Every Knee Shall Bow

 

Philippians 2:5-11,the Second Reading for Palm Sunday, is read every year as an announcement of the Lordship of Christ, and what an announcement it is.  At the Name of Jesus, not only will the crowds in Jerusalem praise him, but every knee shall bend and every tongue confess that he is Lord of all.  It will be the preacher's great privilege to make this announcement to the world.

(The following questions are not meant to be exhaustive, but are best used in conjunction with other methods of inquiry with different concerns. The main concern behind these questions is how the Word is functioning in the text, a primary consideration for Law and Gospel preachers.  For more on this method and on Law and Gospel preaching in general, see my brief guide, Afflicting the Comfortable, Comforting the Afflicted, available from wipfandstock.com or amazon.)

1.  How does the Word function in the text?  The Word starts off in the same manner of the preceding four verses - concerned with the communal life of the Philippians.  Very quickly, however, the Word turns to one of proclamation and what we have is pure Gospel, the center of which is verse 7:  "he emptied himself."  The whole passage is a celebration of the miracle of grace.

2.  How is the Word not functioning in the text?  The Word functioning as Law, (i.e. exposing our need for a Savior) is hard to find in this text.  Perhaps the announcement that Christ is Lord of all could be seen as the Word reminding us that we are not lord of our life, but that is anything but explicit.

3.  With whom are you identifying in the text?  We are those being exhorted here to have the mind of Christ.  We are those standing before this proclamation, in awe of Christ's sacrifice and glory.

4.  What, if any, call to obedience is there in this text?  As pointed to above, the first line is exactly that, a call to obedience:  "Let the same mind be in you (all)..."  It is the call to live in love, to forego quarreling, to live humbly, as Christ did.

5.  What Law/Gospel couplet is suggested by this text?  Couplets are not present, but using some of the language of the text, we can imagine several.  Some suggestions:  slaves/free; dying/alive; humbled/exalted.

6.  Exegetical work:  Fred Craddock, in his commentary, notes that "Philippians 2:6-11 is a rehearsal of the Christ story in three movements:  pre-existence, existence, post-existence." (Interpretation series, Philippians, p. 40).  This is a helpful observation in that it could give the preacher a plot for a sermon on a text that is thoroughly theological.  The lack of narrative flow in a theological text causes many a sermon to wander into theological ponderings or worse, thereby losing the listener completely.  Perhaps  by following this Christological chronology, one can fashion a narrative sermon from this text.  Gerhard Kittel's work continues to provide treasures of insight around key terms in this text.  In his discussion of arpagmos, translated  "something to be exploited" (NRSV), in verse 6, Kittel explains, "He did not regard equality with God as gain, either in the sense of something not to be let slip, or in the sense of something not to be left unutilized." (Theological Dictionary of the NT, vol. I, p. 472f).  Also, concerning the word kenoo, translated "emptied" (NRSV), in verse 7, Kittel says, "What is meant is that the heavenly Christ did not selfishly exploit his divine form and mode of being, but by his own decision emptied Himself of it or laid it by, taking the form of a servant by becoming man." (Ibid., vol. III, p. 659f).  Another possible translation for this term is "divested", echoed in Rienecker's commentary:  "The word is a graphic expression of the completeness of His self-renunciation and His refusal to use what He had to His own advantage." (Linguistic Key to the Greek NT, p. 550).  

7.  How does the Crossings Community model work with this text?  Steve Kuhl does a nice job of lifting up the competitive nature of human beings, vis-a-vis the Lordship of Christ, in his analysis.  He sees how this text does undercut our penchant to be our own lord.  Well worth exploring, you can see the entire analysis at crossing.org/text-study.

Blessings on your proclamation!