In
this chapter we have, I. The constant and unwearied diligence of our Lord
Jesus in his great work of preaching the gospel, ver. 1. II. His discourse
with the disciples of John concerning his being the Messiah, ver. 2-6. III.
The honourable testimony that Christ bore to John Baptist, ver. 7-15. IV.
The sad account he gives of that generation in general, and of some
particular places with reference to the success, both of John's ministry and
of his own, ver. 16-24. V. His thanksgiving to his Father for the wise and
gracious method he had taken in revealing the great mysteries of the gospel,
ver. 25, 26. VI. His gracious call and invitation of poor sinners to come to
him, and to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him, ver. 27-30. No Where
have we more of the terror of gospel woes for warning to us, or of the
sweetness of gospel grace for encouragement to us, than in this chapter,
which sets before us life and death, the blessing and the curse.
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John's
Disciples Come to Christ.
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1 And it came to pass, when Jesus had made an
end of commanding his twelve disciples, he departed thence to teach and to
preach in their cities. 2 Now when John had heard in the prison
the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3 And said
unto him, Art thou he that should come, or do we look for another?
4 Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and show John again those things
which ye do hear and see: 5 The blind receive their sight, and
the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are
raised up, and the poor have the gospel preached to them. 6 And
blessed is he, whosoever shall not be offended in me.
The first verse of this chapter some join to the foregoing chapter, and make
it (not unfitly) the close of that.
1. The ordination sermon which Christ preached to his disciples in the
foregoing chapter is here called his commanding them. Note, Christ's
commissions imply commands. Their preaching of the gospel was not only
permitted them, but it was enjoined them. It was not a thing respecting
which they were left at their liberty, but necessity was laid upon them,
1 Cor. ix. 16. The promises he made them are included in these commands, for
the covenant of grace is a word which he hath commanded, Ps. cv. 8.
He made an end of commanding, etelesen
diatasswn. Note, The instructions Christ gives are
full instructions. He goes through with his work.
2. When Christ had said what he had to say to his disciples, he departed
thence. It should seem they were very loth to leave their Master, till he
departed and separated himself from them; as the nurse withdraws the
hand, that the child may learn to go by itself. Christ would now teach them
how to live, and how to work, without his bodily presence. It was expedient
for them, that Christ should thus go away for awhile, that they might be
prepared for his long departure, and that, by the help of the Spirit, their
own hands might be sufficient for them (Deut. xxxiii. 7), and they
might not be always children. We have little account of what they did now
pursuant to their commission. They went abroad, no doubt; probably into
Judea (for in Galilee the gospel had been mostly preached hitherto),
publishing the doctrine of Christ, and working miracles in his name: but
still in a more immediate dependence upon him, and not being long from him;
and thus they were trained up, by degrees, for their great work.
3. Christ departed, to teach and preach in the cities whither he sent
his disciples before him to work miracles (ch. x. 1-8), and so
to raise people's expectations, and to make way for his entertainment. Thus
was the way of the Lord prepared; John prepared it by bringing people
to repentance, but he did no miracles. The disciples go
further, they work miracles for confirmation. Note, Repentance and
faith prepare people for the blessings of the kingdom of heaven, which
Christ gives. Observe, When Christ empowered them to work miracles,
he employed himself in teaching and preaching, as if that were
the more honourable of the two. That was but in order to do this. Healing
the sick was the saving of bodies, but preaching the gospel was to
the saving of souls. Christ had directed his disciples to preach (ch.
x. 7), yet he did not leave off preaching himself. He set them to work, not
for his own ease, but for the ease of the country, and was not the less busy
for employing them. How unlike are they to Christ, who yoke others only that
they may themselves be idle! Note, the increase and multitude of labourers
in the Lord's work should be made not an excuse for our negligence, but an
encouragement to our diligence. The more busy others are, the more busy we
should be, and all little enough, so much work is there to be done. Observe,
he went to preach in their cities, which were populous places; he
cast the net of the gospel where there were most fish to be enclosed. Wisdom
cries in the cities (Prov. i. 21), at the entry of the city
(Prov. viii. 3), in the cities of the Jews, even of them who made
light of him, who notwithstanding had the first offer.
What he preached we are not told, but it was probably to the same purpose
with his sermon on the mount. But here is next recorded a message which John
Baptist sent to Christ, and his return to it, v. 2-6. We heard before
that Jesus heard of John's sufferings, ch. iv. 12. Now we are told
that John, in prison, hears of Christ's doings. He heard in the prison
the works of Christ; and no doubt he was glad to hear of them, for he
was a true friend of the Bridegroom, John iii. 29. Note, When one useful
instrument is laid aside, God knows how to raise up many others in the stead
of it. The work went on, though John was in prison, and it added no
affliction, but a great deal of consolation, to his bonds. Nothing more
comfortable to God's people in distress, than to hear of the works of
Christ; especially to experience them in their own souls. This turns a
prison into a palace. Some way or other Christ will convey the notices of
his love to those that are in trouble for conscience sake. John could not
see the works of Christ, but he heard of them with pleasure. And blessed are
they who have not seen, but only heard, and yet have believed.
Now John Baptist, hearing of Christ's works, sent two of his disciples to
him; and what passed between them and him we have here an account of. Here
is,
I. The question they had to propose to him: Art thou he that should come,
or do we look for another? This was a serious and important question; Art
thou the Messiah promised, or not? Art thou the Christ? Tell us. 1. It
is taken for granted that the Messiah should come. It was one of the names
by which he was known to the Old-Testament saints, he that cometh or
shall come, Ps. cxviii. 26. He is now come, but there is another coming
of his which we still expect. 2. They intimate, that if this be not he,
they would look for another. Note, We must not be weary of looking
for him that is to come, nor ever say, we will not more expect him till we
come to enjoy him. Though he tarry, wait for him, for he that shall come
will come, though not in our time. 3. They intimate likewise, that if they
be convinced that this is he, they will not be sceptics, they will be
satisfied, and will look for no other. 4. They therefore ask, Art
thou he? John had said for his part, I am not the Christ, John i.
20. Now, (1.) Some think that John sent this question for his own
satisfaction. It is true he had borne a noble testimony to Christ; he had
declared him to be the Son of God (John i. 34), the Lamb of God (v.
29), and he that should baptize with the Holy Ghost (v. 33),
and sent of God (John iii. 34), which were great things. But he
desired to be further and more fully assured, that he was the Messiah that
had been so long promised and expected. Note, In matters relating to Christ
and our salvation by him, it is good to be sure. Christ appeared not in that
external pomp and power in which it was expected he should appear; his own
disciples stumbled at this, and perhaps John did so; Christ saw something of
this at the bottom of this enquiry, when he said, blessed is he who shall
not be offended in me. Note, It is hard, even for good men, to bear up
against vulgar errors. (2.) John's doubt might arise from his own present
circumstances. He was a prisoner, and might be tempted to think, if Jesus be
indeed the Messiah, whence is it that I, his friend and forerunner, am
brought into this trouble, and am left to be so long in it, and he never
looks after me, never visits me, nor sends to me, enquires not after me,
does nothing either to sweeten my imprisonment or hasten my enlargement?
Doubtless there was a good reason why our Lord Jesus did not go to John in
prison, lest there should seem to have been a compact between them: but John
construed it into a neglect, and it was perhaps a shock to his faith in
Christ. Note, [1.] Where there is true faith, yet there may be a mixture of
unbelief. The best are not always alike strong. [2.] Troubles for Christ,
especially when they continue long unrelieved, are such trials of faith as
sometimes prove too hard to be borne up against. [3.] The remaining unbelief
of good men may sometimes, in an hour of temptation, strike at the root, and
call in question the most fundamental truths which were thought to be well
settled. Will the Lord cast off for ever? But we will hope that
John's faith did not fail in this matter, only he desired to have it
strengthened and confirmed. Note, The best saints have need of the best
helps they can get for the strengthening of their faith, and the arming of
themselves against temptations to infidelity. Abraham believed, and yet
desired a sign (Gen. xv. 6, 8), so did Gideon, Judg. vi. 36. But, (3.)
Others think that John sent his disciples to Christ with this question, not
so much for his own satisfaction as for theirs. Observe, Though he was a
prisoner they adhered to him, attended on him, and were ready to receive
instructions from him; they loved him, and would not leave him. Now, [1.]
They were weak in knowledge, and wavering in their faith, and needed
instruction and confirmation; and in this matter they were somewhat
prejudiced; being jealous for their master, they were jealous of
our Master; they were loth to acknowledge Jesus to be the Messiah,
because he eclipsed John, and are loth to believe their own master when they
think he speaks against himself and them. Good men are apt to have their
judgments blessed by their interest. Now John would have their mistakes
rectified, and wished them to be as well satisfied as he himself was. Note,
The strong ought to consider the infirmities of the weak, and to do what
they can to help them: and such as we cannot help ourselves we should send
to those that can. When thou art converted, strengthen thy brethren.
[2.] John was all along industrious to turn over his disciples to Christ, as
from the grammar-school to the academy. Perhaps he foresaw his death
approaching, and therefore would bring his disciples to be better acquainted
with Christ, under whose guardianship he must leave them. Note, Ministers'
business is to direct every body to Christ. And those who would know the
certainty of the doctrine of Christ, must apply themselves to him, who is
come to give an understanding. They who would grow in grace must be
inquisitive.
II. Here is Christ's answer to this question, v. 4-6. It was not so
direct and express, as when he said, I that speak unto thee am he;
but it was a real answer, an answer in fact. Christ will have us to spell
out the convincing evidences of gospel truths, and to take pains in digging
for knowledge.
1. He points them to what they heard and saw, which they must tell John,
that he might from thence take occasion the more fully to instruct and
convince them out of their own mouths. Go and tell him what you hear and
see. Note, Our senses may and ought to be appealed to in those things
that are their proper objects. Therefore the popish doctrine of the real
presence agrees not with the truth as it is in Jesus; for Christ
refers us to the things we hear and see. Go and tell John,
(1.) What you see of the power of Christ's miracles; you see
how, by the word of Jesus, the blind receive their sight, the lame
walk, &c. Christ's miracles were done openly, and in the view of
all; for they feared not the strongest and most impartial scrutiny. Veritas
no quærit angulos--Truth seeks not concealment. They are to be
considered, [1.] As the acts of a divine power. None but the God of
nature could thus overrule and outdo the power of nature. It is particularly
spoken of as God's prerogative to open the eyes of the blind, Ps.
cxlvi. 8. Miracles are therefore the broad seal of heaven, and the doctrine
they are affixed to must be of God, for his power will never contradict his
truth; nor can it be imagined that he should set his seal to a lie; however lying
wonders may be vouched for in proof of false doctrines, true miracles
evince a divine commission; such Christ's were, and they leave no room to
doubt that he was sent of God, and that his doctrine was his that sent
him. [2.] As the accomplishment of a divine prediction. It was
foretold (Isa. xxxv. 5, 6), that our God should come, and that then the
eyes of the blind should be opened. Now if the works of Christ agree
with the words of the prophet, as it is plain they do, then no doubt but
this is our God whom we have waited for, who shall come with a recompence;
this is he who is so much wanted.
(2.) Tell him what you hear of the preaching of his gospel,
which accompanies his miracles. Faith, though confirmed by seeing, comes by
hearing. Tell him, [1.] That the poor preach the gospel; so some read
it. It proves Christ's divine mission, that those whom he employed in
founding his kingdom were poor men, destitute of all secular advantages,
who, therefore, could never have carried their point, if they had not been
carried on by a divine power. [2.] That the poor have the gospel preached
to them. Christ's auditory is made up of such as the scribes and
Pharisees despised, and looked upon with contempt, and the rabbies
would not instruct, because they were notable to pay them. The Old-Testament
prophets were sent mostly to kings and princes, but Christ preached to the congregations
of the poor. It was foretold that the poor of the flock should wait
upon him, Zech. xi. 11. Note, Christ's gracious condescensions and
compassions to the poor, are an evidence that it was he that should
bring to the world the tender mercies of our God. It was foretold that the Son
of David should be the poor man's King, Ps. lxxii. 2, 4, 12, 13.
Or we may understand it, not so much of the poor of the world, as the
poor in spirit, and so that scripture is fulfilled, Isa. lxi. 1, He
hath anointed me to preach glad tidings to the meek. Note, It is a proof
of Christ's divine mission that his doctrine is gospel indeed; good news to
those who are truly humbled in sorrow for their sins, and truly humble in
the denial of self; to them it is accommodated, for whom God always declared
he had mercy in store. [3.] That the poor receive the gospel, and are
wrought upon by it, they are evangelized, they receive and entertain the
gospel, are leavened by it, and delivered into it as into a mould. Note, The
wonderful efficacy of the gospel is a proof of its divine original. The poor
are wrought upon by it. The prophets complained of the poor,
that they knew not the way of the Lord, Jer. v. 4. They could do no
good upon them; but the gospel of Christ made its way into their untutored
minds.
2. He pronounces a blessing on those that were not offended in
him, v. 6. So clear are these evidences of Christ's mission, that
they who are not wilfully prejudiced against him, and scandalized in him (so
the word is), cannot but receive his doctrine, and so be blessed in him.
Note, (1.) There are many things in Christ which they who are ignorant and
unthinking are apt to be offended at, some circumstances for the sake of
which they reject the substance of his gospel. The meanness of his
appearance, his education at Nazareth, the poverty of his life, the
despicableness of his followers, the slights which the great men put upon
him, the strictness of his doctrine, the contradiction it gives to flesh and
blood, and the sufferings that attend the profession of his name; these are
things that keep many from him, who otherwise cannot but see much of God in
him. Thus he is set for the fall of many, even in Israel (Luke ii.
34), a Rock of offence, 1 Pet. ii. 8. (2.) They are happy who get
over these offences. Blessed are they. The expression intimates, that
it is a difficult thing to conquer these prejudices, and a dangerous thing
not to conquer them; but as to those, who, notwithstanding this opposition,
to believe in Christ, their faith will be found so much the more, to praise,
and honour, and glory.
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Christ's
Testimony of John.
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7 And as they departed, Jesus began to say
unto the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to
see? A reed shaken with the wind? 8 But what went ye out for to
see? A man clothed in soft raiment? behold, they that wear soft clothing
are in kings' houses. 9 But what went ye out for to see? A
prophet? yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. 10 For
this is he, of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before
thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. 11 Verily I
say unto you, Among them that are born of women there hath not risen a
greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding he that is least in the
kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12 And from the days of
John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force. 13 For all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John. 14 And if ye will receive it, this
is Elias, which was for to come. 15 He that hath ears to hear,
let him hear.
We have here the high encomium which our Lord Jesus gave of John the
Baptist; not only to revive his honour, but to revive his work. Some of
Christ's disciples might perhaps take occasion from the question John sent,
to reflect upon him, as weak and wavering, and inconsistent with himself, to
prevent which Christ gives him this character. Note, It is our duty to
consult the reputation of our brethren, and not only to remove, but to
obviate and prevent, jealousies and ill thoughts of them; and we must take
all occasions, especially such as discover any thing of infirmity, to speak
well of those who are praiseworthy, and to give them that fruit of their
hands. John the Baptist, when he was upon the stage, and Christ in
privacy and retirement, bore testimony to Christ; and now that Christ
appeared publicly, and John was under a cloud, he bore testimony to John.
Note, They who have a confirmed interest themselves, should improve it for
the helping of the credit and reputation of others, whose character claims
it, but whose temper or present circumstances put them out of the way of it.
This is giving honour to whom honour is due. John had abased himself to
honour Christ (John iii. 20, 30, ch. iii. 11), had made himself
nothing, that Christ might be All, and now Christ dignifies him with this
character. Note, They who humble themselves shall be exalted, and those that
honour Christ he will honour; those that confess him before men, he will
confess, and sometimes before men too, even in this world. John had
now finished his testimony, and now Christ commends him. Note, Christ
reserves honour for his servants when they have done their work, John
xii. 26.
Now concerning this commendation of John, observe,
I. That Christ spoke thus honourably of John, not in the hearing of John's
disciples, but as they departed, just after they were gone, Luke vii.
24. He would not so much as seem to flatter John, nor have these praises of
him reported to him. Note, Though we must be forward to give to all their
due praise for their encouragement, yet we must avoid every thing that looks
like flattery, or may be in danger of puffing them up. They who in other
things are mortified to the world, yet cannot well bear their own praise.
Pride is a corrupt humour, which we must not feed either in others or in
ourselves.
II. That what Christ said concerning John, was intended not only for his
praise, but for the people's profit, to revive the remembrance of John's
ministry, which had been well attended, but which was now (as other such
things used to be) strangely forgotten: they did for a season, and but for
a season, rejoice in his light, John v. 35. "Now, consider, what
went ye out into the wilderness to see? Put this question to
yourselves." 1. John preached in the wilderness, and thither
people flocked in crowds to him, though in a remote place, and an inconvenient
one. If teachers be removed into corners, it is better to go after them than
to be without them. Now if his preaching was worth taking so much pains to
hear it, surely it was worth taking some care to recollect it. The greater
the difficulties we have broken through to hear the word, the more we are
concerned to profit by it. 2. They went out to him to see him; rather to
feed their eyes with the unusual appearance of his person, than to feed
their souls with his wholesome instructions; rather for curiosity than for
conscience. Note, Many that attend on the word come rather to see and be
seen, than to learn and be taught, to have something to talk of, than to be
made wise to salvation. Christ puts it to them, what went ye out to see?
Note, They who attend on the word will be called to an account, what their
intentions and what their improvements were. We think when the sermon is
done, the care is over; no, then the greatest of the care begins. It will
shortly be asked, "What business had you such a time at such an
ordinance? What brought you thither? Was it custom or company, or was
it a desire to honour God and get good? What have you brought thence?
What knowledge, and grace, and comfort? What went you to see?"
Note, When we go to read and hear the word, we should see that we aim right
in what we do.
III. Let us see what the commendation of John was. They know not what answer
to make to Christ's question; well, says Christ, "I will tell you what
a man John the Baptist was."
1. "He was a firm, resolute man, and not a reed shaken with the
wind; you have been so in your thoughts of him, but he was not
so. He was not wavering in his principles, nor uneven in his conversation;
but was remarkable for his steadiness and constant consistency with
himself." They who are weak as reeds will be shaken as
reeds; but John was strong in spirit, Eph. iv. 14. When the wind of
popular applause on the one hand blew fresh and fair, when the storm of
Herod's rage on the other hand grew fierce and blustering, John was still
the same, the same in all weathers. The testimony he had borne to Christ was
not the testimony of a reed, of a man who was of one mind to-day, and
of another to-morrow; it was not a weather-cock testimony; no, his constancy
in it is intimated (John i. 20); he confessed and denied not, but
confessed, and stood to it afterwards, John iii. 28. And therefore this
question sent by his disciples was not to be construed into any suspicion of
the truth of what he had formerly said: therefore the people flocked to him,
because he was not as a reed. Note, There is nothing lost in the long run by
an unshaken resolution to go on with our work, neither courting the smiles,
nor fearing the frowns of men.
2. He was a self-denying man, and mortified to this world.
"Was he a man clothed in soft raiment? If so, you would not have
gone into the wilderness to see him, but to the court. You
went to see one that had his raiment of camel's hair, and a leathern
girdle about his loins; his mien and habit showed that he was dead to
all the pomps of the world and the pleasures of sense; his clothing agreed
with the wilderness he lived in, and the doctrine he preached there,
that of repentance. Now you cannot think that he who was such a stranger to
the pleasures of a court, should be brought to change his mind by the
terrors of a prison, and now to question whether Jesus be the Messiah or
not!" Note, they who have lived a life of mortification, are least
likely to be driven off from their religion by persecution. He was not a man
clothed in soft raiment; such there are, but they are in
kings' houses. Note, It becomes people in all their appearances to be
consistent with their character and their situation. They who are preachers
must not affect to look like courtiers; nor must they whose lot is cast in
common dwellings, be ambitious of the soft clothing which they wear who are
in kings' houses. Prudence teaches us to be of a piece. John appeared
rough and unpleasant, yet they flocked after him. Note, The remembrance of
our former zeal in attending on the word of God, should quicken us to, and
in, our present work: let it not be said that we have done and suffered so
many things in vain, have run in vain and laboured in vain.
3. His greatest commendation of all was his office and ministry, which was
more his honour than any personal endowments or qualifications could be; and
therefore this is most enlarged upon in a full encomium.
(1.) He was a prophet, yea, and more than a prophet (v.
9); so he said of him who was the great Prophet, to whom all the prophets
bear witness. John said of himself, he was not that prophet, that
great prophet, the Messiah himself; and now Christ (a very competent Judge)
says of him, that he was more than a prophet. He owned himself
inferior to Christ, and Christ owned him superior to all other prophets.
Observe, The forerunner of Christ was not a king, but a prophet, lest it
should seem that the kingdom of the Messiah had been laid in earthly power;
but his immediate forerunner was, as such, a transcendent prophet,
more than an Old-Testament prophet; they all did virtuously,
but John excelled them all; they saw Christ's day at a distance, and
their vision was yet for a great while to come; but John saw the day dawn,
he saw the sun rise, and told the people of the Messiah, as one that stood
among them. They spake of Christ, but he pointed to him; they said, A
virgin shall conceive: he said, Behold the Lamb of God!
(2.) He was the same that was predicted to be Christ's forerunner (v.
10); This is he of whom it is written. He was prophesied of by the
other prophets, and therefore was greater than they. Malachi prophesied
concerning John, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face. Herein
some of Christ's honour was put upon him, that the Old-Testament
prophets spake and wrote of him; and this honour have all the saints, that
their names are written in the Lamb's book of life. It was
great preferment to John above all the prophets, that he was Christ's
harbinger. He was a messenger sent on a great errand; a messenger, one
among a thousand, deriving his honour from his whose messenger he was:
he is my messenger sent of God. His business was to prepare
Christ's way, to dispose people to receive the Saviour, by discovering
to them their sin and misery, and their need of a Saviour. This he had said
of himself (John i. 23) and now Christ said it of him; intending hereby not
only to put an honour upon John's ministry, but to revive people's regard to
it, as making way for the Messiah. Note, Much of the beauty of God's
dispensations lies in their mutual connection and coherence, and the
reference they have one to another. That which advanced John above the Old-Testament
prophets was, that he went immediately before Christ. Note, The nearer any
are to Christ, the more truly honourable they are.
(3.) There was not a greater born of women than John the Baptist, v.
11. Christ knew how to value persons according to the degrees of their
worth, and he prefers John before all that went before him, before all that
were born of women by ordinary generation. Of all that God had raised
up and called to any service in his church, John is the most eminent, even
beyond Moses himself; for he began to preach the gospel doctrine of
remission of sins to those who are truly penitent; and he had more signal
revelations from heaven than any of them had; for he saw heaven opened,
and the Holy Ghost descend. He also had great success in his
ministry; almost the whole nation flocked to him: none rose on so great a
design, or came on so noble an errand, as John did, or had such claims to a
welcome reception. Many had been born of women that made a great figure in
the world, but Christ prefers John before them. Note, Greatness is not to be
measured by appearances and outward splendour, but they are the greatest men
who are the greatest saints, and the greatest blessings, who are, as John
was, great in the sight of the Lord, Luke i. 15.
Yet this high encomium of John has a surprising limitation, notwithstanding,
he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. [1.] In
the kingdom of glory. John was a great and good man,
but he was yet in a state of infirmity and imperfection, and therefore came
short of glorified saints, and the spirits of just men made perfect.
Note, First, There are degrees of glory in heaven, some that are less
than others there; though every vessel is alike full, all are not alike
large and capacious. Secondly, The least saint in heaven is greater,
and knows more, and loves more, and does more in praising God, and receives
more from him, than the greatest in this world. The saints on earth are
excellent ones (Ps. xvi. 3), but those in heaven are much more excellent;
the best in this world are lower than the angels (Ps. viii. 5), the
least there are equal with the angels, which should make us long for
that blessed state, where the weak shall be as David, Zech. xii. 8.
[2.] By the kingdom of heaven here, is rather to be understood the kingdom
of grace, the gospel dispensation in the perfection of its power and
purity; and o mikroteroV--he
that is less in that is greater than John. Some understand it of
Christ himself, who was younger than John, and, in the opinion of some, less
than John, who always spoke diminishingly of himself; I am a worm, and no
man, yet greater than John; so it agrees with what John the Baptist said
(John i. 15), He that cometh after me is preferred before me. But it
is rather to be understood of the apostles and ministers of the New
Testament, the evangelical prophets; and the comparison between them and
John is not with respect to their personal sanctity, but to their office;
John preached Christ coming, but they preached Christ not only come, but crucified
and glorified. John came to the dawning of the gospel-day, and
therein excelled the foregoing prophets, but he was taken off before the
noon of that day, before the rending of the veil, before Christ's death and
resurrection, and the pouring out of the Spirit; so that the least of the
apostles and evangelists, having greater discoveries made to them, and being
employed in a greater embassy, is greater than John. John did no
miracles; the apostles wrought many. The ground of this preference is laid
in the preference of the New-Testament dispensation to that of the Old
Testament. Ministers of the New Testament therefore excel, because their
ministration does so, 2 Cor. iii. 6, &c. John was a maximum quod
sic--the greatest of his order; he went to the utmost that the
dispensation he was under would allow; but minimum maximi est majus
maximo minimi--the least of the highest order is superior to the first of
the lowest; a dwarf upon a mountain sees further than a giant in the
valley. Note, All the true greatness of men is derived from, and denominated
by, the gracious manifestation of Christ to them. The best men are no better
than he is pleased to make them. What reason have we to be thankful that our
lot is cast in the days of the kingdom of heaven, under such
advantages of light and love! And the greater the advantages, the greater
will the account be, if we receive the grace of God in vain.
(4.) The great commendation of John the Baptist was, that God owned his
ministry, and made it wonderfully successful for the breaking of the ice,
and the preparing of people for the kingdom of heaven. From the days of
the first appearing of John the Baptist, until now (which was not
much above two years), a great deal of good was done; so quick was the
motion when it came near to Christ the Centre; The kingdom of heaven
suffereth violence--biazetai-vim
patitur, like the violence of an army taking a city by storm, or of a
crowd bursting into a house, so the violent take it by force. The
meaning of this we have in the parallel place, Luke xvi. 16. Since that time
the kingdom of God is preached, and every man presseth into it.
Multitudes are wrought upon by the ministry of John, and become his
disciples. And it is
[1.] An improbable multitude. Those strove for a place in this
kingdom, that one would think had no right nor title to it, and so seemed to
be intruders, and to make a tortuous entry, as our law calls it, a
wrongful and forcible one. When the children of the kingdom are
excluded out of it, and many come into it from the east and the west,
then it suffers violence. Compare this with ch. xxi. 31, 32.
The publicans and harlots believed John, whom the scribes and Pharisees
rejected, and so went into the kingdom of God before them, took it over
their heads, while they trifled. Note, It is no breach of good manners
to go to heaven before our betters: and it is a great commendation of the
gospel from the days of its infancy, that it has brought many to holiness
that were very unlikely.
[2.] An importunate multitude. This violence denotes a strength, and
vigour, and earnestness of desire and endeavour, in those who followed
John's ministry, else they would not have come so far to attend upon it. It
shows us also, what fervency and zeal are required of all those who design
to make heaven of their religion. Note, They who would enter into the
kingdom of heaven must strive to enter; that kingdom suffers a
holy violence; self must be denied, the bent and bias, the frame and temper,
of the mind must be altered; there are hard sufferings to be undergone, a
force to be put upon the corrupt nature; we must run, and wrestle, and
fight, and be in an agony, and all little enough to win such a prize,
and to get over such opposition from without and from within. The violent
take it by force. They who will have an interest in the great salvation
are carried out towards it with a strong desire, will have it upon any
terms, and not think them hard, nor quit their hold without a blessing,
Gen. xxxii. 26. They who will make their calling and election sure must give
diligence. The kingdom of heaven was never intended to indulge the ease of
triflers, but to be the rest of them that labour. It is a blessed sight; Oh
that we could see a greater number, not with an angry contention
thrusting others out of the kingdom of heaven, but with a holy
contention thrusting themselves into it!
(5.) The ministry of John was the beginning of the gospel, as it is
reckoned, Mark i. 1; Acts i. 22. This is shown here in two things:
[1.] In John the Old Testament dispensation began to die, v. 13. So
long that ministration continued in full force and virtue, but then it began
to decline. Though the obligation of the law of Moses was not removed till
Christ's death, yet the discoveries of the Old Testament began to be
superseded by the more clear manifestation of the kingdom of heaven
as at hand. Because the light of the gospel (as that of
nature) was to precede and make way for its law, therefore the
prophecies of the Old Testament came to an end (finis perficiens, not
interficiens--an end of completion, not of duration), before the
precepts of it; so that when Christ says, all the prophets and the law
prophesied until John, he shows us, First, How the light of the
Old Testament was set up; it was set up in the law and the prophets,
who spoke, though darkly, of Christ and his kingdom. Observe, The law
is said to prophesy, as well as the prophets, concerning him that was
to come. Christ began at Moses (Luke xxiv. 27); Christ was foretold
by the dumb signs of the Mosaic work, as well as by the more articulate
voices of the prophets, and was exhibited, not only in the verbal
predictions, but in the personal and real types. Blessed be God that we have
both the New-Testament doctrine to explain the Old-Testament prophecies, and
the Old-Testament prophecies to confirm and illustrate the New-Testament
doctrine (Heb. i. 1); like the two cherubim, they look at each other. The
law was given by Moses long ago, and there had been no prophets for three
hundred years before John, and yet they are both said to prophecy until
John, because the law was still observed, and Moses and the prophets
still read. Note, The scripture is teaching to this day, though the penmen
of it are gone. Moses and the prophets are dead; the apostles and
evangelists are dead (Zech. i. 5), but the word of the Lord endures for
ever (1 Pet. i. 25); the scripture is speaking expressly,
though the writers are silent in the dust. Secondly, How this light
was laid aside: when he says, they prophesied until John, he
intimates, that their glory was eclipsed by the glory which excelled; their
predictions superseded by John's testimony, Behold the Lamb of God!
Even before the sun rises, the morning light makes candles to shine dim.
Their prophecies of a Christ to come became out of date, when John said, He
is come.
[2.] In him the New-Testament day began to dawn; for (v. 14) This
is Elias, that was for to come. John was as the loop that coupled the
two Testaments; as Noah was Fibula utriusque mundi--the link connecting
both worlds, so was he utriusque Testamenti--the link connecting both
Testaments. The concluding prophecy of the Old Testament was, Behold,
I will send you Elijah, Mal. iv. 5, 6. Those words prophesied until
John, and then, being turned into a history, they ceased to prophecy. First,
Christ speaks of it as a great truth, that John the Baptist is the Elias of
the New Testament; not Elias in propria persona--in his own person,
as the carnal Jews expected; he denied that (John i. 21), but one that
should come in the spirit and power of Elias (Luke i. 17), like him in
temper and conversation, that should press repentance with terrors, and
especially as it is in the prophecy, that should turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children. Secondly, He speaks of it as a truth, which
would not be easily apprehended by those whose expectations fastened upon
the temporal kingdom of the Messiah, and introductions to it agreeable.
Christ suspects the welcome of it, if ye will receive it. Not but
that it was true, whether they would receive it or not, but he upbraids them
with their prejudices, that they were backward to receive the greatest
truths that were opposed to their sentiments, though never so favourable to
their interests. Or, "If you will receive him, or if you will
receive the ministry of John as that of the promised Elias, he will be an
Elias to you, to turn you and prepare you for the Lord," Note, Gospel
truths are as they are received, a savour of life or death. Christ is a
Saviour, and John an Elias, to those who will receive the truth concerning
them.
Lastly, Our Lord Jesus closes this discourse with a solemn demand of
attention (v. 15): He that hath ears to hear, let him hear;
which intimates, that those things were dark and hard to be understood, and
therefore needed attention, but of great concern and consequence, and
therefore well deserved it. "Let all people take notice of this, if
John be the Elias prophesied of, then certainly here is a great revolution
on foot, the Messiah's kingdom is at the door, and the world will shortly be
surprised into a happy change. These are things which require your serious
consideration, and therefore you are all concerned to hearken to what I
say." Note, The things of God are of great and common concern: every
one that has ears to hear any thing, is concerned to hear this. It
intimates, that God requires no more from us but the right use and
improvement of the faculties he has already given us. He requires those to
hear that have ears, those to use their reason that have reason. Therefore
people are ignorant, not because they want power, but because they want
will; therefore they do not hear, because, like the deaf adder, they stop
their ears.
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Christ
Reproaches Chorazin, &c..
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16 But whereunto shall I liken this
generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling
unto their fellows, 17 And saying, We have piped unto you, and
ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not
lamented. 18 For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they
say, He hath a devil. 19 The Son of man came eating and
drinking, and they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend
of publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20 Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty works were
done, because they repented not: 21 Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe
unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which were done in you, had
been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth
and ashes. 22 But I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for
Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment, than for you. 23 And
thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven, shalt be brought down to
hell: for if the mighty works, which have been done in thee, had been done
in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 But I say
unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day
of judgment, than for thee.
Christ was going on in the praise of John the Baptist and his ministry, but
here stops on a sudden, and turns that to the reproach of those who enjoyed
both that, and the ministry of Christ and his apostles too, in vain. As to
that generation, we may observe to whom he compares them (v.
16-19), and as to the particular places he instances in, we may observe with
whom he compares them, v. 20-24.
I. As to that generation, the body of the Jewish people at that time.
There were many indeed that pressed into the kingdom of heaven; but the
generality continued in unbelief and obstinacy. John was a great and good
man, but the generation in which his lot was cast was as barren and
unprofitable as could be, and unworthy of him. Note, The badness of the
places where good ministers live serves for a foil to their beauty. It was
Noah's praise that he was righteous in his generation. Having
commended John, he condemns those who had him among them, and did not profit
by his ministry. Note, The more praise-worthy the people are, if they slight
him, and so it will be found in the day of account.
This our Lord Jesus here sets forth in a parable, yet speaks as if he were
at a loss to find out a similitude proper to represent this, Whereunto
shall I liken this generation? Note, There is not a greater absurdity
than that which they are guilty of who have good preaching among them, and
are never the better for it. It is hard to say what they are like.
The similitude is taken from some common custom among the Jewish children at
their play, who, as is usual with children, imitated the fashions of grown
people at their marriages and funerals, rejoicing and lamenting; but
being all a jest, it made no impression; no more did the ministry either of
John the Baptist or of Christ upon that generation. He especially reflects
on the scribes and Pharisees, who had a proud conceit of themselves;
therefore to humble them he compares them to children, and their behaviour
to children's play.
The parable will be best explained by opening it and the illustration of it
together in these five observations.
Note, 1. The God of heaven uses a variety of proper means and methods for
the conversion and salvation of poor souls; he would have all men to be
saved, and therefore leaves no stone unturned in order to it. The great
thing he aims at, is the melting of our wills into a
compliance with the will of God, and in order to this the affecting of us
with the discoveries he has made of himself. Having various affections to be
wrought upon, he uses various ways of working upon them, which though
differing one from another, all tend to the same thing, and God is in them
all carrying on the same design. In the parable, this is called his piping
to us, and his mourning to us; he hath piped to us in the
precious promises of the gospel, proper to work upon hope, and mourned to us
in the dreadful threatenings of the law, proper to work upon fear, that he
might frighten us out of our sins and allure us to himself. He had piped
to us in gracious and merciful providences, mourned to us in
calamitous, afflicting providences, and has set the one over against the
other. He has taught his ministers to change their voice (Gal. iv.
20); sometimes to speak in thunder from mount Sinai, sometimes in a
still small voice from mount Sion.
In the explanation of the parable is set forth the different temper of
John's ministry and of Christ's, who were the two great lights of that
generation.
(1.) On the one hand, John came mourning to them, neither eating nor
drinking; not conversing familiarly with people, nor ordinarily eating
in company, but alone, in his cell in the wilderness, where his meat was
locusts and wild honey. Now this, one would think, should work upon
them; for such an austere, mortified life as this, was very agreeable to the
doctrine he preached: and that minister is most likely to do good, whose
conversation is according to his doctrine; and yet the preaching even of
such a minister is not always effectual.
(2.) On the other hand, the Son of man came eating and drinking, and
so he piped unto them. Christ conversed familiarly with all sorts of
people, not affecting any peculiar strictness or austerity; he was affable
and easy of access, not shy of any company, was often at feasts, both with
Pharisees and publicans, to try if this would win upon those who were not
wrought upon by John's reservedness: those who were not awed by John's
frowns, would be allured by Christ's smiles; from whom St. Paul learned to
be come all things to all men, 1 Cor. ix. 22. Now our Lord Jesus, by
his freedom, did not at all condemn John, any more than John did condemn
him, though their deportment was so very different. Note, Though we are
never so clear in the goodness of our own practice, yet we must not judge of
others by it. There may be a great diversity of operations, where it
is the same God that worketh all in all (1 Cor. xii. 6), and this various
manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal, v.
7. Observe especially, that God's ministers are variously gifted: the
ability and genius of some lie one way, of others, another way: some are
Boanerges--sons of thunder; others, Barnabeses--sons of
consolation; yet all these worketh that one and the self-same Spirit
(1 Cor. xii. 11), and therefore we ought not to condemn either, but to
praise both, and praise God for both, who thus tries various ways of dealing
with persons of various tempers, that sinners may be either made pliable or
left inexcusable, so that, whatever the issue is, God will be glorified.
Note, 2. The various methods which God takes for the conversion of sinners,
are with many fruitless and ineffectual: "Ye have not danced, ye
have not lamented; you have not been suitably affected either with the
one or with the other." Particular means have, as in medicine, their
particular intentions, which must be answered, particular impressions, which
must be submitted to, in order to the success of the great and general
design; now if people will be neither bound by laws, nor invited by
promises, nor frightened by threatenings, will neither be awakened by the greatest
things, nor allured by the sweetest things, nor startled by the most terrible
things, nor be made sensible by the plainest things; if they will
hearken to the voice neither of scripture, nor reason, nor experience, nor
providence, nor conscience, nor interest, what more can be done? The
bellows are burned, the lead is consumed, the founder melteth in vain;
reprobate silver shall men call them, Jer. vi. 29. Ministers' labour is
bestowed in vain (Isa. xlix. 4), and, which is a much greater loss, the
grace of God received in vain, 2 Cor. vi. 1. Note, It is some comfort to
faithful ministers, when they see little success of their labours, that it
is no new thing for the best preachers and the best preaching in the world
to come short of the desired end. Who has believed our report? If
from the blood of the slain, from the fat of the mighty, the
bow of those great commanders, Christ and john, returned so often empty (2
Sam. i. 22), no marvel if ours do so, and we prophecy to so little purpose
upon dry bones.
Note, 3. That commonly those persons who do not profit by the means of
grace, are perverse, and reflect upon the ministers by whom they enjoy those
means; and because they do not get good themselves, they do all the hurt
they can to others, by raising and propagating prejudices against the word,
and the faithful preachers of it. Those who will not comply with God, and
walk after him, confront him, and walk contrary to him. So this
generation did; because they were resolved not to believe Christ and
John, and to own them, as they ought to have done, for the best of men, they
set themselves to abuse them, and to represent them as the worst. (1.) As
for John the Baptist, they say, He has a devil. They imputed his
strictness and reservedness to melancholy, and some kind or degree of a
possession of Satan. "Why should we heed him? he is a poor
hypochondriacal man, full of fancies, and under the power of a crazed
imagination." (2.) As for Jesus Christ, they imputed his free and
obliging conversation to the more vicious habit of luxury and
flesh-pleasing: Behold a gluttonous man and a wine-bibber. No
reflection could be more foul and invidious; it is the charge against the
rebellious son (Deut. xxi. 20), He is a glutton and a drunkard; yet
none could be more false and unjust; for Christ pleased not himself
(Rom. xv. 3), nor did ever any man live such a life of self-denial,
mortification, and contempt of the world, as Christ lived: he that was undefiled,
and separate from sinners, is here represented as in league with them,
and polluted by them. Note, The most unspotted innocency, and the most
unparalleled excellency, will not always be a fence against the reproach
of tongues: nay, a man's best gifts and best actions, which are both
well intended and well calculated for edification, may be made the matter of
his reproach. The best of our actions may become the worst of our
accusations, as David's fasting, Ps. lxix. 10. It was true in some sense,
that Christ was a Friend to publicans and sinners, the best Friend
they ever had, for he came into the world to save sinners, great
sinners, even the chief; so he said very feelingly, who had been himself not
a publican and sinner, but a Pharisee and sinner; but this is, and
will be to eternity, Christ's praise, and they forfeited the benefit of it
who thus turned it to his reproach.
Note, 4. That the cause of this great unfruitfulness and perverseness of
people under the means of grace, is that they are like children sitting
in the markets; they are foolish as children, froward as children,
mindless and playful as children; would they but show themselves men
in understanding, there would be some hopes of them. The market-place
they sit in is to some a place of idleness (ch. xx. 3); to others
a place of worldly business (James iv. 13); to all a place of noise or
diversion; so that if you ask the reason why people get so little good by
the means of grace, you will find it is because they are slothful and
trifling, and do not love to take pains; or because their heads, and hands,
and hearts are full of the world, the cares of which choke the word,
and choke their souls at last ( Ezek. xxxiii. 31; Amos viii. 5); and they
study to divert their own thoughts from every thing that is serious. Thus in
the markets they are, and there they sit; in these things their
hearts rest, and by them they resolve to abide.
Note, 5. Though the means of grace be thus slighted and abused by many, by
the most, yet there is a remnant that through grace do improve them, and
answer the designs of them, to the glory of God, and the good of their own
souls. But wisdom is justified of her children. Christ is Wisdom;
in him are hid treasures of wisdom; the saints are the children
God has given him, Heb. ii. 13. The gospel is wisdom, it is the
wisdom from above: true believers are begotten again by it, and born
from above too; they are wise children, wise for themselves, and
their true interests; not like the foolish children that sat in the
markets. These children of wisdom justify wisdom; they comply
with the designs of Christ's grace, answer the intentions of it, and are
suitably affected with, and impressed by, the various methods it takes, and
so evidence the wisdom of Christ in taking these methods. This is explained,
Luke vii. 29. The publicans justified God, being baptized with the
baptism of John, and afterwards embracing the gospel of Christ. Note,
The success of the means of grace justifies the wisdom of God in the choice
of these means, against those who charge him with folly therein. The cure of
every patient, that observes the physician's orders, justifies the wisdom of
the physician: and therefore Paul is not ashamed of the gospel of Christ,
because, whatever it is to others, to them that believe it is the power
of God unto salvation, Rom. i. 16. When the cross of Christ,
which to others is foolishness and a stumbling-block, is to
them that are called the wisdom of God and the power of God (1 Cor. i.
23, 24), so that they make the knowledge of that the summit of their
ambition (1 Cor. ii. 2), and the efficacy of that the crown of their
glorying (Gal. vi. 14), here is wisdom justified of her children.
Wisdom's children are wisdom's witnesses in the world (Isa. xliii.
10), and shall be produced as witnesses in that day, when wisdom,
that is now justified by the saints, shall be glorified in
the saints, and admired in all them that believe, 2 Thess. i. 10.
If the unbelief of some reproach Christ by giving him the lie, the faith of
others shall honour him by setting to its seal that he is true, and that he
also is wise, 1 Cor. i. 25. Whether we do it or not, it will be done;
not only God's equity, but his wisdom, will be justified when he speaks,
when he judges.
Well, this is the account Christ gives of that generation, and that generation
is not passed away, but remains in a succession of the like; for as it
was then, it has been since and is still; some believe the things which
are spoken, and some believe not, Acts xxviii. 24.
II. As to the particular places in which Christ was most conversant.
What he said in general of that generation, he applied in particular
to those places, to affect them. Then began he to upbraid them,
v. 20. He began to preach to them long before (ch. iv. 17),
but he did not begin to upbraid till now. Note, Rough and unpleasing
methods must not be taken, till gentler means have first been used. Christ
is not apt to upbraid; he gives liberally, and upbraideth not, till
sinners by their obstinacy extort it from him. Wisdom first invites,
but when her invitations are slighted, then she upbraids, Prov. i.
20, 24. Those do not go in Christ's method, who begin with upbraidings. Now
observe,
1. The sin charged upon them; not any against the moral law, then an appeal
would have lain to the gospel, which would have relieved, but a sin against
the gospel, the remedial law, and that is impenitency: this was it he
upbraided them with, or reproached them for, as the most shameful,
ungrateful thing that could be, that they repented not. Note, Wilful
impenitency is the great damning sin of multitudes that enjoy the gospel,
and which (more than any other) sinners will be upbraided with to eternity.
The great doctrine that both John the Baptist, and Christ, and the apostles
preached, was repentance; the great thing designed, both in the piping
and in the mourning, was to prevail with people to change their minds
and ways, to leave their sins and turn to God; and this they would not be
brought to. He does not say, because they believed not (for some king
of faith many of them had) that Christ was a Teacher come from God;
but because they repented not: their faith did not prevail to the
transforming of their hearts, and the reforming of their lives. Christ
reproved them for their other sins, that he might lead them to
repentance; but when they repented not, He upbraided them with
that, as their refusal to be healed: He upbraided them with it, that
they might upbraid themselves, and might at length see the folly of it, as
that which alone makes the sad case a desperate one, and the wound
incurable.
2. The aggravation of the sin; they were the cities in which most of his
mighty works were done; for thereabouts his principal residence had been
for some time. Note, Some places enjoy the means of grace in greater plenty,
power, and purity, than other places. God is a free agent, and acts so in
all his disposals, both as the God of nature and as the God of grace, common
and distinguishing grace. By Christ's mighty works they should have
been prevailed with, not only to receive his doctrine, but to obey his law;
the curing of bodily diseases should have been the healing of their souls,
but it had not that effect. Note, The stronger inducements we have to
repent, the more heinous is the impenitency and the severer will the
reckoning be, for Christ keeps account of the mighty works done among
us, and of the gracious works done for us too, by which also we should be led
to repentance, Rom. ii. 4.
(1.) Chorazin and Bethsaida are here instanced (v. 21, 22), they have
each of them their woe: Woe unto thee, Chorazin, woe unto thee, Bethsaida.
Christ came into the world to bless us; but if that blessing be
slighted, he has woes in reserve, and his woes are of all others the most
terrible. These two cities were situate upon the sea of Galilee, the
former on the east side, and the latter on the west, rich and populous
places; Bethsaida was lately advanced to a city by Philip the tetrarch; out
of it Christ took at least three of his apostles: thus highly were these
places favoured! Yet because they knew not the day of their visitation,
they fell under these woes, which stuck so close to them, that soon after
this they decayed, and dwindled into mean, obscure villages. So fatally does
sin ruin cities, and so certainly does the word of Christ take place!
Now Chorazin and Bethsaida are here compared with Tyre and Sidon, two
maritime cities we read much of in the Old Testament, that had been brought
to ruin, but began to flourish again; these cities bordered upon Galilee,
but were in a very ill name among the Jews for idolatry and other
wickedness. Christ sometimes went into the coasts of Tyre and Sidon (ch.
xv. 21), but never thither; the Jews would have taken it very heinously if
he had; therefore Christ, to convince and humble them, here shows,
[1.] That Tyre and Sidon would not have been so bad as Chorazin and
Bethsaida. If they had had the same word preached, and the same miracles
wrought among them, they would have repented, and that long ago,
as Nineveh did, in sackcloth and ashes. Christ, who knows the hearts
of all, knew that if he had gone and lived among them, and preached among
them, he should have done more good there than where he was; yet he
continued where he was for some time, to encourage his ministers to do so,
though they see not the success they desire. Note, Among the children of
disobedience, some are more easily wrought upon than others; and it is a
great aggravation of the impenitency of those who plentifully enjoy the
means of grace, not only that there are many who sit under the same means
that are wrought upon, but that there are many more that would have been
wrought upon, if they had enjoyed the same means. See Ezek. iii. 6, 7. Our
repentance is slow and delayed, but theirs would have been speedy; they
would have repented long ago. Ours has been slight and superficial; theirs
would have been deep and serious, in sackcloth and ashes. Yet we must
observe, with an awful adoration of the divine sovereignty, that the Tyrians
and Sidonians will justly perish in their sin, though, if they had had the
means of grace, they would have repented; for God is a debtor to no man.
[2.] That therefore Tyre and Sidon shall not be so miserable as Chorazin and
Bethsaida, but it shall be more tolerable for them in the day of
judgment, v. 22. Note, First, At the day of judgment
the everlasting state of the children of men will, by an unerring and
unalterable doom, be determined; happiness or misery, and the several
degrees of each. Therefore it is called the eternal judgment (Heb.
vi. 2), because decisive of the eternal state. Secondly, In that
judgment, all the means of grace that were enjoyed in the state of probation
will certainly come into the account, and it will be enquired, not only how
bad we were, but how much better we might have been, had it not been our own
fault, Isa. v. 3, 4. Thirdly, Though the damnation of all that perish
will be intolerable, yet the damnation of those who had the fullest and
clearest discoveries made them of the power and grace of Christ, and yet
repented not, will be of all others the most intolerable. The gospel light
and sound open the faculties, and enlarge the capacities of all that see and
hear it, either to receive the riches of divine grace, or (if that
grace be slighted) to take in the more plentiful effusions of divine
wrath. If self-reproach be the torture of hell, it must needs be hell
indeed to those who had such a fair opportunity of getting to heaven. Son,
remember that.
(2.) Capernaum is here condemned with an emphasis (v. 23), "And
thou, Capernaum, hold up thy hand, and hear they doom," Capernaum,
above all the cities of Israel, was dignified with Christ's most usual
residence; it was like Shiloh of old, the place which he chose, to put his
name there, and it fared with it as with Shiloh, Jer. vii. 12, 14. Christ's
miracles here were daily bread, and therefore, as the manna of old,
were despised and called light bread. Many a sweet and comfortable lecture
of grace Christ had read them to little purpose, and therefore he reads them
a dreadful lecture of wrath: those who will not hear the former shall be
made to feel the latter.
We have here Capernaum's doom,
[1.] Put absolutely; Thou which art exalted to heaven shalt be brought
down to hell Note, First, Those who enjoy the gospel in power and
purity, are thereby exalted to heaven; they have therein a great
honour for the present, and a great advantage for eternity; they are lifted
up toward heaven; but if, notwithstanding, they still cleave to
the earth, they may thank themselves that they are not lifted up into
heaven. Secondly, Gospel advantages and advancements abused will sink
sinners so much lower into hell. Our external privileges will be so far from
saving us, that if our hearts and lives be not agreeable to them, they will
but inflame the reckoning: the higher the precipice is, the more fatal is
the fall from it: Let us not therefore be high-minded, but fear; not
slothful, but diligent. See Job xx. 6, 7.
[2.] We have it here put in comparison with the doom of Sodom--a place more
remarkable, both for sin and ruin, than perhaps any other; and yet Christ
here tells us,
First, That Capernaum's means would have saved Sodom. If these
miracles had been done among the Sodomites, as bad as they were, they would
have repented, and their city would have remained unto this day a
monument of sparing mercy, as now it is of destroying justice, Jude 7. Note,
Upon true repentance through Christ, even the greatest sin shall be pardoned
and the greatest ruin prevented, that of Sodom not excepted. Angels were
sent to Sodom, and yet it remained not; but if Christ had been sent thither,
it would have remained; how well is it for us, then, that the world
to come is put in subjection to Christ, and not to angels!
Heb. ii. 5. Lot would not have seemed as one that mocked, if he had
wrought miracles.
Secondly, That Sodom's ruin will therefore be less at the great day
than Capernaum's. Sodom will have many things to answer for, but not the sin
of neglecting Christ, as Capernaum will. If the gospel prove a savour of
death, a killing savour, it is doubly so; it is of death unto death,
so great a death (2 Cor. ii. 16); Christ had said the same of all other
places that receive not his ministers nor bid his gospel welcome (ch.
x. 15); It shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for that
city. We that have now the written word in our hands, the gospel
preached, and the gospel ordinances administered to us, and live under the
dispensation of the Spirit, have advantages not inferior to those of
Chorazin, and Bethsaida, and Capernaum, and the account in the great day
will be accordingly. It has therefore been justly said, that the professors
of this age, whether they go to heaven or hell, will be the greatest debtors
in either of these places; if to heaven, the greatest debtors to divine
mercy for those rich means that brought them thither; if to hell, the
greatest debtors to divine justice, for those rich means that would have
kept them from thence.
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Christ's
Invitation to Burthened Souls.
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25 At that time Jesus answered and said, I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these
things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.
26 Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. 27 All
things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he
to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. 28 Come unto me,
all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you
rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek
and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
In these verses we have Christ looking up to heaven, with thanksgiving to
his Father for the sovereignty and security of the covenant of redemption;
and looking around him upon this earth, with an offer to all the children of
men, to whom these presents shall come, of the privileges and benefits of
the covenant of grace.
I. Christ here returns thanks to God for his favour to those babes
who had the mysteries of the gospel revealed to them (v. 25,
26). Jesus answered and said. It is called an answer, though no other
words are before recorded but his own, because it is so comfortable a reply
to the melancholy considerations preceding, and is aptly set in the balance
against them. The sin and ruin of those woeful cities, no doubt, was a grief
to the Lord Jesus; he could not but weep over them, as he did over
Jerusalem (Luke xix. 41); with this thought therefore he refreshes
himself; and to make it the more refreshing, he puts it into a thanksgiving;
that for all this, there is a remnant, though but babes, to
whom the things of the gospel are revealed. Though Israel be not
gathered, yet shall he be glorious. Note, We may take great
encouragement in looking upward to God, when round about us we see nothing
but what is discouraging. It is sad to see how regardless most men are of
their own happiness, but it is comfortable to think that the wise and
faithful God will, however, effectually secure the interests of his own
glory. Jesus answered and said, I thank thee. Note, Thanksgiving is a
proper answer to dark and disquieting thoughts, and may be an effectual
means to silence them. Songs of praise are sovereign cordials to drooping
souls, and will help to cure melancholy. When we have no other answer ready
to the suggestions of grief and fear, we may have recourse to this, I
thank thee, O Father; let us bless God that it is not worse with us than
it is.
Now in this thanksgiving of Christ, we may observe,
1. The titles he gives to God; O Father, Lord of heaven and earth.
Note, (1.) In all our approaches to God, by praise as well as by prayer, it
is good for us to eye him as a Father, and to fasten on that relation, not
only when we ask for the mercies we want, but when we give thanks for the
mercies we have received. Mercies are then doubly sweet, and powerful to
enlarge the heart in praise, when they are received as tokens of a Father's
love, and gifts of a Father's hand; Giving thanks to the Father, Col.
i. 12. It becomes children to be grateful, and to say, Thank you, father,
as readily as, Pray, father. (2.) When we come to God as a Father, we
must withal remember, that he is Lord of heaven and earth; which
obliges us to come to him with reverence, as to the sovereign Lord of all,
and yet with confidence, as one able to do for us whatever we need or can
desire; to defend us from all evil and to supply us with all good. Christ,
in Melchizedec, had long since blessed God as the Possessor, or Lord
of heaven and earth; and in all our thanksgivings for mercies in the
stream, we must give him the glory of the all-sufficiency that is in the
fountain.
2. The thing he gives thanks for: Because thou has hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and yet revealed them to babes. These things;
he does not say what things, but means the great things of the gospel, the
things that belong to our peace, Luke xix. 42. He spoke thus
emphatically of them, these things, because they were things that
filled him, and should fill us: all other things are as nothing to these
things.
Note (1.) The great things of the everlasting gospel have been and are hid
from many that were wise and prudent, that were eminent for learning
and worldly policy; some of the greatest scholars and the greatest statesmen
have been the greatest strangers to gospel mysteries. The world by wisdom
knew not God, 1 Cor. i. 21. Nay, there is an opposition given to the
gospel, by a science falsely so called, 1 Tim. vi. 20. Those who are
most expert in things sensible and secular, are commonly least experienced
in spiritual things. Men may dive deeply into the mysteries of nature and
into the mysteries of state, and yet be ignorant of, and mistake about, the
mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, for want of an experience of the
power of them.
(2.) While the wise and prudent men of the world are in the dark
about gospel mysteries, even the babes in Christ have the sanctifying
saving knowledge of them: Thou hast revealed them unto babes. Such
the disciples of Christ were; men of mean birth and education; no scholars,
no artists, no politicians, unlearned and ignorant men, Acts iv. 13. Thus
are the secrets of wisdom, which are double to that which is (Job xi. 6),
made known to babes and sucklings, that out of their mouth
strength might be ordained (Ps. viii. 2), and God's praise
thereby perfected. The learned men of the world were not made choice
of to be the preachers of the gospel, but the foolish things of the world
(1 Cor. ii. 6, 8, 10).
(3.) This difference between the prudent and the babes is of
God's own making. [1.] It is he that has hid these things from the wise
and prudent; he gave them parts, and learning, and much of human
understanding above others, and they were proud of that, and rested in it,
and looked no further; and therefore God justly denies them the Spirit of
wisdom and revelation, and then, though they hear the sound of the gospel
tidings, they are to them as a strange thing. God is not the Author
of their ignorance and error, but he leaves them to themselves, and their
sin becomes their punishment, and the Lord is righteous in it. See John xii.
39, 40; Rom. xi. 7, 8; Acts xxviii. 26, 27. Had they honoured God with the
wisdom and prudence they had, he would have given them the knowledge of
these better things; but because they served their lusts with them, he has hid
their hearts from this understanding. [2.] It is he that has revealed
them unto babes. Things revealed belong to our children (Deut. xxix.
29), and to them he gives an understanding to receive these things,
and the impressions of them. Thus he resists the proud, and gives
grace to the humble, Jam. iv. 6.
(4.) This dispensation must be resolved into the divine sovereignty. Christ
himself referred it to that; Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in
thy sight. Christ here subscribes to the will of his Father in this
matter; Even so. Let God take what ways he pleases to glorify
himself, and make us of what instruments he pleases for the carrying on of
his own work; his grace is his own, and he may give or withhold it as he
pleases. We can give no reason why Peter, a fisherman, should be made an
apostle, and not Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and a ruler of the Jews, though he
also believed in Christ; but so it seemed good in God's sight. Christ
said this in the hearing of his disciples, to show them that it was not for
any merit of their own that they were thus dignified and distinguished, but
purely from God's good pleasure; he made them to differ.
(5.) This way of dispensing divine grace is to be acknowledged by us, as it
was by our Lord Jesus, with all thankfulness. We must thank God, [1.] That these
things are revealed; the mystery hid from ages and generations is
manifested; that they are revealed, not to a few, but to be published
to all the world. [2.] That they are revealed to babes; that the meek
and humble are beautified with this salvation; and this honour put upon
those whom the world pours contempt upon. [3.] It magnifies the mercy to
them, that these things are hid from the wise and prudent:
distinguishing favours are the most obliging. As Job adored the name of
the Lord in taking away as well as in giving, so may we in
hiding these things from the wise and prudent, as well as in revealing
them unto babes; not as it is their misery, but as it is a method by
which self is abased, proud thoughts brought down, all flesh silenced, and
divine power and wisdom made to shine the more bright. See 1 Cor. i. 27, 31.
II. Christ here makes a gracious offer of the benefits of the gospel to all,
and these are the things which are revealed to babes, v. 25,
&c. Observe here,
1. The solemn preface which ushers in this call or invitation, both to
command our attention to it, and to encourage our compliance with it. That
we might have strong consolation, in flying for refuge to this hope
set before us, Christ prefixes his authority, produces his credentials;
we shall see he is empowered to make this offer.
Two things he here lays before us, v. 27.
(1.) His commission from the Father: All things are delivered unto me of
my Father. Christ, as God, is equal in power and glory with the Father;
but as Mediator he receives his power and glory from the Father; has all
judgment committed to him. He is authorized to settle a new covenant
between God and man, and to offer peace and happiness to the apostate world,
upon such terms as he should think fit: he was sanctified and sealed to be
the sole Plenipotentiary, to concert and establish this great affair. In
order to this, he has all power both in heaven and in earth, (ch.
xxviii. 18); power over all flesh (John xvii. 2); authority to execute
judgment, John v. 22, 27. This encourages us to come to Christ, that he is
commissioned to receive us, and to give us what we come for, and has all
things delivered to him for that purpose, by him who is Lord of all.
All powers, all treasures are in his hand. Observe, The Father has delivered
his all into the hands of the Lord Jesus; let us but deliver our all into
his hand and the work is done; God has made him the great Referee, the
blessed Daysman, to lay his hand upon us both; that which we have to do is
to agree to the reference, to submit to the arbitration of the Lord Jesus,
for the taking up of this unhappy controversy, and to enter into bonds to
stand to his award.
(2.) His intimacy with the Father: No man knoweth the Son but the Father,
Neither knoweth any man the Father save the Son. This gives us a further
satisfaction, and an abundant one. Ambassadors use to have not only their
commissions, which they produce, but their instructions, which they reserve
to themselves, to be made use of as there is occasion in their negotiations;
our Lord Jesus had both, not only authority, but ability, for his
undertaking. In transacting the great business of our redemption, the Father
and the Son are the parties principally concerned; the counsel of peace
is between them, Zech. vi. 13. It must therefore be a great
encouragement to us to be assured, that they understood one another very
well in this affair; that the Father knew the Son, and the Son knew the
Father, and both perfectly (a mutual consciousness we may call it, between
the Father and the Son), so that there could be no mistake in the settling
of this matter; as often there is among men, to the overthrow of contracts,
and the breaking of the measures taken, through their misunderstanding one
another. The Son had lain in the bosom of the Father from eternity;
he was à secretioribus--of the cabinet-council, John i. 18. He was by
him, as one brought up with him (Prov. viii. 30), so that none knows
the Father save the Son, he adds, and he to whom the Son will reveal
him. Note, [1.] The happiness of men lies in an acquaintance with God;
it is life eternal, it is the perfection of rational beings. [2.]
Those who would have an acquaintance with God, must apply themselves to
Jesus Christ; for the light of the knowledge of the glory of God shines in
the face of Christ, 2 Cor. iv. 6. We are obliged to Christ for all the
revelation we have of God the Father's will and love, ever since Adam
sinned; there is no comfortable intercourse between a holy God and sinful
man, but in and by a Mediator, John xiv. 6.
2. Here is the offer itself that is made to us, and an invitation to accept
of it. After so solemn a preface, we may well expect something very great;
and it is a faithful saying, and well worthy of all acceptation;
words whereby we may be saved. We are here invited to Christ as our
Priest, Prince, and Prophet, to be saved, and, in order to that, to be ruled
and taught by him.
(1.) We must come to Jesus Christ as our Rest, and repose ourselves in him (v.
28), Come unto me all ye that labour. Observe, [1.] The character of
the persons invited; all that labour, and are heavy laden. This is a
word in season to him that is weary, Isa. l. 4. Those who complain of the
burthen of the ceremonial law, which was an intolerable yoke, and was made
much more so by the tradition of the elders (Luke xi. 46), let them come to
Christ, and they shall be made easy; he came to free his church from this
yoke, to cancel the imposition of those carnal ordinances, and to introduce
a purer and more spiritual way of worship; but it is rather to be understood
of the burthen of sin, both the guilt and the power of it. Note, All those,
and those only, are invited to rest in Christ, that are sensible of sin as a
burthen, and groan under it; that are not only convinced of the evil of sin,
of their own sin, but are contrite in soul for it; that are really sick of
their sins, weary of the service of the world and of the flesh; that see
their state sad and dangerous by reason of sin, and are in pain and fear
about it, as Ephraim (Jer. xxxi. 18-20), the prodigal (Luke xv. 17), the
publican (Luke xviii. 13), Peter's hearers (Acts ii. 37), Paul (Acts ix. 4,
6, 9), the jailor (Acts xvi. 29, 30). This is a necessary preparative for
pardon and peace. The Comforter must first convince (John xvi. 8); I have
torn and then will heal. [2.] The invitation itself: Come unto me.
That glorious display of Christ's greatness which we had (v. 27), as
Lord of all, might frighten us from him, but see here how he holds out the
golden sceptre, that we may touch the top of it and may live. Note, It
is the duty and interest of weary and heavy laden sinners to come
to Jesus Christ. Renouncing all those things which stand in opposition
to him, or in competition with him, we must accept of him, as our Physician
and Advocate, and give up ourselves to his conduct and government; freely
willing to be saved by him, in his own way, and upon his own terms. Come
and cast that burden upon him, under which thou art heavy laden.
This is the gospel call, The Spirit saith, Come; and the bride
saith, Come; let him that is athirst come; Whoever will, let him come.
[3.] The blessing promised to those that do come: I will give you rest.
Christ is our Noah, whose name signifies rest, for this same shall
give us rest. Gen. v. 29; viii. 9. Truly rest is good (Gen. xlix.
15), especially to those that labour and are heavy laden, Eccl. v.
12. Note, Jesus Christ will give assured rest to those weary souls, that by
a lively faith come to him for it; rest from the terror of sin, in a
well-grounded peace of conscience; rest from the power of sin, in a
regular order of the soul, and its due government of itself; a rest
in God, and a complacency of soul, in his love. Ps. xi. 6, 7. This is that rest
which remains for the people of God (Heb. iv. 9), begun in grace, and
perfected in glory.
(2.) We must come to Jesus Christ as our Ruler, and submit ourselves to him
(v. 29). Take my yoke upon you. This must go along with the
former, for Christ is exalted to be both a Prince and a Saviour, a Priest
upon his throne. The rest he promises is a release from the
drudgery of sin, not from the service of God, but an obligation to the duty
we owe to him. Note, Christ has a yoke for our necks, as well as a crown
for our heads, and this yoke he expects we should take upon us
and draw in. To call those who are weary and heavy laden, to take
a yoke upon them, looks like adding affliction to the afflicted;
but the pertinency of it lies in the word my: "You are under a yoke
which makes you weary: shake that off and try mine, which will make you
easy." Servants are said to be under the yoke (1 Tim. vi. 1),
and subjects, 1 Kings xii. 10. To take Christ's yoke upon us, is to
put ourselves into the relation to servants and subjects to him, and then of
conduct ourselves accordingly, in a conscientious obedience to all his
commands, and a cheerful submission to all his disposals: it is to obey
the gospel of Christ, to yield ourselves to the Lord: it is Christ's yoke;
the yoke he has appointed; a yoke he has himself drawn in
before us, for he learned obedience, and which he does by his Spirit
draw in with us, for he helpeth our infirmities, Rom. viii. 26. A yoke
speaks some hardship, but if the beast must draw, the yoke helps him.
Christ's commands are all in our favour: we must take this yoke upon
us to draw in it. We are yoked to work, and therefore must be diligent; we
are yoked to submit, and therefore must be humble and patient: we are yoked
together with our fellow-servants, and therefore must keep up the communion
of saints: and the words of the wise are as goads, to those who are
thus yoked.
Now this is the hardest part of our lesson, and therefore it is qualified (v.
30). My yoke is easy and my burden is light; you need not be afraid
of it.
[1.] The yoke of Christ's commands is an easy yoke; it is crhstoV,
not only easy, but gracious, so the word signifies; it is sweet and
pleasant; there is nothing in it to gall the yielding neck, nothing to hurt
us, but, on the contrary, must to refresh us. It is a yoke that is
lined with love. Such is the nature of all Christ's commands, so reasonable
in themselves, so profitable to us, and all summed up in one word, and that
a sweet word, love. So powerful are the assistances he gives us, so suitable
the encouragements, and so strong the consolations, that are to be found in
the way of duty, that we may truly say, it is a yoke of pleasantness.
It is easy to the new nature, very easy to him that understandeth,
Prov. xiv. 6. It may be a little hard at first, but it is easy afterwards;
the love of God and the hope of heaven will make it easy.
[2.] The burden of Christ's cross is a light burden, very light:
afflictions from Christ, which befal us as men; afflictions for Christ,
which befal us as Christians; the latter are especially meant. This burden
in itself is not joyous, but grievous; yet as it is Christ's, it is light.
Paul knew as much of it as any man, and he calls it a light affliction,
2 Cor. iv. 17. God's presence (Isa. xliii. 2), Christ's sympathy (Isa.
lxxiii. 9, Dan. iii. 25), and especially the Spirit's aids and comforts (2
Cor. i. 5), make suffering for Christ light and easy. As
afflictions abound, and are prolonged, consolations abound, and are
prolonged too. Let this therefore reconcile us to the difficulties, and help
us over the discouragements, we may meet with, both in doing work and
suffering work; though we may lose for Christ, we shall not lose by
him.
(3.) We must come to Jesus Christ as our Teacher, and set ourselves to learn
of him, v. 29. Christ has erected a great school, and has invited us
to be his scholars. We must enter ourselves, associate with his scholars,
and daily attend the instructions he gives by his word and Spirit. We must
converse much with what he said, and have it ready to use upon all
occasions; we must conform to what he did, and follow his steps, 1 Pet. ii.
21. Some make the following words, for I am meek and lowly in heart,
to be the particular lesson we are required to learn from the example of
Christ. We must learn of him to be meek and lowly, and must
mortify our pride and passion, which render us so unlike to him. We must so learn
of Christ as to learn Christ (Eph. iv. 20), for he is both
Teacher and Lesson, Guide and Way, and All in All.
Two reasons are given why we must learn of Christ.
[1.] I am meek and lowly in heart, and therefore fit to teach you.
First, He is meek, and can have compassion on the ignorant,
whom others would be in a passion with. Many able teachers are hot and
hasty, which is a great discouragement to those who are dull and slow; but
Christ knows how to bear with such, and to open their understandings. His
carriage towards his twelve disciples was a specimen of this; he was mild
and gentle with them, and made the best of them; though they were heedless
and forgetful, he was not extreme to mark their follies. Secondly, He is
lowly in heart. He condescends to teach poor scholars, to teach novices;
he chose disciples, not from the court, nor the schools, but from the
seaside. He teaches the first principles, such things as are milk for babes;
he stoops to the meanest capacities; he taught Ephraim to go, Hos. xi. 3.
Who teaches like him? It is an encouragement to us to put ourselves to
school to such a Teacher. This humility and meekness, as it qualifies him to
be a Teacher, so it will be the best qualification of those who are to be
taught by him; for the meek will he guide in judgment, Ps. xxv. 9.
[2.] You shall find rest to your souls. This promise is borrowed from
Jer. vi. 16, for Christ delighted to express himself in the language of the
prophets, to show the harmony between the two Testaments. Note, First,
Rest for the soul is the most desirable rest; to have the soul to dwell
at ease. Secondly, The only way, and a sure way to find rest for our
souls is, to sit at Christ's feet and hear his word. The way of duty is
the way of rest. The understanding finds rest in the knowledge
of God and Jesus Christ, and is there abundantly satisfied, finding that
wisdom in the gospel which has been sought for in vain throughout the whole
creation, Job xxviii. 12. The truths Christ teaches are such as we may
venture our souls upon. The affections find rest in the love of God and
Jesus Christ, and meet with that in them which gives them an abundant
satisfaction; quietness and assurance for ever. And those satisfactions will
be perfected and perpetuated in heaven, where we shall see and enjoy God
immediately, shall see him as he is, and enjoy him as he is ours. This rest
is to be had with Christ for all those who learn of him.
Well, this is the sum and substance of the gospel call and offer: we are
here told, in a few words, what the Lord Jesus requires of us, and it agrees
with what God said of him once and again. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleased, hear ye him.
