The Strength of Christ

In chapter 6 of the Prophet Isaiah’s vision, we see the majestic throne of God and find the One who is “high and lifted up,” glorious in splendor, and “holy, holy, holy.” Later in the same prophecy, in Isaiah 57:15, God is spoken of again as high and lifted up, but this time His lofty exaltation over all things is connected with the lowly and contrite of heart: “I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to re-vive the heart of the contrite.”

Merely five chapters prior, in Isaiah 52:13, the author ascribes this same status of high and lifted up to the “Servant of the Lord.” We know chapter 52 is speaking of Jesus, for verse 14 goes on to state a well-known messianic prophecy: “His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.” Isaiah is equating God, and His holiness, majesty, glory, splendor, and exalted position with that of the eternal Son, the second person of the Trinity, Jesus Christ.

This is not surprising to us, of course, but what is surprising is how that high and lifted up position of might and glory is used: to care for the lowly. We find Jesus using His preeminence to serve.

Christ’s Service

In Philippians 2 we see Jesus set aside this high and lifted up position, full equality with God, in order to humble Himself, even to the point of death on the cross, that He might bring all peoples to confess His name. What does the most highly exalted One use His strength and supremacy to do? He uses it to die for His people, to seat the lowly with Himself in glory. In the most extreme act of service the world has ever known, Jesus has taught us the very heartbeat of God—using one’s power and ability to care for the weak and the powerless.

The Very Heartbeat of God

Throughout countless Scripture passages, God is pleased to describe Himself as the God who cares for ones who cannot care for themselves. A small sampling is all that is needed to demonstrate this point. Psalm 10:17–18 says, “O Lord, you hear the desire of the afflicted…to do justice to the fatherless and the oppressed.” Psalm 72:12–14 says, “He delivers the needy when he calls.…He has pity on the weak and the needy. From oppression and violence he redeems their life.”

In Ezekiel 34, when God lambasts the false shepherds of His people, He condemns them for caring only for themselves and for, horrifically, feeding themselves on the Lord’s sheep! To such an inversion of God’s desires, He promises to care for His sheep Himself (v. 15) and to set up the one true Shepherd in the line of David (v. 23). This Shepherd is One after the Lord’s own heart (Jer. 3:15) who will not take advantage of those under His care, but feed and provide for them. This is the very tender compassion of our God—this is how He chooses to make Himself known!

The Ghastly Heart of the World

The opposite is true of the world. Worldly men, as described in the Scriptures, think only of themselves. Jude 12 says they “shepherd only themselves.” Philippians 3:19 captures the selfishness of these enemies of the cross as those “whose god is their bellies.” And Jesus Himself said in Matthew 20:25–26, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant.”

Jesus distinctly calls us to fly in the face of the world’s typical standard of “always look out for numero uno.” The world’s default perspective is who else is going to look out for me, if I don’t? In the corporate world, climb the dogpile faster. In the financial sector, make as much as possible. In social settings, put others down so you look good. In any sphere of authority, make sure people are serving you.

It Shall Not Be So Among You!

Jesus calls us to have the same mindset and heartbeat of God that is present in Him be present in us (Phil. 2:5). He radically asks if His disciples want to be first or if they want to be greatest, then they must race to the back, and be the greatest servant of all. In Christ’s economy, washing feet is the position of greatest honor—humility is the position of greatest strength. This is why He says the meek shall inherit the earth (Matt. 5:5); not the powerful, domineering ones. The dominant may believe they are increasing and getting ahead, but the Lord ensures the opposite is true.

Christ Inverts “Normal” Expectations

The earthly man’s perspective is not the perspective of our Lord. Man wants to get ahead, wants to work hard and build his own dream. And this mentality of being a self-made man, a hard man, a person of prominence, is always threatening to creep into the church—and does creep in! But Christ calls His followers to reject the ways of the world and the means of the world and, instead, adopt His posture of service and humility.

That Which Is Praiseworthy

At the end of our earthly lives, Jesus tells us what will be openly praised by the Lord on the last great day, as the fruit He has brought about in and through His servants is publicly examined. He says in Matthew 25, when His followers stand before the throne, that He was hungry, thirsty, a stranger, naked, sick, and in prison, and those who are truly Christ’s cared for Him in such times. Dumbstruck, His followers, not boastful in themselves in any way, not haughty and lifted up, wonder aloud, “When did we do these things?” Jesus staggeringly replies, “As you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.” Notice His emphasis at the final judgment: those who used their time, energies, strength, and talents to serve—more than that—to serve the least and the lowly.

Why the Father Loves the Son

This open vindication of the saints’ faithful service is very similar to the open praise of the Father about the Son. Jesus is declared by God on a number of occasions to be loved by His Father. But in John 10:17 Jesus explicitly tells us why that is so: “For this reason the Father loves me.…”

Is it because of Christ’s power? Is it due to His many accomplishments? Does it come about because of His prominence, or is it a result of all the people He has been able to subject under His might and wrath? Of course, it is none of these: “For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down my life that I may take it up again.”

The reason that God the Father declares His unceasing and unchanging love for the Son is because Christ came to serve. He came to seek and save the lost. He came to lift up the weak and the oppressed. He lived (and died) perfectly in accord with the heartbeat of God—to raise up the lowly. And, in rising again from the dead, He has raised us poor and miserable ones up with Him and seated us in the heavenlies, as has already been seen in Isaiah’s prophecy.

Applications

If this is the pattern God has clearly laid out for us in His Word and by the example of His Son, where does that leave us?

First, we must never seek our own glory, but the glory of Christ in the care for His lambs.

Second, we must never use any position of power or authority to serve ourselves, our names, our reputations, our prominence, or to build our own little kingdoms. Instead, we must use any gracious gifts of God (such as our positions) to love, care for, and serve any who may be under our influence.

Third—and this is pastoral shepherding at its finest—any shepherds of the sheep must distance themselves as far away from the false shepherds of Ezekiel 34 as possible, and must make it their lifelong aim to humbly feed, tend, and nourish Christ’s lambs.

Finally, this is biblical counseling par excellence. The caricature that biblical counseling is merely correcting people for their sin can rightly be set aside, for counseling that is according to the Word will always be tender and compassionate for those who are weak and struggling. The heartbeat of our God and Savior is to use one’s position to serve those in need of help. May it always be so of His followers as well.