The humanity and human living of the Lord Jesus were without fault. He was brought to Pilate to be judged by the Roman authority, but Pilate declared that he could not find any fault in Him (Luke 23:14). The Lord Jesus had no sin. In Him there was no leaven.
With the Lord Jesus there is no honey. One day, while He was speaking to the crowds, “His mother and His brothers stood outside seeking to speak to Him. And someone said to Him, Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You” (Matt. 12:46-47). When He heard this, He said to the one who spoke to Him, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers? And stretching out His hand over His disciples, He said, Behold, My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in the heavens, he is My brother and sister and mother” (vv. 48-50). This indicates that with Him there is no honey, that He denied the natural life,
In Acts 15:36-39 there was a problem between Paul and Barnabas. This problem was caused by the honey of the natural life. Barnabas wanted to take John Mark with them on their travels, but “Paul did not consider it suitable to take with them this one who withdrew from them in Pamphylia and did not go with them to the work” (v. 38). As a result, “there arose a sharp contention, so that they separated from each other” (v. 39a). Mark was Barnabas’s cousin (Col. 4:10), and it is likely that the problem between Paul and Barnabas was caused by the natural relationship between Barnabas and Mark. Paul, who was vindicated by the divine record (Acts 15:39b-40), did not agree with this honey.
In our Christian life, we need to learn of the Lord Jesus to avoid the natural life as much as possible. As believers, we surely need to love others, but we should be careful not to love in a natural way. How easy it is for us to love others in a natural, human way! Even in the church life we may love those who are naturally the same as we are. We may love a certain brother because his disposition is similar to ours. This kind of love is honey; it is a natural love.
In Philippians 2:2 Paul speaks of “having the same love.” To have the same love is to have a love for all the saints that is on the same level. In ourselves we cannot have this kind of love, for our natural tendency is to have a love that is on different levels. Our love for certain saints may be on a higher level than our love for other saints. This is honey. The love of the Lord Jesus is not like this.
Mark 10:38 and John 12:24 indicate that the Lord Jesus was always salted, that He always lived a life under the shadow of the cross. Before He was actually crucified, He daily lived a crucified life.
In Mark 10:38 the Lord Jesus asked James and John, “Are you able to drink the cup which I drink, or to be baptized with the baptism with which I am baptized?” When they said that they were able, He went on to say, “The cup which I drink you shall drink; and the baptism with which I am baptized, you shall be baptized” (v. 39). Both the cup and the baptism refer to Christ’s death (John 18:11; Luke 12:50). To drink the Lord’s cup and to be baptized with the baptism with which He has been baptized are to experience His death, to have His death applied to us in our experience.
A hymn that speaks of being salted is Hymns, #631. The second stanza and the chorus say:
If I’d have Christ formed within me,
I must breathe my final breath,
Live within the Cross’s shadow,
Put my soul-life e’er to death.If no death, no life,
If no death, no life;
Life from death alone arises;
If no death, no life.
The life Christ lived was a life of being salted. For us to experience the cross today is to be salted. We need to receive the salt in our daily life. If we do this, we will be the fine flour for the meal offering.
In John 12, when the Lord Jesus entered Jerusalem, He was welcomed by the crowd. Humanly speaking, that was His golden time. However, when He heard that the people were seeking Him, He said, “Unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it abides alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (v. 24). This word indicates that instead of allowing Himself to be exalted, the Lord Jesus was salted. He seemed to be saying, “I am a grain of wheat. I do not need to be welcomed, glorified, and exalted by people. I need to fall into the earth and die.”
We need to learn of the Lord Jesus to be salted. When others welcome us, exalt us, and glorify us, it is very easy for us to have honey instead of salt. Whenever we are welcomed or exalted by others, we should apply salt to ourselves and be persons who want not to be exalted but to die. This means that we should learn to apply the cross of Christ.
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