The Passion Resurrection and Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, Lecture 34
THE XXXIV. LECTVRE, OF THE RESVRRECTION OF CHRIST.
IOHN, CHAP. XX.
verse 16 Ieſus ſayeth vntounto her, Marie. Shee turned her ſelfe, and ſaide vntounto him, Rabboni, which is to ſay, Master.
verse 17 Ieſus ſayeth vntounto her, Touch mee not: for I am not yet aſcended to my Father: but goe to my Brethren, and ſay vntounto them, I aſcende vntounto my Father, and to your Father, and to my God, and your God.
verse 18 Marie Magdalene came and tolde the Diſciples that ſhee had ſeene the Lord, and that hee had ſpoken theſe thinges vntounto her.
WEE heard theſe dayes p…ſt (beloued in CHRIST) howe that earlie in the morning, firſt one companie of women came out of HIERVSALEM, to the graue of the LORD: and next after them another companie: Thirdlie, wee heard of PETER and IOHN, two of the Apoſtles, howe they came out to the graue of the LORDE, beeing ſtirred vp by the report of the women. And laſt, wee heard of the outcomming of MARIE MAGDALENE to the graue of the LORDE the ſeconde time, following after the Diſciples PETER and IOHNNE: after they vvere returned, ſhee comes againe to the graue: Shee offered not to looke in, but ſtoode mourning for a ſpace vvithout, thinking certainelie, that the bodie of the LORDE had beene ſtollen awaye: But at the laſt it pleaſed the LORDE to bowe her minde, and then shee bowed her bodie, and looked in to the graue, and ſawe two Angeles, the one at the head, and the other at thee feete of the graue where our LORDE had layen, ſitting, clothed in bright rayment: and when ſhee ſawe them, ſhee vvas nothing afraide, as the other vvomen: ſhee vvas ſo filled vvith diſpleaſure and ſorrowe, and her eyes vvere ſo dimme vvith mourning, that ſhee coulde not ſee. The Angels aske her, Why weepest thou? Shee anſweres them, They hauehave taken awaye the bodie of the LORDE, and I knowe not where they hauehave layed it. Yee vvill maruell at this: there is nothing in her minde, but the dead bodie of the LORDE: and as ſhee is not terrified vvith the ſight of the Angels, ſo ſhee is not terrified vvith their voyce: and ſhee turnes her about from them: and finding Him ſtanding beſide her in His owne proper perſon: and the LORDE ſaide as the Angell had ſaide before vntounto her, that is, Woman, why weepest thou? Hee calles her Woman; ſpeaking ſtrangelie: and Hee proceedes further, and ſayeth, Whome ſeekest thou? as though Hee had not knowne vvhome ſhee had beene ſeeking. MARIE ſuppoſing Him to hauehave beene the Gardener of that Yearde vvhere the LORDE vvas buried, ſhee ſayes, Sir, if thou hast borne him hence, tell mee where thou hast layed him, that I maye take him vp, and burie him. Nowe, as ſaide is, there is nothing elſe in her minde but that deade body of Ieſus, which is an argument that ſhee loued Him exceedingly, when Hee vvas liuing: I ſay, all that vvas in her vvas exceeding & vehement: in her was exceeding louelove to the Lord, & exceeding vehement deſire to ſee Him, & exceeding diſpleaſure for Him, & for ſtealing Him out of the graue, as ſhe ſuppoſed: ſo that I may ſay, ſhe vvas one of the violent ones, that Chriſt ſpeakes of in the 11 of Matthew, that breakes vp Heauen: he ſayes there, That violence is done to the Kingdome of Heauen, and the violent poſſeſſe it. She pulled Chriſt out of the handes of the Apoſtles and of the reſt of the women, and vvent betvvixt them and Him: and therefore ſhe meetes Him firſt, becauſe ſhe ſeekes Him before them. Thus farre we heard the laſt day: now we follow out the reſt of the Hiſtorie, and that thing that followes of the communing betwixt the Lord and her: the Lord leaues her not ſo lying in ignorance, & diſpleaſure, but as He had before ſomewhat ſtrangely and vncouthly talked with her: ſo now He comes on more homely, and Hee vtters a more kindely word, and He names Her by her name, Marie, Hee ſpeakes nothing but one word but a well choſen vvord, an homely vvord, the vvord of a Paſtor, of a ſhepheard: naming her by her ovvne name, as it is ſaid in the 10. of Iohn, The good ſhepheard will name his ſheepe by their name: this was a powerfull word, as will be ſeene by the effects that were wrought in her: ſhe ſawe not of before: it opened her eyes, to ſee, and her eares to heare: and in a vvorde, it opened all her dead ſenſes. Marke this leſſon: When the Lord hath ſpoken to vsus for a time, as a ſtranger afarre off, as though He knew vsus not: at laſt He will come on with an homely & kinde word, and He will let thee ſee, that He knowes thee by thy name, by thy face, by thine heart, and by thine actions: Read the 4. of Iohn, ſpeaking to the woman of Samaria, He ſpeakes to her at the firſt, as though Hee had not knowne her, but at the laſt He begins and tells her of all that ſhe had done, and that ſhee was but an harlot lying preſently in harlotrie: ſhee hearing that, ſhee vnderſtands that Hee is a Prophet, and at laſt that Hee is Chriſt the Meſſias. Brethren, though the Lord ſpeakes to vsus afarre off, as a ſtranger that knowes vsus not, and wee anſwere, as though we knew Him not: yet ſtay ſtill, & heare on, and thou ſhalt heare one vvorde that ſhall doe the deede: thy effectuall calling will be performed with one word, it ſtandes not in many words. When He will waken thee, one word vvill doe the deede. Yet to come to her, aſſoon as ſhe heareſt the word, ſhe comes, & turnes her in an inſtant to Him againe: ſo it ſeemes, that ſhee had turned her from Him, as ſhe did from the Angels that ſpake to her before: ſhe ſayes, Rabboni: it is a Chaldaicke word, which in our language ſignifies Maſter, He ſpeakes but one word, & ſhe another: His vvord is a well choſen word, and ſo was hers: His word vvas homely: hers alſo vvas homely, His was the word of a Paſtour: her word is the vvorde of one of the flocke, His vvord is the vvord of a Maſter, her vvorde is the vvord of an obedient diſciple: and laſt His word is the word of povver to call her, His vvorde teſtifies his calling, and the effect of His povver. In this ſtands our calling, when the LORD names vsus by our name, and ſpeakes kindely to vsus, and then we anſwere Him: We may not anſwere any way: No, thou muſt anſwere like one of the flocke, like one that knowes the voyce of the ſhepheard: thou muſt anſwere like one that knowes the voyce of His Maſter: thou muſt anſwere like one that feeleſt the effect of His calling. When the Lord ſpeakes homely, if thou anſwereſt homely, there ſhall be exceeding joy, this is it that vve call effectuall calling. The thing that I note, is this ſhortly: As long as the LORD ſpeakes ſtrangely to vsus, we will heare Him ſtrangely, and as long as Hee knowes not vsus, wee will not know Him, if it vvere a thouſand yeeres, wee will not knowe Him: and this lets vsus ſee, that neither man nor woman can doe ought, except He preuent them with grace: if He louelove thee not firſt, thou wilt neuer louelove Him, 1. Iohn 4. and if Hee know not thee firſt, thou ſhalt neuer know Him: No, neuer a man will know the Lord, except He know them firſt: Hee ſayes in the 4. Chapter to the Galathians, verſe 9. Now ſeeing ye knowe God, then bethinking himſelfe, hee ſayes, yea, rather are knowne of God: and therefore thou ſhouldeſt ſay, Lord, louelove mee, that I may louelove thee, Lord, know me, that I may know thee, &c.
Now I go forward: When ſhe hath vttered this word Rabboni, ſhe goes forwarde to hauehave embraced Him in her armes: Hee meetes her, and ſayes, Touch mee not, for I am not yet aſcended to my Father: Some would maruell what mooued the Lord Ieſus to ſtay that woman that loued Him ſo intirely, to touch Him. Wee will heare hereafter, how a whole companie tooke Him by the feete and adored Him, as ye may reade, Matth. 28 8. and the diſciples touched Him, as ye may read in the 24. of Luke, and the 39. verſe, & Thomas put his handes in His ſide, in this ſame Chapter, and it cannot bee ſaide, that theſe touched Him, after that Hee aſcended vp to Heauen, that could not be poſſible: it is a maruell then, that Hee ſhould be ſo ſtrange to MARIE: I anſvvere to this, and I take mine anſvvere firſt, out of the reaſon, and next out of the commiſſion Hee giues to Marie: for firſt, when Hee ſayes to her, I am not gone vp to my Father, and therefore touch me not now the meaning is this in effect: it is not time for thee to touch mee nowe, till that time I bee in glorie, and then touch mee by the armes of Faith, as much as thou canſt or mayeſt: yee muſt conſider, that ſhee vvas too much addicted to His bodily preſence, and ſhee thought that Hee ſhould hauehave remained and dvvelt with her on earth, as Hee did before: and therefore Hee vvould not let her come neare Him, vntill Hee inſtructed her of a ſpirituall touching: that He was not to ſtay here, but to dwel with His Father in the Heauens: but after He hath inſtructed her, He lets her & the other vvomen touch Him as much as they vvould: This is the firſt anſwere: The other, I take it out of the commiſſion He giues her: the commiſſion was, to tell the diſciples, and Hee vvilles her to tell haſtely: and therefore Hee will not let her come neare to touch Him, vntill ſhe hauehave done her commiſsion
Now let vsus marke ſomethings in Marie Magdalene: Yee read in the ſecond Epiſtle to the Corinthians, the fifth Chapter, and the fourteenth verſe, PAVL ſayes, The louelove of God conſtraines mee, that is, the louelove of GOD binds vp mine heart, and hand, and all my ſenſes. Novv vvould to GOD we could louelove Him halfe ſo well, as he did: hee giues the reaſon: becauſe Hee loued me, and died, and gaue His life for me: I vvill conſecrate me to His ſeruice, & it is litle enough, thou ſhouldeſt doe ſo, ſeeing Hee hath bought thee, and then He defines the ſeruice: hee ſayes now, I will know no man after the fleſh, that is, for carnall reſpects, as for Countrie, land, kinred, or parentage. But I acknowledge them as new creatures, I will looke to the grace of regeneration: this is the ſeruice of Chriſt, & if I hauehave knowne CHRIST Himſelfe after the fleſh: yet I know Him no more: ſo, Hee had His friends, His kinred, and His Countrey as other men had: but ſince Hee is exalted aboue the Heauens: I will knowe Him no more, ſo I will compare Marie with Paul: a godlie man, with a godlie woman: ſhe is like Him in this, that ſhe loued the Lord exceeding well. He died to redeeme Paul, & therefore Hee loued Him exceeding well: ſhee loued Him, becauſe Hee died for her: but when it comes to the ſeruice, Marie is not well learned: Paul touches Him by Faith in the Heauens: Marie lookes not to the Heauens, but ſhe goes to embrace Him in her bodily armes: in this ſhee is behind, but ſhe got better inſtruction hereafter.
Marke this leſſon: There are ſome men that will louelove the Lord intirely: and yet when they come to His ſeruice, they will faile: for ſuch is the groſſenes of our nature, that we cannot incline to that ſpirituall ſeruice, which He chiefly requires. Papiſt…ie is full of this groſſenes, they can doe nothing, if they want His carnall preſence, either in Himſelfe, or in a ſtocke, or a ſtone, or in a piece of bread: and therefore they dreame a bodily preſence of Him in the Sacrament: all their Religion is earthly, no Spirit, no grace in it. But accepted the Lord of that groſſe ſeruice of Marie that ſhe offered: I am certaine, He loued Marie better than the Pope, & all his ſhauelings: yet for as well as He liked Marie, Hee likes not this her ſeruice: Hee ſayes to her, Touch me not: then how will he like of that perſon, that Hee loues not ſo well, that delites in groſſe and wilfull ignorance. The LORD keepe vsus from ſuch groſſe ſeruice, and make vsus to touch Him by Faith.
Another thing here: He will not ſuffer her to touch Him, before that ſhe had gotten commiſſion to her brethren. This lets vsus ſee, if the LORD hauehave giuen vsus a commiſſion, He will hauehave vsus doing it with ſpeed, not beeing intangled with any thing: Paul ſayes, in the ſecond Epiſtle to Timothie, the ſecond Chapter, and the fourth verſe: No man that warreth, intangleth himſelfe with the affaires of this life, becauſe hee would pleaſe him that hath choſen him to be a ſouldiour: if the embracing of a perſon may hinder thee, doe it not: & if the ſaluting of a perſon in the journey may hinder thee, doe it not. Yee read in 2. Kings, Chapter 4. verſe 29 Where the Prophet Eliſha ſends his ſeruant Gehazi to the Shunnamite, he ſayes, Make haſte Salute no man by the way, and if any ſalute thee, anſwere him not: and when Chriſt ſends out His diſciples, He bids them make haſle, and ſalute no man by the way, LVKE CHAPTER 10. VERSE 4. The LORD will not hauehave vsus to decline neither to the right hand, nor to the left, if it were but a looke, if it may hinder thee in the Lords worke, doe it not. Paul receiued a commiſſion, as yee may reade, Philip. Chapter 3. verſe 13. he ranne ſo, that he neuer looked ouer his ſhoulder, but that hee forgot that which was behinde, and endeuoured to that which was before, till he had ended his courſe: Yee remember of the wife of Lot, how ſhe was forbidden by the Lord, to looke backe to Sodome: ſhe would not goe forward in her journey, but ſhee would looke backe againe, and therefore the Lord turned her in a pillar of ſalt: Hee would hauehave them ſpeedie in His worke, and, Woe is them, that doe the worke of the Lord negligently, Ierem. 48.10.
Nowe, let vsus come to the commiſſion, He ſayes to her, Marie, Goe and tell my brethren, Well, gets a woman the commiſſion, where is Peter, & Iohn, and Matthew, and the reſt of the Apoſtles? alwaies in the beginning, it is a woman that gets the commiſſion. The laſt day, yee remember, I ſpake of ſundrie preferments of women, that they gote before all men: they gote the reuelation of His Reſurrection before all men in the world, and not by men, but by glorious Angels: but Marie is preferred to all men and women in this, that ſhee firſt ſees the Lord, and then ſhee gets a reuelation of the Lord, that the women got not: ſhe gets the reuelation of His aſcenſion, and yet there is more, ſhe got it not to her ſelfe alone, but He ſayes: Tell the Apoſtles, tell them, ſayes Chriſt, I goe to my Father: So this is a ſpeciall grace that women got, and eſpecially, Marie, that was furtheſt caſten downe, poſſeſſed with ſeuen deuils. What ſhould I ſay? The further thou be caſten downe: the higher ſhalt thou bee exalted. But marke the wordes, Hee ſayes, Tell my brethren. Notwithſtanding of their ſluggiſhneſſe, notwithſtanding they were offended in Him, yet Hee ſayes, Tell my brethren. In the 22. Pſalme verſe 23. DAVID ſayes, I ſhall preach to my brethren. The LORD accompliſhed heere that prophecie: heere Hee preaches to His brethren: ye read in Heb. 2.11.12. Hee that ſanctifies, and wee which are ſanctified, are all of one, that is, wee are of one common nature: and therefore He is not aſhamed to call vsus brethren: and therefore he brings in this place of the 22. Pſalme, ſaying, J will declare thy Name vntounto my brethren: the reaſon is this: Hee hath a common nature vvith vsus, and therefore Hee is not aſhamed of vsus: marke it well. Nowe vvhen He is riſen, He calles them brethren, and now vvhen Hee is in that paſſing glorie, the LORD is not aſhamed to call vsus brethren: if a man of ſmall linage bee exalted in this world, hee vvill not knovve his father, or his mother: But the LORD that is exalted aboue all the Angells, is not the prouder: Hee is alſo humble to His brethren, as euer Hee vvas in the earth: Hee is not aſhamed to call vsus poore wretches, His brethren, and ſiſters, that are heere in the earth: No, if thou bee not aſhamed of Him firſt, Hee vvill neuer bee aſhamed of thee.
Now to come to the commiſſion, He ſayes, Tell them: I goe to my Father, and to your Father, and to my God, and to your God: Tell them this: The commiſsion that is giuen before by the Angells, telles that Hee was riſen, but the commiſsion that the LORD Himſelfe giues to Marie, is of an higher degree of glorification: it is of His aſcenſion: for, Tell them, ſayes Hee, I goe to my Father, and to your Father, and to my God, and to your God: The LORD, vvhen Hee comes in proper perſon, brings euer a greater reuelation, than vvas of before: All the light that the Angels, Prophets, or IOHN the BAPTIST reueiled of Him, vvas but darkneſſe, in reſpect of that light that Himſelfe brought. Likevviſe, after His going to Heauen, the Apoſtles, the diſciples, and Miniſters: Miniſters light to the end of the vvorlde: but in that great day, vvhen the LORD ſhall come, thou ſhalt ſee a greater light: thou ſavveſt neuer light comparable to that light. It is hard for thee novve to beleeue, but ſober thinges, but then thou ſhalt ſee great things (thou ſhalt hauehave no ſtoppe) euen thinges, that the eye hath not ſeene, neither hath entered in the heart of man.
Yet let vsus vveigh the vvordes better: I goe vp to my Father: I goe not dovvne, let them not ſeeke mee in the earth: I hauehave beene in it, as PAVL ſayes to the Epheſians, the fourth CHAPTER, and the ninth VERSE, Hee deſcended into the loweſt partes of the earth: I goe nowe to the Heauen. The vvorde importes, that Hee vvas to leaue them, and that vvorde vvas ſad to them, and to Marie, and they tooke it heauie. I goe, ſayes Hee, to my Father, and to my God: Hee vvent not for His ovvne vvell to the Father, that the Father might communicate His glorie to Him: I goe, ſayes▪ Hee, to my Father, and to your Father, and to my God, and to your God: This imports, that as Hee vvent to His Father for His ovvne glorie and vvel, ſo Hee vvent for their glory and vvell, and aſſoone as He ſhould get that glorie, He ſhould communicate it to them: and no doubt, this vvorde, your Father, and your God raiſed their heartes to follow Him: ſuppoſe our bodies bee heere, our heartes are in the Heauen, and vve are citizens there, albeit thy body vvere burnt, if thine heart be in the Heauen, thou art vvell, and if He had not gone to Heauen, neither had He gotten glory, neither had anie glorie beene communicated vntounto vsus: but Hee going to that Father of glorie, as the Apoſtle calles Him, and ſo, as the firſt begotten of GOD, beeing filled with glorie, wee are made partakers of His glorie, as yee reade in the firſt CHAPTER of this Goſpel of Iohn. The oyle yt was poured down vponupon the head of AARON, ſtayed not there, but ranne downe to his bearde, his breaſt, his girdle, and the loweſt partes of his garment: So the graces that were in Ieſus Chriſt, our head, ſtayed not there, but flowed from Him, euen to the meaneſt of all His members. The Lord, who is full of grace giues eueryevery one of vsus a part here, and one day we shall bee all filled with grace and glory for euer and euer. Marke the wordes well: he calles Him firſt, Father, and then he calles Him God, which imports two natures in one perſon; The Father importes His Godhead, and that he calles Him his God, it imports that He is man: ſo that theſe two wordes import that Chriſt is both God & man▪ bleſſed for euer. But marke the order: He ſayes not, I goe to your Father, and mine: No, but to my Father, and your Father. Ere euer He be our Father, He muſt be His Father. Ere euer He be our God, He muſt bee the God of Chriſt, the man: for if it had not bene for the bloode of Chriſt, Hee had neuer bene thy God: thou haſt that bought vntounto thee with the bloode of Chriſt, wee come in vnderunder Chriſt our elder brother. Nowe when Marie hath receiued the commiſſion, shee tarries no longer, howbeit shee was loath to depart from Him: yet becauſe shee ſaw that it was His will, she obeyes. The godly would faine goe and dwell with the Lord: Paul ſayes, I hauehave confidence in GOD, and J chooſe rather to remooue out of this bodie, and to dwell with GOD, 2. Corint. Chap. 5. Faine woulde the godlie ſoule bee with GOD: and ſuppoſe it bee preſſed downe with ſinne yet it breaks aye vpward toward the Heauens, to be with the Lord that this mo… talitie may bee ſwallowed vp of Life: for, as long as wee lye heere, vv…e liue vnderunder the burthen of ſinne. So faine woulde the godlie bee with Him, yet ſeeing it is his vvill, that vvee bee Pilgrimes heere a vvhile, that our joye maye bee the greater, vvhen vvee mee…e vvith the LORDE, vvhome vvee hauehave longed for, vvee are contented for a time.
Now when Marie departs, what does shee? She tolde the D…ſciples that ſhee had ſeene the LORDE. Shee is preaching, and telling, The LORD is going to heauen, to your Father and your GOD. Nowe Brethren, ſeeing vvee are Pilgrimes, let vsus take heede vvee bee well occupied, and looke wee diſcharge our commiſſion: for there is no man nor woman but they hauehave a commiſſion: Thou that art a Preacher, preache both in time and out of time to His glorie: and if thou diſcharge thy commiſſion faithfullie in thy calling, then euen as Marie was welcome vntounto Him againe, ſo ſhalt thou bee alſo welcome, when thou ſhalt meete with the LORD, and Hee ſhall accept well of thee. The LORDE enable vsus to take heede to this, that ſeeing wee muſt remaine abſent from our LORDE for a time heere, wee maye euer caſt vsus to bee vvell occupied, and walke carefullie in that calling that Hee hath placed vsus in: And then, when that the LORDE of Glorie ſhall appeare, whome wee hauehave ſerued in this life, our ſoules and bodies ſhall enjoye the full fruition of His preſence in Heauen: To whome be glorie for euermore, Amen.