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Yesterday’s post has the readings for the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Exaudi Sunday, for Year B, the exegesis for the First Reading and the exegesis for verses 6 through 12 of today’s Gospel.
Today’s post concludes with John 17:13-19, our Lord’s prayer for His disciples, the eleven remaining Apostles in particular (emphases mine):
17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
17:16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
17:18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
Jesus prayed, saying that He would be returning to His Father, so He spoke these things in the world so that they — His disciples — may have His joy complete in themselves (verse 13).
John MacArthur explains this joy, alluding to the Holy Trinity:
We don’t ever hear about Jesus laughing, but the Scriptures clearly tell us He wept. There was joy set before Him. And it’s the same with us; the joy is ahead of us. There are tastes of it here, but full joy, “My joy made full,” that is the joy that is equal to Christ in its fullness, that is future.
In chapter 16, you might look also at verse 20, “Truly, truly, I say to you – ” Jesus said, “ – you will week and lament, you will weep and lament. The world will rejoice, they’ll be happy to persecute you. You’ll weep and you’ll cry, but your grief will be turned into joy. Whenever a woman – it’s like a woman in labor. She has pain because her hour has come; but when she gives birth to the child, she’s no longer remembering the anguish because of the joy that a child has been born into the world. Therefore, you too have grief now. But I will see you again, and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.” Verse 24 he adds, “Until now you’ve asked for nothing in My name. Ask and you’ll receive, so that your joy may be made full.”
The answers to prayer that the Lord gives us, the answers to prayer continue to elevate our joy. When we see the Holy Spirit – and He’s referring to the Holy Spirit there – come and take up residence in our heart, and give us love, joy, peace, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control – all the fruit of the Spirit, we have a taste of heavenly joy. But the full joy is yet in the future, it’s yet in the future.
Please notice He says “My joy – ” in chapter 17, “ – that My joy may be made full in them.” In chapter 14, verse 27, He gave us what He called “My peace.” In chapter 16, He gave us “My Spirit.” He says several times that “I give unto them life – ” verse 3, this is eternal life, “ – that you may know the only true God and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.”
We have His life, we have His peace, we have His Spirit, we have His joy … All of that is ours because we are in Him, we are in Christ, understanding the promises, understanding the protection, understanding all that He has for us in the future, and all that He does for us in the present secures our joy. And all of this is ours at the highest divine level because we are in Christ.
This is a stunningly wonderful realization. They’ve heard the Lord make all these promises, and now they hear the Lord praying for them to the Father to secure their eternal glory, to make them one, and to fill them with His own joy, joy based not on the present but on the promises of God in the future. We have His life, we have His love, we have His joy, we have His peace, because we are in Him and He is in us. We talked about that last time. We’ve literally been drawn into the life of the Trinity, and it’s all motivated by love, it’s all motivated by love, motivated by love. And so He intercedes for us, for our spiritual security, our unity, our felicity, or our joy.
Matthew Henry gives us a practical application:
We are here taught, [1.] To found our joy in Christ: “It is my joy, joy of my giving, or rather joy that I am the matter of.” Christ is a Christian’s joy, his chief joy. Joy in the world is withering with it; joy in Christ is everlasting, like him. [2.] To build up our joy with diligence; for it is the duty as well as privilege of all true believers; no part of the Christian life is pressed upon us more earnestly, Phil 3 1; 4 4. [3.] To aim at the perfection of this joy, that we may have it fulfilled in us, for this Christ would have.
Jesus said that He had given His disciples God the Father’s word and, as such, the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as He does not belong to the world (verse 14).
Henry gives us gems of wisdom here:
Here we have,
(1.) The world’s enmity to Christ’s followers. While Christ was with them, though as yet they had given but little opposition to the world, yet it hates them, much more would it do so when by their more extensive preaching of the gospel they would turn the world upside down. “Father, stand their friend,” says Christ, “for they are likely to have many enemies; let them have thy love, for the world’s hatred is entailed upon them. In the midst of those fiery darts, let them be compassed with thy favour as with a shield.“ It is God’s honour to take part with the weaker side, and to help the helpless. Lord, be merciful to them, for men would swallow them up.
(2.) The reasons of this enmity, which strengthen the plea. [1.] It is implied that one reason is because they had received the word of God as it was sent them by the hand of Christ, when the greatest part of the world rejected it, and set themselves against those who were the preachers and professors of it. Note, Those that receive Christ’s good will and good word must expect the world’s ill will and ill word. Gospel ministers have been in a particular manner hated by the world, because they call men out of the world, and separate them from it, and teach them not to conform to it, and so condemn the world. “Father, keep them for it is for thy sake that they are exposed; they are sufferers for thee.” Thus the psalmist pleads, For thy sake I have borne reproach, Ps 69 7. Note, Those that keep the word of Christ’s patience are entitled to special protection in the hour of temptation, Rev 3 10. That cause which makes a martyr may well make a joyful sufferer. [2.] Another reason is more express; the world hates them, because they are not of the world. Those to whom the word of Christ comes in power are not of the world, for it has this effect upon all that receive it in the love of it that it weans them from the wealth of the world, and turns them against the wickedness of the world, and therefore the world bears them a grudge.
Jesus prayed that God not take believers out of the world but to protect them from the evil one (verse 15) — Satan.
Jesus repeated that His followers do not belong to the world, just as He does not belong to it (verse 16).
MacArthur says:
He prays for our immunity – or if you like safety better. You could even use the word “invincibility.” But let’s say immunity because we know what that means. That means to be impervious to some threat. The threat? A powerful threat, verses 14-16: “I have given them Your word; and the world has hated them, because they’re not of the world, even as I am not of the world. I do not ask You to take them out of the world, but to keep them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” He prays that we would be immune to the deadly, damning threats of Satan. “I have given them Your word. I have spoken only divine truth to them, which the world rejected.”
Chapter 1, verse 11, “He came to His own, His own received Him not.” He was in the world, the world was made by Him, the world knew Him not.” The world has rejected all the way along. We see that repeatedly in chapter 5 where our Lord says, “You are of your father, the devil; and so when I speak the truth, you reject the truth because there’s no truth in you, and you follow your father who’s a liar. But I have given them, these who are Yours and you gave to me, these who have heard and understood and believed the truth, I have given them Your word. The result is the world has hated them because they’re not of the world, even as I’m not of the world. They’re treated like Me.”
That statement, “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world,” is repeated in verse 16. “They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.” This is amazing. Another way to say that would be, “They are as I am.”
When we talk about being in Christ, we are talking about something that just seems to have an endless amount of rich possibility. And here’s another one: “They are as I am.” What a statement. “They are as I am righteous, because they’re in Me. They are as I am at peace, because they’re in Me. They are as I am filled with joy, because they’re in Me. They are as I am, hated by the world, because they’re in Me.” That’s why Paul said his wounds, essentially, were the marks of Christ. People were trying to bruise and beat Christ. He wasn’t here, so they do it to those who are His.
Henry has more:
Observe, [1.] That Jesus Christ was not of this world; he never had been of it, and least of all now that he was upon the point of leaving it. This intimates, First, His state; he was none of the world’s favourites nor darlings, none of its princes nor grandees; worldly possessions he had none, not even where to lay his head; nor worldly power, he was no judge nor divider. Secondly, His Spirit; he was perfectly dead to the world, the prince of this world had nothing in him, the things of this world were nothing to him; not honour, for he made himself of no reputation; not riches, for for our sakes he became poor; not pleasures, for he acquainted himself with grief. See ch. 8 23. [2.] That therefore true Christians are not of this world. The Spirit of Christ in them is opposite to the spirit of the world. First, It is their lot to be despised by the world; they are not in favour with the world any more than their Master before them was. Secondly, It is their privilege to be delivered from the world; as Abraham out of the land of his nativity. Thirdly, It is their duty and character to be dead to the world. Their most pleasing converse is, and should be, with another world, and their prevailing concern about the business of that world, not of this. Christ’s disciples were weak, and had many infirmities; yet this he could say for them, They were not of the world, not of the earth, and therefore he recommends them to the care of Heaven.
Jesus prayed that God would sanctify His disciples in the truth, for God’s word is truth (verse 17).
Henry explains what this short verse means:
He desires they may be sanctified,
1. As Christians. Father, make them holy, and this will be their preservation, 1 Thess 5 23. Observe here,
(1.) The grace desired—sanctification. The disciples were sanctified, for they were not of the world; yet he prays, Father sanctify them, that is, [1.] “Confirm the work of sanctification in them, strengthen their faith, inflame their good affections, rivet their good resolutions.” [2.] “Carry on that good work in them, and continue it; let the light shine more and more.” [3.] “Complete it, crown it with the perfection of holiness; sanctify them throughout and to the end.” Note, First, It is the prayer of Christ for all that are his that they may be sanctified; because he cannot for shame own them as his, either here or hereafter, either employ them in his work or present them to his Father, if they be not sanctified. Secondly, Those that through grace are sanctified have need to be sanctified more and more. Even disciples must pray for sanctifying grace; for, if he that was the author of the good work be not the finisher of it, we are undone. Not to go forward is to go backward; he that is holy must be holy still, more holy still, pressing forward, soaring upward, as those that have not attained. Thirdly, It is God that sanctifies as well as God that justified, 2 Cor 5 5. Fourthly, It is an encouragement to us, in our prayers for sanctifying grace, that it is what Christ intercedes for for us.
(2.) The means of conferring this grace—through thy truth, thy word is truth. Not that the Holy One of Israel is hereby limited to means, but in the counsel of peace among other things it was settled and agreed, [1.] That all needful truth should be comprised and summed up in the word of God. Divine revelation, as it now stands in the written word, is not only pure truth without mixture, but entire truth without deficiency. [2.] That this word of truth should be the outward and ordinary means of our sanctification; not of itself, for then it would always sanctify, but as the instrument which the Spirit commonly uses in beginning and carrying on that good work; it is the seed of the new birth (1 Pet 1 23), and the food of the new life, 1 Pet 2 1-2.
2. As ministers. “Sanctify them, set them apart for thyself and service; let their call to the apostleship be ratified in heaven.” Prophets were said to be sanctified, Jer 1 5. Priests and Levites were so. Sanctify them; that is, (1.) “Qualify them for the office, with Christian graces and ministerial gifts, to make them able ministers of the New Testament.” (2.) “Separate them to the office, Rom 1 1. I have called them, they have consented; Father, say Amen to it.” (3.) “Own them in the office; let thy hand go along with them; sanctify them by or in thy truth, as truth is opposed to figure and shadow; sanctify them really, not ritually and ceremonially, as the Levitical priests were, by anointing and sacrifice. Sanctify them to thy truth, the word of thy truth, to be the preachers of thy truth to the world; as the priests were sanctified to serve at the altar, so let them be to preach the gospel.” 1 Cor 9 13, 14. Note, [1.] Jesus Christ intercedes for his ministers with a particular concern, and recommends to his Father’s grace those stars he carries in his right hand. [2.] The great thing to be asked of God for gospel ministers is that they may be sanctified, effectually separated from the world, entirely devoted to God, and experimentally acquainted with the influence of that word upon their own hearts which they preach to others. Let them have the Urim and Thummim, light and integrity.
Jesus said that, just as God sent Him into the world, so He has sent His disciples into the world (verse 18).
MacArthur tells us that Jesus was speaking of the Great Commission:
Our Lord is saying, “Look, the world has hated them, they’re not of the world, I’m not of the world. I’m not asking you to take them out of the world. Can’t do that, can’t take them out of the world.” Why? Verse 18, “Because as You sent Me into the world, I’ve sent them into the world.”
You can’t take them out of the world because people can’t believe unless they hear; and they can’t hear unless there’s a preacher, and they’ve got to fulfill the Great Commission, right, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.”
Henry elaborates:
Now here,
(1.) Christ speaks with great assurance of his own mission: Thou hast sent me into the world. The great author of the Christian religion had his commission and instructions from him who is the origin and object of all religion. He was sent of God to say what he said, and do what he did, and be what he is to those that believe on him; which was his comfort in his undertaking, and may be ours abundantly in our dependence upon him; his record was on high, for thence his mission was.
(2.) He speaks with great satisfaction of the commission he had given his disciples “So have I sent them on the same errand, and to carry on the same design;” to preach the same doctrine that he preached, and to confirm it with the same proofs, with a charge likewise to commit to other faithful men that which was committed to them. He gave them their commission (ch. 20 21) with a reference to his own, and it magnifies their office that it comes from Christ, and that there is some affinity between the commission given to the ministers of reconciliation and that given to the Mediator; he is called an apostle (Heb 3 1), a minister (Rom 15 8), a messenger, Mal 3 1. Only they are sent as servants, he as a Son. Now this comes in here as a reason, [1.] Why Christ was concerned so much for them, and laid their case so near his heart; because he had himself put them into a difficult office, which required great abilities for the due discharge of it. Note, Whom Christ sends he will stand by, and interest himself in those that are employed for him; what he calls us out to he will fit us out for, and bear us up in. [2.] Why he committed them to his Father; because he was concerned in their cause, their mission being in prosecution of his, and as it were an assignment out of it. Christ received gifts for men (Ps 68 18), and then gave them to men (Eph 4 8), and therefore prays aid of his Father to warrant and uphold those gifts, and confirm his grant of them. The Father sanctified him when he sent him into the world, ch. 10 36. Now, they being sent as he was, let them also be sanctified.
Jesus concluded this portion of His intercessory prayer for the disciples by saying that He was sanctifying Himself for their sakes, so that they might be sanctified in truth (verse 19).
Henry explains the significance of Christ’s words:
Here is, (1.) Christ’s designation of himself to the work and office of Mediator: I sanctified myself. He entirely devoted himself to the undertaking, and all the parts of it, especially that which he was now going about—the offering up of himself without spot unto God, by the eternal Spirit. He, as the priest and altar, sanctified himself as the sacrifice. When he said, Father, glorify thy name—Father, thy will be done—Father, I commit my spirit into thy hands, he paid down the satisfaction he had engaged to make, and so sanctified himself. This he pleads with his Father, for his intercession is made in the virtue of his satisfaction; by his own blood he entered into the holy place (Heb 9 12), as the high priest, on the day of atonement, sprinkled the blood of the sacrifice at the same time that he burnt incense within the veil, Lev 16 12, 14. (2.) Christ’s design of kindness to his disciples herein; it is for their sakes, that they may be sanctified, that is, that they may be martyrs; so some. “I sacrifice myself, that they may be sacrificed to the glory of God and the church’s good.” Paul speaks of his being offered, Phil 2 17; 2 Tim 4 6. Whatever there is in the death of the saints that is precious in the sight of the Lord, it is owing to the death of the Lord Jesus. But I rather take it more generally, that they may be saints and ministers, duly qualified and accepted of God. [1.] The office of the ministry is the purchase of Christ’s blood, and one of the blessed fruits of his satisfaction, and owes its virtue and value to Christ’s merit. The priests under the law were consecrated with the blood of bulls and goats, but gospel ministers with the blood of Jesus. [2.] The real holiness of all good Christians is the fruit of Christ’s death, by which the gift of the Holy Ghost was purchased; he gave himself for his church, to sanctify it, Eph 5 25, 26. And he that designed the end designed also the means, that they might be sanctified by the truth, the truth which Christ came into the world to bear witness to and died to confirm. The word of truth receives its sanctifying virtue and power from the death of Christ. Some read it, that they may be sanctified in truth, that is, truly; for as God must be served, so, in order to this, we must be sanctified, in the spirit, and in truth. And this Christ has prayed for, for all that are his; for this is his will, even their sanctification, which encourages them to pray for it.
May all reading this enjoy a blessed Sunday as we look forward to remembering the first Pentecost in a week’s time.
The Seventh Sunday of Easter is May 12, 2024.
This particular day is also referred to traditionally as Exaudi Sunday, so called because of the traditional Introit, taken from Psalm 17:1. The two first words in Latin are ‘Exaudi Domine’ — ‘Hear, Lord’.
Because it follows Ascension Day, when Jesus physically leaves His disciples, I have read that it is a sad Sunday in the Church year. The faithful recall the forlorn disciples, among them the Apostles, who saw Christ’s ascent into Heaven and then awaited the arrival of the Holy Spirit.
Readings and exegeses for Ascension Day, which this year was on Thursday, May 9, are as follows:
Readings for Ascension Day (same regardless of Lectionary year)
Readings for Exaudi Sunday, Year B, can be found here.
The exegesis for the First Reading, Acts 1:15-17, 21-26, is here; the disciples cast lots for a replacement for Judas. Matthias was chosen over Joseph called Barsabbas, who was also known as Justus.
We do not know much about St Matthias. Some historians say he preached in Ethiopia and died there. Others say he died of old age in Jerusalem. Another group of scholars believe he was martyred in Jerusalem: stoned then beheaded.
Whatever the case, Matthias remains a popular name in France and Germany.
St Matthias is venerated in Catholic, Orthodox, Anglican and Lutheran churches, each of which has a different feast day for him.
The Gospel reading is as follows (emphases mine):
John 17:6-19
17:6 “I have made your name known to those whom you gave me from the world. They were yours, and you gave them to me, and they have kept your word.
17:7 Now they know that everything you have given me is from you;
17:8 for the words that you gave to me I have given to them, and they have received them and know in truth that I came from you; and they have believed that you sent me.
17:9 I am asking on their behalf; I am not asking on behalf of the world, but on behalf of those whom you gave me, because they are yours.
17:10 All mine are yours, and yours are mine; and I have been glorified in them.
17:11 And now I am no longer in the world, but they are in the world, and I am coming to you. Holy Father, protect them in your name that you have given me, so that they may be one, as we are one.
17:12 While I was with them, I protected them in your name that you have given me. I guarded them, and not one of them was lost except the one destined to be lost, so that the scripture might be fulfilled.
17:13 But now I am coming to you, and I speak these things in the world so that they may have my joy made complete in themselves.
17:14 I have given them your word, and the world has hated them because they do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:15 I am not asking you to take them out of the world, but I ask you to protect them from the evil one.
17:16 They do not belong to the world, just as I do not belong to the world.
17:17 Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.
17:18 As you have sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.
17:19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, so that they also may be sanctified in truth.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
John 17 is comprised of the prayers that Jesus prayed after the Last Supper while He awaited His arrest. John’s is the only Gospel with such a detailed account, not only of these prayers, but in the accounts of our Lord’s final discourse from John 13 through John 16.
Many commentators, including both Henry and MacArthur, call this chapter ‘The Lord’s Prayer’ because only Jesus as the Great High Priest was able to pray it. What we consider The Lord’s Prayer — ‘Our Father, which art in heaven’ — is the prayer Jesus gave to us.
Henry describes the intercessory prayers in John 17 for us:
This chapter is a prayer, it is the Lord’s prayer, the Lord Christ’s prayer. There was one Lord’s prayer which he taught us to pray, and did not pray himself, for he needed not to pray for the forgiveness of sin; but this was properly and peculiarly his, and suited him only as a Mediator, and is a sample of his intercession, and yet is of use to us both for instruction and encouragement in prayer. Observe, I. The circumstances of the prayer, ver 1. II. The prayer itself. 1. He prays for himself, ver 1-5. 2. He prays for those that are his. And in this see, (1.) The general pleas with which he introduces his petitions for them, ver 6-10. (2.) The particular petitions he puts up for them [1.] That they might be kept, ver 11-16. [2.] That they might be sanctified, ver 17-19. [3.] That they might be united, ver 11 and 20-23. [4.] That they might be glorified, ver 24-26.
… Sursum corda was anciently used as a call to prayer, Up with your hearts, up to heaven; thither we must direct our desires in prayer, and thence we must expect to receive the good things we pray for.
The exegesis for verses 20 through 26, in which Jesus prays for all believers, can be found here; these are read on the Seventh Sunday of Easter, Exaudi Sunday, in Year C.
MacArthur says:
From beginning to end, this chapter is the Lord’s Prayer; He prayed it. It is pure prayer, and it is for us, it is for us. It is the Lord Jesus praying for us, praying for His people. And because it is for us, it is an incomprehensible privilege to have this prayer written down in Scripture. The eleven disciples heard Him pray these words. But in the purposes of God, they were written down so all believers through all time could also hear. This is a firsthand opportunity to hear what’s on the Lord’s heart for His people. This prayer was prayed deep into Friday morning in the darkness as the disciples walked toward the garden of Gethsemane where our Lord would pray, and be tempted, and overcome that temptation, and then be arrested by a crowd led by Judas; and later on that Friday, He would be crucified.
These are the last hours before the cross, and this is when He prays that prayer. He has said everything He wanted to say to the disciples in the upper room earlier on Thursday night when they were celebrating Passover and when He was instituting the Lord’s Table, and then He said even more things as they left the upper room and walked through Jerusalem and beyond Jerusalem, headed toward the garden of Gethsemane. He’s now through speaking, and what He’s been saying – recorded in 13, 14, 15, and 16 of John – is promises; promise, after promise, after promise, after promise: promises of peace, promises of joy, promises of blessing, promises of persecution, promises of death, promise of all promises – the Holy Spirit would come, and the Holy Spirit would fulfill in them all the promises that our Lord gave.
The legacy of Jesus is given to His disciples and to us in chapters 13 through 16. And now in chapter 17, He prays that God the Father will fulfill all these promises, and fulfill them in an ultimate way by bringing His own to heaven. These are the Lord’s final words to the eleven before His death, and what we have here is a preview of His new heavenly ministry which is about to begin.
In today’s verses, Jesus prays for His disciples, particularly the eleven remaining Apostles, Judas having left already. We will see a reference to him in verse 12.
Jesus prayed to His Father that He had made His Father’s name known to those whom He was given from the world; Jesus acknowledges that they were His Father’s people, that God gave those people to Him and that they have kept His word (verse 6).
Henry explains:
Whom he did pray for; not for angels, but for the children of men. 1. He prays for those that were given him, meaning primarily the disciples that had attended him in this regeneration; but it is doubtless to be extended further, to all who come under the same character, who receive and believe the words of Christ …
1. The charge he had received concerning them: Thine they were, and thou gavest them me (v. 6) …
Now,
(1.) This is meant primarily of the disciples that then were, who were given to Christ as his pupils to be educated by him while he was on earth, and his agents to be employed for him when he went to heaven. They were given him to be the learners of his doctrine, the witnesses of his life and miracles, and the monuments of his grace and favour, in order to their being the publishers of his gospel and the planters of his church. When they left all to follow him, this was the secret spring of that strange resolution: they were given to him, else they had not given themselves to him. Note, The apostleship and ministry, which are Christ’s gift to the church, were first the Father’s gift to Jesus Christ. As under the law the Levites were given to Aaron (Num 3 9), to him (the great high priest of our profession) the Father gave the apostles first, and ministers in every age, to keep his charge, and the charge of the whole congregation, and to do the service of the tabernacle. See Eph 4 8, 11; Ps 68 18. Christ received this gift for men, that he might give it to men. As this puts a great honour upon the ministry of the gospel, and magnifies that office, which is so much vilified; so it lays a mighty obligation upon the ministers of the gospel to devote themselves entirely to Christ’s service, as being given to him,
(2.) But it is designed to extend to all the elect, for they are elsewhere said to be given to Christ (ch. 6 37, 39), and he often laid a stress upon this, that those he was to save were given to him as his charge; to his care they were committed, from his hand they were expected, and concerning them he received commandments. He here shows,
[1.] That the Father had authority to give them: Thine they were. He did not give that which was none of his own, but covenanted that he had a good title. The elect, whom the Father gave to Christ, were his own in three ways:—First, they were creatures, and their lives and beings were derived from him. When they were given to Christ to be vessels of honour, they were in his hand, as clay in the hand of the potter, to be disposed of as God’s wisdom saw most for God’s glory. Secondly, They were criminals, and their lives and beings were forfeited to him. It was a remnant of fallen mankind that was given to Christ to be redeemed, that might have been made sacrifices to justice when they were pitched upon to be the monuments of mercy; might justly have been delivered to the tormentors when they were delivered to the Saviour. Thirdly, They were chosen, and their lives and beings were designed, for him; they were set apart for God, and were consigned to Christ as his agent. This he insists upon again (v. 7): All things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee, which, though it may take in all that appertained to his office as Mediator, yet seems especially to be meant of those that were given him. “They are of thee, their being is of thee as the God of nature, their well-being is of thee as the God of grace; they are all of thee, and therefore, Father, I bring them all to thee, that they may be all for thee.”
[2.] That he did accordingly give them to the Son. Thou gavest them to me, as sheep to the shepherd, to be kept; as patients to the physician, to be cured; children to a tutor, to be educated; thus he will deliver up his charge (Heb 2 13), The children thou hast given me. They were delivered to Christ, First, That the election of grace might not be frustrated, that not one, no not of the little ones, might perish. That great concern must be lodged in some one good hand, able to give sufficient security, that the purpose of God according to election might stand. Secondly, That the undertaking of Christ might not be fruitless; they were given to him as his seed, in whom he should see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied (Isa 53 10, 11), and might not spend his strength, and shed his blood, for nought, and in vain, Isa 49 4. We may plead, as Christ does, “Lord, keep my graces, keep my comforts, for thine they were, and thou gavest them to me.“
2. The care he had taken of them to teach them (v. 6): I have manifested thy name to them ... Observe here,
(1.) The great design of Christ’s doctrine, which was to manifest God’s name, to declare him (ch. 1 18), to instruct the ignorant, and rectify the mistakes of a dark and foolish world concerning God, that he might be better loved and worshipped.
(2.) His faithful discharge of this undertaking: I have done it. His fidelity appears, [1.] In the truth of the doctrine. It agreed exactly with the instructions he received from his Father. He gave not only the things, but the very words, that were given him. Ministers, in wording their message, must have an eye to the words which the Holy Ghost teaches. [2.] In the tendency of his doctrine, which was to manifest God’s name. He did not seek himself, but, in all he did and said, aimed to magnify his Father. Note, First, It is Christ’s prerogative to manifest God’s name to the souls of the children of men. No man knows the Father, but he to whom the Son will reveal him, Matt 11 27. He only has acquaintance with the Father, and so is able to open the truth; and he only has access to the spirits of men, and so is able to open the understanding. Ministers may publish the name of the Lord (as Moses, Deut 32 3), but Christ only can manifest that name. By the word of Christ God is revealed to us; by the Spirit of Christ God is revealed in us. Ministers may speak the words of God to us, but Christ can give us his words, can put them in us, as food, as treasure. Secondly, Sooner or later, Christ will manifest God’s name to all that were given him, and will give them his word, to be the seed of their new birth, the support of their spiritual life, and the earnest of their everlasting bliss.
3. The good effect of the care he had taken of them, and the pains he had taken with them, (v. 6): They have kept thy word, (v. 7) they have known that all things are of thee (v. 8); they have received thy words, and embraced them, have given their assent and consent to them, and have known surely that I came out from thee, and have believed that thou didst send me. Observe here,
(1.) What success the doctrine of Christ had among those that were given to him, in several particulars:—
[1.] “They have received the words which I gave them, as the ground receives the seed, and the earth drinks in the rain.” They attended to the words of Christ, apprehended in some measure the meaning of them, and were affected with them: they received the impression of them. The word was to them an ingrafted word.
[2.] “They have kept thy word, have continued in it; they have conformed to it.” Christ’s commandment is then only kept when it is obeyed. Those that have to teach others the commands of Christ ought to be themselves observant of them. It was requisite that these should keep what was committed to them, for it was to be transmitted by them to every place for every age.
[3.] “They have understood the word, and have been sensible on what ground they went in receiving and keeping it. They have been aware that thou art the original author of that holy religion which I am come to institute, that all things whatsoever thou hast given me are of thee.” All Christ’s offices and powers, all the gifts of the Spirit, all his graces and comforts, which God gave without measure to him, were all from God, contrived by his wisdom, appointed by his will, and designed by his grace, for his own glory in man’s salvation. Note, It is a great satisfaction to us, in our reliance upon Christ, that he, and all he is and has, all he said and did, all he is doing and will do, are of God, 1 Cor 1 30. We may therefore venture our souls upon Christ’s mediation, for it has a good bottom. If the righteousness be of God’s appointing, we shall be justified; if the grace be of his dispensing, we shall be sanctified.
MacArthur adds that it is interceding for us that marks Jesus Christ out from any other priest, since they all die. Yet, Jesus lives and reigns at the right hand of God the Father and intercedes for us always, throughout history, thereby making him the great High Priest:
Now, I want to say something that you may at first not understand. We look at His cross work, the work on the cross, and we elevate that, and rightly we should. We look at the resurrection and we exalt Him for His resurrection, and rightly we should. But He has a more glorious work. It is the work of intercession that is the truest and fullest expression of the atonement …
Yes, Christ died to pay our debt of sin; but even more importantly, He lives to bring us to glory. He lives to make intercession. Hebrews 7:25, “He ever lives to make intercession for His people.”
The apostle Paul understood that intercession was more than atonement. Look at Romans, chapter 5. Romans, chapter 5 – familiar words – verse 8, “God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
Then notice the next phrase: “Much more then.” Wait a minute. How can anything be more than that? How can anything be much more than that? But he says, “Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be being saved from the wrath of God through Him. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be being saved by His life.”
What is much more than His death? His life. His death provides the sacrifice for sin, but He ever lives to make intercession for us to bring us to glory. That’s the much more. That’s the much more. He goes on interceding for us.
Jesus continued, saying that the disciples know that everything that He has been given comes from His Father (verse 7).
Jesus said that the words God the Father gave Him He gave to them; they received those words and know, in truth, that He came from the Father, and they believed that God sent Him (verse 8) to the world.
MacArthur tells us what this means:
That essentially is what ministry is about. That is our Lord giving us a model of ministry. He came so that they would know the truth, so that they would receive the truth, so that they would understand the truth and believe the truth. This is a model of how ministry should be. They believed.
They believed that Jesus worked by the power of God. They believed that Jesus had come from God. They said, “We know You’re the Holy One of God.”
They believed that everything He did was according to the will of God, everything He said was the Word of God. They believed that His miracles were done by the power of God, and they were full of the compassion of God. They believed that everything He ever taught had divine authority because it was from God. They believed that Jesus was holy, that every day He ministered to sinners and yet never sinned. They believed that He had regular constant communion with God the Father, and that everything He did expressed the will of the Father. They believed that He was the divine Son of the Father, and they heard the Father give that testimony at the transfiguration and at the baptism.
They knew that everything He possessed was from God. His nature was from God, His words were from God, His works were from God. They received, therefore, all His words as true; and they understood, therefore, His divine origin that He came from the Father; and they believed in His divine mission up to now. They believed that He had been sent by the Father, that He came from heaven, that He is the eternal Son of God. They believed that.
Jesus then made a specific intercession, asking on His disciples’ behalf and not on behalf of the world but only for those whom God gave Him because they are God’s (verse 9).
Here we have the Doctrine of Election, or predestination. Not everyone is destined to be saved. That said, we do not know who is to be saved, therefore, we must go and preach the Gospel in whatever way we are called to do.
Jesus said that all of His people are God’s people and all of God’s people are His people, and He — Jesus — has been glorified in them (verse 10).
Henry elaborates:
All mine are thine, and thine are mine. Between the Father and Son there can be no dispute (as there is among the children of men) about meum and tuum—mine and thine, for the matter was settled from eternity; all mine are thine, and thine are mine. Here is,
(1.) The plea particularly urged for his disciples: They are thine. The consigning of the elect to Christ was so far from making them less the Father’s that it was in order to making them the more so. Note, [1.] All that receive Christ’s word, and believe in him, are taken into covenant-relation to the Father, and are looked upon as his; Christ presents them to him, and they, through Christ, present themselves to him. Christ has redeemed us, not to himself only, but to God, by his blood, Rev 5 9, 10. They are first-fruits unto God, Rev 14 4. [2.] This is a good plea in prayer, Christ here pleads it, They are thine; we may plead it for ourselves, I am thine, save me; and for others (as Moses, Exod 32 11), “They are thy people. They are thine; wilt thou not provide for thine own? Wilt thou not secure them, that they may not be run down by the devil and the world? Wilt thou not secure thy interest in them, that they may not depart from thee? They are thine, own them as thine.”
(2.) The foundation on which this plea is grounded: All mine are thine, and thine are mine. This bespeaks the Father and Son to be, [1.] One in essence. Every creature must say to God, All mine are thine; but none can say to him, All thine are mine, but he that is the same in substance with him and equal in power and glory. [2.] One in interest; no separate or divided interests between them. First, What the Father has as Creator is delivered over to the Son, to be used and disposed of in subserviency to his great undertaking. All things are delivered to him (Matt 11 27); the grant is so general that nothing is excepted but he that did put all things under him. Secondly, What the Son has as Redeemer is designed for the Father, and his kingdom shall shortly be delivered up to him. All the benefits of redemption, purchased by the Son, are intended for the Father’s praise, and in his glory all the lines of his undertaking centre: All mine are thine. The Son owns none for his that are not devoted to the service of the Father; nor will any thing be accepted as a piece of service to the Christian religion which clashes with the dictates and laws of natural religion. In a limited sense, every true believer may say, All thine are mine; if God be ours in covenant, all he is and has is so far ours that it shall be engaged for our good; and in an unlimited sense every true believer does say, Lord, all mine are thine; all laid at his feet, to be serviceable to him. And what we have may be comfortably committed to God’s care and blessing when it is cheerfully submitted to his government and disposal: “Lord, take care of what I have, for it is all thine.“
5. He pleads his own concern in them: I am glorified in them—dedoxasmai. (1.) I have been glorified in them. What little honour Christ had in this world was among his disciples; he had been glorified by their attendance on him and obedience to him, their preaching and working miracles in his name; and therefore I pray for them. Note, Those shall have an interest in Christ’s intercession in and by whom he is glorified. (2.) “I am to be glorified in them when I am gone to heaven; they are to bear up my name.” The apostles preached and wrought miracles in Christ’s name; the Spirit in them glorified Christ (ch. 16 14): “I am glorified in them, and therefore,” [1.] “I concern myself for them.” What little interest Christ has in this degenerate world lies in his church; and therefore it and all its affairs lie near his heart, within the veil. [2.] “Therefore I commit them to the Father, who has engaged to glorify the Son, and, upon this account, will have a gracious eye to those in whom he is glorified.” That in which God and Christ are glorified may, with humble confidence, be committed to God’s special care.
Jesus then prayed about His future: the Crucifixion, the Resurrection and the Ascension.
He asked that, as He was no longer in the world but on His way to the Father, yet His disciples would continue to be in the world, that God protect them in His name, so that they may be one just as He and the Father are one (verse 11).
There we have the Doctrine of the Trinity, even if the Holy Spirit is not mentioned in that verse.
MacArthur says:
The Father loves the Son infinitely and eternally; and because we are in the Son, He loves us infinitely and eternally. We are as accepted as the Son is accepted: “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.” And we are in Him, loved as He is loved. That is our justification, that is our sanctification, and that is our glorification. How amazing is it to be loved by God as He loves His own Holy Son.
And let me stop and just say something about Christianity that you need to understand. You might not think that the Trinity is an important doctrine, but it is absolutely foundational to everything that is true about God. John says in 1 John, “God is love.” If God was only a solitary, singular person, that could not be a part of His eternal nature, because there would be no one to love.
… the triune God is eternal love, and has loved eternally within the Trinity.
If Jesus was a created being, God would love us like He loved Jesus, another created being. But Jesus is not a created being. He is the eternal Son, the eternal second member of the Trinity. God loves us like He loves His Son. This is a love beyond anything that any creature will ever experience.
With that infinite, holy, perfect love, He loves His Son, and He loves us in His Son. This is salvation fullness. This is life. This is blessing. This is glory. So when Christ goes into the heavenly Holy of Holies and comes before the Father, as He does continually, we are there in the throne room with Him. We are there in Him.
Henry discusses the world and our Lord’s prayer that His disciples be preserved in it as they go about His work:
Now the first thing Christ prays for, for his disciples, is their preservation, in these verses, in order to which he commits them all to his Father’s custody. Keeping supposes danger, and their danger arose from the world, the world wherein they were, the evil of this he begs they might be kept from. Now observe,
I. The request itself: Keep them from the world. There were two ways of their being delivered from the world:—
1. By taking them out of it; and he does not pray that they might be so delivered: I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world; that is,
(1.) “I pray not that they may be speedily removed by death.” If the world will be vexatious to them, the readiest way to secure them would be to hasten them out of it to a better world, that will give them better treatment. Send chariots and horses of fire for them, to fetch them to heaven; Job, Elijah, Jonah, Moses, when that occurred which fretted them, prayed that they might be taken out of the world; but Christ would not pray so for his disciples, for two reasons:—[1.] Because he came to conquer, not to countenance, those intemperate heats and passions which make men impatient of life, and importunate for death. It is his will that we should take up our cross, and not outrun it. [2.] Because he had work for them to do in the world; the world, though sick of them (Acts 22 22), and therefore not worthy of them (Heb 11 38), yet could ill spare them. In pity therefore to this dark world, Christ would not have these lights removed out of it, but continued in it, especially for the sake of those in the world that were to believe in him through their word. Let not them be taken out of the world when their Master is; they must each in his own order die a martyr, but not till they have finished their testimony. Note, First, The taking of good people out of the world is a thing by no means to be desired, but rather dreaded and laid to heart, Isa 57 1. Secondly, Though Christ loves his disciples, he does not presently send for them to heaven, as soon as they are effectually called, but leaves them for some time in this world, that they may do good and glorify God upon earth, and be ripened for heaven. Many good people are spared to live, because they can ill be spared to die.
(2.) “I pray not that they may be totally freed and exempted from the troubles of this world, and taken out of the toil and terror of it into some place of ease and safety, there to live undisturbed; this is not the preservation I desire for them.” Non ut omni molestia liberati otium et delicias colant, sed ut inter media pericula salvi tamen maneant Dei auxilio—Not that, being freed from all trouble, they may bask in luxurious ease, but that by the help of God they may be preserved in a scene of danger; so Calvin. Not that they may be kept from all conflict with the world, but that they may not be overcome by it; not that, as Jeremiah wished, they might leave their people, and go from them (Jer 9 2), but that, like Ezekiel, their faces may be strong against the faces of wicked men, Ezek 3 8. It is more the honour of a Christian soldier by faith to overcome the world than by a monastical vow to retreat from it; and more for the honour of Christ to serve him in a city than to serve him in a cell.
2. Another way is by keeping them from the corruption that is in the world; and he prays they may be thus kept, v. 11, 15. Here are three branches of this petition:—
(1.) Holy Father, keep those whom thou hast given me.
[1.] Christ was now leaving them; but let them not think that their defence was departed from them; no, he does here, in their hearing, commit them to the custody of his Father and their Father. Note, It is the unspeakable comfort of all believers that Christ himself has committed them to the care of God. Those cannot but be safe whom the almighty God keeps, and he cannot but keep those whom the Son of his love commits to him, in the virtue of which we may by faith commit the keeping of our souls to God, 1 Pet 4 19; 2 Tim 1 12. First, He here puts them under the divine protection, that they may not be run down by the malice of their enemies; that they and all their concerns may be the particular care of the divine Providence: “Keep their lives, till they have done their work; keep their comforts, and let them not be broken in upon by the hardships they meet with; keep up their interest in the world, and let it not sink.” To this prayer is owing the wonderful preservation of the gospel ministry and gospel church in the world unto this day; if God had not graciously kept both, and kept up both, they had been extinguished and lost long ago. Secondly, He puts them under the divine tuition, that they may not themselves run away from their duty, nor be led aside by the treachery of their own hearts: “Keep them in their integrity, keep them disciples, keep them close to their duty.” We need God’s power not only to put us into a state of grace, but to keep us in it. See, ch. 10 28, 29; 1 Pet 1 5.
[2.] The titles he gives to him he prays to, and them he prays for, enforce the petition. First, He speaks to God as a holy Father. In committing ourselves and others to the divine care, we may take encouragement, 1. From the attribute of his holiness, for this is engaged for the preservation of his holy ones; he hath sworn by his holiness, Ps 89 35. If he be a holy God and hate sin, he will make those holy that are his, and keep them from sin, which they also hate and dread as the greatest evil. 2. From this relation of a Father, wherein he stands to us through Christ. If he be a Father, he will take care of his own children, will teach them and keep them; who else should? Secondly, He speaks of them as those whom the Father had given him. What we receive as our Father’s gifts, we may comfortably remit to our Father’s care. “Father, keep the graces and comforts thou hast given me; the children thou hast given me; the ministry I have received.“
(2.) Keep them through thine own name. That is, [1.] Keep them for thy name’s sake; so some. “Thy name and honour are concerned in their preservation as well as mine, for both will suffer by it if they either revolt or sink.” The Old Testament saints often pleaded, for thy name’s sake; and those may with comfort plead it that are indeed more concerned for the honour of God’s name than for any interest of their own. [2.] Keep them in thy name; so others; the original is so, en to onomati. “Keep them in the knowledge and fear of thy name; keep them in the profession and service of thy name, whatever it cost them. Keep them in the interest of thy name, and let them ever be faithful to this; keep them in thy truths, in thine ordinances, in the way of thy commandments.” [3.] Keep them by or through thy name; so others. “Keep them by thine own power, in thine own hand; keep them thyself, undertake for them, let them be thine own immediate care. Keep them by those means of preservation which thou hast thyself appointed, and by which thou hast made thyself known. Keep them by thy word and ordinances; let thy name be their strong tower, thy tabernacle their pavilion.”
(3.) Keep them from the evil, or out of the evil. He had taught them to pray daily, Deliver us from evil, and this would encourage them to pray. [1.] “Keep them from the evil one, the devil and all his instruments; that wicked one and all his children. Keep them from Satan as a tempter, that either he may not have leave to sift them, or that their faith may not fail. Keep them from him as a destroyer, that he may not drive them to despair.” [2.] “Keep them from the evil thing, that is sin; from every thing that looks like it, or leads to it. Keep them, that they do no evil,” 2 Cor 13 7. Sin is that evil which, above any other, we should dread and deprecate. [3.] “Keep them from the evil of the world, and of their tribulation in it, so that it may have no sting in it, no malignity;” not that they might be kept from affliction, but kept through it, that the property of their afflictions might be so altered as that there might be no evil in them, nothing to them any harm.
Jesus said that He had protected those whom God had given Him, guarding them (as would the Good Shepherd), and not one of them was lost except for the one destined to be lost — Judas — so that Scripture might be fulfilled (verse 12).
MacArthur explains, also referring to verse 11, with our Lord’s plea for the Apostles’ preservation:
Back in the 10th chapter of John and verse 27, there’s a reminder of this in some of the most familiar words of our Lord: “My sheep – ” My sheep, My sheep “ – hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand.” “They’re Mine and they’re Yours. You owned them; they were Yours; You gave them to Me. I have held them. Now, Father, You hold them; You guard them; You keep them. You and I are one. While I was with them – ” He says “ – on earth, I was keeping them. The ones that belonged to You, and now to Me, I was keeping them.” Keep means “to watch over protectively.” We’re going to see an illustration of that in chapter 18 that may be the most remarkable illustration of that promise or that purpose of Christ in the whole of the gospels.
When in chapter 18, they come to arrest Jesus, they want also to arrest the disciples. The Lord never lets that happen; He protects them from that, because theoretically, it could have destroyed their faith. But He will never let anything that could do that happen. We’ll see that in chapter 18.
He is about to suffer. He is about to come under the weight and burden of sin, and take His hands away from His disciples; and the Father needs to guard them for those hours. And then when He comes back to heaven, the Father needs to continue to guard them, which He promises to do through the Holy Spirit, whom He gives to every believer.
“I guarded them,” He says in verse 12. That’s phulass, it means “to protect from outside threats.” It’s used in Luke 11 of a strong man guarding a house. It’s used in Acts 28 of soldiers guarding Paul. “I guarded them; I kept them. I now need You, Father, to take over and guard them. And by the way, while I was guarding them – ” He said “ – none of them perished.”
Now, if the sentenced ended there, we’d have a problem: “None of them perished.” We’d all be saying, “Wait, wait a minute. There’s only eleven here. There’s Judas. What about Judas? What about Judas? Isn’t Judas proof that a disciple, a visible associate of Jesus, a preacher for God, can be lost? Isn’t Judas the prototype of a believer who is saved and then loses salvation because he turns and rejects the Lord he once confessed?”
If our Lord didn’t say anything here about Judas, we would have a serious dilemma. So to make sure that never happens, He injects into this otherwise magnificent and beautiful prayer, this one ugly, dark, black note in the whole prayer; it’s the only one. “I guarded them, and not one of them perished.”
Not one of what? Not one of whom? “None of the ones You have given Me perished. None of them. None of the ones who were Your and now are Mine perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.” Judas was never a son of God, he was always a son of perdition.
Son means “nature.” Perdition is the word for “destruction, waste, ruin.” He was a son of ruin. It’s used in Matthew 7:13, “The broad road leads to destruction.” He is a son of destruction, not a son of God. He is an outsider.
Back in the 6th chapter of John at the end of the chapter, Jesus us with the disciples, and Peter says, “‘Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have believed and have come to know that You are the Holy One of God.’ Jesus answered them, ‘Did I Myself not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?’ He meant Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, for he was one of the twelve that who was going to betray Him.”
There was a devil there from the beginning, a son of perdition, never a son of God. You say, “Well, isn’t this a terrible blight on the plan?” No. This was the plan so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.
Back in chapter 13 on that very same evening in the upper room, Jesus said, “I do not speak of all of you – ” 13:18 “ – I know the ones I have chosen. I know the ones I have chosen. I know the ones – ” in 17 “ – the Father has given Me; but it is that the Scripture may be fulfilled – ” Psalm 41:9 “‘ – He who eats My bread has lifted up his heel against Me.’ From now on I’m telling you before it comes to pass, so that when it does occur, you may believe that I am, that am God, because I know about Him what you don’t know, and I know what he will do. He is a son of perdition, he is a devil.”
That same night in the upper room, Satan entered into Judas. Judas was nonetheless treated with love by the Lord that same night. Chapter 13, Judas was treated as the honored guest, given the first piece of bread to dip in the sop, as they called it, the meal. Judas is guilty on his own. The fact that Scripture prophesied he would do this is not a determinism, he did what he chose to do.
Listen to Matthew 26:24, “‘The Son of Man is to go, just as it is written of Him; but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been good for that man if had not been born.’ And Judas, who was betraying Him said, ‘Surely it is not I, Rabbi?’ Jesus said to him, ‘You have said it yourself.’” So our Lord says, “I’ve guarded them. None of them has been lost, none of them have perished but the son of perdition, so that the Scripture would be fulfilled.”
Part 2, covering verses 13 through 19, continues tomorrow.
The Sixth Sunday of Easter is May 5, 2024.
Readings for Year B can be found here.
The Gospel is as follows (emphases mine):
John 15:9-17
15:9 As the Father has loved me, so I have loved you; abide in my love.
15:10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
15:11 I have said these things to you so that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
15:12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
15:13 No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.
15:14 You are my friends if you do what I command you.
15:15 I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father.
15:16 You did not choose me but I chose you. And I appointed you to go and bear fruit, fruit that will last, so that the Father will give you whatever you ask him in my name.
15:17 I am giving you these commands so that you may love one another.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).
Today’s reading continues last week’s, John 15:1-8, in which Jesus spoke of Himself as the vine, His Father as the vinegrower and us as the branches.
He warned that those who do not abide in Him are like withered or dead wood on the vine; they are good for nothing but burning.
This was to explain to the eleven remaining Apostles that Judas had betrayed Him, which came as a surprise to them because they thought that Judas was one of them. However, he was not.
Jesus said (John 15:5):
15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
It is worthwhile discussing this more before examining today’s verses. John MacArthur preached five sermons on today’s verses but they also clarify what went before.
MacArthur addresses fruitfulness in the Christian life, which is an obligation to our Lord:
Yes, we all bear the fruits of righteousness, but we don’t all have much fruit, and we all need to have more fruit.
We say, “How do you do that?” Well, it’s not a matter of human effort. It’s about abiding in Christ. Now, let me make a simple point out of this. The more you focus on Christ, the more fruitful you become. The more you focus on yourself, the less fruitful you become. Lose yourself in the glory of Christ. That’s 2 Corinthians 3:18. As you gaze at His glory, you move from one level of glory to the next to the next to the next by the Holy Spirit, until you literally become like Him.
In his next sermon, MacArthur says that the way we focus on Christ is by abiding in Him the way He abides in us:
Abide: I know that is kind of an old word and it sort of has spiritual overtones. It’s simply the Greek verb men, don’t walk away from Christ. Stay; remain. Don’t leave. Don’t defect. Don’t become an apostate. This is His word to the 11 remaining disciples: “Continue to believe. Continue to be faithful.”
This is a call to anyone and everyone who is attached to Christianity and could be in danger of departing. If it happens, 1 John 2:19 says, “They went out from us because were not of us.” Don’t do that; don’t defect.
Hebrews 10 says, “The severest punishment in hell will belong to those who were close to Christ and turned their back on Him because they trampled underfoot the blood of the covenant and counted it an unholy thing.” If you’re in any sense like Judas, connected to Christianity, don’t walk away. Many had done that. Chapter 6, there was a wholesale exodus of people who were called disciples who walked no more with Him. Judas is no solitary figure, even in the gospel of John, but he is the archetypal defector.
… He gives promises to those who stay. What is the value of abiding? Why should I stay? Well, the passage starting in verse 4 and going down to verse 11 lists a series of promises to those who remain, who stay, and they’re basic.
… This is kind of Christianity 101. The first benefit … is salvation, salvation, eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have – ” what? “ – eternal life” …
What is salvation? It is having the life of God in you, the eternal life of God. The eternal life of God is not separate from God, and so salvation is stated in that 4th verse in these words: “Abide in Me, and I in you, and I in you.” Or, in verse 5, the abiding branch: “I in him.” “I in you.”
… the Trinity lives in a believer. The Trinity takes up residence in a believer.
… So when somebody asks you, “What does it mean to be a Christian?” you tell them it means that “the triune God of the universe – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit – has taken up residence in me.”
… Bottom line: only as you abide in Him and He abides in you can you bear much fruit, much fruit.
This fruit then, according to verse 8, becomes the proof that you’re a disciple. That’s what verse 8 says: “My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples.” So that is the only way we know that we are disciples of Christ that are genuine, that we are branches connected to the vine. Our Lord said on another occasion, “By their fruit, you will know them. A good tree doesn’t produce bad fruit; a bad tree doesn’t produce good fruit. Good tree, good fruit.”
MacArthur then describes the characteristics of good Christian fruit:
First of all, fruit is genuine repentance, based on Matthew 3:8. Fruit is genuine repentance – a genuine, honest, penitence concerning sin. Sorrow over sin, not sorrow over the consequences of sin. There is that kind of sorrow. But sorrow over the reality of sin. A true and real sorrow over sin – the sorrow of repentance. That, of course, is a very foundational fruit. If the Lord is at work in you, if you are connected to Christ, if His life is flowing through you, there will be an honest repentance.
Now, we are told to bear fruit in this section, to bear more fruit, and that God is glorified when we bear much fruit. There is a progression here that is very important for us to understand …
… As we abide in Christ, and as we yield to Christ, and as we increase in the knowledge of Christ, our fruitfulness increases. By every means of grace, by every means of grace, our abiding is deeper and wider and higher and richer, and we become more fruitful …
Secondly, spiritual attitudes. Another kind of fruit – first repentance – another kind of fruit: spiritual attitudes. Galatians 5:22, “The fruit of the Spirit is – the fruit of the Spirit who dwells in us is – ” this is the product, this is the manifestation of the life of the Trinity in us, “ – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.”
Those are attitudes, are they not? Those are attitudes. Those aren’t acts, those aren’t behaviors, they’re what’s behind behaviors. So here, clearly, fruit is virtuous, spiritual attitudes. And, by the way, all of them, all of them were perfectly manifest in Jesus Christ. So we could say it is fruit in us to manifest the very characteristics of Christ – not in the perfection with which He possessed them, but those same virtues we pursue.
In Ephesians 5:9 it says, “Fruit is all goodness and righteousness and truth.” That’s internal: a love for goodness – being good to people; a love for righteousness – honoring God. A love for truth as revealed in Scripture …
Thirdly, another kind of fruit – and I’m just taking you to scriptures that demonstrate this – a third and very important aspect of fruit: go to the 13th chapter of Hebrews for just a moment; Hebrews, chapter 13, verse 15. Here is instruction that, “Through Him – ” that is through Christ. Without Him we can do nothing, right? Again, it’s, “Through Him.” He is mentioned in verse 12 as “the one who sanctified His people through His own blood.” “Through Him – ” who lives in us, the true vine from which we draw our life. “Through Him then, let us – ” once in awhile, every Sunday? “ – continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.”
That’s worship …
You can’t worship until you’ve been redeemed. You can’t worship until you’ve repented and been saved …
“So let us continually offer up a sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of lips that give thanks to His name.” See that little phrase “give thanks”? That’s probably not the best translation of the Greek. The Greek is the word homologe. Logeó is a Greek verb meaning “to speak” or “to say,” from which we get logos. Homo, H-O-M-O in English means “the same,” the same. Homogeneous, the same.
So what it’s saying is this: “Offer God a sacrifice of praise, the fruit of lips that save the same, to His name.” What does that mean? What do we do in worship? We give back to God the very same things that He has reveals to us about Himself. This is what worship is. It is saying back to God everything that He has revealed to us as being true about Himself. All of that is in Scripture.
… True praise then is saying back to God all His attributes as revealed in Scripture. You go through the Scripture from beginning to the end; the attributes of God are scattered all across the pages of Holy Scripture. The more you know the Bible, the more you know about the nature and character and essential being of God. The more you know who He is and what His attributes are, the more you can say back to Him, “God, you are the Creator, You are the Sustainer, You are the Redeemer. You are all-wise, all-knowing, all-sufficient, all-powerful. You are unchanging. You are gracious, loving, kind. You are just, holy, pure” …
The second thing is to say back to God not only what He has revealed about His nature, but what He’s revealed about His works. So when you go through the psalms, you read things like, “You are the God who did this. You are the God who brought Your people out of Egypt. You are the God who parted the Red Sea. You are the God who led Israel through the wilderness. You are the God who brought us into the Promised Land. You are the God who protected us at the Passover,” et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
You come into the New Testament: “You are the God who has redeemed us through the offering of Your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, whom You put on the cross and then raised from the dead.” In other words, that is the sum and substance of praise. It is to say back to God with a grateful, thankful heart, all that God has revealed He is and all that He’s revealed He has done; that’s praise. So your praise then is essentially confined by the divine revelation. The more you know about the Word of God, the more you know about God and what He’s done. And the more you know about what He is and what He’s done, the purer your praise is. That’s fruit. That’s the fruit of your lips – worship …
Let me give you another component, a fourth – Philippians, chapter 4 – and this just kind of digs down a little deep in a more specific way. In Philippians, chapter 4, the apostle Paul was obviously in need, very difficult times for him, and dear friends sent him gifts. They sent him supplies, food; and he was extremely grateful. In fact, in verse 16 of Philippians 4, he reminds them that when he was in Thessalonica, they sent a gift more than once for his need. They were very, very generous and loving toward him …
He saw that gift, that expression of love, as spiritual fruit produced through them by the indwelling God. It is the similar significance of chapter 15 of Romans: “Macedonia and Achaia – ” 15:26 “ – have been pleased to make a contribution for the poor among the saints in Jerusalem.” These Gentile churches were sending money to Jerusalem for poor believers. They were pleased to do so. They’re indebted to them; for if the Gentiles have shared in their spiritual things, they’re indebted to minister to them also in material things.
In other words, the gospel came through the Jews and came first to them, and then through them; and so the Gentiles are sending a gift. Verse 28: “Therefore, when I have finished this, and have put my seal on this fruit of theirs, I’ll go on my way to Spain.” He saw the Gentiles sending money to poor Jews in Jerusalem as spiritual fruit. So we could add something else to the list: spiritual fruit is contributions to those in need, contributions in those in need …
Then we give you a fifth element of fruit: 1 Corinthians 14, 1 Corinthians 14. Yeah, you know what’s going on in 1 Corinthians 14 – some of you do – chaos in the Corinthian church with tongues and all kinds of chaos, as everybody was doing whatever they wanted in the services. Paganism had encroached in the worship, and so Paul wants to call a halt to all this nonsense, all this meaningless talk. So he says in verse 14, “If I pray in a language, another language, my spirit prays, my mind is unfruitful. If I’m praying in a language I don’t know, my mind is not engaged” …
So you want to be fruitful, say things that edify. That’s another kind of fruit – communication that edifies, communication that blesses, communication that instructs. It may be in a prayer, it may be in a teaching environment, it may be in a conversation, it may be in a counseling or discipling setting.
Now, another one [sixth] … pure conduct, pure behavior.
… Philippians 1:11, “Being filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Jesus Christ.” Or, Colossians 1:9-10. It says essentially the same thing, “so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respect, bearing fruit in every good work, bearing fruit in every good work.”
One final one [seventh]: bringing people to Christ – that’s fruit, that’s fruit – bringing people to Christ …
The apostle Paul wanted to go to Rome, in Chapter 1 of Romans, for one purpose – Romans 1:13, “that I may obtain some fruit among you, even as among the rest of the Gentiles. And I’m under obligation to the Gentiles, barbarians, wise, foolish. For my part, I am eager to preach the gospel to you who also are at Rome because I’m not ashamed of the gospel. It is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, the Jew first, and also the Gentile” …
That is, I think the most wonderful fruit because it’s the end product of everything else. If you live a life that resents and resists sin, if you live a life that pursues holiness, if you live a life of worship, if you live a life with the right kind of spiritual attitudes, if you live a life that does good to others, shows love to them and manifests general righteousness, your life will have a powerful testimony. And when you say the triune God lives in you, there will be something to support that claim. That makes the gospel attractive, and the Lord will use you to lead others to salvation …
“If these qualities are yours – ” 2 Peter 1:8 “ – and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. If you lacked these things, you’re blind, short-sighted, forgotten your purification from your former sins. So be diligent, brethren, all the more, to make certain about His calling and choosing you. And as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; but you will know that an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.”
In his next sermon, MacArthur discusses answered prayer (John 15:7):
15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
MacArthur says:
There are two qualifiers here. Qualifier Number One: “If you abide in Me,” if you are a true believer, if you are a true branch, if you have a permanent union with Jesus Christ in which His life is coming through you …
… second condition, verse 7 “ – and My words abide in you, and My words abide in you” …
Why does He say that? Because to be a believer, you have access to God. To be a believer, you have the promise your prayers will be answered. But also to know that your prayer is going to be answered, you have to know something about God. You have to pray within the framework of God’s revelation.
So Jesus says that second condition is that – to borrow Paul’s language in Colossians 3, “that the word of Christ dwells in you richly.” You understand from Scripture who God is, what He desires.
… You’re asking in the framework of the name of Christ, the name of God, the purposes of God …
So, I remind you that this is an incredible, incredible promise from the Lord that whatever you ask consistent with His person, purpose, and plan, He will do. Your prayer should demonstrate, 2 Corinthians 10:5 that “every thought has been taken captive to the obedience of Christ.” You pray within the framework of divine purpose.
You might even say this: “Father, this I ask because this could be what You desire for Your glory, this could be what You desire for Your kingdom, this could be what You desire to exalt Your Son, this could be what You desire to show the power of Your Holy Spirit.” That’s the principle, always with a view to the divine name, the divine plan, the divine purpose, the divine person. This is what James calls “the prayer of a righteous man.”
MacArthur then gives us a concrete example of assurance, promised in John 15:8:
15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
MacArthur says:
The hardworking vinedresser finds His glory in the fruitful vine.
I remember meeting a gentleman, a nearly 90-year-old gentleman who grows grapes up in the Central Valley and he wanted to show me his operation – one of the largest grape growers in California – and I thought he would take me to an office and show me whatever. I got up there, got in a pickup truck, bounced along through some ruts and ended up ankle-deep in dirt, walking down one row, after another, after another, while he reached in and pulled out the grapes. He showed me the fruit of his labor by showing me the grapes, and he explained to me every kind of grape. He found that if I wanted to know about him, I didn’t need to see his pickup truck and I didn’t need to see his office, I needed to see his fruit; and then I needed to eat it, which was an incredibly wonderful experience.
This is what the Father does. The Father is glorified when He goes down the rows of His children and when He sees the fruit. God’s glory is in the display of His own fruitfulness through us. God is gloried when we bear fruit. It’s like Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men.” It’s a different metaphor, same idea. “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and – ” do what? “ – glorify your Father who’s in heaven.” That glory goes to God.
It’s a simple as this: for a believer, for a true believer, you are not the explanation for your life, you’re not it. People may poke around to try to figure out why you are the way you are. There isn’t a human answer. There isn’t a human answer. There’s no human explanation for me being who I am. I am not the explanation of my life. God in me is the explanation of my life …
Now, the benefit of this, incredible benefit, just an incredible benefit – back to that same verse, verse 8, “and so prove to be My disciples.” The benefit is I know I’m a believer. How do I know I’m a believer? How do I know that? Because I can’t explain my life. I can’t explain my love. I can’t explain my peace, my joy, my knowledge, my wisdom, my understanding, my usefulness. I can’t explain me humanly – can’t. I can’t. Something is going on in me that has no explanation on a human level. So I look at my life and I have assurance that I’m a true branch because I see all this fruit ...
Go to 2 Peter 1. Peter talks about virtue here. First of all in verse 4, 2 Peter 1:4, he says, “We have become partakers of the divine nature, escaping the corruption in the world by lust.” So we’ve been transformed. We’re out of the corrupt, into the incorruptible. We have become partakers of the divine nature. That’s God in us, the eternal life in us. And as a result of that, as a result of that, we have been delivered from the corruption in the world by lust …
What do we do? We cultivate that in us. And the result? If that happens, “if these qualities – ” look at verse 8 “ – are yours and are increasing – ” more fruit, much fruit, “ – they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” You look at your life, and you go out and you do ministry, and you’re diligent in testing your faith, and stepping out on faith, and being morally pure and excellent and having sound knowledge, and exercising self-control, and persevering in the truth, and obedience and godliness and brotherly kindness and love. If you pursue those things, you will be neither useless nor unfruitful; and so you will look at your life and you’ll say, “Look at my life: look at the usefulness, look at the fruitfulness.”
With that, we move on to today’s verses, where Jesus talks about abiding in Him and obedience to Him through the commandment to love one another.
He said that, as the Father loved Him, so I have loved you — in reality, beyond all human comprehension — therefore, abide in that love (verse 9).
Jesus then said that we abide in His love when we obey His commandments, just as He Himself obeyed His Father’s commandments and abides in His love (verse 10).
Matthew Henry explains:
Christ, who is love itself, is here discoursing concerning love, a fourfold love.
I. Concerning the Father’s love to him; and concerning this he here tells us, 1. That the Father did love him (v. 9): As the Father hath loved me. He loved him as Mediator: This is my beloved Son. He was the Son of his love. He loved him, and gave all things into his hand; and yet so loved the world as to deliver him up for us all. When Christ was entering upon his sufferings he comforted himself with this, that his Father loved him. Those whom God loves as a Father may despise the hatred of all the world. 2. That he abode in his Father’s love, v. 10. He continually loved his Father, and was beloved of him. Even when he was made sin and a curse for us, and it pleased the Lord to bruise him, yet he abode in his Father’s love. See Ps 89 33. Because he continued to love his Father, he went cheerfully through his sufferings, and therefore his Father continued to love him. 3. That therefore he abode in his Father’s love because he kept his Father’s law: I have kept my Father’s commandments, as Mediator, and so abide in his love. Hereby he showed that he continued to love his Father, that he went on, and went through, with his undertaking, and therefore the Father continued to love him. His soul delighted in him, because he did not fail, nor was discouraged, Isa 42 1-4. We having broken the law of creation, and thereby thrown ourselves out of the love of God; Christ satisfied for us by obeying the law of redemption, and so he abode in his love, and restored us to it.
II. Concerning his own love to his disciples. Though he leaves them, he loves them. And observe here,
1. The pattern of this love: As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. A strange expression of the condescending grace of Christ! As the Father loved him, who was most worthy, he loved them, who were most unworthy. The Father loved him as his Son, and he loves them as his children. The Father gave all things into his hand; so, with himself, he freely giveth us all things. The Father loved him as Mediator, as head of the church, and the great trustee of divine grace and favour, which he had not for himself only, but for the benefit of those for whom he was entrusted; and, says he, “I have been a faithful trustee. As the Father has committed his love to me, so I transmit it to you.” Therefore the Father was well pleased with him, that he might be well pleased with us in him; and loved him, that in him, as beloved, he might make us accepted, Eph 1 6.
MacArthur says:
His love is poured out on us, and that the deluge basically is connected to our obedience. The more you obey, the more you are lavished with divine love. And who is the example of obedience? Verse 10: “Just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” Jesus perfectly obeyed the Father, and the Father poured out perfect divine love on Him. The more like Christ we are, the more of God’s love we experience. The more we follow the obedience of Christ, the more lavish the love of God becomes on us.
Jesus said that He told the Apostles these things so that His joy would be in them and that their joy would be made complete (verse 11).
MacArthur tells us about the blessing of joy:
“These things – ” meaning everything He’s just said in the previous ten verses. “These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you and your joy may be made full. If there’s any love in me, it’s Christ’s love. If there’s any peace in me it’s His peace. If there’s any joy in me, it’s His joy, because I’m a partaker of the divine nature. “I’m saying all these things to you so that you may have My joy and that your joy may be made full.” That’s good news for the eleven.
… This is living, as the Scripture says, “with joy unspeakable, joy unspeakable – joy that can’t even be articulated.” He says in chapter 16, verse 22, “You have grief now – ” to them he says, “ – but I’ll see you again and your heart will rejoice, and no one will take your joy away from you.”
All these things are permanent: a permanent salvation, a permanent sanctification, permanent access to the throne of God for all that is necessary, permanent assurance, permanent love, permanent joy. John picked up on that when he wrote his first epistle, chapter 1, verse 4, he said, “These things I write that your joy may be full.”
Jesus then gave the remaining Apostles — and us — His commandment: to love one another as He has loved us (verse 12).
MacArthur says that this love comes from holy example:
The Father loves the Son, the Son loves the Father. The Father and the Son love us. We are to love them and love each other. Love defines this relationship.
Jesus went on to define this holy love, which is a demanding love, one which He showed us on the Cross: ‘No one has greater love than this, to lay down one’s life for one’s friends’ (verse 13).
Today, the only time this is really demonstrated is in the military. It is no wonder that infantrymen refer to themselves as a ‘band of brothers’. Furthermore, they obey their superiors’ commands. Christian love operates on that same type of obedience.
MacArthur gives us a real life example:
This is an extreme friendship. It is an extreme friendship. You say, “By what definition?” By the definition of verse 13 – look at that: “Greater love has no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friend.” That’s extreme. You say, “I’m your friend? Okay, let’s see how far you go with that. You’re going to die for me? You’re going to push me off the tracks and let the train run over you? It’s that kind of friendship?”
I’m reading an interesting book. Part of it’s about a man that I’ve known through the years who was a Green Beret in Vietnam, and I wanted to read more of his story; and in reading this book, one of the main characters in the book, it takes us back to the Vietnam War, and the horrors and the slaughters that were going on there. There’s a story of a man named Benavidez who would, by all accounts seemed a very insignificant individual, but whose heroism was just absolutely beyond comprehension.
On one occasion when his friends who were part of his unit were trapped in the jungle, trapped by a massive force of Vietcong, and when all rescue attempts had been forwarded and helicopters had crashed and men were dying all over the place, he asked to jump onboard with a final effort to go in. And didn’t have a weapon – nothing but a little dagger. And this kind of non-descript little guy from Texas only grabbed one thing. And he heard that his friends – some of them – there were 12 of them to start with: 5 were dead, 7 were left, and they were all wounded. And he had heard that they were wounded because a radio report came out. And he grabbed the nearest thing, which was a medical pack. They couldn’t put him down because they were afraid to lower the helicopter down to the gunfire. So he said, “That’s okay.” And the side of the helicopter with the open door, he threw out the bag and then he jumped out all alone without a weapon, and went searching for his buddies to deliver medical aid to them in the middle of an unbelievable firefight.
The rest of the story you’ll have to read for yourself. The heroism is epic obviously. We get that, we honor that, we respect that, and we know that’s what our Lord’s saying. This is axiomatic, right? “Greater love as no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.” We get that. That’s not a spiritual truth, that’s just reality, right? That’s axiomatic; that’s a self-evident truth. That’s the most you can do for somebody is give your life. I mean we get excited when we hear about somebody who wants to give up a vital organ to save the life of somebody else; we get that sacrifice. We read about these kinds of things throughout history.
I’m sorry to say we read about them seemingly less and less in the world in which we live, but we get that. That’s an extreme form of friendship. So it’s one thing for you to say you’re my friend, you know, “I’m your friend, but don’t ask me to, you know, change my schedule really.” Okay, there’s a kind of friendship; I’ll buy that, I can accept that, you know. Send me a Christmas card, that’s okay. It doesn’t go beyond that.
But we’re talking extreme terminology here. This is an extreme slavery where we do everything that our commander tells us to do; we do it joyfully. This is an extreme kind of friendship where we literally are willing to give our lives. Look, that’s what Jesus said, right, “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his – ” what? “ – his cross.” That’s an execution. It might be that.
Paul said, “Look, in my life, I die daily. Every day could be my last day getting the gospel to people. My life is always on the line.” So the Lord says this is an extreme relationship that we have with Him. It is an extreme kind of slavery where we obey everything, and extreme kind of friendship where we give up our lives. And He’s our model – go back to verse 10: “If you keep My commandments, you’ll abide in My love just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love.” He’s the model of perfect obedience. He did everything the Father willed Him to do. He’s the perfect model of obedience.
He’s also the perfect model of sacrifice. Go down to verse 13: “Greater love had no one than this, than one lay down his life for his friends.” And that is exactly what He does. That’s exactly what He does. He gives His life for us. He is our model. He didn’t give His life only as an example, He gave His life as an atonement; but it was an example.
Jesus then said that the Apostles — and we — are His friends if we do as He commands us to do (verse 14).
Both our commentators refer here to what was known in ancient times as ‘the king’s friend’, a trusted servant. In the Roman world, this person would have been a very high-ranking slave.
Henry tells us:
“If you approve yourselves by your obedience my disciples indeed, you are my friends, and shall be treated as friends.” Note, The followers of Christ are the friends of Christ, and he is graciously pleased to call and account them so. Those that do the duty of his servants are admitted and advanced to the dignity of his friends. David had one servant in his court, and Solomon one in his, that was in a particular manner the king’s friend (2 Sam 15 37; 1 Kings 4 5); but this honour have all Christ’s servants. We may in some particular instance befriend a stranger; but we espouse all the interests of a friend, and concern ourselves in all his cares: thus Christ takes believers to be his friends. He visits them and converses with them as his friends, bears with them and makes the best of them, is afflicted in their afflictions, and takes pleasure in their prosperity; he pleads for them in heaven and takes care of all their interests there … he is a friend that loves at all times.
MacArthur tells us about ancient Rome:
Well, at the court of Roman emperors … there were some slaves who had risen very high, and they had become friends of the king, friends of the emperor, friends of Caesar. Everybody understood that.
Look, kings need slaves. There were slaves who had access to the king because they were so trusted, because they were so faithful. They had so much fidelity; they were so dutiful. They were so concerned to do what they were told to do, they had risen through the social ranks until they were trusted enough to be made the intimate friends of the king. We read about these slaves that they had the right to enter the king’s bed chamber so that they were the last ones to see him at night and the first ones to see him in the morning. They cared for his most intimate needs at a very personal level. They were so well-acquainted with him that they literally were trusted with his life, with his life. They had become protectors of his life. They would know his fears because they were intimately acquainted with him in all informal situations. They would know his thoughts. They would know his hopes, his joys, his ambitions.
Very likely, they would know his plans. They would know far more about this king than anybody who met him on a formal level. Any statesman, any politician, any noble, or any general wouldn’t know what these intimate friends of the king knew. These slaves who took his sandals off and put on his bedclothes, and were there in the morning to bring him out of bed, to help him prepare for the day. They knew more than his wives knew, because marriage was a convenience, and concubines were only for sexual pleasure, and children were not necessarily given the attention of their important fathers anyway.
One could say that these were the intimate people in the life of a monarch. They were the closest, most personal, private people in his world; and they had to be trusted. They had to be trusted with his life. They had to be trusted with his thoughts. They had to be trusted with his plans. They had to be trusted with his goals and objectives. And if you were a friend to the king, if you were a slave who was a friend, you were of all men most specially favored; and you can understand why.
By the way, the word “friend” in the Greek is philos. It’s from the Greek verb phile which means “to love, to love, to have affection for.” Jesus says, “You are My friends – slaves who are loved. You are slaves who know Me most intimately.”
Jesus then referred to servanthood.
MacArthur says that there is evidence that the original Bible manuscripts used the word ‘slave’ rather than ‘servant’:
Now, when we talk about slaves who are friends, we’re entering into a concept that is alien to even the evangelical world. It was back in 2010 that I wrote a book, and the title of the book was Slave. Some of you’ve seen that book; maybe some of you have looked at it – Slave. I had a hard time getting the publisher to accept the title. I had an even harder time getting them to accept the fact that I was going to expose a cover-up, a long-standing cover-up – a cover-up of centuries, trying to cover up the fact that Christians are slaves. I wrote the book to expose the cover-up, the effort that had gone on for centuries to hide this essential reality that we as Christians are slaves of Christ – slaves who are very intimate friends of the King …
The true reality of Christ’s lordship has been all but obscured and eclipsed through the centuries by the translators of the New Testament, and even the Old, who have tampered with the word “slave.” It really is an amazing cover-up – amazing, amazing. But let’s start with “Jesus is Lord.” That is the Christian confession. It is the word kurios, kurios. That’s the word “lord.” It means “one who has power, ownership, and absolute authority; one who has power, ownership, and absolute authority.” That’s a lord. It’s used 750 times in the New Testament, and its meaning is not in question.
There is a synonym to kurios. The synonym is despots, despots, which means “absolute ruler,” from which you get the English word “despot.” We use it as an adjective. Somebody’s a despotic ruler, we mean they are a unilateral dictator. That’s what despotés means. Jesus, in the little book of Jude, is called “Master and Lord – ” verse 4 “ – despotés and kurios.”
When the New Testament refers to Jesus, it primarily refers to Him as Kurios, Lord. For example, our Lord is referred to 94 times in the book of Acts; 92 of the 94, He is called Lord; 2 He is called Str, Savior. The lordship of Christ is clearly declared throughout the entire New Testament. He is kurios, sovereign ruler. He is despotés, absolute ruler. So when you say, “Jesus is Lord,” you’re not identifying Him merely as deity – although He is that. You’re not identifying Him in some sort of abstract way as the most important religious figure. When you say “Lord,” that’s slave talk, that’s slave talk. You are saying, “He is the Master with absolute power and absolute dominion.” That word would be used to describe a slave owner: “He is Lord” …
… verse 24 of Luke 9, “Whoever wishes to save his life will – ” what? “ – lose it.” You let go of all of it. You’re not in charge anymore. You’re not in control; that is most basic. Lord, despotés – master, lord, ruler. Very bold, very strong words. A master and a sovereign with absolute dominion; that is slave talk.
And by the way, wherever there was a kurios, there were slaves. Wherever there was a despotés, a master, there were slaves. If you were lord, then you were lord because you had slaves. And if you were a slave, you were a slave because you had a lord, or a master. One axiomatically implies the other.
No one is lord over nobody, and no one is a slave of no one. If Jesus is Lord and you call Him Lord, then He has a right to ask you the question of Luke 6:46, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord,’ and do not what I say?” because Lord means absolute monarch. So Point Number 1: Jesus is Lord, Kurios – 750 times again that is used in the New Testament. It is inescapable what it means. It means He’s in charge. That’s Point 1.
Point 2: Christians are slaves. Christians are slaves. We are slaves to our Lord. Again, I remind you, the Bible doesn’t condone slavery. It doesn’t establish slavery. It doesn’t condemn slavery. It recognizes that it is and has been a social construct, and it assaults every unrighteous abuse of every kind of relationship, including that one. But the recognition, however, that that may be, for some people, the best of all possible relationships because you are bought and owned, and cared for, and protected, and provided for, and rewarded, and loved. There’s a security in that that doesn’t exist outside of that. But in the case of the spiritual reality, Jesus is Lord Kurios.
We are slaves, doulos. Have you heard that, doulos? What does doulos mean? Slave. It’s all it means. Please, that’s all it means. Doulos means slave. It appears 130 times in the New Testament; 130 times the word “slave” appears in the New Testament.
Now, I know you’re going to run to your New Testament, you’re going to look for all 130. I want to warn you, you won’t find them. You will not find them. You can get your concordance out and you’re not going to find them. Why? Because almost all of those are translated by a different word. They are translated “servant” or “bondservant.” Why? The word means “slave.” That’s all it means; that’s all it’s ever meant.
A slave is someone who is bought and owned. A slave was somebody who had no personal rights, no legal standing, couldn’t go to court, couldn’t own property – no freedom, no autonomy. That’s very different than being a servant. A servant is someone who does something – serves. A slave is someone who is something.
There are six words in the Greek language for servant, and they describe all kinds of functions that people do. A non-slave could serve; a slave could serve. Service doesn’t talk about the reality of your situation, it only talks about your function. But when you use doulos, if they wanted to translate servant in the New Testament in English Bibles or any other, they could translate servant six different ways because how the word is used kind of described its character.
One word for servant is diaknos which means “a table waiter.” Another word for servant is huprets which means an under rower, somebody who pulled oars in a ship. It could be used metaphorically for people who served. But doulos does not describe any function, it describes a relationship …
A slave is somebody who is dependent, obligated, subject to an alien will other than his own. It is not the word “servant.” Doesn’t describe a function. But sad to say, I don’t care what version you have – even up to the ESV, NAS, whatever – starting way back with the Geneva Bible, way back with the Geneva Bible, way back in the Middle Ages, there was a certain stigma about slavery. So translators sort of moved away from slave to servant; had less stigma.
One very interesting article in a theological journal back in 1966 says this: “By the end of the 13th century, slavery disappeared from northwestern Europe. Slavery, therefore, was known to the 17th century Englishmen, at least at the beginning of that century, not as an intimate accepted institution, but rather as a remote phenomenon. Slavery in their minds evoked the extreme case of a captive in fetters or chains, so they doubtless wanted to avoid the implication of cruelty inherent in that imagery. But in so doing, they have unwittingly diminished the force of the actual biblical term.”
So they decided to play fast and loose with a word that means slave, and you will find doulos translated slave as we found it in John 15 because here, it is referring to an actual slave as an illustration. Whenever it refers to an actual slave, or an illustration of a slave, or an inanimate kind of slavery – like slavery to sin or slavery to God, Romans 6 – they’ll translate it “slave.”
Whenever it refers to a believer, there’s an equivocation on that and it ends up being usually some form of servant. Sometimes, some have translated it bond-slave, but it’s all arbitrary. So what has happened is you read through your New Testament and you get the idea that we are servants of God, we are servants of the Lord, we are servants of the Lord – that’s how we think.
Truth is, we are what? Slaves, slaves. I did my very best with a long, drawn out plea with the translators of the ESV, the newest translation, to please translate doulos “slave,” plain and simple.
To show you how embedded this idea is in the Old Testament, which is Hebrew, there’s a Hebrew word ebed. It is a word for slave. It appears 800 times in the Old Testament, 800 times. In the King James Version, once translated slave. There’s just this running away from the reality of the idea of slavery. But slavery is what God wanted to communicate through those words because it describes our relationship to Christ.
I’m not free under Christ, am I? My freedoms are defined by Him. My duties are defined by Him. My convictions are defined by Him. My words are defined by Him. My actions are defined by Him. My relationships are defined by Him. Everything in my life is defined by Him. I have yielded up – when I said, “Jesus is Lord,” I have yielded up unqualified submission to the control and commands of the Lord.
Jesus said that He did not call the Apostles servants any longer because the servant does not know what the master is doing; therefore, He has called them friends, because He had made known to them everything that He had heard from His Father (verse 15).
Henry explains the verse, using the word ‘servant’, which, as MacArthur says, is in the KJV:
Christ loved his disciples, for he was very free in communicating his mind to them (v. 15): “Henceforth you shall not be kept so much in the dark as you have been, like servants that are only told their present work; but, when the Spirit is poured out, you shall know your Master’s designs as friends. All things that I have heard of my Father I have declared unto you.” As to the secret will of God, there are many things which we must be content not to know; but, as to the revealed will of God, Jesus Christ has faithfully handed to us what he received of the Father, ch. 1 18; Matt 11 27. The great things relating to man’s redemption Christ declared to his disciples, that they might declare them to others; they were the men of his counsel, Matt 13 11.
Then Jesus mentioned the Doctrine of Election, saying that the Apostles — and we — did not choose Him but that He chose them and us; furthermore, He appointed the faithful to go and bear fruit, lasting fruit, so that the Father will give them whatever they ask in His name (verse 16).
That statement recalls the aforementioned John 15:7.
Addressing the election of the faithful, MacArthur refers to the master and slave relationship involved:
… if you are a slave and a friend, and you have the privilege of this extreme slavery and extreme friendship, let me tell you something: you didn’t choose this. It’s against everything in your nature – everything, against everything. It’s not a voluntary organization, and that is why in verse 16 you read so unambiguously, “You did not choose Me, but I chose you.”
Now anybody who doesn’t understand that is not trying. That’s not obscure. And it’s very extensive. “What do you mean, chose me for what?” “Chose you to be slave and friend. Chose to disclose everything I heard from My Father so that you would be an intimate friend and there would be no secrets.” In other words, salvation. “I chose you,” that’s the Greek verb ekleg, from which we get the word “elect.” It’s the doctrine of election. “I chose you to be My slaves who are friends, and I made known to you all the truth.” That is salvation. But it doesn’t end there.
Then He says this: “And appointed you that you would go.” This is not just salvation, this is a commission, this is a commission. “I appointed you that you would go.” It’s the Greek verb tithmi, to set, to establish, to fix, to ordain. Very strong. In other words, when you were chosen to be a slave who is an intimate friend, when you were chosen to this extreme slavery, extreme friendship, it was with a view to fulfilling a commission; and it is a commission to go.
This is like a preview of the Great Commission, isn’t it? It’s a preview of the Great Commission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.” “I appointed you that you that you would go.” And then also, to make sure that you would have everything you need – end of verse 16: “Whatever you ask of the Father in My name, He may give it to you. So I have chosen you for salvation, I have chosen you for a commission, I have chosen you for a provision; and with that salvation and that commission and that provision, your life will have an eternal impact.”
Henry elaborates on asking the Father for something in His Son’s holy name:
Probably this refers in the first place to the power of working miracles which the apostles were clothed with, which was to be drawn out by prayer. “Whatever gifts are necessary to the furtherance of your labours, whatever help from heaven you have occasion for at any time, it is but ask and have.” Three things are here hinted to us for our encouragement in prayer, and very encouraging they are. First, That we have a God to go to who is a Father; Christ here calls him the Father, both mine and yours; and the Spirit in the word and in the heart teaches us to cry, Abba, Father. Secondly, That we come in a good name. Whatever errand we come upon to the throne of grace according to God’s will, we may with a humble boldness mention Christ’s name in it, and plead that we are related to him, and he is concerned for us. Thirdly, That an answer of peace is promised us. What you come for shall be given you. This great promise made to that great duty keeps up a comfortable and gainful intercourse between heaven and earth.
Jesus concluded by saying that He was giving those commands so that the Apostles — and we — may love one another (verse 17).
Henry refers us back to verse 12 to emphasise the importance of this commandment:
We must keep his commandments, and this is his commandment, that we love one another, v. 12, and again, v. 17. No one duty of religion is more frequently inculcated, nor more pathetically urged upon us, by our Lord Jesus, than that of mutual love, and for good reason. 1. It is here recommended by Christ’s pattern (v. 12): as I have loved you. Christ’s love to us should direct and engage our love to each other; in this manner, and from this motive, we should love one another, as, and because, Christ has loved us. He here specifies some of the expressions of his love to them; he called them friends, communicated his mind to them, was ready to give them what they asked. Go you and do likewise. 2. It is required by his precept. He interposes his authority, has made it one of the statute-laws of his kingdom. Observe how differently it is expressed in these two verses, and both very emphatic. (1.) This is my commandment (v. 12), as if this were the most necessary of all the commandments. As under the law the prohibition of idolatry was the commandment more insisted on than any other, foreseeing the people’s addictedness to that sin, so Christ, foreseeing the addictedness of the Christian church to uncharitableness, has laid most stress upon this precept. (2.) These things I command you, v. 17. He speaks as if he were about to give them many things in charge, and yet names this only, that you love one another; not only because this includes many duties, but because it will have a good influence upon all.
This reading has given us much to ponder in the days ahead.
Incidentally, Eastertide is soon coming to an end. Ascension Day is this coming Thursday, and Pentecost follows ten days later.
The Fifth Sunday of Easter is April 28, 2024.
Readings for Year B can be found here.
The Gospel is as follows (emphases mine):
John 15:1-8
15:1 “I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinegrower.
15:2 He removes every branch in me that bears no fruit. Every branch that bears fruit he prunes to make it bear more fruit.
15:3 You have already been cleansed by the word that I have spoken to you.
15:4 Abide in me as I abide in you. Just as the branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides in the vine, neither can you unless you abide in me.
15:5 I am the vine, you are the branches. Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit, because apart from me you can do nothing.
15:6 Whoever does not abide in me is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.
15:7 If you abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask for whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.
15:8 My Father is glorified by this, that you bear much fruit and become my disciples.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
John MacArthur begins by emphasising the supremacy of Holy Scripture:
The Bible is the authority, the only authority, the only book that God wrote. It contains 66 books – 39 books in the Old Testament, which is the revelation of God before Christ; 27 books in the New Testament, the revelation of God since the coming of Christ, together makes up the 66 books of the Bible.
In the Bible, God speaks. It is His Word. When we come together, we don’t come together to hear men speak, we come to hear God speak. The responsibility then of the pastor and the preacher is to take the message from God and bring it to the people. I’ve always seen myself, not as a chef, but as a waiter. My responsibility is not to create the meal, but try to get it to the table without messing it up. And that is the responsibility which I try to discharge, as we all do whenever we open Scripture.
So as we come to the 15th chapter of John, like anywhere else in the Bible, we are listening to God. The writer is the apostle John. But the writer is also God, the Holy Spirit who inspired every word that John wrote. Because of this, the Bible is without error, it is accurate, and it is authoritative. When the Bible speaks, God speaks. And when God speaks, we listen, because God says to us what we must know.
The Bible should dominate every life and all of human society, for in it is contained all necessary truth for life in time and eternity. And when a nation or a person rejects the Bible, they have rejected God, and the consequences are dire, dire. Those who listen to God through His Word are given life and blessing, now and forever.
As I have said before, John’s Gospel is my favourite book of the New Testament. Hebrews is a close second because, even though it was written for a Jewish audience, it explains the essential tenets of Christianity. In the words of Reformed church members, it will enable you to ‘know what you believe and why you believe it’.
John’s Gospel has the most complete account of the Last Supper and our Lord’s final discourse to the Apostles. It starts in John 13 and finishes with our Lord’s prayers for the Twelve and for His people in John 17. Those are chapters one can read over and over again poring over every word.
Matthew Henry gives us a synopsis of John 15:
It is generally agreed that Christ’s discourse in this and the next chapter was at the close of the last supper, the night in which he was betrayed, and it is a continued discourse, not interrupted as that in the foregoing chapter was; and what he chooses to discourse of is very pertinent to the present sad occasion of a farewell sermon. Now that he was about to leave them, I. They would be tempted to leave him, and return to Moses again; and therefore he tells them how necessary it was that they should by faith adhere to him and abide in him. II. They would be tempted to grow strange one to another; and therefore he presses it upon them to love one another, and to keep up that communion when he was gone which had hitherto been their comfort. III. They would be tempted to shrink from their apostleship when they met with hardships; and therefore he prepared them to bear the shock of the world’s ill will. There are four words to which his discourse in this chapter may be reduced; 1. Fruit, ver 1-8. 2. Love, ver 9-17. 3. Hatred, ver 18-25. 4. The Comforter, ver 26, 27.
MacArthur tells us more:
And so we come to the 15th chapter of John. Just to set the stage a little bit, starting in chapter 13 and running through chapter 16, we find ourselves on Thursday night of Passion Week, the last week of our Lord’s ministry. Thursday night was an important night. He gathered with the 12 disciples to celebrate the Passover on that Thursday night when the Galilean Jews would celebrate it.
They met together in a kind of secret place that we call upper room, and our Lord spent that night telling them many wonderful things, giving them many, many promises. As that night moved on, our Lord exposed Judas as the traitor, and dismissed him. And Judas left to go meet the leaders of Israel to arrange for the arrest and subsequent crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. By the time we come to chapter 15, Judas is gone, and only the 11 are left, and they are true disciples.
But as we come to chapter 15, they’re no longer in the upper room. It is deep into the dark of night. But chapter 14 ends with Jesus saying this: “Get up; let us go from here.” Apparently at that time, they left the upper room, Jesus and the 11, and they began their walk through Jerusalem, headed out the east side of the city to a garden where our Lord would pray in prayer so agonizing that He sweat as it were great drops of blood. And while He was praying, they would fall asleep. And into that garden later would come Judas, and the Roman soldiers, and the Jewish leaders to arrest Him. And there, Judas would kiss him; the betrayal would take place; and the next day, He would be crucified.
As they leave the upper room and walk through the darkness of Jerusalem, our Lord continues to speak to them, and what He says to them is recorded in chapters 15 and 16. Of all these things that He says, nothing is more definitive than the first eight verses of chapter 15. Our Lord here gives not really a parable – although I guess in the broadest sense could be considered a parable because it is an illustration. It’s really a word picture, a metaphor, a simile.
Remember Henry’s words about Christ’s desire to see the Twelve continuing to believe in Him and not turn to the Judaism of the day.
Therefore, Jesus said that He is the vine and that God is the vinegrower (verse 1).
Henry offers a brilliant analysis of this well known verse:
The doctrine of this similitude; what notion we ought to have of it.
1. That Jesus Christ is the vine, the true vine. It is an instance of the humility of Christ that he is pleased to speak of himself under low and humble comparisons. He that is the Sun of righteousness, and the bright and morning Star, compares himself to a vine. The church, which is Christ mystical, is a vine (Ps 80 8), so is Christ, who is the church seminal. Christ and his church are thus set forth. (1.) He is the vine, planted in the vineyard, and not a spontaneous product; planted in the earth, for his is the Word made flesh. The vine has an unsightly unpromising outside; and Christ had no form nor comeliness, Isa 53 2. The vine is a spreading plant, and Christ will be known as salvation to the ends of the earth. The fruit of the vine honours God and cheers man (Judg 9 13), so does the fruit of Christ’s mediation; it is better than gold, Prov 8 19. (2.) He is the true vine, as truth is opposed to pretence and counterfeit; he is really a fruitful plant, a plant of renown. He is not like that wild vine which deceived those who gathered of it (2 Kings 4 39), but a true vine. Unfruitful trees are said to lie (Hab 3 17. marg.), but Christ is a vine that will not deceive. Whatever excellency there is in any creature, serviceable to man, it is but a shadow of that grace which is in Christ for his people’s good. He is that true vine typified by Judah’s vine, which enriched him with the blood of the grape (Gen 49 11), by Joseph’s vine, the branches of which ran over the wall (Gen 49 22), by Israel’s vine, under which he dwelt safely, 1 Kings 4 25.
2. That believers are branches of this vine, which supposes that Christ is the root of the vine. The root is unseen, and our life is hid with Christ; the root bears the tree (Rom 11 18), diffuses sap to it, and is all in all to its flourishing and fruitfulness; and in Christ are all supports and supplies. The branches of the vine are many, some on one side of the house or wall, others on the other side; yet, meeting in the root, are all but one vine; thus all good Christians, though in place and opinion distant from each other, yet meet in Christ, the centre of their unity. Believers, like the branches of the vine, are weak, and insufficient to stand of themselves, but as they are borne up. See Ezek 15 2.
MacArthur points out the importance of the words ‘I am’, which God used to define Himself:
The divine nature of the Lord Jesus Christ is here declared in verse 1: “I am the true vine,” He says. And in verse 5 again: “I am the vine.” How is this a claim to deity? Because of the verb “I am.”
Back in Exodus, chapter 3, when Moses came before God in the wilderness and asked His name, God said, “My name is I Am That I Am.” The tetragrammaton: the eternally existent one; the one of everlasting being; the always is, and always was, and always will be one. Theologians call it the aseity of God, the eternal being of God. He is the I Am.
Throughout His preaching, teaching, healing, discipling ministry, Jesus continually declared that He is God, He is God. He said things like, “My Father is working until now, and I Myself am working.”
John’s Gospel, the theme of which is Christ’s deity, has several examples of this, some of which follow:
In a context of discussion about the Sabbath, He reminds them that, “The Sabbath doesn’t apply to God because God is at work all the time; and the Sabbath doesn’t really apply to Me either because I, like God, am at work all the time.” They were infuriated that He would make such a claim. That was in chapter 5 of John’s gospel.
Later in chapter 8 Jesus said, “If I glorify Myself, My glory is nothing. It is My Father who glorifies Me of whom you say, ‘He is our God.’ And therefore if God, who is your God, glorifies Me as God, you ought to also glorify Me.” And again they were offended at such perceived blasphemy.
In chapter 10, He even said it more concisely: “I and the Father are one, one in nature and essence.” In that same chapter, chapter 10 and verse 38, He said, “Though you do not believe Me, believe the works that you may know that the Father is in Me and I in the Father.”
All through His life and ministry, He claimed that He is God. Every time Jesus said, “My Father,” which He said many, many times – every time He said, “My Father,” He was underscoring that He had the same nature as God. And His Jewish audience did not miss the claim. They were not at all confused.
In fact, in chapter 5, verse 18, this is what we read: “For this cause, therefore, the Jews were seeking all the more to kill Him, because He not only was breaking the Sabbath, but was also calling God His own Father, making Himself equal with God.” They understood that that is exactly what He was doing, exactly. And one of the ways that He did that was by taking to Himself the name of God “I Am” and applying it to Himself.
There’s a series of those claims throughout the gospel of John. He says, “I am the Bread of Life. I am the Living Bread that came down from heaven. I am the Light of the World. I am the Door, I am the Shepherd, the Good Shepherd. I am the Resurrection and the Life. I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” And then He makes the stunning, inescapable claim, chapter 8, verse 58, “Before Abraham was born, I am eternally existing.”
Jesus told the Apostles that God the Father removes every branch from Him that bears no fruit; every branch that bears fruit, He prunes so that it bears more fruit (verse 2).
Gardeners will understand that reference immediately. We prune dead wood from plants so that the healthy parts grow more abundantly. Some people prune their first rosebuds so that their rose bushes produce even more buds that will flower a short time later.
Henry says:
That the Father is the husbandman, georgos—the land-worker. Though the earth is the Lord’s, it yields him no fruit unless he work it. God has not only a propriety in, but a care of, the vine and all the branches. He hath planted, and watered, and gives the increase; for we are God’s husbandry, 1 Cor 3 9. See Isa 5 1, 2; 27 2, 3. He had an eye upon Christ, the root, and upheld him, and made him to flourish out of a dry ground. He has an eye upon all the branches, and prunes them, and watches over them, that nothing hurt them. Never was any husbandman so wise, so watchful, about his vineyard, as God is about his church, which therefore must needs prosper.
II. The duty taught us by this similitude, which is to bring forth fruit, and, in order to this, to abide in Christ.
1. We must be fruitful. From a vine we look for grapes (Isa 5 2), and from a Christian we look for Christianity; this is the fruit, a Christian temper and disposition, a Christian life and conversation, Christian devotions and Christian designs. We must honour God, and do good, and exemplify the purity and power of the religion we profess; and this is bearing fruit. The disciples here must be fruitful, as Christians, in all the fruits of righteousness, and as apostles, in diffusing the savour of the knowledge of Christ. To persuade them to this, he urges,
(1.) The doom of the unfruitful (v. 2): They are taken away. [1.] It is here intimated that there are many who pass for branches in Christ who yet do not bear fruit. Were they really united to Christ by faith, they would bear fruit; but being only tied to him by the thread of an outward profession, though they seem to be branches, they will soon be seen to be dry ones. Unfruitful professors are unfaithful professors; professors, and no more. It might be read, Every branch that beareth not fruit in me, and it comes much to one; for those that do not bear fruit in Christ, and in his Spirit and grace, are as if they bore no fruit at all, Hos 10 1. [2.] It is here threatened that they shall be taken away, in justice to them and in kindness to the rest of the branches. From him that has not real union with Christ, and fruit produced thereby, shall be taken away even that which he seemed to have, Luke 8 18. Some think this refers primarily to Judas.
(2.) The promise made to the fruitful: He purgeth them, that they may bring forth more fruit. Note, [1.] Further fruitfulness is the blessed reward of forward fruitfulness. The first blessing was, Be fruitful; and it is still a great blessing. [2.] Even fruitful branches, in order to their further fruitfulness, have need of purging or pruning; kathairei—he taketh away that which is superfluous and luxuriant, which hinders its growth and fruitfulness. The best have that in them which is peccant, aliquid amputandum—something which should be taken away; some notions, passions, or humours, that want to be purged away, which Christ has promised to do by his word, and Spirit, and providence; and these shall be taken off by degrees in the proper season. [3.] The purging of fruitful branches, in order to their greater fruitfulness, is the care and work of the great husbandman, for his own glory.
MacArthur says similarly:
There are branches attached to Him. They’re all attached. All the branches are attached. But the ones that don’t bear fruit are cut off, dried, and burned. So who are they? Let me remind you of the context. This all begins back in chapter 13 in the upper room, and it’s pretty clear that there are two types of disciples in that upper room …
I don’t really think there’s a lot of mystery about the two branches. What did Jesus have in His mind that night? They had just left the upper room. The drama that took place there over Judas, the exposure of Judas, the disciples, when Jesus said, “One of you will betray Me,” they said, “Is it I? Is it I? Is it I?” which is to say they had no idea it was Judas.
There was nothing manifestly obvious in the life and character and behavior of Judas that would have distinguished him as a false disciple. He was visibly attached, and for all intents and purposes, looked like everybody else, did what everybody else did. But, clearly, there were two kinds of people in that room that night. There were those who bore fruit and there was that one who did not. There were those who remained abiding in, remaining in, attached to the vine; and there was that one who’s cut off …
Judas had that very night just a few hours before walked away from Jesus terminally, finally. He is what the Bible would call an apostate, an ultimate defector. He had been for three years close, so close that people didn’t even know there was no life. Judas now was on his way to the leaders of Israel to set up the deal to arrest Jesus to get his 30 pieces of silver, and to go from there to hang himself, and catapult into hell.
This is the reality of that night, and this has to be what’s behind our Lord’s thinking and speaking here. He needs to explain to these men Judas. Wouldn’t it seem natural to you that in this intimate talk with the beloved 11 that are still with Him, that they’re all still trying to process Judas. He was high profile. He was the one who carried the money, trusted. They were trying to figure out just, “How did it happen? Who is he? How does he fit? What’s going on?” and our Lord gives us an explanation.
He says, “There are branches that have an outward appearance of attachment, but bear no fruit. They’re taken away and they’re burned.” And He has to be thinking of Judas. Judas, who was in close connection to Him, has left on his way to eternal hell. And, in fact, the Bible says he went to his own place. It says it would have been better for him if he’d never been born, Mark 14.
MacArthur clears up a point of confusion about people like Judas losing their faith and, therefore, their salvation. The truth is that Judas never had faith — or fruit — to begin with:
I’ve had some discussions with people around the world about this passage, and folks have said to me, “Well, this is proof that you can be in Christ, you can be attached to Christ, and you can lose your salvation.” The Bible does not teach that, and the words of our Lord Jesus, in the gospel of John, are very explicit: “My sheep hear My voice – ” using another metaphor “ – and I know them and they follow Me. And I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one. Together, we hold those who belong to our flock.”
In John 6, Jesus said, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me and I’ll lose none of them.”
Ultimately:
This is not talking about believers, fruit-bearing branches that all of a sudden are cut off and thrown into hell. This is talking about people who are attached, but there’s no life because there’s no fruit.
Jesus told the eleven Apostles that they had been cleansed by the word that He had spoken to them (verse 3).
In the King James Version it reads:
3 Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
Henry explains what Jesus meant. Part of that meaning also relates to Judas:
Now you are clean, v. 3. [1.] Their society was clean, now that Judas was expelled by that word of Christ, What thou doest, do quickly; and till they were got clear of him they were not all clean. The word of Christ is a distinguishing word, and separates between the precious and the vile; it will purify the church of the first-born in the great dividing day. [2.] They were each of them clean, that is, sanctified, by the truth of Christ (ch. 17 17); that faith by which they received the word of Christ purified their hearts, Acts 15 9. The Spirit of grace by the word refined them from the dross of the world and the flesh, and purged out of them the leaven of the scribes and Pharisees, from which, when they saw their inveterate rage and enmity against their Master, they were now pretty well cleansed. Apply it to all believers. The word of Christ is spoken to them; there is a cleansing virtue in that word, as it works grace, and works out corruption. It cleanses as fire cleanses the gold from its dross, and as physic cleanses the body from its disease. We then evidence that we are cleansed by the word when we bring forth fruit unto holiness. Perhaps here is an allusion to the law concerning vineyards in Canaan; the fruit of them was as unclean, and uncircumcised, the first three years after it was planted, and the fourth year it was to be holiness of praise unto the Lord; and then it was clean, Lev 19 23, 24. The disciples had now been three years under Christ’s instruction; and now you are clean.
Jesus then told the Apostles to abide in Him in the same way He abided in them; just as a branch cannot bear fruit by itself unless it abides on the vine, neither could they bear fruit unless they abided in Him (verse 4).
Henry says:
2. In order to our fruitfulness, we must abide in Christ, must keep up our union with him by faith, and do all we do in religion in the virtue of that union. Here is,
(1.) The duty enjoined (v. 4): Abide in me, and I in you. Note, It is the great concern of all Christ’s disciples constantly to keep up a dependence upon Christ and communion with him, habitually to adhere to him, and actually to derive supplies from him. Those that are come to Christ must abide in him: “Abide in me, by faith; and I in you, by my Spirit; abide in me, and then fear not but I will abide in you;” for the communion between Christ and believers never fails on his side. We must abide in Christ’s word by a regard to it, and it in us as a light to our feet. We must abide in Christ’s merit as our righteousness and plea, and it in us as our support and comfort. The knot of the branch abides in the vine, and the sap of the vine abides in the branch, and so there is a constant communication between them.
MacArthur goes further, saying that Jesus was referring to Israel as a corrupted, wild vine that did not abide in Him:
All the life comes from the vine. It emphasizes belonging. If you are connected, you belong. And I think all of that is true. But there’s another, much more important reason why He says, “I am the true vine,” and that is because there was a defective vine.
There was a corrupted vine. There was a degenerate vine. There was a fruitless vine. There was an empty vine. Who? Israel, Israel. That’s right. The covenant people of God, the Jewish people.
Israel is God’s vine in the Old Testament. In Isaiah 5, Israel as presented as a vine. God says, “I planted My vine, My vineyard in a very fertile hill,” Isaiah 5. And that chapter, verses 1-7, goes on to talk about everything God did to give them all that was necessary for them to bring forth grapes. They produced beushim, sour berries, inedible, useless. Israel was the vine. And that metaphor carried through the history of Israel during the Maccabean period between the Old and the New Testament.
The Maccabeans minted coins, and on the coin was a vine illustrating Israel. And on the very temple, Herod’s massive temple, there was a great vine that literally had been carved and overlaid with gold, speaking of Israel as God’s vine. God’s life flows through the nation. That was a symbol of Israel. There’s much in the Old Testament. Psalm 80 – sometime you can read Psalm 80 in its fullness – but Psalm 80 tells us the tragedy of Israel’s defection as a vine.
Just listen to a few of the words from Psalm 80: “God removed a vine from Egypt, bringing Israel out of bondage in Egypt. Drove out the nation’s, planted the vine – ” like Isaiah 5 “ – cleared the ground before it, took deep root, filled the land. The mountains were covered with its shadow. The cedars of God with its bows, it was sending out its branches. It shoots to the river.” Then this: “Why have You broken down its hedges, so that all who pass that way pick its fruit? A bore from the forest eats it away. And whatever moves in the field feeds on it.”
God planted Israel and then turned on Israel in judgment. Psalm 80 then says, “O God of hosts, turn again now, we beseech you. Look down from heaven and see, and take care of this vine, even the shoot which Your right hand has planted. It is burned with fire. It is cut down.” Yeah, that’s Israel, that’s Israel. Ezekiel said it is an empty vine, no fruit. Isaiah says it produces sort of toxic, useless, inedible results.
Israel had been the stock of blessing. Israel had been planted by God. His life would come through Israel to all who attached to Israel. But Israel was unfaithful, idolatrous, immoral, and God brought judgment. That’s what the Old Testament lays out for us.
The disciples, like all the other Jews, thought, “Hmm, I’m Jewish. I’m connected to God.” Israel, the people of God, the Jewish people, are the source of divine blessing: “I am a Jew; I was born a Jew. I’m the seed of Abraham; I’m connected to God.” Not so.
Our Lord comes along and says, “If you want to be connected to God, you have to be connected, not to Israel, but to me. I am the true vine, althinos. I am the true vine. I am the perfect vine. Through Me, the life of God flows.”
Paul understood that. He said Israel has all the privileges in the book of Romans. They have a form of godliness, but they have no life. They don’t know God. They’re alienated from God. He’s the true vine.
Jesus used the word ‘abide’ again in the three verses that follow.
Again, Jesus said that He was the vine and the Apostles — and we — are the branches; He repeated that those who abide in Him and He in them bear much fruit, because apart from Him they can do nothing (verse 5).
Henry tells us:
So necessary is it to our comfort and happiness that we be fruitful, that the best argument to engage us to abide in Christ is, that otherwise we cannot be fruitful. [1.] Abiding in Christ is necessary in order to our doing much good. He that is constant in the exercise of faith in Christ and love to him, that lives upon his promises and is led by his Spirit, bringeth forth much fruit, he is very serviceable to God’s glory, and his own account in the great day. Note, Union with Christ is a noble principle, productive of all good. A life of faith in the Son of God is incomparably the most excellent life a man can live in this world; it is regular and even, pure and heavenly; it is useful and comfortable, and all that answers the end of life. [2.] It is necessary to our doing any good. It is not only a means of cultivating and increasing what good there is already in us, but it is the root and spring of all good: “Without me you can do nothing: not only no great thing, heal the sick, or raise the dead, but nothing.” Note, We have as necessary and constant a dependence upon the grace of the Mediator for all the actions of the spiritual and divine life as we have upon the providence of the Creator for all the actions of the natural life; for, as to both, it is in the divine power that we live, move, and have our being. Abstracted from the merit of Christ, we can do nothing towards our justification; and from the Spirit of Christ nothing towards our sanctification. Without Christ we can do nothing aright, nothing that will be fruit pleasing to God or profitable to ourselves, 2 Cor 3 5. We depend upon Christ, not only as the vine upon the wall, for support; but, as the branch on the root, for sap.
Jesus warned that whoever does not abide in Him is thrown away like a branch and withers; such branches are gathered, thrown into the fire and burned (verse 6).
If those words suggest eternal damnation and hell to you, you would be correct.
Henry says:
This is a description of the fearful state of hypocrites that are not in Christ, and of apostates that abide not in Christ. [1.] They are cast forth as dry and withered branches, which are plucked off because they cumber the tree. It is just that those should have no benefit by Christ who think they have no need of him; and that those who reject him should be rejected by him. Those that abide not in Christ shall be abandoned by him; they are left to themselves, to fall into scandalous sin, and then are justly cast out of the communion of the faithful. [2.] They are withered, as a branch broken off from the tree. Those that abide not in Christ, though they may flourish awhile in a plausible, at least a passable profession, yet in a little time wither and come to nothing. Their parts and gifts wither; their zeal and devotion wither; their credit and reputation wither; their hopes and comforts wither, Job 8 11-13. Note, Those that bear no fruit, after while will bear no leaves. How soon is that fig-tree withered away which Christ has cursed! [3.] Men gather them. Satan’s agents and emissaries pick them up, and make an easy prey of them. Those that fall off from Christ presently fall in with sinners; and the sheep that wander from Christ’s fold, the devil stands ready to seize them for himself. When the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, an evil spirit possessed him. [4.] They cast them into the fire, that is, they are cast into the fire; and those who seduce them and draw them to sin do in effect cast them there; for they make them children of hell. Fire is the fittest place for withered branches, for they are good for nothing else, Ezek 15 2-4. [5.] They are burned; this follows of course, but it is here added very emphatically, and makes the threatening very terrible. They will not be consumed in a moment, like thorns under a pot (Eccl 7 6), but kaietai, they are burning for ever in a fire, which not only cannot be quenched, but will never spend itself. This comes of quitting Christ, this is the end of barren trees. Apostates are twice dead (Jude 12), and when it is said, They are cast into the fire and are burned, it speaks as if they were twice damned. Some apply men’s gathering them to the ministry of the angels in the great day, when they shall gather out of Christ’s kingdom all things that offend, and shall bundle the tares for the fire.
MacArthur also relates this to Judas:
And then in verse 6, the one that is thrown away, dried up, gathered, cast into the fire and burned? Who are the fruitless branches, and the other, who are the fruitful branches who bear the fruit, verse 2, verse 5, and verse 8? Who are they? Well, let me recreate for you the context. The context is a very simple context. This isn’t our Lord among many people. This isn’t our Lord in the midst of the crowd. When He says “you”, He’s directing His words at the Twelve. In fact, in particular at this point, He’s directing His words at the eleven remaining, Judas having been dismissed …
Judas is the branch that doesn’t stay. Judas is the branch that doesn’t remain. Judas is the branch that doesn’t abide.
John also spoke of such people in his Epistle:
Now, just a reference again to something else that John wrote over in 1 John chapter 2 and verse 19 – very important statement, speaking of people who defect, who do not abide, who do not stay – “They went out from us, but they were not really of us.” John knows this now from what he learned about our Lord’s words in John 15 and the experience of Judas and others. “They went out from us,” and it’s still happening in his experience as an apostle, “but they were not really of us; if they had been of us, they would have remained with us; but they went out, so that it would be shown that they all are not of us.” And then down in verse 24, “As for you,” he writes – he says now the same thing that our Lord said to the disciples that night – “As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. This is the promise which He Himself made to us: eternal life.” “You abide in Me, and I’ll abide in you.” John is reiterating what he heard on that Thursday night and is recorded for us in John 15.
Jesus then talked about prayer, saying that if we abide in Him and His words abide in us, we may ask for whatever we wish and it will be done for us (verse 7).
That does rely on the request being a godly one.
Henry discusses prayer as our means of communication with Christ:
See here, [1.] How our union with Christ is maintained—by the word: If you abide in me; he had said before, and I in you; here he explains himself, and my words abide in you; for it is in the word that Christ is set before us, and offered to us, Rom 10 6-8. It is in the word that we receive and embrace him; and so where the word of Christ dwells richly there Christ dwells. If the word be our constant guide and monitor, if it be in us as at home, then we abide in Christ, and he in us. [2.] How our communion with Christ is maintained—by prayer: You shall ask what you will, and it shall be done to you. And what can we desire more than to have what we will for the asking? Note, Those that abide in Christ as their heart’s delight shall have, through Christ, their heart’s desire. If we have Christ, we shall want nothing that is good for us. Two things are implied in this promise:—First, That if we abide in Christ, and his word in us, we shall not ask any thing but what is proper to be done for us. The promises abiding in us lie ready to be turned into prayers; and the prayers so regulated cannot but speed. Secondly, That if we abide in Christ and his word we shall have such an interest in God’s favour and Christ’s mediation that we shall have an answer of peace to all our prayers.
Jesus concluded by saying that His Father is glorified by the Apostles’ — and our — bearing much fruit and becoming His disciples (verse 8).
Henry elaborates:
If we bear much fruit, [1.] Herein our Father will be glorified. The fruitfulness of the apostles, as such, in the diligent discharge of their office, would be to the glory of God in the conversion of souls, and the offering of them up to him, Rom 15 9, 16. The fruitfulness of all Christians, in a lower or narrower sphere, is to the glory of God. By the eminent good works of Christians many are brought to glorify our Father who is in heaven. [2.] So shall we be Christ’s disciples indeed, approving ourselves so, and making it to appear that we are really what we call ourselves. So shall we both evidence our discipleship and adorn it, and be to our Master for a name and a praise, and a glory, that is, disciples indeed, Jer 13 11. So shall we be owned by our Master in the great day, and have the reward of disciples, a share in the joy of our Lord. And the more fruit we bring forth, the more we abound in that which is good, the more he is glorified.
On the subject of abiding, MacArthur concludes with an answer to people who ask if we have a personal relationship with Christ:
Rather than saying, “I have a personal relationship with Jesus,” which sounds kind of like you’re somebody special, you would be better off to say, “Well, God, the eternal God, holy God, the Creator God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live in me.” What!? But that is essentially exactly what our Lord is saying, and it’s a trinitarian presence, staggering reality. Now, I grant you that the glorious manifestation of the children of God of Romans 8 has not yet been manifest, has not yet been made visible. That won’t happen until we’re glorified. So in the meantime, we are veiled, right? We are veiled. The world doesn’t see us. It is important to know who we are, so I am, I am literally a body in which God lives. He lives in me. The Lord has come to live in me …
How do you talk about yourself as a believer? You talk about yourself as the residence of God, the temple of God. Listen to what John says over in 1 John, building on these truths. “You are from God, little children,” verse 4, 1 John 4:4, “and have overcome them;” – Listen to this – “because greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” You worry about Satan in the world? Don’t worry about Satan in the world. “Greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world.” Verse 13, “By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us.” How do we know that? “Because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him.” Verse 16, “We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.”
I wish we’d start talking like this, right? To abide is to remain, and for all who remain, they give evidence of a genuine salvation, and how is that defined? It is defined as God living in us. God living in us, taking up residence. Colossians 1:21 says, “You were formerly alienated” – from God – “hostile, engaged in evil deeds. He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach—if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel.” If you remain, if you stay, if you abide, He abides in you. This is an incredibly stunning reality. You think about the condescension of our Lord to take on a human body, but He took on a sinless human body. What kind of condescension is it for the triune God to take on a sinful body, take up residence in us?
With that, may I wish everyone reading this a happy and blessed Sunday.
Many of us think that Easter is but one day.
There we would be mistaken. Eastertide runs all the way to Pentecost Sunday, which comes 50 days later. Sunday Lectionary readings continue to point us to the holy mystery of Christ’s resurrection and the promise of eternal bodily resurrection on the Last Day.
On Easter Day, a number of articles appeared in the press discussing the most important feast in the Church calendar. If Christ had not risen from the dead, then our hope as Christians is in vain.
Christ’s disciples did not understand or believe that He would actually rise from the dead on the third day. It was incomprehensible to them, even though Jesus had said this would happen. Furthermore, He raised his good friend Lazarus from the dead several days beforehand. The Critic explored this in light of Mark’s Gospel, ‘This vision glorious’, concerning the women who found our Lord’s tomb empty (emphases mine):
And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulchre; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid (Mark 16:8)
This is the description in Saint Mark’s Gospel of the response of the women at the empty Tomb on the first Easter Day. It is, scholars think, the earliest of the four Gospel accounts of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. We might think that it lacks Easter joy. “Fled … trembled … amazed … afraid”: these are not words that immediately come to mind when wishing someone a “Happy Easter”. Indeed, the fact that these women were initially silent in the face of the empty Tomb — and, for good measure, an angelic vision declaring “he is risen; he is not here” — overturns any assumption that the Resurrection of Jesus was received as a straightforward “all is good, no need to worry” affirmation.
As we realise when reading Saint Mark’s account of the Resurrection of Jesus alongside those in the other gospels, there is nothing straightforward, easily comprehended about the Resurrection. The accounts by the four Evangelists do not at all neatly, comfortably sit beside each other. The timelines, the characters, the events cannot be straightforwardly pieced together, as if we were watching the concluding episode of a television series, or reading the final chapter of an airport novel.
The various timelines, characters, and events in the accounts given of the Resurrection in the four Gospels are infinitely richer and more demanding. They are witnessing to and seeking to convey to us something of the explosion of divine presence, light, and life that occurred at that Tomb on the first Easter Day. Little wonder that the four Gospel accounts are anything but straightforward; little wonder that they can appear confused, even contradictory. Language, experience, recollection — all these are stretched far beyond what they can possibly contain on the first Easter Day. The One who is eternal Light and Life, the mighty Creator of all that is, touches and fills the Tomb with creative, life-giving power.
Neat, comfortable, easily comprehended accounts of the empty Tomb would utterly fail to convey the explosive outpouring of this creative, life-giving power. No straightforward affirmation, the Resurrection of Jesus brings us, with those women at the Tomb, to be silenced in awe and reverence before the revelation of God’s life-giving presence and saving purposes …
The current — and long-running — trend to see Christianity as a social justice project undermines the Resurrection:
There is little that quite so undermines the proclamation of the Resurrection of Jesus, the Easter faith, than regarding it as an affirmation of a political or cultural project. Neatly fitting the Resurrection into political or cultural visions, as a convenient, helpful prop, is to profoundly misunderstand (if not deny) the faith of Easter. It is to entirely set aside Saint Mark’s account of the reaction of the women at the empty Tomb, rendering their reaction unnecessary and inappropriate rather than the authentic witness to God’s presence and act in the Resurrection.
Let us reflect on this, not just on Easter, which seems an eternity ago for some, but during the rest of Eastertide:
… let us heed the response of the women at the empty Tomb, recognising in that response the witness to the out-pouring of Eternal Light and Life, bringing to humanity — broken, confused, and foolish as we are — participation in the Resurrection life, anticipated now and having its fullness in the life of the world to come …
May Easter Day renew us — amidst whatever tombs, whatever defeats and failures and fears we know — in this enduring hope, this vision glorious.
Another theme which runs from the Crucifixion through to the Resurrection is that of forgiveness, which is so difficult. It can be for me, anyway, particularly in serious situations when people who know how to help have been unhelpful.
It is easier to hold on to grudges against such people than it is to forgive them.
Another article in The Critic, ‘Try Christianity’, explores our difficulty in forgiving others, something that Jesus did so readily, yet He suffered much more hurt than we do.
Let’s start with apologies, something else few of us do:
… the pen of P. G. Wodehouse still manages to express a multitude of sentiments from the pews. On this occasion I’m thinking specifically of a line from The Man Upstairs: “It is a good rule of life never to apologise. The right sort of people don’t want apologies, and the wrong sort of people want to take a mean advantage of them.” In his narration, Wodehouse has summed up how many Anglicans, perhaps even many English Christians, think about God, sin, confession and forgiveness.
While Wodehouse has a point, I would venture that his view on apologies pertains to most people, not just English Christians.
Furthermore, our reluctance to forgive varies among cultures. For some, the mantra is, ‘Don’t get mad, get even’.
The article points us, using the words of the 1662 Book of Common Prayer in the first paragraph below, to our Lord’s example that we remember on Good Friday:
… we are confronted by this God-Man who allows himself to be vulnerable, who confidently demands contrition, and whose property is always to have mercy …
Many of us still believe and act on the conviction that contrition and forgiveness is really rather complicated and perhaps should be avoided. Or that it can only be extended when the one wronged has returned to a position of power and the enfeebled supplicant comes begging. Examples are superfluous here — you will know when your hackles are raised by injustice or snobbery or idiocy.
The quality of mercy is so alien to the wounded creature that it simply must be a miracle. Today that quality is one which we see in the most maligned of persons, the Man of Nazareth, hanging on the cross. “A man of sorrows”, Isaiah called him, “acquainted with grief — despised and rejected.” When soldiers struck and mocked him he returned “Father, forgive them.” When the thief next to him asked for clemency, he granted it.
Even when we assent to a conceptual understanding of Christian forgiveness we qualify it. As Cosimo de Medici wryly put it, “We read that we ought to forgive our enemies; but we do not read that we ought to forgive our friends.” However, Jesus’ business on earth was not finished until he had assured his friend Peter, the one who denied him, of his consistency.
Today we remember that Jesus of Nazareth decided that forgiveness was worth dying for. And his life and death stand as an example and challenge to us still.
Well, one would not have seen either of these two themes in the media between Good Friday and Easter, March 29 and March 31, 2024.
A third article in The Critic examined the BBC’s online headlines on March 29:
… it is Good Friday, and the front page of the BBC website appears to have precisely no references to the occasion. The “culture” section contains articles about Beyoncé, the Oscars (that holy ceremony!), Godzilla x Kong and “What we know about the accusations against Diddy”. Stirring stuff.
Buried deep on the site’s “Topics” section is a “Religion” page. Recent articles include “Rastafarian faith mentor dies, aged 73” (RIP to him) and “UK’s first Turkish mosque faces threat to its future”. Nothing about Easter — though there is a guide to celebrating Holi, which is nice.
A fourth article in The Critic points the finger of blame at the established Church for promoting social justice ideology, ‘The Church of England is practising a secular religion’:
Church attendance is of course declining. One in five worshippers has disappeared since 2019 alone. Is the Church of England spending more and more money on dubious forms of “anti-racism” under the delusion that it will attract young leftists to its services on Sundays? Or perhaps this quasi-theological endeavour is just a more winnable cause than encouraging religious belief and practice. Justin Welby cannot fill his churches but he can fill his heart with a sense of righteousness.
This isn’t good enough — not for anyone. An obsessive interest in the sacred values of equality diversity and inclusion can distract believers from the divine, but it also threatens the social functions of the Church of England. The Church is one of the last major foundations of tradition left in the United Kingdom, along with the monarchy. The identitarian left has been tearing at the stitches holding us together for a number of years. To imitate its most fanatical tendencies is to encourage divisiveness rather than inclusion.
The Church of England should stop enabling these phenomena. Granted, to place the blame for its diminished status entirely on “woke Welby” would be naive. The problem predates the current Archbishop of Canterbury. A Telegraph analysis shows that church attendance has more than halved since 1987. However, the embrace of secular religion is exacerbating rather than ameliorating its decline.
This year, the Easter services at Canterbury Cathedral featured the Lord’s Prayer recited in Urdu or Swahili, led by native speakers of those languages. On the face of it, it’s something inclusive. Yet, people in every non-English speaking country recite the Lord’s Prayer in their own tongues. When, on holiday, I used to attend services at the Reformed Church of France, I joined everyone in reciting it in French. Therefore, what’s the big deal?
The Telegraph covered the story (as did GB News) in ‘Canterbury Cathedral reads Lord’s Prayer in Urdu and Swahili during Easter service’:
At the 10am service shown on the BBC, The Very Rev Dr David Monteith, Dean of Canterbury Cathedral, invited each member of the congregation to say the Lord’s Prayer in their own language, while it was led in Urdu on the microphone by a member from Pakistan. The subtitles on the screen were in English.
At an earlier service, aired on Radio 4, the prayer was led in Swahili.
The Dean said: “We invite congregations to say the Lord’s Prayer in their own first language at most of our communion services …
“From time to time, we invite someone to lead in their preferred language of prayer – today it’s in Congo Swahili as he was ordained in Zaire, and by a member of the Community of St Anselm from Pakistan …”
Then came Justin Welby’s sermon, which had nothing to do with the Resurrection, the core tenet of the Christian faith:
Shortly after the Lord’s Prayer was said, the Most Rev Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury, used his Easter sermon at the cathedral to condemn “the evil of people smugglers” in the wake of a row over the Clapham chemical attacker being granted asylum.
The article also points out:
Several Church of England dioceses faced backlash after appointing individuals or teams to address racial inequality in their regions amid concerns they would alienate ordinary worshippers.
However, dissent is also present elsewhere in the world. Anglican church groupings outside the UK are at odds with Welby:
The Archbishop has been struggling to unite the Anglican Communion because of the row on same-sex blessings.
The conservative Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), which represents churches on every continent and the majority of Anglicans worldwide, has previously said that it expects the organisation to “formally disassociate” from both the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Church of England.
However, it was not only Justin Welby pulling the identity politics strings. In the United States, Joe Biden’s administration declared Easter Sunday, of all days, Trans Visibility Day.
And here I thought that Joe Biden was a Catholic.
The Telegraph had an article on the story, ‘Joe Biden has betrayed Christian America’. The most telling sentence was this one:
And certainly he had dozens of other dates on the transgender awareness calendar, including a whole week in November, he could have chosen instead.
Returning to the UK, on April 3, The Telegraph‘s Madeline Grant wrote about Richard Dawkins having his cake and eating it in ‘Christianity’s decline has unleashed terrible new gods’:
… Professor Dawkins’ admission that he considers himself a “cultural Christian”, who is, at the very least, ambivalent about Anglicanism’s decline is an undeniably contradictory position for a man who in the past campaigned relentlessly against any role for Christianity in public life, railing against faith schools and charitable status for churches.
Before we start preparing the baptismal font, it’s worth noting that Dawkins says he remains “happy” with the UK’s declining Christian faith, and that those beliefs are “nonsense”. But he also says that he enjoys living in a Christian society. This betrays a certain level of cultural free-riding. The survival of society’s Christian undercurrent depends on others buying into the “nonsense” even if he doesn’t.
Grant gives us an example of the ‘terrible new gods’ — Scotland’s new Hate Crime Act which came into force on April 1:
By the New Atheist logic, it ought to be the most rational place in the UK since de-Christianisation has occurred there at a faster rate. Membership of the national Church of Scotland has fallen by 35 per cent in 10 years and the Scottish Churches Trust warns that 700 Christian places of worship will probably close in the next few years. A Scottish friend recently explained that every place where he’d come to faith – where he was christened, where his father was buried – had been shut or sold. This is not only a national tragedy, but a personal one.
New Atheism assumed that, as people abandoned Christianity they would embrace a sort of enlightened, secular position. The death of Christian Scotland shows this was wrong. Faith there has been replaced by derangement and the birthplace of the Scottish enlightenment – which rose out of Christian principles – now worships intolerant new gods.
The SNP’s draconian hate crime legislation is a totemic example. Merely stating facts of biology might earn you a visit from the Scottish police. But perhaps Christianity has shaped even this. It cannot be a coincidence that Scotland, home of John Knox, is now at the forefront of the denigration of women. The SNP’s new blasphemy laws are just the latest blast of that trumpet …
… Much of what atheists ascribed to vague concepts of “reason” emerged out of the faith which informed the West’s intellectual, moral, and, yes, scientific life – a cultural oxygen we breathe but never see …
… The world isn’t morally neutral, and never has been.
Recognising Christianity’s cultural impact is the first step. The bigger task facing the West is living out these values in an age when they are increasingly under threat.
On Easter Day, The Telegraph‘s Tim Stanley, an agnostic turned Roman Catholic, wrote about the horror of what assisted dying — euthanasia — legislation could bring to the UK. At the end, he had this to say about the impact that widespread unbelief has had on Holy Week and Easter:
Christ died on Good Friday, but for much of the zeitgeist he has never risen again, setting the context for this debate that is minus the hope that once brightened the lives of Westerners even in war or plague.
I thank God I am a Christian. I would have to fake it if I weren’t. In an atheistic culture, beyond the here and now, there is little to live for – and when the here and now become unbearable, nowhere to turn but death.
It is up to us as individuals, with or without the help of the Church and the media, to keep the spirit of forgiveness and the hope of bodily resurrection alive. How do we do that? By studying the Bible, verse by verse.
The Third Sunday of Easter is April 14, 2024.
Readings for Year B can be found here.
The Gospel is as follows (emphases mine):
Luke 24:36-48
24:36 While they were talking about this, Jesus himself stood among them and said to them, “Peace be with you.”
24:37 They were startled and terrified, and thought that they were seeing a ghost.
24:38 He said to them, “Why are you frightened, and why do doubts arise in your hearts?
24:39 Look at my hands and my feet; see that it is I myself. Touch me and see; for a ghost does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.”
24:40 And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet.
24:41 While in their joy they were disbelieving and still wondering, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?”
24:42 They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
24:43 and he took it and ate in their presence.
24:44 Then he said to them, “These are my words that I spoke to you while I was still with you–that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled.”
24:45 Then he opened their minds to understand the scriptures,
24:46 and he said to them, “Thus it is written, that the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day,
24:47 and that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.
24:48 You are witnesses of these things.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
The verses in Luke 24 preceding today’s — Luke 24:13-35 — are the account of the road to Emmaus, the reading for the Third Sunday of Easter in Year A.
Last week we had our Lord’s encounter with Thomas the Apostle — John 20:19-31 — who initially doubted then believed. That took place a week after today’s appearance by the risen Christ, which took place on the day of His resurrection.
Each Gospel has an account of the day of the Resurrection. Matthew Henry tells us:
Five times Christ was seen the same day that he rose: by Mary Magdalene alone in the garden (John 20 14), by the women as they were going to tell the disciples (Matt 28 9), by Peter alone, by the two disciples going to Emmaus, and now at night by the eleven, of which we have an account in these verses, as also John 20 19.
‘The eleven’ was the way of referring to the Apostles after Judas’s betrayal and subsequent suicide. Yet, Thomas was absent from the encounter described in today’s verses. He did not show up until the following week, John 20:19-31.
Of these various appearances, John MacArthur says that even those closest to Jesus doubted whether He could rise from the dead:
The resurrection is so critical that each of the four gospel writers focus on the reality of the resurrection. And as I’ve been telling you, they focus on proofs. They all four look at the empty tomb as an evidence of the resurrection, a pretty good one. They all four look at the angelic testimony, the testimony of an unmistakable angel from heaven. They all look at the witness of the women who saw Jesus personally: Mary Magdalene and the other women. And they all include as an evidence of the reality of the resurrection the unbelief of the disciples and the apostles, because one of the arguments is going to be, and always has been through history, the resurrection didn’t happen, but the followers of Jesus wanted it to happen so badly that they virtually actualized it in their own minds. They made it in to a reality because of such strong wish that it would come to pass. It was as if it happened because they wanted it so badly. All four gospel writers tell us there wasn’t one person among the disciples or the apostles who even believed Jesus would rise from the dead. They not only didn’t want it, they didn’t expect it, they didn’t even believe it.
Each of the gospel writers then looks at these evidences – each of them from a little different angle, looking at different incidents of those things, but all looking at these evidences. Each of them give eyewitness accounts where unbelief was turned to faith. Each of them tells us how people were transformed when they met the risen Christ, whether it was John telling us about Mary Magdalene, or Matthew telling us about the women on the road, or Luke telling us about His appearance to Simon, or Luke telling us here about His appearance, as does John, in the upper room to the gathered eleven and the others. They all show us what a massive transformation took place when the risen Christ appeared.
These appearances, these experiences sealed the faith of the apostles, who then went out preaching the resurrection with proof. And they saw many believe, and the church established on the day of Pentecost with three thousand, and then five thousand, and tens of thousands more as the church began to move to what it is even this day, two thousand years later.
While those gathered were talking about what happened on the road to Emmaus, Jesus Himself stood among the ten Apostles and said to them, ‘Peace be with you’ (verse 36).
Wishing someone peace was a common greeting among the Jews of the day. However, Matthew Henry explains that Jesus had a deeper meaning in this context, that of forgiveness:
Observe, 1. The comfort Christ spoke to them: Peace be unto you. This intimates in general that it was a kind visit which Christ now paid them, a visit of love and friendship. Though they had very unkindly deserted him in his sufferings, yet he takes the first opportunity of seeing them together; for he deals not with us as we deserve. They did not credit those who had seen him; therefore he comes himself, that they might not continue in their disconsolate incredulity. He had promised that after his resurrection he would see them in Galilee; but so desirous was he to see them, and satisfy them, that he anticipated the appointment and sees them at Jerusalem. Note, Christ is often better than his word, but never worse. Now his first word to them was, Peace be to you; not in a way of compliment, but of consolation. This was a common form of salutation among the Jews, and Christ would thus express his usual familiarity with them, though he had now entered into his state of exaltation. Many, when they are advanced, forget their old friends and take state upon them; but we see Christ as free with them as ever. Thus Christ would at the first word intimate to them that he did not come to quarrel with Peter for denying him and the rest for running away from him; no, he came peaceably, to signify to them that he had forgiven them, and was reconciled to them.
Recall that only the Apostle John was present at the Crucifixion and was with Mary, our Lord’s earthly mother, at the foot of the Cross.
On the greeting, MacArthur adds another aspect:
I think it was probably more than that as well; I think it was peace in the ultimate sense. He came as the Prince of Peace. He came to bring peace to men of good will. And through the resurrection, He accomplished that peace. It’s peace every way you could look at it.
That peace is being one with God, a peace that can be attained only through a belief in His Son, the risen Christ.
They were startled and terrified, thinking that they had seen a ghost (verse 37), or ‘spirit’, in some translations.
Henry looks at the Greek used:
2. The fright which they put themselves into upon it (v. 37): They were terrified, supposing that they had seen a spirit, because he came in among them without any noise, and was in the midst of them ere they were aware. The word used (Matt 14 26), when they said It is a spirit, is phantasma, it is a spectre, an apparition; but the word here used is pneuma, the word that properly signifies a spirit; they supposed it to be a spirit not clothed with a real body. Though we have an alliance and correspondence with the world of spirits, and are hastening to it, yet while we are here in this world of sense and matter it is a terror to us to have a spirit so far change its own nature as to become visible to us, and conversable with us, for it is something, and bodes something, very extraordinary.
After the Resurrection, Christ had His glorified body, something all believers will have when they join Him in glory forever on the Last Day.
That said, MacArthur reminds us that His glorified body was not the shock element here:
Mary just thought He was the gardener, right? And the women on the road just said, “We met Him and it was Him.” And the disciples said, “He just walked up, and we started talking together,” and there was nothing apparently, dramatically, shockingly supernatural about Him, His appearance. The resurrect[ed], glorified body of Christ was adaptable.
The shock was His sudden appearance:
He just “whoosh” is there in a locked room; that’s the shock …
And they were startled, ptoeō is the Greek verb. It means “to be suddenly startled.” And then emphobos from which we get phobias, fears. It means “to be in a continued state of fear.”
They were stunned and startled and shocked into a condition of terror. That is a natural reaction. If you’re sitting there and we’re having this service, and somebody instantly appeared there, you’d be startled too, or here, or anywhere. It wouldn’t really be a matter of what they look like, it would just be a matter of “where did they come from?” that would generate the shock.
They thought they must be seeing a ghost. Now they’d never seen a ghost. But maybe there was then like there is now this belief that ghosts exist; or certainly spirits exist, demonic spirits exist, angelic spirits exist. It couldn’t be a material being. It couldn’t be a human, being because where would He come from; humans can’t do that. So it was a fairly reasonable conclusion to say that “this must be a spirit; this must be some kind of a vision.”
Jesus asked why they were afraid and why doubts arose in their hearts (verse 38).
Henry nails it on the head with regard to being troubled:
Observe here, (1.) That when at any time we are troubled, thoughts are apt to rise in our hearts that do us hurt. Sometimes the trouble is the effect of the thoughts that arise in our hearts; our griefs and fears take rise from those things that are the creatures of our own fancy. Sometimes the thoughts arising in the heart are the effect of the trouble, without are fightings and then within are fears. Those that are melancholy and troubled in mind have thoughts arising in their hearts which reflect dishonour upon God, and create disquiet to themselves. I am cut off from thy sight. The Lord has forsaken and forgotten me. (2.) That many of the troublesome thoughts with which our minds are disquieted arise from our mistakes concerning Christ. They here thought that they had seen a spirit, when they saw Christ, and that put them into this fright. We forget that Christ is our elder brother, and look upon him to be at as great a distance from us as the world of spirits is from this world, and therewith terrify ourselves. When Christ is by his Spirit convincing and humbling us, when he is by his providence trying and converting us, we mistake him, as if he designed our hurt, and this troubles us. (3.) That all the troublesome thoughts which rise in our hearts at any time are known to the Lord Jesus, even at the first rise of them, and they are displeasing to him. He chid his disciples for such thoughts, to teach us to chide ourselves for them. Why art thou cast down, O my soul? Why art thou troubled? Why do thoughts arise that are neither true nor good, that have neither foundation nor fruit, but hinder our joy in God, unfit us for our duty, give advantage to Satan, and deprive us of the comforts laid up for us?
MacArthur adds another pertinent observation:
What He’s doing is demanding that they look at the evidence; trustworthy people. “Use your minds.”
Jesus told them to look at His hands and His feet — the wounds were still there, even in His glorified state — and said that a ghost does not have the flesh and bones that He has (verse 39).
Henry points out that Jesus asked the Apostles to use their senses to discern whether He was real or a spirit:
He lays down this principle—that a spirit has not flesh and bones; it is not compounded of gross matter, shaped into various members, and consisting of divers heterogeneous parts, as our bodies are. He does not tell us what a spirit is (it is time enough to know that when we go to the world of spirits), but what it is not: It has not flesh and bones. Now hence he infers, “It is I myself, whom you have been so intimately acquainted with, and have had such familiar conversation with; it is I myself, whom you have reason to rejoice in, and not to be afraid of.” Those who know Christ aright, and know him as theirs, will have no reason to be terrified at his appearances, at his approaches. [1.] He appeals to their sight, shows them his hands and his feet, which were pierced with the nails. Christ retained the marks of them in his glorified body, that they might be proofs that it was he himself; and he was willing that they should be seen. He afterwards showed them to Thomas, for he is not ashamed of his sufferings for us; little reason then have we to be ashamed of them, or of ours for him. As he showed his wounds here to his disciples, for the enforcing of his instructions to them, so he showed them to his Father, for the enforcing of his intercessions with him. He appears in heaven as a Lamb that had been slain (Rev 5 6); his blood speaks, Heb 12 24. He makes intercession in the virtue of his satisfaction; he says to the Father, as here to the disciples, Behold my hands and my feet, Zech 13 6, 7. [2.] He appeals to their touch: Handle me, and see. He would not let Mary Magdalene touch him at that time, John 20 17. But the disciples here are entrusted to do it, that they who were to preach his resurrection, and to suffer for doing so, might be themselves abundantly satisfied concerning it. He bade them handle him, that they might be convinced that he was not a spirit. If there were really no spirits, or apparitions of spirits (as by this and other instances it is plain that the disciples did believe there were), this had been a proper time for Christ to have undeceived them, by telling them there were no such things; but he seems to take it for granted that there have been and may be apparitions of spirits, else what need was there of so much pains to prove that he was not one?
Jesus then showed them His hands and feet (verse 40) as further proof.
MacArthur says:
The nature of the glorified body is that it can be whatever it wants to be, whatever it needs to be. They aren’t bones like the bones before His death, they are the structure that keeps His actual corporeal form together. There’s flesh, but it’s not like His former flesh. It’s something different, it’s eternal; it cannot die.
Well, He’s asking them to look, to touch. “And when He had said this,” – verse 40 – “He showed them His hands and His feet.”
Henry reminds us of ancient heresies that misinterpreted Christ’s glorified nature. Sadly, these are with us again today:
There were many heretics in the primitive times, atheists I rather think they were, who said that Christ had never any substantial body, but that it was a mere phantasm, which was neither really born nor truly suffered. Such wild notions as these, we are told, the Valentinians and Manichees had, and the followers of Simon Magus; they were called Doketai and Phantysiastai.
Returning to today’s Gospel, the Apostles experienced a mix of emotions. They were joyful, yet still disbelieving and wondering, as Jesus asked whether they had anything to eat (verse 41).
Henry explains their emotional state:
It was their infirmity that they believed not, that yet they believed not, eti apistounton auton—they as yet being unbelievers. This very much corroborates the truth of Christ’s resurrection that the disciples were so slow to believe it. Instead of stealing away his body, and saying, He is risen, when he is not, as the chief priests suggested they would do, they are ready to say again and again, He is not risen, when he is. Their being incredulous of it at first, and insisting upon the utmost proofs of it, show that when afterwards they did believe it, and venture their all upon it, it was not but upon the fullest demonstration of the thing that could be. But, though it was their infirmity, yet it was an excusable one; for it was not from any contempt of the evidence offered them that they believed not: but, First, They believed not for joy, as Jacob, when he was told that Joseph was alive; they thought it too good news to be true. When the faith and hope are therefore weak because the love and desires are strong, that weak faith shall be helped, and not rejected. Secondly, They wondered; they thought it not only too good, but too great, to be true, forgetting both the scriptures and the power of God.
MacArthur says similarly, citing the phraseology from his Bible version:
… in verse 41, it’s so interesting: “And while they still could not believe it for joy,” – what is that? What do you mean you can’t believe it for joy? We have a phrase for that: “Something is too good to be true.” That was it.
You know, they have no expectation of this, and now it’s dawning on them that this is actually the risen Christ, and it is true, and it’s too good to be true. It’s like the old, “I’m pinching myself because this can’t be happening to me.” There’s a conflicted mind here. This is not possible, this is not expected; but here it is.
Henry looks at our Lord’s request for something to eat, or ‘meat’, as his version states:
For their further conviction and encouragement, he called for some meat. He sat down to meat with the two disciples at Emmaus, but it is not said that he did eat with them; now, lest that should be made an objection, he here did actually eat with them and the rest, to show that his body was really and truly returned to life, though he did not eat and drink, and converse constantly, with them, as he had done (and as Lazarus did after his resurrection, who not only returned to life, but to his former state of life, and to die again), because it was not agreeable to the economy of the state he was risen to.
The Apostles gave him a piece of broiled fish (verse 42) — some versions, such as Henry’s, add ‘honeycomb’ — which He took and ate in their presence (verse 43).
Henry says:
They gave him a piece of a broiled fish, and of a honey-comb, v. 42. The honey-comb, perhaps, was used as sauce to the broiled fish, for Canaan was a land flowing with honey. This was mean fare; yet, if it be the fare of the disciples, their Master will fare as they do, because in the kingdom of our Father they shall fare as he does, shall eat and drink with him in his kingdom.
MacArthur dispels the myth that Jerusalem had no access to fish:
… the critics say, “Well, this proves the inaccuracy of the Bible, because fish were not available in Jerusalem.” Well, that is a stretch. But there are articles actually on how we know this is not true, because there were no fish in Jerusalem, despite the fact that one of the gates leading into the city is called the “Fish Gate,” according to Nehemiah 3:3 and Nehemiah 12:39, because that’s where the fishermen from the sea brought the fish through to the city. And, by the way, there were people of Tyre, according to Nehemiah, who lived in Jerusalem who were fish importers. Of course there were fish there, and they had cooked it and they gave it to Him, and He ate it.
MacArthur explains how Jesus in His glorified body could eat:
Now how are we to understand this body? It can be seen. It can be heard, because it can speak. It can be touched. It can eat. It’s a combination of what is natural and supernatural.
Here’s the way to understand it. His supernatural, glorified body was able to conform to any realm and any reality. If it needed to be earthly, it could be earthly. If it needed to be heavenly, it could be heavenly. If it needed to be physical, it could be physical. If it needed to be spiritual, it could be spiritual. If it needed to be transcendent, it could be transcendent. If it needed to be earthy, it could be earthy.
It could stand one moment on the Mount of Olives, have a conversation with the disciples, and in an instant, disappear into a cloud and go into the infinite heaven beyond the end of the infinite universe into the presence of God infinitely faster than the speed of light. It could do a quantum leap …
… that’s the power of God, and that power is displayed in the body of the Lord Jesus Christ. He can be outside and be inside; He can be in Emmaus, He can be here; and yet He can eat a fish if He needs to. Its adaptability is what the mark of the glorified body is.
Jesus then reminded the Apostles of Scripture and what He had told them before He died: ‘that everything written about me in the law of Moses, the prophets, and the psalms must be fulfilled’ (verse 44).
Henry explains:
The insight he gave them into the word of God, which they had heard and read, by which faith in the resurrection of Christ is wrought in them, and all the difficulties are cleared. (1.) He refers them to the word which they had heard from him when he was with them, and puts them in mind of that as the angel had done (v. 44): These are the words which I said unto you in private, many a time, while I was yet with you. We should better understand what Christ does, if we did but better remember what he hath said, and had but the art of comparing them together. (2.) He refers them to the word they had read in the Old Testament, to which the word they had heard from him directed them: All things must be fulfilled which were written. Christ had given them this general hint for the regulating of their expectations—that whatever they found written concerning the Messiah, in the Old Testament, must be fulfilled in him, what was written concerning his sufferings as well as what was written concerning his kingdom; these God had joined together in the prediction, and it could not be thought that they should be put asunder in the event. All things must be fulfilled, even the hardest, even the heaviest, even the vinegar; he could not die till he had that, because he could not till then say, It is finished. The several parts of the Old Testament are here mentioned, as containing each of them things concerning Christ: The law of Moses, that is, the Pentateuch, or the five books written by Moses,—the prophets, containing not only the books that are purely prophetical, but those historical books that were written by prophetical men,—the Psalms, containing the other writings, which they called the Hagiographa. See in what various ways of writing God did of old reveal his will; but all proceeded from one and the self-same Spirit, who by them gave notice of the coming and kingdom of the Messiah; for to him bore all the prophets witness.
He opened their minds to understand what the prophets had foretold (verse 45).
Henry gives us an excellent analysis:
In his discourse with the two disciples he took the veil from off the text, by opening the scriptures; here he took the veil from off the heart, by opening the mind. Observe here, [1.] That Jesus Christ by his Spirit operates on the minds of men, on the minds of all that are his. He has access to our spirits, and can immediately influence them. It is observable how he did now after his resurrection give a specimen of those two great operations of his Spirit upon the spirits of men, his enlightening the intellectual faculties with a divine light, when he opened the understandings of his disciples, and his invigorating the active powers with a divine heat, when he made their hearts burn within them. [2.] Even good men need to have their understandings opened; for though they are not darkness, as they were by nature, yet in many things they are in the dark. David prays, Open mine eyes. Give me understanding. And Paul, who knows so much of Christ, sees his need to learn more. [3.] Christ’s way of working faith in the soul, and gaining the throne there, is by opening the understanding to discern the evidence of those things that are to be believed. Thus he comes into the soul by the door, while Satan, as a thief and a robber, climbs up some other way. [4.] The design of opening the understanding is that we may understand the scriptures; not that we may be wise above what is written, but that we may be wiser in what is written, and may be made wise to salvation by it. The Spirit in the word and the Spirit in the heart say the same thing. Christ’s scholars never learn above their bibles in this world; but they need to be learning still more and more out of their bibles, and to grow more ready and mighty in the scriptures. That we may have right thoughts of Christ, and have our mistakes concerning him rectified, there needs no more than to be made to understand the scriptures.
How true that is.
Jesus reminded the Apostles of what the Old Testament says — ‘it is written’ — that ‘the Messiah is to suffer and to rise from the dead on the third day’ (verse 46), and ‘that repentance and forgiveness of sins is to be proclaimed in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem’ (verse 47).
Henry says:
Thus it was written in the sealed book of the divine counsels from eternity, the volume of that book of the covenant of redemption; and thus it was written in the open book of the Old Testament, among the things revealed; and therefore thus it behoved Christ to suffer, for the divine counsels must be performed, and care taken that no word of God fall to the ground.
Repentance is a constant theme running through both Old and New Testaments. Old Testament prophets died for preaching that message. So did Christ. The prophets and our Lord died in Jerusalem.
MacArthur gives us one of many examples of the need to repent from the Old Testament then moves on to the continuing theme with faith in Christ:
Verse 47: “So that repentance for the forgiveness of sins can be proclaimed in His name.” What is the provision that transforms? It is the forgiveness of sins. The gospel message to be proclaimed across the world, folks, is just one simple message: repent and ask for the forgiveness of sins in the name of Christ. That’s it.
We say, “You know, we want people to be saved.” And the obvious question is, “Saved from what?” From their sins, and the punishment of those sins that is everlasting in hell. This is our only message. We don’t have a social message. There are social implications in the gospel, because godly people behave differently. We don’t have an economic message. We don’t have an educational message. We have one message: forgiveness of sins. That’s it. And that’s what was laid out at the beginning.
Let me show you something, just quickly, and we’ll end with this, but this is a good place to make a break. Back in chapter 1, verse 77 … in the prophecy of Zachariah, which sets the course of the Book. “He is coming” – this Son of God, the Messiah – “to give to His people the knowledge of salvation.” Okay? How they going to get that? How are they going to be saved? “By the forgiveness of their sins, because of the tender mercy of our God.”
The Christian gospel is this: God is merciful, God will forgive your sins; and that provision is in Christ. That’s the way it starts in the book of Luke, and that’s the way it ends. So when John the Baptist comes along in chapter 3, who is the forerunner to the Messiah and the child born to Zechariah, verse 3 of chapter 3, “He came into all the district around the Jordan preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.”
Or chapter 4, Jesus comes on the scene. And Jesus is preaching repentance, and He gives one message in Nazareth in the synagogue, and verse 18 He quotes from Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me. He’s anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor, sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,” – those who are captive to sin – “sight to the blind” – those that are blinded by sin – “set free the oppressed,” – those that are oppressed by sin …
‘All nations’ in verse 47 pertains to the Gentiles.
Henry tells us:
They are here told, [1.] That they must preach this among all nations. They must disperse themselves, like the sons of Noah after the flood, some one way and some another, and carry this light along with them wherever they go. The prophets had preached repentance and remission to the Jews, but the apostles must preach them to all the world. None are exempted from the obligations the gospel lays upon men to repent, nor are any excluded from those inestimable benefits which are included in the remission of sins, but those that by their unbelief and impenitency put a bar in their own door.
Henry explains why Jesus told the Apostles to begin preaching in Jerusalem:
And why must they begin there? First, Because thus it was written, and therefore it behoved them to take this method. The word of the Lord must go forth from Jerusalem, Isa 2 3. And see Joel 2 32; 3 16; Obad 21; Zech 14 8. Secondly, Because there the matters of fact on which the gospel was founded were transacted; and therefore there they were first attested, where, if there had been any just cause for it, they might be best contested and disproved. So strong, so bright, is the first shining forth of the glory of the risen Redeemer that it dares face those daring enemies of his that had put him to an ignominious death, and sets them at defiance. “Begin at Jerusalem, that the chief priests may try their strength to crush the gospel, and may rage to see themselves disappointed.” Thirdly, Because he would give us a further example of forgiving enemies. Jerusalem had put the greatest affronts imaginable upon him (both the rulers and the multitude), for which that city might justly have been excepted by name out of the act of indemnity; but no, so far from that, the first offer of gospel grace is made to Jerusalem, and thousands there are in a little time brought to partake of that grace.
This was Luke’s version of the Great Commission, more fully expressed in Matthew 28:18-20:
18 Then Jesus came to them and said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptising them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.’
Jesus told the Apostles, ‘You are witnesses of these things’ (verse 48).
MacArthur draws our attention to Peter’s sermons in the Book of Acts, which attest to this witness:
It’s about all the personal proclamation of the gospel that goes on in that early church.
Peter’s first sermon, he says in verse 32, “This God, this Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses.” Chapter 3, verse 15: “You put to death the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses.” They were eyewitnesses, incredible eyewitnesses; and there were hundreds of them.
Chapter 5: “He is the one to whom God exalted to His right hand as a Prince and a Savior to grant repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins; and we are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit,” he says. Chapter 10 of Acts, verse 39, the same emphasis on personal witness: “We are witnesses of all the things He did both in and of the Jews in the land of the Jews and in Jerusalem, we are witnesses. We are witnesses that God raised Him up on the third day. And He became visible not to all the people, but to witnesses who were chosen beforehand, who ate and drank with Him. We are witnesses.”
And there were others in Acts who gave the same testimony:
Chapter 13, verse 31; chapter 22, verses 15 and 20; chapter 26:16; they’re all saying, “We’re witnesses. We’re witnesses. We’re witnesses.” And they wrote down the eyewitness account in Scripture; and we are witnesses to the accuracy and inspiration of the eyewitness account; and God still advances His kingdom through personal witness. It’s still, in my mind, the most powerful tool for evangelism, because it’s undergirded by the credibility of a transformed life. This is God’s plan, God’s agency: human witness.
The next verse, which the Lectionary omits is about the first Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit:
49 I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.’
Here, too, is a prophecy that would be fulfilled. Henry reminds us:
Christ’s ambassadors must stay till they have their powers, and not venture upon their embassy till they have received full instructions and credentials. Though, one would think, never was such haste as now for the preaching of the gospel, yet the preachers must tarry till they be endued with power from on high, and tarry at Jerusalem, though a place of danger, because there this promise of the Father was to find them, Joel 2 28.
May all reading this enjoy a blessed Sunday.
Happy Easter, everyone! He is risen!
The readings for Easter Day are many. Year B’s are here.
Also available are an exegesis for another Epistle, Acts 10:34-43 (Peter’s preaching to Cornelius and his household), and the following Gospel accounts of the Resurrection: John 20:1-18, Luke 24:1-12 and Matthew 28:1-10.
Today’s Epistle for Year B is as follows (emphases mine):
1 Corinthians 15:1-11
15:1 Now I would remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you, which you in turn received, in which also you stand,
15:2 through which also you are being saved, if you hold firmly to the message that I proclaimed to you–unless you have come to believe in vain.
15:3 For I handed on to you as of first importance what I in turn had received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures,
15:4 and that he was buried, and that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the scriptures,
15:5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve.
15:6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers and sisters at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died.
15:7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles.
15:8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.
15:9 For I am the least of the apostles, unfit to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God.
15:10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me has not been in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them–though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me.
15:11 Whether then it was I or they, so we proclaim and so you have come to believe.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur.
John MacArthur’s sermons for this reading are from 1977, so I was astonished to read the fifth paragraph below in his first sermon on these verses:
Christians, down through the ages, have banked their destiny, have banked their destiny, have banked their life, have banked their hope on the fact that the shameful death of Jesus Christ was not the last word, but that he arose and triumphed over death, and that when He said, “Because I live, ye shall live also,” He granted to anyone who comes to Him by faith the same resurrection hope.
And it was this belief, and this belief alone, frankly, that turned the heartbroken followers of a crucified rabbi into the courageous martyrs of the early Church. It was the resurrection that gave birth to the fellowship of the saints that became the Church.
And they found, in those early years, that they could imprison them, and they could chastise them, and they could beat them, and they could verbally assault them, and they could invent ways to persecute them, and they could even kill them, but they could never make them deny the reality of the resurrection. It has always been, and will always be the cornerstone of the Christian faith.
And because that is true, the most fierce blows struck at Christianity, in its history, have been struck at the point of the resurrection. Because if you wipe out the resurrection, you get rid of everything: you eliminate salvation; you eliminate the deity of Christ; you eliminate eternal life; you eliminate the consequence of death. You just wipe it all out. And so, the resurrection is always under attack.
Some of you picked up the morning Times on Monday, after hearing our message on the resurrection last Sunday. On the front page you saw that article which stated that all Christian scholars agree that there is no resurrection. L.A. Times. And that this is something that’s just the wishful thinking of a few ancient fundamentalist fuddy-duddies who have long since lost touch with the reality of the truth.
Dear, oh dear. That’s nearly 50 years ago.
Matthew Henry explains concisely the problems that the Corinthians had with a bodily resurrection, which has been assured throughout Scripture, particularly the Old Testament. Incidentally, ancient Jews believed in bodily resurrection:
It is the apostle’s business in this chapter to assert and establish the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead, which some of the Corinthians flatly denied, v. 12. Whether they turned this doctrine into allegory, as did Hymeneus and Philetus, by saying it was already past (2 Tim 2 17, 18), and several of the ancient heretics, by making it mean no more than a changing of their course of life; or whether they rejected it as absurd, upon principles of reason and science; it seems they denied it in the proper sense. And they disowned a future state of recompences, by denying the resurrection of the dead. Now that heathens and infidels should deny this truth does not seem so strange; but that Christians, who had their religion by revelation, should deny a truth so plainly discovered is surprising, especially when it is a truth of such importance. It was time for the apostle to confirm them in this truth, when the staggering of their faith in this point was likely to shake their Christianity; and they were yet in great danger of having their faith staggered. He begins with an epitome or summary of the gospel, what he had preached among them, namely, the death and resurrection of Christ. Upon this foundation the doctrine of the resurrection of the dead is built. Note, Divine truths appear with greatest evidence when they are looked upon in their mutual connection. The foundation may be strengthened, that the superstructure may be secured.
Paul refers to the teaching on the Resurrection that he had given to the Corinthians previously, which, he says, they in turn received and in which they stand (verse 1).
In older translations, the word ‘now’, more easily understood as a transition from the Apostle’s previous message from 1 Corinthians 14, says ‘moreover’.
Paul goes on to say that that belief is causing them to be saved, provided that they hold on to it, unless they have believed in vain (verse 2).
Henry explains Paul’s determination to ensure that the Corinthians, influenced by Greek philosophy, believe in bodily resurrection. Just as Christ rose from the dead, so shall we:
1. It was what he constantly preached. His word was not yea and nay: he always preached the same gospel, and taught the same truth. He could appeal to his hearers for this. Truth is in its own nature invariable; and the infallible teachers of divine truth could never be at variance with themselves or one another. The doctrine which Paul had heretofore taught, he still taught. 2. It was what they had received; they had been convinced of the faith, believed it in their hearts, or at least made profession of doing so with their mouths. It was no strange doctrine. It was that very gospel in which, or by which, they had hitherto stood, and must continue to stand. If they gave up this truth, they left themselves no ground to stand upon, no footing in religion. Note, The doctrine of Christ’s death and resurrection is at the foundation of Christianity. Remove this foundation, and the whole fabric falls, all our hopes for eternity sink at once. And it is by holding this truth firmly that Christians are made to stand in a day of trial, and kept faithful to God. 3. It was that alone by which they could hope for salvation (v. 2), for there is no salvation in any other name; no name given under heaven by which we may be saved, but by the name of Christ. And there is no salvation in his name, but upon supposition of his death and resurrection. These are the saving truths of our holy religion. The crucifixion of our Redeemer and his conquest over death are the very source of our spiritual life and hopes. Now concerning these saving truths observe, (1.) They must be retained in mind, they must be held fast (so the word is translated, Heb 10 23): Let us hold fast the profession of our faith. Note, The saving truths of the gospel must be fixed in our mind, revolved much in our thoughts, and maintained and held fast to the end, if we would be saved. They will not save us, if we do not attend to them, and yield to their power, and continue to do so to the end. He only that endureth to the end shall be saved, Matt 10 22. (2.) We believe in vain, unless we continue and persevere in the faith of the gospel. We shall be never the better for a temporary faith; nay, we shall aggravate our guilt by relapsing into infidelity. And in vain is it to profess Christianity, or our faith in Christ, if we deny the resurrection; for this must imply and involve the denial of his resurrection; and, take away this, you make nothing of Christianity, you leave nothing for faith or hope to fix upon.
Paul then recaps what he taught that congregation: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures (verse 3).
There are several prophecies about the Messiah’s death in the Old Testament as well as sacrificial types of Christ. For Good Friday 2024, I have two lengthy exegeses on Isaiah 52 and 53, here and here. Isaiah fully prophesies the Crucifixion and the Resurrection.
Paul says that our Lord was buried and raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures (verse 4).
Henry says:
He died for our sins, according to the scriptures; he was buried, and rose from the dead, according to the scriptures, according to the scripture-prophecies, and scripture-types. Such prophecies as Ps 16 10; Isa 53 4-6; Dan 9 26, 27; Hos 6 2. Such scripture-types as Jonah (Matt 12 4), as Isaac, who is expressly said by the apostle to have been received from the dead in a figure, Heb 11 19. Note, It is a great confirmation of our faith of the gospel to see how it corresponds with ancient types and prophecies.
Paul says that the risen Christ appeared first to Cephas — Peter, Simon Peter — then the Twelve (verse 5).
Henry explains why Paul says ‘Twelve’, even though Judas had committed suicide already:
He was seen of Cephas, or Peter, then of the twelve, called so, though Judas was no longer among them, because this was their usual number …
MacArthur has more:
Verse 5 says, “And He was seen” – literally, He appeared. And we say that because Jesus was never seen by anyone to whom He did not reveal Himself after His resurrection. Mary Magdalene was in the garden. She saw Him. Did she know it was Him? No, she thought it was the gardener, and she didn’t know till He revealed Himself. Two disciples, who had been with Him for three years, walked along on the road to Emmaus. Did they know who He was? They didn’t know who He was until He revealed Himself.
In John 21, He appears on the shore, and they don’t know who He is until He chooses to reveal Himself. Post resurrection, no one saw Jesus as Jesus until He revealed who He was to a select group.
And so, He revealed Himself after His resurrection. And now Paul chronologically lists those revelations. And incidentally, since this is the oldest record of the resurrection, written even before any of the Gospels, this is the first insight into who were the eyewitnesses who saw Him. Number one was Cephas, and that’s Aramaic for rock. Greek for rock is what? Peter. And Luke 24:34 when the road to Emmaus, disciples came along, they reported to everybody else that He was seen by Simon.
MacArthur tells us why Jesus chose Peter, who had denied him three times in the early hours of Good Friday, as Jesus foretold, then wept bitterly afterwards:
Number one, I think God wanted to emphasize what grace is and what love is and what forgiveness is. And aren’t you glad He picks up the unworthy folks? Aren’t you happy about that? I am. Jesus needed Peter for a strategic ministry. You see, He can use crooked sticks as well as He can use straight ones. And He went right to Peter because He needed Peter. And after all, Peter had denied Him, but what had he done immediately after he denied Him? He went out and did what? He wept bitterly. And I think he had a broken heart. And I think the thing that Peter was so left with was that he had denied Jesus, and now Jesus was dead, and he could never make it right. So, Jesus went right to him and met with him.
Now, we don’t know about that meeting, because the Scripture doesn’t tell us about it. It was just a very private meeting. But Peter became eyewitness number one.
You say, “Well, why did they pick Peter out?”
I’ll tell you why. Who was the unquestionable leader among the twelve? Peter. Who had the greatest ministry in the first 12 chapters of the book of Acts? Peter. Who was the guy with the greatest line of credibility, with the greatest believability, with the most clout, with the greatest power, with the greatest impact on the early Church in Jerusalem? Peter. And he picks out the prime witness of the resurrection and says, “Peter believed it; he saw Him.” And they got to say, “Wow, and Peter’s something. What a man.”
Post-resurrection, Peter was indomitable, powerful. Peter believed it.
As for appearing to the Apostles:
You remember that same day it says in John 20:19, “And the same day, it being night, the disciples were in the upper room, the door being shut, and Jesus appeared to them and said, ‘Peace be unto you’”? Immediately, in John 20, after the incident with Peter, and He’s right to the upper room; and He meets the twelve. Now, there’s only 11 now, but “the twelve” became their official title. They were called “the twelve.” Even though there was only 11 because of Judas’ apostasy, they’re called “the twelve.” And so, Jesus went to be with them.
It’s recorded also in Luke 24:33 to 43.
Paul says that Jesus also appeared to 500 people, some of whom were still alive when he wrote to the Corinthians, although some had died (verse 6).
Henry tells us:
… he was seen of above five hundred brethren at once, many of whom were living when the apostle wrote this epistle, though some had fallen asleep. This was in Galilee, Matt 28 10.
MacArthur says:
… he says, “After that, He was seen by over five hundred brethren at once” – at the same time. And he adds this – “of whom the greater part remain to the present time, but some have died.” He says, “Here’s a second line of evidence. Not only” – now watch this – “Not only is the resurrection validated by the character of these witnesses, but by the number of these other witnesses. You’ve not only got the twelve, whose character is impeccable, unquestionable, but you’ve got the mass of 500 people who saw the living Christ.”
So, in one case you have the quality witness; in the other case, you have – what? – quantity witnesses, the great number. Now, where did this occur? Well, some believe it occurred in Jerusalem, because that’s where so many people lived that were associated with the Church. But if you really look at the text in Acts 1, you find there were only 120 disciples in Jerusalem, when the Church was born, gathered in the upper room? There may have been some more, but it seems best to assume that Jesus’ greatest reception was not in Jerusalem, but maybe the greatest crowd of people would have been in Galilee. And in fact, perhaps the sighting of Jesus by the 500 occurred on some hillside in Galilee, when Jesus was in Galilee, as Matthew indicates, in the latter chapters, He would be. So, whatever; but somewhere in Jerusalem perhaps a little less likely, but maybe in Galilee, more likely, Jesus appeared to 500 people at once. That’s a lot of witnesses. You have any case in court that you want to have, and you drag through 500 people who all say the same thing, that’s fairly convincing.
I mean all you needed, according to the Old Testament law, was that something had to be confirmed in the mouth of – what? – two or three. God always goes overboard, everything He does. He just had 497 more than He needed.
And listen to this; this is so great. He says, “The majority of them are still alive. You check it out.” Not only the character of witnesses who would some of them be dead, but the quantity of witnesses, most of whom were still alive. “You can ask them yourself.”
Paul says that Jesus appeared to James, then to all the Apostles (verse 7).
Henry says that the last part of that verse refers to the Ascension:
… he was seen of James singly, and then by all the apostles when he was taken up into heaven. This was on mount Olivet, Luke 24 50. Compare Acts 1 2, 5-7.
MacArthur says that this particular James was His step-brother:
This is James, the brother of our Lord, the one who wrote the epistle of James. The one who became the head of the Jerusalem church in the sense that he was the leader. James, the brother of Jesus – the half-brother – the son of Joseph and Mary.
You say, “Well, what’s so important about this?”
Well, this is a witness of a different kind. Listen to John chapter 7, verse 5, “For neither did His brothers believe in Him.” Now you’ve got the testimony of His own brother who is an unbeliever …
Listen, the importance of this is the fact that here you have a witness right out of His family, who was a skeptic, who has totally been changed, and He is now a believer of the resurrection. Now, James didn’t believe that Jesus was who He claimed. James didn’t believe. John 7:5 says it. Didn’t believe. Maybe when Jesus died, James began to feel a little remorse, and maybe as he knew the circumstances of the death of his half-brother, humanly speaking, maybe he began to feel some admiration for Jesus. And Jesus wanted a witness out of His own family, because, you know, it would be hard. People would say, “Ah, don’t kid us about you resurrecting from the dead. Your own family doesn’t even believe it.”
And so, Jesus sought out James. Jesus appeared to James in resurrection form, and James believed. And James was changed. And James, it says in James 1:1, starts out his letter by saying, “James, a servant of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Well, that’s a big change for an unbeliever.
Now you’ve got not only the testimony of quality men, and of a quantity crowd, but you’ve got the testimony of a skeptic here. And right out of Jesus’ own family, an unbeliever is transformed into one who does believe. The resurrection convinced him when all the rest of the stuff didn’t, apparently. He’d watched Jesus’ life. It didn’t convince him. The resurrection did.
Then, referring to his Damascene conversion, Paul says that Jesus appeared lastly to him — as to one untimely born (verse 8).
Henry’s Bible says:
8 And last of all he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time.
Why does Paul refer to himself in such a context? Because he was not one of the Twelve. He came later, yet, having been instructed by Christ during his three-day conversion and later in the desert (see Galatians 1 below).
Henry explains:
It was one of the peculiar offices of an apostle to be a witness of our Saviour’s resurrection (Luke 24 48); and, when Paul was called to the apostolical office, he was made an evidence of this sort; the Lord Jesus appeared to him by the way to Damascus, Acts 9 17. Having mentioned this favour, Paul takes occasion from it to make a humble digression concerning himself. He was highly favoured of God, but he always endeavoured to keep up a mean opinion of himself, and to express it. So he does here, by observing, (1.) That he was one born out of due time (v. 8), an abortive, ektroma, a child dead born, and out of time. Paul resembled such a birth, in the suddenness of his new birth, in that he was not matured for the apostolic function, as the others were, who had personal converse with our Lord. He was called to the office when such conversation was not to be had, he was out of time for it. He had not known nor followed the Lord, nor been formed in his family, as the others were, for this high and honourable function. This was in Paul’s account a very humbling circumstance.
MacArthur says:
Paul says, “I saw Him.” When did you see Him, Paul? You weren’t even around, fella. “I saw Him. I was on my way to Damascus.” Read Acts 9. “And I was just going there, and I was breathing out fire and slaughter, and I was going to do my thing. See? And all of a sudden, I got slammed to the dirt, and there in front of me was the blazing, glorious, resurrected Christ. And I said to Him, ‘Lord, what will You have me to do?’”
Paul saw Him. He saw Him, and He was so brilliant, He blinded him. It wasn’t the blinding of darkness; it was the blinding of light, like gazing at the sun. “I saw Him,” he said. He says, “I saw Him as one born out of due time.” Literally, tō ektrōmati, from the word ektrōma which means a premature birth. Ektrōmati is an aborted fetus. Now, that’s interesting. He says, “I saw Him as an aborted fetus, an abortion, a miscarriage.”
What’s he saying? Well, it seems to suggest, initially the Greek word does, that he was born too soon. But the fact is, in relation to the 12 apostles, he wasn’t born too soon; he was born – what? – too late. Well, how do you explain that? Well, perhaps the Greek word can imply that. Some commentators feel that the Greek word simply means an untimely birth, which means he could have been born too early, like a miscarriage;, or too late, retained too long. And maybe the word can mean that. Maybe he’s simply saying, “I was born at the wrong time.” It’s possible that the Greek word could just be a general word meaning a birth at the wrong time, either early or late.
There were also those who hated Paul’s message:
… some commentators say that there may have been some people who called him “the abortion,” because it was a term of derision and despite and hatred. And the people hated him so much for his gospel of grace which counteracted their systems of law.
This is what Paul wrote the Galatians in the first chapter of his letter:
Paul called by God
11 I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that the gospel I preached is not of human origin. 12 I did not receive it from any man, nor was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
13 For you have heard of my previous way of life in Judaism, how intensely I persecuted the church of God and tried to destroy it. 14 I was advancing in Judaism beyond many of my own age among my people and was extremely zealous for the traditions of my fathers. 15 But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by his grace, was pleased 16 to reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles, my immediate response was not to consult any human being. 17 I did not go up to Jerusalem to see those who were apostles before I was, but I went into Arabia. Later I returned to Damascus.
18 Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas[b] and stayed with him fifteen days. 19 I saw none of the other apostles – only James, the Lord’s brother. 20 I assure you before God that what I am writing to you is no lie.
21 Then I went to Syria and Cilicia. 22 I was personally unknown to the churches of Judea that are in Christ. 23 They only heard the report: ‘The man who formerly persecuted us is now preaching the faith he once tried to destroy.’ 24 And they praised God because of me.
Based on his ‘untimely birth’ in faith, Paul says that he is the least of the Apostles, unfit because of his active persecution of our Lord’s followers (verse 9), which, by the way, included Stephen the first martyr.
Henry says:
Note, A humble spirit, in the midst of high attainments, is a great ornament to any man; it sets his good qualities off to much greater advantage. What kept Paul low in an especial manner was the remembrance of his former wickedness, his raging and destructive zeal against Christ and his members. Note, How easily God can bring a good out of the greatest evil! When sinners are by divine grace turned into saints, he makes the remembrance of their former sins very serviceable, to make them humble, and diligent, and faithful.
MacArthur posits that Paul’s past life could have haunted him in his ministry:
… he uses the emphatic pronoun in verse 9, “For I, who am the least of the apostles, I’m not fit to be even called an apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God.”
Can’t you imagine that all through the life of that dear man, in his mind he saw the visions coming back of the people he had persecuted because they loved Jesus Christ? They were all his brothers, and he’d killed them once. “I didn’t deserve it,” he said. “The least of all.”
Paul then focuses on the free gift of divine grace that saved him, referring to it three times: by the grace of God he is what he is, His grace not having been in vain; he worked harder as an Apostle than the Twelve (Matthias replaced Judas, Acts 1) but acknowledges that was through God’s grace, not his own efforts (verse 10).
Henry points out the Apostle’s humility:
Note, Those who have the grace of God bestowed on them should take care that it be not in vain. They should cherish, and exercise, and exert, this heavenly principle. So did Paul, and therefore laboured with so much heart and so much success. And yet the more he laboured, and the more good he did, the more humble he was in his opinion of himself, and the more disposed to own and magnify the favour of God towards him, his free and unmerited favour. Note, A humble spirit will be very apt to own and magnify the grace of God. A humble spirit is commonly a gracious one. Where pride is subdued there it is reasonable to believe grace reigns.
MacArthur says that the Resurrection converted Paul:
And so, he says, “It wasn’t in vain either. But I labored more abundantly than the rest of the apostles; yet it wasn’t me, but it was the grace of God was with me.” Kopiaō, “I worked to the point of exhaustion. And God gave more abundant fruit to me than He did to anybody else,” he says. “And it wasn’t me; it was God.” He’s not extolling his hard work. He’s saying, “I worked hard, and there was a more abundant response as God’s grace worked.” It’s the idea of results in the “more abundant” rather “effort.” God’s grace did it.
How do you turn a guy going killing Christians into the greatest apostle who ever lived? How do you take somebody who’s doing everything he can to destroy the Church into the greatest proponent of the Church that ever lived? There’s only one thing that could do it. He saw the living Christ. That did it.
Finally, Paul says that, whether it was one of the Twelve or himself, they all proclaim the same — the Resurrection — and so the Corinthians have come to believe (verse 11).
Henry concludes:
… all the apostles preached the same: Whether it were they or I, so we preached, and so you believed. Whether Peter, or Paul, or any other apostle, had converted them to Christianity, all maintained the same truth, told the same story, preached the same doctrine, and confirmed it by the same evidence. All agreed in this that Jesus Christ, and him crucified and slain, and then rising from the dead, was the very sum and substance of Christianity; and this all true Christians believe. All the apostles agreed in this testimony; all Christians agree in the belief of it. By this faith they live. In this faith they die.
MacArthur points out that the scepticism surrounding the Resurrection is a relatively new ‘thing’, as we would say today:
Listen; one of the greatest testimonies to the resurrection is the unity, the uniformity of the common faith of the early Church. There weren’t a few over here who believed in resurrection, and a little segment over here who didn’t. That’s something new, folks. That’s something new. It’s only been in the age of the skeptic that all of a sudden we’ve got some part of the Church that’s the Church believing in resurrection, and some other so-called Christian church that denies it. That’s new.
Trust Scripture. Trust what you read and hear from the Bible.
Jesus Christ is risen indeed and reigns forever.
Without the Resurrection, our faith is in vain.
May all reading this enjoy a blessed and joyous Easter season. It lasts for six weeks.
Yesterday’s post — the first part — has links to the readings for and exegeses of the Epistle and Gospel for Good Friday.
Yesterday’s exegesis for this reading covered Isaiah 52:13 through Isaiah 53:1.
This post covers Isaiah 53:2-12 (emphases mine):
53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
53:3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.
53:4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
53:8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
53:9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
53:11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
53:12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).
As yesterday’s post explained, Isaiah 53 is a prophecy for a confession that has not yet taken place, one by the Jews of the future who will recognise that Jesus Christ is Lord. That will not happen until events in Revelation unfold, when members of the twelve tribes turn to Christianity.
Much of this chapter explains in their own words to come in future why their forebears rejected Jesus as the Messiah.
He grew up like a young plant, a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that would make us look at Him and nothing in His appearance to make us desire Him (verse 2).
The Jews wanted a mighty king for a Messiah. They had not reckoned on a spiritual Messiah, therefore, Jesus was out of the picture for them.
Matthew Henry says:
The contempt they put upon the person of Christ because of the meanness of his appearance, v. 2, 3. This seems to come in as a reason why they rejected his doctrine, because they were prejudiced against his person. When he was on earth many that heard him preach, and could not but approve of what they heard, would not give it any regard or entertainment, because it came from one that made so small a figure and had no external advantages to recommend him. Observe here,
1. The low condition he submitted to, and how he abased and emptied himself. The entry he made into the world, and the character he wore in it, were no way agreeable to the ideas which the Jews had formed of the Messiah and their expectations concerning him, but quite the reverse. (1.) It was expected that his extraction would be very great and noble. He was to be the Son of David, of a family that had a name like to the names of the great men that were in the earth, 2 Sam 7 9. But he sprang out of this royal and illustrious family when it was reduced and sunk, and Joseph, that son of David, who was his supposed father, was but a poor carpenter, perhaps a ship-carpenter, for most of his relations were fishermen. This is here meant by his being a root out of a dry ground, his being born of a mean and despicable family, in the north, in Galilee, of a family out of which, like a dry and desert ground, nothing green, nothing great, was expected, in a country of such small repute that it was thought no good thing could come out of it. His mother, being a virgin, was as dry ground, yet from her he sprang who is not only fruit, but root. The seed on the stony ground had no root; but, though Christ grew out of a dry ground, he is both the root and the offspring of David, the root of the good olive. (2.) It was expected that he should make a public entry, and come in pomp and with observation; but, instead of that, he grew up before God, not before men. God had his eye upon him, but men regarded him not: He grew up as a tender plant, silently and insensibly, and without any noise, as the corn, that tender plant, grows up, we know not how, Mark 4 27. Christ rose as a tender plant, which, one would have thought, might easily be crushed, or might be nipped in one frosty night. The gospel of Christ, in its beginning, was as a grain of mustard-seed, so inconsiderable did it seem, Matt 13 31, 32. (3.) It was expected that he should have some uncommon beauty in his face and person, which should charm the eye, attract the heart, and raise the expectations of all that saw him … Or it may refer not so much to his person as to the manner of his appearing in the world, which had nothing in it of sensible glory. His gospel is preached, not with the enticing words of man’s wisdom, but with all plainness, agreeable to the subject. (4.) It was expected that he should live a pleasant life, and have a full enjoyment of all the delights of the sons and daughters of men, which would have invited all sorts to him; but, on the contrary, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
John MacArthur says that the Jews were expecting the Messiah to be someone like King Saul:
They were big into appearance, that’s why they picked Saul to be their first king, right? He was more handsome than everybody else and taller. Still seems to be a formula for success. But it was with Him…with Jesus. Wait a minute, maybe He’s not tall enough, handsome enough, stately enough, majestic. Again, not much progress from 1 Samuel chapter 9 when they were picking Saul. Nothing royal about Jesus, nothing regal about Jesus, nothing elevated about Jesus. In fact, the idea that He was a king was so bizarre and so distasteful, they resented that so profoundly that when Pilate, at the end of his proverbial rope having been blackmailed by the Jews in this issue with Jesus, blackmailed and threatened that if he didn’t crucify Jesus, they were going to tell Caesar and he wouldn’t survive another report to Caesar. He knew that.
They blackmailed him. And his pound of flesh, his vengeance, his get back of those Jews was to slap on the top of the cross of Jesus, “This is Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews.” That was Pilate’s vengeance because he knew that was the most objectionable claim that Jesus made. Though He displayed divine power and divine wisdom and divine truth and divine grace, and holiness, they saw nothing of royal beauty in Him. Nothing attractive about Him. They had scorned from the beginning, His origin. They had scorned for the middle, His life.
MacArthur has a lengthy section on how Jewish rabbinical scholars denigrated Jesus, one of them being this:
The Hebrew word for Jesus is Yeshua…Yeshua. The rabbis through the years have changed that name by dropping the final “a” and they all Him Yeshu. Yeshu is an acrostic meaning, “Let His Name Be Blotted Out.” So you will see in rabbinic writings Yeshu, let Him be blotted out, which is the contemporary way of saying, “We will not have this man to reign over us,” which is what they said when they screamed for His crucifixion.
He is called by the rabbis “The Transgressor.” He is called by the rabbis “The Tolui,” “The Hanged One.” Cursed is whoever is hanged on a tree.
Returning to the wording in verse 2, MacArthur says that the plant references refer to what we call suckers, those rogue shoots at the bottom of certain shrubs or trees — e.g. rose bushes — that need to be cut off:
Let me just say, this is an agrarian society, these people work in the ground, they grow things, they have trees and orchards and they plant in the ground, and so illustrations will come from that realm. To say that He is like a tender shoot is to simply say He’s a sucker branch, it’s the Hebrew word yoneq and it means a sucker branch. Sucker branches pop up, and without cultivation, without expectation. And the thing that you do with a sucker branch so that it doesn’t drain away life and fruitfulness from the other branches is cut it off. Superfluous, small, unnecessary, irrelevant, insignificant, random. Sucker branches pop up. They’re not designed, they’re not cared for, they’re not expected, they’re not needed and they’re cut off.
Some commentators like to think that this tree the sucker branch comes out of is a metaphoric reference, or an allegorical reference to something like the house of David, or whatever. That’s really stretching it unnecessarily. This is very simple language. This is simply a way to say His beginning was irrelevant. It was unimportant, it was insignificant, it didn’t matter, He was a nobody from nobodies, from nowhere …
Or He’s like a root out of parched ground. As the sun comes down in that part of the world, in the Middle East, the ground becomes parched and dry. And as the ground shrinks because water evaporates out, some of the roots begin to come to the surface, dirty, brown roots in parched ground, not cared for. That would be roots of a tree that nobody cares about, because if they cared about it, they’d be watering it. Again, it’s another way to say He’s unnecessary, unwarranted, unwanted, unimpressive, no value, no more significant than a sucker branch or a dry root in a parched place that nobody cultivates, that nobody cares for, that nobody waters.
Furthermore, He was despised and rejected by others; He was a man of suffering, acquainted with infirmity; someone one hides one’s face from because He is despised. Therefore, we held Him of no account (verse 3).
Henry elaborates:
His condition was, upon many accounts, sorrowful. He was unsettled, had not where to lay his head, lived upon alms, was opposed and menaced, and endured the contradiction of sinners against himself. His spirit was tender, and he admitted the impressions of sorrow. We never read that he laughed, but often that he wept. Lentulus, in his epistle to the Roman senate concerning Jesus, says, “he was never seen to laugh;” and so worn and macerated was he with continual grief that when he was but a little above thirty years of age he was taken to be nearly fifty, John 8 57. Grief was his intimate acquaintance; for he acquainted himself with the grievances of others, and sympathized with them, and he never set his own at a distance; for in his transfiguration he talked of his own decease, and in his triumph he wept over Jerusalem. Let us look unto him and mourn.
MacArthur says the Jews found Christ’s death contemptible, certainly not befitting their notion of the Messiah:
He had a contemptible end. For that you go to verse 3, “He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like one from whom men hide their face, He was despised and we didn’t esteem Him.” His end is in view here in the opening two lines. They had not only contempt for His beginnings and His life, but especially His death. Now remember, they didn’t think they needed somebody to die for their sins. They were in to self-righteousness. They were going to please God by being good and religious and doing works. And here comes this Messiah, this one who claims to be the Messiah and the King, and instead of being triumphant, instead of His career ending in glory and majesty and triumph and victory and elevation and exaltation, He’s despised, forsaken of men. It all ends in sorrow and grief …
… And, of course, on top of that, there was the actual pain. And that was so bad, verse 3 says, that He was like one from whom men hide their face. By the time He got to the cross, He was marred more than any man, verse 14 says of chapter 52 …
The reality of His suffering just doesn’t fit the picture of Messiah. Now remember, they didn’t need, they didn’t think, a savior. And Jesus said, “I can’t do anything with you because I didn’t come to call the righteous to repentance.” He is totally objectionable. So He is like one from whom men hide their face, someone so grotesque, so deformed, so ugly, so objectionable that you don’t even turn to look. It’s too embarrassing, it’s too shameful, it’s too ugly, it’s too horrible, it’s too unforgettable. You don’t want that image in your face. That’s…that’s the ongoing attitude of Israel toward Jesus. He’s hideous to them as a Messiah, despicable.
Then comes the beginning of the future confession.
Surely, He has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet, we accounted Him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted (verse 4).
MacArthur points us towards the word ‘surely’:
… the transition comes in verse 4 with the first word, “Surely or truly, or verily.” This is an exclamation. This is a sudden recognition of something unexpected, a dramatic change from the previous perception. This is a reversal; this is spinning on their heels fast. Surely, as if to say, “Whoa, stop in our tracks, and turn and go the other way.” Now we see our griefs He Himself bore, our sorrows He carried. He was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities, chastened for our well-being, scourged for our healing.
We have a whole new view of this. Our consideration was that He was nobody. We will not have this man to reign over us, we said. And when we had the option of Barabbas or Jesus, we said kill Jesus, crucify Him. And now we know. Surely, He didn’t die for His own sin. He didn’t die for His own iniquities. He didn’t die for His own transgressions. He didn’t die because He was a blasphemer like we thought He was. He didn’t die because God killed Him for claiming deity. He didn’t die because God killed Him because He claimed to be the Messiah when He wasn’t. He didn’t die because He claimed equality with God.
That’s what they thought. They thought that God killed Him for His blasphemies. He was a blasphemer, they said that, and that God killed Him as a blasphemer for His own sins and His own iniquities, and His own transgressions, which in their mind were supreme blasphemies. Claiming to be the Messiah, claiming to be alive before Abraham, claiming to be equal with God, claiming to be able to raise Himself from the dead, claiming to be the Creator.
This blasphemer died by the hand of God for those horrendous, horrific sins. That’s what we thought. Now we know. It was our griefs He bore. It was our sorrows He carried. He was pierced, crushed, chastened, scourged for us. That is the complete reversal of how they viewed the cross. He took our place, died in our stead, gave His life for us. Technically, we would call this vicarious penal substitution.
This reversal carries on into the next two verses:
These three verses, by the way, verses 4, 5 and 6, are so connected that they’re like concentric circles. They kind of weave around and around each other. And each of them mentions the wrongs and the provision of the Servant to provide atonement for those wrongs, and they do cycle around the same theme. But they are so profoundly rich … They understand how wrong they were.
MacArthur goes into the specific wording:
They get it. Our griefs He Himself bore, our sorrows He carried. We ourselves, we are the issue here. Our griefs.
The word for “griefs” is sickness. It’s diseases, infirmities, calamities, pretty broad word. And here sins are viewed from the perspective of their effects. Sins are viewed from the perspective of what they produce, the conditions that come from sin. Life becomes full of sickness, disease, infirmity, calamity. These are the griefs. And it’s a word that looks mostly at the objective, the outside, the agonies and struggles and issues that we deal with in life. Our griefs He Himself bore. The word “bore” means to lift up, pick up and place on oneself. He picked up all of that that sin produced and put it on Himself.
And then they say it another way. Our sorrows, that’s the word for pains, that talks more about the subjective or the inward. Griefs is a word that refers to the outward effects of sin, and sorrows is a word that refers mostly to the inward effect of sin. But sin is viewed here not as a moral entity, which the word “sin” would convey, but rather from the distress and horrors and issues of life that flow out of sin. He picked up sin with all that it produces and carried it, put it on Himself, carried it. Well, we know He carried it to the cross and He bore the full punishment of God …
You remember in Leviticus 16 that when atonement was made, one animal was killed and one animal was kept alive. And the priests would lay their hands on that one animal, the scapegoat, as if to place all the sins of the people on the scapegoat and he would be sent out into the wilderness, never to return again, never. Jesus is the scapegoat. He picks up all our sin, pays the penalty in full. He’s the sacrificial animal as well, and He’s the scapegoat and carries them all away.
This is not saying Jesus sympathetically feels our pain. It’s not saying that. It is that He takes our sin and its full punishment, pays for it in full, and thus brings to an end the reign of sin in our lives with all of its effects, and all of its manifestations, all of its griefs, and all of its sorrows. And one day we’ll enter into the fullness of that, won’t we? One day when we enter into heaven, no more sin and no more effects. We should have suffered for our sins, but He did. He took away from us all that belonged to us, all that we should have felt by way of judgment, pain, devastation, even eternal punishment and put it on Himself. And thus He shifted the load completely away from us …
And then comes this confession, “Yet…reaching back…we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted” …
And the language here is very strong. The word “stricken” is to strike violently, a very violent word used in Exodus 11:1 of the plagues. The word “smitten” means basically to beat someone even to death. And the word “afflicted” a general word, to be humiliated, to be degraded, to be destroyed. So we thought that when He was being smashed and beaten and degraded and humiliated, that this was God doing it because He was a blasphemer. And by the way, that is still the Jewish assessment today. The Jewish assessment is just that today. That’s their view. But there are Jews who see the truth, aren’t there? Some of you. And you say that’s what we thought but now we know different.
The confession continues.
He was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the punishment that made us whole, and by His wounds, we are healed (verse 5).
MacArthur explains the extreme nature of the verbs in this verse:
This is such marvelous language here, very graphic. The words pierced, crushed, chastened, or punished, scourged, very strong words. Let’s talk about those for a moment.
The prophet has no knowledge of the cross; He doesn’t know what’s going to happen 700 years hence. The Spirit of God leads Him to pick these words and we could say that these are metaphoric words in some way, or these are sort of general words that saying pierced, crushed, punished, scourged, simply trying to pick words that are graphic and dramatic and sort of repulsive to think about someone being treated this way, that they’re intended to be somewhat general. And you would be right about that.
There are Hebrew scholars that suggest that the word pierced, for example, is the strongest Hebrew expression for violent death. So that if you look at it in a general sense, you could say, “Well, whoever this is, He’s going to have a violent death,” and you would be right. And you could look at the word “crushed,” and that word can refer to anything from being trampled to death, literally trampled, crushed under foot, such as Lamentations 3:34, all the way to being battered and bruised. That would be a lesser of it. It could be simply a broad word for somebody’s life being crushed out. But it can be anything, as I said, from being trampled to death to being severely bruised.
And then the word chastisement, very interesting word. It is the only Hebrew word to express punishment, and punishment is a technical term. It’s a legal term in some sense. And you could say, “Well, this definitely was a punishment, generally speaking,” and you would be correct about that. And the word “scourged” could also be viewed in somewhat of a general sense. Scourging meaning lashing someone, slashing someone, inflicting wounds on someone. They could be general words and perhaps when Isaiah wrote that, that’s what he thought. Well this is…this is just picking all the worst possible descriptions of a horrific, horrendous death.
But, the truth of the matter is, they’re not just general terms because every one of them specifically happened to Jesus. He was pierced five times, both feet, both hands and His side. Psalm 22 is a Psalm that looks forward to the cross. Psalm 22 begins, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” The very words Jesus said on the cross. But in Psalm 22:16 the psalmist writes, “They pierced My hands and feet.” Zechariah 12:10, Zechariah says, “They’ll look on Him whom they’ve pierced.” And they actually pierced Jesus on the cross. That actually happened. In John 19 there are a couple of verses that are tied to this. Verse 34, John 19, “One of the soldiers pierced His side with a sphere and immediately blood and water came out.” Verse 37 says, “And another Scripture is fulfilled, they shall look on Him whom they pierced.” Yes, He was pierced. How specific a prophecy is that?
What about the word crushed? It can refer, as I said, to anything from a sort of severe bruising to being trampled to death. Listen, we know what happened to Jesus. We know that He was slapped. We know that He was punched in the face, John 19:3. And we also know, according to Matthew 27 verse 30, that the Romans took sticks and beat Him in the face with sticks. Punching Him in the face, slapping Him in the face, and beating His head and His face with sticks would raise bruises and welts that would be within the framework of that word “crushed.”
What about the next one, chastening, as I said the Hebrew word for punishment. Was His execution a form of punishment? Absolutely it was …
And what about the word “scourging”? Is that just a generic term? Well, according to Mark 15:15, it says He was scourged. We all know the story of that. Heavy stick with leather thongs extending from it, embedded with bone and rock and glass, lacerating His body over and over and over again.
The Jews knew all that. They know it now. They know it today. They know about this man Jesus who was pierced and bruised and punished and scourged. They know that very well. It’s in the record. But on the day of national salvation, they’re going to look back and realize that God did not do that to Him because it was God who crushed Him. It was God but God did not do that to Him because of His own sins, but He did it to Him because of their sins. That’s the difference. They will confess…I love this…for our transgressions, for our iniquities, for our well-being, for our healing.
That’s what’s going to happen someday. They’re going to confess that. In the meantime, folks, the only way you can ever be saved is to confess it now. Now.
Then the ultimate part of the confession comes.
The converted Jews, those discussed in Revelation, will admit somethihg of themselves: like sheep, they have gone astray, going their own way, and, because of that, the Lord God laid upon His Son the iniquity of them all (verse 6).
MacArthur says:
Sinners recognize this. They lack well-being; they lack Shalom; they lack peace with God. They had no, as Isaiah 54 calls it, covenant of peace, which couldn’t be shaken. And they also lacked wholeness, spiritual health. They were sick. Chapter 1 says, “Sick from head to toe, sick in sin.”
… confession of sin gets down to the bottom line. It is a matter of who we are. The problem is in our nature, and that’s where verse 6 comes in. It’s in our nature. It is more profound than most would recognize, looking at this section. This part of the confession looks not at the manifestations of sin, but the cause. Here’s the problem. All of us are like sheep, and we’ve gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way. And he says it’s in our nature.
Sheep act like sheep. Sheep don’t act like anything but sheep. We’re acting consistently with our nature. And, in fact, they will find a parallel in sheep. Sheep are stupid, defenseless, helpless wanderers. They don’t…they don’t get in flocks like geese, and they don’t hang around herds like cows. They don’t stay together. So they’re a good analogy. They have built into them a tendency to wander away from security and safety, and provision, and wander off, not in a group, but all by themselves, each going his own way. They follow that internal impulse that leads them away to all that is safe and secure and helpful. Our problem is deep in our nature. We are like sheep, defenseless, stupid, helpless wanderers …
And this is a part of a true confession, folks. This is a genuine repentance that recognizes that the evidences of sin betray a nature of sin. Gathering all that guilt and all that just punishment, and, as it were, dying for not only what we’ve done, but who we are. Jesus bears the full weight of our sinfulness on Himself in the sense that He takes the punishment of God. That’s what the verse says at the end. “The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” Our evil deeds, our evil thoughts, our evil deprivations, and our evil nature, for all of that, for all of that, the Servant of Jehovah bears the full weight of punishment.
That’s what it says. The Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. The Lord God Himself chose the sacrificial Lamb, the Servant, Messiah, the sacrificial Lamb. The Servant Messiah was voluntarily willing to submit Himself to become the vicarious substitute. God caused Him then to pick up all the guilt that belonged to us and take the full fury of divine wrath. Five different ways in those verses, five different ways it speaks of the vicarious, substitutionary provision of Jesus Christ, dying in our place. This is the heart of the gospel …
This will be the confession that Israel makes in the future. But this is the confession that any sinner can make now, and you can make it today. You remember 2 Corinthians 6:2, “Now is the acceptable time.” “Today is the day of salvation,” words borrowed from Isaiah again. Today is the day. Now is the time of salvation. Paul says in Romans, quoting again from Isaiah, Romans 10:11, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. There’s no distinction between Jew and Gentile. The same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him, for whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” That’s now. This is the acceptable time. That means God will accept you now. This is the day of salvation.
The sheep analogy from verse 6 then continues, referring to Lord Jesus as a lamb in the next verse.
He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He did not open His mouth; as a lamb is led to the slaughter and as a sheep is silent before the shearers, He did not open His mouth (verse 7).
MacArthur reminds us of the brutality of our Lord’s final hours before His horrifying and humiliating death on the Cross:
Verse 7, “He was oppressed.” He Himself…literally in the Hebrew, He Himself emphatically was oppressed. This is a word that takes us to brutality, it takes us to enslavement. It is a word that refers to being arrested, to being abused. And it was severe. So severe was His treatment when He was arrested and abused, that verse 14 of chapter 52 says the appearance that He had, His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. He didn’t even look human.
By the time they were finished with Him, both in terms of the physical beating that He took on His body, and the abuse that He took on His head and His face from a crown of thorns, and sticks that beat Him in the face, and spit and sweat and blood running down His face, He didn’t even look human … It started with His arrest in the middle of the night in the garden. Then it continued through the mockery of trials, false witnesses, the abuse that came to Him there, the psychological torture that He underwent there, and the outrageous injustice of turning Him over to the Romans, and the way they handled Him and abused Him physically.
From the arrest in the garden through the trial at the house of the high priest, trying to indict Him by false witnesses giving false testimony, His time before Herod, before Pilate, all the mistreatment from the Jews and the Romans. No crime ever validated, no proof ever given, no guilt ever established. According to Luke 23:15, Herod declared His innocence. Three times in Luke 23 Pilate says He’s innocent…three times, and he was the governor. So it was a legal verdict, three times innocent. Still the leaders of Israel, the Jewish leaders with consent from the people, pushed Pilate to follow his triple declaration of the innocence of Jesus with a call for execution. That’s what he does in Luke 23:25. Well, that’s what’s seen here in verse 7; He was oppressed.
And then it says He was afflicted. But it’s a passive verb, and it really needs to be looked at a little differently, a little more closely. He allowed Himself to be afflicted. That’s the way you would translate a passive verb. Passive means it happens…the action happens to you, not from you. It also comes to mean…and could fairly be translated this way as it is in Exodus 10:3…He humbled Himself, which is another way of saying He allowed Himself to be afflicted. Paul may well have had this very phrase in mind when he wrote Philippians 2, “He humbled Himself and became obedient to death, even death on the cross.” That may well be a direct reflection of Isaiah 53:7.
This is not normal for tortured people. This is not normal for innocent people who are being tortured. Normally an oppressed, tortured person who is innocent and knows that this is a gross injustice cries out, cries out about the injustice, and cries out about innocence. But not the Servant of Jehovah. He doesn’t say a word. “Yet He didn’t open His mouth.” In spite of the fact that this was all evil, wicked, wretched injustice against not just an innocent man, but a perfectly holy and righteous man, He didn’t open His mouth …
Isaiah says He was like a lamb. He was led to slaughter and like a sheep that’s silent before its shearers, so He did not open His mouth. The issue here is the willingness of the Messiah to die. This is not a good plan gone wrong. Seven hundred years before Jesus showed up, the prophecy is crystal clear that when He comes He will come as a lamb for slaughter. And when He arrived, before He began His ministry, John says, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” And that means that He must be a sacrificial lamb because only in the death of the sacrifice is the sin removed.
When Jesus died at the end of the three years of His ministry, that was not as some have tried to portray it, a good thing gone bad. That was the very reason He came in the first place. There was plenty He could have said before His accusers. Oh my, there were plenty of things He could have said to the high priest, the chief priests that made up the Sanhedrin, plenty He could have said to Pilate and Herod. But He didn’t. It was the silence of submission to the will of His Father. But it was also the silence of judgment. You wouldn’t listen, and now I have nothing to say to you. When I did speak about life and salvation, when I did speak about forgiveness and the Kingdom of God, you would not listen, and now I have nothing more to say to you.
He is absolutely silent in judgment. And verse 7 ends again by saying, “He did not open His mouth.” He not only accepted the unrighteous judgment of men, but He accepted the righteous judgment of God on behalf of unrighteous sinners in order to make them righteous. No sacrifice was ever so perfect; no sacrifice ever so pure. Here is the sinless, spotless Lamb of God, acceptable to God, chosen by God and elect, dying for sinners. It is here, dear friends, that Old Testament soteriology reaches its apex. This is the high point of the Old Testament. The Messiah is the sacrifice, slaughtered by God for us.
He is the Servant of Jehovah; He is the Slave of Jehovah; and His service requires that He die, that He be punished for our well-being, that He be scourged for our healing, that He be crushed for our iniquities, that He be pierced through for our transgressions.
By a perversion of justice He was taken away; who could have imagined His future: cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people (verse 8).
MacArthur says:
And as verse 8 puts it, that He be cut off out of the land of the living for our transgressions to whom the stroke is due. That’s the message of the gospel. And it’s a message of sin and judgment, and death and sacrifice.
MacArthur continues in his next sermon:
Being cut off out of the land of the living, Jewish expression. It appears in a number of places in the Old Testament. Daniel 9:26 talking about Messiah, says, “Messiah will be cut off.” Daniel also predicted His death.
So He will be executed. That’s what that expression means. He will be murdered; it’s a dramatic way to say it, cut off out of the land of the living, executed, like a lamb led to slaughter. Which the same expression, by the way, is used in Jeremiah 11:19 to refer to himself. Jeremiah saw himself as a lamb being led to slaughter. So, common expression, cut off out of the land of the living. In spite of all that He was, in spite of all that He did, all that He said, the most horrendous injustice in human history is done to Him and He is executed.
The telling statement in this verse is found in the second line, “As for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living?” Who considered it? Who considered that He was violently executed? Who stepped up and protested? That’s what it means. Who saw it for what it was? Where was the high priest in protest? Where were the Sadducees or Pharisees or somebody who was a fastidious adherent to the Jewish order and tradition and Law? Where were the rabbis? Where were the scribes? Where was anybody? Here we find in the prophecy 700 years before it ever happened, the pronouncement that no one will defend Him, no one will defend Him.
MacArthur tells us that there was a 40-day grace period in those days before an execution, but it was waived in our Lord’s case:
A custom prevailed, by the way. This is most fascinating. Among the Jews in the case of a trial that could lead to execution, it was required that there be a period of time once the verdict was given for people to step up and speak to the innocence of the one who had been set for execution. There was basically a 40-day period. That’s what we find in their literature. Forty days were to pass between the declaration of death and the execution itself, a period of time in which someone could speak in favor of the accused and plead His innocence, which makes an awful lot of sense. They didn’t do that. They got the trial over with in the middle of the night so there was nobody there to interrupt them. Then that very day as the dawn broke, they sent Him in the process that brought Him to death by that very afternoon.
Where were the 40 days? Where were the 40 days? Early in Christian history that began to be asked. Why did the Jews violate that? There appears in answer to that a statement by the Sanhedrin. The Sanhedrin put together a statement. It is now in the Jewish Talmud, folio 43 in the Jewish Talmud, from the Sanhedrin. It says this, “There is a tradition – ” this is the Sanhedrin’s words – “there is a tradition on the eve of the Sabbath and the Passover they hung Jesus. And the herald went forth before Him for 40 days crying, ‘Jesus goes to be executed because He has practiced sorcery and seduced Israel and estranged them from God. Let anyone who can bring forth any justifying plea for Him come and give information concerning it’ but no justifying plea was found for Him and so He was hung on the eve of the Sabbath and the Passover.”
That’s in the Talmud of the Jews, a lie that they sentenced Jesus and waited 40 days before they executed Him for somebody to show up, and nobody showed up. That’s in the Jewish Talmud authored by the Sanhedrin to cover their tracks …
So when Isaiah 53 begins, “Who believed our message, and who responded to the revelation of the arm of the Lord?” We didn’t. And how extreme was their rejection? That extreme that even after they had done all that, and even after He had risen from the dead, and even after the church had been born and begun to grow, they concocted a lie to put in the Talmud to say that they gave 40 days and nobody showed up. But then again, why would anybody show up? He didn’t belong to the category of people who were worthy for someone to make a plea …
Like Jesus said, “Sheep of another fold.” The Jews know the man Jesus was struck dead. They know He was struck dead. They believe He was struck dead by God, but for His own blasphemies. Such a blasphemer that He wasn’t worthy for anyone to step up to His defense. The truth is, He was struck by God for the transgressions of His people, including Jews and Gentiles and one day the nation of Israel.
MacArthur goes on to say that the anti-Semitism that pervaded the Church for centuries was — and continues to be wherever it exists now, which is outside the Church — the wrong response:
It doesn’t help to perpetuate this even today. Our attitude toward Jewish people has to be one of unrestrained love and compassion and evangelistic zeal.
They made His grave with the wicked — the two criminals, one on either side of Him — and His tomb with the rich — Joseph of Arimathea — although He had done no violence and there was no deceit in His mouth (verse 9).
MacArthur describes what normally happened to people who died on a cross. During that era, there were a lot. This was the plan for Jesus. Many of us will learn something by reading this first paragraph:
Jesus was crucified between two criminals, Luke 23:33; Matthew 27:38. And here would be the normal disposition. They would die on the cross of asphyxiation, and they would leave Him there. Leave Him there dead and rotting, leave Him there for the birds to pluck out their faces. And they would leave them there like road kill for animals that could climb up the cross to chew their flesh. They would leave them there for the purpose of warning everybody who was watching of what happens to people who violate the Roman power and the Roman law. That’s what was planned for Him. Eventually they would have taken the rotted corpses down and thrown them in a dump.
The Jerusalem city dump was in the Valley of Hinnom; you can go there today. It’s not the dump anymore but the Valley of Hinnom on the southeast side of Jerusalem was the city dump, and it was a fire that never went out, a constant fire there. It is a very interesting place, historically. It was the place where apostate Jews and followers of Baal and other Canaanite gods burned their children to the god Molech. You find that back in 2 Chronicles 28:33. Jeremiah talks about it, Jeremiah 7. But this was the place where they offered babies to Molech.
It was there that King Ahaz sacrificed his sons, 2 Chronicles 28. It is the place that Isaiah identifies at the end of his prophecy as the place where the worm never dies. And Jesus said it’s a depiction of hell, in Mark, where the worm never dies…Mark 9. And he says that three times. Horrible place where they threw what was left of the corpses. The rabbis describe it as a perpetual fire to consume the filth and the cadavers that are thrown there. So He was executed with criminals. He would end up like criminals.
The plan for Jesus went wrong when Joseph of Arimathea stepped in to ask Pilate for His body so that he could put it in a tomb. Isaiah, through the power of the Holy Spirit, prophesied this very thing:
God wasn’t going to let that [desecration] happen. Psalm 16 says that He would not allow His Holy One to see corruption. God would never let that happen. So verse 9 says there’s an amazing turn. “His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death.” How did that happen? He was with a rich man in His death because all along there was a man by the name of Joseph from a place called Arimathea.
This man Joseph had become a disciple of Jesus Christ quietly, and he was very rich. Matthew 27:57, “In the evening there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate, asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate ordered it to be given to him. Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth and laid it in his own new tomb which he had hewn out in the rock and he rolled a large stone against the entrance to the tomb and went away.” He should have been road kill; He should have been in the dump and He ends up in a brand new tomb owned by a rich man. Just exactly what the Holy Spirit reveals to Isaiah was going to happen.
Why? Why? Why was that important? It tells us at the end of verse 9; this is most interesting. “Because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.” That’s just a way of saying He was holy on the inside and the outside. Because out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. There was nothing in His mouth of a sinful thing, sinful nature. There was no behavior of a sinful nature. And because of His holiness, because as Hebrews says He was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, because He was the sinless, spotless Lamb without blemish, the Father never allowed Him to end up in the dump.
Then the narrative returns to our Lord’s death briefly: it was God’s will to crush Him with pain; and, then reverting to the future Jewish confession, when you make His life an offering for sin, He shall see his offspring and prolong His days; through Him the will of the Lord will prosper (verse 10).
MacArthur explains the second part of the verse:
The middle of verse 10, “He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand as a result of the anguish of His soul He will see and be satisfied.”
Wait a minute. He’s dead. What’s going on here? How could He see His offspring? Prolong His days? Do the work of God in His hand? See and be satisfied? He would have to be alive, wouldn’t He?…have to be alive. This is a confession of the resurrection, and it’s in the image of childbirth. It’s just magnificent. “He will see His offspring, He will see His posterity.” That is future tense. Now they shift, these Jews, into future tense the results of what He has done. He will see His offspring. This is such an obvious analogy. And we would all like to see the generations ahead, right? …
So if He sees His offspring, if He sees His posterity, He’s got to be alive a long time, and He will. He will prolong His days. That’s a Hebraism for long, enduring life. He’s alive now. So here is Romans 10:9 and 10; they not only believe in the death of Christ, but they acknowledge that God raised Him from the dead. Here’s the resurrection. He will see His posterity; He will see the generations in the future; He will see all of them because He’s alive, He’s alive.
And He would have to be alive, wouldn’t He? To reign, to be exalted? I love this. In Hebrews 2:9, “He was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death but we see Him crowned with glory and honor.” And then verse 10, “it was fitting for Him for whom are all things and through whom are all things in bringing many sons to glory.” Just stop right there.
He will see them all. All the ones He brings to glory He will see. John 6, He says, “All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me, I’ll lose none of them and raise them at the last day.” He will live to see His posterity. He ever lives to see His children. He will see His bride complete. He will see His flock gathered into glory. He will see His children. Amazing reality.
Yes, He prospers. That’s what it said in verse 13 of 52, “My Servant will prosper.” And here His prosperity is indicated in the final phrase of verse 10, “The good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.” And what is the good pleasure of the Lord? That through crushing Him He saves the elect. He will see it. Not only will He see it, He will do it. The good pleasure of the Lord will succeed in His hand. All that the Father gives to Me will come to Me; I will lose none of them. I will raise Him up. The work of Christ will be complete.
The first half of verse 11 ends the future confession of converted Jews: Out of His anguish, He shall see light and find satisfaction through His knowledge. Then God speaks in the second half: the righteous one, My Servant, shall make many righteous and He shall bear their iniquities.
MacArthur says:
God will rejoice over the salvation of Israel that we’re talking about in the future. And so will Christ. And as the result of the anguish of His soul, literally, He will see His spiritual offspring, including Israel, and be fully satisfied. Or another way to translate that; He will enjoy it to the max. The Servant’s full joy and satisfaction comes from providing righteousness, redemption, forgiveness and eternal heaven for His children.
The final words are from God, the middle of verse 11 …
MacArthur has more in his final sermon on Isaiah 53:
Starting in the middle of verse 11, God speaks. The pronouns all change. They go from being plural to singular. The verbs go from being past tense to future. It goes from the Jews as a nation, looking back to the cross, to God speaking, looking forward to the cross. And what is God’s view? Listen, starting with, “By His knowledge,” verse 11. “By His knowledge the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities.”
God said that He would allot him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet, He bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors (verse 12).
In MacArthur’s translation, the name Righteous One is added:
By His knowledge the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
MacArthur explains:
Those are the very words of God, solving the enigma of verses 13 to 15 in chapter 52. This is God’s view. The pronouns, My and I; the verbs, future; God personally speaking, predicting the very reality that the Jews will confess. He is predicting the death of the Righteous One. He is predicting that He will pour Himself out to death. He is predicting that it will be a sin-bearing death, that He will bear the sins of the many, and that by that He will justify the many. That is the doctrine of vicarious, substitutionary atonement – justification by imputation. That is the great doctrine that has been confessed by the future generation of Jews and by all of us, and God affirms it. God affirms it.
God affirms the deity of His servant when in verse 11 He identifies Him as the Righteous One … So here is a word from Yahweh, a word from Jehovah, declaring the answer to life’s supreme question: How can a sinner be forgiven fully and reconciled to God, being delivered therefore from eternal hell to eternal heaven? The answer of God is through the death of the Righteous One who dies in the sinner’s place, paying in full the penalty for sin. This is God’s affirmation.
MacArthur says that Righteous One would have been a familiar title for the Messiah:
There is only one who could bear that title, one in this world, one human, one man who could bear that title, the Righteous One. And that is such a marvelous Old Testament designation of the Messiah that it was familiar to the New Testament believers who knew the Old Testament. For example, Peter preaches this great sermon in the third chapter of Acts and he draws down that title. He says, “The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers has glorified His slave, Jesus, the One whom you delivered and disowned in the presence of Pilate when He had decided to release Him, but you disowned the Holy and Righteous One” – the Righteous One. He’s the only Righteous One.
Stephen preached that great sermon before he was crushed beneath the bloody stones, and he says, “Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute?” to the Jews. “They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One.” The Righteous One. That had become a Messianic title. In the 22nd chapter, Paul reiterates his testimony about the Damascus Road and he says, “I went to the house of Ananias, and Ananias spoke to me about the Righteous One.” Back then to the 53rd chapter. God also establishes this title here by calling His servant the Righteous One, the only One who was holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, in whom there was no sin, of whom He said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am” – what? – “well-pleased.”
So here is God speaking of His Son, His slave, the Righteous One, and He says this, “By His knowledge He will justify the many” – the “many,” meaning those who believe; the “many” meaning the people of God; the “many” meaning those for whose sins He died and atoned, He will justify; that is, He will provide righteousness for them. He, by His sacrifice, by taking on their sins, will be able to grant them His righteousness. We understand the doctrine of justification, that He dies, the Righteous One, to justify many sinners.
MacArthur clarifies ‘knowledge’ in verse 11:
Whose knowledge are we talking about there? It can go either way in Hebrew. It could be “by His knowledge,” and that’s what’s kind of implied in the N.A.S. – “by His knowledge” meaning the servant, the Righteous One, He will justify many. It could be referring to His knowledge of God’s plan, His understanding of God’s plan, the perfect wisdom that He possessed.
Isaiah makes a point in chapter 1 and chapter 5 about the Israelites lacking knowledge. He makes another very strong point in the 44th chapter of Isaiah about the nations’ lacking knowledge. So maybe here He’s saying, “But the Righteous One has the knowledge that it takes to do God’s will and to provide justification for the many.” The problem with that is it wasn’t by His knowledge that He justifies us; it was by His what? By His death. The Hebrew would allow us to translate it this way: “By the knowledge of Him, the Righteous One, My servant, will justify the many.” Justification will come to those who know Him – who know Him. It is best to interpret this as our knowledge of Him, of His person, of His work, of His provision in His death and resurrection, the gospel. Here God validates the Great Commission. Here God says that He will justify the many who have the knowledge of Him. Neither is there salvation in any other name …
Faith comes by hearing the Word concerning Christ. That is our mandate, and that mandate is given to us here by God Himself. There is then placed right in this very chapter the Great Commission and the call to faith – faith based on knowledge of the true revelation of Christ.
MacArthur reminds us that Jesus Himself cited part of Isaiah 53:12:
… this wonderful statement: “And was numbered with the transgressors.” Literally, in the Hebrew it means He let Himself be included among transgressors. In fact, Jesus quotes this in Luke 22:37 before He got to the cross. Quotes these very words. It is a reference to His incarnation, that He was literally embedded among transgressors. He lived among transgressors. He mingled in this world. And from a visual standpoint, He didn’t look any different than anybody else. There was no halo. He didn’t move two feet off the ground. He had no stately form or majesty. Nothing about His appearance made Him attractive. He looked like every other man. He walked like every other man. He spoke in a voice like every other man’s voice, he ate. He did what men do.
There was nothing about Him that drew them to the conclusion that He was supernatural. That was part of the problem when He did miracles. There was such a disconnect between what He appeared to be and the power that He had, that they decided in their unbelief that that was the power of Satan somehow operating through Him. Here God affirms the incarnation. Here God Himself, in His own words, says He came down and let Himself be embedded in the world of fallen men. This is Philippians chapter 2, that He humbled Himself, took on the form of a man, a servant, and took on death, even the death of the cross.
So it’s not about His death with criminals; it’s about the fact that He came to take His place with sinners. And though He became familiar with sinners, though He would be counted as human among the transgressors, yet He Himself was able to do what no human being can do and that was bear the sin of many, though He was blended in with sinners in the world. Yet He was the only one qualified to rise above them and be the sacrifice for their sins. He is the Righteous One, God embedded in humanity, the God-man, and He appears to be like all the rest but He is capable of lifting up their sins.
MacArthur then discusses Christ’s ‘intercession for the transgressors’ which he thinks should be ‘mediation for the transgressors’:
“Interceded for the transgressors.” I wish the translators had used in the N.A.S. “mediated.” The word means mediated. It means to mediate, to go between, to stand between. And this is the statement of God, that Christ is the One who is between God and man. First Timothy 2:5, “There is one” – what? – “mediator between God and Man, the Man Christ Jesus.” Yes, in that mediation, He is the intercessor. He is the One who pleads our case. He is the One who is the bridge to God, the bridge to heaven. He made the required mediation possible through His death. His mediation began for us, really, in the New Testament, in John 17, before He got to the cross, when He prayed that High Priestly Prayer, the night He was betrayed and He began to pray for us. He began to pray in that incredible prayer that God would bring us all to heaven, that all that belong to Him throughout all of human history would be gathered together and that they would all be brought to glory where they could see Him in His glory and see the glory of the Father. And He began interceding for those for whom He died.
But there’s a very important sort of Hebrew note to make about the verb “interceded.” It’s an imperfect verb meaning continuous – continuous. All the previous verbs are perfect tense, which means a completed action. If you go back three verbs, “He poured out Himself to death,” that’s completed; He did that once. “He was numbered with the transgressors,” that’s His incarnation; He did that once. “He bore the sin of many”; that He accomplished on the cross, never to be repeated. Those are completed, perfected. But His intercession is imperfect because it goes on. “He ever lives to make intercession for us.” He’s ever our defender. He’s ever our intercessor. He’s ever and always our mediator until we finally get to heaven. Hebrews 7:25, Romans 8:34 celebrate the mediating, interceding work of Christ.
Henry explains what dividing the spoil, or booty, means in this verse:
Because he has done all these good services, therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and, according to the will of the Father, he shall divide the spoil with the strong, as a great general, when he has driven the enemy out of the field, takes the plunder of it for himself and his army, which is both an unquestionable evidence of the victory and a recompense for all the toils and perils of the battle. Note, (1.) God the Father has engaged to reward the services and sufferings of Christ with great glory: “I will set him among the great, highly exalt him, and give him a name above every name.” Great riches are also assigned to him: He shall divide the spoil, shall have abundance of graces and comforts to bestow upon all his faithful soldiers. (2.) Christ comes at his glory by conquest. He has set upon the strong man armed, dispossessed him, and divided the spoil. He has vanquished principalities and powers, sin and Satan, death and hell, the world and the flesh; these are the strong that he has disarmed and taken the spoil of. (3.) Much of the glory with which Christ is recompensed, and the spoil which he has divided, consists in the vast multitudes of willing, faithful, loyal subjects, that shall be brought in to him; for so some read it: I will give many to him, and he shall obtain many for a spoil. God will give him the heathen for his inheritance and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession, Ps 2 8. His dominion shall be from sea to sea. Many shall be wrought upon by the grace of God to give up themselves to him to be ruled, and taught, and saved by him, and hereby he shall reckon himself honoured, and enriched, and abundantly recompensed for all he did and all he suffered. (4.) What God designed for the Redeemer he shall certainly gain the possession of: “I will divide it to him,” and immediately it follows, He shall divide it, notwithstanding the opposition that is given to him; for, as Christ finished the work that was given him to do, so God completed the recompence that was promised him for it; for he is both able and faithful. (5.) The spoil which God divided to Christ he divides (it is the same word), he distributes, among his followers; for, when he led captivity captive, he received gifts for men, that he might give gifts to men; for as he has told us (Acts 20 35) he did himself reckon it more blessed and honourable to give than to receive. Christ conquered for us, and through him we are more than conquerors. He has divided the spoils, the fruits of his conquest, to all that are his: let us therefore cast in our lot among them.
On a similar train of thought, MacArthur concludes:
We’re going to become heirs of God – Romans 8:17 – and joint heirs with Christ. Everything He possesses, we will possess. Is not this the magnanimous grace of God? That we don’t sit in eternity, in some sense, impoverished, watching Christ enjoy all the rewards, but everything He possesses is ours to share. This is the extent of God’s massive grace. He divides the spoils with the strong. Who are the strong? They are the weak made strong. We are the many made great and we are the weak made strong. We are the triumphant ones, that’s what that means.
… All the spoils that Christ won at the cross, all the redeemed of the ages will be part of a communion of fellowship everlasting that will enrich our lives.
… To repent of your sin, to know what Christ has done, to embrace Him in faith as the substitute who took your place, to confess Him as risen Lord is to be saved.
Isaiah, through the power of the Holy Spirit, has given us much to think about here, especially as we approach Easter. Let us be glad and be thankful that Christ died for our sins and, through His resurrection, offers us a glorious, eternal life with Him.
End of series
Readings for Good Friday can be found here.
Also available are exegeses for the Epistle, Hebrews 10:16-25, and the Gospel, John 18.
The First Reading is as follows (emphases mine):
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
52:13 See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.
52:14 Just as there were many who were astonished at him–so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals-
52:15 so he shall startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate.
53:1 Who has believed what we have heard? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
53:2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
53:3 He was despised and rejected by others; a man of suffering and acquainted with infirmity; and as one from whom others hide their faces he was despised, and we held him of no account.
53:4 Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted.
53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed.
53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
53:8 By a perversion of justice he was taken away. Who could have imagined his future? For he was cut off from the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people.
53:9 They made his grave with the wicked and his tomb with the rich, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him with pain. When you make his life an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days; through him the will of the LORD shall prosper.
53:11 Out of his anguish he shall see light; he shall find satisfaction through his knowledge. The righteous one, my servant, shall make many righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
53:12 Therefore I will allot him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry and John MacArthur (as indicated below).
In one of his several 2012 sermons on Isaiah 52 and 53, John MacArthur introduces these two chapters to us:
… the prophecy in the fifty-third chapter of Isaiah … really begins in chapter 52 in verses 13 through 15.
Isaiah 52:
speaks of Jesus Christ, seven hundred years before He was born. And so does chapter 53, and so does this entire section of Isaiah with many chapters directed at the person of the Messiah who was none other than the Lord Jesus Christ …
MacArthur explains why Christianity is the only true faith, something we should contemplate this weekend, beginning on Good Friday and culminating on Easter Sunday:
I understand there are twenty or so major religions in the world. There are about 300 separate segments of those 20 religions. There are, in addition, countless tribal, traditional, and cultic forms of religion. And then there are millions upon millions of personal belief systems. One would have a hard time counting up all the imaginary deities that exist in the minds of people. However, all except Christianity are false religions. All except Christianity are deceptive.
… by the way, the only God in all of religion to die and rise again to give forgiveness and salvation to His people is the Lord Jesus Christ, the true God. Only Christianity, only Christianity presents a savior. And there is only one truth and it is the truth of Christianity. And there’s only one Savior, and that is the Lord Jesus Christ.
Only Christianity faces the reality that no person can earn his way to God. No person can earn forgiveness. No person can earn salvation. No person can earn heaven by goodness, morality, religious activity, ceremony, ritual. The Bible is very clear that salvation is a gift for those who know they can’t earn it and cry for mercy, putting their trust for forgiveness and salvation and heaven in the Lord Jesus Christ, who died for their sins in their place and rose triumphantly from the dead, divine conformation that He had fully satisfied the justice and the wrath of God and salvation was available.
All people are sinners, all who have ever lived are sinners, all are unable to save themselves, all need a savior. There’s only one Savior, Jesus Christ, who died and rose to save His people and bring them all to heaven. That’s the message of Holy Scripture and that’s the truth. And that is why the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are celebrated the way they are by Christians. It is the greatest event in the history of the world.
MacArthur says at several points in his sermons on these two chapters that the world does not know this because the world does not know the Bible. May I add that lapsed Christians also fall into this category. They lapsed because they do not know Scripture.
He explains why the Jews still await the Messiah:
The Jews had always waited for the Messiah, which means the Anointed One, which is simply a way to identify Him as the King. They had been promised greatness. They had been promised prosperity as a nation from the beginning because the father of that nation was Abraham. And God made a covenant with Abraham and repeated it to his sons, the patriarchs, and then repeated it again through the history of Israel that God would one day save that nation, both temporally and spiritually, and bring glory to that nation and through that nation to the world. God would bless that little nation, Israel, and make them a blessing. They counted on that promise being fulfilled …
The Jews were looking for the coming King, every generation … They were looking for a king, a king like the king they chose originally, Saul, somebody great and powerful. They were looking for someone with military might, someone who was a dominating ruler, someone who is triumphant, someone who would deliver them from all the things they hated, all the things they resisted, all the things they resented, and lead them to glory and through them bring peace and righteousness to the world. And they knew what to look for because the prophet said the Messiah would be a man, He will be the seed of a woman, He will be a man.
He will be a man and yet He will be God. How can that be? Isaiah gave them a hint when he said, “A virgin shall conceive and bear a Son.” So a God/Man, born of a virgin. Yes. He will be a Son of Abraham, that’s why His genealogy is there. He will be in the royal line of David. He will come through the tribe of Judah. He will be born in the town of Bethlehem. They had some details by which to identify the Messiah. So for centuries, they had been looking. And then Jesus Christ arrived, born of a virgin in the line of Abraham, in the line of Judah, in the line of David, born in the town of Bethlehem, and evidenced His deity by words and works the likes of which the world had never and has since never seen, a power display without parallel.
All the qualifications were met and more. But the problem they had was where was the pomp and where was the circumstance and where was the fanfare and where was the military power? He was born humbly in a feed trough and He was attended in His birth by the lowest people on the social ladder, shepherds, considered a base kind of work. He lived humbly in a very average family in a less than average, out of the way town called Nazareth. He collected around Him some very humble nobodies and made them His messengers. He sought no office, He sought no position, He sought no education. He made no friends with the elite. He gathered no army. He presented no strategy to set up His rule.
… He didn’t attack the Romans, the enemies of God and the enemies of Israel. He attacked the Jews; He attacked the temple. He made a whip, started throwing people out. They turned it into a den of robbers. He did it at the beginning of His ministry; He did it the final week of His ministry. He assaulted the Jewish religious leaders. He assaulted Judaism at its highest point, at its peak, at its pinnacle. He assaulted the temple, He assaulted the religion, and He never touched the Romans.
They were already doubtful about Him because He didn’t act like a King. They were already tired of being disappointed by Him because when they tried to make Him a King, He disappeared. So they turned on Jesus. For the rest of the week [the days preceding His death] He went on attacking the false and apostate theology of Judaism in the temple and teaching the people the truth. But the people had turned and, eventually, by Friday they were screaming for His blood, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him.” They turned Him over to the Romans and that’s exactly what the Romans did. They were hoping that He would be the one to redeem Israel. But He wasn’t the king they wanted.
Here is the crux, so to speak, of the issue. The Jews did not think they needed a Saviour, which is still true today, certainly of the Jewish friends I’ve had in the past. To them, an acknowledgement of sin is a Christian belief, not a Jewish one:
A system of merit, a system of credit, a system where you earn your way to God and to heaven by being a good person, a moral person, and a religious person. That was how they viewed religion. The bottom line, they didn’t need a savior …
… They didn’t need to be delivered from their sins. They were righteous. They needed to be delivered from their circumstances and their suffering. They did not think they needed a savior to deliver them from the judgment of God that was about to fall on them because they were so sinful. And they were Abraham’s children. They were safe, they thought. They were the children of promise, children of the Covenant. They had been adopted by God.
MacArthur says that the Jews should have thought about the centuries of sacrifices and what those indicated:
They should have believed that they needed to be saved from their sins. They should have believed that the Messiah was going to come and die and rise and then reign at some later time. He was going to come and provide salvation, spiritually, for His children, and then deliver them into the Kingdom promises. You say, “Well why should they have believed that?” Well, you might say they should have believed it by understanding the sacrificial system, all the animals that they massacred every single day in the morning sacrifice, the evening sacrifice, all the days of atonement, all the other sacrifices. What did it all point to? What was it all looking at? They should have known.
… But if they couldn’t have made that connection, they should have known what Isaiah 52 and 53 said. So let’s go there. Because Jesus appears in Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12, this is about My Servant, the Messiah. This is the fourth chapter on the Messiah as the Servant of Jehovah. Chapter 42, 49 and 50, Isaiah has already featured characteristics of the coming Messiah who is the Lord Jesus Christ. This is the fourth of those chapters. And it really begins, as I said, in verse 13 of 52.
The Lord God says that His servant — His Son — will prosper; He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high (verse 13).
In Matthew Henry‘s Bible, the verse has more depth:
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
Henry says that the Jews of the Old Testament era understood that this referred to the Messiah and adds historical notes in the context of Isaiah’s general prophecy:
Here, as in other places, for the confirming of the faith of God’s people and the encouraging of their hope in the promises of temporal deliverances, the prophet passes from them to speak of the great salvation which should in the fulness of time be wrought out by the Messiah. As the prophecy of Christ’s incarnation was intended for the ratification of the promise of their deliverance from the Assyrian army, so this of Christ’s death and resurrection is to confirm the promise of their return out of Babylon; for both these salvations were typical of the great redemption and the prophecies of them had a reference to that. This prophecy, which begins here and is continued to the end of the next chapter, points as plainly as can be at Jesus Christ; the ancient Jews understood it of the Messiah, though the modern Jews take a great deal of pains to pervert it, and some of ours (no friends therein to the Christian religion) will have it understood of Jeremiah; but Philip, who hence preached Christ to the eunuch, has put it past dispute that of him speaks the prophet this, of him and of no other man, Acts 8 34, 35. Here,
I. God owns Christ to be both commissioned and qualified for his undertaking. 1. He is appointed to it. “He is my servant, whom I employ and therefore will uphold.” In his undertaking he does his Father’s will, seeks his Father’s honour, and serves the interests of his Father’s kingdom. 2. He is qualified for it. He shall deal prudently, for the spirit of wisdom and understanding shall rest upon him, ch. 11 2. The word is used concerning David when he behaved himself wisely, 1 Sam 18 14. Christ is wisdom itself, and, in the contriving and carrying on the work of our redemption, there appeared much of the wisdom of God in a mystery, 1 Cor 2 7. Christ, when he was here upon earth, dealt very prudently, to the admiration of all.
MacArthur’s verse 13 reads as follows:
Behold, My Servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
I prefer ‘Behold’ to ‘See’. The former draws our attention. We know something important follows.
MacArthur tells us:
Behold, the Hebrew hinneh, full attention. Give Me your full attention. The Messiah is introduced for the fourth time in this prophecy of Isaiah as the Servant of Jehovah, My servant, My ebed, meaning slave, a word referring to one who did hard work in obedience to his master, who had no will of his own, only that of his master and lived to please his master. God identifies the Messiah as His Slave, His obedient, submissive Slave. The Servant of Jehovah, the Slave of Jehovah that is a messianic title, the one who comes to do the will of Jehovah.
He is the one Israelite, the one whose work will prosper on such a level that He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. And in the end, literally, He will render the globe speechless. God had been disappointed in the nation of Israel. Here is the one true Servant of Jehovah, the one true Israelite who will affect the redemption of His people from their sins and then from their circumstances and their suffering and their enemies.
Just a note about “My Servant.” There are four times in the prophets where you have, “Behold My,” or “Behold,” referring to the Messiah. Here, “Behold My Servant,” also in Zechariah 3:8, “Behold My servant,” referring to Messiah. In Zechariah 6:12, it’s “Behold the Man…the Man,” which tells us Messiah will be the Servant of God, He will also be a man. In Zechariah 9:9, the prophet says, “Behold your king,” so the Messiah will be the Servant of Jehovah, a man and king. And in Isaiah chapter 40, verse 9, it says of Messiah, “Behold your God…Behold your God.” Messiah will be Man and God, and Servant and King. Those are juxtaposed, aren’t they? Man and God, Servant and King, He is all of that.
“Behold,” look at Him. And those powerful titles, that quartet of titles, Man, God, Servant, King, become the theme of the four gospels. Matthew presents Him as King. Mark presents Him as Servant, Luke presents Him as Man, and John presents Him as God. Look at Him. Look at My Servant. The one whose food is to do the will of Him who sent Him and finish His work, the one who said, “I always do the things that are pleasing to My Father. My Servant – ” He says – “will prosper.” This is the revelation, “He will prosper.” It’s not…it’s not a well-intended life gone bad. Jesus didn’t die as some kind of a martyr to a noble cause that He failed to be able to pull off. “My Servant will prosper.”
The Hebrew actually is, literally to act intelligently, to act wisely. And in the Hebrew language that always means that it’s measured by success. It’s not like the Greek language has all kinds of nuances, but when you say someone acts wisely in Hebrew, what you mean is they’re successful. That is why that same verb that is here translated “Will prosper,” appearing in Joshua 1:8 is translated this way, “You will make your way successful.” Success is the result of hard work and wise strategy. He will act intelligently, He will act wisely, He will be successful, He will accomplish My work, He will prosper.
And by the way, the verb actually has the idea of increasingly so. And this verb is never applied to success that someone fell into. It is never applied to any success without effort or any success that is not obtained by wisdom and careful action. “He will not fail,” that’s what the prophet said, “to accomplish the will of God.” He will do what I set Him to do. The evidence of His success in the same verse, “He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” That’s a series that is not redundant.
I know you read it and you say, “High, lifted up, greatly exalted, sounds redundant.” it isn’t. It’s high, higher, highest. God is going to make Him high, then higher, and then highest. High, I believe, looks at His resurrection. Higher looks at His ascension. And highest looks at His coronation. He is going to be so successful that God is going to raise Him from the dead, God is going to take Him into glory, and God is going to sit Him at His right hand, Philippians 2:9 to 11.
God is going to give Him a name above every name, the name Lord. And at that name, every knee will bow. God is going to make Him the ruler over everything in the universe. He’s going to be the King of the universe, as well as the head of the church. The astonishing revelation of the Servant of Jehovah is this, He will come, He will succeed, He will accomplish the purpose of God by His great effort, and God will validate that by raising Him from the dead, taking Him into glory and seating Him on His throne. That is an astonishing appearance of the Messiah.
The tone then changes, suggesting the scourging Jesus endured before the Crucifixion, before returning to His risen state in everlasting glory, which the world will recognise.
Just as there were many who were astonished by His appearance, so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals (verse 14), so He shall startle many nations; kings will shut their mouths because of Him; that which they had not been told of they would see and that which they had not heard they would contemplate (verse 15).
These verses in Henry’s Bible are as follows. We will come to ‘sprinkle’ in a moment:
14 As many were astonished at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Henry explains and discusses sprinkling:
He gives a short prospect both of his humiliation and his exaltation. See here, 1. How he humbled himself: Many were astonished at him, as they were at David when by reason of his sorrows and troubles he became a wonder unto many, Ps 71 7. Many wondered to see what base usage he met with, how inveterate people were against him, how inhuman, and what indignities were done him: His visage was marred more than any man’s when he was buffeted, smitten on the cheek, and crowned with thorns, and hid not his face from shame and spitting. His face was foul with weeping, for he was a man of sorrows; he that really was fairer than the children of men had his face spoiled with the abuses that were done him. Never was man used so barbarously; his form, when he took upon him the form of a servant, was more mean and abject than that of any of the sons of men. Those that saw him said, “Surely never man looked so miserably, a worm and no man,” Ps 22 6. The nation abhorred him (ch. 49 7), treated him as the off-scouring of all things. Never was sorrow like unto his sorrow. 2. How highly God exalted him, and exalted him because he humbled himself … (1.) Many nations shall be the better for him, for he shall sprinkle them, and not the Jews only; the blood of sprinkling shall be applied to their consciences, to purify them. He suffered, and died, and so sprinkled many nations; for in his death there was a fountain opened, Zech 13 1. He shall sprinkle many nations by his heavenly doctrine, which shall drop as the rain and distil as the dew. Moses’s did so only on one nation (Deut 32 2), but Christ’s on many nations. He shall do it by baptism, which is the washing of the body with pure water, Heb 10 22. So that this promise had its accomplishment when Christ sent his apostles to disciple all nations, by baptizing or sprinkling them. (2.) The great ones of the nation shall show him respect: Kings shall shut their mouths at him, that is, they shall not open their mouths against him, as they have done, to contradict and blaspheme his sacred oracles; nay, they shall acquiesce in, and be well pleased with, the methods he takes of setting up his kingdom in the world; they shall with great humility and reverence receive his oracles and laws, as those who, when they heard Job’s wisdom, after his speech spoke not again, Job 29 9, 22. Kings shall see and arise, ch. 49 7. (3.) The mystery which was kept secret from the beginning of the world shall by him be made known to all nations for the obedience of faith, as the apostle speaks, Rom 16 25, 26. That which had not been told them shall they see; the gospel brings to light things new and unheard of, which will awaken the attention and engage the reverence of kings and kingdoms. This is applied to the preaching of the gospel in the Gentile world, Rom 15 21. These words are there quoted according to the Septuagint translation: To whom he was not spoken of they shall see, and those that have not heard shall understand. As the things revealed had long been kept secret, so the persons to whom they were revealed had long been kept in the dark; but now they shall see and consider the glory of God shining in the face of Christ, which before they had not been told of—they had not heard. That shall be discovered to them by the gospel of Christ which could never be told them by all the learning of their philosophers, or the art of their diviners, or any of their pagan oracles. Much had been said in the Old Testament concerning the Messiah; much had been told them, and they had heard it. But, as the queen of Sheba found concerning Solomon, what they shall see in him, when he comes, shall far exceed what had been told them. Christ disappointed the expectations of those who looked for a Messiah according to their fancies, as the carnal Jews, but outdid theirs who looked for such a Messiah as was promised. According to their faith, nay, and beyond it, it was to them.
MacArthur examines the syntax for us:
Verse 14, “Just as many were astonished at you,” and I think that is directed at the Messiah and so some add “My people” in italics. That doesn’t help because He’s talking really to the Messiah, not Israel. “Just as many were astonished at You,” and switching pronouns from the second to the third is not uncommon in prophetic language in the Old Testament. “Just as many were astonished at You, so His appearance was more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.” Many are going to be astonished at Him, but not because of His exaltation, many. They’re going to be astonished because of His humiliation. Many? Yeah, many, the people of Israel basically. They’re the only ones that saw His humiliation.
The word “astonished” we might want to talk about for just a moment. Again, the Hebrew language gets so much from the context. The word could be translated to be desolate, to be waste, to be thrown into a numbed condition, to be petrified, to be paralyzed. It basically has the idea of you’re so shocked that you lose control. That this is going to happen to the Messiah is so shocking, it’s almost paralyzing. And what is the shock? “That when Messiah comes His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men.” His appearance has to do with His face, and His form has to do with His body. In face and body, He is marred more than any man, more than the sons of men.
What does that mean? His face and body will be so totally disfigured and so totally distorted that He will literally be…literally in the Hebrew…away from men or beyond men, out of the category of being human. This is a distortion and a disfigurement that destroys all resemblance to being human. What could that be about? Some thought that the Messiah would be ugly, that He would be repulsive when He walked on earth, and He would be deformed in some way. That’s not what this is saying. The truth is the Messiah was God in human flesh. He was the sinless ideal of human creation; therefore, He was beautiful in every feature. He was the manliest man, the most strikingly handsome man who ever lived.
But that’s not the point. This looks at His crucifixion and what led up to it, where He was so disfigured, so mutilated, so distorted as to be beyond looking even human …
… You barely recognize a human being under the blood and the sweeping wounds and the crushing burden of His body hanging on a cross and being dislocated. And so it says they were astonished at You.
It was the astonishment of contempt. This couldn’t be their Messiah. This pictures the shock of the common people who looked at His humiliation. He was a repulsive object to them, nowhere near what they wanted in their Messiah King, not even close. His degradation is the deepest possible, the most profound, the most horrible. But so will His exaltation be. There were many who saw that, many in Israel. But His exaltation everyone will see. We go from an astonishing revelation to an astonishing humiliation or mutilation, and then finally, an astonishing exaltation.
MacArthur looks at ‘sprinkle’ in verse 15:
Look at verse 15. This is important. “Thus He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him, for what had not been told them, they will see, and what they had not heard, they will understand.” This speaks of His exaltation. The scene changes with another jolting shock. It was common, local Jews living in Israel who were astonished at His disfigurement in death. Now all of a sudden, the astonishment belongs to nations and kings who, literally, are mute, who are speechless when they see Him, when they see Him.
You’ll notice in your Bible it may say “sprinkle” there. That’s possible. And again, in dealing with the Hebrew language, we have to kind of decide whether we’re going to go one way or another in words that could mean a couple of things. It could mean something literal or something metaphoric. In this case, sprinkle is a fair translation of the verb. It literally means to spurt, something that spurts up. And some translators have used sprinkle and they’ve said, “Well, this means that in His death and humiliation and mutilation, He will provide cleansing for the nations. He will cleanse many nations, that all of a sudden now He’s gone from being a sacrifice to being a priest.
And even when I wrote the Study Bible, I sort of accepted that view. But since then, after further study, I think it’s better to translate it and this is becoming, I think, a more standard way with the word startle, startle. Why startle? Well, because it fits the parallel. The so and thus, they were astonished at the marring of the man and thus they will be astonished at His exaltation. Because of the parallel, the effect He produces by His exaltation needs to be parallel to the effect produced by His humiliation. The effect produced by His humiliation was astonishment or startling, and so the effect produced by His exaltation is startling as well.
You say, “Well that’s fine context wise, but what about the words? Sprinkle and startle seem like two different words.” Not really, nazah the verb can mean to spurt. But it can mean, metaphorically, to leap up. And there’s evidence that could mean to leap up by excessive emotion. It can mean to startle metaphorically. And by the way, nations can’t be cleansed anyway. Individuals can. But the whole world can be startled and will be startled by the return of Christ. The day will come when the nations of the world will tremble with astonishment when He comes. They will be electrified.
… The drama that will occur as the sky goes black and as Christ appears in glory will not be lost on anyone. Kings will therefore shut their mouths on account of Him. Those who always have a right to speak will be speechless. The involuntary effect of shock and amazement, extreme astonishment, intense emotion will render them silent. The world will be mute as He comes. Why? “For what they hadn’t been told they will see. What they hadn’t heard, they will understand.”
Before beginning Isaiah 53 verse by verse, MacArthur says that theologians throughout history have considered it to be one of the iconic chapters of the Bible:
It has been called by some scholars in the past, “The Fifth Gospel.” The Fifth Gospel, to be added to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. It was Augustine who said way back in the fifth century, “It is not a prophecy, it is a gospel.” It was Polycarp, the student and friend of the apostle John who called this section of Scripture “The Golden Passional of the Old Testament”.
Martin Luther himself said, “Every Christian ought to be able to repeat it by heart.” So, that is going to be your assignment, to memorize Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12. And you will draw on it the rest of your life. It is very likely that you already know most of it if you have been a student of Scripture for any length of time. A couple of German scholars writing in 1866 said, “It looks as if it had been written beneath the cross of Golgotha. They further said, “Many an Israelite has had it melt the crust of his heart.” The same German scholars went on to say this, “This chapter is the most central, the deepest and the loftiest thing that Old Testament prophecy outstripping itself has ever achieved,” end quote.
You’re going to find in this section of Holy Scripture the root of Christian thinking, even though it is Old Testament. You’re going to find here phraseology that has entered and remained in Christian speech and conversation. You’re going to find in this section of Scripture the text that has been used by more gospel preachers and writers through history than any other portion of the Old Testament. In fact, Isaiah 53 is the heart of Hebrew writing. It is the epoch messianic, prophetic Scripture that stands above all others in the Old Testament.
MacArthur has a long section on how the chapters of Isaiah can be divided by history and by theme. It is well worth reading, but I will excerpt the main features:
Isaiah is divided into two sections, chapters 1 through 39, and chapter 40 through verse 66. Obviously a long and very detailed and magnificent Old Testament book. It was written about 680 B.C. or seven hundred years before Christ. The first half of the book, chapters 1 through 39, speak of coming judgment and captivity, thirty-nine chapters where God speaks through the prophet Isaiah, speaking of judgment, judgment on Israel to come immediately. And it did come.
It came less than a hundred years after it was written in the beginning of the Babylonian Captivity when the whole southern kingdom of Judah, the only part that remained, the northern kingdom already had gone into captivity some years earlier, 720. The captivity of the southern kingdom is the target of the first 39 chapters. And beyond that, there are warnings about divine judgment on sinners of all ages and all time, and even indications of a final, terminal, eschatological day of great judgment. But the chapters 1 through 39 are about judgment and captivity in terms of the Babylonian captivity and the greater issue of judgment on sinners and even the greater issue of final judgment at the end of human history …
That brings you to the second section. Twenty-seven chapters remain, chapters 40 through 66. The theme of the second section is grace and salvation, grace and salvation. These 27 chapters, starting in chapter 40, are the most sublime and rich portion of Old Testament prophecy. It really is a single prophecy, one glorious vision, one majestic revelation of salvation through the coming Messiah. It is sublime. It is sweeping. It is comprehensive. It encompasses not only the deliverance of Israel from Babylon, not only the deliverance of sinners from sin, but the deliverance of the nations from the curse into the Kingdom of Messiah. So it has those same elements. The first part talks about judgment on Israel, it talks about judgment on sinners, and it talks about final judgment. The second half talks about deliverance for Israel, deliverance for sinners, and a final deliverance into the Messianic Kingdom.
Most interestingly the second half, which is what we’re going to be looking at, 40 to 66, begins where the New Testament begins. I want you to look at chapter 40 for just a brief moment and the parallel is quite interesting. In chapter 40 we read, “Comfort, O comfort My people, says your God.” And that’s the turn in the book of Isaiah from the pronunciation of judgment in the first 39 to comfort in the back half because of grace and salvation. “Speak kindly to Jerusalem.” And then comes the prophecy in verse 3 of John the Baptist. “A voice is calling, clear the way for the Lord in the wilderness, make smooth in the desert a highway for our God” …
Then in the final chapter, chapter 66 verse 22, almost at the very end, “For just as the new heavens and the new earth which I make will endure before Me, declares the Lord,” and so forth. Guess where the New Testament ends? It ends in Revelation 21 and 22 with the new heavens and the new earth. So this section of Isaiah begins where the New Testament begins, with the arrival of John the Baptist. It ends where the New Testament ends, with the new heaven and the new earth. And thus we see the magnificent way in which this incredible prophecy parallels the New Testament. And all of it is written 700 years before Messiah comes to begin to fulfill it.
Now, who is going to bring this grace and salvation? Who is going to be the one to provide this deliverance? The answer is the servant of the Lord, the servant of the Lord. That is how He is designated. The Hebrew word is ebed and it means slave or servant. It’s used many hundreds of times in the Old Testament. It is the Hebrew word for slave as well as servant. The Slave of Jehovah, the Servant of Jehovah, He is the one who will bring salvation. He is the one who will bring comfort. He is the one who will bring the forgiveness of sins. He becomes then the theme of this final section of the book of Isaiah ...
… 40 to 66, that’s 27 chapters. They’re divided into three sections 9, 9 and 9 in terms of subject, terms of subject. The first section ends with this statement: “There is no peace to the wicked.” The second nine ends with this statement: “There is no peace to the wicked.” The third section ends, chapter 66 verse 24, with a similar judgment statement. Each of the three sections ends with a warning of judgment on the wicked. But all three sections promise salvation. They’re very evangelistic. They promise salvation and they end with a warning if you reject it. All three feature blessing and peace to the righteous and no peace and judgment to the wicked. All three determine that righteousness and wickedness is fixed forever. Destiny is not to be altered.
Section one talks about salvation from the Babylonian captivity. Section two talks about salvation from sin. And section three, the last nine, salvation from the cursed earth. So the first has to do with the deliverance of Israel from Babylon. The middle one, as I said a lot earlier, has to do with the deliverance of sinners from sin. And the third one, the deliverance of the earth from the curse, the glorious coming Kingdom of Messiah.
So the middle one is the one we’re in. The middle section that we’re in runs from 49 to 57. And this middle one is the issue of forgiveness of sins, and it asks the question about salvation from sin. Not temporal deliverance from Babylon, and not the eschatological Kingdom to come in the future, but deliverance from sin.
MacArthur gives us a lengthy historical overview of what was happening when Isaiah wrote his prophecy — and was then sawn in half. I will begin with the split of the northern and southern kingdoms of the tribes of Israel under King Solomon:
… Solomon was a total tragedy. Solomon had his heart turned away from God because he married so many wives and had so many concubines; he was engaging himself in physical relationships with hundreds of women. He was a very debauched man. He was not going to be the righteous king. By the time you come to the end of his kingdom, the whole kingdom splits in pieces and the northern kingdom goes away. And every king after that in the northern kingdom is wretched and corrupt and vile and wicked. There’s not one good one. And the southern kingdom struggles to survive with a long list of mostly corrupt kings and a few decent ones sprinkled in.
People were beginning to lose hope in the human king, even out of the loins of David. In fact, the line of David was so bad that at one point, one of David’s descendants by the name of Manasseh became king. You probably remember King Manasseh. Let me give you the post-mortem on Manasseh, and this is all you need to know. Second Chronicles 33:9, “Manasseh misled Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to do more evil than the nations whom the Lord destroyed before the sons of Israel.” A son of David led Israel to do more evil than the Canaanites had done whom Israel displaced, and the Canaanites were a vile, idolatrous, pagan people. That’s how bad it got.
All the kings in the north are corrupt. Virtually, the kings in the south are corrupt with a few exceptions. They all fail to fulfill the possibilities of being a righteous king. They’re all failures at one degree or another. There were a few noble kings in the south, as you know. But no human king seemed to be capable to fulfill this anticipated promise. In fact, Isaiah’s life comes to an end during the reign of Manasseh. Isaiah’s life comes to an end during the reign of Manasseh when Manasseh has Isaiah sawn in half with a wooden saw. And that’s what tradition tells us, and it’s consistent with Hebrews 11:36 and 37 which refers to Old Testament heroes being sawn in half. That was Isaiah.
How bad was it? No human king was a hope. It is just before Isaiah is sawn in half, just at the time of Manasseh taking over, Isaiah actually prophesied during the reign of four kings. If I remember right, Ahaziah, Joram, Ahaz, Hezekiah…Ahaziah, Joram, Ahaz, Hezekiah. You remember “In the year Uzziah died I saw the Lord,” chapter 6, and those other three. And it was his prophesying during those years that is recorded in his prophecy. But it was when Manasseh came in, as best we can tell historically, that he was sawn in half in about 686 B.C., and probably wrote [finished] Isaiah just prior to that. So he wrote this prophecy of hope and grace and salvation at a moment in the history of Judah which was as dark as any moment had ever been.
They had Manasseh as a king and they were going into captivity. It couldn’t get any worse than that. Their temple would be destroyed, their capital would be destroyed, the northern kingdom was gone permanently never to return, and they were next. In a time when the line of David was the most corrupt and the most vile and the most wicked, God steps in and gives to Isaiah a dramatic new revelation about the righteous King, a dramatic new revelation about the righteous King. If ever there was a time in their history they needed it, it was then, right? When all hope was gone. I mean, they were gone, they were leaving. It was over. And it was a bloody massacre when the Babylonians came.
And here was the news, the shocking news, the astonishing news. He would not be only a reigning King. He would be a suffering Slave. He would not only be a reigning King, he would be a suffering Slave, and His glory would not come until He had suffered. And further, He would not suffer for any evil that He had done because He would be a righteous king, but rather He would suffer for the evil that others had done. He would suffer vicariously. This is a new revelation. The righteous King would suffer. The righteous King would die. But He would not die for His own sin, He would die for the sins of the people. He would die in paying the penalty for the sins of His people. He would be a substitute who died in His peoples’ place. And though that reality is pictured in the animal sacrifice system, right, it’s pictured there, it wasn’t until this prophecy that it was made clear.
Isaiah 53 is about future prophecy and the unbelief of the Jews with regard to the Messiah.
The prophet asks who has believed what we have heard and to whom has the arm of the Lord — Christ Jesus, the Gospel — been revealed (verse 1).
Henry tells us:
The prophet, in the close of the former chapter, had foreseen and foretold the kind reception which the gospel of Christ should find among the Gentiles, that nations and their kings should bid it welcome, that those who had not seen him should believe in him; and though they had not any prophecies among them of gospel grace, which might raise their expectations, and dispose them to entertain it, yet upon the first notice of it they should give it its due weight and consideration. Now here he foretels, with wonder, the unbelief of the Jews, notwithstanding the previous notices they had of the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament and the opportunity they had of being personally acquainted with him. Observe here,
I. The contempt they put upon the gospel of Christ, v. 1. The unbelief of the Jews in our Saviour’s time is expressly said to be the fulfilling of this word, John 12 38. And it is applied likewise to the little success which the apostles’ preaching met with among Jews and Gentiles, Rom 10 16. Note, 1. Of the many that hear the report of the gospel there are few, very few, that believe it. It is reported openly and publicly, not whispered in a corner, or confined to the schools, but proclaimed to all; and it is so faithful a saying, and so well worthy of all acceptation, that one would think it should be universally received and believed. But it is quite otherwise; few believed the prophets who spoke before of Christ; when he came himself none of the rulers nor of the Pharisees followed him, and but here and there one of the common people; and, when the apostles carried this report all the world over, some in every place believed, but comparatively very few. To this day, of the many that profess to believe this report, there are few that cordially embrace it and submit to the power of it. 2. Therefore people believe not the report of the gospel, because the arm of the Lord is not revealed to them; they do not discern, nor will be brought to acknowledge, that divine power which goes along with the word. The arm of the Lord is made bare (as was said, ch. 52 10) in the miracles that were wrought to confirm Christ’s doctrine, in the wonderful success of it, and its energy upon the conscience; though it is a still voice, it is a strong one; but they do not perceive this, nor do they experience in themselves that working of the Spirit which makes the word effectual. They believe not the gospel because, by rebelling against the light they had, they had forfeited the grace of God, which therefore he justly denied them and withheld from them, and for want of that they believed not. 3. This is a thing we ought to be much affected with; it is to be wondered at, and greatly lamented, and ministers may go to God and complain of it to him, as the prophet here. What a pity is it that such rich grace should be received in vain, that precious souls should perish at the pool’s side, because they will not step in and be healed!
MacArthur says that the ancient Jewish Messianic interpretation of Isaiah 53 did not go far enough and that modern day Jews ignore it altogether:
Ancient Jews interpreted this prophecy as messianic originally, okay? In all the ancient Jewish literature, this chapter, 53, this whole area, whole section, mid-section of the final 27, it was all messianic. All of it was messianic, though they were not clear on how the Messiah would suffer. When they came to chapter 53, they wrote this, the rabbis wrote this, “That He will be compassionate, that He will sympathetically feel our pain,” and that’s as far as they would go.
They understood that He would be a sympathetic Messiah, that He would be a righteous King, put another way, who felt so sorry that such a noble people had suffered so greatly that He felt their pain. They saw no messianic substitutionary death in spite of the fact that every day of their history animals were dying, portraying substitutionary death. All they saw in their writing was sympathy, sympathy. This messianic view of this section, by the way, shows up in the Jewish liturgy for the Day of Atonement.
This is a quote what they would say. “Horror has seized upon us. We have none to deliver us. He has born the yoke of our iniquities and our transgressions, is wounded because of our transgression. He bears our sin on His shoulder that He may find pardon for our iniquities. We are healed by His wound at the time the eternal will create Him as a new creation. O bring Him up from the circle of the earth. Raise Him up from Seir to assemble in the second time on Mount Lebanon by the hand of Yinon.” Yinon is a Hebrew word for Messiah.
So they literally at the Day of atonement event paraphrased Isaiah 53 and then back away from it and say it simply means He’ll be sympathetic toward us. The idea of Messiah Himself dying? Not possible, unacceptable. That’s why Jesus went to the Old Testament to speak of His necessary suffering and the apostles even preached that. They had no interest in that.
Listen, here’s the point. This is very important. They had no need of a savior. They had no need of a sacrifice for sin. Nobody in a works system needs a savior. They needed a sympathizer. They welcomed a sympathizer. They wanted a King who was sympathetic to their plight and thus would come out of sympathy and compassion and give them what they actually deserved. That was the view of ancient Judaism. That was the view of New Testament Judaism. That was the view of post-New Testament Judaism. That is the view of modern Judaism.
MacArthur says that Jews see the subject of Isaiah 53 as Israel, not the Messiah:
… if you don’t understand the doctrine of depravity, and you don’t understand that you are unable to save yourself by anything you do, then you don’t need a savior to save you. You achieve salvation. And any system that has any achievement that saves, has no place for a vicarious, substitutionary atonement. After the Lord Jesus came, and the church was born, the church clearly interpreted Isaiah 53…all the New Testament writers, as I said, did, the church began to preach to the Jews that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah 53.
They didn’t want to hear that, so they persecuted the church. They killed the Christians, as you know. And even to this day, Judaism as an institution rejects Jesus Christ and rejects Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53. When I read it to you earlier, it was a moving experience, wasn’t it?, just to hear it read, because every Christian reader feels the power of this description of Jesus Christ. You feel the power of His sin-bearing work on your behalf on the cross. On the other hand, a Jew reading that sees something completely different. He sees…this is the common interpretation…Israel there. This is suffering Israel.
Israel is the suffering servant who has suffered and suffered and suffered and will one day enter into glory. The glory of Israel is coming, but right now they’re going through suffering, unfair, maybe unjust. This is a flattering Jewish view of Isaiah 53, that they as a noble people are suffering unjustly, going through agonies. But some day they will emerge into the glory promised to them, and they will become the supreme nation and bless the whole world. They will earn their glory by their religion, by their self-righteousness, and listen, by their suffering, but Jesus isn’t in Isaiah 53.
Well, that’s why Isaiah 53 has been called The Torture Chamber of the Rabbis. Isaiah 53 has been called the guilty conscience of the rabbis because you can’t put Israel in here. Israel was not a humble, is not a humble sufferer. Israel is not a voluntary sufferer. Israel is not a righteous, sinless people suffering unjustly in one sense and yet, vicariously, for anyone else. There is no way in the world to make Israel the object of Isaiah 53. This has to be Jesus.
MacArthur looks at this first verse in Isaiah 53, which Isaiah wrote as a future prophecy of Jewish unbelief:
This is clearly talking about Jesus Christ and, of course, in the New Testament there are thirty references, explicit and implicit, in the gospels alone back to this chapter. And in the New Testament there are fifty such references back to this chapter. This is clearly a prophecy that speaks about the death, resurrection and future exaltation of Messiah who is none other than Yeshua, Jesus.
The Jews don’t want to accept that. And they give a testimony in that future generation. And listen to their testimony in verse 1, “Who has believed our message? For to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” This great penitent cry, this heartbroken confession from a future generation of Jews and from any individual Jew who comes to Christ at any point in time, every Jew being saved and included in the church has to make this confession that up to that point they were wrong about Jesus. But when they look back, the first thing they’re going to say is, “We didn’t believe it, we didn’t understand it.” The revelation concerning Jesus has been met with unbelief, with unbelief. But in a future day, that will all change. It will all change …
When’s it going to happen? In the last day when Israel is under massive siege from the nations. In that hour they will be defenseless. They will have nowhere to turn. Their only hope will be in God, and in sovereign grace the Spirit will come, the Spirit of grace who hears the supplication, and He will turn their hearts so they will look backwards in history and they will look back to the one they pierced and the words of their confession will be the words of Isaiah 53. Bitter weeping, as one mourns for an only Son. Mourning for that only Son of God, the Messiah. Will it be the whole nation? Will it be every Jew? No, if you go down to verse 8 of chapter 13, we read, “It will come about in all the land,” declares the Lord, “that two parts in it will be cut off and perish.”
When the nations come, two thirds will die. Two thirds will be left in unbelief. “But a third will be left in it and I will bring the third part through the fire, refine them as silver is refined, test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name. I will answer them. I will say they are My people and they will say the Lord is my God.” That’s the salvation of Israel. And that salvation comes because they look back on the one they pierced. They pierced His feet, they pierced His hands, they pierced His side. They begin to turn to God in desperation. In the middle of the horrors of that global assault, at that point the Spirit comes on them, and a third of them are brought to the awareness that they have pierced their Messiah, they’ll look back on Christ, they’ll see Him in all His beauty, His death, resurrection will become real to them. And they will be saved.
A fountain of cleansing will be opened to wash them from sin and from impurity. One third of them will be protected in that great Armageddon, and they will be the sheep who go into the Kingdom that our Lord spoke about. He will then establish the Kingdom.
MacArthur gives his analysis of verse 1:
So when the future remnant looks back, they’re going to say, “Who has believed the message we heard?” Because they heard it. The apostle Paul understands the meaning of that confession because in Romans chapter 10 he makes reference to it. Romans 10 verse 11, Paul writes, “The Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be disappointed. There’s no distinction between Jew and Greek, the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call upon Him. For whoever will call on the name of the Lord will be saved.” Then he says, “How will they call on Him they haven’t believed? How will they believe in Him they haven’t heard? How will they hear without a preacher? How will they preach unless they’re sent?”
So, we have a problem. People can’t believe unless they hear. They can’t hear unless somebody goes. They don’t go unless they’re sent. That’s true generally. However, in reference to the Jews, verse 16, they did not all heed the good news, for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our message?” Then He says, “Faith comes by hearing, and by the hearing of the Word of Christ but they didn’t believe.” Paul literally says the Jews didn’t believe exactly was Isaiah said. They haven’t through centuries. Oh a remnant, of course. Isaiah 6:10, there will always be a tenth, a stump, a holy seed, a remnant. And then in verse 21 of Romans 10 he says, “God speaks in this verse – ” in verse 21 – “His own words.” Isaiah 65:2, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient obstinate people.” They know it, they don’t believe it. So the opening confession is this amazing statement, “We’ve heard it, we’ve heard it, and we’ve heard it, but we haven’t believed it.” We haven’t believed it.
And to drive the point home, there’s a second question, “And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” The arm of the Lord, simply a symbol of divine power. Literally the forearm, but a symbol of divine power. Isaiah 51:9, Isaiah 52:10 talks about the arm of the Lord as a symbol of power. In a very real sense, the Messiah is the arm of the Lord. In another sense, the gospel is the arm of the Lord because the gospel, Romans 1:16, “is the power of God unto salvation.” So it’s another way of saying God un‑bared His arm. He pulled His arm out of His garment and showed us His arm, showed us His strength, showed us His power to save and we didn’t understand it. We didn’t understand it.
The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, to everyone who believes, the Jew first, also to the Greek. This is John 1:11, “He came unto His own and His own – ” What? – “received Him not.” Why didn’t they believe? There’s a theological reason why they didn’t believe. Theological reason why they didn’t believe, it takes us back to Romans 10, and the answer is because they didn’t need a sacrifice. They didn’t believe Jesus was the Messiah because He was dead, crucified. They didn’t need a sacrifice.
What do we mean by that? Romans 10, Paul says “They were seeking to establish their own righteousness.” That’s…that’s the point. They didn’t…they didn’t have any inadequacy. They could establish their own righteousness without an alien imputed righteousness being given to them by Christ. They didn’t understand, He says, that Christ is the end of the Law for righteousness to everyone who believes, that it’s by faith. They had an inadequate view of the righteousness of God. They had an inadequate view of their own sin because they went about to establish their own righteousness. So they didn’t subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
I will stop there and resume tomorrow with Isaiah 53:2.
Readings for Maundy Thursday — Holy Thursday — can be found here.
Exegeses are also available for the Epistle, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, and the Gospel, John 13:1-17, 31b-35, both of which are about the Last Supper.
During the course of Holy Week, the prophetic readings from Isaiah have continually pointed to Jesus Christ as Messiah and Saviour.
Today’s reading from Exodus is about the first Passover (emphases mine):
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
12:1 The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:
12:2 This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.
12:3 Tell the whole congregation of Israel that on the tenth of this month they are to take a lamb for each family, a lamb for each household.
12:4 If a household is too small for a whole lamb, it shall join its closest neighbor in obtaining one; the lamb shall be divided in proportion to the number of people who eat of it.
12:5 Your lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats.
12:6 You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; then the whole assembled congregation of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight.
12:7 They shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.
12:8 They shall eat the lamb that same night; they shall eat it roasted over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
12:9 Do not eat any of it raw or boiled in water, but roasted over the fire, with its head, legs, and inner organs.
12:10 You shall let none of it remain until the morning; anything that remains until the morning you shall burn.
12:11 This is how you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it hurriedly. It is the passover of the LORD.
12:12 For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both human beings and animals; on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.
12:13 The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you live: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall destroy you when I strike the land of Egypt.
12:14 This day shall be a day of remembrance for you. You shall celebrate it as a festival to the LORD; throughout your generations you shall observe it as a perpetual ordinance.
Commentary comes from Matthew Henry. John MacArthur has few posts on Exodus.
It is also worth citing the next set of verses from Exodus 12, which refer to the Feast of the Unleavened Bread. Henry discusses this in his commentary:
15 For seven days you are to eat bread made without yeast. On the first day remove the yeast from your houses, for whoever eats anything with yeast in it from the first day until the seventh must be cut off from Israel. 16 On the first day hold a sacred assembly, and another one on the seventh day. Do no work at all on these days, except to prepare food for everyone to eat; that is all you may do.
17 ‘Celebrate the Festival of Unleavened Bread, because it was on this very day that I brought your divisions out of Egypt. Celebrate this day as a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. 18 In the first month you are to eat bread made without yeast, from the evening of the fourteenth day until the evening of the twenty-first day. 19 For seven days no yeast is to be found in your houses. And anyone, whether foreigner or native-born, who eats anything with yeast in it must be cut off from the community of Israel. 20 Eat nothing made with yeast. Wherever you live, you must eat unleavened bread.’
Henry summarises today’s reading, pointing to the significance of Passover in the New Testament:
This chapter gives an account of one of the most memorable ordinances, and one of the most memorable providences, of all that are recorded in the Old Testament. I. Not one of all the ordinances of the Jewish church was more eminent than that of the passover, nor is any one more frequently mentioned in the New Testament; and we have here an account of the institution to it. The ordinance consisted of three parts:—1. The killing and eating of the paschal lamb, ver 1-6, 8-11. 2. The sprinkling of the blood upon the door-posts, spoken of as a distinct thing (Heb 11 28), and peculiar to this first passover (ver 7), with the reason for it, ver 13.
The Lord God spoke these words to Moses and Aaron to deliver to His people (verse 1).
God said that this particular month would mark for them the beginning of months and would be the first month of the year for them (verse 2).
Henry explains that this was a change from the previous arrangement:
They had hitherto begun their year from the middle of September, but henceforward they were to begin it from the middle of March, at least in all their ecclesiastical computations … This new calculation began the year with the spring, which reneweth the face of the earth, and was used as a figure of the coming of Christ, Cant 2 11, 12.
In the next few verses, we read how God carefully laid out the circumstances involving the sacrificial lamb and even allowed an alternative animal, the goat (verse 5).
He instructed Moses and Aaron to tell the whole congregation of Israel that, on the tenth day of that month, they were to take a lamb for each family, one for each household (verse 3).
Henry tells us:
We may suppose that, while Moses was bringing the ten plagues upon the Egyptians, he was directing the Israelites to prepare for their departure at an hour’s warning. Probably he had by degrees brought them near together from their dispersions, for they are here called the congregation of Israel (v. 3), and to them as a congregation orders are here sent.
God said that if one household was too small for one lamb, it shall join its nearest neighbour in obtaining one, with the lamb being divided in proportion to the people who eat it (verse 4):
two or three families, if they were small, should join for a lamb.
That was a custom that carried on during our Lord’s era. John MacArthur mentioned that in some of his sermons concerning Passover and the purchase of a lamb by more than one family at the temple.
The lamb shall be without blemish, a year-old male, taken from either the sheep or from the goats (verse 5).
These animals were a type of Christ, in their prime and without blemish:
(1.) It was to be a lamb; and Christ is the Lamb of God (John 1 29), often in the Revelation called the Lamb, meek and innocent as a lamb, dumb before the shearers, before the butchers. (2.) It was to be a male of the first year (v. 5), in its prime; Christ offered up himself in the midst of his days, not in infancy with the babes of Bethlehem. It denotes the strength and sufficiency of the Lord Jesus, on whom our help was laid. (3.) It was to be without blemish (v. 5), denoting the purity of the Lord Jesus, a Lamb without spot, 1 Pet 1 19. The judge that condemned him (as if his trial were only like the scrutiny that was made concerning the sacrifices, whether they were without blemish or no) pronounced him innocent.
The lambs (or goats) were to be kept until the 14th day of the month, then the whole congregation of Israel was to gather and slaughter the animals at twilight (verse 6).
Henry draws more comparisons with Christ:
(4.) It was to be set apart four days before (v. 3, 6), denoting the designation of the Lord Jesus to be a Saviour, both in the purpose and in the promise. It is very observable that as Christ was crucified at the passover, so he solemnly entered into Jerusalem four days before, the very day that the paschal lamb was set apart … (6.) It was to be killed by the whole congregation between the two evenings, that is, between three o’clock and six. Christ suffered in the end of the world (Heb 9 26), by the hand of the Jews, the whole multitude of them (Luke 23 18), and for the good of all his spiritual Israel. (7.) Not a bone of it must be broken (v. 46), which is expressly said to be fulfilled in Christ (John 19 33, 36), denoting the unbroken strength of the Lord Jesus.
Henry further explains:
The lamb was to be got ready four days before and that afternoon they were to kill it (v. 6) as a sacrifice; not strictly, for it was not offered upon the altar, but as a religious ceremony, acknowledging God’s goodness to them, not only in preserving them from, but in delivering them by, the plagues inflicted on the Egyptians. See the antiquity of family-religion; and see the convenience of the joining of small families together for religious worship, that it may be made the more solemn.
The Israelites were to take some of the blood and put it on the doorposts as well as the lintel of the houses in which they ate the meat (verse 7):
Dreadful work was to be made this night in Egypt; all the first-born both of man and beast were to be slain, and judgment executed upon the gods of Egypt. Moses does not mention the fulfillment, in this chapter, yet he speaks of it Num 33 4. It is very probable that the idols which the Egyptians worshipped were destroyed, those of metal melted, those of wood consumed, and those of stone broken to pieces, whence Jethro infers (ch. 18 11), The Lord is greater than all gods. The same angel that destroyed their first-born demolished their idols, which were no less dear to them. For the protection of Israel from this plague they were ordered to sprinkle the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts, their doing which would be accepted as an instance of their faith in the divine warnings and their obedience to the divine precepts. Note, 1. If in times of common calamity God will secure his own people, and set a mark upon them; they shall be hidden either in heaven or under heaven, preserved either from the stroke of judgments or at least from the sting of them. 2. The blood of sprinkling is the saint’s security in times of common calamity; it is this that marks them for God, pacifies conscience, and gives them boldness of access to the throne of grace, and so becomes a wall of protection round them and a wall of partition between them and the children of this world …
The sprinkling of the blood was typical. (1.) It was not enough that the blood of the lamb was shed, but it must be sprinkled, denoting the application of the merits of Christ’s death to our souls; we must receive the atonement, Rom 5 11. (2.) It was to be sprinkled with a bunch of hyssop (v. 22) dipped in the basin. The everlasting covenant, like the basin, in the conservatory of this blood, the benefits and privileges purchased by it are laid up for us there; faith is the bunch of hyssop by which we apply the promises to ourselves and the benefits of the blood of Christ laid up in them. (3.) It was to be sprinkled upon the door-posts, denoting the open profession we are to make of faith in Christ, and obedience to him, as those that are not ashamed to own our dependence upon him. The mark of the beast may be received on the forehead or in the right hand, but the seal of the Lamb is always in the forehead, Rev 7 3. There is a back-way to hell, but no back-way to heaven; no, the only way to this is a high-way, Isa 35 8. (4.) It was to be sprinkled upon the lintel and the sideposts, but not upon the threshold (v. 7), which cautions us to take heed of trampling under foot the blood of the covenant, Heb 10 29. It is precious blood, and must be precious to us. (5.) The blood, thus sprinkled, was a means of the preservation of the Israelites from the destroying angel, who had nothing to do where the blood was. If the blood of Christ be sprinkled upon our consciences, it will be our protection from the wrath of God, the curse of the law, and the damnation of hell, Rom 8 1.
God had specific commands as to how the meat was cooked and eaten.
The Israelites were to eat the lamb the night it was slaughtered; they were to roast it over the fire with unleavened bread and bitter herbs (verse 8):
… in remembrance of the bitterness of their bondage in Egypt. We must feed upon Christ with sorrow and brokenness of heart, in remembrance of sin; this will give an admirable relish to the paschal lamb. Christ will be sweet to us if sin be bitter.
They were not to eat the lamb raw or boiled in water but roasted over the fire with its head, legs and inner organs (verse 9):
(5.) It was to be slain, and roasted with fire (v. 6-9), denoting the exquisite sufferings of the Lord Jesus, even unto death, the death of the cross. The wrath of God is as fire, and Christ was made a curse for us.
None of the meat was to remain until the next morning; any leftovers had to be burnt (verse 10).
Henry draws another parallel with Christ:
To-day Christ is offered, and is to be accepted while it is called to-day, before we sleep the sleep of death.
The Israelites were to eat the meat with their loins girded, i.e. with their robes gathered in readiness to depart, as well as sandals on their feet and staff in hand; they were to eat it hurriedly. It was the passover of the Lord (verse 11).
Henry gives us this analysis:
Their amazement and hurry, it is easy to suppose, were great; yet now they must apply themselves to the observance of a sacred rite, to the honour of God. Note, When our heads are fullest of care, and our hands of business, yet we must not forget our religion, nor suffer ourselves to be indisposed for acts of devotion …
God would have them to depend upon him for their daily bread, and not to take thought for the morrow. He that led them would feed them …
It was to be eaten in a departing posture (v. 11); when we feed upon Christ by faith we must absolutely forsake the rule and dominion of sin, shake off Pharaoh’s yoke; and we must sit loose to the world, and every thing in it, forsake all for Christ, and reckon it no bad bargain, Heb 13 13, 14.
God said that He would pass through Egypt that night, striking down every firstborn in that land, both humans and animals; on all the gods of Egypt He would execute judgement, for He is the Lord (verse 12).
God explained that the blood on the houses would be a sign that He would pass over them and that no plague would destroy them when He struck the land of Egypt (verse 13).
God commanded that the day be one of remembrance for the Israelites to be celebrated as a festival to Him throughout the generations as a perpetual ordinance (verse 14). And so it continues today.
Although the Feast of the Unleavened Bread is not included in the Lectionary, Henry has an excellent analysis of its meaning with a Christian insight by citing 1 Corinthians 5 in which Paul tells us to do away with the old yeast — sin — so that we may be an ‘unleavened batch’:
The feast of unleavened bread was typical of the Christian life, 1 Cor 5 7, 8. Having received Christ Jesus the Lord, (1.) We must keep a feast in holy joy, continually delighting ourselves in Christ Jesus; no manner of work must be done (v. 16), no care admitted or indulged, inconsistent with, or prejudicial to, this holy joy: if true believers have not a continual feast, it is their own fault. (2.) It must be a feast of unleavened bread, kept in charity, without the leaven of malice, and insincerity, without the leaven of hypocrisy. The law was very strict as to the passover, and the Jews were so in their usages, that no leaven should be found in their houses, v. 19. All the old leaven of sin must be put far from us, with the utmost caution and abhorrence, if we would keep the feast of a holy life to the honour of Christ. (3.) It was by an ordinance for ever (v. 17); as long as we live, we must continue feeding upon Christ and rejoicing in him, always making thankful mention of the great things he has done for us.
We return to Isaiah for Good Friday and verses, some of which will be familiar, that provide us with a prophetic overview of Jesus Christ who died for our sins.
Churchmouse Campanologist 