Acts 16:12, Philippi was a Roman colony in ancient Macedonia, it was full of retired soldiers, and it was known for its patriotic nationalism. Paul faced resistance, when he was announcing Jesus as the true King of the world, and after Paul moved on from there, those who became followers of Jesus continued to suffer resistance and even persecution, but they remained a vibrant community, faithful to the way of Jesus. For a very practical reason, the Philippians had sent one of their members Epaphroditus to take a financial gift to Paul to support him in prison. Paul, with a prayer of gratefulness, he thanks God for the Philippine’s generosity, for their faithfulness and he expresses his confidence that the life transforming work that God has begun in them will continue into greater and more beautiful expressions for faithfulness and love.
Paul focuses on their obvious concern at the moment, which is his status in prison, but paradoxically, it has turned out for good to advance the good news about Jesus, all of the Roman guards, the administrators all know that Paul is in prison for announcing Jesus as the risen Lord. Paul’s imprisonment has inspired confidence in other Christians to talk about Jesus more openly. Paul is optimistic he will be released from prison, but it is possible that he could be executed. As Paul reflects on it, that actually would not be so bad, because “for me” life is the King, so dying would be a gain. For Paul, his life in the present and in the future is defined by the life and love of Jesus for him. Dying for Jesus is not the true sacrifice for Paul, rather, it is staying alive to serve others, that’s his way of participating in the story of Jesus, to suffer in order to love others more than himself. Paul urges the Philippians to participate in Jesus’ example by taking up the same mindset, their life as citizens should be consistent with the good news about the King. These Christians in Philippi were living in a hotbed of Roman patriotism, but their way of life was to be shaped by another King Jesus and that might bring persecution, but they are not to be afraid, because suffering for being associated with Jesus is a way of living out the story of Jesus himself.
Before becoming human, Jesus pre-existed in a state of glory and equality with God and unlike Adam, who tried to seize equality with God, Jesus chose not to exploit his equal status for his self-advantage. Rather, Jesus emptied himself of status, he became a human, he became a servant to all, and even more than that, he allowed himself to be humiliated. Jesus was obedient to the Father by going to his death on a Roman execution rack, but through God’s power and grace, the King’s shameful death has been reversed through the resurrection. Now, God has highly exalted Jesus as the King of all, bestowing upon him the name, that is above all names, so that all creation should recognize that Jesus, the King is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In the crucified and risen Jesus, we discover that the one true God of Israel, consists of God the Father and the Lord Jesus. The example of Jesus as a way of life, that his followers are to imitate, Timothy is like Jesus, because he is constantly concerned for the well-being of other people, more than his own. Epaphroditus, he ended up risking his life to serve Paul in prison, he got so sick, he almost died trying to help Paul, but God had mercy on him and Paul by sparing him the loss of a friend. Paul’s point here is that these are the kinds of people who are living breathing examples of the story of Jesus, they are worthy of imitation.
Paul turns to his own story as an example, those Christians who had been demanding circumcision of non-Jewish Christians, these people are still stirring up trouble for Paul, they keep reminding him of his own past, when he used to persecute Jesus’ followers, when he tried to show his right standing before God by his zealous obedience to the laws of the Torah. But, like Jesus, Paul has given up all of that status and privilege, he now regards all of it as filth, he has given it all up to become a servant like Jesus, to participate in his suffering and sacrificial love, and he does all of it in the hope that Jesus’ love will carry him through death and out the other side into resurrection. Paul’s saying that for followers of Jesus, our true citizenship is in heaven, which for Paul, does not mean that we should all hope to get away from earth and go to heaven one day. Rather, heaven is the transcendent place where Jesus reigns as King, we are eagerly awaiting our royal Savior to come from there and return here to bring his Kingdom of healing justice and transforming love, to bring about a new creation.
Paul challenges the Philippians to keep living out the Jesus story, he addresses two prominent women leaders in the church who worked alongside him, they are in some kind of conflict. Paul pleads with them to follow Jesus’ example of humility, to reconcile and become unified. Paul urges the Philippians not to give in to fear, but despite their persecution, to vent all of their emotion and their needs to God, who will give them peace, that peace comes by focusing our thoughts on what is good and true and lovely. There is always something that we could complain about, but a follower of Jesus knows that all of life is a gift and can choose to see beauty and grace in any life circumstance.
Paul thanks the Philippians for their sacrificial gift, he wants them to know that his imprisonments, that his times of poverty are not true hardships for him, they have actually become his greatest teachers, showing him that no matter his circumstances, he has learned the secret of contentment, it is simple dependence on the one who strengthens him. Paul has come to see his own suffering as a participation in the story of Jesus. Paul’s reasoning to the Philippians gives us a unique window into Paul’s own heart and mind, he saw his entire life as a reenactment of the story of Jesus, his awareness that Jesus’ love and presence is closer than his own skin, that is what gave him hope and humility in his darkest hours. Paul shows us that knowing Jesus is always a deeply personal transforming encounter, that is the kind of Jesus that Paul invites others to follow.
Paul focuses on their obvious concern at the moment, which is his status in prison, but paradoxically, it has turned out for good to advance the good news about Jesus, all of the Roman guards, the administrators all know that Paul is in prison for announcing Jesus as the risen Lord. Paul’s imprisonment has inspired confidence in other Christians to talk about Jesus more openly. Paul is optimistic he will be released from prison, but it is possible that he could be executed. As Paul reflects on it, that actually would not be so bad, because “for me” life is the King, so dying would be a gain. For Paul, his life in the present and in the future is defined by the life and love of Jesus for him. Dying for Jesus is not the true sacrifice for Paul, rather, it is staying alive to serve others, that’s his way of participating in the story of Jesus, to suffer in order to love others more than himself. Paul urges the Philippians to participate in Jesus’ example by taking up the same mindset, their life as citizens should be consistent with the good news about the King. These Christians in Philippi were living in a hotbed of Roman patriotism, but their way of life was to be shaped by another King Jesus and that might bring persecution, but they are not to be afraid, because suffering for being associated with Jesus is a way of living out the story of Jesus himself.
Before becoming human, Jesus pre-existed in a state of glory and equality with God and unlike Adam, who tried to seize equality with God, Jesus chose not to exploit his equal status for his self-advantage. Rather, Jesus emptied himself of status, he became a human, he became a servant to all, and even more than that, he allowed himself to be humiliated. Jesus was obedient to the Father by going to his death on a Roman execution rack, but through God’s power and grace, the King’s shameful death has been reversed through the resurrection. Now, God has highly exalted Jesus as the King of all, bestowing upon him the name, that is above all names, so that all creation should recognize that Jesus, the King is Lord to the glory of God the Father. In the crucified and risen Jesus, we discover that the one true God of Israel, consists of God the Father and the Lord Jesus. The example of Jesus as a way of life, that his followers are to imitate, Timothy is like Jesus, because he is constantly concerned for the well-being of other people, more than his own. Epaphroditus, he ended up risking his life to serve Paul in prison, he got so sick, he almost died trying to help Paul, but God had mercy on him and Paul by sparing him the loss of a friend. Paul’s point here is that these are the kinds of people who are living breathing examples of the story of Jesus, they are worthy of imitation.
Paul turns to his own story as an example, those Christians who had been demanding circumcision of non-Jewish Christians, these people are still stirring up trouble for Paul, they keep reminding him of his own past, when he used to persecute Jesus’ followers, when he tried to show his right standing before God by his zealous obedience to the laws of the Torah. But, like Jesus, Paul has given up all of that status and privilege, he now regards all of it as filth, he has given it all up to become a servant like Jesus, to participate in his suffering and sacrificial love, and he does all of it in the hope that Jesus’ love will carry him through death and out the other side into resurrection. Paul’s saying that for followers of Jesus, our true citizenship is in heaven, which for Paul, does not mean that we should all hope to get away from earth and go to heaven one day. Rather, heaven is the transcendent place where Jesus reigns as King, we are eagerly awaiting our royal Savior to come from there and return here to bring his Kingdom of healing justice and transforming love, to bring about a new creation.
Paul challenges the Philippians to keep living out the Jesus story, he addresses two prominent women leaders in the church who worked alongside him, they are in some kind of conflict. Paul pleads with them to follow Jesus’ example of humility, to reconcile and become unified. Paul urges the Philippians not to give in to fear, but despite their persecution, to vent all of their emotion and their needs to God, who will give them peace, that peace comes by focusing our thoughts on what is good and true and lovely. There is always something that we could complain about, but a follower of Jesus knows that all of life is a gift and can choose to see beauty and grace in any life circumstance.
Paul thanks the Philippians for their sacrificial gift, he wants them to know that his imprisonments, that his times of poverty are not true hardships for him, they have actually become his greatest teachers, showing him that no matter his circumstances, he has learned the secret of contentment, it is simple dependence on the one who strengthens him. Paul has come to see his own suffering as a participation in the story of Jesus. Paul’s reasoning to the Philippians gives us a unique window into Paul’s own heart and mind, he saw his entire life as a reenactment of the story of Jesus, his awareness that Jesus’ love and presence is closer than his own skin, that is what gave him hope and humility in his darkest hours. Paul shows us that knowing Jesus is always a deeply personal transforming encounter, that is the kind of Jesus that Paul invites others to follow.