In Isaiah 28:16, in what is one of the great messianic prophecies, our Lord is referred to as a precious cornerstone. The truth is, everything about Jesus is precious. For the next five nights, I want us to look at some of the precious things about Jesus. Let us begin by considering the precious poverty of Jesus. We should be thankful every day that Jesus was willing to give up the riches of heaven and be made poor for us.

2 Corinthians 8:9 (ESV)
9 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 by his poverty might become rich.

In heaven Jesus was rich. All things were His because He created all things. Paul said, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him” (Colossians 1:16). But Jesus was not rich simply because of His physical creation. He was rich in glory as well. In heaven Jesus was clothed with the glory of deity and all the honor and power that went along with that (John 1:1). Now, Jesus never stopped being deity. He was divine before, during, and after His incarnation. A divine being can never stop being divine, no matter what form He takes. However, when Jesus was here on earth, He did give up His glory. Towards the end of His stay here on earth, Jesus prayed, “…Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed” (John 17:5). He gave that glory up by taking on humanity in a flesh and blood body. That is how He became poor. He made Himself of no reputation (Philippians 2:7). When Jesus was in heaven, there was no doubt who He was. Every inhabitant in heaven gave Jesus the respect that He deserved because they knew He was God. However, the moment He came to this world, He sacrificed that. People on earth did not look at Him and say, “that is God.” No, they viewed him as an ordinary person. He was just Mary and Joseph’s son. What a difference from how Jesus was viewed when He was in heaven. This makes the NIV translation of Philippians 2:7 very fitting. It says that Jesus “made Himself nothing…” But that is not all the verse says. It tells us exactly how Jesus made Himself nothing. He did it “by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.” What a sacrifice! Jesus was in a perfect, glorified body and state of being, but He exchanged it for a state of poverty. It was the only way for Him to become the propitiation for our sins (Romans 3:25; 1 John 2:2; 4:10).

When we think of the sacrifice of Christ, we mostly think about the cross and all the agony associated with it. We most certainly should think of the great event that took place on the cross. In fact, we are commanded by God to partake of the fruit of the vine every Lord’s day in remembrance of our Savior’s shed blood (1 Corinthians 11:25). But, let us not forget that we first partake of the bread that symbolizes the body of Christ. Without the body, there could be no shedding of blood for the forgiveness of our sins. Without the body there could be no offering that leads us to a place of sanctification (Hebrews 10:10). Thank God Jesus was willing to give up so much. Thank God He was willing to be made poor so that we, by His poverty, might be rich. If you want to know something about the willingness to sacrifice, look unto Jesus and consider the preciousness of the poverty that He was willing to take upon Himself. No one ever sacrificed more.

As you wind down for the night, think on these things.