Philippians 2:5-11
Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus. – Philippians 2:5
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In the past two days, we have seen how God formed obedience in Israel in the wilderness, teaching them to remember His saving acts and to follow His daily leading. As we continue our Lenten journey, a season of reflection, repentance, and renewed surrender, today we continue our reflection on what it means to grow in obedience and to follow Christ.
In today’s passage, Paul begins with a simple exhortation: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Christian obedience begins within, in the posture of the heart and mind before God. We are called to share the mindset of Christ Himself: humility, surrender, and willing obedience.
Paul then traces the astonishing downward movement of Jesus: from glory to humility, from heaven to the cross, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. This is the heart of Christ’s obedience.
Christ’s earthly life was marked by humility. He entered the world in poverty, lived many years in obscurity, welcomed the rejected, touched the unclean, and served the overlooked. Yet His obedience did not end in humble living. It led to a humiliating death-crucifixion, a punishment reserved for the lowest criminals, public and degrading. And this was the path He willingly embraced.
Christ was not a victim of circumstance. His obedience was deliberate, loving, and freely chosen. He submitted fully to the Father’s will, even when it led to rejection, suffering, and death. He descended into the depths of human brokenness to bring us back to God. Because His obedience was rooted in love for the Father, even suffering became the means of redemption.
Yet we must not imagine that obedience came easily to Him simply because He is the Son of God. Jesus, who is fully divine, is also fully human. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He struggled deeply in surrendering to the Father’s will. His anguish was so great that He prayed with loud cries and tears, strengthened by the Father as He faced the cross. Scripture tells us that though He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. His obedience was costly, prayerful, and fought for in surrender, yet in His struggle, He turned fully to the Father.
Because Christ humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him. The One who went lowest is now Lord over all. This is the pattern of God’s kingdom: humility before glory, surrender before exaltation, obedience before vindication. The way down, in God’s hands, becomes the way up.
Paul shows us this not merely to admire Christ, but to follow Him. Christian obedience is more than outward action. It is an inward posture: choosing humility when pride feels easier, surrender when control feels safer, faithfulness when obedience is costly.
During Lent, we practise prayer, fasting, and repentance — not as ends in themselves, but as ways of reshaping our hearts to echo Christ’s prayer: Not my will, but Yours be done.
True obedience is not selective or convenient. It is wholehearted trust in the Father, whatever the cost. Yet we do not walk this path alone. The One who obeyed perfectly now lives in us by His Spirit. The mindset we are called to have is already ours in Him. Let us grow in obedience not merely by trying harder, but by looking more deeply at Christ, the One who humbled Himself for us.
Reflection:
Where is God calling me to humble myself? Where do I desire God’s leading without obedience?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, You humbled Yourself in love, obeyed even to the cross and gave Yourself for our salvation. Shape our hearts to be like Yours. Teach us humility, surrender, and joyful obedience. As we walk this Lenten journey, lead us to follow You, not only remembering the cross, but living in the obedience that flows from it. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.
Click to read passage
In the past two days, we have seen how God formed obedience in Israel in the wilderness, teaching them to remember His saving acts and to follow His daily leading. As we continue our Lenten journey, a season of reflection, repentance, and renewed surrender, today we continue our reflection on what it means to grow in obedience and to follow Christ.
In today’s passage, Paul begins with a simple exhortation: “Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus.” Christian obedience begins within, in the posture of the heart and mind before God. We are called to share the mindset of Christ Himself: humility, surrender, and willing obedience.
Paul then traces the astonishing downward movement of Jesus: from glory to humility, from heaven to the cross, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. This is the heart of Christ’s obedience.
Christ’s earthly life was marked by humility. He entered the world in poverty, lived many years in obscurity, welcomed the rejected, touched the unclean, and served the overlooked. Yet His obedience did not end in humble living. It led to a humiliating death-crucifixion, a punishment reserved for the lowest criminals, public and degrading. And this was the path He willingly embraced.
Christ was not a victim of circumstance. His obedience was deliberate, loving, and freely chosen. He submitted fully to the Father’s will, even when it led to rejection, suffering, and death. He descended into the depths of human brokenness to bring us back to God. Because His obedience was rooted in love for the Father, even suffering became the means of redemption.
Yet we must not imagine that obedience came easily to Him simply because He is the Son of God. Jesus, who is fully divine, is also fully human. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He struggled deeply in surrendering to the Father’s will. His anguish was so great that He prayed with loud cries and tears, strengthened by the Father as He faced the cross. Scripture tells us that though He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. His obedience was costly, prayerful, and fought for in surrender, yet in His struggle, He turned fully to the Father.
Because Christ humbled Himself, God highly exalted Him. The One who went lowest is now Lord over all. This is the pattern of God’s kingdom: humility before glory, surrender before exaltation, obedience before vindication. The way down, in God’s hands, becomes the way up.
Paul shows us this not merely to admire Christ, but to follow Him. Christian obedience is more than outward action. It is an inward posture: choosing humility when pride feels easier, surrender when control feels safer, faithfulness when obedience is costly.
During Lent, we practise prayer, fasting, and repentance — not as ends in themselves, but as ways of reshaping our hearts to echo Christ’s prayer: Not my will, but Yours be done.
True obedience is not selective or convenient. It is wholehearted trust in the Father, whatever the cost. Yet we do not walk this path alone. The One who obeyed perfectly now lives in us by His Spirit. The mindset we are called to have is already ours in Him. Let us grow in obedience not merely by trying harder, but by looking more deeply at Christ, the One who humbled Himself for us.
Reflection:
Where is God calling me to humble myself? Where do I desire God’s leading without obedience?
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, You humbled Yourself in love, obeyed even to the cross and gave Yourself for our salvation. Shape our hearts to be like Yours. Teach us humility, surrender, and joyful obedience. As we walk this Lenten journey, lead us to follow You, not only remembering the cross, but living in the obedience that flows from it. In Jesus’s name we pray, Amen.