Bible Strands
Philippians 2:8
And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to death—even death on a cross.
Berean Standard Bible
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Study note
Setting — Paul writes to the church in Philippi, embedding this verse in a Christological hymn (2:6–11) that moves from self-emptying to exaltation. The immediate purpose is to model the mindset believers are to adopt toward one another (2:5).
The words — ὑπὴκοος (hupēkoos) carries the sense of a slave's obedience to a master, not casual compliance. The doubled θάνατος (thanatos) — "death, death on a cross" — pins the general to the specific, naming the exact form.
The thread — Romans 5:19 sets Christ's obedience against Adam's disobedience; Hebrews 12:2 frames the cross as something endured for a joy set before Him; John 10:18 confirms the act is voluntary, not coerced.
Why it lands — The verse asks a reader to weigh what obedience actually costs: it is not a preference but a surrender that reaches the point of death. Paul's argument is that this is the standard by which believers are to relate to one another (2:5).
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
Cross-references
- John 10:18 No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father.”
- Hebrews 12:2 Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.
- Romans 5:19 For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.
- 1 Peter 2:24 He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”
- 1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit,
- 2 Corinthians 8:9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.
- Matthew 26:39 Going a little farther, He fell facedown and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me. Yet not as I will, but as You will.”
- Acts 8:33 In His humiliation He was deprived of justice. Who can recount His descendants? For His life was removed from the earth.”
- Galatians 3:13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.”
- Titus 2:14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.