Second, we can see in these verses something of the oil. He was born of the Spirit, and the Spirit even descended upon Him in the bodily form of a dove. “Now when all the people were baptized, it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit (lit.) descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased” (Luke 3:21-22). The Spirit did not descend upon Him in an abstract way, but in a definite form. He was full of the Spirit, led by the Spirit, and in the power of the Spirit: “And Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit (lit.) returned from Jordan, and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness....And Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into Galilee” (Luke 4:1, 14). He was even anointed with the Spirit: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me...” (Luke 4:18). With the humanity of Jesus as the fine flour, there is the oil as the Spirit anointing, mingling, and saturating Him.
We can also see something of the fragrant frankincense in these verses. He was so fragrant and so sweet. It is very difficult to translate this word “frankincense.” Some versions say that this is something restful and satisfying. It is not only sweet and fragrant, but restful and peaceful. In all these verses we see that Jesus is really the fragrant frankincense. He has the fragrance of the resurrection. When Jesus was being arrested, Peter was strong with his sword to cut off the ear of one of the servants. But the Lord Jesus told Peter, “Suffer ye thus far. And he touched his ear, and healed him” (Luke 22:51). Jesus stopped the sword and recovered the ear. This is not anything natural; this is the fragrance of His resurrection. In His most tested hour, Jesus would not accept any protection; He cared instead for the suffering one.
In these verses we can see the fine flour, the oil, the frankincense, and also the salt. When people wanted to make Him great, He ran away. When they rejected Him, He did not reprove them. When they arrested Him, He could have destroyed them by calling twelve legions of angels, but He did nothing (Matt. 26:53). He even healed the ear of the one who came to arrest Him. What is this? This is the killing of the self. There was no corruption or fermentation with Him. He was under the salt all of the time. Regardless of what kind of situation or circumstance He was in, He was always under the killing in His actions and words. In His human living, there was the real salt. So in Jesus, we see the fine flour, the oil, the frankincense, and the salt.
The Gospel of Luke is strategic in showing us the Lord’s humanity. This is why we cannot find these verses in the other three Gospels. These are the unique verses concerning the humanity of Jesus. We all need to pray-read these verses at least three or four times, and put them into practice in our daily walk. It is only by feeding upon His humanity in these verses that we will experience His humanity in our daily life.
What the Lord is seeking today is the local churches where the saints worship God with their experiences of Christ. This is the real offering to God. We need to experience Christ in our daily walk, and we must learn how to cook and prepare Christ that we may bring Him to the meetings for a present to God. All the cakes, wafers, and portions of the meal offering were made and cooked at home and then brought to the tent of meeting. It is the same with us. Day by day we need to work on Christ: experience Him, enjoy Him, apprehend Him, and cook Him a little. We will then have something to bring to the meeting and present to God. This is the real worship, and this is the real recovery of the church life in all the localities. It is not just a matter of meeting together, but of meeting with Christ as all kinds of offerings. It is by this that we are united, and it is also by this that we render our worship to God. It is absolutely different from today’s so-called Christian service. May the Lord be merciful to us that we may be faithful to Him in this matter.
Home | First | Prev | Next