Christ's Example of Strong Towards Weak

June 10th, 2025
by Lance Waldie

Romans 15:2-3 Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, to his edification. 3 For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.”

Why should Christians care about what others think? Why should we strive to build others up instead of enjoying this short life full of Christian freedoms? Simple. It’s what Jesus Christ did! His followers are His followers only insofar as they follow His example.

To the Philippians, Paul wrote as Christ was loving, so too should His followers be (Phil. 2:2). They should “Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others” (2:3-4). Jesus, though “He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (2:6-8). In writing to the Philippians concerning Christ, his issue with Christians there was that some were seeking “after their own interests, not those of Christ Jesus” (2:21). Likewise, this was his concern in first-century Rome, a concern that exists even today in the modern church.

Paul could have easily quoted many of Christ’s sayings about how He strove to please God and not Himself during His time on earth. Instead, he quotes from Psalm 69:9 where King David (r. 1010-970 BC) wrote of the future Christ, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me”—a Psalm anticipating the Messiah. These words vividly portray a righteous man suffering unjustly at the hands of scoffers who “reproached,” or insulted, God. This certainly has Christ’s crucifixion in view where Jesus endured all of the scorn of unrighteous men for the sake His Father. In essence, the people were rejecting God by rejecting His Son. As Chrysostom (4th century) said: “Jesus had the power not to have been reproached, power not to have suffered what He did suffer, had He minded to look at His own things.” The strong in Rome might not have been enduring insults, per se, but they would eventually suffer great persecution in the coming years for identifying themselves as followers of Christ. The Emperor Nero saw to that as he poured wax over some Christians and used them to light the night as human candles. These Christians were being taught that Christ’s supreme example was a pattern for their own lives.

As an example of how Christ refused to please Himself, on the night He was betrayed, He prayed, “Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was” (John 17:5). Later that night, in Gethsemane, Jesus implored His Father, “If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will” (Matt. 26:39; cf. Heb. 5:7). Clearly, Jesus was interested only in His Father’s glory: “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to accomplish His work” (John 4:34)… “I do not seek My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 5:18, 30)… “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38)... “When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent me is with me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him” (John 8:25, 27-29; cf. 14:31). As Christ did, so must we.

Food For Thought
Paul told the Galatians, “Am I now seeking the favor of men, or of God? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ” (Gal. 1:10). It doesn’t matter what others think, only what God thinks. Let your attitude today be as Christ’s in Philippians 2:3-5.