Phil 2:5 ...Christ Jesus, (6) Who, existing in the form of God, did not consider being equal with God a treasure to be grasped, (7) But emptied Himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming in the likeness of men; (8) And being found in fashion as a man, He humbled Himself, becoming obedient even unto death, and that the death of a cross.
In Luke 22:47--23:25 we need to be impressed with four pictures. The first picture is the portrait of the Man- Savior, the portrait of the God-man. Due to the surrounding persons, the portrait of the Man-Savior is very clear. In this portrait we see the God-man, the One who is perfect, dignified, and full of divine splendor and of human virtues. As we consider the picture presented by Luke of the Man- Savior from the time He was arrested until He was sentenced to death by Pilate, we see the portrait of the Lord Jesus as the perfect and complete God-man. The Lord Jesus is portrayed as the true God and a real man. This God-man was arrested, mocked, blasphemed, despised, and judged. But as He passed through all this, He was fully portrayed as having the highest standard of morality, as possessing the human virtues with the all-surpassing divine splendor. Here we see not only the Man-Savior's divine attributes; we also see His divine splendor. In this One we see the true God and a proper man. He was fully qualified to be the Substitute for the sinners for whom He intended to die. The second picture we see in this portion of Luke is that of the Man-Savior's followers. From what we see in this picture, we cannot give any credit to the eleven disciples, especially to Peter, John, and James, in their natural life. The eleven were altogether natural; they acted as if they did not have a spirit. Peter, for example, said that he would never deny the Lord. It was he who took up a sword and cut off the ear of the high priest's slave. It was he who denied the Lord three times. Here we have a portrait of what we all are in the natural life. The third picture we see is the picture of the religious people. They were false, deceitful, and full of pretense. They worshipped God, taught people about God, and apparently tried to keep the Ten Commandments. But they came to arrest the Lord not in the daytime but at night, and not in a public place but in a private place. Actually, they did not arrest Him; He gave Himself over to them to be arrested by them. With these religious people we see nothing but falsehood and deceit. Finally we have a picture of the Roman government and its rulers. With these Roman rulers there was no justice. In this picture we see the darkness and corruption of Roman politics.
Bible verses are taken from the Recovery Version of the Bible and Words of Ministry from Witness Lee, Life-study of Luke, pp. 447-448. Both are published by Living Stream Ministry, Anaheim, CA. Please visit us at www.emanna.com. Send comments to: [email protected].
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