Brothers and sisters, you have to see the significance of this case. People invariably address the Lord Jesus according to their religious concepts, regarding Him as a great man. However, the Lord clearly reveals to us that He is not so. We have to know the Lord not according to the religious concept but according to the revelation in His Word. Today, the whole world sees Christ in the same way as the Canaanite woman did. Therefore, some say that Christ was a religious teacher, others say that Christ was the founder of a religion, and still others say that Christ was a great man. These are what the unbelieving Gentiles say. Then in the eyes of the Christians, Christ is greater and higher. I am not saying that the Lord Jesus is neither great nor high. However, you have to realize that this notion is according to man’s religious concept. Since the creation of man, God has always revealed Himself to man and placed Himself before man as the tree of life. We all know that fruit trees are not gigantic trees. For example, neither apple trees nor vines are tall. However, trees such as fir and cypress, which are used for pillars, are very tall. If the fruit trees were several hundred feet high with fruit hanging from them, at such a height how could we get the fruit to eat? Therefore, I firmly believe that the tree of life presented in the Bible must be a small and short tree. Some Bible scholars suggest that the tree of life is a grapevine because the Lord Jesus once declared, “I am the true vine.” Regardless of this, the tree of life cannot be very tall or high.
Hallelujah, when God appeared to man the first time, He did not appear as a great One but rather as a tree placed before man! Then when Jesus came, men regarded Him as a tremendously great religious person. However, He said, “I am the bread of life.” Bread is even smaller than a tree. God has always placed Himself before men as a small One; He never manifested Himself as a great One. Why? It is because only by being small can He enter into man. When we take Him into us, He is delighted.
Many of you are very familiar with Paul’s Epistles. Let me ask you, “In Paul’s fourteen Epistles, how many times did he write that he bowed his head and prostrated himself before God?” There are only a few instances. However, he repeatedly said, “Christ in me” and “Christ in you.” For example, he said, “It is no longer I who live, but it is Christ who lives in me”; “It pleased God¼to reveal His Son in me”; “My children, with whom I travail again in birth until Christ is formed in you”; “Christ in you, the hope of glory”; “That Christ may make His home in your hearts” (Gal. 2:20; 1:15-16; 4:19; Col. 1:27; Eph. 3:17). When something gets into you, which is greater, you or that thing? Hallelujah, you are greater! When you praise the Lord, you truly should tell Him, “Lord, I praise You, I am greater than You! O Lord, You are smaller than I!” If you dare not praise the Lord in this manner, it proves that you are still being influenced by your religious concepts. In the morning try to boldly say to the Lord, “Hallelujah! I am great, and You are small.” If you do this, I can guarantee that your spirit will leap with joy. The Lord will then say, “Here is a man who knows Me thoroughly.”
Do not misunderstand me. I am not saying that the Lord Jesus in His person is smaller than you. In Himself He is many times greater and higher than you are. However, He has indeed become a small Jesus in order that you may eat and enjoy Him. Moreover, when He left Jerusalem and withdrew to Tyre and Sidon, He became even the crumbs that fell under the table. The bread on the table is comparatively big; the crumbs under the table are truly small. “O Jesus, I praise You as the ‘crumbs.’ Today You are not a whole Jesus; You are Jesus as the ‘crumbs!’”
About fifteen years ago in a long-term training here, I searched through the Bible and tried my best to find all the titles of the Lord. He is Christ, Jesus, Emmanuel, Son of God, and so on. We found about two hundred seventy titles. However, I did not include “the crumbs” as a title. This morning I want to add another title: The Lord Jesus is also called the crumbs. The Lord Jesus is not only the bread of life but also “the crumbs.”
I repeat, Jesus in Himself is great, but in order for us to eat and enjoy Him, He willingly humbled Himself and took the form of a slave. Man, in his natural concept, called Him “the Son of David” which was a traditional form of address. However, the Lord Jesus said, “I am the children’s bread, even the crumbs. I am not the crumbs on the table but rather the crumbs under the table.” Oh, the Lord Jesus is in the place where you are—in a fallen condition, in Tyre and Sidon. Tyre and Sidon were not respectable places, yet the Lord withdrew to those places. Although He is holy, He humbled Himself and condescended to be with us, to approach the unrighteous sinners. As the great God, He approached the lowly men.
(Eating the Lord, Chapter 2, by Witness Lee)