Christ, Our Example

This week I read an interesting article about the poorest president in the whole world. As of November 2012, Jose Mujica, the president of Uruguay, held a unique position—the BBC called him "the world's poorest president." It's a common complaint that many politicians around the globe live in luxury while the masses they lead live in poverty. Instead, Mujico has chosen to identify with his people by living on a ramshackle farm located on a dirt road outside the capital.

A reporter for the BBC News described his approach to Mujica's lowly residence: Laundry is strung outside the house. The water comes from a well in a yard, overgrown with weeds. Only two police officers and Manuela, a three-legged dog, keep watch outside …. This austere lifestyle—and the fact that Mujica donates about 90 percent of his monthly salary, equivalent to $12,000, to charity—has led him to be labeled the poorest president in the world …. In 2010, his annual personal wealth declaration—mandatory for officials in Uruguay—was $1,800, the value of his 1987 Volkswagen Beetle. The article also noted that Mujica doesn't have to live this way. Uruguay provides a luxurious presidential residence in the capital city of Montevideo. But Mujica has chosen to shun the privileges he has a right to enjoy so he can stand in solidarity with the people he serves. (Vladimir Hernandez, "Jose Mujica: The world's poorest president," BBC News 11-14-12).

 

While Mujica is just a man, and a flawed one at that, it is remarkable to me that he voluntarily relinquished the privileges and glory of his office for the good of his people. In a much greater sense, Jesus did the same thing. The Apostle Paul said “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 2:5 - 8 NKJV).

 

When Jesus came to earth as a human being He accepted the limitations of a human body. Sometimes we think of Jesus as being very different from other children. At Christmas we even sing the verse in away in a manger which says “no crying he makes.” The truth is that Jesus was no different than any other child. He was born like all babies are born. He grew through childhood just like other children grow. Matthew says He grew in wisdom and stature, like all young boys do. We read in the gospel accounts that Jesus hungered, thirsted, grew tired, suffered and eventually died a death like all people experience.

 

Jesus even humbled himself by accepting the limitations of a human mind. The fact that Matthew says that he “increased in wisdom” says that He went through a learning process just like our kids go through. Jesus had to learn to read and write. We find Him asking questions and discussing the Law with the teachers in the temple, and later He would even say that there were some things He just didn’t know, such as the time of His second coming.

 

Philippians 2:7 says that Jesus made himself of no reputation. The HCSB renders it literally – “He emptied Himself.” Now, there are those that teach that this means that he laid aside his divinity, that he gave up his divine nature. Nothing could be further from the truth. He did not empty himself of his divinity, but rather he poured out himself on our behalf.

 

Still, Jesus operated as a human while here on earth. How did that work? Well, the best way to think of what happened in the incarnation is to understand that he subtracted by adding. He added a human nature to his divine, godly nature. Let me illustrate what I mean. Suppose I borrowed your car and instead of taking care of it, I took it out to a local mud pit. Suppose I raced it through the mud and did donuts in the mud pit. Suppose I covered it with mud. I will have subtracted from its glory. I covered its glory by adding something – mud. This is what Jesus did. He covered his divine glory by adding a human nature. Why? Why did Jesus accept the limitations of humanity? One reason was so He could be our substitute. If He had not been a man He could not have died in our place and paid our sin debt. But there was another reason as well. Jesus operated in his humanity while here on earth in order that he might be a role model for you and me. While here on earth Jesus relied on the same resources to live his life that you and I have. He relied on the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures, prayer, and the communion of other believers. For this reason the Apostle Peter said Christ left “us an example, that you should follow His steps” (1 Peter 2:21 NKJV).

 

Christ is not only our redeemer, but our example. This is yet another reason to focus on Christ as the reason for the Christmas season.