HUMILITY

"Weaknesses of the flesh come in many forms, but all come as a result of the fall of Adam, which introduced into the world pains and problems, sicknesses and sorrows, temptations and trials.  Not only did the nature of man become fallen, carnal, sensual and devilish, but the entire world fell to a telestial state with all of its accompanying weaknesses and inherent problems.

Such weaknesses affect all mankind, even the prophets of God.  'O wretched man that I am,' bemoaned Nephi and Paul the Apostle.  (See 2nd Nephi 4:17 and Romans 7:24)  These Fall-induced 'weaknesses of the flesh' impose natural limitations upon us all.

Mortals are always bound by worldly weaknesses and limitations in strength, knowledge and power.  Recognizing these limitations in stark contrast to God's infinite wisdom and power causes one to be humble.  'The foolishness of God is wiser than men, 'declared Paul the Apostle, 'and the weakness of God is stronger than men.' (l Corinthians 1:25)

In addition to the universal weaknesses of the flesh that come as a result of the Fall, the Lord will at times 'give unto men' a personalized individual challenge that is designed to increase a person's faith in and dependence upon the Lord…

C.S. Lewis insightfully observed:  'When a man turns to Christ and seems to be getting on pretty well (in the sense that some of his bad habits are now corrected), he often feels that it would now be natural if things went fairly smoothly.  When troubles come along, illnesses, money troubles, new kinds of temptation, he is disappointed. These things, he feels, might have been necessary to rouse him and make him repent in his bad old days; but why now?

Because God is forcing him on, or up, to a higher level:  putting him into situations where he will have to be very much braver, or more patient, or more loving, than he ever dreamed of before.  It seems to us all unnecessary:  but that is because we have not yet had the slightest notion of the tremendous thing He means to make of us.'" (Mere Christianity, pg. 174) (Doctrinal Commentary on the Book of Mormon, McConkie, Millet & Top, Vol. 4, pg. 300-301)

The Kindest Man

"Standing before the chief priests, Jesus was in dreadful physical condition. By this time the Savior had already been awake for an entire day and night. He had experienced the bloody agony in Gethsemane and been forced to cross the Kidron Valley, marching up its steep western slope to the residence of the high priest on the western hill of Jerusalem where the wealthy and powerful lived…

Jesus stood before the Jewish leaders in bloody garments. He was suffering from severe emotional and mental trauma, loss of blood, shock brought on by diminishing bodily fluids and chills from the cold night air passing over his damp form (blood mixed with sweat). Such physiological distress would have caused collapse in most mortals, but the Savior's physical ordeal was far from over in those early morning hours of what the Christian world calls Good Friday…

Members of the Sanhedrin were assembled at night, which was illegal according to their own law. Nicodemus, Joseph of Arimathea and any others who had the slightest spiritual leanings toward Jesus were undoubtedly not invited to participate in the ensuing mockery of justice…

Caiaphas, the high priest, accused Jesus of blasphemy. These leaders were attempting to convict Jehovah of blasphemy against Jehovah; they who claimed to worship and adore him. (Today, it would be like claiming Christ was unchristian; it doesn't make any sense).

So the judges in Zion concluded that he was worthy of death and the only evidence they had was Christ's own acknowledgement, also illegal before the eyes of their law. The high priest's companions all concurred that Jesus was guilty as accused (a unanimous decision was also illegal) and they commenced their disgraceful spitting, hitting (buffeting), slapping and mocking of the gentlest, kindest and holiest Man who had ever walked their land and graced their chambers.

Gerald N. Lund summarizes the indignities and outrages that Jesus patiently endured: 'How easy it would have been for the one who cast out devils, to banish the arrogant high priest. How elementary for one who loosed the tongues of the dumb, to stop the tongues of false witnesses. Yet he who brought worlds and galaxies into being stood mute before his mortal accusers. (Ensign, July 1975, 31)

It would be well to identify the religious conspirators against Jesus for who they really were. H. Curtis Wright explains that 'we disagree…with the bulk of Christian writers who have described the leaders of the Jews as hoodlums and outlaws, rascals and ruffians, rogues and scoundrels, knaves and villains and blackguards and highwaymen of the deepest, darkest hue. That, I'm afraid, really is…a gross distortion of the truth. They were criminal all right, but of a vastly different piece. They had no use for the seamy side of crime and they campaigned relentlessly against it…they didn't like darkness or dirt! They moved in the upper strata of Jewish high society and lived in the better sections of Jerusalem. They bathed every day. They inhabited the country club ionosphere of the cities 'velvet alleys' where they breathed the rarified air of religious piety and unimpeachable integrity…They wore…the cloak of respectability and public trust and the mantle of high official office. In addition to that, they were exceptionally well educated…

Spiritual wickedness has always had a way of ending up in high places…It was a conspiracy in the worst sense of the term and the perpetrators were the elite of Jerusalem, the impeccably reputable 'men of affairs,' the solid citizens' the 'chief priests and the scribes and the elders of the people.' … In a few days Jesus would be executed…not of hoods and con men, but of professional conspirators, for they were only irate citizens, campaigning in to name of justice and civic virtue and insisting upon the protection of their rights!" (Thing of Naught, 9-10, 12-13) (Verse by Verse, The Four Gospels, Ogden & Skinner pgs. 613-617).