The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (books to read to improve english .TXT) 📕

But this their stumble might arise either from the cruelty of Herod, or from their own not observing and keeping mind the alarm that God gave them at his birth.

1. It might arise or be occasioned through the cruelty of Herod; for Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the city where David dwelt. But when Herod sent out to kill him, and for his sake killed all the young children in Bethlehem, then was Joseph warned by an angel of God to take the young child and his mother, and fly into Egypt, and so he did, and was there till the death of Herod (Matt 2:1,13,16).

After this, the angel comes to them in Egypt, and bids them take the young child, and return into the land of Israel; wherefore they arose and went. But hearing that Herod’s son, that tyrant, ruled in the room of his father, they were afraid to go to Bethlehem, but turned aside into the parts of Galilee, where they remained till the time of his showing to Israel (Matt 2:19-23).

2. This stumble of theirs might arise from their not observing and keeping in mind the alarm that God gave them of his birth. (1.) God began to give them the alarm at the birth of John the Baptist, where was asserted that he was to go before the face of the Lord Jesus, and to prepare his ways. ‘And fear came on all that dwelt round about them, and all these sayings were noised abroad throughout all the hill country of Judea’ (Luke 1:65). (2.) Again, what a continuation of this alarm was there also at the birth of Jesus, which was about three months after John Baptist was born? Now come the angels from heaven. Now comes a strange star over the country to lead the men of the east to the stable where Jesus was born; now was Herod, the priests, the scribes, and also the city of Jerusalem, awakened and sore troubled; for it was noised by the wise men that Christ the King and Saviour was born. Besides the shepherds, Simeon and Anna gave notice of him to the people. They should, therefore, have retained the memory of these things, and have followed God in all his dark providences, until his Sun of Righteousness should arise among them with healing under his wings.

3. I may add another cause of their stumble—they did not understand the prophecies that went before of him. (1.) He was to come to them out of Egypt—‘Out of Egypt have I called my Son’ (Matt 2:15; Hosea 11:1). (2.) He turned aside into Cana of Galilee, and dwelt in the city of Nazareth, ‘that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophets, He shall be called a Nazarene’ (Matt 2:23). (3.) That saying also was to be fulfilled, ‘The land of Zabulon, and the land of Nephthalim, by the way of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles; the people which sat in darkness saw great light, and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up’ (Matt 4:15,16; Isa 9:2, 42:7).

At these things, then, they stumbled, and it was a great judgment of God upon them. Besides, there seemed to be a contradiction in the prophecies of the Scripture concerning his coming. He was to be born in Bethlehem, and yet to come out of Egypt. How should he be the Christ, and yet come out of Galilee, out of which ariseth no prophet? Thus they stumbled.

Hence note, that though the prophecies and promises be full and plain as these were, that he should be born in Bethlehem, yet men’s sins may cause them to be fulfilled in such obscurity, that instead of having benefit thereby, they may stumble and split their souls thereat. Take heed then; hunt not Christ from plain promises with Herod, hunt him not from Bethlehem, lest he appear to your amazement and destruction from Egypt, or in the land of Zabulon! But this much to the second question; to wit, What it was for Jesus to come into the world.

I come now to the third question.

[WHAT IT WAS FOR JESUS TO COME TO BE A SAVIOUR.]

QUEST. THIRD. What it was for him to come to be a Saviour.

For the further handling of this question I must show—First. What it is to be a Saviour. Second. What it is to come to be a Saviour.

Third. What it is for Jesus to come to be a Saviour. To these three briefly—

First. What it is TO BE a Saviour. 1. A saviour supposeth some in misery, and himself one that is to deliver them. 2. A saviour is either such an one ministerially or meritoriously.

Ministerially is, when one person engageth or is engaged by virtue of respect or command from superiors, to go and obtain, by conquest or the king’s redemption, the captives, or persons grieved by the tyranny of an enemy. And thus were Moses and Joshua, and the judges and kings of Israel, saviours—‘Thou deliveredst them into the hands of their enemies, who vexed them: and in the time of their trouble, when they cried unto thee, thou heardest them from heaven; and according to thy manifold mercies thou gavest them saviours, who saved them out of the hand of their enemies’ (Neh 9:27). Thus was Jesus Christ a Saviour; he was engaged by virtue of respect and command from God to obtain, by conquest and redemption, the captives or persons grieved. God sent his Son to be ‘the Saviour of the world’ (John 4:42).

Meritoriously is, when the person engaging shall, at his own proper cost and charge, give a sufficient value or price for those he redeemeth. Thus those under the law were redeemed by the money called the redemption-money—‘And Moses gave the money of those that were redeemed unto Aaron and to his sons’ (Num 3:46-51). And thus was Jesus Christ a Saviour. He paid full price to Divine justice for sinners, even his own precious blood—‘Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation, received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ’ (1 Peter 1:18,19).

And forasmuch as, in man’s redemption, the undertaker must have respect, not only to the paying of a price, but also to the getting of a victory; for there is not only justice to satisfy, but death, devil, hell, and the grave, to conquer; therefore hath he also by himself gotten the victory over these. He hath abolished death (2

Tim 1:10). He hath destroyed the devil (Heb 2:14,15). He hath been the destruction of the grave (Hosea 13:14). He hath gotten the keys of hell (Rev 1:18). And this, I say, he did by himself, at his own proper cost and charge, when he triumphed over them upon his cross (Col 2:14,15).

Second. What it is TO COME to be a Saviour.

1. To come to be one, supposeth one ordained and fore-prepared for that work—‘Then said he, Lo, I come, a body hast thou prepared me’ (Heb 10).

2. To come to be a Saviour supposeth one commissionated or authorized to that work—‘The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me,’ authorized me, ‘to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent met to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised’ (Luke 4:18). And upon this account it is that he is so often called Christ, or the Anointed One; the anointed Jesus, or Jesus the Anointed Saviour. ‘Thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.’ ‘This Jesus whom I preach unto you is Christ.’ He ‘testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ,’ ‘and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving’ by the Scriptures ‘that this is very Christ’

(John 11:27; Acts 9:22, 17:3, 18:5); the very anointed of God, or he whom God authorized and qualified to be the Saviour of the world.

3. To come to be a Saviour supposeth a resolution to do that work before he goeth back—‘I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction; repentance shall be hid from mine eyes’ (Hosea 13:14).

And as he resolved, so he hath done. He hath purged our sins (Heb 1:3). By one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified (Heb 10:14). He hath obtained eternal redemption for them (Heb 9:12; 2 Tim 1:10; Heb 9:26; Col 2:15; Heb 6:18-20).

Third. I come now to the third question—What it is for JESUS to come to be a Saviour.

1. It is the greatest discovery of man’s misery and inability to save himself therefrom that ever was made in the world. Must the Son of God himself come down from heaven? or can there be no salvation?

Cannot one sinner save another? Cannot man by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him? Cannot an angel do it?

Cannot all the angels do it? No; Christ must come and die to do it.

2. It is the greatest discovery of the love of God that ever the world had, for God so to love the world as to send his Son! For God so to commend his love to the world as to send it to them in the blood of his Son! Amazing love! (John 3:16; Rom 5:8).

3. It is the greatest discovery of the condescension of Christ that ever the world had, that he should not come ‘to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many’

(Matt 20:28). That he should be manifest for this purpose, ‘that he might destroy the works of the devil’ (1 John 3:8). That he should come that we ‘might have life, and that we might have it more abundantly’ (John 10:10). That the Son of God should ‘come to seek and to save that which was lost’ (Luke 19:10). That he should not come ‘to judge the world, but to save the world’ (John 12:47). That ‘Christ Jesus should come into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the chief’ (1 Tim 1:15). That he should ‘love us, and wash us from our sins in his own blood’ (Rev 1:5). What amazing condescension and humility is this! (Phil 2:6-9).

HOW JESUS CHRIST ADDRESSED HIMSELF TO THE WORK OF OUR REDEMPTION.

I come, then, in the next place, to show you how Jesus Christ addressed himself to the work of man’s redemption.

The Scripture saith, ‘he became poor,’ that he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, that he humbled himself unto death, even the death of the cross. But particularly, FIRST. He took upon him our flesh. SECOND. He was made under the law. THIRD. He took upon him our sins. FOURTH. He bore the curse due to our sins.

[HE TOOK UPON HIM OUR FLESH.]

FIRST. He took upon him our flesh. I showed you before that he came in our flesh, and now I must show you the reason of it—namely, because that was the way to address himself to the work of our redemption.

Wherefore, when the apostle treated of the incarnation of Christ, he added withal the reason—to wit, that he might be capable to work out the redemption of men.

There are three things to be considered in this