THE MEEKNESS OF CHRIST
Devotion #2 of 13
"I am meek and lowly in heart" -- Jesus
THE TEXT
"At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light" (Matt 11:25-30).
THE CIRCUMSTANCES
A rejected Savior
The circumstances under which these marvelous words were spoken are arresting. Jesus entered into the realm of time in order that "the world through Him might be saved" (John 3:17). God loved this world (John 3:16), and was aggressive to save it. The irony of the situation is this: "He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not" (John 1:10). Even the people divinely cultured to receive Him failed to do so: "He came unto His own, and His own received him not" (John 1:11). All of this occurred although Jesus took "away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
Jesus is sensitive about rejection
Jesus was sensitive of the situation; the unreasonable and inexcusable rejection of Himself by the generation to whom He was sent. "Then began He to upbraid the cites wherein most of His mighty works were done, because they repented not: Woe unto thee, Chorazin! Woe unto thee, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works, which were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day" (Matt 11:20-23).
Two things can be observed in Christ's reaction to an unbelieving generation. First, a willing rejection of the Savior was involved. Jesus never upbraided anyone for being in a state they could not help. No leper or blind person was ever rebuked for being in that condition. No widow or orphan was ever rebuked for their abnormal situation. Secondly, because that generation sinned against more light--more revelation--they were judged more harshly than
some of the most decadent peoples before them.
All sin is not alike, particularly the forthright rejection of the Lord's Christ! This was a generation confronted with "God manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim 3:16). The mighty works wrought by Christ would have provoked Tyre and Sidon to repent in sackcloth and ashes. It would have occasioned the preservation of even Sodom, wicked city of the plain. No person can afford to take Christ lightly.