"Jesus Shows Us the Way Down" (April 26, 2026 Sermon)

Jesus Shows Us the Way Down

Rev. Dr. Stephen M. Fearing

Guilford Park Presbyterian Church

Fourth Sunday of Easter — Sunday, April 26, 2026

Text: Philippians 2

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The Temptation to Climb

We spend so much of our lives trying to get to “the top.” In a culture that measures success by the number of followers on social media, the amount of money in your bank account, or the political power you’ve accumulated, getting ahead of everyone else can seem like the whole point. Of course, for there to even be someone at “the top,” there have to be others—many others—below. Our hyper-individualistic society teaches us to see those people not as neighbors to love, but as obstacles to pass by, or worse, as failures to blame for not pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and fighting for the top like everyone else. It is a cruel vision of the world, and for most of us, it is all too familiar. And tempting as it may be to think this is just one more symptom of modern life, Paul reminds us in Philippians that the temptation to measure our worth by status, power, and self-advancement is nothing new.

We know this because Paul makes a significant pivot after the first chapter of his letter, which we explored two weeks ago. In that opening, Paul exudes warmth, tenderness, and affection. From the depths of his cold, dark, and dank prison cell, he encourages his readers, then and now, to live lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ and not to let the joy they find in Jesus depend on their daily circumstances, whether favorable or miserable. Then, in chapter two, Paul pivots from thanksgiving and encouragement to exhortation.

Reading any of Paul’s letters is like reading one half of a conversation. You and I aren’t privy to what prompted the content of his letters, but we have context clues that hint at what was going on that led him to write them. Our first clue is found in verse two of chapter two when he says the following: “Be of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Do nothing from selfish ambition or empty conceit, but in humility regard others as better than yourselves. Let each of you look not to your own interests but to the interests of others.” These words suggest that the Philippian church—or at least some within it—had begun to absorb the world’s obsession with getting to the top.

Paul Sings Instead of Scolds

And it’s important to note that Paul doesn’t wag a finger. He doesn’t admonish. He doesn’t shame or guilt. Instead, he sings. He sings a hymn of the early church, one sung by the followers of Jesus long before there were hymnals, sanctuaries, or pews. Paul sings because he knew then what you and I know now: that hymns are a powerful way to embody shared theology and to counter dangerous ideologies that threaten the unity and faithfulness of the Church.

Though we didn’t print it this way in the bulletin because it wouldn’t fit, most Bibles will show a switch from prose to poetry in verse six of chapter two. That is, of course, when the hymn begins. Most scholars think Paul is quoting a hymn that the early church already knew by heart.

We do not know the tune that carried this hymn through the house churches of the early church, but we do know the words:

Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus,

who, though he existed in the form of God,
did not regard equality with God
as something to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
taking the form of a slave,
assuming human likeness.
And being found in appearance as a human,
he humbled himself
and became obedient to the point of death—
even death on a cross.

Therefore God exalted him even more highly
and gave him the name
that is above every other name,
so that at the name given to Jesus
every knee should bend,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth,
and every tongue should confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the Father.

The Way Down

Notice what this hymn does not give us. It does not give us a Jesus who grasps for power, clings to status, or uses his equality with God as a weapon to dominate, coerce, or crush. Though he is, so to speak, at “the top,” the Jesus of whom Paul sings has no interest in the kind of power so many of us spend our lives chasing.

Paul, instead, gives us a Jesus who shows us the way down.

And that matters, because there is no shortage of distorted visions of Jesus in our country. There is a version of Jesus preached in our nation that is obsessed with dominance, control, spectacle, and grievance—a Jesus draped in the symbols of national power, a Jesus remade in the image of empire. But that is not the Jesus of Philippians 2. The Jesus Paul sings about does not seize power. He empties himself. He does not crush his enemies. He takes the form of a servant. He does not climb higher. He stoops lower. Because it’s impossible to wash someone’s feet when you put your energies into climbing above them.

And before we imagine this is only someone else’s temptation, we ought to be honest enough to admit that we all prefer the way up. We all want the Jesus who will justify our pride, baptize our ambition, and bless our need to come out on top. But Paul will not let us settle for that kind of savior. He points us instead to the crucified and self-emptying Christ, and says: “Let the same mind be in you that was in Christ Jesus.”

Timothy and Epaphroditus

And lest we imagine that the “mind of Christ” is too lofty, too poetic, or too far beyond us, Paul offers something refreshingly practical. He points to two people the Philippians know by name: Timothy and Epaphroditus. In them, the church is invited to see what Christ-shaped humility, concern, and self-giving service can look like in ordinary human life.

We spoke briefly about Epaphroditus a few weeks ago. You may remember him as a member of the church in Philippi who was sent to bring Paul provisions, comfort, and solidarity during his imprisonment. While caring for Paul, Epaphroditus became seriously ill, nearly to the point of death. Thankfully, he recovered, and Paul sent him back to Philippi with the very letter we’re exploring over these four weeks. Here, Epaphroditus becomes a living model of the self-emptying love Paul sings of in the Christ hymn.

While we don’t have as many specific details about Timothy as we do about Epaphroditus, Paul speaks of him with equal trust and tenderness. He speaks of Timothy with an almost parental tone, emphasizing that he is not one who seeks his own interest but rather acts in the interest of others. In other words, Timothy becomes a flesh-and-blood picture of the mind of Christ: not grasping for status, not seeking his own advantage, but pouring himself out in genuine concern for others.

Of course, Timothy and Epaphroditus are not the only people Paul holds up as examples of gospel faithfulness. In this very letter, Paul later names Euodia and Syntyche as women who “struggled beside” him in the work of the gospel. Paul’s letters are full of women — Phoebe, Prisca, Junia, Lydia, and others — whose faithfulness helped carry the early church forward. But here, in this moment, Paul points to Timothy and Epaphroditus as two beloved siblings whose ordinary faithfulness makes the mind of Christ visible. They are not celebrities of the early church. They are not grasping for the top. They are simply people whose lives have been shaped by the way of Jesus.

The Jesus We Seek to Follow

And that is who we seek to be at Guilford Park Presbyterian Church: imperfect saints whose lives are shaped by the way of Jesus. A Jesus who shows us the way down. A Jesus who invites but doesn’t impose; who serves rather than shows off; who frees rather than fearmongers. A Jesus who cares less about whether the 10 Commandments are posted in a classroom and more about whether the kids in that same classroom are free from gun violence and hunger. A Jesus who is less impressed by someone reading the Bible for show than by a life spent loving their neighbor. A Jesus who doesn’t sow fear but instead plants mercy and compassion. That’s the way down. That’s the Jesus we find in Philippians. That’s the Jesus you and I are called to model each and every day of our lives.

A Jesus who invites but doesn’t impose; who serves rather than shows off; who frees rather than fearmongers.

Towel in Hand

Because, ultimately, you and I have a choice. We can choose to fill ourselves with the endless search for influence, political power, and domination. Or, we can fill ourselves with something different: a love that kneels at the feet of our neighbors, towel in hand, ready to serve. So in that light, we will do exactly what Paul does in this passage: we’re going to sing a song of the church that reminds us how to let the same mind be in us that was in Christ Jesus. Together, let us close this sermon by singing “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us With Your Love.”

[sing together “Jesu, Jesu, Fill Us With Your Love,” text by Tom Colvin, 1969]

In the name of our savior who shows us the way down, let all of us, God’s children, say: Amen.