God-Man, Exposition · Verse 11
Verſ. 11. He came to his owne, and his owne received The Jewes refuſe to receive Chriſt.him not.
He came, two wayes. There are many ſorts of Chriſt's coming, which will be needleſſe to repeat to you. He came.
Firſt, In his Ordinances.
Secondly, In the Fleſh.
Firſt, Chriſt is ſaid to come amongſt a people, whom 1. Chriſt cometh to a people in his Ordinances.He bleſſeth with his Ordinances, according to that, Exodus 20. 24. In all places where I record my Name, I will come to thee, and bleſſe thee. The Goſpell never cometh to a place, but Chriſt cometh with it.
Secondly, He came in the fleſh. This is a faithfull ſaying, 2. Chriſt came in the fleſh.and worthy of all men to be received, ſaith Paul, 1 Tim. 1. 15. That Jeſus Chriſt came into the World to ſave ſinners. Thus he came, He came to his owne, foreign, the word is, and may be rendred thus. He came to his owne home. So the word is rendred, Acts 21. 6. When we had taken leave of one another, we took ſhip, and they returned home again, foreign. The ſame word in the Text. He came to his owne home, Though the earth be the Lords, and the fulneſſe thereof; yet the Land of Judea, was Chriſt's home in a ſpeciall manner, He dwelt there, in a more remarkable way. As it is ſaid, Pſal. 76. 1, 2. In Judah is God known, his Name is great in Iſraell, in Salem alſo is his Tabernacle, and his dwelling place in Sion; where Chriſt's home was. And accordingly it is ſaid, Iſai. 31. ult. He ſhall paſſe over to his ſtrong hold for fear, and his Princes ſhall be afraid of the Enſigne, ſaith the Lord, whoſe fire is in Sion, and his furnace in Jeruſalem. It is a Metaphor taken from them that keep fire in their dwelling houſes. It is a ſigne that the houſe ſtandeth not empty, where fire is kept; Now ſaith he, The Lords furnace is in Jeruſalem, He dwelleth there. Therefore he is ſaid to come to his owne, when He came to them, He came to his own, that is, the Jewes, who are ſaid to be his owne in a ſpeciall manner, Pſal. 33. 12. Bleſſed is the Nation, whoſe God is the Lord, and the people, whom He hath choſen for his owne Inheritance. Here it is ſpoken of the Nation of the Jewes. And his owne received him not. That is, believed not in him. So the word is interpreted in the very next verſe, To as many as received him, that is, believed in Not to receive Chriſt, is not to believe in Him.his name. Received him not, that is, believed not in his name; ſo as here, that which we are to obſerve, is briefly this. Though Chriſt came to his owne, he was not received, no, not by them.
Firſt, He came to them, in his Ordinances; They had the 1. How in his Ordinances.Miniſtry of the word. He hath not dealt ſo with every Nation, Pſal. 147. ult. Neither have the Heathen knowledge of his wayes, but he ſheweth his word to Jacob, and his ſtatutes, and judgments to Iſraell. Chriſt came in his word. The Scripture is but the ſhell, Chriſt is the kernell; The Scripture is the Cabinet, Chriſt is the Jewell. Scripturae ſunt faſciae, in quibus involutus eſt puer Jeſus. This the Prince of Antwerpe was wont to ſay. The Scriptures are the ſwadling Cloaths, in which Chriſt is wrapt. So Chriſt came in the word, in a great many perſonall types, that did fore-ſignifie him. He came in Melchiſedeck. He himſelfe Gen. 14. 18.being the true King of Righteouſneſſe, the King of peace. He came in Joſhua, he being the true Leader of men into the heavenly Canaan. He came in Iſaac, he being the true Joſhua 4. 19. Gen. 18. 12. Gen. 22. 6.Son of Laughter; The cauſe of his peoples joy, bearing his owne Croſſe, as Iſaac bore the Wood. So in all other perſonall Types, He came in the Sacrifices under the Law, they all ſignified Him. Therefore they offered the Morning, and Evening Sacrifice. The Evening ſacrifice was offered at the ſame hour, in which Chriſt was after nailed to the Croſſe. And he did ſo purpoſely to make it appear, that He came to fulfill all thoſe Sacrifice. He came in the Sacrament, the Lamb ſlain. The paſſe-over was a Type of Chriſt. Chriſt our paſſe-over, was ſacrificed for us. Manna, was a Type of him. And ſo the water in the Rock, that was Chriſt. So he came in his Ordinances to the Jewes, but they did not receive him. Let two Prophets anſwer that, Iſa. 8. 12. I have written to him, ſpeaking of Ephraim, the great things of my Law, but they were counted as a ſtrange thing; Chriſt came in the Word, and they looked at the word, as if it concerned not them, they accompted it as a ſtrange thing: this for the Law. And for the Goſpell, whereof Iſaiah was a Preacher in that age, the moſt Evangelicall of all the Prophets, ſee what he ſaith, Iſa. 53. 1. Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? Here is Chriſt, comes to his owne in his Ordinances, and not received; the report of him, not believed; his Law accompted, a ſtrange thing.
Secondly, Chriſt in the fleſh, The word was made fleſh, 2. How in the fleſh.and dwelt amongſt us; He converſed in the land of Judea, This was an act of ſpeciall favour. For one to receive a man into his houſe, is a favour: What was it for Chriſt to become man himſelfe, to aſſume the Manhood into one and the ſame Perſon, into the Godhead? yet this he did. He came to his owne, did they receive him? Search the Sciptures, ſome kind of reception there was, when He was born. But what? Here is a King born, where is his Pallace? Matth. 2. 2…. Luk. 2. 7. Matth. 2. 14.The ſtable for beaſts, is his Court. His Chamber of preſence, a Manger. Before He can go, He is forced to flye to Egypt in his Mothers armes; and at his return, what entertainment findeth he? The Gadarenes prefer their ſwine Mar. 5. 17. & 15. 13.before him, the Jews cry out, Crucifie him, crucifie him: Not him, but Barabbas: Which is excellently ſet forth in that Parable of the Maſter of the Vineyard, wherein Chriſt Luk. 20. 9.telleth us, How the Maſter of the Vineyard, after other Meſſengers ſent, ſendeth his own Son; And the husbandmen ſaid, This is the heir, let us ſlay him. This was the entertainment Chriſt found, when he came to his own. This, for the Explication of it.
In the firſt place, it hinteth us to a conſiderable Parallel 1. Chriſt not received, nor Antichriſt avoided.between Chriſt and Antichriſt, in regard of their Entertainment: Chriſt came, and was to be received; Antichriſt was to come, and to be ſhunned. The Scripture had foretold, that Chriſt ſhould come, when the Scepter ſhould depart from Judah. Therefore, about that time, they began Gen. 49. 10.to look for the Conſolation of Iſrael, as Simeon and the reſt Luk. 2. 25.did. 2 Theſſ. 2. 7. When that which withholds is taken out of the way, then the man of perdition ſhall be revealed. Accordingly, Chriſt came at his time, and Antichriſt came at his time; and yet neither was Chriſt received, nor Antichriſt ſhunned, as he ſhould have been: and all upon a falſe ſurmiſe. They looked not at Chriſt at that time, but as a temporall Monarch, therefore they received him not, becauſe he came in a mean condition. Antichriſt came in his time: up-ſtarts the Pope, when the Emperour went down. But they looked for Antichriſt as a Tyrant, that ſhould with fire and ſword over-run the world; but he came in ſheep's Antichriſt's hypocriticall deluſion.cloathing, as a Lamb; therefore they ſhunn'd him not, upon this miſtake onelyonly. As ſome godly Jews, when Chriſt came, gave him entertainment as the Meſſias; ſo when Antichriſt came, ſome believers were ſtirred up to cry out, that the Pope was Antichriſt, and ſo to write againſt him from his firſt riſe. After Antichriſt had been in the world a while, people began to ſmell him out, and diſcover him; and whole Churches fell from him, as many of theſe Weſtern Churches have done. So, a time is comming, that Chriſt ſhall be diſcovered to the Jews, and they ſhall mourn over him. Thus the Parallel, you ſee, runneth throughout. That, by the way.
Secondly, We may here ſee our own Pictures, in the 2. We may ſee our own carriage to Chriſt, by the deportment of the Jews.Jews carriage towards Chriſt: As face in water anſwereth face, ſo the face of man to man, ſaith Solomon. Juſt ſuch are we to Chriſt as they were. He is come to us, and we have not received him; he comes in his Ordinances, and we receive him not. We cry ſhame of the Jews, and we our ſelves are as bad. We have our Gadarenes, that prefer their ſwine before Chriſt, their baſe ſwiniſh luſts before our Saviour. We have them that cry out, Not Chriſt, but Barabbas; not Chriſt, but the world. Never let men, that walk in waies of diſobedience, pretend their receiving of him. They ſay, perhaps, What would you have? We are baptized in the waies of Chriſt, and come to the Lord's Table, and hear the Word Preached. But what do we more than many of the Jews did, who are ſaid, not to have received him? They flockt after Chriſt, but it was to ſee his Miracles; whole troops flockt after Chriſt, and yet they received him not: Why? Becauſe they obeyed him not, nor believed in him. It is not all our formalities and profeſſion, that will make us to paſſe as receivers of Chriſt, if we do not obey hit Goſpell. If a Soveraign Prince ſhall ſend his Agent or Ambaſſador into ſome part of his own dominions, he will expect, that this Agent of his ſhould have a fair acception: It will not be enough for the people to ſuffer him to land, to provide a fair houſe, and to make good entertainment for him, and give him reſpect; no, they are not ſaid to receive ſuch an Agent from the King, unleſſe they obey the commandements that he bringeth them from his Soveraign. So, we are not ſaid to receive Jeſus Chriſt, unleſſe we yield obedience to him. As a man taketh adultery a great deal worſe in his wife than in his kinſwoman, than in his daughter, becauſe ſhe is married to him, and becauſe he is nearer to her. The Churches that profeſſe Chriſt, they are the Spouſe of The Church's near relation to Chriſt.Chriſt; and for a Spouſe to play the harlot is far worſe, than for them that are at a greater diſtance from him. If Iſrael ſin, yet let not Judah tranſgreſſe. If Spain and France commit Idolatry, and ſin, yet let not England play the harlot. Let us not act the parts of the Jews with Chriſt.
There is a word of Comfort alſo here, to ſuch as are rejected by their own for Chriſt's ſake; that is an uſuall caſe, it is that which Chriſt foretold, Matth. 10. 35, 36. I am come to ſet a man at variance againſt his father, and the daughter againſt her mother, and the daughter in law againſt her mother in law, and a man's foes ſhall be they of his own houſe. Here is a diviſion made by Chriſt's comming. Whence it commeth to paſſe, that thoſe of his own houſhold, many times, do not receive him, after he hath received Chriſt. It is the caſe of many a poor ſoul to be frowned upon, and to meet with hard uſage, becauſe of his going after the Lord Jeſus Chriſt in his Ordinances. Here is comfort, It is that which befell Chriſt, His own received him not. Therefore if thy own reject thee, it is no ſuch wonder. It is ſaid of our Saviours friends, and near kinsfolk, Joh. 11. 5. Neither did his brethren believe on him. They were thoſe of his neareſt kinſmen; Mary's ſiſter's ſons, James and John, they were believers indeed; but the reſt of his kindred, many of them, even his very brethren, believed not in him. Nay, ſo far were they from believing in him, that, as we read it, they were mightily miſtaken about him; When his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him, for they ſaid he was beſides himſelf. The words well bear another interpretation; but, according to this, his very friends had a conceit, that Chriſt was mad, as many now adaies. Saith the unbelieving husband, I think my wife is mad; and ſaith the unbelieving wife, I think my husband is beſides himſelf, when he goeth after the waies of God. Let us be content to loſe our ſelves, to be conformed to Chriſt. As Bernard ſaid, Riſu ludentes, & joco, &c. Thoſe that ſpend their time in laughing and jollity, they cannot accompany the tears of Chriſt. They that affect the high places, cannot be accompanied with the humility of Chriſt, for his humility comforteth the lowly. And he being not received of his own, comforteth thoſe which are comfortleſſe for Chriſt's ſake.
I have done now with this Verſe. The next commeth in by way of an Anſwer to an Objection, thus: If the world knew him not, and his own received him not, then Chriſt came in vain. No, ſaith the Evangeliſt, there were ſome that received him, and to purpoſe too; for they became the ſons of God by receiving of him.