DOCTRINE
Christ willingly humbled Himself in taking upon Himself human flesh, and all that comes with it, which He did in order to both save His people and glorify God.
I. CHRIST, WHO IS THE ETERNAL SON OF GOD, TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, BECOMING A HUMAN BEING LIKE YOU (v. 14a)
John 1:14a “And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us.“
II. CHRIST LEFT HIS ETERNAL HOME, THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER’S IMMEDIATE GLORY, TO DWELL AMONG YOU (John 17:5)
John 17:5 “Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.”
III. CHRIST LEFT HIS ETERNAL HOME, THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER’S IMMEDIATE LOVE, TO DWELL AMONG YOU (John 1:18)
John 1:18 “No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side (in the Father’s bosom), he has made him known.”
IV. CHRIST LEFT HIS ETERNAL HOME, THE PRESENCE OF HIS FATHER’S IMMEDIATE DELIGHT, TO DWELL AMONG YOU (Proverbs 8:30; Psalm 16:11)
Proverbs 8:30 “I was beside him, like a master workman, and I was daily his delight, rejoicing before him always.”
Psalm 16:11 “In Your presence there is fullness of joy; at Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.”
V. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, WHICH LEAD TO MUCH SADNESS FOR HIM (Isaiah 53:5)
Isaiah writes of him in 53:3 “A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”
VI. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, EVEN SUBJECTING HIMSELF TO HOMELESSNESS (Matthew 8:20)
Matthew 8:20, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.”
VII. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, EVEN OPENING HIMSELF UP TO TERRIBLE TEMPTATIONS TO SIN BY THE DEVIL HIMSELF (Matthew 4:1)
Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.”
VIII. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, ALLOWING HIMSELF TO BE PERSECUTED AND HATED BY MEN WHOM HE HAD CREATED (John 15:25)
John 15:25 “They hated me without a cause.”
IX. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, AND SUFFERED IN EVERY WAY THAT WE DO (Isaiah 53:5)
I) Christ suffered internally, in His heart
(I) His family at one point it seems thought He was crazy and tried to bring Him home.
(II) His friend Lazarus died and He wept.
(III) He also wept when considering the stubbornness of Jerusalem in refusing to repent and believe.
(IV) His own people, the Jews, rejected Him. Even at His trial they wanted the murdering Barrabus instead of Him.
(V) His friends slept when He had asked them to pray in His hour of great need.
(VI) His friends abandoned Him rather than be arrested with Him.
(VII) One of His best friends denied that he knew Him.
II) Christ suffered externally, in His body
(I) He was beaten with rods.
(II) He was spit upon.
(III) He was pierced in His head by a crown of thorns.
(IV) His flesh was ripped apart as He was scourged.
(V) Massive nails were driven through the most sensitive nerve endings in His entire body as He was crucified.
Isaiah 53:5 “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities.”
X. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, AND HAD HIS FATHER’S LOVING FACE HIDDEN FROM HIM ON THE CROSS (Matthew 27:46)
Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, ‘My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?’”
XI. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, AND DRANK THE CUP OF GOD’S WRATH FOR SIN (Matthew 26:39)
Matthew 26:39 “And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, ‘My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.’”
XII. CHRIST TOOK UPON HIMSELF FLESH, AND EXPERIENCED DEATH (John 19:33-34)
John 19:33-34 “When they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. But one of the soldiers pierced his side with a spear, and at once there came out blood and water.”
APPLICATION
I) See how great His love is for His people.
II) See how evil your sin is, that only the utter humiliation of the Son of God, and even His being crushed on the cross, could pay with our sin debt.
III) Go to Christ, who humbled Himself to save sinners like you and me; go now before it is too late.
IV) Learn from Christ’s example to part with whatever you must in order to glorify God.
V) See how humble we should be if we would be like Christ.