Royalty Aside

I noticed today in a fresh way a unique parallel of the life of Moses with the life of Christ. I guess I’ve seen it before, but today I saw it in a fresh way. I’m reading through the book of Hebrews right now in my Bible study time – such an awesome book that connects the Old Testament with the newer one. These verses jumped out at me.

“By faith Moses, when he had grown up, refused to be called the son of Pharaoh’s daughter and chose to suffer with the people of God rather than to enjoy the short-lived pleasure of sin” (Hebrews 11:24-25).

What struck me in a new way was imagining the vast glamour and royalty of the great Egyptian empire that Moses could have been endowed with his entire life. The son of Pharaoh’s daughter. The prince. That’s a pretty important position. One of prestige and honor. A position that anyone in his right mind would take full advantage of. Instead Moses laid it aside in order to suffer the same fate as his Hebrew brothers and sisters – to be one of them.

Sound familiar? Philippians 2:6-7 says speaking of Jesus Christ, “who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied Himself by assuming the form of a slave . . .” Christ laid aside the royalty that He was due and counted it as no advantage in order that He might suffer and die for humanity. He laid aside the royal robes of heaven to take up the dusty robes of a carpenter.

And what does this say about me and you? How often do we want our agenda? How many times do we use everything at our disposal to our advantage, no matter how innocent it may seem? How many times do we try to flaunt the robes of what credentials we might have, rather than laying them aside in humility as our Lord did? For me, it's far too often.

Jesus, thank you for the self-humiliation you endured – for your selflessness in laying aside your royalty to suffer as a common criminal, without which, I would still be lost in my sin.