I am reminded to show again where we are in our quest to learn of Christ by the Lord Jesus Himself when He states this in Matthew 11 beginning at verse 25;
Matthew 11:29 of 25-27, 28-30 "At that time Jesus declared, 'I thank You, Father, LORD of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and revealed them to little children; yes, Father, for such is Your gracious (plan and purpose of) will. All things have been handed over to (Christ) Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.
Come to Me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy, and My burden is light.'"
From here I am moving now to look at divine condescension, for this I will turn to Daniel Webster's 1828 Bible Dictionary to find the meaning: "Voluntary descent from rank, dignity or just claims; relinquishment of strict right; submission to inferiors in granting requests or performing acts which strict justice does not require. Hence, courtesy.
It forbids pride and commands humility, modesty and condescension to others."
Now I will turn our attention back to Christ and the fact that Jesus after He had passed through John's baptism fulfilled all the righteous requirement of the Prophet and the Mosaic Law. Making Him the principle character of Deuteronomy 18:18-19 as I have been stating of late. Then as far as the LORD's "yoke," goes it is not like the Yoke of burden of the Mosaic Law, on the contrary, for Jesus tells us that it is light and that we have rest with Him by taking it willingly upon ourselves. And by doing so we will learn of Him or put another way we will be taught by Him. Now how interesting is that when He stated that it would be Holy Spirit's assignment to train teach and mentor us.
Divine Condescension,
Psalm 113:6 of 1-5, 6-9 "Praise the LORD! Praise, O servants of the LORD, praise the name of the LORD! Blessed be the name of the LORD from this time forth and forevermore! From the rising of the sun to its setting, the name of the LORD is to be praised! The LORD is high above all nations, and His glory above the heavens! Who is like the LORD our God, Who is seated on high,
Who looks far down on the heavens and the earth? He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap, to make them sit with princes, with the princes of His people. He gives the barren woman a home, making her the joyous mother of children. Praise the LORD!"
Psalm 136:23 of 23-26 "It is He Who remembered us in our low estate, for His steadfast love endures forever; and rescued us from our foes, for His steadfast love endures forever; He Who gives food to all flesh, for His steadfast love endures forever. Give thanks to the GOD of heaven, for His steadfast love endures forever."
Psalm 138:6 of 4-6, 7-8 "All the kings of the earth shall give You thanks, O LORD, for they have heard the words of Your mouth, and they shall sing of the ways of the LORD, for great is the glory of the LORD. For though the LORD is high, He regards the lowly, but the haughty He knows from afar.
Though I walk in the midst of trouble, You preserve my life; You stretch out Your hand against the wrath of my enemies, and Your right hand delivers me. The LORD will fulfill His purpose for me; Your steadfast love, O LORD, endures forever. Do not forsake the work of Your hands."
Isaiah 57:15 of 11-13, 14-21 "'Of Whom did you dread and fear, so that you lied, and did not remember Me, did not lay it to heart? Have I not held My peace, even for a long time, and you do not fear Me? I will declare your righteousness and your deeds, but they will not profit you. When you cry out, let your collection of idols deliver you! The wind will carry them all off, a breath will take them away. But he who takes refuge in Me shall possess the land and shall inherit My holy mountain.
And it shall be said, 'Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from My people's way.' For thus says the One Who is high and lifted up, Who inhabits eternity, Whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite. For I will not contend forever, nor will I always be angry; for the spirit would grow faint before Me, and the breath of life that I made. Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid My face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart. I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,' says the LORD, 'and I will heal (restore) him. But the wicked are like the tossing sea; for they cannot be quiet, and their waters toss up mire and dirt. For them there is no peace,' says my GOD, 'for the wicked.'"
Matthew 9:11 of 10-13 "As Jesus reclined at table in the house, behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and were reclining with Jesus and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw this, they said to His disciples, "Why does your teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" But when He heard it, and said, 'Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. Go and learn what this means, 'I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.' For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.'"
Luke 1:48 of 46-55 "And Mary said, "My soul magnifies the LORD, and my spirit rejoices in GOD my Savior, for HE has looked on the humble estate of His servant. For behold, from now on all generations will call me blessed; for HE Who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is His name. And His mercy is for those who fear Him from generation to generation. HE has shown strength with His right arm; HE has scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; HE has brought down the mighty from their thrones and exalted those of humble estate; HE has filled the hungry with good things, and the rich HE has sent away empty. HE has helped His servant Israel, in remembrance of His mercy, as HE spoke to our fathers, to Abraham and to his offspring forever."
John 13:4 of 1-11 "Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing this and that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from GOD and was going back to GOD, rose from supper. He laid aside His outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around His waist. Then He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around Him. When He came to Simon Peter, Peter said to Him, "LORD!" do You wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, 'What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand.' To this Peter said, "You shall never wash my feet." Then Jesus answered him, 'If I do not wash you, you have no share (agreement) with Me.' Then Simon Peter said to Him, "LORD!", not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" And Jesus said to him, 'The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.' For He knew who was to betray Him; that was why He said, 'Not all of you are clean.'"
John 20:20 of 19-23, 27 of 26-29 "On the evening of that day, that is on the first day of the week, the doors being locked where the disciples were for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said to them, 'Peace be with you.' After HE had said this, HE showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the LORD. Jesus said to them again, 'Peace be with you. As the Father has sent Me, even so I am sending you.' And when HE had said this, HE breathed on them and said to them, 'Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.'"
John 20:27 of 26-29 "Eight days later, His disciples were inside again, and Thomas was with them. Although the doors were locked, Jesus came and stood among them and said, 'Peace be with you.' Then HE said to Thomas, 'Put your finger here, and see My hands; and put out your hand, and place it in My side. Do not disbelieve, but believe!' Then Thomas answered Him, "My LORD and my GOD!" Jesus not rebuking him, said to him, 'Have you believed because you have seen Me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"
I was going to look at the witness of the disciples but will do other wise for now by looking at our keeping of ourselves instead.
Keep Thyself, a special exhortation,
Deuteronomy 4:9 of 9-14 "Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children's children—how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, 'Gather the people to Me, that I may let them hear My words, so that they may learn to fear Me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.' And you came near and stood at the foot of the mountain, while the mountain burned with fire to the heart of heaven, wrapped in darkness, cloud, and gloom. Then the LORD spoke to you out of the midst of the fire. You heard the sound of words, but saw no form; there was only a voice. And HE declared to you His covenant, which HE commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and HE wrote them on two tablets of stone. And the LORD commanded me at that time to teach you statutes and rules, that you might do them in the land that you are going over to possess."
Deuteronomy 23:9 "'When you are encamped against your enemies, then you shall keep yourself from every evil thing.'"
Proverbs 4:23 of 20-27 "'My son, be attentive to My words; incline your ear to My sayings. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart. For they are life to those who find them, and healing to all their flesh. Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life. Put away from you crooked speech, and put devious talk far from you. Let your eyes look directly forward, and your gaze be straight before you. Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.'"
Acts 15:29 of 22-29 (James has just finished speaking) "Then it seemed good to the apostles and the elders, with the whole church, to choose men from among them and send them to Antioch with Paul and Barnabas. They sent Judas called Barsabbas, and Silas, leading men among the brothers, with the following letter: "The brothers, both the apostles and the elders, to the brothers who are of the Gentiles in Antioch and Syria and Cilicia, greetings. Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions to do so, it has seemed good to us, having come to one accord, to choose men and send them to you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men who have risked their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. We have therefore sent Judas and Silas, who themselves will tell you the same things by word of mouth. For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell."
1Timothy 5:21 of 17-22 "Let the elders who rule well be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says (in Deuteronomy 25:4), "You shall not muzzle an ox when it treads out the grain," and (in Leviticus 19:13 and Deuteronomy 24:15) "The laborer deserves his wages." Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses. As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of GOD and of His Christ in Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Do not be hasty in the laying on of hands, nor take part in the sins of others; keep yourself pure."
James 1:27 of 26-27 "If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person's religion is worthless. For there is a Religion that is pure and undefiled before GOD, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world."
Jude 21 of 17-23 "But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, "In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions." It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of His Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keeping yourselves in the love of GOD, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to Eternal Life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh."
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