The Mind of Christ

Sermon Manuscript

Philippians 2

A meditation on the humility, incarnation, and obedience of Christ, calling believers to know the heart of the Son of God.

The Son of God did not cling to His glory. He humbled Himself, took the form of a servant, and walked the path of obedience for our sake.

He Humbled Himself by Becoming Obedient to Death (Philippians 2:5–8)

We have just passed the Lunar New Year celebrations this past week, and almost immediately we now embark on the season of Lent. It feels like quite a drastic shift in focus and atmosphere. During the New Year, we celebrate new beginnings and renewed hope—but in Lent, we are invited to embrace suffering. Are these two themes even remotely related?

If there is one truth we must carry through Lent, it is this: The love of God is revealed most clearly not in glory, but in suffering — and life is multiplied only through the cross.

Many people assume that hope means believing in a future day that will free us from suffering. Yet Christian hope tells us something quite different. Our hope came from heaven precisely through the revelation of Christ’s suffering. From the manger to the cross, the story of Jesus Christ—so familiar to us—never hides the reality that He lived bearing the sins of humanity, suffering on the cross for our sake, and accomplishing the redemptive work that set us free from the bondage of darkness and death. This is the hope and freedom that Christianity proclaims.

Because this runs contrary to common expectations about joy and blessing, it becomes difficult for many to understand the Christian faith. Paul said that to the Jews the cross was a stumbling block, and to the Greeks it was foolishness. For those zealous for the law, the expectation was this: Should not God’s blessing mean less suffering and greater reward—something befitting one’s standing in the hierarchy of holiness? And for those devoted to knowledge, the assumption was that the more one knows, the more one can avoid life’s tragedies and hardships. Is that not the purpose of pursuing knowledge—to escape the pains that come from ignorance?

Yet the cross stands precisely as the great point of contention for faith. Paul experienced this firsthand in his ministry—the very message meant to open hearts often received a cold reception instead.

2 Corinthians 6:3–13

Paul explains that they placed no stumbling block before anyone. Yet why, then, did people still refuse to open their hearts? It was because of his suffering.

What should not have been a stumbling block became one. It is a strange paradox. When Paul said they put no stumbling blocks in the way, he meant that this faith required no legal qualifications—no works to prove oneself, no circumcision to perform, no merit to earn. Salvation and the knowledge of God came freely through the grace of Jesus Christ. And yet people recoiled from it.

Why? Because the message revealed that the love of God is made known through suffering rather than worldly glory.

Paul and his fellow workers sought to reveal the gospel not only through words but through their very lives. They lived in the pattern of Christ, and this was plainly visible to those they ministered to. Ironically, it was precisely because people saw their suffering that they closed their hearts—they did not wish to share in such a life. This was the sorrow of the apostle.

So we must ask ourselves: What is our expectation of the gospel?

During Lent, we are called to meditate deeply on the love of God—but we do so by entering, in some measure, into the suffering of Christ. We may not walk the literal path to the cross as He did, yet even our small acts of denial, sacrifice, and obedience draw us nearer to the One who suffered and revealed His love in that way.

Truthfully, this paradoxical relationship between love and suffering has never been hidden from us. Jesus made it clear to all who desired to follow Him, so that no one would live under illusions about what it means to follow Him and to know the truth He bears.

The Son of Man Does Not Have a Place to Lay His Head (Luke 9:57–62)

Contrary to many modern assumptions about Christian evangelism, Jesus almost seems to do the opposite here. Rather than making discipleship sound appealing, He appears to discourage those who wish to follow Him. He tells them that foxes have dens and birds have nests—but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head. He says that anyone who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is not fit for service in the kingdom of God.

These are hardly comforting words for those who are just beginning to consider following Him, are they?

What the Lord is doing is laying out the sober reality of discipleship. There is no fantasy in His path. He is not telling a grand myth like the Greek stories of heroes dwelling in glory on Mount Olympus. Nor is He presenting Himself as a triumphant earthly king, legitimized by royal lineage, enthroned by loyal subjects, and celebrated in worldly splendor.

Instead, His is the story of the cross—a path of suffering that ultimately reveals the fullness of God’s love to a world that prefers darkness over light, a world that recoils when its sin is exposed.

The Lord becomes even more direct about this reality when speaking to His leading disciple, Peter.

John 13:31–38

Peter asks why he cannot follow Jesus now. He insists that he is ready. But the Lord tells him plainly that he is not ready—that before the rooster crows, Peter will deny Him three times.

This would become a painful memory Peter carried throughout his life and ministry. Church tradition even says that whenever Peter preached about Jesus, his eyes would fill with tears. Through both the death of his Teacher and his own denial, Peter came to preach the depth of Christ’s love.

Jesus knew Peter’s limits. He knew what Peter would do, even when Peter himself believed he was ready. The way of the cross is not a path that can be embraced by human resolve alone—it requires faith born of grace.

Yet in the midst of this sobering revelation, Jesus leaves Peter with hope through a command rooted in love:

“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”

In other words, though Peter was not yet strong enough to follow Christ to the cross, he would come to understand love through witnessing Christ’s own suffering. The example of Jesus’ sacrificial love would transform him—teaching him what true love is and empowering him to love others in the same way.

Unless a Kernel of Wheat Falls and Dies (John 12:24)

The love of God revealed to a generation that seeks knowledge is this: it is in dying that life multiplies. The secret wisdom proclaimed by Christians is the wisdom of the cross—where life is found only through death, and resurrection is revealed only through the cross.

Thus, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. The true beauty of the life God desires to give remains hidden when it seeks only to preserve itself. But what the Lord shows us is that through suffering and surrender, the beauty of God’s love blossoms into undeniable fruit for many.

Because He suffered and died, our sins were carried, and we were justified. Because He did not remain in the grave but rose victorious over death, we now live in the hope that no power in this world can overcome the power of His love. This is the testimony the apostles bore concerning the cross they witnessed.

1 Peter 2:21–25

To slaves—people who seemed destined only for suffering in this life—Peter did not offer words of rebellion, but words of comfort rooted in Christ. The great majority of believers in the early church were slaves rather than free citizens. Rome had conquered the known world not with gentleness but through domination and enslavement. Historians estimate that there were over 60 million slaves in the Roman Empire—far outnumbering both soldiers and Roman citizens.

What Peter reminded them was this: the path they walked was the very path Christ Himself had taken. Through His obedience in suffering, He displayed the fullness of God’s power before humanity. From suffering born out of love and service, God would bring forth glory through Christ—the power that produces righteousness in the lives of those who witness it. Their sufferings, Peter taught, would become their crowns of glory and the means of healing for many.

Philippians 3:15–17

So Paul exhorts believers in this way: those who are mature should follow his example. Even if some think differently now, Paul expresses confidence that God will make the truth clear to them in time through the testimony of his life and ministry. This was the conviction with which the apostle lived—a life patterned after the cross of Jesus Christ.

During this season of Lent, my hope is that we may be people who, like the apostles, embrace the path of the cross paved by our Lord. As we meditate on His suffering—through prayer, fasting, repentance, and acts of love—may we draw ever closer to Christ. And at the end of these forty days, may we greet the joy of the Resurrection at Easter with hearts that have been deepened, refined, and renewed by the cross.