In what did Christ’s humiliation consist?

Posted on May 22, 2019 Written by Mark McIntyre 1 Comment

Question 27 of the Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “In what did Christ’s humiliation consist?“

The answer given is, “Christ’s humiliation consisted in being born, and that in a poor circumstance; in being subject to God’s law; in undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God and the curse of death on the cross; in being buried; and in continuing under the power of death for a time.“

The first question that needs to be asked is, “what is meant by the word humiliation?”

The basic meaning of the word is to be brought down to a lower position. In the case of Jesus Christ, he moved from Heaven to earth and took on the limitations of being human.

Isaiah tells us:

“For a child will be born for us, a son will be given to us, and the government will be on his shoulders. He will be named Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.”
Isaiah 9:6, CSB

The eternal son was given to us, born as a child. Not only was he born as a human child; he was born into a poor family. Amazingly, the creator of the universe grew up in a family with limited resources. The king of kings experienced poverty instead of privilege.

On top of this, there would always be questions surrounding his legitimacy. After all, Joseph didn’t marry Mary until after she was pregnant. People in that day could count the months just as well as we can today. I’m sure that many a gossip had some fun with the story of Joseph, Mary, and Jesus.

During his years of ministry, Jesus had a great impact. Many miracles are recorded in the Gospels and many more were done that remain unrecorded. But still, Jesus didn’t fix all that is wrong with the world.

I listen to the news and sometimes get overwhelmed with how much of a mess humanity has made of this world. Injustice, oppression, and murder can be found on the pages of any newspaper or on the evening news broadcast.

But the thought, which is strangely encouraging, is that all of these things were present in the world when Jesus walked the earth. The Pax Romana was maintained with cruelty and injustice. In the midst of this, Jesus showed us an example of how to stay on mission despite the circumstances around him.

We can also be encouraged by the thought that through his death on our behalf, Jesus also secured the ultimate defeat of our enemy. He will one day return to complete the victory over evil and make everything right.

About Mark McIntyre

A follower of Jesus Christ who shares observations about how Scripture should impact the church and the world. Mark is the original author and editor of Attempts at Honesty.

What is that to you? – A lesson from C. S. Lewis

C. S. Lewis provides a question to help us to know our boundaries and learn when to rely on God to handle a difficult situation. That question is, “what is that to you?”

What is creation?

It is probable that most people that read this question in the catechism in 2016 zoom in on the words “in six days.” So let me say from the beginning that it is OK for believers to disagree on how the word day should be interpreted. Some hold to a literal 24 hour day and others think day represents a much longer period of time.

Go and sin boldly

I believe it was Martin Luther who said, “go and sin boldly.” The point is not that we are to intentionally sin, but that we cannot allow fear of sin to inhibit us from living life.

An unwanted mirror

In Matthew 23:13-33, there are recorded eight woes that Jesus pronounced upon the “scribes and Pharisees.” Jesus is harsh in his criticism as he unloads on his antagonists. The danger is that we can read these woes in a way that is not helpful or appropriate. If we take an us/them approach to these woes, […]

Power and authority in the church – Choose who is in control

Herod was giving an opportunity to choose to submit to the ultimate authority. Similarly, church leaders must choose who is in control. Some choose well and others badly. The choice has serious consequences.

A Thought from Saint Augustine

In the Confessions, Saint Augustine describes a depraved soul as “falling away from security in you to destruction in itself.” I like the way that Augustine puts this. When I make moral choices, I am choosing between God or self, light or darkness, building or destruction. There is no middle ground. Yet there is hope. […]