The One Who Fills the Universe Emptied Himself

If you’re “full of yourself,” you are prideful, and there’s no room for anyone else, not even for God. I guess that pride allows you to love only you. To love someone else requires making room for others, an emptying, maybe even a humbling, submitting yourself to make someone else’s needs more important than your own. So the God who fills the universe paradoxically “emptied Himself” (Philippians 2:7) out of love, putting aside all that was rightfully His in order to make room for us. “God proves His love for us in this, that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8.

Homely?

Did He look like this? Probably not.

“He had no stately form or majesty. That we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him.” Isaiah 53:2

Let’s face it, it’s hard to think of Jesus as physically unattractive, or maybe even homely.

We do not know the specifics of what Jesus looked like, but this scripture seems to suggest that He was not notably handsome. Why? The world system puts great stock in physical attractiveness. If you are extra handsome or beautiful, you have a good chance of becoming a movie star or a model, a politician or charismatic leader, a successful salesperson, or at least the object of many prolonged stares.

Jesus’s lack of “stately form,” “majesty,” or “attractive appearance” was part of the plan. This passage from Isaiah implies that those who followed Jesus were attracted to His person, to unseen fire, the power, the “charisma” of the Holy Spirit’s anointing.

In many of our meditations, we have been glimpsing the pure beauty of holiness, the majesty of His very presence, the awesome light of His glory. Yet when the Living Word of God is made flesh, what happens? He chooses not to be attractive physically (or rich or educated or any rational explanation for his drawing huge crowds). In this meditation, we get a glimpse of His humility.