25. And they asked him and said unto him, Why baptizest thou then, if thou be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither that prophet? 26. John answered them, saying, I baptize with water, as a mere outward sign of repentance and purity, but there standeth one among you, namely, Jesus Christ, whom ye know not; 27. He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet, the tie of whose shoe, I am not worthy to unloose, not worthy to do the least and lowest office for Him. 28. These things were done in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. Here we may stop; and now endeavour to improve from what we have been reading. Mal. 3. 1. Let us pray to imitate the holy Baptist in his humblemindedness, his faith, and his sense of duty. He might have sought his own interest and reputation, and have proclaimed his own dignity, strongly tempted as he was to set himself up as a preacher of righteousness, from the attention which had been paid him and the success which he had received. But he remembered "whose he was, and whom he was serving; he knew and felt that he had nothing of his own, and was nothing of himself, but derived all his honour and all his success from that great Redeemer, whose forerunner and servant he was; accordingly, with deep humility, he acknowledged his own littleness and unworthiness, and proclaimed his entire dependence upon the Lord of all. By the grace of God he was what he was; and from the fulness of Christ he had received all his excellence and authority. From the same fountain of truth and wisdom and power, we derive every thing that is good. Nay, all believers, from the beginning of the world, have received all their knowledge and strength and grace from the fulness of Christ, to whom they looked forward with the eye of faith, though they saw him but dimly and imperfectly; for men have no spiritual good of their own; none ever had, or can have, any thing but from God; and nothing from Him, but as it is communicated through the Son, the Eternal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Heb. xiii. 8.) Let us be thankful, that we have beheld His glory in all its brightness, and are made partakers of the abundance of His grace. And O that we may never forget, that we shall have to give an account of the use of every talent let us faithfully pray, let us earnestly take heed, let us diligently labour, let it be the study and concern of every day and hour, "to profit withal;" that as we have now the privilege of knowing the Father through the revelation of His beloved Son, we may hereafter "see Him face to face," and rejoice in the glory of His presence for ever and ever. LECTURE IV. In the 29th and following verses, St. John proceeds further to describe the character of Christ as the Redeemer of mankind, and the manner in which He entered upon His holy ministry. CHAP. I. 29. 29. The next day John, namely, John the Baptist, seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Under this emblem, or figure, Christ had been all along represented in the law: by the passover lamb, and by the lamb slain Exodus 12. daily, morning and evening; these and all Ex. 29.38,39. other sacrifices looked forward to Christ, and had no spiritual efficacy but in Him. Isaiah had foretold him, as a lamb led to the slaugh- Isaiah 53. 7. ter; and this was a sign of His innocence and meekness, and patience. He was also "the Lamb of God," appointed by God, approved by God, dear to Him and one with Him. He taketh away sin by having suffered in the stead of sinners, "the just for the unjust;" by bearing our sins in His own body on the tree," (or cross,) that we being dead to sins "should live unto righteousness." He "taketh away the sin of the world;" He died for all mankind, Gentile as well as Jew; and taketh 66 1 Peter 3. 18. 1 Pet. 2. 24. with deep humility, he acknowledged his own littleness and unworthiness, and proclaimed his entire dependence upon the Lord of all. By the grace of God he was what he was; and from the fulness of Christ he had received all his excellence and authority. From the same fountain of truth and wisdom and power, we derive every thing that is good. Nay, all believers, from the beginning of the world, have received all their knowledge and strength and grace from the fulness of Christ, to whom they looked forward with the eye of faith, though they saw him but dimly and imperfectly; for men have no spiritual good of their own; none ever had, or can have, any thing but from God; and nothing from Him, but as it is communicated through the Son, the Eternal Word, the Lord Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever." (Heb. xiii. 8.) Let us be thankful, that we have beheld His glory in all its brightness, and are made partakers of the abundance of His grace. And O that we may never forget, that we shall have to give an account of the use of every talent let us faithfully pray, let us earnestly take heed, let us diligently labour, let it be the study and concern of every day and hour, "to profit withal;" that as we have now the privilege of knowing the Father through the revelation of His beloved Son, we may hereafter 66 see Him face to face," and rejoice in the glory of His presence for ever and ever. In the 29th and following verses, St. John proceeds further to describe the character of Christ as the Redeemer of mankind, and the manner in which He entered upon His holy ministry. CHAP. I. 29. 29. The next day John, namely, John the Baptist, seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. Under this emblem, or figure, Christ had been all along represented in the law: by the passover lamb, and by the lamb slain Exodus 12. daily, morning and evening; these and allEx. 29.38,39. other sacrifices looked forward to Christ, and had no spiritual efficacy but in Him. Isaiah had foretold him, as a lamb led to the slaugh- Isaiah 53. 7. ter; and this was a sign of His innocence and meekness, and patience. He was also "the Lamb of God," appointed by God, approved by God, dear to Him and one with Him. He taketh away sin by having suffered in the stead of sinners, "the just for the unjust;" by 66 bearing our sins in His own body on the tree," (or cross,) that we being dead to sins "should live unto righteousness." He "taketh away the sin of the world;" He died for all mankind, Gentile as well as Jew; and taketh 1 Peter 3. 18. 1 Pet. 2. 24. |