Narrow Way with Steve Phillips The Weak Christ
He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God – 2 Corinthians 13:4
From the midst of blinding radiance in unapproachable light in an instant to the blackness of Mary’s womb came the Weak Christ. For 9 months no sound of Seraphim, no chanted refrain of Living Creatures’ “Holy, Holy, Holy” reached His ears. Streets of gold did not meet His eye in Bethlehem’s manger.
Helpless Babe, hunted and hated by world powers, was bundled and rushed by anxious parents as a fugitive into a foreign land. 12 legions of angels did not attend Him along the sands of Egypt’s Nile.
Fear prompted nervous parents to carry Him far away to despised Nazareth during formative years. Manna from heaven did not settle with the dew there. No pampering was the portion of the Weak Christ.
“The Child continued to grow and become strong, becoming full of wisdom; and the grace of God was upon Him” –Luke 2:40. The Omniscient One apprehended by stages. The Omnipresent One trekked on dust from place to place. The Omnipotent One sweat and gasped in His new found environment.
“After He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. And the tempter came” –Matthew 4:2,3. The Creator and Supplier of all good things for His creatures, Himself hungered. 40 days without food made a Weak Christ. And the tempter took advantage of His state to assail, without success.
“Jesus, being wearied from His journey, was sitting thus by the well and said: ‘Give Me a drink’” –John 4:6,7. Fatigue and depletion of fluid drain the physique of strength, and thus our God sat in the sun.
“The boat was being swamped with the water, but Jesus Himself was asleep” –Matthew 8:24. Exhaustion was the recurring portion of the Master of wind and waves. Sleep is sweet for the Weak Christ.
“Consider Him who has endured such hostility of contradiction of sinners against Himself, so that you will not grow weary and faint in your souls” –Hebrews 12:3. Jesus, the Lord, did grow weary and faint in His body, truly, but not to abandonment in discouragement. Though distressed, He prevailed.
“‘Now My soul is troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save Me from this hour”? But for this purpose I came to this hour. “Father, glorify Your Name!”’” –John 12:27,28.
Men despise those who rise no higher than performing the will of others, as being spineless dependent servants. But this was Christ’s greatest glory. “The Son can do nothing from Himself, unless it is something He sees the Father do; for whatever the Father does, these things the Son also does in like manner” –John 5:19. There is no self-assertive authentication in Christ, no forcing of Self-will.
“I can do nothing on My own initiative” –John 5:30. “”I did not speak of Myself, but the Father Himself who sent Me has given Me a commandment as to what to say and what to speak” –John 12:49.
Behold the Weak Christ in the garden, surrounded by furious Pharisees, flickering torches, and flashing steel. “When He said to them, ‘I Am,’ they drew back and fell to the ground” –John 18:6. Behold the power in the Weak Christ. Saying so again, “they bound Him” –John 18:12. He is in control, not they.
The formula of heaven for greatness is Low, lower, and then lowest = highest. Behold, Weak Christ.
“Though He existed in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God as something to be grasped, but emptied Himself by taking on the form of a slave, and coming in the likeness of men.
“And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death on a cross! Therefore, God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the Name which is above every name, that at the Name of Jesus, every knee should bow” –Philippians 2:6-9.
And now, this Weak Christ, the despised little Lamb, reigns. “And I saw in the midst of the throne, a little Lamb standing, as if slain” –Revelation 5:6. And this little Lamb now instills terror.
“They said to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the wrath of the little Lamb’” –Revelation 6:16. Yes, “He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God.”
Weak Christ, Little Lamb, Power of God. His power is perfected in weakness -2 Corinthians 12:9.