Conference Notes

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.

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).

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.

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.

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.

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

"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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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.