Well, as if you needed any reminding from me, it’s Mardi Gras season. You may not be aware of this fact, but I am a Mardi Gras veteran. From years, Amy and I have gone down from Mississippi when we lived there and stayed with some dear friends in New Orleans to enjoy the festivities. The wife of the couple that we stayed with is a life-long NOLA resident and has taken every chance that she has had to educate both Amy and myself on all things Mardi Gras and New Orleans. I remember having a conversation one day about how many people there were that were regular attendees of Mardi Gras balls, parades, and even krewe members that didn’t know what the origins or reasons behind Mardi Gras even were. Well, ultimately, it has to do with Jesus Christ. I know, strange given what public perception is to the Carnival season, but it’s true. Mardi Gras, meaning Fat Tuesday in French, is the day prior to Ash Wednesday, a day in which many Christians begin the season of Lent. All of this is done leading up the Easter Sunday, the day in which we celebrate the resurrection of our Savior Jesus Christ. So, our text this morning, that deals with death, the enemy conquered by Christ at his resurrection, is in many ways a very fitting text for us today as we have begun the Mardi Gras season in our community this weekend.
So many times we hear philosophers or poets speak so eloquently and romantically about death that it makes it seem like such a welcomed released. In fact, the Greeks, in Paul’s time when he was writing this letter, often viewed death as a relief from the hardships of life, and so they thought about death as comforting because it brought an end to the turmoil of this life. Perhaps the most famous quote about death from philosophy comes from Shakespeare’s Hamlet when he says, “To be, or not to be—that is the question. Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune, or to take arms against a sea of troubles and by opposing end them. To die, to sleep—no more, and by a sleep to say we end the heartache and the thousand natural shocks that flesh is heir to. ‘Tis a consummation devoutly to be wished.” Continuing on he asks, “To die, to sleep—perchance to dream. Aye, there’s the rub, for in that sleep of death what dreams may come when we have shuffled off this mortal coil must give us pause. There’s the respect that makes calamity of so long life.”
Now I’m not a philosopher, so I have had to research this week what exactly Hamlet meant when proposing these questions. The general consensus among those who study Shakespeare is that Hamlet is asking, “What if death is worse than life? What if there are things waiting for us in death that are just as hard or harder than life? And so he’s wrestling with the question, do I want to live or do I want to die? And the Apostle Paul is wrestling with the same question, but in an entirely different framework. Today, I want us to look at Paul’s dilemma and why the Apostle had such trouble deciding which fate was more preferred by him at this point.
We’ve been talking over the last month about how much Paul is on fire for Christ. We’ve talked about how his primary focus in life is the proclamation of God’s Word and nothing else matters. All of this culminated with last week’s message that Christ is everything. So, having that in mind, Paul is now faced with a dilemma. “To die is gain, but if I am to live in the flesh, that means fruitful labor for me. Yet which I shall choose I cannot tell.” In other words, Paul knows that death is something that is good. He knows that death is the only way to enter into the presence of Christ. He’s not worried about the things of this life. He isn’t tied to anything in this world that would make his entry into heaven bitter in any way. But it isn’t as if he really wants to die, but that he wants to be with Christ. Unfortunately, death is the only way to accomplish being with Christ. So his problem becomes choosing between these two options. On the one hand, to live allows him to continue in his fruitful ministry of spreading the Gospel. And on the other, his death would bring him into the presence of Christ. So his option aren’t really life vs. death, but Christ vs. Christ. Paul wants his Roman imprisonment to end, but does he want it to be by release or escape, or does he want it to be by execution?
Verses 23 and 24 show us the internal struggle that is taking place within the Apostle. “I am hard pressed between the two. My desire is to depart and be with Christ, for that is far better. But to remain in the flesh is more necessary on your account.” So to boil this down to the simplest form, Paul is saying, “To die is the best thing for me, but for me to live is the best thing for you.” Now, knowing what we have seen of the Apostle Paul thus far in our study of Philippians, do we really need to read the final two verses of our text for today to know what he chooses. Immediately after realizing that it is necessary for the spread of the Gospel for Paul to live, Paul doesn’t give it a second thought.
At this point we point out the selflessness of Paul, but the Apostle Paul is just reflecting his Savior here, isn’t he? Was it better for Jesus to stay in glory with angels worshiping Him and singing to Him, “Holy, holy, holy!” day and night in the halls of heaven, or to come to earth in our poor flesh and our poor blood to live and die in a fallen world, to be rejected by His own people, to be executed by the religious leaders of His day, to be dead and buried? No, it would have been better for Jesus to stay in the halls of glory, but it was needful for us that He come, and so in His love, He came. And in His love, the Father sent. And so the Apostle Paul is just drawing the same conclusion: “It’s better for me to depart, but it’s better for you that I stay; therefore, I know what God’s going to do in this circumstance. I’ll be seeing you again.” Paul is following in the footsteps of his Savior.
So we have seen what Paul believes, and the dilemma that he now faces because of his very strong belief. And before we look at Paul’s resolution to this dilemma I want to ask a quick question. Do we share the same belief as Paul? That belief being the text that I read both last week and today; that to live is Christ and to die is gain. I think that all of us would say that we do without a doubt, but the problem comes in our implementing this notion into our lives. How greatly would we be benefited if we would allow the words of that verse to penetrate every aspect of our being. Paul was convinced of it, and it changed the way that he looked at life, and death too for that matter. As he faced the prospect of being sentenced to death and executed by the Romans, or the prospect of going back and doing missions work, he could say, “It’s better for me to depart. I would love to be with Christ right now, but it’s better for you that I stay.” And therefore he did not look at life as miserable and fruitless, but as joyful and fruitful; and he could still anticipate death as being full of an even greater joy.
Remember this, the reason that Paul is sharing this struggle with the Philippians is for the increase of their joy. They were troubled by the fact that he was in prison; they were troubled by the fact that he was incapable of doing the mission work that he so much wanted to do; they were troubled by the fact that he was facing the prospect of death. And so he wrote to them to comfort them and to give them joy, and he reiterates that in verse 25. Notice why he says it would be good for him to stay and serve and come to them again, “I know that I will remain and continue with you all for your progress and joy in the faith.” The Apostle Paul knows that it is good for him to remain, because in remaining he can serve the growth, the progress, and the joy of the Philippian Christians, and indeed of all who trust in Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul sees his ministry as a joy-giving ministry.
So, having talked about this text fairly in depth, there are so many things that we could take from this passage, but I want us to remember this one thing above all else. The gospel gives us a joy that allows us to be selfless and to seek the joys of others. Paul, more than anyone, was aware of this truth. You see, he used to be a Pharisee named Saul prior to his conversion. He had thought that he could glorify God my persecuting, imprisoning, and killing Jews who followed this person named Jesus. After he was converted while on his way to Damascus, he underwent a radical transformation. Despite the fact that he had always been a religious man, he had been misguided. He went from being one who served himself to being one who was a joyful worshiper of the one true God. He was now filled with the desire that others might enjoy the same joy that God had given him by the gospel. He had experienced the very truth that he speaks of now to the Philippians.
The world that we live in today longs for joy. The people of this world want joy. They want fulfillment. Whether they are religious or not, whether they are Christian or not, they want joy. But so many of them seek that joy and fulfillment at the expense of others. They fit the old cliché of “looking out for number one.” In doing so, they have placed themselves and their own joy at the very center of their lives. And the gospel message has some very specific words for those living like this, and it isn’t “forget about joy; be good and do good to others.” No, that’s not the gospel message. The gospel is actually that God has done something for us in His Son that we could not do ourselves, for ourselves, or for others. That something that He has done in His Son has given to us the joy for which God created us, and so we are freed from seeking our own personal joy to be concerned about the joy of others because we have been given the greatest joy that we could ever have. We have fellowship with the living God through Jesus Christ, through the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we have joy. The gospel has given us a joy that allows us to be selfless, but it also causes us to long for others to have this same joy.
In our text here, Paul, in his saying that he will pray for his remaining with the Philippians despite the fact that the best thing for him is to leave and be with Christ, isn’t renouncing joy. In fact, he is proclaiming that he has found joy, the joy that is beyond anything that he could achieve. He has been given the joy of Christ; the same one who told his disciples, “I have come to give you life, and life abundant.” Christ promised his disciples and promises us that in this world we can experience comfort and joy even while we are going through trials and tribulations. Paul knows this better than anyone; and having received that joy by grace from God through Christ in His death on the cross, now he is set free to seek the joy of others.
It would be very easy for us to misunderstand and simply take the message away from this that Paul was selfless and that we ought to be too. Well, that’s true, but it isn’t the heart of this message today. If that were the gospel message, then we would all be in trouble; because none of us are completely selfless. But the gospel is. My father-in-law is the most selfless man that I personally know. He continuously and constantly gives up almost everything that he WANTS for the sake of his family and friends. But even he has a little selfishness that exists within him. He cannot even come close to entering into the same conversation as someone who was selfless for all of us. Someone who gave us a greater joy than we could ever have found in our own seeking. Someone who has set us free from our selfishness to enjoy the selfless pursuit of the joy of others in Christ Jesus. It’s news that liberated Paul from worrying about his current situation, and it’s a news that liberates us from everything and anything that we are facing in our own lives today.
Paul’s thoughts are beautifully summed up for us in the words of the Christian song “In Christ Alone”: In Christ alone my hope is found’ He is my light, my strength, my song; This cornerstone, this solid ground, Firm through the fiercest drought and storm. What height of love, what depths of peace, When fears are stilled, when striving cease! My comforter, my all in all, Here in the love of Christ I stand.” And the 4th stanza of this wonderful song: “No guilt in life, no fear in death, this is the power of Christ in me; From life’s first cry to final breath, Jesus commands my destiny. No power of hell, no scheme of man, can ever pluck me from His hand; ‘Til He returns or calls me home, Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!”
If you are a Christian, if you believe in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, I pray that you would be so captivated and so gripped by the power of Paul’s mindset and his words here in Philippians 1. I pray that you will continue to rest upon the joy of Christ. I pray that it will affect every fiber of your being and change you so that you more and more each and every day reflect Christ in your daily life. If you are not a believer or you find yourself doubting, it is my hope and prayer that you would come to know through trusting in Jesus Christ this gospel joy that only Christ can offer. Glory be to God. In the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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