The Humiliation of Christ

But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law (Galatians 4:4)

Question 26: Wherein did Christ’s humiliation consist?
Answer: Christ’s humiliation consisted in his being born, and that in a low condition, made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross; in being buried, and continuing under the power of death for a time.

When Spurgeon speaks about the humiliation of Christ, he is referring to the humility of Christ, not the manner in which Christ was mocked or humiliated. Thus, the question that is being asked is how or in what way was the humility of Christ displayed to us. First of all, when we think of humility we tend to think of personality. We tend to think of people who are humble or possess humility as people who are meek and mild-mannered. However, Jesus made a whip and drove people out of the temple. Yet, at the same time he described himself as being “gentle and humble in heart” (Matt 11:29). So then, what does it mean to be humble? Specifically, what does it mean for Christ to be humble? In what way did Christ display his humiliation? Philippians 2:3-4 describe humility as thinking of others as being more important than yourself and looking out not only for your own interests, but for the interests of others.  As Spurgeon explains, Christ did exactly that when he was “made under the law, undergoing the miseries of this life, the wrath of God, and the cursed death of the cross.”  Christ was not obligated to do any of that for us. He did so because he was driven by his love for us and by his humility, his desire and willingness to place our interests above his own. Christ is the quintessential example of humility for us.