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DISCOURSES AND SAYINGS OF
OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST.
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EXPOSITION I.
"THE GOSPEL OF THE KINGDOM."
Joh_3:14 - Joh_3:21. —"And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For every one that doeth evil hateth the light, neither cometh to the light, lest his deeds should be reproved. But he that doeth truth cometh to the light, that his deeds may be made manifest, that they are wrought in God."
INTRODUCTION.
THESE "golden sentences" occur in the narrative of a conversation between our Lord Jesus Christ, and Nicodemus a ruler of the Jews. To understand the record of any conversation aright, it is of great importance to know its occasion—the characters of those engaged in it, and the circumstances in which it took place. These, in the case before us, are but imperfectly known to us; but we shall find that even the very partial notices we have of them, cast much light on what would otherwise be very obscure, if not altogether unintelligible.
Jesus Christ, attended by his five disciples, Peter, and Andrew, and John, and Philip, and Nathaniel, had come up from Galilee to Jerusalem. His external appearance was that of a Jew of humble rank, and his followers were men belonging to the same class in society as himself. His expulsion of those traffickers who had desecrated the temple by making one of its courts the scene of their secular commerce, and his performance of a number of miracles, had, however, drawn on him a considerable share of public attention; and many had been induced to regard him as a divine messenger or prophet: though the majority of those who had formed this opinion were persons entirely under the influence of the sentiments almost universally prevalent among the Jews respecting the design of the Messiah's mission, and the nature of the kingdom which he was to establish in the world.
Among these individuals was Nicodemus, a member of the sect of the Pharisees, which embraced in it the great body of the apparently pious of the Jews; a man of high rank and respectable character; a ruler of the Jews ; a "councillor," or member of the Sanhedrim, the highest court of judicature among the Jews; and a "master in Israel," or expositor of the Jewish law. This man—though he appears at this period to have been entirely secular in his opinions and expectations respecting the Messiah, one of those who were looking, not for a spiritual saviour, but for a temporal deliverer; not for a personal salvation from guilt and depravity and endless ruin, but for a national deliverance from the foreign yoke of the Romans—seems to have been a person of an inquisitive and candid mind.
It is not at all likely that he thought that this worker of miracles was, or even supposed that he might be, the Messiah, the promised deliverer, with regard to whose appearance all men's minds were in a state of excited expectation. He must have looked for the Messiah, not from Nazareth, but from Bethlehem; not in the person of an obscure Galilean stranger, but in an acknowledged descendant of the ancient royal house of David.
But he had come to the conclusion that this young Nazarene was a divinely commissioned messenger, and he wished to have some private conversation with him; no doubt, respecting that "kingdom of God" or "of heaven," which both John the Baptist and Jesus had declared to be "at hand," just about to be established. Probably from a fear of involving himself in danger, either from his colleagues in the Sanhedrim, or from the Roman government, he seems to have wished that the interview should be as private as possible, and accordingly he "came to Jesus by night."
He introduced himself by declaring his conviction, founded on the miracles which he had witnessed, that Jesus was a divine messenger: —" Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him." Instead of permitting him to unfold the purpose of his visit, Jesus, who "knew what was in man," and often answered men's thoughts rather than their words, replied in a manner which showed that he was acquainted with what was passing in his visitor's mind. Instead of showing himself flattered by the recognition of his divine mission by a man of such high rank and extensive influence, and endeavouring to secure his assistance in establishing his claims, he in effect states, that Nicodemus was completely mistaken on the subject about which he had come to converse, and that without an entire change in his mode of thinking, and in his mode of feeling too, he could never become a partaker of the privileges of the new order of things to be established by the Messiah, nor even distinctly apprehend their nature. "Except a man," any man, every man, Jew as well as Gentile, undergo a change not less extensive and thorough than that which a heathen does when he becomes a Jew, and which the Jews were accustomed to call a new birth, —" except a man be born again, he cannot see a the kingdom of God."
Nicodemus, if; as is not improbable, he had heard the preaching of John, and even submitted to his baptism, had not complied with the injunction "repent"—'change your views and expectations respecting the kingdom of God;' and therefore our Lord thus turns his attention to the nature and necessity of this "repentance," this thorough inward change, under another, and still more impressive representation.
"The kingdom of God"—a phrase derived from a remarkable prediction of the prophet Daniel, —denotes the order of things to be established by the Messiah, an order of things rich in blessings to his subjects, both in this life and in that which is to come—both on earth and in heaven.
To "see" the kingdom of heaven, may signify either to apprehend the truth with respect to this order of things, or to enjoy its peculiar privileges. Both ideas may be included, as it is through apprehending the truth respecting the kingdom that men become partakers of its privileges. It is a phrase of similar import as to "see good," to "see death," to "see God," to "see of the travail of his soul."
To be "born again," is equivalent to the undergoing of a thorough change, beneficial in its character, and the cause of which is not in the individual who undergoes it.
Nicodemus, who thought that the Jews, because descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, were to be the subjects of the Messiah, "the children of the kingdom," declared that this statement of Jesus seemed as strange to him as if he had said that a man of mature age must, in the literal sense of the terms, be born again. "Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when be is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?"
It is not at all necessary that we should suppose Nicodemus to have been so stupid as to apprehend our Lord's obviously figurative language literally, or so profane as to attempt to turn into ridicule the words of one whom he acknowledged to be "a teacher come from God." It was customary among the Jews, as has been already hinted, when a heathen proselyte was admitted into "the commonwealth of Israel," to term the change he underwent a new birth. In Nicodemus' estimation, he and all Israelites, being the children of Abraham, were also "children of the kingdom." "The kingdom of heaven" was, in their reckoning, merely the more complete development of the theocratic system under which they already were; and he could not conceive what change was necessary to pass on them, to secure their sharing in its immunities and privileges. Had Jesus said, unless a Gentile be born again, "he cannot see the kingdom of heaven," this could have been understood. But the general declaration, "except a man," very probably so uttered as to convey the idea, except you, be born again (for it is plainly to this saying, and the equally indefinite one in the 7th verse, that our Lord refers, when he says, "marvel not that I said to thee" a councillor, a master in Israel, "ye" Jews "must be born again"), was so utterly incongruous to all his notions, that he in effect says, 'This new birth on the part of Jews, in order to their becoming participants of the honours and blessings of the Messiah's reign, seems to me as strange, and incredible, and useless a thing, as that a grown-up man should be again born of his mother.'
Jesus repeated the statement, adding some circumstances fitted to lead Nicodemus into correct views with regard to the nature of that change which he had represented as necessary for the enjoyment of the advantages of the Messiah's reign: —"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water, and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit." This is equivalent to, 'Strange as my statement may appear to you, it is indubitably true. The change I refer to is not one of external profession merely, but of inward character. Except a man not only make a profession of a change of mind, such as that made by those who submitted to John's baptism; but actually undergo that change of mind which is produced by the operation of the Holy Ghost, he cannot be a participant of the blessings of the Messiah's reign.'
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit." "Flesh" may here mean, 'human nature as depraved,' or 'human nature apart from supernatural influence.' In the first case it is equivalent to, 'Depraved man can have a son only in his own likeness. Man must become God's son to become fit for His holy kingdom.' In the second case it is equivalent to, 'As the natural descendants of Abraham, you may be, you are, possessors of external privileges; but you must be spiritually born, that is, in your inward views and feelings you must be radically changed, in order to your being fitted to enjoy spiritual privileges. The Jewish people are born of the flesh, —"of blood, of the will of the flesh, of the will of man," they are men, and may enjoy those external privileges, which it Is competent for you as men to enjoy; but the kingdom of God is a spiritual kingdom; none but those who are spiritual can enjoy its privileges, and none can be spiritual without a thorough change being produced on their spiritual nature by "the Spirit," plainly the Spirit of God. This seems wonderful to you; but that is no reason why you should not believe it.'
The words that follow have been usually thus interpreted: —
'You have had no experience of this spiritual change, and you have no distinct notion of the manner in which it is to be produced, or why it is necessary; but you never think of denying the existence of wind, which indeed proves itself by its effects, though it is invisible, and though its movements are regulated by laws over which you have no control, and of which you have little knowledge.'
This interpretation does not seem to be satisfactory, as it obliges us to give to the word which occurs so often in the passage, properly rendered "Spirit," an unusual sense, that of "wind." I am therefore inclined to keep to the ordinary sense of the word, Spirit, retaining the same meaning throughout, and to consider our Lord as saying, 'This spiritual new birth, which you find it so difficult to understand and believe, has the common character of spiritual operations. For example, in inspiration (with the idea of which the Jews were familiar,) "The Spirit breathes where he pleases:" you do not know the reason or manner of his commencing, or the reason or manner of his terminating, his operations on the inspired person, but you observe its effects, "you hear his voice," you have the revelation. "Thus it is with every one born of the Spirit."' It is not a comparison of the operation of the wind and that of the Spirit. It is not a comparison at all. It is the statement of a general law, and an assertion that the case referred to is an exemplification of it. The change is an internal spiritual change. It is the work of the Spirit, who in this case, as usually, does not unfold the reason and manner of his operations, but manifests their effects.'
Nicodemus, more and more perplexed, utterly incapable of reconciling these statements, as to complete internal change being necessary even on a Jew, in order to his being a sharer of the privileges of the Messiah's kingdom, with the notions he had from his infancy entertained respecting the design of the appearance of that long-promised Prince, exclaimed, "How can these things be?" "And no wonder," as Neander says, "a dead, contracted, arrogant, scribe-theology, is always amazed at the mysteries of inward spiritual experience." Our Lord replied, "Art thou a master in Israel, and knowest not these things?"
These words seem to imply, that if he had studied the Old Testament Scriptures he might have known, that an internal change was necessary for enjoying the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom. 'Had you understood those Scriptures, with the letter of which, as "a master in Israel," you are so familiar, you must have known that that kingdom is to be spiritual in its nature, and that no man with the carnal conceptions common among the Jews, can understand its nature or enjoy its blessings.' Our Lord probably refers to such passages as the following: "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall be clean: from all your filthiness, and from all your idols, will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you; and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you." "Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah; not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers: But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the Lord, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." (Eze_36:25 - Eze_36:27; Jer_31:31 - Jer_31:33)
Our Lord proceeded to assert the truth and importance of the statement he had made: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen, and ye receive not our witness." "We" not improbably includes John the Baptist, whose doctrine of repentance or change of mind, is entirely coincident with our Lord's doctrine of the new birth. Our Lord thus gently, but powerfully, exposed Nicodemus' inconsistency, q. d., 'You say that you know that I am a teacher sent from God, and you admit John to be a prophet; and yet when we tell you what we know to be true, instead of readily receiving it, you doubt, and hesitate, and object, and cavil. You are come to inquire of me concerning the nature of the Messiah's kingdom, but how will you ever receive the truth respecting it, so widely different from what you as a Jew expect, when you discover so much backwardness to receive the doctrine, comparatively level to your comprehension, that a great inward change, to be effected by the Spirit of God, is necessary to the enjoyment of its blessings, and indeed to the understanding of its nature?'
"If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe if I tell you of heavenly things?" q. d., 'Your behaviour gives me little encouragement to go forward and unfold to you the truth about that kingdom of God, to inquire about which was the great purpose of your visit. For if you find so much difficulty in receiving what is comparatively an earthly thing, a doctrine respecting things level to ordinary apprehensions—the doctrine 'that carnal men, men occupied with sensible and present things, must undergo an inward change, a change of mind and heart, of conviction and feeling,—must become spiritual men to fit them for the reception of a spiritual Saviour, and the possession of a spiritual salvation,'—how shall you ever be brought to believe "the heavenly things," the doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, which is as remote, as heaven is from earth, from anything which could have entered into tile mind of man; the doctrine of the manner in which spiritual blessings are to be obtained by the Messiah, the persons for whom they are to be obtained, and the manner in which they are to be invested with them?'
The doctrine of our Lord here is that so plainly taught by his Apostles, that to the understanding and enjoyment of the blessings of the christian salvation, a thorough change of nature, of mind and heart, is necessary. "If any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature: old things are passed away, behold all things are become new." "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness to him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." As Christians, "we are God's workmanship, created anew in Christ Jesus to good works."
"And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of Man which is in heaven," q. d., 'These heavenly things have never yet been clearly unfolded to men. No man has been in heaven to penetrate into these yet hidden counsels of God. "The Son of Man" (a name borrowed from the Old Testament Scriptures, by which the Messiah was indicated), —the Son of Man who had been in heaven "with God," ay, whose residence as to his higher nature is even now in heaven, he alone can reveal them. Our Lord does not here say in direct terms that HE was this Son of Man, though the words, and probably the manner, seem to have been intended to suggest this idea.
All this statement, infinitely important as it is, is properly speaking preliminary, and it is at the 12th verse that our Lord proceeds to tell of "heavenly things;" to reveal the doctrine of the kingdom. To understand our Lord's words aright, we must never forget that he was teaching the true doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, of the deliverance to be accomplished by the Messiah, to a pharisaic Jew, who laboured under the false notions common to his nation and sect.
Had Nicodemus been called on to state his opinion about the kingdom of heaven, he probably would have done it in some such terms as these: 'Like David the king of Israel, the Son of Man, Messiah the Prince, shall be lifted up, exalted, to a glorious throne, that all the Jewish people may be delivered from degradation and slavery and raised to dignity, wealth, and power: For Jehovah loves his peculiar people, and gives them that illustrious person, called in the prophets his own, his begotten, Son, to be their deliverer and ruler; and while he sends him to deliver Israel, he sends him also to punish and destroy the Gentile nations, and all Israelites shall enjoy the blessings of his reign, while all the Gentiles who do not submit to him, and become tributaries to the holy nation, shall fall before his triumphant arms.'
Hear, however, the true doctrine of the kingdom of God from him who comes to establish it. 'Messiah shall indeed be lifted up, not however as David was exalted to the throne, but as the brazen serpent was elevated on a pole; and the purpose of his being thus lifted up is not Israel's temporal deliverance, but men's spiritual and everlasting salvation, that men might not perish but have eternal life; and the manner in which men are to obtain possession of this salvation, is not by being born Jews, or by submitting, if Gentiles, to the resistless arms of an earthly conqueror; it is by believing the truth about this deliverance. Whosoever believeth shall not perish, but have eternal life: For God so loved, not Israel merely, but the world, that he gave—devoted to death as a victim—his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but have everlasting life: For God sent not his Son to destroy the Gentile nations, but to be the Saviour of men, without reference to their national descent; and all who believe the truth with respect to this spiritual Deliverer, shall be made partakers of his spiritual salvation, whether they be Jews or Gentiles; while all who do not believe the truth, whether they be Jews or Gentiles, shall be excluded from the blessings of his salvation, and be punished for their rejection of the heavenly messenger, and his heavenly message.' Such, in substance, is our Lord's statement; and if Nicodemus in any good measure apprehended its meaning, he must have been persuaded now of the truth of our Lord's statement, "that a man must indeed be born again," that even a Jew must undergo a very thorough change of mind and heart, to see, or to enter into, the kingdom.
Let us now examine our Lord's doctrine of the kingdom of the Messiah somewhat more particularly. Let us attend to the account contained in the words before us, —
Of the Messiah—the only begotten Son of God—the Son of Man—sent by the Father.
Of the design of the Messiah's mission: negatively, not to condemn the world; positively, that the world through him might be saved—that they should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Of the grand means by which this design was to be accomplished—by the Messiah's being lifted up as the brazen serpent was lifted up in the wilderness—by God's giving him.
Of the manner of obtaining a personal interest in the blessings thus procured—believing the Divine revelation respecting the Messiah.
Of the origin of this economy of mercy—the love of God to the world.
Of the guilt and punishment of those who refuse to avail themselves of this method of salvation.
Let us turn our attention to these most important topics in their order.
I.—OF THE MESSIAH
Let us consider the account here given of the Messiah. He is described as the only begotten Son of God—as the Son of Man—and as, Sent by the Father.
§1. The Son of God.
The Messiah is described as "the only begotten Son of God." This is an appellation of the Messiah borrowed from the 2d Psalm, which is obviously prophetic and Messianic. "I will declare the decree; the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this Jay have I begotten thee." It must be plain to every reflecting mind, that such terms as those now under consideration, when applied to denote the relation subsisting between our Lord and his divine Father, must be understood in a figurative, or, more properly speaking, perhaps, an analogical sense. The principle of interpreting such phrases is a plain one. It is this, 'That the terms are to be understood in their ordinary meaning as far as, and no farther than, we know from satisfactory sources they are not inapplicable to the subject in reference to which they are employed.' "Son" is a word descriptive of a human relation with which we are familiar, and in its proper literal meaning suggests the following ideas —Identity of nature—derivation of being—posteriority—inferiority—similarity—mutual affection. "Only begotten Son" suggests the idea of the individual being the only person standing in that relation to him who is termed the Father; and the idea also of that concentration of affection which naturally originates in this circumstance.
Now, what are we taught in reference to the Messiah, when he is called "the only begotten Son of God"? We are taught, in the first place, that he is of the same nature with his Father—that is, that he is God. The word Son suggests this idea, and much more strongly, when it has the epithet "only begotten" prefixed to it, or when he is called God's "own Son"—" the Son of himself"—"his proper Son," in contradistinction to those who receive this appellation merely from their being brought into a peculiar relation, formed to a peculiar character, and being the objects of a peculiar affection on the part of God, while God is the object of a peculiar affection on their part. When the Messiah is termed the only begotten Son of God, his proper divinity is asserted. He who is our Saviour is "the great God."
The ideas of derivation of being, posteriority, and inferiority, though naturally suggested by the name Son, are not to be considered as intended to be conveyed by that term when applied to the Messiah; for this plain reason, that these ideas are incompatible with that identity of nature which is the very first idea suggested by the term, and which, from innumerable passages of Scripture, we know does belong to him.
A second truth in reference to the Messiah, suggested by his being called "the only begotten Son," is, that while He is of the same nature with the Father, He and the Father are in some respects distinct from each other. The Father is not the Son, nor is the Son the Father; though in reference to the possession of the one divine nature the Father and the Son are one.
A third important truth taught us by the Messiah being termed the Only-begotten of God, is, that he is the object of the supreme love of the Father. A father loves his son, especially his only son. The love of the First person of the Godhead to the Second is expressed by the love which a father has for his son, his only son. "The Father loves the Son." He knows his infinite excellence; and, if I may use the expression, which seems to imply a solecism, up to the infinite measure of his knowledge he loves him. This last idea seems obviously to have been intended to be brought before the mind in the passage under consideration, as what chiefly commends the love of God to the world, is that he gave his only Son to be their Saviour. These, then, are the truths respecting the Messiah taught us by his being termed "the only begotten Son of God."
§2. The Son of Man.
The Messiah is described as "the Son of Man." This is an appellation which our Lord employs more frequently than any other in speaking of himself, whether in private or public, in the midst of his friends or of his enemies. The phrase, taken by itself; seems just a Hebraism for "man :"—as in the 4th verse of the 8th Psalm, "What is man that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" Every one at all acquainted with the use of parallelism in Hebrew composition generally, and especially in Hebrew poetry, must see that "man," and "the son of man," are here equivalent expressions.
To understand its meaning, when used as an appellation of the Messiah, we must turn to a passage in the 80th Psalm, 5:17. "Let thy hand be upon the Man of thy right hand, upon the Son of Man whom thou madest strong for thyself;" the same person who is spoken of in the 15th verse under another of the figurative prophetical appellations of the Messiah—"the branch" which Jehovah had made strong for himself. In the passage generally referred to as the origin of the appellation, Dan_7:13, the reference, no doubt, is to the Messiah; but he is there spoken of; not as the Son of Man, but as "one like unto the Son of Man," or having the appearance of a man. While the expression, a son of man, as we have already remarked, is in itself just equivalent to man; the designation, "the Son of Man," at once marks the Messiah, as truly a man, and at the same time, as distinguished from all other men. He is so distinguished in a variety of ways: as the perfect, the normal man—the representative man, the second Adam—the God-man, God manifest in the flesh—and the predicted man, the great subject of Old Testament prophecy.
§3. Sent by the Father.
The Messiah is farther described as "sent by the Father" —"God sent his Son." In the economy of human redemption, the Father sustains the majesty of the Divinity. He is the fountain of authority, the source of judgment and of mercy. He vindicates the honours of the Divine character, and asserts the rights of the Divine government; and he, too, dispenses pardon and salvation in a way consistent with the illustration of these honours, and the maintenance of these rights. While essentially the Father and the Son are one, in the economy of grace the Father is greater than the Son. He invests him with the character of Mediator and Saviour; he qualifies him for the discharge of its duties; he supports him under its labours and difficulties; and he rewards him for the accomplishment of the work given him to do.
When the Father is said to have sent the Son, the meaning is, that Jesus Christ was divinely authorised and commissioned to act as the Saviour of the world; to do and suffer all that was necessary for the attainment of the salvation of man, in accordance with the perfections of the Divine character, and the principles of the Divine government. Such is the view given us of the Messiah in these words of our Lord—a person uniting in himself the natures of God and man, and divinely appointed to effect the salvation of mankind.
II. —OF THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION.
The next topic to which our attention must be directed, is the design of the Messiah's mission. That is described in various ways, all of them having a reference to the false views of the design of the Messiah's mission entertained by the Jews. It is described negatively: He was sent "not to condemn the world." Then it is described positively: First generally—"to save the world ;" and then more particularly, to deliver them from the greatest possible evil—"that they might not perish;" and to raise them to the enjoyment of the greatest good—"that they might have everlasting life." Let us shortly consider the meaning of these various descriptions of the design of the Messiah's mission.
§1. Negatively—not to condemn the world.
The design of the Messiah's mission was not to condemn or punish "the world." "The world" here is obviously to be understood, as the Jews used the term, of all mankind, with the exception of themselves—the holy nation. They expected that the Messiah was to deliver the people of Israel, and to punish and destroy the Gentile nations. The deliverance of Israel, and the punishment of the nations, were in their minds closely connected, and both were to be the work of the Messiah. One of their principal doctors, explaining the illustrious prophecy in the 49th chapter of Genesis, "The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come; and to him shall the gathering of the people be," says, 'The sense seems to me to be—"The rod of the oppressor shall not depart from Judah, till his Son come, who shall overthrow the nations, and break them in pieces, and make war on them all with the edge of the sword."' Another Rabbi says, "When the Messiah comes, he shall be as the morning light to Israel, but he shall be as night to the nations of the earth." Such views seem to have been universal among the Jews at the time of our Lord's appearance, as they are still among their unbelieving descendants.
§2. Positively—to save the world.
Now, says our Lord, the design of the Messiah's mission is not the punishment of the Gentile nations—it is not the punishment of men at all. He comes not to punish, but to save; and to save, not Israelites merely, but men of every country, and people, and tongue, and nation. He is sent "to save the world;" to deliver mankind, Gentiles as well as Jews, from the evils under which they are groaning. He comes, not to bring evils on men, but to remove evils from them—to deliver them from ignorance, and error, and guilt, and depravity, and wretchedness, in all their various forms.
(1.) That the world may not perish.
But the design of the Messiah's mission is more particularly described: he comes that mankind "may not perish,"—that they may be delivered from the greatest of all evils. The evils, the removal of which his mission contemplated, are not the external and temporary evils which press on one nation, or even on the whole race, but the spiritual and eternal, and therefore otherwise irreparable, evils, to which all mankind are liable. Man, whether Jew or Gentile, is a sinner. He has broken God's law. He has incurred God's displeasure. He is a depraved as well as a guilty creature; "alienated from the life of God, through the ignorance that is in him," sunk in ignorance and error, and moral pollution of every description; and because he is guilty and depraved, he is miserable, exposed to numerous external evils, and destitute of all real inward happiness. And this state of things, so far as man's own exertions are concerned, so far as the exertions of the whole created universe are concerned, is irreparable. He must sink deeper and deeper in guilt, and depravity, and misery. If the ordinary course of the Divine government be maintained, he must be "punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." His immortality of being must be an immortality of unmixed, intolerable, wretchedness. To deliver men—not men of one particular nation, but men of every nation—from this tremendous aggregation of evils, this state of perdition, was the design of the Messiah's mission.
(2.) That the world may have eternal life.
But mere deliverance does not form the sole purpose of the mission of the Son of God. He comes that men might have everlasting life. "Life," though not directly signifying enjoyment, according to the Hebrew idiom conveys more strongly than any other word the idea of happiness, as "death" does that of misery. Everlasting life is of course ever-during happiness. The happiness of a being like man, consists in the Divine favour, and image, and fellowship; in knowing God, in loving God, in being loved by God, in knowing that we are loved by God; in venerating God, trusting in God; having our mind conformed to his mind, our wishes subjected to his pleasure, thinking along with him, willing along with him, choosing what he chooses, seeking and finding enjoyment in what he finds enjoyment. This is life. This is happiness. And the never-ending continuance of this is everlasting life. To obtain this kind of happiness for men, for men of every nation under heaven, and to secure the permanent enjoyment of it during the whole eternity of their being,—this is the great and glorious object of the divinely commissioned God-man—the Messiah.
In three most important points, this design differed from what the Jews considered as the design of the Messiah's mission. Punishment was not at all the object of the Messiah's coming. The deliverance which he came to effect was not secular, but spiritual; and it was intended, not for the nation of the Jews exclusively, but for mankind generally. The object of his mission was purely merciful. His salvation had a direct reference to the soul and eternity; and as this salvation was universally needed, so it was intended for mankind of "every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation."
III.—OF THE MEANS BY WHICH THE DESIGN OF THE MESSIAH'S MISSION WAS TO BE ACCOMPLISHED: —FIGURATIVELY, BY HIS BEING LIFTED UP AS MOSES LIFTED UP THE SERPENT IN THE WILDERNESS; LITERALLY, BY HIS BEING GIVEN BY GOD FOR AND TO MANKIND.
We now proceed to attend to the grand means by which this benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be accomplished. The Son of man was "to be lifted up, as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness." "God gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him might not perish, but have ever-lasting life."
Here, as in the former case, the truth is exhibited in opposition to the false views generally entertained by the Jews. They expected that the Messiah was to accomplish the deliverance of Israel, and the destruction of the nations, by being exalted or "lifted up:" elevated first to the throne of David his father, and then to the throne of the world. 'Now,' says our Lord, 'Messiah shall be lifted up; but he shall be lifted up in a very different way from what you expect. He shall be lifted up, not as David or Solomon was, to the throne of Israel, but "as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness." 'There is a striking analogy between the way in which the Messiah shall obtain spiritual and eternal salvation for mankind, and the way in which the serpent-stung Israelites in the wilderness were cured of the otherwise incurable distemper which they had brought on themselves by their unbelief and disobedience.' (Numb. xi. .4-9) What we are to understand by the Messiah's being "lifted up as the brazen serpent in the wilderness," we need be at no loss to discover. "And I," said our Lord on another occasion, "and I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me." "This," says the evangelist, in an explanatory note, "This he said, signifying what death he should die." (Joh_12:32,Joh_12:33). 'The salvation of mankind is to be obtained by the Messiah's dying an accursed death, dying as the victim for human transgressions; and by his being exhibited, held up, as the slain victim for human transgressions: that is, by the truth respecting his vicarious and expiatory sufferings being made known to men.' Oh, how different was this from anything Nicodemus looked for! He probably expected, with most of his countrymen, that the Messiah was to "abide for ever,"—was not to die at all. How must he have been astonished, if he understood our Lord's words, to be told that the Messiah was not only to die, but to die the death of a felonious slave!
Let us, however, look a little more closely into this mystery of Divine wisdom and mercy: Mankind are to be saved by the divine incarnate Saviour, suffering and dying as a victim for sin—dying on the cross. The same idea that is suggested by the expression, "The Son of man must be lifted up as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness," is conveyed by the words, "God gave his Son." Some interpreters consider these words as equivalent to, 'God graciously appointed his Son to be the saviour of the world.' In that case, however, it would have been said that he gave him to the world, not merely he gave him. It is plainly parallel to, "The Son of man must be lifted up;" the lifting up of the Son of man, and the giving of the Son of God, being but different descriptions of the same great event.
The meaning of the phrase is best illustrated by parallel passages: —"I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If any man eat of this bread he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." (Joh_6:51). "And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me." (Luk_22:19). "Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father." (Gal_1:4). "If we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification." (Rom_4:24,Rom_4:25). "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?" (Rom_8:32). "Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time." (1Ti_2:6). "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." (Tit_2:14).
The meaning of the words, God gave his Son, then, is, 'God devoted his Son to death, as a victim for the sins of men;' and the first truth with regard to the manner in which the benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be gained, taught us here by our Lord, is, that it was to be the result of his submitting to death, as the victim for the sins of mankind.
This, though not revealed so as to be generally, if at all, understood till the prediction was accomplished, is, now that the light of fulfilment has shone upon them, the obvious meaning of the following ancient oracles, which must have been very mysterious to the saints under a former dispensation, and into the meaning of which, even the prophets themselves would find it necessary to "search diligently." "God made to meet on the head of his righteous servant the iniquities of us all, and exaction was made, and he became answerable; and he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities; and the chastisement of our peace was on him, and he made his soul an offering for sin; and he bare the sins of many." "The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for himself."'
The same doctrine is often taught by our Lord's apostles, and is, indeed, the grand peculiarity of the christian faith: —"Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures." "He redeemed us from the curse of the law, having become a curse in our room, as it is written, 'cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree."' "He bare our sins in his own body on the tree." "He gave himself for us a sacrifice and an offering, that he might bring us to God." "In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of God's grace." "He bath reconciled us in the body of his flesh through death." (1Co_15:3; Gal_3:13; 1Pe_2:24; Eph_5:2; Eph_1:7; Col_1:21,Col_1:22).
There is another important truth respecting the means by which the benevolent design of the Messiah's mission was to be accomplished, conveyed by the words of our Lord:—" The Son of Man must be lifted up, as the serpent was lifted up in the wilderness." The brazen serpent was not only lifted up on a pole, but exhibited, that all the Israelites might look at it and be healed. In like manner the Son of Man must not only be lifted up on the cross, but he must be exhibited, as lifted up on the cross, that all men may believe in him and be saved. The knowledge and belief of the truth, with respect to the atonement, is in ordinary circumstances as necessary to the accomplishment of the design of the Messiah's mission, in the case of individuals, as the atonement itself, and hence the truth about the atonement must be published to all nations.
Here, as in the former case, "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy." "By his knowledge, shall my righteous servant justify many." "Look unto me all ye ends of the earth, and be ye saved." "They shall look upon me whom they have pierced." (Rev_19:10; Isa_53:11; Isa_45:22; Zec_12:10).
Here, too, the apostolic testimony concurs with the declaration of the ancient prophets: "The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation." "We preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling-block, to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them who are called, whether Jew or Greek, the power of God, and the wisdom of God." "I determined to know nothing among you, save Jesus Christ and him crucified." " God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by which the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world." (Rom_1:16; 1Co_1:23; 1Co_2:2; Gal_6:14). These are the grand means by which the benevolent design of our Lord's mission, the salvation of mankind, was to be accomplished.
There is a peculiarity in our Lord's language on this subject, that deserves to he noticed before we conclude. He does not say the Son of Man shall be lifted up, but "the Son of Man must be lifted up." It is becoming or necessary that the Son of Man be lifted up in order to the gaining of these ends. Some would refer this to the necessity of the death of Christ for the fulfilment of Old Testament predictions. But there is certainly more in it than this. The expiation of sin was necessary in order to its pardon; the death of the incarnate Son was necessary in order to this expiation; the faith of the truth with regard to this expiatory death is necessary, in order to our participation in the salvation procured by it; and the exhibition of Christ crucified,—in other words, the preaching of the Gospel,—is necessary in order to this faith. This we shall have an opportunity of showing more at length by and by.
IV. — OF THE MANNER OF OBTAINING THE BLESSINGS PROCURED BY TILE MESSIAH: FIGURATIVELY, BY LOOKING AT HIM; LITERALLY, BY BELIEVING IN HIM.
Let us proceed, now, to consider our Lord's statement, respecting the manner in which individuals are to obtain a personal interest in the blessings procured by the Messiah. That is contained in these words, "Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but shall have everlasting life. He that believeth is not condemned."
The Jews expected that, on the part of their nation, nothing was to be necessary to secure a share in the blessings of the Messiah's kingdom, beyond their descent from Abraham; and that in order to any of the Gentiles participating with them in these blessings, they must submit to the Messiah's conquering arms, and become proselytes to the Jewish religion. In opposition to these false views, our Lord states, that it was only by believing in him, the Messiah, as "lifted up," as "given by the Father," that any Jew could become a partaker of the blessings of his salvation, and that every Gentile who should thus believe in him, should become a partaker of these blessings.
The allusion to the lifting up of the serpent in the wilderness, seems intended to illustrate not only the means by which the Messiah was to obtain salvation for men; but also the manner in which men, as individuals, were to be interested in that salvation. The analogical illustration, when fully brought out, seems to be this: 'As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, that whosoever of the diseased Israelites looked at it might not die but live, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whosoever of the ruined race of man believeth in him, should not perish but have everlasting life.' Looking at the brazen serpent, may have appeared to the Israelites a paradoxical cure for the serpent's bite; and such a paradox does the salvation of men, through faith in a suffering Messiah, appear even to the wisest of men untaught by the Spirit.
There is no difficulty in apprehending the meaning of the statement, 'Every serpent-stung Israelite, who looked on the elevated brazen serpent, was healed;' and there should be as little difficulty in apprehending the meaning of the statement, 'Every sinner who believes in the Messiah, as lifted up, shall be saved.' We all know what it is to look; and we all know, at least we all may know, what it is to believe.
"To believe," when used in reference to a person, is to give credit to him, to count true what he says. To believe, when used in reference to a statement, is to give credit to it, to reckon it true. It has been supposed by some, that there is an important distinction between believing a person, and believing in a person—believing a thing, and believing in that thing; but a careful attention to the use of the phrases in Scripture, will lead to a different conclusion. To believe in Moses, is either to believe that there was such a person as Moses, and that what is recorded of him in the Bible is true; or to believe what Moses, as a divine messenger; has revealed. To believe in a future state, is just to believe that there is a future state. To believe in the Son of Man lifted up, to believe in the only begotten Son of God sent and given by the Father, is just to count true what is stated to us in the Gospel, respecting the Only-begotten of God being devoted to death as a victim for the transgressions of men, according to the most benignant appointment of his divine Father.
The statement of our Lord, then, is, 'That it is by believing the truth on this subject that men obtain the blessings of his salvation.' This is one of the grand peculiarities of the christian method of salvation, and it is very frequently brought before our minds in the New Testament. I will quote a few passages where it is very distinctly taught, that it is by believing that men obtain possession of the blessings of the christian salvation. "He that believeth on the Son"—that is, who has received his testimony—"hath everlasting life." (Joh_3:36). "He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation." (Joh_5:24). "I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; he that believeth on me shall never thirst." (Joh_6:35). "It is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life." (Joh_6:40). "These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God: and that believing ye might have life through his name." (Joh_20:31). "Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sin: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which they could not have been justified by the law of Moses." (Act_13:38,Act_13:39). "To him gave all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whosoever believeth in him should receive the remission of sins." (Act_10:43). "What must I do to be saved? Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." (Act_16:30,Act_16:31). "The righteousness of God "— that is, the Divine method of justification—"is upon," takes effect on, "all them that believe." (Rom_3:22) "By grace are ye saved through faith." (Rom_10:6 - Rom_10:9; Eph_2:8).
Every one, then, who believes the truth respecting Jesus Christ, God's Son, dying as a victim for the sins of mankind, is interested in the salvation which he has procured for men. He is no longer in a state of condemnation; he receives the remission of his sins; he shall never come into condemnation; he has peace and joy in believing; his heart is purified by believing; he is sanctified by faith which is in Christ; and not turning back by unbelief unto perdition, he believes to the salvation of the soul, which he in due time receives as the end of his believing.
The connection between the faith of the Gospel, and the enjoyment of the christian salvation, is thus very clearly stated in Scripture; but clearly as it is stated, it is very generally misapprehended. Men think of this faith of the Gospel as some difficult work which must be performed by them, to give them a claim on God for the blessings of salvation, instead of thinking of it as that which, in the very nature of things, is necessary in order to their possessing these blessings. That conformity of mind and heart to God; that inward peace and joyful hope, in which the christian salvation, so far as it can be enjoyed in the present world, chiefly consists, cannot, from the very nature of the case, be obtained, but by the faith of the Gospel; and, on the other hand, the faith of the Gospel cannot exist without conveying these blessings into the heart.
It is not on account of our faith that God saves us: it is through means of our faith. Our believing, and our being saved, are not to be considered so distinct, as that the first must be finished before the other can be enjoyed. It is in believing that we are saved; and the measure of our enjoyment of the christian salvation depends on the extent of our knowledge, and the firmness of our faith of the Gospel.
The blessings of salvation are thus freely presented to all to whom the Gospel comes; and nothing is necessary to secure participation in these blessings, but the faith of the truth; and that is necessary, not as a meritorious condition, but as an indispensable means. It is just as if a rich feast were presented to a famishing multitude, and it were said, 'He that eats of this feast shall be relieved from the pangs of hunger, and shall be refreshed and strengthened.' The eating is obviously not the meritorious condition; but it is, from the nature of things, the indispensable means of relief from hunger and exhaustion, and of the enjoyment of the refreshing and invigorating effects of the prepared viands. Many seem to think that the declaration, that whosoever believes shall be saved, is a kind of limitation of the gospel offer. But it is just such a limitation as that which we have inferred to, 'Whosoever eats shall be satisfied.' To say, that whosoever believeth shall be saved, is just to say, that the guiltiest of the guilty, and the vilest of the vile, is welcome to salvation, and shall assuredly obtain salvation, if he will but receive it in the only way in which, from the nature of the case, it can be received—in the faith of the truth respecting Jesus Christ, the incarnate only begotten Son of God, as the Saviour, the only Saviour, the all-sufficient Saviour.
This is a most important truth; and it derives striking illustration from the comparison between the manner in which the serpent-stung Israelites were cured, and the way in which sin-ruined men are saved. "Every one bitten," says Jehovah, "Every one bitten, who looks on the brazen serpent, shall live;" and the sacred historian informs us, that "if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived." However frequently he had been bitten by the serpents, however far advanced the disease was in its progress towards a fatal issue, if he looked to the brazen serpent he recovered. In like manner, however guilty, however depraved, however wretched—however numerous, however aggravated, may have been his violations of the Divine law—whosoever believes the plain, well-accredited testimony of God respecting full salvation through the death of the Just One in the room of the unjust, "shall not perish, but have everlasting life." There is no exception. The vilest miscreant on the face of the earth, the most degraded, and despised, and miserable of mankind, believing in Christ, shall be "saved in Him with an everlasting salvation."
No holy qualification is required to warrant the sinner to apply to the Saviour. It is because he is guilty and miserable, that the salvation is provided. The more guilty, the more miserable, he is obviously the more necessitous; and he is assuredly not the less welcome. Desert of anything but destruction is here out of the question altogether. He who understands and believes the Gospel, must see with equal clearness, that any just claim of merit to the blessings of salvation, on the part of the sinner, is impossible, and that it is unnecessary. The invitation is, "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." The promise, "Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out." (Rev_22:17; Joh_6:37).
No sin but the sin of unbelief bars the sinner's way to the Saviour. Even the sin against the Holy Ghost is rather an apparent than a real exception. If the sinner who hears the Gospel is condemned, it is "because he will not believe on the name of the only begotten Son of God."
The efficacy of this method of obtaining a personal interest in the blessings of the christian salvation, has been tried in apparently very desperate cases. Paul was a blasphemer, a persecutor, a first-rate (prw'tov") sinner; but through the belief of the faithful saying, Paul obtained salvation. (1Ti_1:13 - 1Ti_1:16; 1Co_6:9 - 1Co_6:11). The Corinthian Christians had some of them been absolute monsters of wickedness; but they were "washed, they were sanctified, they were justified through the name of our Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Instances of the efficacy of the faith of the truth in saving sinners, happily are not wanting in our own day; and it will, till the conclusion of the present order of things, be a glorious truth, receiving constantly new accessions of illustration and evidence, that whosoever believeth in Christ Jesus crucified, shall not perish, but have everlasting life.
The having long neglected, or even the having despised, this only means of salvation, does not bar the ungrateful criminal from now obtaining the saving of his soul through believing. It is possible, that some of the Israelites, when they heard of the plan of cure, through the elevation of the brazen serpent, made light of it, hoping for a recovery by the use of ordinary means, and cherishing infidel doubts as to the possibility of their obtaining any good from looking at a brazen serpent; if any of these, finding the disease gaining on them, raised a believing eye to the divinely erected standard of salvation, as the only means of escaping death, we have no reason to doubt but that the ordinary healing influence would have gone forth. And so it is here. However long men have continued in unbelief, and impenitence, and sin, however "stout-hearted" they are, and however "far from righteousness," still it is "the accepted time," still it is "the day of salvation;" and we proclaim to him who has oftenest turned a deaf ear to the voice of mercy, "today, after so long a time, if thou wilt hear his voice, harden not thy heart." "Believe" now "in the Lord Jesus, and thou shalt be saved." For it is still true, "Whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have everlasting life." (Heb_4:7; Act_16:31).
V.—OF THE PRIMARY SOURCE OF THIS ECONOMY OF SALVATION, THE LOVE OF GOD TO THE WORLD.
Let us now proceed to consider the primary source of this economy of salvation, as stated by our Lord. The love of God—the love of God to the world. "God so loved the world."
The advocates for the doctrine of the atonement—the doctrine that the death of the incarnate Only-begotten of God, as the victim for the sins of men, was necessary in order to the Divine mercy manifesting itself to sinners in the communication of pardon and salvation, consistently with the righteousness of his character and law; the advocates of this doctrine, have often been accused of holding that the interposition of the divine Son was necessary to produce in the bosom of his divine Father, a disposition to pity, and to save, man; and, as it has been forcibly put, "that the compassion of God rather than the souls of men, was the purchase made by the incarnate Son, when he laid down his life as a ransom." It has been said that they represent the Divinity, as a being of resentments so fierce that nothing could mitigate them, but the tears and prayers, the blood and death, of his own Son.
It must be acknowledged, that the doctrine of the ato