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Today's Little Lift
by Jim Bullington
“And those who passed by blasphemed Him [Jesus], wagging their heads and saying, 'You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.' Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 'He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, “I am the Son of God.”'” (Matthew 27.39-43; emphasis mine, jb).
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They Crucified Jesus – “Save Yourself”
Earlier in His ministry Jesus had said, “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” (Matthew 20.27-28). Stripping away some of the clauses in the previous passages, we can reduce the mission of Jesus down to the following: “Jesus came to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” Indeed He came to give His life, and that was what He was doing when certain mockers said, “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.” Men were never more wrong than when they said, “Himself He cannot save.”
After Peter had used his sword defending Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus charged him, saying, “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword. Or do you think that I cannot now pray to My Father, and He will provide Me with more than twelve legions of angels? How then could the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen thus?” (Matthew 26.52-54). The fact that Jesus did not or would not save Himself was not due to a lack of power on His part, nor was it cowardice of any sort. Quite the contrary, Jesus' resolve to fulfill the scriptures was entirely selfless as well as the complete and perfect example of loving service. His coming to earth was not due to His being forced nor were His sacrifices while He was here. Each sacrifice before, during, and after the crucifixion was with a view toward others and not toward Himself.
Paul surveyed the same facts which we have just summarized and it prompted him to write the following: “Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus, who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 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 2.4-8). The “mind of Christ” is directly related to the Cross of Christ. In fact, it was “this mind” that moved Him to submit to the cruelties of the Cross. It was “this mind” that moved Him to condescend to the estate of men and for none other reason other than to serve and save. It was “this mind” that compelled Him to say, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23.34). It is “this mind” that Paul charged his readers to possess when he said, “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus.”
While we frequently look at the Cross merely as a past historical event, it is also true that it is a current figure which is intended to move us to action. The disciple who understands the mind of Christ is a person who looks for opportunities to serve and considers it a privilege to do so. Just as the Lamb of God went to the Cross and opened not His mouth in complaint, so must we as disciple consider it an unequaled blessing to serve our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. That was His mind; so must it be ours!
Questions:
1. What did Jesus say His mission was upon the earth?
2. What is “the mind of Christ”?
3. Who is to have the mind of Christ? How is that possible? What would it look like if every person in the world had that mind?
4. How prone would the mind of Christ be to complain? Is it pleasing to God to serve Him but to do so while seeing it as drudgery? Why or why not?
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