Jesus is friend of sinners

Sometimes, a statement meant to condemn turns out to be a commendation. We have an example of this in the accusation of the Pharisees against Jesus when they said he was a friend of tax collectors and sinners. In associating with such, Jesus broke the rules of the Pharisees who regarded such contact as defiling. The reality was that his actions were expressions of loving his neighbour.

 

Yet at the same time we need to ask in what ways did Jesus associate with those people. It is important to note that he did not chose them instead of mixing with religious hypocrites. After all, he was willing to go to the home of Simon the Pharisee for a meal (Luke 7:36-40) as well as to the home of Zaccheus the tax collector.

 

It is obvious from the accounts that Jesus went to places where he would have the opportunity of speaking about the kingdom of God. If an invitation to a meal gave that opportunity, he went to the meal. He also went to locations where he could speak about divine forgiveness and he would use the circumstances of the occasion to draw attention to God’s desire to pardon sinners.

 

So it seems to be the case that Jesus mingled with people when he could introduce them to God. This was the case when he healed people as well. His intention was that people would be different after being in contact with him. The proud were shown the importance of humility; the rich were shown the importance of sharing their possessions; the strong were shown the importance of helping the weak; the insiders were shown the importance of welcoming the outsiders.

 

How does this apply to us? After all, Jesus is our example. One application is that we should see our contact with people as opportunities of speaking about the kingdom of God and witnessing to the reality of divine pardon. Meeting with Christians should cause people to realise that there is another world with very different values.

Who are you, Lord?

Paul no doubt said many things about Jesus before meeting him. Luke tells us what Paul’s first words were when he met Jesus. He said, ‘Who are you, Lord?’ (Acts 9:5). Initially, his words seem like a contradiction because he does call Jesus by the title ‘Lord’ while also asking who he is. 

 

We can see that in a sense Paul’s question is a request for lifelong learning. On the Damascus road, he came in contact with a Person who was so big that it would be impossible to discover everything about him in a short time. This is not surprising given that Jesus is both God and man.

 

So how long do we need to discover who Jesus is? We can fast forward about thirty years and see what Paul thought about this. In his letter to the Philippians, written three decades after his conversion, he says that his aim in life is ‘that I may know him and the power of his resurrection’ (Phil. 3:10). Before his conversion, Paul had engaged in studying under the famous teacher Gamaliel and mastered all that he had been taught. But when he moved to the heavenly classroom of the Holy Spirit, he found himself discovering truths about a Person that even thirty years was not enough to learn what could be learned.

 

The fact is that if we could ask Paul today in heaven if he has learned everything about Jesus, he would say that he has not yet done so, that two thousand years are not enough, and that he anticipates that he will be learning about Jesus forever.

 

Since that is the case, what can be said about the process of discovering who Jesus is and what he has done and can do? First, it is enjoyable and that is because the experience includes our hearts as well as our minds. We are discovering truths about One that we love dearly, about whom the smallest as well as the largest aspect is delightful. 

Second, it is expanding because the Holy Spirit enables his people to know more and more about Jesus. He shows them from the Bible things about Jesus that they did not realise were there. Sometimes, they see new things in a passage that they had thought they knew very well. 

 

Enjoying discovering Jesus and expanding in our understanding of Jesus through the Bible is part of the normal Christian life. It is both our privilege and our pleasure. In one sense, whenever we read a passage from the Bible about Jesus, we can use Paul’s first words as a prayer and ask, ‘Who are you, Lord?’

Drawing Near the One Who Remembers

It is often the case that when a person climbs the ladder he forgets those he once knew. Sometimes, such people are even embarrassed when others remind them where they came from. Those kind of people say loudly that they want nothing to do with their past.

What about the One who has ascended to the highest place? Does he forget what it was like when he was living in very different circumstances? Do his experiences back then matter to him now that he has moved beyond them? Or would he rather forget them and just move on?

The writer to the Hebrews reminds his readers that Jesus remembers what it was like to live here (Heb. 4:14-16). He sympathises with his people when they face hard temptations and difficult trials. His ability to do so makes him an excellent high priest because it means that he not only knows our fears and distresses, he also feels with us. He cares. He knows what it is like to plumb the depths and face the dangers. 

In addition, since he knew what to do when he faced such circumstances during his life on earth, he knows what we need when we face similar situations now. Our ignorance is never a barrier to receiving precise help as long as he knows what to give. So he is always competent as he fulfils his role. There is not a situation in which he cannot help us. From the unlimited storehouses of his grace he can give continually to us.

What effect should this have on us? The writer of Hebrews tells us. We can go with confidence to the heavenly throne in order to experience the compassion and comfort and consolation and provision of Jesus, tailor-made by One who still recalls what it was like to be down here. Confidence does not mean irreverence, but neither does it mean hesitancy. Jesus invites us to draw near with boldness for his help.

The determination of Jesus

We are familiar with the incident in the life of Jesus when, at the age of twelve, he went missing, as far as Joseph and Mary were concerned. They found him in the temple and when they asked him why he was there he told them that they should have realised that he would be about his Father's business. That statement reveals his priority at that time, and it was his priority throughout his life. This priority to perform the Father's will caused him to go the cross and pay the penalty for sins.

His priority has not changed, even although he is in a very different place, now exalted in heaven. Even on the throne of God, his aim always is to fulfil the will of his Father. He is still the Father's Agent, the Father's Servant. His goal, as Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 15, is eventually to present the restored kingdom to his Father. That will be a wonderful day when we observe another task that he will have completed perfectly.

Jesus said on one occasion that it was the will of his Father that none of those given to him by the Father would be lost. Therefore, we can easily realise how determined Jesus is at all times to ensure that such a thing does not happen. As the Good Shepherd, he has his eyes always on each one of his sheep living in this world. They will find themselves in difficult situations, and in some of them they will wonder if things will work out fine. But they will, because Jesus is determined that all of his people will be safe.

His determination involves taking each of his people to glory by the way that he knows is best. At times, they will wonder if that is the case, but they should remind themselves that he knows the best way for each of them to get there. And if we are not yet his people, he invites such to follow him, and should they do so, they will discover how determined he is to take those who trust in him to heaven.

What can happen when Jesus is sleeping?

One of the occasions when Jesus surprised his disciples was when he slept while they were trying to row their boat across the Sea of Galilee during a storm. Clearly, they were agitated, but he slept on. Eventually, they woke him and in their panic asked him if he cared about them. They read his sleeping as a sign that he did not care. It is possible, of course, that they should have read his sleeping as a sign that he did care. How could that be?

 

One answer is to consider what Jesus was doing at that time. He was putting together a life of obedience that would be reckoned to believers as their righteousness. That obedience included what he did that night as they crossed the sea. It is obvious that although the disciples were believers their faith was not in evidence during the storm. While we can understand their reaction, we also know it was sinful because, as we are told elsewhere, what is not of faith is sin. As far as the disciples were concerned, their response fell short of trust in God. Therefore, as our doctrine of justification tells us, they would need to provide two things: (1) a perfect life that included trust in God as they crossed the stormy sea and (2) payment for the sin of not trusting in God as they crossed the sea. They could not provide either, but Jesus did both. His going to sleep was an expression of his trust in God. It is the case that we should not expect that the disciples would have grasped those details at that time. But we should as we read the story, and we should apply its lessons to ourselves. 

 

A second answer is that they failed to grasp who was in control of providence. Providence, we can say, is another word for the involvement of Jesus in every area of life. Why did the storm arise? Because Jesus had permitted it. How long would it last? As long as Jesus allowed it, and the disciples received a very vivid display of that reality when he stood up and commanded the storm to cease. Not every incident in providence is a stormy one, but Jesus is equally in charge of all incidents. That should be an encouragement for us in the providential circumstances he allows us to be in. 

 

Connected to the above is the ability of Jesus to spread his peace. To begin with, he alone had peace in his heart. Then he turned the environment into a peaceful one. Should the disciples not have responded by enjoying the calm that he had provided? Sadly they did not. Instead of reminding themselves that he had said he was divine as well as human, they speculated on what kind of man he was. Of course, they learned through this and other displays of divine ability that he was God. But they did not do so at that moment. Is that not like ourselves who often lose the blessing of the present, even if what happened becomes a source of comfort later on?

 

It was good for them that they had the privilege of a sleeping Saviour in their boat.

Jesus the Communicator

In John 1:1ff., the author describes the activities of the eternal Son before he became a man. One of those activities was his participation in the divine work of creation, which was when other forms of life commenced. Before then, only the eternal God existed, and did so as the three persons of the Trinity.

Within the Trinity, the Son (the Word) was face to face with the Father. In using the title 'the Word', John indicates that communication was taking place. While it is not possible to insist on what were the specific details shared between them, it is reasonable to suggest that they were delighting in the divine plan of salvation because that was how divine glory would be revealed.

The interaction between the three persons was without beginning. Nor was the sharing a process of discovery about the details of the divine plan. The fellowship within the Trinity was one of omniscience as well as of love. The Father, the Son and the Spirit enjoyed unending delight in contemplating the revelation of glory that was yet to commence in space and time.

In John 1:14, the author explains how this revelation would be possible. it would occur after the Word was made flesh. The Incarnation of the Son, him becoming man, was a great miracle. He did not cease to be the Word, so his identity remained unchanged. Yet his audience did, because on earth he now communicated with men and women and children about the divine plan for their salvation.

In contrast to the response in heaven, the sharing on earth was rejected by many. This rejection commenced at his birth. Although he had not yet said anything as a man, sufficient revelation was given about him to recognise who he was. Shepherds and wise men believed in him, rulers and religious leaders did not.

The rejection showed itself later when the inhabitants of his hometown Nazareth opposed his teaching. They were not the last to do during his years of public ministry. Yet John says that there were those who received him and became members of God's family. They saw the glory that he had come to show to them, a glory that was marked by grace and truth.

They saw his glory in his interactions with sinners as he spoke and acted graciously and truthfully. The 'they' included all kinds of people - fishermen who became apostles, religious leaders like Nicodemus, social outcasts like the woman of Samaria. Eventually they discovered that the communication of glory would involve the darkness of the cross.

They did not understand this initially. Then the resurrection of Jesus brought new insights for them regarding his communication about his coming and what would occur afterwards. Now their desire was to serve him here and then go to be with him in heaven and discover more of what he has to say to them about the plan of God that had been the focus of the Trinity from everlasting. And his communication of the divine purpose will never cease because he will continue to lead them, and all other believers, to the fountains of the waters of life (Rev. 8:17).

Power and wisdom

Paul stated in a letter that Jews wanted to see displays of power by the Messiah and that Greeks looked for wisdom in their teachers. He knew that both aspirations were provided for sinners by Jesus, yet he also knew that, in the main, Jews and Gentiles refused to acknowledge Jesus as having them. Nevertheless Paul continued to preach Christ crucified because it was through that message that sinners discovered the power and wisdom of God.

God has many ways of displaying his power. We see those ways throughout his created universe, whether in the heavens or on the earth. Yet great as those displays of power are, they do not change our hearts or remove our sins.  A greater display of divine power was needed, and we discover it through the preaching of the cross. At Calvary, Jesus paid the penalty for our sins, a display of power and strength that no one can estimate except to say that what he did was sufficient to pay the penalty. Looking at the cross, we observe the greatest display of power ever known when Jesus carried our sins away.

God also has much wisdom to share with us. He knows the secrets of the world. On one occasion he shared some of them with Job as he was taken on a tour of the world. Job realised then how little he knew and also how much God knew. Nothing was hidden from the wise God. But does God have the wisdom to tell us about how sin can be forgiven, how death can be defeated, how hope can be eternal? He does, and the way he reveals those details of wisdom is through the story of Jesus on the cross. Those who trust in Jesus receive pardon for their sins, discover the prospect of the resurrection, and anticipate the world of glory.

Why did Paul delight in the message of Christ crucified?  It was not only because Jesus did greater acts and taught more profound truths than anyone else. It was also because in Christ crucified we see the power and wisdom of God in ways that we see them nowhere else. We see divine power as sinners are drawn to the cross and receive new life. We see divine wisdom as people, whether wise or foolish, discover the message that answers their deepest questions, questions that cannot be answered elsewhere.

Let us go to the cross again, and there experience divine power and relish divine wisdom.

Jesus is the Bridegroom

One description of Jesus found in both the Old and New Testaments is that he is the Bridegroom of his people. We should not be surprised at this because the relationship between God and Israel is likened to that of a husband and wife (as we can see in the Book of Hosea).

There are several ways in which we can think about this relationship and here are some of them. First, the relationship between a husband and wife usually commenced with a promise that they would be one in the future. We see an example of this in the engagement of Joseph and Mary, recorded in Matthew 1. When did Jesus make promises concerning his bride and what he would do for her? He made them in eternity, before the universe was created by him. His love for his people is eternal.

Sometimes a prospective husband has to rescue his future wife from a predicament she is in. Maybe she has lost her property and is in debt and only he has the love for her that will cause him to help her. We were in a real mess because of sin. As sinners we had lost our connection to God and his blessings. Instead of serving him, we had become slaves to sin and the devil. A heavy price had to be paid for our deliverance, and the wonder is that our Bridegroom was willing to pay it. The payment required was connected to the penalty our sins had brought on us. Jesus lovingly paid the penalty on the cross in order for his people to be his bride.

Often, a bridegroom has to persuade the one he loves to become his bride. It may take him a while to win her love. Jesus has to persuade his people individually and he did so, and always does so, through the gospel. He sends the Holy Spirit to enable them to understand his love and what he did for them. Eventually they respond lovingly to their Bridegroom.

A final feature of the role of Jesus to think about today is that he takes his role as provider of the needs of his people very seriously, as any authentic bridegroom would. Unlike other well-meaning bridegrooms, Jesus constantly meets all the spiritual needs of his people. Their needs include cleansing, spiritual food, guidance, protection, restoration and comfort. Those blessings come to us because our Bridegroom loves his people fully. One day, when he returns, they will taste the fullness of his love in the new heavens and new earth.

Jesus is the Advocate

The apostle John tells us in his first letter that Jesus in heaven is the advocate of his people on earth when they sin (1 John 2:1). There are many ways in which this amazing statement could be approached. For example, we could consider the competency of the advocate. Or we could think about the number of clients he has because they number in the millions. We could examine the character of those he represents as it is described by John in this set of verses - they admit their guilt.

Sometimes we read about an advocate who is about to become a judge. His or her promotion is a consequence of having shown outstanding ability. On other occasions, we read about an advocate who has lost his or her status because of wrong activities. With regard to Jesus, he is already the judge on the throne he shares with the Father, and there is no possibility that he will do anything that will cause his disqualification. He is there to ensure that his clients get justice as well as grace.

What justice can they expect to receive? John tells us that because of the activities of the advocate, the justice that the Father will dispense to the clients is forgiveness. ‘He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness’ (1 John 1:9). This is because the advocate has already paid the full penalty of the sins of his clients at Calvary, and the evidences of his payment are permanently on his body in heaven. It would be unjust for his clients to receive another outcome.

How often does the advocate do this? The answer is constantly. In fact, he has being doing it since he ascended to his current place at the Father’s right hand. What does he says about his clients? He does not try to mitigate or excuse their sins, and he is aware of the penalty they in themselves deserve. But he also provides the evidence that he has paid the penalty they had incurred. 

Moreover, the advocate does not charge for his services. In addition to providing a constant service, he also provides a free service, which is just as well for his clients because they have nothing to use as payment. His constant, free service is always successful. And he treats each of his clients as if they were the only client he has.

Because the advocate is always successful, he obtains more than forgiveness for them. Full forgiveness is one of the features of the new covenant, and because the recipients are forgiven, they will be given all the other blessings promised in that wonderful arrangement.

What should we do? We should confess our sins, thank the advocate for his constant services, and acknowledge the ongoing goodness of the Father. And after that, we should confess our sins, thank the advocate for his constant services, and acknowledge the ongoing goodness of the Father. We should do this repeatedly because in a real sense it is what grace is in the lives of God’s people.

Thinking of Jesus today

Christmas means different things to people, depending on where they are and who they are. For children, it can mean receiving presents; for adults, it can mean family gatherings; for older people, it can mean many memories, most of them happy, but some of them sad.

Yet those responses, valid though they are, don’t reach the real meaning of Christmas. So what is the real meaning? The real meaning is connected to Jesus, whose birth we remember today.  Why is his birth so important? The answers to that question are given in the Bible.

The Bible tells us that Jesus is a unique person because he is both divine and human. Even although he is the eternal God who made everything, he was sent into our world by his Father to be the Saviour of sinners. So he became a man and that is why he was born in Bethlehem. He became a man without ceasing to be God. This, of course, is a great mystery, yet that does not take away from its reality.  We worship Jesus today, and all year round, because he did this.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus had a unique purpose to fulfil when he became a man. As humans, we had distanced ourselves from God by choosing an alternative way to his will, and because we did that we lost touch with him. But he wanted to resume contact with us. Jesus knew that this purpose would take him not just to Bethlehem but also to Calvary, where he would make it possible for our disobedience to be forgiven by the Lord. There, in a manner that we cannot fully understand, he suffered in our place. So today, and every day, we thank Jesus for coming to Bethlehem and travelling on to the cross at Calvary.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus has a unique present to give to everyone who asks him for it. The unique present is peace and we can ask Jesus for it because he rose from the dead three days after he died on the cross. This peace has many aspects, but one of them is connected to the happiness we can have through asking the Heavenly Father to forgive us and bless us because of what Jesus did on the cross. So today, and every day, we thank God for the peace that is available to us because of Jesus.

As we think of Jesus today, we realise that we cannot see him physically as the baby in Bethlehem or even as the sacrifice on the cross. His birth and his death occurred a long time ago. We look at them by faith, thankful for why he came and died. But it is important to think about the fact that we will yet see him physically when he returns, and when he does we will see him as the glorious ruler of all, who has prepared for his people an incredible eternal destiny. So today, and every day, we thank Jesus for his past, present and future activities.

The Birth of Jesus

There are many details about Jesus that are marvellous. He is the eternal God who became a human without ceasing to be divine. As a human, he knew the reality of each stage of human development from conception, then birth, infancy, childhood, adolescence and adulthood. In each of these human stages he remained the eternal Son of God. Whenever we read about them, we should be filled with wonder because at every stage he was amazing. And now in heaven he remains a real human, although his humanity has been glorified, as well as the divine Son of God.

Although he is so great, he had a very humble birth. No doubt, we have received cards depicting the birth scene in a stable, but there is no evidence for that assumption. All we are told is that he was lying in a manger, and it is very likely that the food trough for the animals was outside and not inside a building. Even if he was in a stable, it was an unusual place for the eternal Son to be found. Although his human mind would not have been able to recognise his surroundings, he was the divine Son who could have arranged to be born in a palace, in royal surroundings. But he chose to come into our world in a lowly condition.

How should we think about his lowly birth? We see in the fact that a pregnant woman was denied space in a house to give birth the terrible effects of sin, of how indifferent and selfish people can be. There was nothing romantic or nostalgic about the location where Jesus was born. He was on the outside, and that experience was only the first of many occasions when he would be there.

We see in the fact that the Son of God was born in such a place that he was prepared to descend very low in order for him to raise us very high. Him going to Bethlehem would not do that in itself – he also had to descend further when on the cross of shame. But the only road to the cross went through Bethlehem. Often when a child is born, we wonder what he or she will experience, even if our wonderings can only be guesses. But we don’t have to guess what would happen to the Baby on the outside.

Jesus, the Father’s Servant – John Colquhoun

John Colquhoun of Leith preached a fascinating sermon on Jesus as God’s chosen servant. He summarised the service of Jesus as follows: ‘Now in the character of bondservant, Christ Jesus had the following parts of service to perform: he had the curse of the broken law to bear. He had the precepts of the law to obey. He had divine justice to satisfy, the glory of all the divine attributes to restore, and the prophecies and types respecting his humiliation to fulfil.’

Some of these details are common in Christian theology. But what did Colquhoun mean when saying that Jesus had to restore the glory of all the divine attributes? He observed this:

‘In the character of a bond servant, [Jesus] had to restore the glory of the Divine attributes, which was obscured and sullied by the sins of those in whose stead he served. Hence, in the prospect of his entering upon his service, his eternal Father addressed him thus: “Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified” (Isa. 49:3). Every sin is a direct insult offered to God, and an act of downright rebellion against his supreme authority, interposed in his law. It includes a contempt of his majesty, a contradiction of his holiness, which is his chief glory, a denial of his omniscience and omnipresence, a defiance of his power, a reflection on his wisdom, a disbelief of his faithfulness, and a disparagement of his goodness. Now, seeing every act of disobedience thus obscures the lustre of the Divine glory, and since it was from eternity foreseen that the elect of God would, times without number, commit sin, and so come short of his glory; it was proposed to Christ, and settled as an article in the everlasting covenant, that he should vail his glory by assuming their nature, and, in the low and obscure condition of a bondservant, restore the glory of all the Divine attributes in their stead, in order that it might be consistent with the highest honour of all those perfections, to re-admit them to favour. Accordingly, we read that “he restored that which he took not away” (Ps. 69:4) and that when his service was almost finished, he addressed his Father thus: “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do” (John 17:4).’

Colquhoun did not limit the period of servanthood to Christ’s life on earth. He described the Saviour’s work on earth as that of a bondservant and his current and future activities in heaven as that of honorary service. This exalted role was promised to him by the Father in the everlasting covenant as a reward for fulfilling the requirements made of him as a bondservant. The details of this exalted role include these: 

‘He was to triumph over all the enemies of his people, as their Representative; he was to take possession of heaven in their name; he was to be the high Trustee of all the grace and glory which he had merited by his bond service; he was to be the sovereign Dispenser thereof to sinners; he was to judge angels and men at the end of time; and to be the only medium of communication and intercourse in heaven between God and glorified saints through eternity.’

The enemies of his people are sin, Satan, the world and death and he triumphed over them at his resurrection as the Representative of his people. Since his ascension, he has been from the place of exaltation providing his people with the blessings of the new covenant: ‘And Oh, what a distinguished honour must it be to the Lord Jesus, to have the eyes of all his saints in the Church militant fixed upon Him, for communications of grace to supply their innumerable wants ; every one, expecting his portion in due season! and how well qualified must Christ be for such an honourable office, who is most intimately acquainted with all their wants, and is possessed of the most tender sympathy, to prompt him to relieve them!’ 

After the Day of Judgement, he will as God’s honoured servant be ‘the illustrious medium of communication and intercourse between God and the saints in heaven, for ever and ever. Hence every blessing necessary to constitute the everlasting felicity of the redeemed in the heavenly world shall be conveyed to them, not only through the channel of his surety-righteousness, but by his own gracious hand.’

Colquhoun points out that Jesus is a righteous, faithful, wise, powerful, ready servant in all that he did and does. His activities as God’s servant should cause his people to humble ourselves, to realise the amazing love of God to sinners, to devote themselves to his service, to live by faith on his obedience, to be thankful to God and to oppose personal sin. 

Ten Reasons for Christ’s Incarnation

John Colquhoun (1748-1827) was a minister in Leith for almost forty-seven years. He authored several books. In an extract from a volume of sermons, he gives ten reasons as to why the Son of God became man.

The first reason that he gives is that the Son of God did so to fulfil the prophecies and types of the Old Testament. Colquhoun refers to several prophecies such as Isaiah’s announcement that the Saviour would be called Immanuel and Micah’s stating the place of the Messiah’s birth. None of those prophecies could have been fulfilled if the Son had not become a man. As far as typology is concerned, Colquhoun focuses on the practice of the kinsman redeemer and how it depicts what the Son did in order to recover the inheritance that we had lost in Eden, which he could not have done if he had not become incarnate.

The second reason why the Son became incarnate was so that he might be under the law and so capable of obeying and suffering in our place. He had agreed to become our Surety in the everlasting covenant, but he could not fulfil those responsibilities on behalf of his people until he added a human nature to his divine person. Those responsibilities were to live a perfect life and render satisfaction for their sins by his death. ‘He became man so that the sword of justice might have an opportunity of smiting him.’

The third reason why the Son became man was so that the honour of the divine law would be supported and the divine wisdom that devised the way of salvation would be ‘more illustriously displayed’ in the same nature that fell short of the glory of God.

The fourth reason for the Son becoming incarnate was to show his people the degree to which he loved them by becoming like them as much as was possible for him, apart from sin.

The fifth reason was so that the Son would overcome the devil in the nature in which he overcame Adam.

A sixth reason for the Son becoming a human was to provide a permanent union with his people that would ensure that they could never lose progress in holiness here and the prospect of perfect holiness hereafter.

The seventh reason for the Son becoming incarnate was to provide ‘a perfect pattern of holiness’ for his people. ‘His humanity, or our nature in him, was richly furnished with all those heavenly endowments and divinely adorned with all those spiritual graces’ that compose this pattern.

The eighth reason for the Son taking a human nature to himself was so ‘that in it he might be the heir of all things, and might secure the inheritance of his spiritual seed from a second forfeiture’.

The ninth reason why the Son of God became man was ‘so that he might have an experimental knowledge of his people’s infirmities’. ‘In consequence of his omniscience as a divine Person, his knowledge of the infirmities and trials of his people, even before his incarnation, was as exact and comprehensive as it was possible for it ever to be. But it was only in consequence of his incarnation and subjection to the sinless infirmities of human nature that it was rendered experimental, and that he could be properly said to sympathise with his people in such circumstances, from his own experience.’

The tenth reason why the Son assumed a ‘human nature was so that, in its exalted state at the right hand of God, it might be the pattern or model of that glory which will be conferred on the souls and bodies of his redeemed after the resurrection.’

Ten good reasons to think about.

Jesus as the Morning Star

One of the titles used by Jesus of himself is that he is the morning star. The morning star is generally regarded as the planet Venus and it was called the morning star because it is usually seen shortly before daybreak, and thus indicates that the dark night will soon be over. Given this background, it is not difficult to see what Jesus meant when he described himself as the morning star.

First, it is a reminder that the world is yet in a state of spiritual darkness. Paul, when writing to the Ephesians, led them to recall that at one time they too had been spiritually blind, unable to understand God and his ways. This description of sinners is not limited to people of the first century but also describes each person who is living today without Jesus. Such have no real grasp of the beauty and bounty of God. Still, Jesus is there as the morning star, as the light who shines in the darkness, drawing people to himself in order for them to discover how kind and merciful the Lord is.

Second, as the morning star, Jesus announces that the day of brightness and glory is soon to arrive. In the natural world, the morning star is seen a short time before daybreak. When people see it, they can assume that it will soon be daylight. Those who have seen Jesus know that the eternal day will soon be here. And what an incredible day it will be! It will be a day without end, a day without disappointment, a day without problems, and a day without pain. 

Of course, the items in that brief list, although real, are negative. The fact is that the features of the day which will soon be here is that there are countless positive features to it. We describe some of them by the categories of peace, joy, love, absence of sin and its effects, holiness and knowledge of God. The obvious point about such features is that they can only be understood by experience. But they are all features of the day of which Jesus is the morning star.

In the meantime, as we live in the land of the shadow of death and wait for the arrival of the eternal day, we can focus on the morning star. We see him in the Bible where he reveals himself to those who take the time to search its pages looking for him. And when we discover his presence there, we often find that he too is looking ahead with anticipation to the day of which he is the morning star.

Expelled, we might say, for mercy

‘He drove out the man’ (Gen. 3:24). I think most people would assume that this divine activity towards Adam, when God expelled him from the Garden of Eden after his sin, was a sign of judgement only. Yet a well-known Scottish preacher from the nineteenth century, Charles J. Brown, in a sermon on the verse from Genesis 3 argues that it was also an act of mercy because it forced Adam away from a method of attaining holiness that no longer existed for him.

It was judgement

The divine judgement was twofold. First, the permanent expulsion from the location of great beauty (the Garden) is a reminder that the wrath of God was revealed strongly against those who had forsaken him as the fountain of living waters. Such rejection of God is astonishing, and the nature of the divine response reveals the seriousness of rejecting him.

Second, the expulsion was the final shutting out of man from finding salvation by the covenant of works. The covenant of works was the arrangement made by God with Adam that he would remain upright as long as he obeyed God’s requirements from the heart. While he had been in the Garden he would have eaten of the tree of life which symbolised for him that his hope of endless glory was dependent on him keeping the law. But now Adam had forfeited any right to life in that way, although he may have imagined that he could still have done so by eating from that tree. Therefore, he was driven from the Garden, away from the former path of obtaining eternal life, a path that no longer existed because of divine judgement.

It was mercy

In order to appreciate that the expulsion was an act of mercy we have to remember that it followed the announcement of a coming Deliverer, the Seed of the woman. So expelling Adam away from the possibility of trying to recover what he had lost in the Garden was an act of mercy because it made it possible for him to trust in the coming Saviour. Outside the Garden, there is only one way of salvation revealed for sinners whereas in the Garden Adam would have wondered if there was another way back to God. This means that the expulsion was providential mercy because it removed Adam from attempting an alternative way of returning to God.

No doubt, the Garden was an easier to place to live in than outside of it. After all, it was the Lord who had planted in Eden the garden and then placed Adam there in a very pleasant and beautiful environment. Brown suggests that the Garden would have been for Adam the sinner ‘a show of heaven without the reality of it’. In order to get to the Paradise of the future, he had to be expelled from the Paradise of the past, even if the location he now found himself in was marred by the curse. And God would use the problems and troubles of Adam’s new location as means to make him long for the real Paradise.

According to Brown, many people imagine that by their own spiritual interests and activities they can recover the experience of Eden. Yet he points out that we are no longer in an Eden now, and then adds, ‘How terrible to miss both Paradises.’ Because that is what will happen to those who try and find salvation by their own works. In contrast, those who trust in Jesus expect no Eden here, nor do they want the Eden of the past. They recognise that troubles they face are both the consequences of sin and the means by which God shows mercy to them because through afflictions they learn his statutes. And those troubles lead them to think of the Paradise to come. As they journey towards it, they come up from the wilderness leaning on their Beloved.