° Heb. ii. 14, 15.
our lord's views of his own death.
John xii. 23, 24. Jesus answered them, saying, The hour is come, that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone : but if it die, it bring eth forth much fruit.
THE nearer our Lord's death approached, the more he delighted to speak of it. So far from
regarding it as an object of terror, he was longing for its accomplishment. To his Disciples he had frequently declared the precise manner of it, together with all its antecedent indignities; and now he de- clares it to some strangers, whom curiosity had led to visit him.
Whether those strangers were Jews or heathens, is not agreed : but from the general use of the term which we translate " Greeks," and from the difficulty which the Disciples felt about introducing them to Jesus, we apprehend that they were heathens, who had been proselyted to the worship of the true God, but were not become Jews by circumcision. Jesus had forbidden his Disciples to enter into any cities of the Gentiles, when he sent them out to preach his Gospel ; and therefore they might well doubt the propriety of introducing Gentiles to him ; which Philip did not venture to do, till he had conferred with Andrew, and consulted Jesus himself also on the point. When, however, they were brought to him, he advertised them of his approaching death, which he represented as a source of honour to himself, and of benefit to man. In these two views we shall con- sider it,
I. As a source of honour to himself —
He speaks not of being crucified, but glorified: for his death was indeed a glory to him :
1. As atoning for the sins of the whole world —
[This is the true light wherein to view his death : it was a sacrifice for sin, for the sins of all mankind : and it perfectly satisfied all the demands of law and justice, so that " God may
be just and yet the justifier of all who believe in Jesus"
View the death of Christ in this light, and say whether his crown of thorns were not his brightest diadem ; and the cross on which he expired, his most glorious throne ? Men indeed saw nothing but shame in his crucifixion ; but God and angels beheld it replete with glory a ]
2. As opening a way for the salvation of all man- kind—
a John xiii. '31 .
1671. J OUR lord's views of his own death. 545
[Being " lifted up, lie was to draw all men unto himV He was the true " Shiloh, unto whom the gathering of the people should be." Had he been the Saviour of Jews only, it had been comparatively a light matter ; but being God's sal- vation to the ends of the earth, he was most glorious in the eyes of God himself0. Behold, now already was he reaping the first-fruits of that harvest which was soon to be gathered in : the solicitude of these Greeks to be made acquainted with him was an earnest of that more extended dominion which he was speedily to possess. And who can reflect on " his erecting thus his standard to the nations," and not acknowledge " his rest to be glorious"1?" Indeed this gathering of the people to him is represented by the prophets as constituting the summit
of his glory e and lie himself is " satisfied with all the
travail of his soul, when he reaps this as its appointed fruit." But the songs of the redeemed in heaven are the best evidence of this unquestionable truth f.]
Our Lord next speaks of his death, II. As a source of benefit to man —
The illustration here used is familiar to all : every one knows that a grain of wheat, if left exposed upon a rock will be unproductive ; but that if buried in the earth, it will corrupt, and vegetate, and bring forth fruit. Now to this our Lord compares his death.