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FULFILLING ALL RIGHTEOUSNESS
TO consult, in difficult circumstances, the judgment of wise and good men, is doubtless very advisable: but to place implicit confidence in any is not expedient; since even the best of men may err. We have a very remarkable instance of the fallacy of human judgment, in the case of the Apostle Peter; who would have dissuaded the Lord Jesus from subjecting himself to those sufferings which were about to come upon him; and who, on account of the carnality of his sentiments, incurred the marked displeasure of his Lord [Note: Mat_16:21-23.]. We do not impute any measure of such blame to John the Baptist, for the unwillingness he expressed to comply with the wishes of our Lord: for he was evidently under the influence of a most becoming spirit, and had good grounds for the advice he offered: but still he erred; and our blessed Lord overruled his objections, declaring, that the administration of baptism to him at that time was a measure not only expedient, but necessary: for that “thus it became him to fulfil all righteousness.”
The precise force of our Lord’s assertion not being perfectly clear, I shall,
I. Confirm it as a truth, in relation to our Lord—
John, feeling his own utter unworthiness to administer baptism to our blessed Lord, and having in his mind a persuasion that, however needful baptism was for others, it could not be so for Jesus, declined to execute the office that was assigned him. And, so far as Jesus alone was concerned, the judgment of John was right: for the rite of baptism imported, that the person receiving that ordinance needed to be washed from sin, and to be regenerated by the Holy Spirit, and to be saved by the Messiah who should come. But Jesus had no sin to wash away, nor any need to be either regenerated or saved; and, consequently, he could have no need of this ordinance, which was intended to shadow forth, and to impart, those blessings unto men. Yet did our Lord say what was strictly true, when, in reference to this very ordinance, he spoke of the observance of it by himself as a necessary part of that righteousness which he had come to fulfil. It was so,
1. Because he stood in the place of sinners—
[The Lord Jesus Christ having undertaken the great work of our redemption, had “the iniquities of the whole world laid upon him; and therefore, as the representative of sinners, he needed all which was needed by those whom he undertook to save. Hence he had in his infancy submitted to circumcision, which was of precisely the same import as baptism. So, at the close of his ministry, he endured the full penalties of the broken law, suffering all that we deserved to suffer at the hands of a righteous and offended God. He needed not on his own account to drink this bitter cup: but, when he was found in the place of sinners, those sufferings could not be dispensed with. “Seeing, therefore, that the cup could not pass away from him,” he drank it to the very dregs. Every part of his humiliation, from the first to the last, was necessary, for the full attainment of his end: and therefore baptism, as an essential part of that humiliation, was required by him, in order to the completion of that righteousness which he had undertaken to fulfil.]
2. Because it became him to give his public attestation to the divine mission of John—
[John had been sent into the world as his forerunner, to announce his advent, and to call men’s attention to him as the true Messiah [Note: Joh_1:31.]. Moreover, John had been informed, that the person who was to sustain that high office should be made known to him by a visible descent of the Holy Ghost upon him [Note: Joh_1:29-33.]: and this descent was to be at the time of our Saviour’s baptism. Now, if Jesus had not submitted to the ordinance of baptism, the ends of John’s mission would have been defeated. For Jesus was not personally known to John: and it was only by this miraculous effusion of the Holy Ghost upon him that he was to be distinguished: and, consequently, the plan which Jehovah had adopted for the manifestation of his Son would, so far as the Baptist’s testimony was concerned, have been altogether frustrated. In order, therefore, that the mission of John might produce the effects proposed, Jesus overruled the objections of John, and received at his hands the ordinance which he was commissioned to administer.]
3. Because it was the appointed means of his own solemn consecration to God—
[There were two ways in which the Lord Jesus was to be consecrated to his office: the one was by an effusion of the Holy Ghost upon him (as the typical high priests were by a holy unction); and the other was by an audible voice from heaven, bearing testimony to him as the person sent of God to be the Saviour of the world. Now these two attestations from above were of vast importance, not only for the satisfaction of John, but also for the satisfaction of the whole world. Besides, this effusion of “the Spirit, which was given to him without measure [Note: Joh_3:34.],” was given in order to qualify him, as it were, for the discharge of his high office. It had been said by the prophet, that God would “anoint him” to his office [Note: Isa_61:1.]: and that there “should rest upon him a Spirit of wisdom and understanding, a Spirit of counsel and of might, a Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord; and that God would make him of quick understanding in the fear of the Lord.” Now though, as God, he possessed “all the fulness of the Godhead bodily [Note: Isa_11:2-3.],” yet, as man, and as Mediator, he needed to be thus qualified by the gifts of the Holy Spirit: and therefore on this account, as well as for the reasons before mentioned, it was necessary he should comply with the ordinance that had been enjoined, and not be diverted from his purpose by the well-meant, but mistaken, scruples of the Baptist. In truth, from the administration of this ordinance to him, and the consequent testimony borne to him by the Father and the Holy Spirit, we have an evidence of his Messiahship, which ought to carry conviction to every mind of man [Note: 2Pe_1:16-18.].]
Having explained our Lord’s assertion, as referring personally to him, I shall,
II. Enforce it as a duty, in reference to ourselves—
When our Lord says, “It becometh us to fulfil all righteousness,” we must consider the obligation as extending, of course, to every child of man. And certainly this obligation does attach to us,
1. As creatures of God—
[The whole intelligent creation are under obligation to serve and obey the Lord. Whether the command given them be moral, and necessarily arising from their relation to him, or merely positive, arising from the arbitrary appointment of heaven, it makes no difference: they are equally bound to fulfil whatever they know to be his will. Adam was as much bound to abstain from eating the forbidden fruit, as he was to love his God. And so it is with us: we must fulfil all righteousness: however humiliating the command be, or whatever our obedience may expose us to, we have no alternative: we must yield a cheerful and determined obedience to it. It was beyond measure humiliating to the Lord Jesus Christ to submit to a rite which made him appear to be a sinner like unto us, and gave reason to all around him to suppose that he needed a Saviour like unto us. Yet he regarded not what men might say or think respecting him: he determined to submit to the ordinance, and would not be dissuaded from his purpose. Thus men may think and say of us, that we are weak, enthusiastic, absurd: but we must know no authority but God’s, and have no standard for our actions but his revealed will: and our determination, through grace, must be to “stand perfect and complete in all the will of God [Note: Col_4:12.].”]
2. As followers of Christ—
[Though the Lord Jesus Christ has purchased for us the remission of our sins, and we have been “baptized into his name for the remission of sins [Note: Luk_3:3. with Act_22:16.];” yet we are in no respect absolved from our obedience to God, nor is any one duty we owe to him in any measure relaxed. On the contrary, our obligations to holiness are, if possible, increased; since the very end of Christ’s mediation was “to redeem us from all iniquity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works [Note: Tit_2:14.].” Besides, he came to “set us an example, that we should follow his steps [Note: 1Pe_2:21.].” Was “he then without sin; and was he without guile [Note: 1Pe_2:22.]?” We should, as far as possible, resemble him; and neither do any thing, nor forbear any thing, but in perfect accordance with the commands of God. If we profess to belong to him, we must “walk in all things as he walked [Note: 1Jn_2:6.].”]
3. As hoping for a testimony from God in the last day—
[We all of us look for a future judgment, wherein “the inmost counsels of our hearts will be made manifest,” and “every man will be dealt with according to his works.” Then will God bear witness to his faithful and obedient servants; saying, “Well done, good and faithful servants; enter ye into the joy of your Lord.” But how can we hope for such a testimony from him, if we have any reserves in our obedience to him? How can he say, “This is a beloved son of mine, in whom I am well pleased,” if he has seen in us any wilful departure from his ways? How can he acknowledge us as “Israelites indeed, if we have not been without guile?” Know then, my brethren, what your duty is, and how it must be performed, if ever you would be approved of your God in that day. Verily, “it becometh every one of us to fulfil all righteousness:” and if there be any reserve whatever in our minds, instead of being approved of God as his children, we shall be condemned by him as hypocrites. “A right hand or a right eye” that is retained contrary to his command will inevitably subject us to his everlasting displeasure. It will be to no purpose to say, that, whilst following our superiors in rank and learning, we concluded we were acting right: for “the rulers of the Jewish nation rejected the counsel of God against themselves, by refusing the baptism of John;” whilst the publicans and harlots availed themselves thankfully of the proffered benefit [Note: Luk_7:29-30. Mat_21:31-32.]. And, if Christ himself thus withstood the current of public example in his day; and sanctioned, by his conduct, the more duteous deportment of the lower classes; so should we, unawed and uninfluenced by the whole world, determine, with God’s help, to “follow the Lord fully,” and to sanction nothing which God himself will not approve. We should prefer entering heaven with publicans and harlots, to the being excluded from it with the great and mighty of the earth. To the approbation of God alone should we look; and with the prospect of that we should be content.]