advent

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 19, Jesus Emptied Himself

Posted on December 14, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Barnes’ Notes explains the ’emptying’

The word does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament, except in the passage before us. The essential idea is that of bringing to emptiness, vanity, or nothingness; and, hence, it is applied to a case where one lays aside his rank and dignity, and becomes in respect to that as nothing; that is, he assumes a more humble rank and station.
In regard to its meaning here, we may remark:

(1) that it cannot mean that he literally divested himself of his divine nature and perfections, for that was impossible. He could not cease to be omnipotent, and omnipresent, and most holy, and true, and good.

(2) it is conceivable that he might have laid aside, for a time, the symbols or the manifestation of his glory, or that the outward expressions of his majesty in heaven might have been withdrawn. It is conceivable for a divine being to intermit the exercise of his almighty power, since it cannot be supposed that God is always exerting his power to the utmost. And in like manner there might be for a time a laying aside or intermitting of these manifestations or symbols, which were expressive of the divine glory and perfections. Yet,

(3) this supposes no change in the divine nature, or in the essential glory of the divine perfections. When the sun is obscured by a cloud, or in an eclipse, there is no real change of its glory, nor are his beams extinguished, nor is the sun himself in any measure changed. His luster is only for a time obscured.

Further Reading

GTY Sermon series: Christ humbled, Christ exalted

The Greek verb translated “emptied” (keno[ma]o) is where we get the theological term kenosis: the doctrine of Christ’s self-emptying as a part of His incarnation. The verb expresses Christ’s self-renunciation, His refusal to cling to His advantages and privileges as God. The God who has a right to everything and who is fully satisfied within Himself emptied Himself.

GotQuestions: What is the Kenosis?

Notice that Philippians 2:7 does not specify what the Son of God “emptied” Himself of. And here we must be careful not to go beyond what Scripture says. Jesus did not empty Himself of His divine attributes—no such attributes are mentioned in the verse, and it is obvious in the gospels that Jesus possessed the power and wisdom of God. Calming the storm is just one display of Jesus’ divine power (Mark 4:39). In coming to earth, the Son of God did not cease to be God, and He did not become a “lesser god.” Whatever the “emptying” entailed, Jesus remained fully God: “in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form” (Colossians 2:9).

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Thirty Days of Jesus Series, Overview-

Introduction/Background

Prophecies:

Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive
Day 2: A shoot from Jesse
Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time
Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son

Birth & Early Life-

Day 5: The Babe has arrived!
Day 6: The Glory of Jesus
Day 7: Magi seek the Child
Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship
Day 9: The Child Grew
Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple
Day 11: He was Obedient
Day 12: The Son!
Day 13: God is pleased with His Son

The Second Person of the Trinity-

Day 14: Propitiation
Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life
Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light
Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence
Day 18: The Highest King

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 18, The Highest King

Posted on December 13, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We are flowing through a section of verses which focus on Jesus as the Second Person of the Trinity.

Further Reading

Though the verse is literally speaking about King David, the relation of David to Christ means the verse also prefigures the preeminence of King Jesus. The throne, through David’s line, would last forever through Christ.

Spurgeon, Treasury of David:

Verse 27. Also I will make him my firstborn… Among the kings the seed of David were to be most favoured and indulged with most love and paternal regard from God: but in Jesus we see this in the highest degree verified, for he has preeminence in all things, inasmuch as by inheritance he has a more glorious name than any other, and is higher than the kings of the earth. Who can rival heaven’s Firstborn? The double portion and the government belong to him. Kings are honoured when they honour him, and those who honour him are kings! In the millennial glory it shall be seen what the covenant stores up for the once despised Son of David, but even now faith sees him exalted as King of kings and Lord of lords. Lo, we bow before thee, thou Heir of all things! Our sheaves do obeisance to thy sheaf. All thy mother’s children call thee blessed. Thou art he whom thy brethren shall praise. Jesus is no servant of princes, nor would he have his bride, the church, degrade herself by bowing before kings and eating the bread of a pensioner at their hands. He and his kingdom are higher than the kings of the earth. Let the great ones of the earth be wise and submit to him, for he is Lord, and he is the governor among the nations.

Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Also I will make him my first-born – He shall be regarded and treated by me as the first-born son is in a family; that is, with distinguished favor and honor. Compare Genesis 27:19; Genesis 29:26; Exodus 4:22; Exodus 13:12; Jeremiah 31:9. See also the notes at Colossians 1:15, notes at Colossians 1:18.

Gill’s Exposition says,

Also I will make him my firstborn,…. Or, “make him the firstborn”; make him great, as Jarchi interprets it; give him the blessing, the double portion of inheritance: so Christ is made most blessed for ever, and has all spiritual blessings in his hands; and is heir of all things, and his people joint-heirs with him. Christ is God’s “firstborn”, or “first begotten”, Hebrews 1:6, being begotten by him, and of him; … even him the Father promises to make “higher than the kings of the earth”; having a kingdom of a superior nature to theirs, and a more extensive and durable one; and even they themselves shall be subject to him; hence he is called “King of kings”, Revelation 19:16.

The King of Kings shall reign forever, His Kingdom shall endure!

Thirty Days of Jesus Series-

Introduction/Background
Day 1: The Virgin shall conceive
Day 2: A shoot from Jesse
Day 3: God sent His Son in the fullness of time
Day 4: Marry her, she will bear a Son
Day 5: The Babe has arrived!
Day 6: The Glory of Jesus
Day 7: Magi seek the Child
Day 8: The Magi Offer gifts & worship
Day 9: The Child Grew
Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple
Day 11: He was Obedient
Day 12: The Son!
Day 13: God is pleased with His Son
Day 14: Propitiation
Day 15: The Gift of Eternal Life
Day 16: Kingdom of Darkness to Light
Day 17: Jesus’ Preeminence

theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 17, Jesus’ Preeminence

Posted on December 12, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

PREEMINENCE OF THE SON, HIS WORKS & MINISTRY

This section of the Advent flow of verses I’ve selected focus Him as the Second Person of the Trinity. Christ is preeminent. Always and forever.

Let us exult in verses which proclaim a truth that should enlarge our heart and shake our soul with wonder.

Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus, Day 16, Kingdom of Darkness to Light

Posted on December 11, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

People who are unsaved have no idea that they live in the kingdom of darkness. They believe all is well and go on with their lives, suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. Once a person is given the grace of becoming aware of their sin, and the spirit of repentance is bestowed upon them, their eyes are opened to the reality of their pitiful state. Without Jesus, there is no hope. All is dark, because HE is the Light.

Further Reading

Has Satan been given dominion over the earth until Jesus returns? If so, why was he given this authority?

Grace Gems: Deliverance from the power of darkness
What is the power of darkness, and how God delivers us from it. The Apostle speaks of “the power of darkness.” I shall, therefore, with God’s blessing, explain first what “darkness” is, and then enter into the meaning of the expression “the power of darkness.”

theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent, Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 13, God is pleased with His Son

Posted on December 8, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

From Day 12-16 we are looking at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son. Yesterday we read the scripture from John 3:16, how God so loved the world that He sent His only begotten Son. Today we read how God was pleased with His Son whom He sent.

Jesus has been incarnated and ill-treated. (Herod’s aim to wipe Him out caused the cataclysmic genocide of all children in the region under the age of two).

While growing up, Jesus was obedient in all things to his earthly parents. God was pleased with this. Now is the time where Jesus emerges on mission to seek and save the lost. He is baptized by John.

In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. And immediately coming up out of the water, He saw the heavens opening, and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon Him; and a voice came from the heavens: “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.” (Mark 1:9-11).

Just think, a nexus point on earth where all three Persons of the Trinity were congregated, initiating the extraordinary plan of God to save His people.

And so begins the most incredible period of time on earth there ever was.

thirty days of jesus day 13

Further Reading

Gill’s Exposition: God is pleased
in whom I am well pleased. Jehovah the Father took infinite delight and pleasure in him as his own Son, who lay in his bosom before all worlds; and was well pleased with him in his office relation, and capacity: he was both well pleased in him as his Son, and delighted in him as his servant, Isaiah 42:1 he was pleased with his assumption of human nature; with his whole obedience to the law; and with his bearing the penalty and curse of it, in the room and stead of his people: he was well pleased with and for his righteousness, sacrifice and atonement; whereby his law was fulfilled, and his justice satisfied. God is not only well pleased in, and with his Son, but with all his people, as considered in him; in him he loves them, takes delight in them, is pacified towards them, and graciously accepts of them.

Ligonier devotional (2-min read) The Baptism of Christ
Matthew 3:13–17 records our Lord’s baptism by John in the Jordan River, and as we read the account we can relate to John’s confusion. In verse 14, John essentially asks Jesus why He needs to be baptized. Actually, John wanted to deny baptism to Him, and we have to admit that John was not entirely off-base.

John MacArthur sermon: The Commissioning of the King
as we come to Matthew 3:13, we read the words, “Then cometh Jesus.” And really, for the first time, the Lord Jesus appears upon the stage. Up until this time it has been preparatory. Matthew has been commenting on various elements in the beginnings of Jesus: His birth, the things surrounding His birth, His forerunner, etc. But now, finally, Jesus steps onto the stage. Jesus takes the place of prominence.

theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent, Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 11, He was obedient

Posted on December 6, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

With today’s post, we’ve flowed through the first section of this series, in looking at verses that prophesy Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life.

Starting tomorrow, from Day 12-16 we will look at verses that focus on Jesus as The Son.

From Day 17-26, verses will focus on the preeminence of the Son, His works, and Ministry.

Days 27-30, His resurrection, ascension, and return.

Jesus’ Obedience

Coffman’s Commentaries on the Bible

The precocious wisdom of the boy Jesus, and his certain consciousness of his unique relationship to the Father in heaven, were not looked upon by Jesus as sufficient to his earthly mission; he recognized himself still to be a child. The hour of his emergence as the world’s Saviour would be awaited by him until some sure indication of the Father’s will informed him that “his hour” had come. In the meanwhile, he would not disgrace himself as a child prodigy. He manifested the noblest quality of youth, that of loving submission to his earthly parents.

Some Christmas specials, “history” documentaries, and apocryphal writings or media depict Jesus as a boy healing injured birds or raising dead children. None of this happened. Firstly, the word of God does not contain any such events. Secodnly, His prophetic timetable was specific and sure. Jesus repeatedly said in the Gospels He would not do certain things because ‘his hour had not come’.

Further Reading

Answers in Genesis: Christ’s Obedience to the Father
Jesus honors the authority of His Father through complete obedience. A very clear but seldom pondered truth of the New Testament is that Christ’s entire life and ministry were orchestrated by His Father and that Jesus was careful to carry out every detail according to the will of His Father. “Then I said, ‘Behold, I have come . . . to do thy will, O God’” (Hebrews 10:7).

Jesus Obeyed His parents
“Among all the miracles and surprises surrounding God himself becoming man, Luke 2:51 may sound the most unexpected note of all: Jesus “went down [from Jerusalem] with [Joseph and Mary] and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them.””

advent, theology

Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus, Day 10- the Boy Jesus at the Temple

Posted on December 5, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

The Bible is intentionally blank where Jesus’ boyhood is concerned. After His birth, the Bible is silent on what Jesus was doing. All we know is He lived in Galilee. We know as a child, not a baby, He was taken by his parents to Egypt, to flee Herod’s rage. And now suddenly He is 12 years old and in the Temple.

With Him are wisdom and might; To Him belong counsel and understanding (Job 12:13).

Other than the Magi’s visit to the child, this alone stands out as the sole incident recorded in the Bible about Jesus childhood, or even adulthood before the first Miracle at Cana. Since the Holy Spirit chose to include this single event in the boy Jesus’ life, it bears study.

Further Reading:

The Day Jesus Went AWOL
Second, in this account are recorded the very first words of our Lord Jesus. Naturally, no words were recorded from the birth and infancy of Christ. Many of our Lord’s words were recorded from His later ministry. But the words of our Lord in this text are His first recorded words, and very important words they are indeed.

Twelve-year-old Jesus goes to the Temple
After the host of witnesses to Jesus in Luke 1:5–2:40, Jesus now speaks for himself for the first time. This is the literary climax of Luke’s initial section and shows the sense of mission and self-awareness Jesus possesses. Jesus has a unique relationship to God and a clear sense of his calling, one that transcends his relationship to his earthly parents.

The Son of God at twelve years old
This is the only story in the gospels about Jesus between his infancy and his public ministry as a man. Some have argued that the story is a legend created by the early church to fill in some of the gaps in their knowledge of Jesus’ life. What shall we say to this claim?

theology, thirty Days of Jesus

Advent- Thirty Days of Jesus: Day 9, The Child Grew

Posted on December 4, 2025December 4, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We are still in the section of verses from the Bible depicting the prophecy of Jesus’ coming, His arrival, and His early life before ministry. With two more days to go, afterward we shift into looking at Jesus Himself, His earthly ministry, and the different aspects of Himself that He displayed in His incarnation.

John MacArthur preached on Jesus’ brother James in a sermon called James: The Brother of Our Lord. In it, MacArthur discusses the early home life of Jesus and contrasts it to the rest of Jesus’ siblings. From the siblings’ point of view, especially the focus of James, what was it like to grow up with literally a perfect brother? The venerable theologian proposes this:

“I don’t know how many times Joseph and Mary said this, but they must have said it more than they ought to, “Why can’t you be like your brother?” which doesn’t really help either.”

LOL.

There are not many verses recounting the childhood and pre-ministry life of Jesus, but there are a few. Here is one:

thirty days of jesus day 9 — Photo by Samuel Zeller on Unsplash

Further Reading

What happened during Jesus’ childhood? (GotQuestions)
Other than Luke 2:41–52, the Bible does not tell us anything about Jesus’ youth. From this incident we do know certain things about Jesus’ childhood. First, He was the son of parents* who were devout in their religious observances. As required in the law, Joseph and Mary made the yearly pilgrimage to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When Jesus was 12 years old, they brought Him along on the trip to celebrate the Feast with them. Luke paints a picture of a typical boy in a typical family of that day.

Why doesn’t the Bible say much about Jesus childhood?
Both Matthew and Luke speak about the birth and infancy of Jesus, but share little concerning other details of His early life. Why not?

The boyhood of Jesus (Biblehub)
Although the boy Jesus was gifted with a wisdom far beyond His years — a wisdom which was His because He was the Son of God, yet He lived much as other boys lived, doing the tasks that were given Him by His parents and being subject to them in all things.

advent, theology

Advent: Thirty Days of Jesus, Day 8- The Magi Offer Gifts & Worship

Posted on December 3, 2025 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

Many people worshiped Jesus during His earthly ministry. They bowed before Him and called Him the Messiah, Son of God, or other titles indicating they knew they were worshiping the one True God. Some people worshiped extravagantly. We think of Mary with her bottle of expensive nard, or Joseph of Arimathea lavishly preparing His body with the most expensive ointments. Or from the OT, David worshiping God with all his might before the ark processional.

No one came farther or brought more expensive tokens of worship than the Magi, known as the Wise Men from the East. Their journey of about 900 miles was difficult, fraught with danger, and took months. Their gifts of gold and frankincense and myrrh were expensive. But that was nothing to them. They journeyed, they found the child, they knelt before Him in humble worship. Though they themselves were considered rulers of sorts, when they saw His place they rejoiced exceedingly with great joy. (Matthew 2:9). They knelt before a little child and presented their gifts of adoration.

During this Advent, let us do the same. We do not have the blessing of an incarnated Messiah in front of us to bow to, that will happen later, but we can rejoice today with exceeding joy and present to him our precious gift: our bodies as a living and holy sacrifice. (Romans 12:1).

Further Reading:

Grace To You: What the Magi Mean To Christmas
Just exactly who are they and why are they there? Well, the question as to why they’re there is answered in the text, and that is to worship Him. They came to worship. That becomes absolutely clear. In chapter 2 and verse 2, they say, “We have come to worship Him.” That is their point. Herod even acknowledges this in verse 8 and says, “Come back and tell me when you find Him, that I too may come and worship Him.”

Answers in Genesis: We Three Kings
The Magi Arrive
These magi followed the star, which moved ahead of them, bringing expensive gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh to Jesus—who was now a young child living in a house (Matthew 2:9–11).5
They worshipped the Christ Child (Matthew 2:11).
Jesus is called a “young child” (paidion, Matthew 2) instead of babe (brephos, Luke 2:16) at the time that the magi arrived. Brephos specifically refers to a baby, whether born or unborn, while paidion refers to an immature child, possibly an infant (Matthew 2:11), so we should not be dogmatic about His age.

Love Worth Finding: The Gifts of the Wise Men and Our Gifts to Jesus
It’s that time of year again…time for gift-buying, gift-wrapping, and gift-exchanging. What are the gifts we could bring Jesus this Christmas? One way we can discover that is to look at Matthew 2:1-12, which tells of the gifts the wise men brought Him on the night when God became flesh and dwelt among us.

prophecy, Uncategorized

Thirty Days of Jesus- Day 29, Ascension

Posted on December 30, 2024December 30, 2024 by elizabethprata

By Elizabeth Prata

We are coming toward the end of our look at the life of Jesus through scripture. The first section of His life was seen through verses focused on prophecy, arrival, and early life.

The next section of verses looked at Him as the Son, second person of the Trinity.

We proceeded into looking at Jesus as the Son’s preeminence, His works, and His ministry. Under ministry & works, I chose verses showing His attributes and aspects of being servant, teacher, shepherd, intercessor, and compassionate healer; and His attributes of omniscience, having all authority and power, and sinlessness.

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