Chapter 1
The introduction into the ensuing discourse.
The blessed Evangelist Saint Matthew, the penman of this sacred history was at first by profession a publican or gatherer of toll; and Christ having called him from the custom-house, made him a gatherer of souls. This holy man in the first chapter sets down Christ's birth and genealogy; in the second his dignity; a star ushers in the wise men to him, and as a king he is presented with gold and frankincense and myrrh (verse 9, 11). In the third chapter the Evangelist records his baptism; in the fourth his temptations; in the fifth his preaching; which chapter is like a rich mine, every vein has some gold in it. There are four things in this chapter which offer themselves to our view.
- 1. The preacher. - 2. The pulpit. - 3. The occasion. - 4. The sermon.
1. The preacher. Jesus Christ. The best of preachers.
He went up.] He, in whom there was a combination of virtues, a constellation of beauties; He whose lips were not only sweet as the honeycomb, but did drop as the honeycomb; his words an oracle, his works a miracle, his life a pattern, his death a sacrifice, He went up into a mountain and taught. Jesus Christ was every way ennobled and qualified for the work of the ministry.
1. Christ was an intelligent preacher. He had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and knew how to speak a word in due season, when to humble, when to comfort. We cannot know all the faces of our hearers, Christ knew the hearts of his hearers, He understood what doctrine would best suit with them; as the husbandman can tell what sort of grain is proper for such a soil.
2. Christ was a powerful preacher, He spoke with authority (Matthew 7:29). He could set men's sins before them, and show them their very hearts (John 4:29). Come see a man which told me all things which ever I did. That is the best glass not which is most richly set with pearl, but which shows the truest face; Christ was a preacher to the conscience, He breathed as much zeal as eloquence; he often touched upon the heartstrings. What is said of Luther, is more truly applicable to Christ, He spoke as if he had been within a man. He could drive the wedge of his doctrine in the most knotty piece; He was able with his two-edged sword to pierce a heart of stone. Never man spoke like this man (John 7:46).
3. Christ was a successful preacher; He had the art of converting souls. John 10:40: Many believed on him; yes, persons of rank and quality (John 12:42). Among the chief rulers many believed. He who had grace poured into his lips (Psalm 45:2), could pour grace into his hearers' hearts; He had the Key of David in his hand, and when he pleased did open the hearts of men, and make way both for himself and his doctrine to enter. If he did blow the trumpet his very enemies would come under his banner, upon his summons none dared but surrender.
4. Christ was a lawful preacher; as He had his unction from his Father, so his mission (John 8:18). The Father that sent me bears witness of me. Christ (in whom were all perfections centered, yet,) would be solemnly sealed, and inaugurated into his ministerial as well as mediatory office; if Jesus Christ would not enter upon the work of the ministry without a commission, how absurdly impudent are they who without any warrant dare invade this holy function! There must be a lawful admission of men into the ministry. Hebrews 5:4: No man takes this honor to himself, but he that is called of God, as was Aaron. Our Lord Christ as he gave Apostles and Prophets which were extraordinary ministers, so Pastors and Teachers which were initiated and made in an ordinary way (Ephesians 4:11), and He will have a ministry perpetuated (Matthew 28:20). Lo I am with you always even unto the end of the world. Surely, there is as much need of ordination now, as in Christ's time, and the time of the Apostles, there being then extraordinary gifts in the church which are now ceased.
Object 1. But why should not the ministry lie in common? Has the Lord spoken only by Moses (Numbers 12:2)? Why should not one preach as well as another?
Answer. Because God (who is the God of order) has made the work of the ministry a select distinct office from any other. As in the body natural the members have a distinct office, the eye is to see, the hand to work; you may as well say, why should not the hand see as well as the eye? Because God has made the distinction, He has put the visual faculty into the one, and not the other. So here, God has made a distinction between the work of the ministry and other work.
Quest. Where is this distinction?
Answer 1. We find in Scripture a distinction between pastor and people (1 Peter 5:2). The elders (or ministers) I exhort, Feed the flock of God which is among you. If any one may preach, by the same rule all may, and then what will become of the Apostle's distinction? Where will the flock of God be if all be pastors?
2. God has cut out the minister his work which is proper for him, and does not belong to any other. 1 Timothy 4:13: Give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine, give yourself wholly to them; or as it is in the Greek, [in non-Latin alphabet], be wholly in them. This charge is peculiar to the minister, and does not concern any other. It is not spoken to the tradesman that he should give himself wholly to doctrine and exhortation, no, let him look to his shop; it is not spoken to the plowman that he should give himself wholly to preaching, no, let him give himself to his plow. It is the minister's charge; the Apostle speaks to Timothy, and in him, to the rest who had the hands of the Presbytery laid on them; and 2 Timothy 2:15: Study to show yourself approved, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, [in non-Latin alphabet], rightly dividing the word of truth. This is spoken peculiarly to the minister. Every one that can read the word aright, cannot divide the word aright. So that the work of the ministry does not lie in common, it is a select, peculiar work. As none might touch the ark but the priests; none may touch this temple-office but such as are called to it.
Object 2. But if a man has gifts, is not this sufficient? I answer, no; as grace is not sufficient to make a minister, so neither gifts. The Scripture puts a difference between gifting and sending (Romans 10:15). How shall they preach unless they be sent? If gifts were enough to constitute a minister, the Apostle should have said, How shall they preach unless they be gifted? But he says unless they be sent; as in other callings gifts do not make a magistrate; the attorney that pleads at bar may have as good gifts as the judge that sits upon the bench, but he must have a commission before he sit as judge. If it be thus in matters civil, much more ecclesiastical and sacred; which are as Bucer says, things of the highest importance. Those therefore that do usurp the ministerial work without any special designation and appointment, do discover more pride than zeal. They act out of their sphere; and are guilty of thievery; they steal upon a people: And as they come without a call, so they stay without a blessing. Jeremiah 23:32: I sent them not, therefore they shall not profit this people at all. And so much for the first, the preacher.
2. The pulpit where Christ preached: He went up into a mountain.
The law was at first given on the Mount; and here Christ expounds it on the Mount. This Mount as is supposed by Hierom and others of the learned, was Mount Tabor. It was a convenient place to speak in, being seated above the people, and in regard of the great confluence of hearers.
3. The occasion of Christ's ascending the Mount: seeing the multitude.
The people thronged to hear Christ, and he would not dismiss the congregation without a sermon, but seeing the multitude he went up. Jesus Christ came from heaven as a factor for souls, he lay a while here, preaching was his business; the people could not be so desirous to hear, as he was to preach; he who did compassionate faint bodies (Matthew 15:32), did much more pity dead souls; it was his meat and drink to do his Father's will (John 4:34). And seeing the multitude, he goes up into the Mount and preaches. This he did not only for the consolation of his hearers, but the imitation of his ministers.
Doctrine. From where observe: That Christ's ministers according to Christ's pattern must embrace every opportunity of doing good to souls; praying and preaching, and studying must be our work (2 Timothy 4:2). Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season. Peter seeing the multitude, lets down the net, and at one draught catches three thousand souls (Acts 2:41). How zealously industrious have God's champions been in former ages, in fulfilling the work of their ministry; as we read of Chrysostom, Austin, Basil the great, Calvin, Bucer, and others, who for the work of Christ were near unto death. The reasons why the ministers of Christ (according to his pattern) should be ambitiously desirous of all opportunities for soul-service, are
1. Their commission: God has entrusted them as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). Now you know an ambassador waits for a day of audience, and as soon as a day is granted, he does faithfully and impartially deliver the mind of his prince: Thus Christ's ministers having a commission delegated to them to negotiate for souls, should be glad when there is a day of audience, that they may impart the mind and will of Christ to his people.
2. Their titles. 1. Ministers are called God's seedsmen (1 Corinthians 9:11), therefore they must upon all occasions be scattering the blessed seed of the word: The sower must go forth and sow; yes, though the seed fall upon stones (as usually it does) yet we must disseminate, and scatter the seed of the word upon stony hearts, because even of these stones God is able to raise up children to himself. 2. Ministers are called stars; therefore they must shine by word and doctrine in the firmament of the church. Thus our Lord Christ has set them a pattern in the text: Seeing the multitude, he went up into the Mountain; here was a light set upon a hill; the bright morning star shining to all that were round about. Christ calls his ministers, light of the world (Matthew 5:14), therefore they must be always giving forth their luster; their light must not go out till it be in the socket, or till violent death as an extinguisher put it out.
3. Christ's ministers must catch at all occasions of doing good to others, in regard of the work which they are about — saving of souls. What a precious thing is a soul? Christ takes a pair of scales and puts the world in one and the soul in the other, and the soul outweighs: Matthew 16:26. The soul is of a noble original, of a quick operation; it is a flower of eternity — here in the bud, in heaven fully ripe and blown. The soul is one of the richest pieces of embroidery that ever God made; the understanding bespangled with light, the will invested with liberty, the affections like musical instruments tuned with the finger of the Holy Ghost. The soul is Christ's partner, the angels' familiar; now if the souls of men are of so noble an extract and made capable of glory, oh how zealously industrious should Christ's ministers be to save these souls! If Christ did spend his blood for souls, well may we spend our sweat. It was Austin's prayer that Christ might find him either praying or preaching. What a sad sight is it to see precious souls as so many pearls and diamonds cast into the dead sea of hell?
4. The ministers of Christ seeing the multitude, must ascend the Mount, because there are so many emissaries of Satan who lie at the catch to subvert souls: How does the old serpent cast out of his mouth floods of water after the woman to drown her (Revelation 12:15)? What floods of heresy have been poured out in city and country, which have overflowed the banks, not only of religion, but civility. Ignatius calls error, the invention of the devil; and Bernard calls it a sweet poison: Men's ears like sponges have sucked in this poison: Never were the devil's commodities more marketable in England than now; a fine tongue can put off bad wares; the Jesuit can silver over his lies, and dress error in truth's coat; a weak brain is soon intoxicated; when flattery and subtlety meet with the simple, they easily become a prey: The Roman whore entices many to drink down the poison of her idolatry and filthiness, because it is given in a golden cup (Revelation 17:4). If all who have the plague of the head should die, it would much increase the bill of mortality; Now if there be so many emissaries of Satan abroad, who labor to make converts to the Church of Rome, how does it concern them whom God has put into the work of the ministry, to bestir themselves, and lay hold on all opportunities, that by their spiritual antidotes they may convert sinners from the error of their way and save their souls from death (James 5, last verse)! Ministers must not only be pastors, but fighters; in one hand they must hold the bread of life, and feed the flock of God; in the other hand, they must hold the sword of the Spirit, and fight against those errors which carry damnation in their front.
5. The ministers of Christ should wait for all opportunities of soul-service, because the preaching of the word has so many hindrances that impede the progress and success of it; never did pilot meet with so many cross winds in a voyage, as the spiritual pilots of God's church do when they are transporting souls to heaven.
1. Some hearers have bad memories (James 1:25). Their memories are like leaking vessels; all the precious wine of holy doctrine that is poured in, runs out presently: Ministers cannot by study find a truth so fast as others can lose it; if the meat does not stay in the stomach, it can never breed good blood; if a truth delivered does not stay in the memory, we can never be as the Apostle says, nourished up in the words of faith (1 Timothy 4:6). How often does the devil, that fowl of the air, pick up the good seed that is sown! If thieves steal away people's money, they tell every one, and make their complaint they have been robbed; but there is a worse thief they are not aware of! How many sermons has the devil stolen from them! How many truths have they been robbed of, which might have been so many deathbed cordials! Now if the word preached slides so fast out of the memory, ministers had need the more often go up the preaching Mount, that at last some truth may abide, and be as a nail fastened by the masters of assemblies.
2. The ears of many of our hearers are stopped with earth; I mean, the cares of the world, that the word preached will not enter; according to that in the parable, Hearing they hear not (Matthew 13:13). We read of Saul, his eyes were open, yet he saw no man (Acts 9:8). A strange paradox! And is it not as strange that men's ears should be open, yet in hearing hear not? They mind not what is said: Ezekiel 33:31: They sit before you as my people sits, but their heart goes after their covetousness. Many sit and stare the minister in the face, yet scarce know a word he says; they are thinking of their wares and drugs, and are often casting up accounts in the church. If a man be in a mill, though you speak never so loud to him, he does not hear you for the noise of the mill. We preach to men about matters of salvation, but the mill of worldly business makes such a noise, that they cannot hear; in hearing they hear not. It being thus, ministers who are called sons of thunder, had need often ascend the Mount, and lift up their voice like a trumpet; that the deaf ear may be cleansed and unstopped, and may hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:7).
3. Others, as they have earth in their ears, so they have a stone in their hearts. Zechariah 7:12: They made their hearts as an adamant stone, lest they should hear the law. The ministers of Christ therefore must be frequently brandishing the sword of the Spirit, and striking at men's sins, that if possible, they may at last pierce the heart of stone. When the earth is scorched with the sun, it is so hard, and crusted together, that a shower of rain will not soften it; there must be shower after shower before it will be either moist or fertile; such a hardened piece is the heart of man naturally; it is so stiffened with the scorchings of lust, that there must be precept upon precept (Isaiah 28:10). Our doctrine must distill as the dew, as the small rain on the tender herb, and the showers upon the grass (Deuteronomy 32:2).
6. Christ's ministers according to the example of their Lord and Master, should take all occasions of doing good, not only in regard of God's glory, but their own comfort. What triumph is it, and cause of gladness, when a minister can say on his deathbed, Lord, I have done the work which you gave me to do, I have been trading for souls! When a minister comes to the Mount of glory, the heavenly Mount, it will be a great comfort to him that he has been so often upon the preaching Mount. Certainly if the angels in heaven rejoice at the conversion of a sinner (Luke 15), how shall that minister rejoice in heaven over every soul that he has been instrumental to convert? Every convert gained, as it shall add a member to Christ's body, so a jewel to a minister's crown (Daniel 12:3). They that are wise, or as the original carries it, [in non-Latin alphabet] they that are teachers shall shine (not as lamps or tapers, but) as stars; not as planets, but fixed stars in the firmament of glory forever.
And though Israel be not gathered, yet shall God's ministers be glorious in the eyes of the Lord (Isaiah 49:5). God will reward them, not according to their success, but their diligence. When they are a savor of death to men, yet they are a sweet savor to God. In an orchard, the laborer that fells a tree, is rewarded as well as he that plants a tree; the surgeon's bill is paid though the patient die.
Use 1. Let me crave liberty to speak a word to my reverend and honored brethren in the ministry. You are engaged in a glorious service, God has put great renown upon you; he has entrusted you with two the most precious jewels, his truths, and the souls of his people; never was this honor conferred upon any angel to convert souls; What princely dignity can parallel this? The pulpit is higher than the throne; for a truly constituted minister represents no less than God himself. 2 Corinthians 5:20: As though God did beseech you by us, we pray you in Christ's stead, be reconciled to God. Give me leave to say as the Apostle (Romans 11:13), I magnify my office. Whatever our persons are, the office is sacred: The ministry is the most honorable employment in the world; Jesus Christ has graced this calling by his entering into it; other men work in their trade, ministers work with God. 1 Corinthians 3:9: We are laborers together with God. O high honor! God and his ministers have one and the same work, they both negotiate about souls: Let the sons of the prophets wear this as their crown and diadem; but while I tell you of your dignity, do not forget your duty: Imitate this blessed pattern in the text, the Lord Jesus, who seeing the multitudes, he went up and taught. He took all occasions of preaching; sometimes he taught in the temple (Mark 14:49), sometimes in a ship (Mark 4:1), and here upon the Mount; his lips were a tree of life that fed many: How often did he neglect his food, that he might feast others with his doctrine! Let all the ministers of Christ tread in his steps; make Christ not only your Savior, but your example; suffer no opportunities to slip wherein you may be helpful to the souls of others; be not content to go to heaven yourselves, but be as the first mover, which draws other orbs along with it; be such shining lamps, that you may light others to heaven with you: I will conclude with that of the Apostle (1 Corinthians 15:58): Therefore my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as you know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.
Let me turn myself to the flock of God, Use 2. If ministers must take all opportunities to preach, you must take all opportunities to hear. If there were twice or three times a week a certain sum of money to be distributed to all comers, then people would resort there; now think thus with yourselves, when the word of God is preached, the bread of life is distributed, which is more precious than thousands of gold and silver (Psalm 119:72). In the word preached heaven and salvation is offered to you; in this field the pearl of price is hid: How should you flock like doves to the windows of the sanctuary (Isaiah 60:8)! We read, the gate of the temple was called beautiful (Acts 3:2). The gate of God's house is the beautiful gate; lie at these posts of wisdom's doors (Proverbs 8:34).
Branch 2. Not only hear the word preached, but encourage those ministers who do preach. 1. By liberal maintaining of them. Though I hope all who have God's Urim and Thummim written upon them, can say as the Apostle (2 Corinthians 12:14), I seek not yours, but you; yet that Scripture is still canonical (1 Corinthians 9:14): So has the Lord ordained, that they which preach the gospel should live of the gospel. Are not laborers in a vineyard maintained by their labors? says Peter Martyr; And the Apostle puts the question, Who plants a vineyard and eats not the fruit of it (1 Corinthians 9:7)? Hypocrites love a cheap religion; they like a gospel that will put them to no charges; they are content so they may have golden bags, to have wooden priests. How many by saving their purses have lost their souls! Julian the Apostate robbed the ministers, pretending conscience; I need not tell you how vengeance pursued him. Is it not pity the fire on God's altar should go out for want of pouring on a little golden oil? David would not offer that to God which cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).
2. Encourage God's ministers by your fruitfulness under their labors; when ministers are upon the Mount, let them not be upon the rocks. What cost has God laid out upon this city! Never I believe since the Apostles' times was there a more learned, orthodox, powerful ministry than now; God's ministers are called stars (Revelation 1:20). In this city every morning a star appears, besides the bright constellation on the Lord's day; Oh you that feed in the green pastures of ordinances, be fat and fruitful; you that are planted in the courts of God, flourish in the courts of God (Psalm 92:13). How sad will it be with a people that shall go laden to hell with gospel blessings! The best way to encourage your ministers, is, to let them see the travail of their souls in your new birth. It is a great comfort when a minister does not only woo souls, but win souls (Proverbs 11:30). He that wins souls is wise. This is a minister's glory (1 Thessalonians 2:19): For what is our joy, or crown of rejoicing? Are not even you? A successful preacher wears two crowns, a crown of righteousness in heaven, and a crown of rejoicing here upon earth; Are not you our crown?
3. Encourage your ministers by praying for them. Their work is great, it is a work that will take up their head and heart, and all little enough; it is a work fitter for angels than men. Who is sufficient for these things (1 Corinthians 2:16)? Oh pray for them. Christ indeed when he ascended the Mount, and was to preach, needed none of the people's prayers for him; He had a sufficient stock by him, the divine nature to supply him; but all his under-officers in the ministry need prayer. If Saint Paul who abounded in the graces of the Spirit, and supernatural revelations, did beg prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:25), then surely other ministers need prayer who pretend not to any such revelations. And pray for your ministers, that God will direct them what to preach, that he will cut out their work for them; that God will go forth with their labors, for else they toil and catch nothing. It is not the hand that scatters the seed which makes it spring up, but the dews and influences of heaven: So it is not our preaching, but the divine influence of the Spirit that makes grace grow in men's hearts. Oh then pray for us, that God will make his work prosper in our hands.
1. That God will direct them what to preach, that he will cut out their work for them (Jonah 3:2): Go preach the preaching that I bid you. It is a great matter to preach suitable truths; these are acceptable words (Ecclesiastes 12:10).
2. Pray that God will go forth with their labors; for else they toil and catch nothing. God's Spirit must fill the sails of our ministry. It is not the hand that scatters the seed which makes it spring up, but the dews and influences of heaven: So it is not our preaching, but the divine influence of the Spirit that makes grace grow in men's hearts: We are but pipes and organs, it is God's Spirit blowing in us that makes the preaching of the word by a divine enchantment allure souls to Christ. Ministers are but stars to light you to Christ, the Spirit is the magnet to draw you. All the good done by our ministry, is through the virtue and efficacy of the Lord. Oh then pray for us, that God will make his work prosper in our hands; this may be one reason why the word preached does profit no more, because people pray no more; perhaps you complain the tool is dull, the minister is dead and cold; you should have whetted and sharpened him by your prayer; if you would have the door of a blessing opened to you through our ministry, you must unlock it by the key of prayer.
An introduction to the following discourse.
The blessed Evangelist Matthew, who wrote this sacred history, was by trade a tax collector. When Christ called him away from that customs booth, He made him a collector of souls instead. In the first chapter, this holy man records Christ's birth and genealogy. In the second, he records His dignity — a star led the wise men to Him, and He was presented with gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh as a king (Matthew 2:9, 11). In the third chapter, the Evangelist records His baptism; in the fourth, His temptations; and in the fifth, His preaching. That fifth chapter is like a rich mine — every vein holds gold. There are four things in this chapter that stand out for our attention.
- 1. The preacher. - 2. The pulpit. - 3. The occasion. - 4. The sermon.
1. The preacher. Jesus Christ. The greatest preacher who ever lived.
He went up — He, in whom every virtue was combined and every beauty gathered together; He whose lips were not only sweet as a honeycomb but constantly dripping with sweetness; He whose words were an oracle, whose works were miracles, whose life was a pattern, whose death was a sacrifice. He went up into a mountain and taught. Jesus Christ was fully equipped and qualified for the work of ministry in every way.
1. Christ was an intelligent preacher. He had the Spirit without measure (John 3:34), and He knew how to speak the right word at the right time — when to humble and when to comfort. We cannot know all the faces of our listeners; Christ knew the hearts of His. He understood what teaching would best suit each person, just as a farmer knows what kind of seed is right for a particular soil.
2. Christ was a powerful preacher. He spoke with authority (Matthew 7:29). He could confront people with their sins and show them their own hearts (John 4:29). "Come, see a man who told me all the things I have ever done." The best mirror is not the one most richly set with pearls, but the one that shows the truest reflection. Christ preached to the conscience. He breathed as much zeal as eloquence, and He often struck at the deepest parts of the heart. What was said of Luther applies far more truly to Christ: He spoke as though He were speaking from inside a person. He could drive the wedge of His teaching into the hardest heart, and with His two-edged sword He was able to pierce even a heart of stone. "Never has a man spoken the way this man speaks" (John 7:46).
3. Christ was a successful preacher. He had the gift of converting souls. John 10:40: Many believed in Him, including people of rank and standing (John 12:42). Even among the chief rulers, many believed. He who had grace poured into His lips (Psalm 45:2) could pour grace into His listeners' hearts. He held the Key of David in His hand, and whenever He chose, He opened people's hearts and made a way for both Himself and His teaching to enter. When He sounded the trumpet, even His enemies came under His banner — at His summons, none dared do anything but surrender.
4. Christ was a lawful preacher. As He had His anointing from the Father, so also He had His sending (John 8:18). "The Father who sent Me bears witness of Me." Christ, in whom all perfections were centered, still submitted to being formally commissioned and set apart for His ministry office as well as His mediatorial office. If Jesus Christ would not begin the work of ministry without a commission, how brazenly presumptuous are those who dare invade this sacred office without any warrant? There must be a lawful entry into the ministry. Hebrews 5:4: No one takes this honor to himself, but he who is called by God, just as Aaron was. Our Lord Christ gave not only Apostles and Prophets — who were extraordinary ministers — but also Pastors and Teachers, who were appointed in the ordinary way (Ephesians 4:11). And He intends for a ministry to continue perpetually (Matthew 28:20). "Lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Ordination is just as necessary today as it was in Christ's time and the time of the Apostles — in fact more so, since the extraordinary gifts that were present in the church then have now ceased.
Objection 1: But why should the ministry not be open to everyone? Has the Lord spoken only through Moses (Numbers 12:2)? Why should one person preach any better than another?
Answer: Because God, who is a God of order, has made the work of ministry a distinct and separate office from any other. In the human body, each member has its own function — the eye sees, the hand works. You might as well ask, why shouldn't the hand see as well as the eye? Because God made that distinction — He placed the faculty of sight in one and not the other. In the same way, God has made a distinction between the work of ministry and other kinds of work.
Question: Where is this distinction in Scripture?
Answer 1: Scripture clearly distinguishes between pastor and people (1 Peter 5:2). "The elders — or ministers — I exhort: feed the flock of God that is among you." If anyone could preach, then by the same reasoning everyone could, and what would become of the distinction the Apostle makes? Where would the flock of God be if everyone were a pastor?
2. God has assigned the minister specific work that belongs to him and to no one else. 1 Timothy 4:13: "Give attention to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation and teaching" — give yourself entirely to these things. In the Greek, the sense is: be wholly in them. This charge is given specifically to the minister and applies to no one else. The merchant is not told to give himself entirely to doctrine and exhortation — let him attend to his business. The farmer is not told to give himself entirely to preaching — let him attend to his fields. This is the minister's charge. The Apostle speaks to Timothy, and through him to all those on whom the hands of the Presbytery were laid. And in 2 Timothy 2:15: "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth." This is spoken specifically to the minister. Not everyone who can read the word correctly can also divide it correctly. Therefore the work of ministry does not belong to everyone — it is a distinct and special calling. Just as no one but the priests could touch the ark, no one may take up this office in God's house except those who are called to it.
Objection 2: But if a man has gifts, isn't that enough? My answer is no. Just as grace alone is not enough to make someone a minister, neither are gifts alone. Scripture draws a distinction between being gifted and being sent (Romans 10:15). "How will they preach unless they are sent?" If gifts were enough to make someone a minister, the Apostle should have written, "How will they preach unless they are gifted?" But he wrote "unless they are sent." The same principle holds in other fields: gifts don't make a magistrate. A lawyer who argues cases at the bar may be just as gifted as the judge on the bench, but he must have a commission before he can sit as judge. If this is true in civil affairs, it applies even more to church matters, which Bucer rightly calls things of the highest importance. Those who seize the work of ministry without any proper appointment and calling show more pride than zeal. They act outside their sphere and are guilty of a kind of theft — they steal their way into a congregation. And as they come without a call, so they remain without a blessing. Jeremiah 23:32: "I did not send them, therefore they will not profit this people at all." And that is enough on the first point: the preacher.
2. The pulpit where Christ preached: He went up into a mountain.
The law was first given on a mountain, and here Christ expounds it on a mountain. This mountain is believed by Jerome and other scholars to have been Mount Tabor. It was a practical place to speak from — elevated above the people and well-suited to the large crowd that had gathered.
3. The occasion of Christ's going up the mountain: He saw the multitude.
The people pressed forward to hear Christ, and He would not dismiss the crowd without a sermon — seeing the multitude, He went up. Jesus Christ came from heaven as an agent sent to win souls. He spent His time on earth preaching as His primary business. The people could not be as eager to hear as He was to preach. He who had compassion on weary bodies (Matthew 15:32) had far greater compassion on dead souls. It was His food and drink to do His Father's will (John 4:34). And seeing the multitude, He went up the mountain and preached. He did this not only for the benefit of His listeners, but as a pattern for His ministers to follow.
Doctrine: From this, observe that Christ's ministers must follow Christ's pattern and seize every opportunity to do good to souls. Praying, preaching, and studying must be their constant work (2 Timothy 4:2). "Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season." Peter, seeing the multitude, cast the net — and in one catch pulled in three thousand souls (Acts 2:41). How zealously and tirelessly God's champions have labored in former ages to fulfill the work of their ministry — Chrysostom, Augustine, Basil the Great, Calvin, Bucer, and others who came near to death for the sake of Christ's work. The reasons why Christ's ministers should be intensely eager to seize every opportunity for soul-service are these:
1. Their commission: God has entrusted them as ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). An ambassador waits for the day of an audience, and as soon as it is granted, he faithfully and fully delivers the message of his king. In the same way, Christ's ministers, having been commissioned to negotiate for souls, should be glad whenever a day of audience comes — so they can deliver the mind and will of Christ to His people.
2. Their titles. 1. Ministers are called God's sowers (1 Corinthians 9:11), so they must use every opportunity to scatter the blessed seed of the word. The sower goes out and sows. Yes, even if the seed falls on rocky ground — as it often does — we must still sow, scattering the word on stony hearts, because God is able to raise up children for Himself even from those stones. 2. Ministers are called stars, so they must shine through word and teaching in the sky of the church. Our Lord Christ set this example in the text: seeing the multitude, He went up the mountain — a light set on a hill, the bright morning star shining to all around. Christ calls His ministers "the light of the world" (Matthew 5:14), so they must be always giving off their light. That light must not go out until it is spent in the socket, or until a violent death extinguishes it.
3. Christ's ministers must seize every opportunity to do good, because of the great importance of what they are doing — saving souls. How precious is a soul? Christ places the whole world on one side of a scale and the soul on the other, and the soul outweighs it (Matthew 16:26). The soul has a noble origin and a lively energy. It is a flower of eternity — here still in bud, but in heaven fully bloomed. The soul is one of the richest works of embroidery God ever made: the mind lit up with understanding, the will clothed with freedom, the affections like musical instruments tuned by the finger of the Holy Spirit. The soul is Christ's partner and the companion of angels. If souls are of such noble origin and made capable of glory, how zealously and tirelessly should Christ's ministers labor to save them! If Christ spent His blood for souls, surely we can spend our sweat. It was Augustine's prayer that Christ would find him either praying or preaching at the hour of his death. What a tragic sight it is to see precious souls — like pearls and diamonds — cast into the dead sea of hell.
4. The ministers of Christ must go up the mountain when they see the multitude, because Satan has so many agents actively working to destroy souls. How does the ancient serpent pour floods of water from his mouth after the woman, trying to sweep her away (Revelation 12:15)? Floods of heresy have been poured out across cities and countryside, overflowing the banks of not only religion but basic morality. Ignatius called error "the devil's invention," and Bernard called it "a sweet poison." People's ears, like sponges, have soaked up this poison. Satan's goods have never been more marketable in England than now. A smooth tongue can move bad merchandise. The Jesuit can coat his lies in silver and dress error in truth's clothing. A weak mind is easily intoxicated. When flattery and cleverness meet with the simple, they become easy prey. The Roman church entices many to swallow the poison of her idolatry and wickedness, because it is served in a golden cup (Revelation 17:4). If all who had the plague of false doctrine were to die, the death toll would rise sharply. Since Satan has so many agents at work trying to win converts to the Church of Rome, how urgent it is for those whom God has placed in the work of ministry to stir themselves and seize every opportunity — so that through their spiritual remedies they may turn sinners from the error of their ways and save their souls from death (James 5, last verse)! Ministers must be not only shepherds but fighters. In one hand they must hold the bread of life and feed God's flock; in the other, they must hold the sword of the Spirit and fight against the errors that carry damnation openly with them.
5. Christ's ministers should pursue every opportunity for soul-service because the preaching of the word faces so many obstacles to its progress and success. No pilot ever encountered as many contrary winds on a voyage as God's spiritual pilots face when they are bringing souls safely to heaven.
1. Some listeners have poor memories (James 1:25). Their memories are like leaking vessels — all the precious wine of holy teaching that is poured in runs right out. Ministers cannot find truth through study as fast as others can lose it. If food does not stay in the stomach, it can never produce healthy blood. If a truth that is preached does not stay in the memory, we can never be, as the Apostle says, "nourished on the words of faith" (1 Timothy 4:6). How often does the devil — that bird of the air — swoop down and pick up the good seed that was sown! If thieves steal people's money, they tell everyone and report that they have been robbed. But there is a worse thief they are unaware of. How many sermons has the devil stolen from them! How many truths have been robbed from them — truths that could have been a comfort in their dying hour! Since the preached word slips so easily from memory, ministers need to go up the preaching mountain more often, so that at last some truth will take hold and remain, fastened like a nail by the masters of assemblies.
2. Many listeners have their ears stopped up with earth — meaning the worries of the world — so that the preached word never enters. This is what the parable describes: "Hearing they do not hear" (Matthew 13:13). We read of Saul: his eyes were open, yet he saw no one (Acts 9:8). What a strange paradox! Yet is it not just as strange that men's ears should be open, yet in hearing they do not hear? They pay no attention to what is said. Ezekiel 33:31: "They come before you as My people, but their heart goes after their covetousness." Many people sit staring at the minister's face yet scarcely know a word he has said. They are thinking about their goods and their profits, mentally tallying up accounts in the middle of the church service. If a man is inside a mill, you can shout as loudly as you want, but he cannot hear you over the noise of the mill. We preach to people about matters of salvation, but the noise of worldly business is so loud they cannot hear. In hearing, they do not hear. Since this is how it is, ministers — who are called sons of thunder — need to go up the mountain often and lift their voice like a trumpet, so that the deaf ear may be opened and may hear what the Spirit says to the churches (Revelation 2:7).
3. Others, as they have earth in their ears, have a stone in their hearts. Zechariah 7:12: "They made their hearts like flint, so that they could not hear the law." Christ's ministers must therefore constantly brandish the sword of the Spirit and strike at people's sins, hoping to finally pierce even a heart of stone. When ground is scorched by the sun, it becomes so hard and crusted that a single rainstorm will not soften it. Shower after shower is needed before it will become moist or fertile. The human heart in its natural state is just such a hardened thing — it is so stiffened by the scorching of lust that precept upon precept is required (Isaiah 28:10). Our teaching must fall like dew, like the gentle rain on new grass, and like showers upon tender plants (Deuteronomy 32:2).
6. Christ's ministers should follow their Lord's example and seize every opportunity to do good — not only for God's glory, but for their own lasting comfort. What a triumph it will be, and what cause for joy, when a minister can say on his deathbed: "Lord, I have finished the work You gave me to do. I have been trading for souls!" When a minister arrives at the mount of glory — the heavenly mountain — it will be a great comfort to him that he spent so much time on the preaching mountain. Certainly if the angels in heaven rejoice over the conversion of one sinner (Luke 15), how much more will that minister rejoice in heaven over every soul he was used to convert? Every convert gained will not only add a member to Christ's body but a jewel to a minister's crown (Daniel 12:3). Those who are wise — or as the original Hebrew carries it, those who are teachers — will shine not as lamps or candles, but as stars; not as planets, but as fixed stars in the sky of glory forever.
And even if Israel is not gathered, God's ministers will still be honored in His sight (Isaiah 49:5). God will reward them not according to their success, but according to their faithfulness. Even when they are the fragrance of death to those who reject the message, they are still a sweet fragrance to God. In an orchard, the laborer who cuts down a tree is paid just as much as the one who plants one. The surgeon's bill is paid even if the patient dies.
Use 1: Allow me to speak a word to my honored brothers in the ministry. You are engaged in a glorious work, and God has placed great honor upon you. He has entrusted you with the two most precious things He owns: His truth and the souls of His people. No angel has ever been given the honor of converting souls. What royal dignity can compare to this? The pulpit stands higher than the throne, for a rightly appointed minister represents no less than God Himself. 2 Corinthians 5:20: "As though God were making His appeal through us, we beg you on behalf of Christ: be reconciled to God." Allow me to say with the Apostle (Romans 11:13): I magnify my office. Whatever our personal shortcomings, the office itself is sacred. The ministry is the most honorable calling in the world. Jesus Christ honored this calling by entering it Himself. Other people work in their trades, but ministers work with God. 1 Corinthians 3:9: "For we are fellow workers with God." What an extraordinary honor! God and His ministers share one and the same work — both are engaged in the business of souls. Let the sons of the prophets wear this as their crown and dignity. But while I speak of your honor, do not forget your duty. Follow the blessed pattern in this text: the Lord Jesus, who — seeing the multitudes — went up and taught. He seized every opportunity to preach. Sometimes He taught in the temple (Mark 14:49), sometimes in a boat (Mark 4:1), and here on the mountain. His lips were a tree of life that fed many. How often did He forgo His own food so that He could feast others with His teaching! Let all ministers of Christ walk in His steps. Make Christ not only your Savior but your example. Let no opportunity pass where you can help the souls of others. Do not be satisfied to reach heaven yourselves alone — be like the first sphere in the heavens, which draws all the other spheres along with it. Be such shining lights that you lead others to heaven alongside you. I will close with the Apostle's words (1 Corinthians 15:58): "Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
Use 2: Let me now turn to the flock of God. If ministers must seize every opportunity to preach, then you must seize every opportunity to hear. If a certain sum of money were being distributed to all who came, two or three times a week, people would flock there without fail. Think of it this way: when the word of God is preached, the bread of life is being distributed — something more precious than thousands of pieces of gold or silver (Psalm 119:72). In the preached word, heaven and salvation are offered to you. In this field, the pearl of great price lies hidden. How eagerly you should flock like doves to the windows of the sanctuary (Isaiah 60:8)! We read that the gate of the temple was called Beautiful (Acts 3:2). The gate of God's house is the beautiful gate — take up your place at wisdom's door (Proverbs 8:34).
Branch 2: Not only hear the preached word, but also support the ministers who preach it. 1. Support them financially. Though I trust that all who have God's calling written on their hearts can say with the Apostle (2 Corinthians 12:14), "I am not seeking what is yours, but you," that Scripture still stands (1 Corinthians 9:14): "The Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should receive their living from the gospel." Are not workers in a vineyard supported by their work? asks Peter Martyr. And the Apostle raises the question: "Who plants a vineyard and does not eat its fruit?" (1 Corinthians 9:7). Hypocrites love a cheap religion. They want a gospel that costs them nothing. They are content to have golden purses and wooden priests. How many have saved their money only to lose their souls! Julian the Apostate robbed the ministers under the pretense of conscience. I need not remind you of how vengeance caught up with him. Is it not a tragedy that the fire on God's altar should go out for lack of a little golden oil being poured on it? David refused to offer God what cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24).
2. Encourage God's ministers by bearing fruit under their ministry. When ministers go up the mountain, let them not be preaching to rocks. How much has God invested in this city! I believe there has not been a more learned, orthodox, and powerful ministry since the days of the Apostles than there is now. God's ministers are called stars (Revelation 1:20). In this city, a star appears every morning, and a bright constellation on the Lord's Day. You who feed in the green pastures of the ordinances — be nourished and fruitful. You who are planted in the courts of God, flourish there (Psalm 92:13). How tragic it will be for a people who go laden with gospel blessings all the way to hell! The best way to encourage your ministers is to let them see the fruit of their labor in your new birth. It is a great comfort when a minister not only woos souls but wins them (Proverbs 11:30). "He who wins souls is wise." This is a minister's glory (1 Thessalonians 2:19): "For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting?" "Is it not even you?" A fruitful preacher wears two crowns — a crown of righteousness in heaven, and a crown of joy here on earth. "Are you not our crown?"
3. Encourage your ministers by praying for them. Their work is great — it demands their mind and heart fully, and even then it is barely enough. It is work more suited to angels than to men. "Who is adequate for these things?" (2 Corinthians 2:16). Please pray for them. When Christ went up the mountain to preach, He had no need of the people's prayers. He had an inexhaustible supply in His divine nature to sustain Him. But all those who serve under Him in the ministry need prayer. If the Apostle Paul — who overflowed with the graces of the Spirit and received supernatural revelations — asked for prayer (1 Thessalonians 5:25), how much more do other ministers who make no claim to such revelations. Pray for your ministers, that God will direct them in what to preach and shape their work for them. Pray that God will accompany their labors, for without that, they work hard and catch nothing. It is not the hand that scatters the seed that makes it grow — it is the dew and blessing from heaven. So too, it is not our preaching but the divine influence of the Spirit that makes grace grow in people's hearts. Pray for us, then, that God will make His work prosper through our hands.
1. Pray that God will direct them in what to preach and shape their work for them (Jonah 3:2): "Arise, go to Nineveh and proclaim to it the message which I tell you." It is no small thing to preach the right truths for the occasion — these are the acceptable words spoken of in Ecclesiastes 12:10.
2. Pray that God will go forth with their labors, for without that they work hard and catch nothing. God's Spirit must fill the sails of our ministry. It is not the hand that scatters the seed that makes it grow — it is the dew and blessing from heaven. In the same way, it is not our preaching but the divine influence of the Spirit that makes grace grow in people's hearts. We are merely pipes and instruments; it is God's Spirit blowing through us that causes the preaching of the word to draw souls to Christ with a kind of divine power. Ministers are only stars to guide you to Christ; it is the Spirit who is the magnet that draws you. All the good accomplished through our ministry comes from the power and grace of the Lord. Pray for us, then, that God will make His work prosper through our hands. This may be one reason why the preached word bears so little fruit — because people pray so little. Perhaps you complain that the tool is dull, that the minister is cold and lifeless. But you should have sharpened him through your prayers. If you want the door of blessing to open to you through our ministry, you must unlock it with the key of prayer.
