"The book of the generation of Jesus Christ, the son of David, the son of Abraham."—Matthew 1:1
This first verse of Matthew's Gospel contrasts strikingly with the first verse of John's; this human pedigree of the Son of God reads strangely when placed side by side with, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Yet it all the more exhibits the true Person of Him who was the "Word made flesh,"—"God manifest in flesh,"—true and very man, yet also true and very God.
As we take Matthew's history literally, so do we take that of John. If we allegorize the first chapter of the one evangelist, we must allegorize the first of the other. If John does not mean that Christ was very God, Matthew does not mean that He was very man. The divine side of Christianity is as strongly shewn in the one evangelist as the human side in the other. He whom we call Lord and Master, Saviour and Redeemer, is one in whose Person the extremes of all being unite. All Godhead and all creature hood are in Him; the fullness of the finite, and the fullness of the infinite; all the excellence of the created and the uncreated.
I. He is a man. He is not in this chapter expressly called "Son of Adam"; but in Luke's genealogy we find this designation; and apart from that, the whole of this chapter is a historical exhibition of his true and very manhood. He is of the same stock as we are,—the same ancient root,—the first man Adam, whom God created. He is bone of our bone, and flesh of our flesh; "God sent his Son in the likeness of sinful flesh" (Romans 8:3). In everything that is truly human He is one of us. He "knew no sin"; He was "that holy thing"; yet was He all the more human because of the absence of sin; for sin is not an original part of our nature. As man, then, He sympathizes; He pities; He loves. As man, He "loved his neighbor as himself" and so "fulfilled the royal law of love." As man, He was born, He lived, He "grew in stature, and in wisdom, and in favor with God and man" (Luke 2:52). His was thoroughly a human body and a human soul; his was thoroughly a human life and a human death. His was human hunger and thirst, human sleep and waking, human weariness and rest. His words were human words, issuing from human lips, and the utterance of a human heart. His looks were human looks, his tones were human tones, his tears were human tears. He was man all over, yet sinless; man all over, living in man's world, yet not partaker of that world's evil; man all over in every step He took, and every word He spoke; man all over in his daily intercourse with his fellow-men, and in his fellowship with his Father in heaven.
II. He is a Jew. God's purposes concerning earth have always unfolded themselves by election and selection,—of men, of places, of nations. Church-history is the record and manifestation of the electing and selecting will of a Sovereign God. There are elect nations and countries as well as elect souls. Israel was God's elect nation of old, Canaan his elect land, Jerusalem his elect city, and Zion his elect hill. This national election began with individual election,—Abraham. From the day of his being chosen, God's purpose centered in a nation,—the nation that was to spring from him. The Jew was chosen to be the first of nations,—to rise above the civilized Greek and the mighty Roman. The Jew was to be the center of God's workings and teachings. The Jew was to be the race with which Godhead was to be connected. Messiah was to be son of Abraham,—son of the great believer. And it was so; the seed of Abraham was that portion of the seed of the woman from which Messiah came. Jesus was a Jew; a son of Abraham; a scion of that race to whom God had committed his oracles and his covenant; in connection with whom the true history of our race is connected: "The book of the generation of Jesus Christ the Son of Abraham."
III. He is a King. He is of David's royal stock,—the God-selected family, for whom Israel's crown was destined for ever. God first narrows the circle of humanity to Abraham's race; then He limits that circle to the tribe of Judah; then he selects from that tribe David's family. Kingship in Israel was to be connected with David and his line. Messiah came not only as the son of Judah, but as the son of David,—heir to Israel's crown,—heir apparent to the throne of the world. Jesus of Bethlehem, Jesus of Nazareth is our King; son of David as well as son of Abraham. The crown of the world, nay, of the universe, is on the head of a Jew,—a son of David, a son of Abraham.
In all this, however, we find that others are interested besides Israel. Angels are interested, for it is through Gabriel that the announcement is made (Luke 1:26), and "angels desire to look into these things"; the Gentiles are interested, for Rahab and Ruth are among the Messiah's ancestors; the chief of sinners are interested, for in his line we find some of the worst; everything in this verse and chapter assures us that heaven and earth are, in all their regions, interested in this wondrous birth. The tidings are for all; they are to be preached "to every creature that is under heaven."
But, further, we learn here something concerning God's purpose,—his purpose of grace and blessing,—to which it will be well to give heed; for that purpose bears upon us and on our earth on every side. It is a purpose of love. God has loved the world, and sent his Son!
(1.) God's purpose is to bless by a man. It is a human channel that is to be made use of for blessing earth. Salvation comes by a man. The Saviour is a man. Everything connected with blessing to the race or to earth comes through a man; the son of David, son of Abraham, son of Adam,—child of Mary!
(2.) God's purpose is to teach by a man. Earth is to have a human, not an angelic prophet. From human lips are all our lessons to come. He who was to teach humanity, was to be a man; He who was to say, "Learn of me," was to be one of ourselves. It was in a man that all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge were to be hidden for us.
(3.) God's purpose is to judge by a man. The Father does not judge, but has committed all judgment to the Son. Judgment is given to Him because He is the Son of man (John 5:27). It is as Son of man that He sits upon the throne of his glory (Matthew 25:31).
(4.) God's purpose is to rule by a man. The King both of earth and heaven is to be son of David and son of Abraham. "The man Christ Jesus" is heir of the throne of David as well as possessor of the throne of heaven. The crown of all the earth is to be placed on the head of a man. Human hands are to wield the scepter of the universe.
(5.) God's purpose is to link heaven and earth together by a man. It is in the man Christ Jesus that the reconciliation takes place between them. It is by this man that the nearness is to be maintained for ever. He is the bridge, the ladder, the chain, the golden clasp that is to knit together the heavenly and earthly regions and races. Round this human center the universe is to revolve.
Glad tidings! The woman's seed has at length come to our rescue from the hands of our great enemy! Glad tidings! Unto us a child is born, unto us a Son is given. Glad tidings! Jesus, the son of Mary, of David, of Abraham, of Adam, is our Saviour; our prophet; our priest; our king. Oh, has not God loved man?
Be the first to react on this!
Horatius Bonar (1808 - 1889)
Bonar has been called “the prince of Scottish hymn writers.” After graduating from the University of Edinburgh, he was ordained in 1838, and became pastor of the North Parish, Kelso. He joined the Free Church of Scotland after the “Disruption” of 1843, and for a while edited the church’s The Border Watch. Bonar remained in Kelso for 28 years, after which he moved to the Chalmers Memorial church in Edinburgh, where he served the rest of his life. Bonar wrote more than 600 hymns.He was a voluminous and highly popular author. He also served as the editor for "The Quarterly journal of Prophecy" from 1848 to 1873 and for the "Christian Treasury" from 1859 to 1879. In addition to many books and tracts wrote a number of hymns, many of which, e.g., "I heard the voice of Jesus say" and "Blessing and Honour and Glory and Power," became known all over the English-speaking world. A selection of these was published as Hymns of Faith and Hope (3 series). His last volume of poetry was My Old Letters. Bonar was also author of several biographies of ministers he had known, including "The Life of the Rev. John Milne of Perth" in 1869, - and in 1884 "The Life and Works of the Rev. G. T. Dodds", who had been married to Bonar's daughter and who had died in 1882 while serving as a missionary in France.
Horatius Bonar comes from a long line of ministers who have served a total of 364 years in the Church of Scotland.
He entered the Ministry of the Church of Scotland. At first he was put in charge of mission work at St. John's parish in Leith and settled at Kelso. He joined the Free Church at the time of the Disruption of 1843, and in 1867 was moved to Edinburgh to take over the Chalmers Memorial Church (named after his teacher at college, Dr. Thomas Chalmers). In 1883, he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
He was a voluminous and highly popular author. He also served as the editor for "The Quarterly journal of Prophecy" from 1848 to 1873 and for the "Christian Treasury" from 1859 to 1879. In addition to many books and tracts wrote a number of hymns, many of which, e.g., "I heard the voice of Jesus say" and "Blessing and Honor and Glory and Power," became known all over the English-speaking world.
Horatius Bonar, had a passionate heart for revival and was a friend and supporter of several revivalists, He was brother to the more well-known Andrew Bonar, and with him defended D. L. Moody's evangelistic ministry in Scotland. He authored a couple of excellent revival works, one including over a hundred biographical sketches and the other an addendum to Rev. John Gillies' 'Historical Collections...' bringing it up to date.
He was a powerful soul-winner and is well qualified to pen this brief, but illuminating study of the character of true revivalists.
Horatius was in fact one of eleven children, and of these an older brother, John James, and a younger, Andrew, also became ministers and were all closely involved, together with Thomas Chalmers, William C. Burns and Robert Murray M'Cheyne, in the important spiritual movements which affected many places in Scotland in the 1830s and 1840s.
In the controversy known as the "Great Disruption," Horatius stood firmly with the evangelical ministers and elders who left the Church of Scotland's General Assembly in May 1843 and formed the new Free Church of Scotland. By this time he had started to write hymns, some of which appeared in a collection he published in 1845, but typically, his compositions were not named. His gifts for expressing theological truths in fluent verse form are evident in all his best-known hymns, but in addition he was also blessed with a deep understanding of doctrinal principles.
Examples of the hymns he composed on the fundamental doctrines include, "Glory be to God the Father".....on the Trinity. "0 Love of God, how strong and true".....on Redemption. "Light of the world," - "Rejoice and be glad" - "Done is the work" on the Person and Work of Christ. "Come Lord and tarry not," on His Second Coming, while the hymn "Blessed be God, our God!" conveys a sweeping survey of Justification and Sanctification.
In all this activity, his pastoral work and preaching were never neglected and after almost twenty years labouring in the Scottish Borders at Kelso, Bonar moved back to Edinburgh in 1866 to be minister at the Chalmers Memorial Chapel (now renamed St. Catherine's Argyle Church). He continued his ministry for a further twenty years helping to arrange D.L. Moody's meetings in Edinburgh in 1873 and being appointed moderator of the Free Church ten years later. His health declined by 1887, but he was approaching the age of eighty when he preached in his church for the last time, and he died on 31 May 1889.