What’s Worth Bowing the Knee?

[. . .] that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow,
in heaven and on earth and under the earth [. . .] (Philippians 2:10)

Search for the LORD and for his strength;

continually seek him.

Remember the wonders he has performed,

his miracles, and the rulings he has given,

you children of his servant Abraham,

you descendants of Jacob, his chosen ones.

He is the LORD our God.

His justice is seen throughout the land.

He always stands by his covenant—

the commitment he made to a thousand generations.

This is the covenant he made with Abraham

and the oath he swore to Isaac.

He confirmed it to Jacob as a decree,

and to the people of Israel as a never-ending covenant:

“I will give you the land of Canaan

as your special possession.” (Psalm 105:4–11 NLT)

“But why?” That was the question I asked my director one day after one of our shows. I wanted to know why we bow. At the end of every single concert, show, and performance I have been a part of, I had always been told it was time to bow. No one ever explained why; it was just something we always did. As a theatre and choir kid, I had performed more bows than I think I can count. My director very kindly explained that it was what we did as a response to the applause from a show. They were showering us with praise, and our bows were to recognize and show respect to the audience for watching our show. Trust me, there were some shows they needed that recognition for sitting through to the end.

As I thought about the idea that one day every knee would bow to Jesus, it made me think the same question: But why? I think too often we read this passage and think this is a forced bow that comes out of submission to Jesus being the King. While that could be one reading, I think there is a richer one that makes us ask why anyone would bow their knees in the first place. What is it about Jesus that causes the knee to bow and praise, honor, and glory to be rendered?

Psalm 105 reminds us of some of those reasons why our knees might bow before Jesus the King. The wonders, the miracles, the rulings he has given are listed as things the psalmist asks God’s people to remember.

As we sit in this season of Lent every year, it ought to make us pause and remember the biggest miracle and wonder – that God sent his only Son into the world to save us. He fulfilled his promise from thousands of years earlier that someone would ultimately come to fix what was broken.

God remembers his promises. There is not a single promise God has made that he will not finish. Let that sink in for a second.

Every. Single. Promise.

That is the kind of king we worship. That is the kind of kingly action that doesn’t require people to bow; bowing becomes the only appropriate response. Bowing the knee to Jesus isn’t just about our submission to his Kingship but also a response that his Kingship; his wonders and works are greater than anything else we could ever worship.

Our world offers a lot of things we could bow the knee to. In fact, there are probably some things we’ve bowed the knee to even this week – even today. What is truly worthy of bending our knee?
 
 
Nathan Solak is the lead pastor at Ridgewood Church in Brookfield, Wisconsin.