PONDERING... Wherein did Christ's humiliation and exaltation consist?

A Catechism Study Outline Lesson

Wherein did Christ's humiliation and exaltation consist?

Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born, and that in a low condition made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time. His exaltation consists in His rising again from the dead on the third day, in ascending up into heaven, and sitting at the right hand of God the Father, and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

• Luke 2:7 ESV - "7 And she gave birth to her firstborn son and wrapped him in swaddling cloths and laid him in a manger, because there was no place for them in the inn."
• Galatians 4:4 ESV - "4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,"
• Isaiah 53:3 ESV - "3 He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not."
• Matthew 27:46 ESV - "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?""
• Philippians 2:8 ESV - "8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."
• Matthew 12:40 ESV - "40 For just as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth."
• 1 Corinthians 15:4 ESV - "4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures,"
• Mark 16:19 ESV - "19 So then the Lord Jesus, after he had spoken to them, was taken up into heaven and sat down at the right hand of God."
• Acts 17:31 ESV - "31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.""

Christ's humiliation consisted in His being born,

-When we talked breifly about this term, humiliation, last week, there was a little misunderstanding that needs carified. Humiliation can refer to embarrassing of harassing someone. However, in this context that is not a perfect fit. Could it have been embarrassing for God to become man, sure. Was it? No. Embarrassment would imply that He was unwilling or uncomfortable with the prospect of coming in human form. Though His life was uncomfortable, His decision was deliberate and He felt no shame.

-In this context, humiliation is looking more at the root meaning of the word--humble. Christ humbled Himself, made Himself to be less than He truly is, first when He was born as human baby. Remember He came as 100% man and 100% God. As I type this, I'm sitting up with my newborn baby, Adelynn Grace. Nothing in the world is as helpless as a newborn human baby. Coming down from heaven to live the full human life was an act of humility.

and that in a low condition made under the law,

-He didn't cheat the system. He came to live the full human exeperience in the way that we could not. He obeyed the law perfectly which means He subjected Himself to it. No shortcuts.

undergoing the miseries of this life,

-Again, He was truly human. He endured and suffered like all of us do, and more. We've talked frequently about the fullest form that this took on the cross. Here, He suffered ultimately. Remember also, however, he was raised by a poor family in ancient Israel. He didn't have the luxries or even modern sanitation that we've come accustomed to. He knew what it meant to be sick, hungry, hot, and physically miserable. Moreover, He experienced temptation and emotional hurt. He was betrayed by at least one close friend, rejected and disbelieved by His family, scoffed at by the public for doing what was right, and abandoned by those closest to Him when He needed them most. His day to day, like/more than ours, wasn't peachy.

the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross;

-These two are inseparable. We've talked about this at some length before, so I will be brief here (message me if you want more specifics). On the cross, Jesus endured the full wrath of God--our punishment, the curse of sin--in our place.

 in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

-For three days, He remained dead. Again, this was for us.

His exaltation consists in His rising again from the dead on the third day,

-Exaltation is basically the opposite of humiliation. It means "the raising up of". If we exalt a person, we focus on some positive charcteristic(s). In Christ's case, His exaltation was the revelation of His true nature and person. Everything about Him is good and worthy of exaltation.

in ascending up into heaven,

-In 1828, Webster defined ascension as: "1. The act of ascending; a rising. It is frequently applied to the visible elevation of our Savior to Heaven."

and sitting at the right hand of God the Father,

-His rightful place. The place of honor. Of course this is not to be taken completely literally as God is spirit and Jesus is God and God is not sitting at God's right hand in that sense. Oh, the great complexity of the Trinity! Jesus is honored in the highest possible way. 

and in coming to judge the world at the last day.

-Only the one who is worthy to judge the world will.  Exaltation. His rightful place. Every knee will bow. Every tongue confess-- Jesus Christ is LORD!