THE DESCENT OF THE KING: WHY GOING DOWN IS THE WAY UP
We live in a world that prizes up—upgrades, updates, and moving up the ladder.
From the time we’re little, we’re trained to climb: get better grades, get into the better school, get the better job, get the bigger house, get more followers, get more influence.
Up, up, up. Always up.
But Christmas tells a different story.
The King came down.
The King chose the servant’s towel over the royal robe.
He descended from the highest throne to the lowest manger.
He gave up what He could have held onto.
He opened His hand when He could have kept His fist closed.
That descent changes everything—how you relate to God and how you live with people in your daily life. We see that clearly in Philippians 2.
The Mindset of Christ
The apostle Paul addresses real tension in the church at Philippi—people jockeying for position, protecting their interests, insisting on their rights. His solution isn’t a set of rules or techniques. His solution is a Person.
“In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 2:5
Then Paul quotes what scholars believe is one of the earliest Christian hymns—a beautiful, poetic description of what Jesus did:
“Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!”
Philippians 2:6-8
Let’s unpack what this means.
He Let Go of What He Could Have Held
Paul begins with who Jesus is: in very nature God.
This isn’t metaphorical. Jesus is fully and eternally God—no downgrade, no demotion. He possesses all the attributes of deity: omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence, eternality, holiness.
Yet Paul says Jesus did not consider equality with God something to be used to His own advantage. In other words, He chose not to exploit His privilege for Himself. He didn’t leverage His divine rights for personal gain. He didn’t cling to what was rightfully His.
The King let go of what He could have held onto.
Think about what this means. Jesus had every right to stay in glory. He had every reason to stay where angels sing and pain cannot enter. He had every justification to say, You broke it; you fix it. You sinned; you deal with the consequences.
But love opened His hand. He didn’t cling to His privilege. He poured Himself out.
The Descent We Can’t Measure
The depth to which Jesus descended is immeasurably below any point we have ever reached, and the height from which He came is inconceivably above our loftiest thought.
The King gave up more than we could imagine.
Imagine a pitcher full of water at Christmas. Now watch as it’s poured out—into glass after glass after glass—until the pitcher is empty. Everything poured out for others.
This is what Jesus did for us. Although He never stopped being God, He did set aside the normal exercise of His divine rights. He took on the limits of human flesh. He experienced hunger, thirst, fatigue, temptation, and pain.
He chose the posture of a servant—far below His rights. And He chose it willingly. Think about that. No one forced Him. No one tricked Him. No one overpowered Him. He looked at you—in your sin, in your brokenness, in your rebellion—and said, I choose to come down for them.
The Cost of the Descent
But there was a cost. A real, terrible cost. The passage continues:
“He humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross.”
Philippians 2:8
The manger wasn’t a one-time humble moment. It was the shape of His whole life—washing feet, absorbing mockery, refusing to call down angels, surrendering to arrest, stretching out His hands on a cross. He went all the way to death on a cross—for you.
When you’re asked to sacrifice—time, comfort, recognition—remember: no sacrifice you will ever make compares to what Christ gave for you.
Let His generosity birth yours.
The Way Up Starts with Going Down
Here’s where the story takes a turn:
“Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”
Philippians 2:9-11
The King was lifted up because He first laid Himself down.
“God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time.”
1 Peter 5:5-6
In God’s kingdom, the way up starts with going down. Greatness is found in servanthood.
This is completely backward from how the world works. In our economy, you climb by stepping over others. You win by making sure everyone else loses. You get ahead by protecting your position and never showing weakness.
But in God’s kingdom, descending is the path to glory. Serving is the way to greatness. Losing your life is how you find it.
Why This Matters This Week
What does this mean for you this week—in your actual, messy, complicated relationships?
When you’re tempted to hold tightly to your rights in a conflict—to get the last word, to insist on your perspective, to demand your preferred outcome—remember the King who let go for you.
Ask yourself: What would open-handed love do here?
When someone at work takes credit for your idea, when your spouse forgets to thank you for all you did, when your kids don’t appreciate the sacrifices you make—you have a choice.
You can clench your fist and say, I deserve better than this. I’m not letting this go. I’m going to make sure everyone knows what I did.
Or you can open your hand and say, Jesus gave up infinitely more for me. I can let this go.
What Descent Looks Like Today
Descending doesn’t mean becoming a doormat—letting people abuse you or never having boundaries.
It means choosing to serve when you could demand to be served. Choosing to forgive when you have every right to hold a grudge. Choosing to give when you could justifiably keep. Choosing to listen when you could insist on being heard.
It means asking, How can I make much of Jesus by making little of myself?
Practically, that might look like:
Apologizing first, even when you’re only twenty percent wrong.
Serving your spouse in a way that costs you something.
Giving up your preference for someone else’s good
These aren’t grand gestures. They’re daily decisions to descend. And every time you choose to go down, you’re becoming more like Jesus.
The Invitation to Descend
Jesus didn’t just descend to save you. He descended to show you how to live. He’s inviting you to follow Him down. To stop climbing. To stop protecting. To stop clinging to your rights, your privileges, and your position.
Why did Jesus come as a servant? Because that’s who God is and what we needed.
He descended to save us, to redefine greatness, and to model for us God’s way.
And now He invites you to do the same. To be like Jesus. Not because you have to earn His love—He already gave that freely. But because when you’ve experienced His descent for you, you can’t help but want to descend for others.
Making It Personal
Where is God calling you to descend this week?
Is there a conflict where you need to let go of being right? A relationship where you need to serve first instead of waiting to be served? A conversation where you need to listen instead of defend? A sacrifice you need to make that no one will notice or applaud?
What would it look like for you to open your hand this week?
The world will tell you that’s weakness. That you’re letting people take advantage of you. That you’ll never get ahead if you keep putting others first. But remember: The King who descended to a cross was exalted to the highest throne. The One who gave up everything received the name above all names.
God’s math is different.
In His kingdom, the last are first.
The servant is greatest.
The one who loses their life finds it.
All for Jesus,
Brad D. Jenkins
P.S. — If this has been helpful, please send me a message at brad@bradjenkins.me and let me know. My writing aims to help people enjoy a vibrant relationship with Jesus, and it is an honor to be on this journey with you. To read previous newsletters or to sign up so that you don’t miss future posts, visit www.bradjenkins.me/blog.