Christ was also skinned, stripped of the outward appearance of His human virtues. One example of this skinning is in Matthew 11:19. “The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, Behold, a gluttonous man and a wine drinker.” Such a word spoken about the Lord Jesus stripped Him of the appearance of His virtues. He was not a gluttonous man or a wine drinker; on the contrary, He was a proper man with proper conduct.
Other examples of skinning, of stripping, are found in Mark 3:22 and John 8:48. In Mark 3:22 the scribes said of the Lord Jesus, “He has Beelzebub, and by the ruler of the demons He casts out the demons.” Beelzebub means “the lord of the flies” and refers to Satan, the Devil. Flies are living, but they are unclean. The scribes were saying that the Lord Jesus was unclean and that He cast out demons by the lord, the king, of the flies. What slander! In John 8:48 the Jews said to Him, “Are we not right in saying that you are a Samaritan and have a demon?” A Samaritan is a person of mixed blood. Thus, the Lord Jesus was accused of being a person of mixture and of having a demon. This also was a kind of stripping.
In Matthew 26:65 the high priest said of the Lord Jesus, “He has blasphemed!... Behold, now you have heard the blasphemy.” This too was a stripping of the outward expression of the Lord’s human virtues.
Finally, when the Lord Jesus was about to be slaughtered, He was stripped of His clothing (Matt. 27:28). How shameful this was! Furthermore, when the soldiers had crucified Him, “they divided His garments among them, casting lots” (v. 35). This had been prophesied in Psalm 22:18, and it was fulfilled in the Lord’s presence while He was on the cross. What a stripping the Lord Jesus experienced!
When and where was the Lord Jesus cut into pieces? I believe that this took place when people spoke cruel things to Him as He hung on the cross. Consider Mark 15:29-32. “Those passing by blasphemed Him, wagging their heads and saying, Aha! You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross! Likewise also the chief priests with the scribes, mocking with one another, said, He saved others; himself he cannot save! Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe! And those who were crucified with Him reproached Him.” Those passing by twisted the Lord’s words concerning the temple and told Him to save Himself. Was this not a cutting? Surely it was. The Lord Jesus also experienced the cutting when the chief priests and the scribes mocked Him, telling Him to come down from the cross that they might see and believe. Even those who were crucified with Him reproached Him and thereby participated in the cutting.
This cutting was prophesied in Psalm 22:16 and 17. “For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked have inclosed me....they look and stare upon me.” This prophecy was fulfilled during the first three of the six hours the Lord Jesus was on the cross. Before He was judged by God on our behalf during the second three hours, He was cut into pieces by men during the first three hours. Therefore, Christ was slaughtered, skinned, and cut into pieces.
Christ’s experience in wisdom is signified by the head of the burnt offering. As a child the Lord Jesus grew and was filled with wisdom (Luke 2:40), and He kept advancing in wisdom (v. 52).
In the course of His ministry, the Lord Jesus spoke many maxims and words of wisdom. For example, in Mark 9:40 He said, “He who is not against us is for us,” and in Matthew 12:30 He said, “He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who is not gathering with Me is scattering.” These words are not contradictory. The maxim in Mark 9:40 speaks of outward conformity in practice and is in regard to people who are not against Him; that in Matthew 12:30 speaks of the inward unity of purpose and is in regard to people who are against Him. To maintain the inward unity we need to practice the word in Matthew, and for the outward conformity we should practice the word in Mark, tolerating believers who differ from us.
The occasion for the maxim in Mark 9:40 was the case of someone not following the Lord and the disciples, yet casting out demons in His name. The disciples forbade him because he was not following them (v. 38). When the Lord Jesus heard of this, He said, “Do not forbid him, for there is no one who shall do a work of power in My name and be able soon to speak evil of Me. For he who is not against us is for us” (vv. 39-40). There was no need for the disciples to forbid that person from casting out demons in the Lord’s name. Regarding outward conformity in practice, he who is not against the Lord and His disciples is for them.
The occasion for the maxim in Matthew 12:30 was different. The Pharisees, who were opposing the Lord Jesus, had accused Him of casting out demons “by Beelzebub, ruler of the demons” (v. 24). Therefore, regarding the Pharisees, the ones against Him, He said, “He who is not with Me is against Me.” They were not with Him but were with Satan. Therefore, the Lord’s word here concerns the inward unity of purpose.
How wise were the Lord’s words! In all of human history no philosopher has spoken such words of wisdom. The Lord’s words are simple, but His thoughts are marvelous. Only He has the wisdom to speak such words.
The Lord Jesus spoke another wise word when He was questioned by the chief priests and elders of the people about His authority (Matt. 21:23). He answered their question with a question of His own. “I also will question you about one thing, which if you tell Me, I also will tell you by what authority I do these things: The baptism of John, whence was it? From heaven or from men?” (vv. 24-25a). The opposers reasoned among themselves, saying, “If we say, From heaven, he will say to us, Why then did you not believe him? But if we say, From men, we fear the crowd, for all hold John as a prophet” (vv. 25b-26). Therefore, they decided to lie and say, “We do not know” (v. 27a). To this the Lord Jesus replied, “Neither do I tell you by what authority I do these things” (v. 27b). The Lord’s use of the word “neither” indicates that He knew that they were lying. The Lord seemed to be saying, “It is not true that you do not know. You know, but you are not willing to tell Me. Now neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things. You speak a lie, but I speak the truth.” What wisdom the Lord Jesus has!
The Lord displayed His wisdom once again in Matthew 22:15-22. The Pharisees sent to Him their disciples with the Herodians, saying, “Teacher, we know that you are true, and that you teach the way of God in truth and do not care for anyone, for you do not regard the person of men. Tell us therefore, What do you think? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar, or not?” (vv. 16-17). This ensnaring question put the Lord Jesus into a dilemma. Giving tribute to Caesar was opposed by all the Jews. If He had said that it was lawful to do this, He would have offended the Jews, whose leaders were the Pharisees. If He had said that it was not lawful, this would have given the Herodians, who stood with the Roman government, strong ground to accuse Him. In His wisdom, He said to them, “Show Me the tribute money” (v. 19a), and they showed Him a denarius. The Lord Jesus did not show the Roman coin but asked them to show one to Him. Since they possessed one of the Roman coins, they were caught. Then He went on to ask, “Whose is this image and inscription?” (v. 20). When they answered, “Caesar’s,” He said to them, “Pay then what is Caesar’s to Caesar, and what is God’s to God” (v. 21). When they heard this wise word, they marveled and went away.
We find yet another example of Christ’s wisdom in Matthew 22:34-40. A lawyer, tempting Him, asked, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?” (v. 36). The Lord Jesus answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets” (vv. 37-40). The Lord was wise, and His answer was brief, simple, to the point, and full of wisdom.
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