The Humility of Jesus
When the Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness, (Mk. 1:12) did that affect Christ’s frame of mind? According to Matthew and Luke, the Spirit “led” Him into the desert. Why would Mark say Jesus was driven? Because the Spirit is all about peace and power. Jesus, who had the Spirit without measure, had a deep peace without bottom, and energy like no other. The Spirit’s driving was like in the parable of the marriage feast, the king commanded his servants to go out into the byways and “compel” people to come in. (Lk. 14:23). This parable symbolized the preaching of the gospel just before Jesus returns, and the compulsion was not the point of a sword, but the powerful force of love. Similarly, Paul was uncontrollably constrained to preach because of the magnanimous “love of Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:14).
This indicates that when Jesus was driven by the Spirit, that He was driven by such an abundance of supernatural love and peace that it brought with it a self-possession which would withstand 40 days without food. His was a surrender to His Father’s love that left Him so humble that self-will was non-existent. His desire to test His indomitable faith was like a muscle that craves to be worked and stretched. For Jesus, temptation held no lure. The devil tried every trick he could devise, but Christ’s shield of faith was impregnable to every one of Satan’s assaults. “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” (Jn. 14:30).
Servant of servants, Christ came to show us the Father. The intense meekness of the Son of God gave the express image of His Father, our Father. Down He stepped from the blinding throne of heaven, the object of His Father’s love, and then further down, and still further, all the way to death. Nothing could disturb His peace. It would have been impossible for crucifixion to test Christ’s sinlessness and surrender while communion with God kept His peace fixed and sealed, but His Father broke Their connection. As it is written, “For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [Christ].” (2 Cor. 5:21). When Jesus was made to be sin, His Father had to turn away in grief and disgust. It was that turning away and breaking of communion that broke the Savior’s heart and wrung from His lips the cry, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
Christ’s humility wasn’t just for effect to gain the attention of religious leaders. His humility caused Him to labor incessantly for the service and uplifting of all with whom He came in contact.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8).
This indicates that when Jesus was driven by the Spirit, that He was driven by such an abundance of supernatural love and peace that it brought with it a self-possession which would withstand 40 days without food. His was a surrender to His Father’s love that left Him so humble that self-will was non-existent. His desire to test His indomitable faith was like a muscle that craves to be worked and stretched. For Jesus, temptation held no lure. The devil tried every trick he could devise, but Christ’s shield of faith was impregnable to every one of Satan’s assaults. “The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in Me.” (Jn. 14:30).
Servant of servants, Christ came to show us the Father. The intense meekness of the Son of God gave the express image of His Father, our Father. Down He stepped from the blinding throne of heaven, the object of His Father’s love, and then further down, and still further, all the way to death. Nothing could disturb His peace. It would have been impossible for crucifixion to test Christ’s sinlessness and surrender while communion with God kept His peace fixed and sealed, but His Father broke Their connection. As it is written, “For He [God] hath made Him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him [Christ].” (2 Cor. 5:21). When Jesus was made to be sin, His Father had to turn away in grief and disgust. It was that turning away and breaking of communion that broke the Savior’s heart and wrung from His lips the cry, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?”
Christ’s humility wasn’t just for effect to gain the attention of religious leaders. His humility caused Him to labor incessantly for the service and uplifting of all with whom He came in contact.
“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: but made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: and being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” (Phil. 2:5-8).
posted by David | 8:40 PM
1 Comments:
This post and the next were easier to read because they were shorter.
I just saw "The Nativity" and couldn't help crying, it was so moving.
Just thought I'd drop in.
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