Message 7
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Much of what we have covered in the foregoing messages on the burnt offering has been doctrinal. Therefore, I have the burden that we would see this offering in an experiential way. In this message we shall consider Christ in His experiences as the burnt offering to God. In the following message we shall consider our experiences of Christ in His experiences.
The second part of the title of this message is unusual, even peculiar: “Experiencing Christ in His Experiences and Offering the Christ We Have Experienced, and Offering Him to God as Our Burnt Offering according to Our Experiences of Him.” This part of the title has three points. The first point is experiencing Christ in His experiences; the second is offering the Christ we have experienced; and the third is offering Christ to God as our burnt offering according to our experiences of Him. Here we would emphasize the fact that we cannot offer to God a Christ whom we have not experienced. If you try to offer as a burnt offering to God a Christ whom you have not experienced, you will discover that this is impossible. What we offer of Christ as the burnt offering must be according to our experience. If we have experienced Christ as a bull, then we can offer Him as a bull. But if we have experienced Christ only as two pigeons, we cannot offer Him as a bull, for we have not experienced Him as a bull. We cannot offer as a burnt offering to God a Christ who is greater than the Christ we have experienced. We have to offer Christ to God, but we must offer Christ according to our experiences of Him.
Let us now consider Christ in His experiences as the burnt offering to God, covering a number of verses that reveal different aspects of Christ’s experiences. Christ experienced many things in order to be a burnt offering for God.
Isaiah 53:7 prophesied that Christ would be brought to the slaughter. “He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter.” The fulfillment of this prophecy can be seen in Matthew 27:31, where we are told that the soldiers “led Him away to crucify Him.”
Another New Testament verse which refers to Christ’s being brought to the slaughter is Philippians 2:8, a verse which tells us that Christ became obedient “even unto death, and that the death of a cross.” Christ was obedient as He was brought outside the city to the place of the slaughter — Golgotha.
After Pilate had judged the Lord Jesus and had found Him innocent, he wanted to release Him. But the people were shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!” (Luke 23:21), and their voices prevailed. Pilate, being fearful and wanting to please the crowd, sentenced the Lord Jesus to death. The Lord was then brought to the place of slaughter and was slaughtered on the cross. In Acts 2:23 Peter refers to this. “This man…you, through the hand of lawless men, nailed to the cross and killed.” For them to kill the Lord Jesus means that they slaughtered Him.
Many years ago I read an article about how the Jews slew the lamb on the day of Passover. According to this article, a lamb was put on two wooden stakes that were arranged in the shape of a cross, with two feet attached to one stake and two feet attached to the cross bar. The lamb was then killed. This indicates that the Lord’s crucifixion may have been a fulfillment of the way, in type, the Passover lamb was slaughtered.
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.
The Lord Jesus also had much experience in God’s delight, as signified by the fat. He was a delight to God. When the Lord Jesus went up from the water of baptism, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I delight” (Matt. 3:17). The same words were spoken when He was with three of His disciples on a high mountain (17:5). Furthermore, Isaiah 42:1 says, “Behold my servant...mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth.” This prophecy is fulfilled in Matthew 12. “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul delights” (v. 18). Christ is God’s choice and His delight.
In John 6:38 the Lord Jesus said, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.” How much the Sender, that is, the Father, was pleased by such a One, the One who came to do not His own will but the will of Him who sent Him.
“My teaching is not Mine, but His who sent Me.…He who seeks the glory of Him who sent Him, this One is true, and unrighteousness is not in Him” (John 7:16, 18). This indicates that when the Lord Jesus was on earth, He was absolutely for God. Because there was nothing in Him that was not for God, there was no unrighteousness with Him. It is unrighteous not to be for God, because God created us for Himself. Righteously speaking, we should be for Him. If we are not for God, we are not righteous. In the Lord Jesus there was no unrighteousness, for He was absolutely for God. This was His experience of being a delight to God.
We come now to Christ’s experience in His inwards. As a man, Christ had the human inwards with their various functions. Christ’s experience in His inwards is His experience in His mind, emotion, will, soul, heart, and spirit, including His love, desire, feeling, thought, decision, motive, and intention.
A number of verses reveal Christ’s experience in His inwards. According to Luke 2:49, when the Lord Jesus was twelve He said, “Did you not know that I must be in the things of My Father?” This can also be translated, “I must mind My Father’s business.” The Lord’s mind was on His Father’s business. His mind was occupied with the Father’s business. Here we have the function of the Lord’s mind, and we see how much He was inwardly for the Father.
John 2:17 speaks of the Lord’s zeal. “The zeal of Your house shall devour Me.” Zeal is a matter of the emotion. The zeal within the Lord Jesus was on fire, was burning, for God’s temple. Here we see the exercise of the Lord’s emotion.
In Matthew 26:39 the Lord Jesus prayed, “Yet not as I will, but as You will.” This was His prayer in Gethsemane when He was about to be arrested and brought to the slaughter. He took the Father’s will, for His own will was subdued to the Father’s will. This was a matter of the function of the Lord’s will.
Isaiah 53:12 prophesied concerning the Lord Jesus in His death on the cross: “He hath poured out his soul unto death.” The Lord Jesus lost His soul, voluntarily pouring out His soul unto death. This, of course, was a function of His soul.
Concerning Christ, Isaiah 42:4 says, “He shall not fail [be disheartened] nor be discouraged.” This speaks about the condition of the Lord’s heart. He was never disheartened; He was never discouraged in heart.
Mark 2:8 says, “Jesus, knowing in His spirit.” The Lord Jesus used His spirit, and He knew things in His spirit. In whatever situation He was, He knew that situation by exercising His spirit. He used His spirit for God and for making Himself a burnt offering.
The New Testament also speaks of the Lord’s walk, signified by the legs of the burnt offering. Luke 24:19 says, “Jesus…powerful in work and word before God and all the people.” This means that in action and in speaking He was perfect before God and all the people.
In John 8:46 the Lord Jesus asked, “Which one of you convicts Me of sin?” As He stood in the presence of the opposers, He was perfect. There was no fault in Him.
We have pointed out that in Leviticus 1 the legs and the inwards of the burnt offering were to be washed. This washing signifies Christ’s experience of being kept by the Holy Spirit from defilement. For instance, the Holy Spirit kept Him from defilement when He was tempted by the Devil. “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan, and was led by the Spirit in the wilderness forty days, being tempted by the Devil” (Luke 4:1). The Holy Spirit within the Lord Jesus kept Him from being defiled by that temptation.
In speaking of Christ as the High Priest, Hebrews 7:26 uses the word “undefiled.” Although the Lord Jesus had to contact many unclean things while He was on earth, He was never defiled. The Holy Spirit within Him kept Him from being defiled in any way.
If we put together all the aspects of Christ’s experience covered in this message — all the experiences from being brought to the slaughter to being washed — we shall see that He is the perfect and complete burnt offering. What we have here is not a doctrine but a portrait of Christ in His experiences.
