Christmas: The Glorious Self-Emptying of Jesus

Introduction

The message of Christmas is the message of a king who comes into the world by a path we would never imagine: the path of self-emptying. Jean-Luc Menchon leads us through a three-part meditation. Christ emptied himself of his glory to come to us. Two figures from the Old Testament, Abraham and Moses, had already foreshadowed this path through their own self-emptying. Today, it is our turn to let ourselves be stripped of our old self so we can follow in his footsteps.

Sermon Outline

1. Jesus, our model of self-emptying

The Jews were expecting a powerful liberator, a well-built warrior who would overthrow the Roman occupation. God gives them a baby lying in a manger. The sign shatters every human expectation.
The same contrast appears in Revelation 5:5: the Lion of the tribe of Judah is announced, and when the curtain opens, we see a Lamb that has been slain. Our hero died on a cross.
"The message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing" (1 Corinthians 1:18). It is not foolishness to us who are saved: it is a self-emptying.
Philippians 2:6-7 (French Semeur version): "Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave." Christ lost nothing out of weakness: he chose to empty himself out of love. He did not cling to his rights, though they were eternal and divine. He made himself available for us.

2. Abraham and Moses, forerunners of self-emptying

Abraham, forerunner of the Father's work. The sacrifice of Isaac (Genesis 22) foreshadows the love of the Father who gives his Son. Seven parallels emerge: Isaac is the only, beloved son (Genesis 22:2), just as Jesus is the only, beloved Son (John 3:16, Matthew 3:17). Abraham agrees to give his son by faith (Genesis 22:8); God the Father gives his Son freely (Romans 8:32). A ram is provided as a substitute for Isaac, but Jesus has no substitute: he is himself the Lamb of God (John 1:29). The sacrifice takes place on Mount Moriah, the region that would become Jerusalem, where Jesus is crucified at Golgotha. Abraham believed that God could raise the dead (Hebrews 11:19). And through this offspring, all nations are blessed (Genesis 22:18), a promise fulfilled in Jesus.
Moses, forerunner of the work of Christ. Six reasons why God chose him. He was a man of compassion: "It came into his heart to visit his brothers, the children of Israel" (Acts 7:23). He was ready to lose everything for others: he refused to be called the son of Pharaoh's daughter, esteeming the reproach of Christ as greater riches than the treasures of Egypt (Hebrews 11:24-26). He was courageous and persevering, even in flight: he defended the daughters of the priest of Midian against the shepherds (Exodus 2:16-17). He was patient in trial: forty years in the desert to leave the school of Egypt and enter the school of God. He was reverent toward God and obedient: at the burning bush (Exodus 3:4-6), he hides his face. And finally, God himself chose him and prepared him.
The revivalist D.L. Moody summed up the life of Moses in three periods: forty years learning what he could do; forty years learning that he could do nothing; forty years in which God could do something through him. Each of us needs to pass through these three seasons to become useful to God.
The parallels between Moses and Jesus are countless: born under a wicked king, escaping a massacre of children, exiled, tested forty days or forty years in the wilderness, having fasted forty days and forty nights, proclaiming the law or the commandments from a mountain, giving manna or the bread of life, freeing people from slavery: from Egypt for one, from sin for the other.

3. Let us strip off our old self

Colossians 3:9-10 (Semeur version): "You have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self." The text continues in Colossians 3:12-14 with what we are to put on: warm-hearted kindness, goodwill, humility, gentleness, patience, mutual forgiveness, and above all, love.
Christ showed us the way. He emptied himself of heaven to come to us, then he emptied himself of his humanity on the cross. Now it is our turn to let ourselves be stripped by him.
Romans 13:14: "Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the flesh." Philippians 3:7-8: Paul considers everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.
We are not all called to become Hudson Taylor, who set out for China on a four-to-six-month boat voyage (up to eight in a storm) and who, having returned to Europe for his sick wife, went back to serve knowing he would never see her again. We are not all called to leave everything behind at over seventy years old to go serve on another continent. But everyone can begin with small, concrete steps: coming to worship instead of comfortably watching it from home, welcoming a life group into one's home at the risk of a stain on the carpet, visiting a brother or sister who feels lonely, forgiving someone who has hurt us instead of clinging to our pride, choosing a less visible act of service rather than one that draws attention.

Key Takeaways

Jesus lost nothing out of weakness: he chose to empty himself out of love, and that choice begins at Christmas, in the manger.
The expected lion turned out to be a slain Lamb. Our hero died on a cross, and that is what saves us.
Abraham and Moses foreshadowed Christ's self-emptying, one by offering his son in faith, the other by refusing the riches of Egypt.
A life useful to God often passes through a desert where we learn that we are an "unworthy servant" (Luke 17:10). It is when this lesson is learned that God can work through us.
Self-emptying is not first played out in grand, spectacular sacrifices, but in small daily choices: coming to worship, welcoming, visiting, forgiving, serving without seeking to be seen.

Personal Application

What am I still clinging to out of fear of losing it?
What condition or right might God be asking me to lay down in order to love more?
Where can I choose hidden service rather than self-affirmation?
Is Jesus truly my Lord, or only my Savior? Do I let him work in my life to the full extent he desires?
In which of Moses's three seasons am I today: "what I can do," "I can do nothing," or "what God can do" through me?

Scripture References

Frequently Asked Questions

What does the word "self-emptying" mean when speaking of Jesus at Christmas?

The word comes directly from Philippians 2:7, where the apostle Paul writes that Christ "emptied himself" to take on the nature of a servant. Jean-Luc Menchon emphasizes: Christ lost nothing out of weakness, he chose to empty himself out of love. At Christmas, this means he set aside the glory of heaven to come to us in a manger. This is not an imposed diminishment; it is a voluntary renunciation of his divine rights in order to make himself available.

Why are Abraham and Moses called "forerunners"?

Because their lives foreshadowed the work God was going to accomplish in Jesus. Abraham, in agreeing to offer his son Isaac on Mount Moriah, foreshadows the love of the Father who gives his only Son at Jerusalem. Moses, by refusing the treasures of Egypt, by freeing his people from slavery, by fasting forty days on Sinai, foreshadows Christ who frees humanity from the slavery of sin. Menchon points out that these two men emptied themselves for the glory of the Eternal, even before Christ came to empty himself for us.

How can we practically empty ourselves in everyday life?

Menchon gives very concrete examples. Choosing to come to worship rather than following it comfortably from home when we are not sick. Welcoming a life group into our home, even at the risk of a stain on the carpet. Visiting a brother or sister who feels lonely, even when we don't feel like it. Forgiving someone who has hurt us rather than staying attached to our pride. Choosing a less visible service rather than one that puts us in the spotlight. He reminds us that "you have to lose on one side to gain in Christ," and that what we gain is always infinitely greater than what we have lost.

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