Christ's Crowning Glory
(No. 2876)
A SERMON PUBLISHED ON THURSDAY, MARCH 24, 1904.
DELIVERED BY C. H. SPURGEON,
AT THE METROPOLITAN TABERNACLE, NEWINGTON, ON LORD'S-DAY EVENING, MARCH
5, 1876.
"His glory is great in Your salvation: honor and majesty have You laid
upon Him." Psalm 21:5.
I FEEL quite sure that David here sings first concerning himself and
then concerning the far greater King, "great David's greater Son," the
Lord Jesus Christ. But I shall apply the text entirely to our blessed
Redeemer and, surely, the Psalmist's language is most appropriate to
Him.
Some of us are going to meet, presently, around the Table of our Lord
to commemorate His death for us and, of course, there must be some
sorrowful processes connected with that ordinance. How can we remember
His death without sorrowing over the sin which made that death
necessary? How can we remember "that the Lord Jesus, the same night in
which He was betrayed, took bread, and broke it," without feeling that
there is a somberness of spirit which becomes us as we surround His
Table? Yet we must not indulge the mournful strain too much, for we
must never forget that it is a joyous feast, not a funeral repast, to
which our Lord invites us! It is a feast which reminds us of His
triumph as well as of His conflict and agony. "After supper," we are
told, in the record of its institution, "they sang a hymn" and our Lord
Jesus Christ would have us come to His Table in the spirit of
hymn-singing, making melody in our hearts unto the Lord. No funeral
dirge is appropriate, here, no muffled drums nor wailing pipes–but let
the daughters of song sound the loud timbre, as Miriam and the women of
Israel did at the Red Sea!
Let it not be forgotten, too, that the last time this supper will ever
be celebrated on earth, it will not die out amid groans and
lamentations, but it will cease to be observed any longer because He
will have come, whose coming will have been welcomed by the acclamation
of all His saints, both those that are alive and remain, and those who
come with the King and all His holy angels! This ordinance is full of
joy, for each time it closes with a hymn when it is properly celebrated
and, at the last, like all external symbols, it shall pass away amidst
the hallelujahs of eternity! Come, then, Beloved, let us not be in a
dolorous mood as we come to the Table of our Lord, but let us take all
our harps down from the willows and wake their glad strings to exultant
music! He, whom we remember in this ordinance, is not here, for He is
risen! He is not there, on yonder crucifix. His wounds bleed no longer.
No thorns surround His brow, no nails pierce His feet and hands, no
spear tears open His side, for He has gone back into the Glory which
was His before the worlds were made, and it is thus that we are now to
think of Him–"His glory is great in Your salvation: honor and majesty
have You laid upon Him."
In meditating upon this text, we shall notice, first, that it reminds
us of a Divine Salvation. Secondly, it sets forth the glory of Jesus in
that salvation. And, thirdly, it reveals to us the reward which Jesus
has obtained for that salvation– "Honor and majesty have You laid upon
Him."
I. First, then, THE TEXT REMINDS US OF A DIVINE SALVATION. It speaks of
"Yoursalvation" that is to say, the salvation of God, by which is
intended, according to the Hebrew idiom, not merely the grandest of all
salvations, the chief of all deliverances, but, actually, that the
salvation of which we speak is God's! O Brothers and Sisters, though
the Truth of God is very simple and the observations I shall make upon
it may be very trite, yet is it a Truth never to be put in the
background that "salvation is of the Lord"!
Remember that the salvation of man is God's, in the conception of it He
first conceived the idea of redeeming the rebellious sons of Adam. It
must be so, for the sons of Adam were not born when the Lord first
planned the way of their salvation. From old eternity, before yet the
sun had opened its eye of fire, God, in far-reaching foresight had
beheld the sons of Adam ruined by the Fall–and He resolved that, out
of them He would choose a people who should be redeemed and who, to all
eternity, should show forth His praise! From the august mind of the
Infinite God, the first thought of salvation sprang and it was He who
sketched and mapped it all out, electing unto eternal life as many as
it pleased Him, settling the way by which they would be redeemed, the
method by which they would be called, arranging the place, the day, the
hour, the means by which they would be converted–fixing it all,
according to His eternal purpose, in Infinite wisdom and prudence–for
in every part it was to be of Him and through Him and to Him! Even as
in the old tabernacle in the wilderness, every board, curtain, hook,
silver socket, every badger skin and every vessel of the sanctuary was
ordained by God–and man was only left to carry out God's plan–even so
is it in the salvation of God! In its minutest details, as well as in
its grand outline, the provisions of eternal love are of the Lord! And
so it is in His salvation.
But you know, dear Brothers and Sisters, that it was not only His in
the arranging but it was also carried out by God. Who is He that has
redeemed us by His blood, but He who is over all God, blessed forever?
Who trod the winepress side by side with Him? Did He not stand there
alone and, singlehanded, win the victory? And from where comes every
blessing of salvation? Who provided it? Has man any share in the
provision of any of the mercies by which sinners are taken out of sin
into righteousness and raised from the ruins of the Fall to all the
glories of Heaven? No, from first to last, all the provisions of
eternal love are of the Lord! And so it is in His salvation.
No, more than that, God has not only planned and provided everything
relating to it, but it is He who applies the salvation which He has
thus provided. No one believes that Jesus is the Christ but by the
teaching of the Holy Spirit. "No man comes unto the Father but by Me,"
says Christ. Much is said by some people about free will, but free will
has never done anything in this world yet–unless moved by Free
Grace–except to ruin mankind! Leave men to themselves and they are
sure to choose that which is evil. As naturally as the river runs
downwards to the sea, so does the heart of man turn towards that which
is unclean. If the heart ever ascends towards holiness, Christ and God,
it is because it is drawn upward by Divine Grace–and the Lord is
working in us to will and to do of His own good pleasure. From the
first sigh of repentance to the last hymn of thanksgiving, everything
in us that is good is His workmanship! And so, in that respect, our
salvation is of the Lord.
And, Beloved, when it is all finished–when everyone who ever shall be
called, has been called–when every one of the Lord's elect has been
regenerated, justified, sanctified and glorified–when the whole of the
blood-washed family of God shall surround His Throne above, all the
glory shall be given unto the Lord alone! There will be no jarring note
in Heaven, no whisper of human merit, no claim of a reward for good
intentions–but every crown shall be cast at Jesus' feet and every
voice shall join in the ascription, "Not unto us, not unto us, but unto
Your name be all the glory of the salvation which You have worked out
for us from first to last."
Let me pause, just a minute, to put this question to each one here–Do
you, dear Friend, know anything about this salvation which is all of
God? I fear that there are many who have no more religion than they
have made themselves. Their religion is the result of their own efforts
to improve themselves. Ah, Sirs, our Savior's words are still true,
"You must be born-again!" And, as it was in our first birth, so must it
be in our second birth–not our own act. Depend upon it, if all the
good you have, has been fetched out of yourself as the spider draws its
web out of its own bowels, it will all have to be brushed away! All
that Nature spins will have to be unraveled, and all that Nature builds
will have to be pulled down. God must save you, or you will be lost
forever! The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the blessed Trinity in
Unity, must come upon you and quicken you into newness of life, and
renew you in the spirit of your mind, or else you will fall short of
that which is requisite for admission into the Kingdom of God.
"That which is born of the flesh is flesh." The best flesh is only
flesh and only "that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Consequently, the Spirit of God must operate upon us, or else we shall
remain unspiritual–not able to understand spiritual things–and not
possessing that spiritual life without which we cannot enter, at the
last, into the enjoyment of those spiritual pleasures which are at
God's right hand forevermore. One thing I can say without any doubt. I,
personally, know that it is God's salvation that has saved me. And I
think I speak the mind of many here when I say that they feel that if
the Holy Spirit does not work in them from the first to the last, their
salvation will never be accomplished. I do
not know any Doctrine which my experience more fully confirms than that
to which Jonah gave utterance when he was in the whale's
belly–"Salvation is of the Lord." It is, as our text reminds us, a
Divine Salvation!
II. Now, secondly, I come to the subject which I desire to impress most
deeply upon your memory, that is, THE GLORY OF CHRIST IN THE SALVATION
OF GOD–"His glory is great in Your salvation."
Ah, Brothers and Sisters, the tongues of men and angels can never fully
tell the glory of Christ in salvation! It is a subject to be thought
over by the loftiest intellects! It is a theme for men who lie awake at
nights to meditate upon! It is a topic worthy of the thoughts of those
who linger on the verge of Heaven! Dr. John Owen's pen was somewhat
heavy in its style, but it never glowed and burned as much as when he
wrote upon the Glory of Christ. This is a theme which the glo-rifled
spirits before the Throne of God perpetually contemplate. And the more
fit we are to be among them, the more delightful will this subject be
to us. As to that Glory, oh, if I had the allotting and the measuring
of it, what glory I would give to my dear Lord and Master! I read, the
other day–I cannot exactly quote the words, though I give the sense–a
sentence by Samuel Rutherford in which he said that he would like to
pile up ten thousand million heavens upon the top of the third Heaven
to which Paul was caught up–and put Christ in that high place–and
then He would not be as high as He deserved to be put and, truly, no
honors seem sufficient for Him who stripped Himself of all He had that
He might become the Savior of sinners!
And, first, it is His glory that He has redeemed His people from
stupendous evils. When a statesman or a warrior rescues a country from
a cruel despotism and brings to it the blessings of liberty, he
deserves great praise. But, my Brothers and Sisters, the tyranny of
sin, from which Christ has delivered His people, was a thousand times
worse than the rule of the worst human despot! Consider, for a moment,
the position in which His people were in the sight of God. They had
sinned and they had, therefore, become exposed to the wrath of God.
Unless some power greater than their own should intervene, they must be
cast into Hell forever. God Himself could not lay aside His justice,
for God would cease to be if He ceased to be just–and an unjust God is
a contradiction in terms, an impossible combination! How, then, were
these, who had sinned against God, to be delivered from the peril which
hung over them? Moreover, they were held in bondage by sin, so that,
even if the punishment of their past sin could be removed, they were
still members of an enslaved race. Satan had cast his iron chains about
them and they were led captive by him at his will.
Ah, Sirs, it is from this bondage that Christ has set us free, for He
has taken away our guilt, bearing it in His own body up to the tree and
then hurling it away from the tree into His grave to be remembered
against us no more forever! By bearing the punishment that was due to
us, Christ has delivered us from the yoke of Satan and of sin and, by
the wondrous redemption which He has worked out, and brought in, He has
made His people "free indeed." No curse now hangs above their heads. No
sin now has dominion over them, for they are not under the Law, but
under Grace. Therefore, sound aloud your Deliverer's praises, all you
who have been thus delivered! Think of what stupendous evils these were
from which Christ set us free. To overthrow an oppressive empire is a
great achievement. To rout the vast hordes that are led into the
battlefield by great tyrants is no slight victory. The conqueror's
statue is set up on high and his name is emblazoned upon the scroll of
earthly fame. Then what honor shall be given to Christ who has set us
free from mightier foes than ever trampled upon a nation's liberties?
Recollect, too, that He has not only delivered us from stupendous
evils, but, in the process, He has crushed the mightiest powers. It did
seem, at one time, as if evil would got the mastery in God's universe.
God had permitted the strange experiment, as it seemed, of making
creatures gifted with free agency–with whose free agency He would not
interfere. These creatures broke His Law. How was the evil to be
prevented from spreading? They would multiply and increase as, indeed,
they have done. And, multiplying and increasing, there would be many
millions of spirits in the universe, all rebellious against God and,
consequently, all suffering! There would be countless myriads, born
into God's world, all bearing hearts of sin within their bosoms and
all, therefore, subject to the wrath of God. How Satan exulted at the
prospect of increasing evil!
But when Jesus came into this world, He put His foot upon the head of
the old dragon and so effectually crushed him to the earth so that he
has never been able to rise again. Satan saw Christ hanging upon the
Cross and thought that was his opportunity for gaining a decisive
victory, yet it proved to be the hour of his greatest defeat! Death
drove his sting right through the heart of Christ, but it so fixed
itself in His Cross that it could never be drawn out again and, now
that sting of death, which is sin, is gone, as far as all Believers in
Christ are concerned. He has vanquished all the powers of
evil–sin, death and Hell–and shattered their forces forever! Listen
to this great shout of victory! Oh, that I had a voice loud enough to
make it ring round the globe–"You have ascended on high, You have led
captivity captive: You have received gifts for men, yes, for the
rebellious, also, that the Lord God might dwell among them."
Perhaps the main point of Christ's Glory in the salvation of His people
is that He has achieved this by means which reflect unbounded honor
upon His holy name. I have often read the story of Cromwell's Ironsides
and, sympathizing deeply with them in the objective of their fight, I
have greatly admired their stern courage and consecrated ardor. But,
still, I cannot think of battles and of fighting for the best of
objectives without something of a shudder, so I cannot approve of the
means which they employed. Doubtless, our country owes her present
liberties to those brave men, yet, for all that, I grieve over the
awful price of blood at which those liberties were purchased. Our
blessed Lord and Master conquered all our foes, but what were the
weapons He used to secure so glorious a victory? Do you look up to Him
and enquire, "Where is Your battle-axe, O Lord Jesus? Where are Your
spear, Your sword, Your quiver and Your arrows?" He bids you look at
His hands, His feet, His side, His heart–these are the weapons with
which He overcame all the powers of darkness! There was much suffering
in that awful conflict, but the suffering was all His own. There was a
terrible gory sweat, but it came from His own body. There were wounds
and there was death, but the wounds were in His precious body, the
death was all His own. This is how evil was conquered–by love which
denied itself, even to the death, for the sake of others! This is how
human stubbornness was vanquished–by an almighty patience that could
suffer at the hands of rebellious sinners till it bled to death! This
is your death, O Death–this is your Hell, O Hell–this is your
destruction, O Destruction–that God Himself bore the consequences of
His creatures' sin!
No, start not back at that expression, I pray you. Do not think of
Christ as being separated from God. God did not find somebody else to
be the Substitute for sinners, but He gave His only-begotten and
well-beloved Son, Jesus Christ, who is the equal and in all respects
One with the Father. It was God Himself, in the Person of the Man
Christ Jesus who bore the penalty that was due to human sin. It was
God, in the Person of His Son, suffering, agonizing, groaning, dying,
to put our sin away forever! I cannot conceive, nor do I think that
cherubim and seraphim could conceive of anything more noble and more
glorious than this Self-sacrifice of the Son of God! He conquers, not
by making others suffer, but by sufferings all His own!
A kindred thought to that is this. Christ's Glory is great in the
Divine Salvation, because it developed and revealed the most wonderful
attributes. Suppose England were to win a great victory at sea. We
would probably ascribe it to her superior men-of-war. Generally,
battles are decided, as Napoleon said, by the big battalions, or by the
excellence of the weapons that are used by the soldiers. If one man has
an old Brown Bess and another a modern rifle, we can pretty well guess
on which side the victory will be. We call it, "glory," when one
fellow, who is twice as big as another, knocks the little one down–at
least, we call it, "glory," when the nation which has the better ships
and the bigger army wins the victory. I saw a huge Newfoundland dog
pick up a poodle and shake him–there was about as much "glory" in that
as when great nations war against little ones and overpower them! It is
the same kind of "glory" as being a bigger bully and having a harder
fist and stronger muscles than anybody else. That may be the sort of
glory for a bull, or a lion, or an ass–but it is not the glory that is
suited to men–and especially to Christians. But when Christ came and
redeemed us, there was, on His part, no display of physical or mere
brute power. There was a display of power, but it was the power of
goodness, the power to suffer, the power to be patient, the power to
love. As if God said to men, "Sinners and rebels as you are, I love you
more than you hate Me. And great as your badness is, My goodness shall
overwhelm your badness, My pardoning mercy shall overpower your power
to transgress."
As the result of His death upon the Cross, our Lord Jesus has saved a
multitude whom no man can number. And a part of His Glory consists in
the fact that there are so many whom He has saved. The salvation of God
is not for just a little privileged company. I know that certain
"sound" brethren imagine that the blessings of salvation are confined
to just a few favored individuals in Little Zoar, or Rehoboth–they
delight in the idea that there are only a few that will be saved. I
trust that we have no sympathy with such narrow views–for my own part,
I rejoice to know that, in Heaven, there will be "a great multitude,
which no man can number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues," who shall cry, "Salvation to our God which sits upon the
Throne, and unto the Lamb." So our Lord Jesus Christ has great glory
from the fact that He saves so many sinners.
There is this peculiarity about all whom He saves, that they are
attached to Him forever. His Glory is great in their salvation because
everyone of them is, from that day forth, Christ's man, Christ's woman
forever and forevermore. In travelling through France, lately, I have
been greatly amused at seeing in various public squares, pedestals that
were evidently intended for equestrian statues, but there are no
statues upon them. And there are shields upon town halls which look as
if there should have been medallions upon them, but there are no
portraits where the medallions should have been. On making enquiries,
you will find that a statue of Napoleon the Third used to stand on that
pedestal and a medallion of him used to be on that town hall. That must
be a fine country for stone-masons, because they so frequently have
fresh governments and need, also, to have fresh statues! I have heard
of a man, living in Paris, who used to ask, every morning, whether he
was under a republic, or a monarchy, or an empire. And when he was told
which it was, he was not at all sure that it would last till the
evening. No matter how good the ruler has been, nor how many times they
have painted his likeness, or set up his image, the moment he has ill
fortune, away go all the representations of him!
You would have thought that many rulers would have obtained a permanent
place in the hearts of their people, yet we know from the history of
various countries that very few have done so. Those who are idolized
today are despised tomorrow. But our Lord Jesus has a Glory which is
great in our salvation because His image is forever enshrined in our
hearts! The great Napoleon hit the nail on the head when, at St.
Helena, musing upon his own position, he said to one who walked with
him, "Jesus Christ is the most wonderful of men. I founded an empire
which has passed away, but His never will, and I see the reason for
that. Mine was founded upon force, but Christ's is founded upon love."
Ah, that is the reason for our devotion to Him! He has loved us so much
that He has won us to Himself forever! These hands of mine are manacled
with blessed, invisible, but unbreakable bands of love–never was I
truly free until I felt those fetters binding me to my Lord! This heart
of mine is fast riveted to Christ. It never was really my own till it
became His, but now it is His forever and ever! "I bear in my body,"
said Paul, "the marks of the Lord Jesus." He felt it to be an
unspeakable honor to be the branded slave of Jesus Christ, with the
Cross burnt into his very flesh by the suffering which he had endured
for the sake of his dear Lord and Master!
Truly, Brothers and Sisters, to rule over other men is a great thing.
To have moral power over men is no mean matter. But to get men to so
love you that they would willingly die for you–to get them to so love
you that they would sooner cease to live than cease to love you–this
is to occupy a glorious high throne! And such is the throne upon which
Christ sits in the hearts of all His people! Such is the dominion which
He wields over all the hosts that He has purchased with His precious
blood! Well says the Prophet in our text–for the Psalmist was a true
Prophet–"His glory is great in Your salvation."
III. Now, thirdly, Our text REVEALS THE REWARD WHICH JESUS HAS OBTAINED
FOR THIS GREAT
SALVATION–"Honor and majesty have You laid upon Him." I do not intend
to preach upon this last point, but only to give you a few sentences by
way of an outline of the honor and majesty which God the Father has
laid upon Christ.
First, our Lord Jesus Christ has been exalted, as Man, to reign over
the angels. As God, He was always Ruler, Governor and Lord of all. But
the Man Christ Jesus died, was buried and rose again–and then ascended
into Glory–and now He is Head over all principalities and powers, and
all the holy angels that have never fallen, delight to do His bidding.
My Brother, in that very sweet prayer before the sermon, to which I
assented with all my heart, pleaded that we might get a view of Jesus
Christ within the veil in His Glory. That is how I want you to think of
Him–that very Man who hung upon the tree. That very Man who was the
butt of all the reproaches and scorn of His enemies, now sits upon the
Throne of God and around Him all the cherubim and seraphim are
gathered, all worshipping and adoring Him and praising and magnifying
His holy name!
Then, my Brothers and Sisters, God has given to the Lord Jesus to be
the Head of His Church. Over all the redeemed, on earth and in Heaven,
Christ presides and rules. While He is the Lord of the angels, He is
also the Lord of all elect men. His Father gave them to Him from
eternity and made Him to be the Head and made them to be the members of
His mystical body. Christ is the one and only Head and supreme Ruler of
His Church. It is true that there are men who sat themselves up as
governors of Christ's Church. And there is an antichrist, at Rome, who
calls himself the head of the church, but that is only a wicked
fiction, a manifest lie! There is but one Head of the Church and that
is the Lord Jesus Christ. He is the only supreme Ruler and before Him
all His loyal subjects bow. "Honor and majesty have You laid upon Him."
Being Head of His Church, He is also Head over all things outside of
His Church in which His Church is concerned. Joseph ruled Egypt for the
good of Israel and, in like manner does Christ rule the whole world for
the good of His people. All the arrangements of Providence are under
His control. Nothing is done in the entire universe without His command
or His permission. Does that statement startle you? It is,
nevertheless, true! He who was made Lord of the angels, has had all
things put under His feet and He is, at this moment, Lord of all! And,
Brothers and Sisters, we shall see this demonstrated soon, for He is
coming. As surely as He went up to Heaven, literally and Personally, so
surely will He comes again, literally and Personally–and when He does
come, it will be as Ruler and Lord over all, for He will come to judge
the quick and the dead according to His Gospel. Then will all created
intelligences behold the honor and majesty which God has put upon Him!
There will have to appear, before the Judgment Seat of the Nazarene,
the spirits that fell ages upon ages ago. Satan shall come and receive
his final sentence and be banished forever to Hell. Then shall come the
unbelieving world, to hear from Christ's lips the terrible message,
"Depart, you cursed!" The earth shall reel beneath His Presence–that
earth which could scarcely lend Him a sepulcher. And Heaven and earth
shall flee away from that Face which earth once seemed to scorn and
Heaven to forget! Ah, it will be seen who the Christ is in that day! A
trumpet blast more terrible than that which startled the echoes of
Sinai shall ring over land and sea. A cloud shall come and on it shall
stand the Great White Throne–and upon it shall be seated the "Man of
Sorrows and acquainted with grief." But, oh, how changed!–
"With rainbow wreath and robes of storm," He shall come–with a face
shining above the brightness of the sun and with eyes like flames of
fire, He shall come in all the Glory of His Father, with all His holy
angels to attend Him, and to swell the triumph of His appearing! O
Brothers and Sisters, let us anticipate that glorious appearing and
begin to clap our hands with exultation over our Lord's triumphal
advent!
But are we all His people? Do not desire that day if you are not His,
for the Day of the Lord will be darkness, not light, to all who are His
enemies! The more glorious Christ is to His own people, the more
dreadful will His appearance be to you if you live as unbelievers and
if you die without trusting in Him! O Christians, I bid you be glad in
your Lord, and I also bid you pray for the unsaved, that they may
trust, and love, and serve Jesus, too–and rejoice with you in
recollecting that He is coming again to receive unto Himself all to
whom He is both Lord and Savior! Amen.
EXPOSITION BY C. H. SPURGEON: LUKE 7:18-50.
Verse 18. And the disciples of John showed him of all these thing. John
was in prison and, possibly, troubled in spirit.
19. And John calling unto him two of his disciples sent them to Jesus
saying, are you He that should come? Or look we for another? Did John
doubt? Perhaps not. It may be that he saw that his disciples doubted
and that he wished their fears to be removed. It is possible, however,
that he did have doubts. It is no unusual thing for the bravest hearts
to be subject to fits of doubt. Elijah, you remember, sat under a
juniper tree in the wilderness, "and he requested for himself that he
might die," though he was the man who never was to die. And John–the
Elijah of the Christian dispensation, though a man of iron, was but a
man, so he sent two of his disciples to Jesus, saying, "Are you He that
should come, or look we for another?"
20-22. When the men were come unto Him, they said, John the Baptist has
sent us unto You, saying, Are You He that should come, or look we for
another? And in that same hour He cured many of their infirmities and
plagues, and of evil spirits; and unto many that were blind He gave
sight. Then Jesus answering said unto them, Go your way, and tell John
what things you have seen and heard. Our old proverb says that actions
speak louder than words, so an answer in His actions would be more
eloquent with these enquirers than even an answer in our Lord's own
words. He bade them look at the evidences of His Messiahship which He
gave them by His miraculous cures, and then He said to them, "Go your
way, and tell John what things you have seen and heard." It would be
well if our lives were such that if any enquired what we were, we
should only have to say that they might judge us by what they had seen
and heard in our common everyday life and conversation!
22, 23. How that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, to the poor the Gospel is preached.
And blessed is he, whoever shall not be offended in Me. According to
our Lord's testimony, the preaching of the Gospel to the poor is as
great a proof of His Messiahship as the raising of the dead! Then how
highly it ought to be prized by them and how glad should they be who
have the Gospel now preached freely in their hearing!
24. And when the messengers of John were departed, He began to speak
unto the people concerning John, What did you go out into the
wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?The wind on the banks of
the Jordan, where there are plenty of reeds growing–did you see a man
who would bow before every breath of popular favor or popular wrath?
Was John the Baptist such a man as that? No, certainly not.
25. But what did you go out to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?
Behold, they which are gorgeously appareled, and live delicately, are
in kings'courts. They do not preach repentance. As is their clothing,
so is their doctrine. They try to show a royal road to Heaven–a smooth
and easy path. But was John the Baptist a preacher of that kind? No,
that he was not.
26-28. But what did you go out to see? A Prophet? Yes, I say unto you,
and much more than a Prophet This is he, of whom it is written, Behold,
I send'My messenger before Your face, which shallprepare Your way
before you. For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women
there is not a greater Prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is
least in the Kingdom of God is greater than he. Passing into the
dispensation of clearer Light of God, he who is least among the
Believers of the Gospel of Jesus is, in some respects, greater than
this man who could only preach repentance and point to a coming Savior!
29-32. And all the people that heard Him, and the publicans, justified
God, being baptized with the Baptism of John. But the Pharisees and
lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not
baptized of him. And the Lord said, To what, then, shall I liken the
men of this generation? And to what are they like? They are like unto
children sitting in the marketplace. At play–the playing of children
is often according to the manners and customs of grown up people.
32. And calling one to another, and saying, We have piped unto you, and
you have not danced. ' 'You would not play a merry game when we asked
you to do so."
32. We have mourned to you, and you have not wept. "You would not play
either at funerals or weddings."
33. For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine;
and you say, he has a devil "He came among you as an ascetic, denying
himself, not only the luxuries of life, but even the common comforts
that others enjoyed. And you say, 'He has a devil.'"
34. The Son of Man is come eating and drinking.' 'He does not pretend
to be an ascetic. He comes, on the contrary, to show that neither meat
nor drink can save a man. What do you say, then, of this Son of Man?"
34, 35. And you say, Behold a gluttonous Man, and a winebibber, a
friend of publicans and sinners! But wisdom is justified of all her
children. Though the world contemns all wisdom's children, whichever
way they go, and is not pleased with their manners, whatever manners
they possess, yet, in the long run, when the Wisdom of God shall be all
unfolded, it will be seen that the roughness of John and the gentleness
and loving kindness of Jesus were both right in their proper place. If
fish are not caught in the Gospel fishery, it may sometimes be the
fisherman's fault, but more often it is the fault of the fish. Here we
have two very different kinds of fishermen, yet neither of them
attracts all, though each of them draws some.
36, 37. And one of the Pharisees desired Him that He would eat with
him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat And,
behold. For it is a wonder of Divine Grace–"Behold."
37. A woman in the city, which was a sinner A sinner by profession, a
public and notorious sinner.
37-44. When she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house,
brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him
weeping, and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with
the hairs of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the
ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden Him saw it, he spoke
within himself, saying, This Man, ifHe were a Prophet, would have known
who and what manner of woman this is that touches Him: for she is a
sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, Ihave somewhat to say
unto you. And he said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor who
had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me
therefore, which of them will love him
more? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave
most. And He said unto him, You have rightly judged. And He turned to
the woman, and said unto Simon, See you this woman? I entered into your
house, you gave Me no water for My feet. "Though it was only a common
act of courtesy, such as should always be shown to a guest, you did
neglect that."
44. But she has washed My feet with tears, and wiped them with the hair
of her head.''She has given My feet no common washing, for she has
washed them with her tears. You would only have brought Me a linen
napkin, but she has wiped them with the hairs of her head.'"
45. You gave Me no kiss. Which was usually given as a greeting to
guests at that time. Simon had not given to Jesus the honor which was
due to Him, which would have been to kiss His forehead.
45. But this woman since the time I came in has not ceased to kiss My
feet. Every word is emphatic to show how far she had gone beyond Simon,
who thought himself so much better than she was.
46. My head with oil you did not anoint. Another usual Eastern custom
with guests whom the host intended to honor.
46. But this woman has anointed My feet with ointment. Anointed them,
not with ordinary olive oil, but with precious costly ointment.
47. Therefore I say unto you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven;
for she loved much. "You know that her sins were many, and I tell you
that they have been forgiven, and you can see, by her actions, that she
loves much."
47, 48. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little. And He
said unto her, Your sins are forgiven. What music that sentence, "Your
sins are forgiven," must have been to her! "Ah," says one, "I also
should like to hear that sentence. Beyond everything else in the whole
world would I desire to hear Jesus say to me, 'Your sins are
forgiven.'" Then put yourself in the place that this woman occupied.
When Joab clung to the horns of the altar, he had to die there, but
this woman had fled to the feet of Jesus–and she did not die
there–nor shall you, but at those blessed feet, weeping for sin, and
trusting the great Sin-Bearer, you shall receive assurance of pardon.
"Your sins are forgiven."
49, 50. And they that sat at meat with Him began to say within
themselves, Who is this that forgives sins also? And He said to the
woman, Your faith has saved you; go in peace. He did not want this
young convert, this beginner in the Christian life to hear the
bickering and controversies of these coarse spirits, so He said to her,
"Go in peace."
And, dear Soul, if you have begun to find out that even in the
Christian Church there are many opinions concerning many things, do not
trouble yourself about those things. This is enough for you–"Your
faith has saved you; go in peace." There may be some who are galled to
contend for this or that point of the faith but, as for you, poor
Child, if, with your broken heart you have found the Savior and if you
love Him with an inward, warm and hearty love, do not spoil that love
by getting into a controversial spirit–"Your faith has saved you; go
in peace."