How and Why Jesus Came to Bethlehem (Philippians 2:5-7)

We know how and why Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem. But how and why did Jesus the Son of God come there? Joseph and Mary travelled from Nazareth to Bethlehem for the birth because of a government order regarding registration in one’s home location, but the child in her womb had been conceived by his own choice made somewhere else and long before. Paul describes that journey in this set of verses.

This set of verses is often assumed to be an ancient hymn or poem, and this assumption is seen in the printed layout of modern Bible versions. Yet that assumption has been critiqued by many Bible commentators and preachers because there is no real basis for saying that is the case. It is possible that it is a memory statement or faithful saying that Paul used to help Christians remember important doctrines, and it is equally possible that he composed the verses when he sent this letter. In any case, it would be good for us to know verses 6-11 by heart and meditate on them, perhaps especially at this time of year when the birth of Jesus is remembered.

Verse 5 is the introduction to the statement, and it is an exhortation based on something we have been given by God. We will come back to it after we think about two other details, which are descriptive of Jesus, the first being what happened before he was born, and the second being what happened when he was born.

Before he was born (v. 6)

The first detail that is said of him is that he existed in the form of God. He never became God but was always God. This means that he was fully God and had never been anyone else. He existed before the creation of the universe. It is hard for us to think of God before the creation of all things because most of our descriptions of him are connected to the universe. We speak of God being present everywhere, but what we have in mind is his presence in the universe. Similarly, we speak of his omnipotence, his limitless power, but again it is power expressed in the maintenance and control of the universe and all that is in it.

Of course, the act of creation was an incredible display of divine power, and Jesus as the Son of God was fully involved in bringing it into existence. This was followed by the divine work of providence which covers all that God does in his universe throughout history and geography, and again Jesus as the Son of God participated fully in all of it. As it has been put, there is not an inch of space or a second of time that Jesus does not claim as his.

Yet Paul is not asking us to think only of what Jesus did in connection to the universe. He calls us to go back to before the universe came into existence, when only God existed, to go back before an angel was made to sing his praise, to before a sound outside of God was heard.

Imagine you and me are sitting in a room. If I want to know who you are, you have to tell me about yourself. Imagine you could describe all of yourself perfectly and immediately and I can grasp perfectly and immediately all you are telling me about yourself. And we can do this constantly. Imagine Einstein meeting another Einstein. The apostle John describes Jesus and his Father in that way when he says that Jesus was the Word who was with God (face to face) and was God. Jesus revealed who he eternally is, and his Father eternally saw it, and saw that he was his equal. And each was infinitely satisfied with what they saw. That is who Jesus eternally was, in the form of God. But as the Father and the Son are face to face eternally, what are they focused on? We could say that they are focused on the glory of God. But what would a concern for the glory and honour of God cause to happen?

The second detail mentioned about him is connected to an assessment he made. Paul writes that the Son of God ‘did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped’. What is in mind here? He was equal with God, so he did not need to aspire to that status. The question really is, what would he do with his equality with God? He could not lose it, but how would he express it? We can answer that question by suggesting that he could make a universe but remain outside of it, or he could make a universe but become part of it. The amazing choice he made was to become part of it by becoming a man.

What he did (v. 7)

The Son of God – the One who is the Lord of all, the Creator of the universe and the Governor of Providence – ‘emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.’ This is a profound statement, but it is open to more than one misinterpretation. After all, what is meant by ‘emptied himself?’ Or by ‘servant’? Or by ‘likeness of men’?

‘Emptied himself’ is a literal interpretation, but sometimes literal interpretations are not correct. The idea is to make yourself significantly different from what you usually are. A rich person could become poor, a powerful person could give up his authority. But Jesus did not empty himself by losing something – God cannot give up any of his attributes. Instead, he humbled himself by adding something to himself. He became what he had not been without ceasing to be what he was. Instead of only having a divine nature he now had two natures, one divine, one human.

But what kind of man did he become? He became a real man, which is what is meant by ‘being born in the likeness of men’. At his birth, he looked like a baby boy. Afterwards, when he grew, he looked like others. When he went to synagogue school in Nazareth, he looked like the others in the class. In the carpenter’s shop, he looked like a teenager learning his trade from his father. As an adult, he looked like other men in Nazareth.

Of course, he was a sinless man. He was unaffected by the sin of Adam, although he had to live amid the consequences of Adam’s sin. While he lived to God’s glory, he saw that others did not. Those consequences were present when he was born – no one showed compassion to his mother when she was giving birth. And they were present throughout his life as he mingled with people and saw their motives and intentions.

What was his role to be in life? Unlike other men, he could choose what role he would have, and indeed he chose it before he was born. He chose to become a servant, or as the word here indicates ‘a slave’. Of course, the word ‘slave’ has different connotations, but here the idea is having to give complete devotion to a task committed to him to fulfil. The sinless servant came to Bethlehem to provide salvation for sinners.

When we travel, as it were, to Bethlehem, and join the shepherds as they gaze at the newborn child in the manger, who do we see? We see the Lord certainly, but we also the Lord who has become the servant of the Lord. 

And that is the mind that has been given to us, the willingness to serve and the delight in serving others.