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SERMON V.

THE NATURE AND CHARACTER OF JOHN THE BAPTIST'S OFFICE AND PREACHING, AS COMPARED WITH THOSE OF THE APOS TLES AND PROPHETS.

Matt. xi. 7-15.

And as they departed, Jesus began to say unto the multitudes, concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind? But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment? Behold, they that wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea, I say unto you, and more than a prophet. For this is he of whom it is written, Behold, I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily, I say unto you, Among them that are born of women, there hath not risen a greater than John the Baptist: notwithstanding, he that is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. And from the days of John the Baptist until the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence; and the

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violent take it by force. For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John: and, if ye will receive it, this is Elias, which was for to come. He that hath ears to hear, let him hear.

JOHN the Baptist, a man formed and fitted by Divine power for the high office of a reformer of the Jews, and an immediate forerunner of the Messiah, preached with so much energy and zeal that multitudes went from all parts into the wilderness to hear him, and to receive baptism from his hands. Such was his intrepidity that he openly reproved even the monarch on his throne; who bowed before the authoritative severity of his rebuke. Yet in the very midst of his services, when he seemed a fit instrument to convert the whole nation to the fear of God, and effectually prepare them for the reception of the Messiah, he is apprehended by Herod, cast into prison, and there consigned to obscurity.

In the mean time, our blessed Saviour proceeds in his ministry, without seeming to recollect that his forerunner was immured in prison. He commissions twelve of his disciples to be his Apostles, to attend his person, and to preach his Gospel: but the name of John is not inserted in the number. He exercises Divine power, but not for his benefit who had so faithfully proclaimed him as the long-expected Messiah. Surely he who could expel Satan from the demoniacs, and who could give sight to the blind, could, by a word, have opened the prison doors which detained his faithful messenger, broken his chains in pieces, and spread dismay or death amongst his guards. Such an exertion of Divine power was probably expected, both by John and by his disciples; but it was expected in vain, till John, harassed with doubt, respecting the motives of his conduct, at length sends two of his disciples to remind the Messiah of his forerunner, and to inquire, "Art thou he who should come, or do we look for another?" The question was one which evidently impli

ed some failure of faith, or rather perhaps of resignation. But whose faith would not have failed, after such expectation and under such circumstances? Our Lord appeals to the miracles which he was performing as clearly manifesting him to be the true Messiah, and then sends a gentle but merited rebuke to John for his want of proper confidence in him: “Blessed is he whosoever shall not be offended in me."

But while he justly, though delicately, reproved the want of faith in the Baptist, it was far from his purpose to lower in the eyes of the multitude either the character of that holy man or the dignity of his office. He speaks of him, therefore, in just and high terms. "As they departed, Jesus began to say to the multitudes concerning John, What went ye out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken with the wind?” That is, a man of an unstable, cowardly, and temporising disposition? The question implies a strong negation holding up to just admiration the invincible courage, the stedfast adherence to principle, the undaunted zeal for truth which characterized John. "But what went ye out for to see? A man clothed in soft raiment?" A man of luxurious habits and effeminate manners, voluptuous and self-indulgent: intimating that the character of John was a noble contrast to that of persons of this description; that he was a man of austere habits, of plain simple manners, of mortification and self-denial. It is in kings' houses, and not in the desert, that effeminacy and splendour prevail. "But what went ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea I say unto you, and more than a prophet."-A prophet is one of the highest characters in the church. A prophet is a person commissioned by God to deliver his will to man. He is one visited by the Divine presence, armed with the Divine authority, often one endued with Divine power. Elisha was a prophet, at whose command the heavens ceased to rain for three years; at whose prayer the heavens poured forth again copious streams of rain. At his word the sick were healed, and the dead were VOL. 1.

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raised to life again. When John, therefore, was declared by our Lord to be a prophet, he was pronounced to be one of the most exalted characters upon earth, the most honoured by the Lord of Hosts, the most revered amongst men; but he was not only a prophet, but even more than a prophet. "For this is he of whom it is written, Behold I send my messenger before thy face, which shall prepare thy way before thee. Verily I say unto you, Among them that are born of women, there has not arisen a greater than John the Baptist. Notwithstanding he that is least in the kingdom of heaven" (i. e. in the new dispensation of the Messiah) "is greater than he."-These words do not at all relate to the moral or private character of John the Baptist. Our Lord did not mean to institute a comparison between him, in his personal character, and the ancient prophets. Whether any of them was more eminent for piety than John, or whether he excelled them, is beyond the scope of our Lord's discourse. Nor was it intended to compare John, in this respect, with any of the Christian Church. Doubtless there have been many in the Christian Church, and those not amongst the least in that dispensation, who have been far inferior to John in the purity of their lives. But this is not the point of consideration. Nor does our Lord appear to compare John with the ancient prophets, or with the apostles, in respect to the variety and extent of heavenly gifts. John wrought no miracle; but the ancient prophets performed many; and some that were least in the kingdom of heaven may have wrought still more. John foretold no future events; but the ancient prophets, as well as some of the Apostles delivered many striking predictions. We must, therefore, understand our Lord to speak of John solely in his official character as the forerunner of the Messiah. In this respect he was superior to the prophets, but inferior to the apostles. The ancient prophets were honourable in proportion to the distinctness with which, while involved in distance and obscurity, they saw the day of Christ ap

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