Tuesday, May 7, 2013
Philippians 2:5 Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus ...
THE MIND OF CHRIST: ACCORDING TO SCRIPTURE
The book/movie "Life of Pi" is at its heart a blasphemy against Christ. Its basic under lying message is that religions are good stories that make people feel better. Nevertheless there are a few quotes from the book which show some insightfulness on the part of the author. At one point the boy, Pi, visits a priest and asks to be told a story. The priest tells him the story of Christ. Pi responds that it was a really good story and he wants to hear another. At which point the priest tells him, "We only have the one story." How true it is that we have only the one story, the story of Christ. From Genesis to Revelation the Bible speaks to us about one thing, who Christ is and what he has done for us. Or we could summarize, "the mind of Christ."
When Jesus said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32), He does not mean that we should memorize and analyze a few Bible passages or even a few hundred. Rather He meant that we should live in the entirety of Scripture. He meant that every word written therein will teach us who He truly is. He meant that the fullness of His word living in our hearts will teach us the forgiveness and mercy of Christ which gives to us the gift to ascend with Him to His Father above.
It is the entirety of Scripture alone which truly teaches us the mind of Christ. Yet, if we had to pick one event which more than others reveal that mind of Christ I would argue for Palm Sunday. It is here where we see both Christ as King and Servant, with authority and in humility, as the giver of life (to Lazarus) and receiver of death, His humiliation and His exaltation. It is no doubt for this very reason that Philippians 2:5-11 is the epistle reading for Palm Sunday and not for Ascension, despite the fact that a large part of it does indeed deal with Christ's ascension and exaltation to the right hand of God. We will therefore consider for the rest of the week, the mind of Christ as He rode.
