Philippians 2:8 8And being found in human appearance, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.
This verse clarifies the outcome of Jesus’ humbling from verse 7. The verse number division is not helpful because the sentence actually begins with the last phrase of verse 7 and continues through verse 8. The word for appearance (schēmati) is different than the one for form in the previous two verses. It can refer to the outward form or how a thing looks. The use of the word here leaves room for Jesus’ divinity to remain in some fashion. The following reference to death also shows that this word is not simply making Jesus a phantom who appeared human but was not. His humanity was proven by his death. Spirits, ghosts, or phantoms do not bleed and die. Rather, the word shows that Jesus was fully human.
There are many ways that Jesus as the Son of God became human. Obviously, there is the physical aspect, since he had all the bodily functions of a human. He also entered time, which means he was born at a specific moment, grew up, and had the end point of death. His resurrection proved his divinity because he overcame the effects of time and returned to the reality of eternity (Romans 1:4). Jesus also faced the spiritual challenges we face with temptation. Because he was human, there was always the potential that he could have sinned, but because of her faith in his Heavenly Father, he overcame all temptations and lived without sin. And so, he set the perfect example for us to follow.
The part of Jesus’ humanity Paul emphasizes is his humility. The aorist tense of the verb humbled (etapeinōsen) points back to the historical moment of Jesus’ death on the cross. This was the most vivid example of humility because he was innocent of any sin and did not deserve death. Rather, as Isaiah the prophet writes, “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement that brought us peace was upon him, and we are healed with his wounds” (Isaiah 53:5). He became our substitute for God’s justice. Jesus’ innocence made him the perfect and only sacrifice worthy to deal with the problem of sin.
His humility vividly appears while he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Matthew 26:39, 42). His humility was proven by his obedience to follow the will of the Father. He had total faith in the promise of the Father that resurrection would follow three days later. He faced humanity’s greatest fear–death. Whereas Adam gave in to temptation and disobeyed God, Jesus obeyed when faced with temptation. Jesus reversed the curse of Adam and has opened the way for all other people to find forgiveness of our past sins, cleansing from the power and root of sin, and power for victory over temptation. His death provides the only access to eternal life.
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