Communion With the Christ:: The Lenten Season: Humiliation and Exultation

The Season of Lent leads Christians to understand the moments , when the transformational Works of our Lord Jesus Christ, which change our lives forevermore, carried out all that God's eternal decree of Grace, Forgiveness, Redemption and Salvation were made manifest into the world in which we live, so that, any who will but freely receive them might have eternal life.

"And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” Jhn: 12:32

For centuries in the Western church the focus has been, in many ways, fixed upon the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and the salvation work which he wrought thereupon. This focus is called "Theologia Crucis" or "Theology of the Cross".

In the Eastern Church the focus is on the Resurrection and the Glorification of Jesus. This focus is called "Theologia Gloria" or "Theology of Glory".

The Lenten Season gives us a time to reflect upon our Lord Jesus Christ and all that he is and has accomplished for each and all of us and we can experience this if we will but freely receive it.

Our whole salvation experience is dependent us the cross. The cross shows us the lengths which our God was willing to go through, in order that we might share eternal life with him. The Gospel message has been paraphrased by the Apostle St. Paul as "preaching Christ and him crucified”.

The cross of Jesus is not directed toward God to somehow pacify God or satisfy him, but rather, it is directed to us to show us his love and mercy and his reaching out to humanity. The cross of Jesus is a real-world event which provided as the means to bring God's eternal decree into our lives here upon the Earth.

It is impossible for us to separate the cross from our salvation and the glorification of Jesus Christ, one cannot be without the other. Without the work of the cross our salvation would not have been accomplished and without the resurrection the cross would be absolutely meaningless. Jesus would have been just another Messiah want-a-be or a martyr of a movement attempting to bring reform to Judaism without the resurrection. The resurrection demonstrates the power of the cross and verifies that Jesus' divine identity as God's one and only Son.

"the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."Rm:1:2-4

Jesus Lifted Up

Upon entering Jerusalem, the shouts of "Hosanna" rang out by the assembled crowd of citizens who had hoped that now would be the time that the kingdom of Israel would be restored.

"On the next day the large crowd who had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took the branches of the palm trees and went out to meet Him, and began to shout, “Hosanna! BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD, even the King of Israel.” Jhn:12:12-13

Jesus began to speak regarding as to why he has come to Jerusalem, and that the hour of the cross drew near. Jesus began to speak his crucifixion and his glorification all in the same discourse, telling us that one cannot be separate from the other the suffering of the cross preceded the glory of the resurrection; the two cannot be separated.

“Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your name.” Then a voice came out of heaven: “I have both glorified it, and will glorify it again.” So the crowd of people who stood by and heard it were saying that it had thundered; others were saying, “An angel has spoken to Him.”Jesus answered and said, “This voice has not come for My sake, but for your sakes. “Now judgment is upon this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. “And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Myself.” But He was saying this to indicate the kind of death by which He was to die"(27-32)

Jesus knew and understood what he was to face but Jesus also knew what lay beyond and all that would be accomplished for all humanity.

The Crucifixion event and the Resurrection event are eternally bound up together, inseparable from one another. Both, Death and Resurrection are joined as one in Jesus.

"For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”: Heb:12:2b

Jesus knew what the cross was all about, this place of deepest humiliation was also the way to the greatest glory for him and the drawing of all humanity to himself and the provision of salvation for all who will but freely receive it.

Exulted Humiliation

In speaking of his death upon the cross Jesus uses the phrase "lifted up”, in the Greek this phrase means the same thing as "to exult" or "to be exulted". This means far more than to just be place upon an erected stake or cross in public view. Jesus is telling us that as he is humiliated in the death of the cross and he is simultaneously exulted as the Messiah, the Christ, the Anointed one of God, for only his death could and would accomplish the ransom for all humanities' sins and sinfulness.

The Cross, this place of humiliation would be transformed into a place of glorification in Jesus' death and Resurrection.

Jesus' Death

Jesus is the only one in all humanity or in all the history of salvation whose death could have accomplished this work of redemption for each and all of us. No other person's death could have this impact of salvation for the whole human race but Jesus'.

Jesus, in his conversation with the Pharisee Nicodemus alludes to his "lifting up" and the accomplished salvation for all humanity.

"Just as Moses lifted up the snake in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him.” For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son."Jhn:3:14-18

The writer of Hebrews speaks of Jesus' death for all of us, becoming like us and sharing our humanity in death, all so that we might share in his glorified humanity in eternal life.

"But we do see Jesus, who was made lower than the angels for a little while, now crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, so that by the grace of God he might taste death for everyone" Heb:2:9

The Apostle St. Paul addresses Jesus taking on our humanity, setting aside the "glory of deity", yet still in complete retention of his deity, in the Epistle to the Christians at Philippi, the Apostle quotes from an ancient creedal hymn sung in Christian worship to the glory of the Son of God.

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!" Philp: 2:5-8

This ancient creedal hymn displayed the very humility of Jesus, who is fully God yet, in the incarnation, he condescends to our lowly humanity to become not just "one of us", but all the more to be "one with us”. In this, and for this, the Father in Heaven exults Jesus above all others.

The ancient hymn continues in this praise of Jesus.

"Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father".(9-11)

As even Jesus himself quotes the ancient proverb that speaks to this very truth.

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be humbled; and whosoever shall humble himself shall be exalted."Matt:23:12

None Greater has come lower, to be exulted higher than Jesus. For Us All

The Apostolic Church came to understand, that in the coming of Jesus, something had been changed in all humanities relationship with God. What did Jesus' life death and resurrection accomplish for humanity?

This was a subject that they prayed about, thought about, debated and discussed and then arrived at an understanding and a "Theology" which then informed the Apostolic Church view of all things and their relationship with God and humanity.

"For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again." 2Cor:5:14-15

The early Church saw that Jesus dyed and was raised "for all". They understood "all" to be "all". That none need to be excluded from entering eternal life, if they will but freely receive it when they hear the word of the Gospel preached to them. By faith humanity might experience salvation.

"Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand" Rm:5:1-2

Recapitulation; Jesus' Choice for Us

Jesus came to undo the choice of humanities' father Adam, which unleashed sin and death and all suffering upon humanity. St. Paul wrote to the Church at Rome about this very thing, that Adam's choice brought condemnation to all.

"Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned—"(12)

As Adam who was reckoned as the Head of the human race, and as such, choose sin and death for all humanity and all humanity has followed suit, so has Jesus, who Scripture calls the "Second Adam", is the New Head of the human race, chose righteousness and life for all humanity, this is what the ancient Church called Recapitulation, which means humanity has been given a New Head. Jesus as being one of us, even as Adam was one of us, could chose for all of us as did Adam. This understanding of Recapitulation was called by some theologians Federal Headism.

"But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God’s grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many! Nor can the gift of God be compared with the result of one man’s sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification. For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ! Consequently, just as one trespass resulted in condemnation for all people, so also one righteous act resulted in justification and life for all people.For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous." (15-19)

Jesus has chosen life for each and all if we will but freely receive it none need be excluded, but for their own unwillingness.

The Lenten Season reminds us of this truth, that through Jesus alone humanities' salvation been accomplished, and that Jesus and Jesus alone, even in his death is gloried, and in his resurrection, Jesus is proclaimed as the Son of the Living God, that he has "drawn all men to himself" that we might share in the righteousness and life that is his alone. For this Jesus is eternally exulted, therefore Jesus is "lifted up".

Benediction: May we each and all join in the exultation of our Lord Jesus and my he be ever lifted up, today, tomorrow and forevermore. Amen.