Humiliation of Christ
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The Humiliation of Christ is a Protestant Christian doctrine that consists of the rejection and suffering that
Jesus Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...
received and accepted, according to Christian belief. Within it are included his
incarnation Incarnation literally means ''embodied in flesh'' or ''taking on flesh''. It refers to the conception and the embodiment of a deity or spirit in some earthly form or the appearance of a god as a human. If capitalized, it is the union of divinit ...
,
suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...
,
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
,
burial Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...
, and sometimes
descent into hell In Christian theology, the Harrowing of Hell ( la, Descensus Christi ad Inferos, "the descent of Christ into Hell" or Hades) is an Old English and Middle English term referring to the period of time between the Crucifixion of Jesus and his re ...
.


State of humiliation

Calvinist theology draws a distinction between Christ's "state of humiliation", which consisted of his
suffering Suffering, or pain in a broad sense, may be an experience of unpleasantness or aversion, possibly associated with the perception of harm or threat of harm in an individual. Suffering is the basic element that makes up the negative valence of a ...
and
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
, and his "state of exaltation", which consisted of his
resurrection Resurrection or anastasis is the concept of coming back to life after death. In a number of religions, a dying-and-rising god is a deity which dies and is resurrected. Reincarnation is a similar process hypothesized by other religions, which ...
, ascension, and heavenly session. According to the
Westminster Shorter Catechism The Westminster Shorter Catechism is a catechism written in 1646 and 1647 by the Westminster Assembly, a synod of English and Scottish theologians and laymen intended to bring the Church of England into greater conformity with the Church of Scot ...
, 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." The distinction between the states of humiliation and exaltation does present difficulties in explaining the idea that Christ won a victory on the cross.
Peter Leithart Peter James Leithart (born 1959) is an American author, minister, and theologian, who serves as president of Theopolis Institute for Biblical, Liturgical, & Cultural Studies in Birmingham, Alabama. He previously served as Senior Fellow of Theology ...
notes that while the cross and resurrection are often thought of as a "U-shaped series of events",
John's gospel The Gospel of John ( grc, Εὐαγγέλιον κατὰ Ἰωάννην, translit=Euangélion katà Iōánnēn) is the fourth of the four canonical gospels. It contains a highly schematic account of the ministry of Jesus, with seven "sig ...
, with its emphasis on the cross as the being the glorification of Christ (John 12:23), "pictures the death, resurrection, and ascension as points along a straight line, with a steep positive slope. The cross is not stairway that leads down, but the first step of a stairway whose head reaches into the heavens."


Biblical basis

The belief of this comes from several places in the
Bible The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
. One passage says Christians interpret this as referring to the later coming of Jesus. The
Epistle to the Philippians The Epistle to the Philippians is a Pauline epistle of the New Testament of the Christian Bible. The epistle is attributed to Paul the Apostle and Timothy is named with him as co-author or co-sender. The letter is addressed to the Christian chu ...
in the Christian New Testament reads: (See
kenosis In Christian theology, ''kenosis'' () is the 'self-emptying' of Jesus. The word () is used in Philippians 2:7: " made himself nothing" ( NIV), or " eemptied himself" ( NRSV), using the verb form (), meaning "to empty". The exact meaning vari ...
.)


Examples of humiliation

* Christ was put to shame at his birth. The Christian belief is that
God In monotheism, monotheistic thought, God is usually viewed as the supreme being, creator deity, creator, and principal object of Faith#Religious views, faith.Richard Swinburne, Swinburne, R.G. "God" in Ted Honderich, Honderich, Ted. (ed)''The Ox ...
could do anything, so the question is asked, "Why was Christ made so lowly by being born in a stable and laid upon a manger?" * Herod sent out soldiers to kill him. Jesus was saved from death as a mere baby by a miracle. The Christian belief is that this was God. * Christ was rejected by his own town's synagogue. He read from
Isaiah Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named. Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
and the people rejected him. Jesus stated that no prophet was accepted in his own town. The people were filled with wrath and tried to kill him. * Christ was put to shame for doing miracles such as casting demons out of men. * Jesus was rejected by his own people in favour of
Barabbas Barabbas (; ) was, according to the New Testament, a prisoner who was chosen over Jesus by the crowd in Jerusalem to be pardoned and released by Roman governor Pontius Pilate at the Passover feast. Biblical account According to all four canoni ...
, a criminal. He was then spat upon, beaten and mocked by the
Roman soldiers This is a list of Roman army units and bureaucrats. *'' Accensus'' – Light infantry men in the armies of the early Roman Republic, made up of the poorest men of the army. *'' Actuarius'' – A military who served food. *''Adiutor'' – A camp o ...
. * The ultimate form of humiliation, Christ was
crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...
while being mocked.


Humility

In
Early Christianity Early Christianity (up to the First Council of Nicaea in 325) spread from the Levant, across the Roman Empire, and beyond. Originally, this progression was closely connected to already established Jewish centers in the Holy Land and the Jewish ...
, the prevalent view of Jesus was based on the '' Kyrios image'' ( el, κύριος) as "the Lord and Master", e.g. in his Transfiguration. In the 13th century a major turning point was the development of the "tender image of Jesus" as the
Franciscans , image = FrancescoCoA PioM.svg , image_size = 200px , caption = A cross, Christ's arm and Saint Francis's arm, a universal symbol of the Franciscans , abbreviation = OFM , predecessor = , ...
began to emphasize his humility from birth in a humble setting to his death on the cross. The
Nativity scene In the Christianity, Christian tradition, a nativity scene (also known as a manger scene, crib, crèche ( or ), or in Italian language, Italian ''presepio'' or ''presepe'', or Bethlehem) is the special exhibition, particularly during the Christ ...
promoted by Saint
Francis of Assisi Giovanni di Pietro di Bernardone, better known as Saint Francis of Assisi ( it, Francesco d'Assisi; – 3 October 1226), was a mystic Italian Catholic friar, founder of the Franciscans, and one of the most venerated figures in Christianit ...
portrayed a softer image of Jesus. The concept that the omnipotent Creator would set aside all power in order to conquer the hearts of men by love and that he would have been helplessly placed in a manger was touching to the believers as that of the sacrifice of dying on the cross in Calvary.


See also

* Exaltation of Christ


References

{{Reflist Christian terminology Christology