THE SEVERAL STAGES OF THE HUMILIATION

By Gary Ray Branscome

The humiliation of Christ extended throughout His earthly life from His conception to, and including, His burial. As I mentioned previously, Christ’s humiliation did not consist of the fact that He took upon Himself the nature of man. However, because all men are subject to the devil through sin, He had to be born without sin in order to redeem us. That stage of His humiliation involved His willingness to be carried in a womb, born, and be subject to His parents. It is described in the words, “You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might be rich” (2Corinthians 8:9).

The second stage of His humiliation was His willingness to be subject to the law. That involved His circumcision, education and life. The words, “When eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, His name was called JESUS,” tell us that He was circumcised (Luke 2:21). His education is included in the words, “And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52). And, His life which undoubtedly included all of the hardships, dangers, temptations and reproaches common to this life, is described in the words, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of man has no place to lay His head” (Luke 9:58). [See Matt. 2:13, Luke 2:7, Matt. 8:17 and 20, Matt. 9:14, Matt. 17:27.]

The third stage of His humiliation includes all of the suffering leading up to and including His death on the cross. That stage of humiliation is described in the words, “Surely He has taken on himself our pains, and carried our sorrows: yet we regarded him as condemned, struck down by God, and afflicted. But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the punishment that brought us peace was upon him; and by His stripes we are healed. Like sheep we have all have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed, and He was mistreated, yet He did not open His mouth: He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who at that time understood? for He was cut off from the land of the living: and struck down for His people’s sins. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had not committed any crime, nor was any deceit in His mouth” (Isaiah 53:4-9).

The words, “About the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” describe the horror of His death (Matthew 27:46). The words, “God made Him who knew no sin, to be sin for us; so that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him,” tell us the reason for His death (2Corinthians 5:21). The words, “He humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross,” tell us of His willingness to die for us (Philippians 2:8). And, the words, “Jesus, having cried again with a loud voice, yielded up His spirit,” describe His death (Matthew 27:50).