"but there standeth one among you, whom ye know not; 27 He it is, who coming after me is preferred before me, whose shoe's latchet I am not worthy to unloose. 28 These things were done. "in Bethabara beyond Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29¶The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold 'the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. 30 'This is he of whom I said, After me cometh a man which is preferred before me: for he was before me. 31 And I knew him not: but that he should be made manifest to Israel, 'therefore am I come baptizing with water. 32 "And John bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him. 33 And I knew him not: but he that sent me to baptize with water, the same said unto me, Upon whom thou shalt see the Spirit descending, and remaining on him, the same is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghost. fch. v. 33.-g Luke iii. 15. ch. iii. 28. Acts xiii. 25. - Mal. iv. 5. Mat. xvii. !0.-i Deut. xviii. 15, 18.O1, a prophet.-k Mat. iii. 3. Mark i. 3. Luke ill. 4. ch iii. 28.- Is. ix. 3.-m Mat. iii. 11.-n Mal. iii. 1.-0 ver. xv. 30. Acts xix. 4.-p Judg. vii. 24. ch. x. 40-9 Ex. xii 3. Is. lii. 7. ver. 6. Acts viii. 32. 1 Pet. i. 19. Rev. v. 6; &c.-r Is. ii. 11. 1 Cor. xv 3. Gal. i. 4. Heb. i. 3; & ii. 17; & ix. 28. I Pet. ii. 24; & iii 18 1 John i. 2; & ii, 5; & iv. 10. Rev. i. 5.Or. beareth-8 ver. xv. 27.-t Mal. fii. 1. Mat. ii. 6. Luke i. 17, 76, 77 ; & ii. 3, 4.-u Mat. iii. 16 Mark 1. 10. Luke iii. 22. ch. v. 32. Mat. iii. 11. Acts i. 5: & ii. 4; & x. 44; & xix. 6. READER.-This is the record of John. See Commentary on Matthew III. 1-12. § X. and Luke III. 15—17. § CLXI. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sin of the world!—In this remarkable saying of the Baptist every word hath its weight and emphasis. Behold! see here the person I told you of, the Lamb without spot and blemish, the perfect emblem of innocence and patience; "the Lamb slain from the founda tion of the world;" the Lamb typified by that which you sacrifice every morning and evening, and especially by the Paschal Lamb, which was roasted in such a posture (as Justin Martyr, and others, observe) that it exactly represented a person hanging upon a cross. Yea, "Behold the Lamb of God;" a Lamb not of an earthly, but Divine extraction; the Lamb of God's own choosing and appointment; the Lamb of God's own eternal generation, the only begotten of the Father; the Lamb offered up by God himself, unto himself. And so, "Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away sin;" not that expiates or covers it, but takes it quite away; not that hath or will take it away, but, as St. Chrysostom observes, that doth take it away continually; and that taketh away not only some particular sins, but sin in general and so, whatsoever there is in sin that either offends God or can hurt us; the strength, as well as the guilt of sin; our inclinations to it, as well as our obligations to punishment for it: and that taketh away the sin, not only of some particular persons, but the sin of the world; the sin not only of Abraham's but Adam's posterity; the sin of the Gentiles as well as of the Jews; for "he is the propitiation for our sins and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world." 1 John ii. 2. Thus, whensoever we see Christ, either with the eye of sense or faith, we may cry out with the Baptist, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."-BEVERIDGE. Neither is it enough that we thus believe that Christ died for mankind in general; but, in the last place, every one should believe that Christ died for him, and for his sins in particular; so as to apply the sufferings of the human nature in Christ to his own particular human person. For, seeing it is expressly said that Christ tasted death for every man, every man ought to believe he did it for him. Heb. ii. 9. And as no man can believe this except he repent, so no man can truly repent of all his sins, but he may and ought to believe this, even that Christ died for him, and for those very sins which he hath repented of. Thus we find St. Paul acting his faith, so as to appropriate Christ unto himself: "I am crucified," saith he, "with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me." Gal. ii. 20. Thus every one that repents and believes the gospel should look upon himself as particularly interested in what Christ did and suffered for mankind, as much as if he had done and suffered it only for him; so that I am bound, and so is every one else, not only "to confess with my mouth," but "to believe in my heart" that he became the Son of man, that I might partake of his Divine nature; he was "delivered for my offences," and "raised again for my justification;" he was " made sin for me," that "I might be made the righteousness of God in him;" he died, that I might live, and was crucified by men, that I might be glorified with God for ever; for "he loved me, and gave himself for me:" and, therefore, now that I remember his death, and see him, methinks, upon the cross, I cannot but cry out, "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world" in general, and my sins in particular.-BEVERIDGE. HYMN. Behold the Lamb of God, who bore Thy burdens on the tree; And paid in blood the dreadful score, The ransom due for thee. Look to Him till the sight endears The Saviour to thy heart; Its vast constraining influence prove O'er body, spirit, soul. Look to Him, as the race you run, Your never failing friend; Finish He will the work begun, And grace in glory end. § CCXXXV. CHAP. I. 35-51. The calling of Andrew, Peter, &c. 35 Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36 And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith," Behold the Lamb of God! 37 And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed Jesus. 38 Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them, What seek ye? They said unto him, Rabbi, (which is to say, being interpreted, Master,) where 'dwellest thou? 39 He saith unto them, Come and see. They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with him that day: for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41 He first findeth his own brother Simon, and saith unto him, We have found the Messias, which is, being interpreted, I the Christ. 42 And he brought him to Jesus. And when Jesus beheld him, he said, Thou art Simon the son of Jonah: "thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, 'A stone. 43 The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me. 44 Now Philip was of Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip findeth Nathanael, and saith unto him, We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph. 46 And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see. 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, Behold "an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile ! 48 Nathanael saith unto him, Whence knowest thou me? Jesus answered and said unto him, before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw thee. 49 Nathanael answered and saith unto him, Rabbi, 'thou art k the Son of God; thou art the our blessed Redeemer esteems this King of Israel. 50 Jesus answered and said unto him, Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, believest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these. 51 And he saith unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of man. y ver. 29.- Or, abideth. That was two hours before night.-z Mat. iv. 18.- Or, the anointed.-a Mat. xvi. 18.- Or. Peter.-b ch. xii. 21.-c ch. xxi. 2.-d Gen. iii, 15; & xlix. 10. Det. xviii. 18. See on Luke xxiv. 27.e Is. iv. 2; & vii. 14; & ix. 6; & liii. 2. Mie. v. 2. Zech. vi. 12; & ix. 9. See more on Luke xxiv. 27.Mat. ii. 23. Luke ii. 4.-g ch. vii. 41, 42, 52.-h Ps. xxxii. 2; & lxxiii. 1. ch. viii. 39. Rom. ii. 28, 29; & ix. 6.- Mat. xiv. 33.-k Mat. xxi. 5; & xxvii. 11, 42. ch. xviii. 37 ; & xix. 3.- Gen. xxviii. 12. Mat. iv. 11. Luke ii. 9, 13; & xxii. 43; & xxiv. 4. Acts. i. 10. simplicity, we may learn from the earnestness with which he inculcates should be "simple as doves;" Mat. it upon his disciples, that they x. 16. x. 16. We may also learn it from the honourable testimony he bears to this character in Nathanael, when he pronounces him, "an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no guile," John i. 47; and especially from his own perfect example, as it is said of him, 1 Pet. ii. 22, "he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth."-LEIGHTON. When thou wast under the fig tree I saw thee. God is a spiritual being, and therefore is invisible to the dull eyes of flesh; but the quick eye of faith can see "him who is invisible," as it was said of Moses, Heb. ii. 27. It of God, and fills the soul with awful READER. Jesus saith unto him, fixeth its eye upon the all-seeing eye Follow me! See Commentary on Matthew IV. thoughts of God's omnipresence and 19. § XIII. Behold an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile.-Freedom from guile, that fair simplicity of which the Psalmist speaks, is deservedly reckoned among the chief endowments of a pure soul, and is here named instead of all the rest, as nothing is more like to that God who inspects the very heart, in nothing do we so much resemble him; and therefore it is most agreeable to him, because most like him. He is the most simple of all beings, and is indeed truth itself, and therefore he "desires truth in the inward parts," and hates a heart and a heart, as the Hebrew phrase is to express those that are double hearted. And how much omniscience; that all things are naked and bare before him, in whose company we are wherever we are, and with whom we have to do whatever we are doing. Now consider with yourselves; would you commit such or such a sin, to which possibly you are tempted, if some grave person were in the room with you, whom you did much respect? And what! shall the presence of a mortal man keep you from sinning, and shall not the presence of a great God much more? shall we dare to sin, when God's eye is fixed upon us; when he views not only our outward actions, but also our inward thoughts, more clearly than we can see the faces of one another? It was the wise counsel that a heathen man gave to a scholar of his, that if he would preserve himself from doing anything that was unbecoming, he should suppose some sober and reverend man present with him, and this would keep him from doing that which he would be ashamed to do before him. Truly, we need not make any such supposition: the great and holy God is present with us in reality; and the eye of faith discovers him so to be: he is always looking on us, yea, always looking into us: and, certainly, this, to one that can exercise the discerning eye of faith, will be a more effectual means to keep a man from sin, than if all the eyes of men and angels were upon him.-HOPKINS. Nathanael answered and said unto him, Rabbi, thou art the Son of God, thou art the King of Israel!-As we are to believe God the Father, so likewise God the Son, to be always with us, even the eternal Son of God, who was pleased to become the Son of man too, by assuming our human nature into his Divine person, so as to be both God and man in one and the same person: by which means, although the human nature which he assumed never was or can be in any more than one place at once, yet the same Divine person, to which that nature is united, always was, and is, and ever will be, in all places, and know all things in heaven and earth. And therefore we read, that when he was in his mortal body upon earth, he was at the same time in heaven, John iii. 13, and everywhere, Matt. xviii. 20. He knew the very thoughts of the Scribes and HYMN. My song shall bless the Lord of all; Object of faith and not of sense; He shines eternal ages hence. |