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Some notes from the 2009 Bible conference
"The Meekness and Humility of Christ"
January 10, 2009
First study: The life and service of the Lord Jesus
Second study: The Lord's rejection | Third study: Christ's sacrificial death


First Bible study: The life and service of the Lord Jesus
Read Luke 5:27-35 & 22:24-30
Second study: Rejection | Third study: Sacrificial death        Top  

The Lord Jesus Christ was meek and lowly (Matthew 11:28); He humbled Himself (Philippians 2:9). These words suggest that He was empty of self-assertive pride; He was not pretentious. In these studies today we will look at this aspect of His person. In addition, we are told that it is enough for disciples to be as their Master (Matthew 10:25), so these features should be seen in Christians as well.

The verses in Luke 5 show the Lord in contrast to the religious leadership of the day, eating with those who were despised. To those who opposed Him, He responded gently, not rudely. In Luke 22, He is clearly the greatest, yet He is one who serves.

Luke 5:27 says, "After these things." What things? The Lord's public ministry began in chapter 4. He already displayed humility from the beginning, depending on God rather than satisfying His hunger in temptation (4:4). Obedience and reliance on the Spirit of God led to His moral authority (4:36). As a result, the people pressed to hear the Word of God (5:1).

Meekness is not natural for us like it was for the Lord. We are naturally self-centered. Even spiritual knowledge can become a source of pride.

The Lord Jesus was not attracted by the crowds. In the midst of a multitude, the one He saw was Levi, one whom everyone else would despise. He knew that God had already worked in Levi's heart to prepare him to respond to Christ's invitation.

Humility is usually related to a personal attitude: "He humbled Himself" (Philippians 2:9)
Lowliness is usually related to a position: under the yoke, Matthew 11:29.
Meekness is usually related to power: restraining the exercise of authority even when it would be proper, like Moses in Numbers 12.

We see the power of attraction in the Lord's person. We can make a comparison to the "meal" or grain offering of the Old Testament, an offering of fine flour-- all evenness, with no lumps or uneven characteristics (Leviticus 2:1). The Lord's character was beautifully even, just as that grain offering. Levi must have realized the contrast between the two of them as he responded to the Lord.

The meal offering had no honey (Leviticus 2:11). There was no attempt to add an unnatural sweetness that was not part of the flour; the Lord was just Himself all the time. Levi responded to a better offer than collecting taxes, and he followed the Lord. He had not necessarily seen the Lord's humble life before, but he responded to His word.

Just calling Levi is a humble act in itself, shown by the Lord. We need to hear the exhortation of Romans 12:16: "Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble." We are exhorted to be humble, but the Lord did not need to be told this; He simply lived it. Calling Levi, a despised tax collector, is completely in keeping with that.

The Lord never had to react; He always acted out of His own character. When some asked who He was, He said, "I am the same that I said to you from the beginning" (John 8:25). He simply was who He said He was. He never had to think about how to be humble; He was.

Jesus delighted in the will of the Father, and He had a divine appointment with Levi on this day.

The Lord was the servant to the sinner. Later, in His death, our sins were His burden (2 Corinthians 5:21).

"Levi" in Luke 5 is the same person as "Matthew" in other passages. He wrote the first gospel, and in Matthew chapter 9 this same event is recorded. The contrasts, though, are instructive. Matthew wrote only that he followed the Lord. Luke tells us that he "left all" and that he made a great feast in his own house, but Matthew does not draw attention to himself when he writes. Matthew Levi had become humble like the Lord.

There is a connection at this point with Luke 22. If we don't learn that same lesson, there will be strife among us. We will imitate the world's definition of greatness instead. We might have expected to see this kind of pride in Luke 5, when Levi made the great feast; but instead it is seen in Luke 22, at a most somber moment.

It's likely that the questions about their own loyalties (22:22-23) led to this strife.

Instead of looking at ourselves to see if we are humble, we must look away from ourselves to Christ. Do we not find strife among ourselves for the same reasons? Is it possible that we claim the promise of the Lord's presence in Matthew 18:20 without actually having His presence because we are so occupied with ourselves? Even Paul had to be preserved from pride by receiving a "thorn in the flesh" from the Lord (2 Corinthians 12:7).

The Lord had explained humility as a teacher and also as a servant (compare John 13). But this strife probably had its root in Luke 9:46, when the question about greatness arose as a thought or reasoning. For three years it was harbored-- even as they saw their Lord's humility-- and now it came out as an argument. Even Matthew, who responded to the Lord's humility and even displayed it himself as noted before, would have been one of these disciples caught up in strife.

There is a table in Luke 5 and also Luke 22 where the disciples are found with the Lord. But there is a future table in Christ's kingdom still to be spread, as in Luke 12:37 and 22:30, when the Lord will actually serve us. Then nothing of ourselves will arise.

There will be a time for enjoying the kingdom. It is not now; now is when we learn the lessons of humility. Still, the kingdom is promised. We should neither lift ourselves up nor put ourselves down below where God has placed us. Instead, our eyes focused on the greatness of the Lord will maintain our proper attitude. Remember, even from His birth it was declared, "He shall be great" (Luke 1:32).


Second Bible study: The Lord's rejection
Read Luke 22:63 - 23:25
First study: Life and service | Third study: Sacrificial death        Top

This study presents unjustified condemnation of the Lord and His response to it. He did not deny Himself, but when He was falsely accused He was silent, and this displays His meekness. He faced the spiritual or political leaders of the day, and they all rejected Him.

1 Peter 2:21-- "Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that you should follow His steps." That verse illuminates this passage in Luke 22 and 23.

The source of His attitude is found in John 18:11. He was receiving a cup from His Father's hand, and these events were paving the way for the full grasp of that. Accepting the cup from His Father implies His humility and meekness.

And this was even more than just accepting circumstances; the Lord was facing actual evil intent. Psalm 22 describes these accusers as evil beasts! And yet He submitted.

In Psalm 69 He is described as suffering for righteousness' sake. He was the Righteous Man in an unrighteous world, and He suffered for going against the grain of human nature.

The Lord knew exactly what was going to take place, and He did it willingly. He knew all things; He knew the love of His Father; He had all power; yet He committed Himself to His Father, the one who judges righteously (1 Peter 2:23). We usually try to justify ourselves; He did not.

The disciples had argued about being great, and yet all of them fled the Lord, and Peter denied even knowing Him.

In the eyes of God, everyone today who rejects Christ is like those mockers and abusers of the Lord. They mocked Him because "the natural man cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God" (1 Corinthians 2:14).

There is no greater display of the Lord's moral glory than at His trial. To be denied your rights, and to be accused falsely, and to be betrayed and denied by friends, and to hear priests accuse when they were supposed to plead for the weak-- this is a great glory of meekness! He could have called more than 12 legions of angels (Matthew 26:53), yet He didn't even speak one word in His defense.

This relates to the prophecies of Isaiah 53: He did not open His mouth, despite many false accusations.

Even in His responses about Himself, the Lord does not make grand statements; instead He puts the question back to the questioner. His only assertion is as the Son of Man (Luke 22:69). He does not answer to the curiosity of man.

In Matthew 11, John the Baptist had a similar experience. He had sent messengers to find out if Jesus was indeed the Christ. The Lord's response did not exalt Himself but merely referred to what He did and taught, and this was enough for John.

Even the accusations in Luke 23 show that pride is what the human heart can identify. Trying to find fault with him, the priests described proud behavior that the Lord never displayed. The crowd would even choose a rebel and a murderer instead of the Lord, and the greatest self-will is in those crimes. Pride is what the human heart understands, but the Lord had none.

For ourselves, we have been called to endure suffering like the Lord Jesus (1 Peter 2:21). We are to follow His steps. Can we really be expected to do this? Well, God has no other example for us than Christ. We are not able to make ourselves humble, but we will be properly humbled by the Lord's example. Following Christ, our new life delights to please God, and His Spirit is the power of that new life.

There is no fine print in Christianity. The Lord does not conceal what we will go through when we identify ourselves with Him. It might have been expected that if the Pharisees rejected Him, then the Sadducees would have accepted Him, for they did not get along. And since the Pharisees and Sadducees both rejected Him, then perhaps the Herodians would accept Him. If the ruler Herod would mock Him, then perhaps Pilate would support Him. If the Romans would reject Him, then the people of Israel ought to receive Him. Instead, every one of these groups had no use for the Lord.

So, who are we trying to please? If we are going to stand with Christ, the world will not accept us either.


Third Bible study: Christ's sacrificial death
Read Luke 23:33-48
First study: Life and service | Second study: Rejection        Top

While we can imitate the Lord's humility in the previous studies, this passage is unique to Him. We cannot atone for the sins of others. Yet we can further marvel at His humility... the humiliation of the cross (Acts 8:33). We are drawn to Him in even greater devotion.

Death came upon the human race because of disobedience. Christ went in obedience to the place where our disobedience had brought us. The hymn writer (Joseph Swain) declared:
        Alone He bore the cross,
        Alone its grief sustained;
        His was the shame and loss,
        And He the vict'ry gained.

Crucifixion renders someone completely powerless. The human race was already powerless before God because of sin. The crucifixion shows the complete development of this idea-- the end of the "first man," as the Scriptures use the term (1 Corinthians 15:45, 47). Crucifixion also shows the complete, submissive acceptance of Christ to His Father's will.

On the cross, His first words were of forgiveness. This is something we can also imitate.

The mockers thought to emphasize their rejection of the Lord by giving Him the middle cross, as if He were the worst of the criminals. From another standpoint, though, it shows that He always rightly claims the central place, even here.

These sufferings, up through verse 43, are at the hands of man. It was as if they said, "We cannot have Christ around; we have to get rid of Him."

The taunting call was for the Lord to save Himself. He did not come down from the cross, although He certainly had the power to do so. His meekness would not respond to them in that way. However, His grace would extend to the thief who turned to Him in faith. He promised the thief far more than he even expected-- in the presence of the Lord, that day, in paradise, the dwelling place of God.

A sacrifice has to be spotless. At the time of Israel's Passover feast, the lamb would be in the house for three days before it was killed. The thief on the cross had evidently examined the Lord Jesus and found Him spotless; we can do the same.

It wasn't that He could not save Himself, but that He would not save Himself. He was God's approved Lamb, and He has now been exalted as Lord and Christ (Acts 2:32, 36). The sufferings that begin at verse 44 are the atoning sufferings at the hands of God.

Nothing less would suffice, and nothing more could have been done.

In another way, He truly could not save Himself, because otherwise He could not save us.

At the beginning of the Lord's ministry, He would not turn the stones to bread. At the end of His life, He would not come down from the cross. He was consistent in His devotedness to His Father. Are we consistent, or have we become complacent?

The time of darkness is meant to show God's determination that we cannot explore what took place then. We can only adore the Savior who hung there. The suffering at the hands of men exposed man's heart of sin; His suffering at the hands of God reveals the Father's heart of love to design such a plan of salvation as this.

There was some response by those who saw. The centurion glorified God, the people were sorrowful, and the priests would have seen the curtain torn in two. What lasting, genuine response comes from us?

The piercing of crucifixion brings to mind the Hebrew servant of Exodus 21, who because of love for his master, wife, and children decides not to go out free after his time of service. Instead, his ear would be pierced, just as the Lord's hands, feet, and side were pierced on the cross.

The final image on the cross is still one of lowliness. Although the Lord would not come down from the cross, yet He gently commended Himself to His Father at the proper time, yielding up His spirit of His own accord.



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