The Works of John Bunyan, vol 1 by John Bunyan (best book clubs txt) 📖

‘I have waited for thy salvation, O Lord’ (Gen 49:18). And so had David when he cried, ‘O that the salvation of Israel were come out of Zion’ (Psa 53:6).

These, with Simeon and Anna, had not a remembrance only, but a believing remembrance that God would send them a Saviour. They had the promise not in the book only, but in their hearts; this gospel was mixed in them with faith; therefore they with their fellows remembered and believed, or made the promise the ground of their believing that God would one day send them a Saviour.

Let me make some

Use of this Doctrine.

Here we may see how much the heart of God was set upon the salvation of sinners—he studied it, contrived it, set his heart on it, and promised, and promised, and promised to complete it, by sending one day his Son for a Saviour (2 Same 14:14; Eph 1:3; Titus 1:2).

No marvel, therefore, if when he treateth of the new covenant, in which the Lord Jesus is wrapped, and presented in a word of promise to the world, that he saith, I will do it ‘assuredly with my whole heart, and with my whole soul’ (Jer 32:41).

Now this is of singular comfort to sensible sinners; yea, what greater ground of consolation to such than to hear that the God against whom they have sinned should himself take care to provide them a Saviour. There are some poor sinners in the world that have given such way to discouragement, from the sense of the greatness of their sins, that they dare not think upon God, nor the sins which they have committed; but the reason is, because they are ignorant that God’s heart was wrapt up in this good work of providing and sending a Saviour. Let such hearken now to the call of God—‘Return unto me, for I have redeemed thee’ (Isa 44:22). Ho! turn again, hearken; the heart of God is much set upon mercy; from the beginning of the world he resolved and promised, aye, and sware we should have a Saviour.

[OBSERVATION SECOND.]

I now proceed to the second observation—THAT WHEN JESUS WAS COME

INTO THE WORLD, THEN WAS THE PROMISE OF GOD FULFILLED—namely, THAT

HE WOULD ONE DAY SEND US A SAVIOUR.

Take three texts for the confirmation of this point—1. ‘This is of a truth that prophet that should come into the world’ (John 6:14).

These words were spoken of them that were present at that miracle of Jesus, when he fed five thousand with five barley loaves, which a lad had about him in the company; for these men, when they had seen the marvel, being amazed at it, made confession of him to be the Saviour. 2. ‘Lord, I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world’ (John 11:27). 3. ‘This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners’ (1 Tim 1:15).

For the explaining of this observation I will briefly handle three questions—FIRST. How this Jesus is to be distinguished from others of that name. SECOND. What it was for this Jesus to come into the world. THIRD. What it was for him to come to be a Saviour.

[HOW THIS JESUS IS TO BE DISTINGUISHED FROM OTHERS.]

QUEST. FIRST. For the first, the Jesus in the text is distinguished from all others of that name.

First. By the manner of his birth; he was born of a virgin, a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph; but he ‘knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son, and he called his name JESUS’ (Matt 1:25).

Second. He is distinguished from others of that name by the place of his birth—to wit, Bethlehem, the city of David; there he must be born, there he was born (John 7:42; Matt 2:4-6).

Third. He is distinguished by his lineage—he came ‘of the house and lineage of David’ (Luke 2:4-6).

Fourth. He is distinguished by the time of his birth—to wit, the time of the prophets prefixed (Gal 4:4).

Fifth. But his common distinction is Jesus of Nazareth; by this name he is distinguished one and twenty times in the New Testament—1.

His enemies called him ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (Matt 26:71; Mark 14:67; John 18:5). 2. His disciples called him ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (Matt 21:11; Luke 24:19; John 1:45; Acts 2:22). 3. The angels called him ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (Mark 16:6). 4. And he calleth himself ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ (Acts 22:8). 5. Yea, and he goeth also by the name of ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ among the devils (Mark 1:24; Luke 4:34).

He was called ‘Jesus of Nazareth’ because he dwelt there with his mother Mary and her husband. Nazareth was his city, where he had been brought up, whither for shelter Joseph carried him when he came out of Egypt with him; in Nazareth was his common abode until the time that John was cast into prison; wherefore he might well say, ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth’ (Luke 4:16; Matt 2:23, 4:12,13). Yea, though he was now in heaven, for heaven shall not make us forget what countrymen we were when we lived in the world. Jesus, you see here, though glorified in heaven, yet forgets not what countryman he was when he dwelt in the world. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth,’ saith he; I am the Jesus that thou persecutest; and that thou mayest know I am he, I tell thee I dwelt once in the city of Nazareth in Galilee; Joseph and my mother Mary brought me up there, and there I dwelt with them many years. ‘I am Jesus of Nazareth, whom thou persecutest’ (Acts 22:8).

[WHAT IT WAS FOR JESUS TO COME INTO THE WORLD.]

QUEST. SECOND. What it was for Jesus to come into the world.

Answ. Not his coming in, or by his Spirit in his people; for so he was never out of the world. Neither is it his appearance in his ordinances. Nor that coming of his by which he destroyeth Antichrist.

Nor his appearing in his dreadful providences or judgments. But by the coming of Jesus, according to the text, we are to understand that, or such a coming, whereby he was manifest to be God-man in one person; God in our flesh without us, or distinct in his own person by himself; such a coming by which he was manifested to be in all points like as men are, sin only excepted; such a coming wherein, or by which, the Son of God became also the Son of man.

[First.] For the further clearing of this, you find it expressly said, he was ‘born into the world’; Mary, ‘of whom was born Jesus.’

Now, when Jesus was born, it is said, ‘Where is he that is born King of the Jews?’ Herod ‘demanded of them where Christ should be born’ (Matt 1:16, 2:1,2,4; Luke 1:35, 2:11).

Now, that this was fulfilled according to the very word of the text, without any juggle, evasion, or cunningly-devised fable, consider—

1. He is called the firstborn of this woman; the male child that opened her womb (Luke 2:7,23).

2. He was not born till nourished in her womb the full time, according to the time of life: ‘And so it was, that while they were there [at Bethlehem], the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling-clothes, and laid him in a manger’ (Luke 2:6,7).

3. She also continued in her separation at the birth of Jesus, as other women at the birth of their children, until ‘the days of her purification according to the law of Moses were accomplished’

(Luke 2:22).

4. Himself also, as other Hebrew children, was brought to Jerusalem to present him unto the Lord—‘As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord’ (Luke 2:23,24).

5. Thus Jesus also, as other Hebrew children, when the set day was come, was circumcised—‘And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the child, his name was called JESUS, which was so named of the angel before he was conceived in the womb’ (Luke 2:21).

6. After this he is often called the young child, the child Jesus; and further, it is said of him, that he grew, that he increased in wisdom and stature (Matt 2:20,21; Luke 2:40,52).

Behold with what diligence, even to a circumstance, the Holy Ghost sets forth the birth of the Lord Jesus, and all to convince the incredulous world of the true manner of the coming of the Saviour into the world.

Second. The reality of the manhood of this Lord Jesus is yet further manifest, and that, 1. By those natural infirmities that attend human flesh; 2. By the names the prophets gave him in the days of the Old Testament and the New.

1. By those natural infirmities that attend human flesh. As, at his birth he could not go but as carried by his parents. He was sensible of hunger (Luke 4:2). He was sensible of thirst (John 19:28). He was sensible of weariness (John 4:6). He was nourished by sleep (Mark 4:38). He was subject to grief (Mark 3:5). He was subject to anger (Mark 3:5). He was subject to weep (John 11:35; Luke 19:41). He had joy as a man, and rejoiced (Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21). These things, I say, Jesus was subject to as a man, as the son of the Virgin.

2. The reality of his manhood is yet made manifest by the names the prophets gave him, both in the Old Testament and in the New. As, (1.) He is called the ‘seed’—the seed of the woman, the seed of Abraham, the seed of David, by which is meant he was to come of their children (Gen 3:15, 12, 22; Gal 3:16,17; Rom 1:3).

(2.) Therefore it is added (where mention is made of the fathers), ‘of whom as concerning the flesh Christ came.’ He was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; and hence again he calleth himself the offspring of David; therefore, I say, he is said to be of their flesh, their loins, and is called their Son (Rom 1:3, 4:5; Acts 2:30; Rev 22:16).

(3.) He therefore is frequently called ‘a man, and the Son of man’—‘Then shall you see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven.’ ‘When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him.’ ‘This man, because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood.’ ‘Wherefore, it is necessary that this man have somewhat also to offer’ (Matt 25:31, 26:64; Heb 7:24, 8:3, 10:12).

(4.) What shall I say? He himself gave undeniable demonstration of all this when he said he ‘was dead’; when he called to Thomas to put his finger to, and behold his hands, to reach to him his hand and thrust it into his side, and bid him he should not be faithless, but believing. At another time, when he stood in the midst of the eleven, as they were troubled with the thoughts of unbelief, he said, ‘Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see, for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have’ (John 20:27; Luke 24:39).

Thus have I showed you what it was for Jesus to come into the world—namely, to be born of a woman, to take flesh, and to become God-man in one person. I come now to the third question; but before I speak particularly to that, I will produce further testimony that we find upon record concerning the truth of all this.

Particular testimonies that this coming of Jesus is his coming