He Became Poor

“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”  2 Corinthians 8:9

The doctrine of Christ’s kenosis, or self-emptying, is one of the most amazing of all biblical truths. The extent to which He Who was not only “in the form of God,” but also “[equal] with God,” condescended to “but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men” (Phil. 2:6-7) is utterly beyond human comprehension.

He Who once sat on the throne of the universe came to the earth “lying in a manger” (Luke 2:12). Throughout His public ministry, He had “nowhere to lay His head” (Matt. 8:20). Because He had no money to pay the tax, He had to catch a fish with “a shekel” in its mouth (Matt. 17:27). In His agony at Gethsemane, none of His friends would pray with Him, and when He was arrested, they all “left Him and fled” (Matt. 26:40, 56). No one defended Him and His trial.

On the cross, the soldiers stripped away His only personal possessions - the clothes on His back - and then “divided up His garments among themselves, casting lots for them to decide what each man should take” (Mark 15:24). When He died, His body had to be buried in a tomb belonging to Joseph of Arimathea (Matt. 27:59-60). No home, no money, no possessions, no defenders, not even a tomb of His own in which to lie.

But He had a cross on which to die, and because He was obedient to the death of the cross, “God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name” (Phil. 2:9). Through His poverty, we become rich; through His homelessness, we have a mansion in heaven; through His terrible death on Calvary, we have everlasting life. Yes, we do know the grace of Christ!