of Humility and Obedience

“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

Jesus Christ - God with Us, King of kings, and Lord of lords - came to the earth as a human being, with all the needs, pain, suffering, and sorrow that all humans face as we live our lives. He hungered and thirsted. He got tired and needed rest. He sorrowed and wept over the death of His friend, Lazarus. He loved, oh, how He loved, and how He still loves. He loves us so much that He was willing to leave heaven, come to the earth and be conceived by the Holy Spirit and a virgin, live a life where He was rejected and despised by men and was truly a Man of sorrows, and willingly died by a method invented by mankind that was designed to inflict as much torture and pain as possible - crucifixion.

To die via crucifixion is to die a death that is excruciating. The Latin origin of the word “excruciating” means “out of the cross” or “crucifixion.” While the Romans did not invent crucifixion, they perfected it. According to gotquestions,org (see: https://www.gotquestions.org/crucifixion.html):

“Crucifixion was meant to inflict the maximum amount of shame and torture upon the victim. Roman crucifixions were carried out in public so that all who saw the horror would be deterred from crossing the Roman government. Crucifixion was so horrible that it was reserved for only the worst offenders.

“The victim of crucifixion was first severely scourged or beaten, an ordeal that was life-threatening by itself. Then he was forced to carry the large wooden crossbeam to the site of the crucifixion. Bearing this load was not only extremely painful after the beating, but it added a measure of shame as the victim was carrying the instrument of his own torture and death. It was like digging one’s own grave.

“When the victim arrived at the place of crucifixion, he would be stripped naked to further shame him. Then he would be forced to stretch out his arms on the crossbeam, where they were nailed in place. The nails were hammered through the wrists, not the palms, which kept the nails from pulling through the hand. (In ancient times, the wrist was considered part of the hand.) The placement of the nails in the wrists also caused excruciating pain as the nails pressed on large nerves running to the hands. The crossbeam would then be hoisted up and fastened to an upright piece that would normally remain standing between crucifixions.

“After fastening the crossbeam, the executioners would nail the victim’s feet to the cross as well—normally, one foot on top of the other, nailed through the middle and arch of each foot, with the knees slightly bent. The primary purpose of the nails was to inflict pain.

“Once the victim was fastened to the cross, all his weight was supported by three nails, which would cause pain to shoot throughout the body. The victim’s arms were stretched out in such a way as to cause cramping and paralysis in the chest muscles, making it impossible to breathe unless some of the weight was borne by the feet. In order to take a breath, the victim had to push up with his feet. In addition to enduring excruciating pain caused by the nail in his feet, the victim’s raw back would rub against the rough upright beam of the cross.

“After taking a breath and in order to relieve some of the pain in his feet, the victim would begin to slump down again. This action put more weight on his wrists and again rubbed his raw back against the cross. However, the victim could not breathe in this lowered position, so before long the torturous process would begin again. In order to breathe and to relieve some of the pain caused by the wrist nails, the victim would have to put more weight on the nail in his feet and push up. Then, in order to relieve some of the pain caused by the foot nail, he would have to put more weight on the nails in his wrists and slump down. In either position, the torture was intense.”

The constant attempts to be able to breathe would ultimately end with death by asphyxiation. In order to speed up the death process, sometimes the person’s legs would be broken to prevent further breathing. However, none of Jesus’ bones were broken, fulfilling prophecy.

Jesus knew that He would die and that He would die by crucifixion before it happened. At least three times Jesus had predicted His death and resurrection to His disciples. The third instance of this is documented in Matthew 20:17-19:

“Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.’”

Before Jesus was betrayed by Judas Iscariot, Jesus went with His disciples to the Garden of Gethsemane. He withdrew from them and knelt down to pray, saying:

“Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless, not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:39-42)

We are also told that an angel appeared from heaven and strengthened Him and then:

“…being in agony, He prayed more earnestly. Then His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground.” (Luke 22:43-44)

Jesus knew what lie ahead of Him, what He was about to go through.

Before He was hung on a cross, He was brought before the Roman governor Pontius Pilate and the Jews were there:

“Now it was the Preparation Day of the Passover, and about the sixth hour. And he [Pilate] said to the Jews, ‘Behold your King!’ But they cried out, ‘Away with Him, away with Him! Crucify Him!’ Pilate asked them, ‘Shall I crucify your King?’ The chief priests answered, ‘We have no king but Caesar!’ Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away.” (John 19:14-16)

Knowing all this would happen, Jesus still went to the cross, in full and complete obedience to God the Father, being humbled as a man, in the most excruciating and painful way possible. The physical pain was absolute torture but I would think the emotional pain was even more so. Jesus came to offer us the way of salvation from all our sins, and yet, instead of being loved by the world, He was and still is hated by the world to this day.

Did Jesus spew out words of hate to the Jews when they demanded that He be crucified? Did He say words of scorn to the Roman soldiers who were at His feet, casting lots for His clothing, while He was in agonizing pain? No. What words did He say? “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)

Then, about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out with a loud voice, “Father, into Your hands I commit My spirit,” and He took His last breath. He was obedient to the point of death. No greater example of humility and obedience have we than that of Jesus Christ. No greater example of love have we than the life He lived and gave so that we might be saved, by believing in Him. ❤️ ✝️