4. Paul's discourse is in perfect harmony with Peter's sermon. Peter
speaks of God having sent unto the Jews heralds proclaiming peace; and
Paul here says, "To you [us] is the word of this salvation sent."
Notwithstanding the joy and comfort wherewith these words are fraught,
they could not please the Jews. The Jews disdained the idea--in fact,
it was intolerable to them to hear it expressed--that after their long
expectation of a Messiah to be lord and king of the world, they should
receive a mere message, and at that a message rendering of no
significance at all that Law and government for which they had
expected, through that Messiah, exaltation and world-wide acceptance.
Indeed, such an issue could only mean to them having entertained a
vain hope.
5. Paul makes his teaching yet more offensive by not referring to the
Gospel simply as the word of peace, as Peter does, but by giving it
the greater and grander title, "the word of salvation"; in other
words, a doctrine calculated to heal and save. No grander name could
be found for the Gospel; for a message of salvation is an expression
of God's grace, forgiveness of sins, abiding peace and life eternal.
Moreover, these blessings were not to be bestowed upon the Jews alone;
they were to be equally shared with the gentiles, who had no knowledge
of God, of the Law, or of divine worship. The gentiles were thus to be
made the equals of the Jews, leaving the latter without preference or
special merit before God, and without advantage and lordship over the
former in the world.
6. Thus early in his discourse Paul grows blunt and severe, kneading
Jews and gentiles into one lump. Indeed, he plainly tells the Jews
that the Law of Moses did not secure to them the favor of God in the
past and would be equally profitless in the future; that through the
Gospel message, and only so, they, and all gentiles as well, were to
be delivered from sin, death and the power of the devil, and to become
God's people, with power over all. Yet he presents no other tangible
token of the great boon he calls salvation and blessedness than his
preaching alone.
Now, one may say: "The word I hear, and Paul I see, a poor human
being; but this salvation--grace, life and peace--I behold not. On the
contrary, I daily see and experience sin, terror, adversity, suffering
and death, until it seems as if in all humanity none are so utterly
forsaken by God as the Christians, who hear this message."
7. But this is precisely the precious doctrine to be learned if we are
to be God's children and sensible of his kingdom within us, a doctrine
beyond the knowledge and experience of the Jews with their Law and of
the gentiles with their wisdom drawn from reason--this it is: our
salvation stands in the word Paul here declares of Christ, a word
which, in name and reality, is a word of salvation and peace; for
salvation and peace are the blessings which it offers and imparts.
8. God has sent this word, Paul says. Its origin and conception is not
with man. It is not the edict of the Roman emperor, nor the command of
the high-priest at Jerusalem. It is the Word of the God of heaven. In
it he speaks. He will have the message preached by poor human beings
as a power unto happiness and salvation, both in name and reality.
Such the Law never was. Paul says (Rom 1, 16): "I am not ashamed of
the Gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one
that believeth." And God himself has bound up with it our salvation
when he manifests himself in the voice heard from heaven at Jordan,
saying of Christ, "This is my beloved Son"--who is to be heard.
9. God desires Christ's Word to be heard. Otherwise expressed, his
command is: "Here ye have the Word of peace and salvation. Not
elsewhere may you seek and find these blessings. Cling to this Word if
you desire peace, happiness and salvation. Let befall what may,
crosses, afflictions, discord, death--whether you be beheaded, or fall
victim to pest or stroke, or in whatever manner God may call you
home--in it all, look only upon me, whose Word promises that you shall
not die, what seems death being but a sweet sleep, ay, the entrance
into life eternal." Christ says (Jn 8, 51): "Verily, verily, I say
unto you. If a man keep my Word, he shall never see death."
Note, it is the keeping of the Word on which Christ lays stress.
"Keeping" is holding fast to the promise, feeling and all senses to
the contrary, doubting not the truth of the message heard. For he who
promises is not man; it is the Lord of heaven and earth and all that
in them is, who has to this moment controlled and preserved the same.
One hundred years ago, what were you and I and all men now living but
absolutely nothing? How and from what was creation effected when there
was nothing to start with? "He spake and it was done"--that was
created which before had not existence--declares Psalm 33, 9, quoting
from Genesis 1; "he commanded, and it stood fast."
10. Being the Word of God, the Gospel is an entirely different thing
from man's word, no matter though it be spoken by a mere man or even a
donkey. Therefore, let there be, now or henceforth, discord, terror of
sin; the menace of death and hell, of the grave and corruption: come
upon you what may--only press to your heart this Word that Christ has
sent you a message of salvation--of redemption, of triumph over all
things; and that he commands you to believe it. Then you will perceive
that he, as your God and Creator, will not deceive you. What are
death, the devil and all creatures as a match for Christ?
11. The glory of Christ's message, then, here called by Paul "the word
of salvation," is much greater and higher than would have been the
promise of all the kingdoms, all the riches and splendors of the
world, yes, of both heaven and earth. For what could they benefit if
one possessed not the Word of salvation and eternal life? With all
these, when assailed by sins, or by the distress and danger of death,
one must still say, "Away with all the blessings and joys of the
world, so that I may hear and have altogether the message of salvation
sent by Christ." You must hold fast to it and know that it alone gives
eternal peace and joy; that it must receive your faith in spite of all
apparent contradiction; that you must not be governed by your reason
or your feelings, but must regard that as divine, unchangeable and
eternal truth which God has spoken and commands to be proclaimed. Such
is Paul's exhortation addressed primarily to the Jews to accept this
message as sent by God and as being the bearer of wondrous blessings.
12. Next, he proceeds to remove their chief stumbling-block, the thing
of greatest offense to them. He warns them against the course adopted
by them of Jerusalem, who had the Word of salvation from Christ
himself, who read it in the prophets every day, who should have had no
trouble perceiving that the prophets testified to Christ and that
there was complete harmony between their teaching and that of Christ
and the apostles, yet would not understand. Because Christ came not in
the manner they desired, they condemned the very One whom they read of
in the Scriptures as appearing with this Word of salvation, the time
of whose coming had been pointed out, leaving them to know it had long
since arrived and they had no reason to wait for another. They
understood not the Scriptures because their minds were completely
hardened and dominated by the fixed idea that Christ should reign as a
temporal king. So thoroughly was the whole Jewish nation impressed
with this belief that the very apostles had no other conception of
Christ's kingdom, even after his resurrection. As John says (ch. 12,
16), they did not understand the Scriptures until Christ ascended to
heaven and the Holy Spirit came.
So long as there hangs before one's eyes this curtain--the carnal
fancy of a temporal kingdom for Christ, an earthly government for his
Church--the Scriptures cannot be understood. As Paul says of the Jews
(2 Cor 3, 14), the veil remaineth in the reading of the Scriptures.
But this lack of understanding is inexcusable. That is gross and
wilful blindness which will not receive the instruction and direction
imparted by the apostles. The Jews continue to rave against the
Gospel; they will hear nothing of the Christ, though even after
crucifying him they receive the offer of repentance and remission of
sins at the hands of the apostles.
13. That Paul should make bold to tell the most prominent men and
rulers of the whole Jewish nation--the heads of God's people, pillars
of the Church, as we would say--that not only the common rabble, but
likewise they themselves did not know and understand the Scriptures
committed to them; ay, that, not content with such ignorance and
error, they had themselves become the individuals of whom they read,
the murderers and crucifiers of the Son of God, their Saviour--this
was a matter of grave offense indeed!
Offensive indeed was it to have this accusation brought against them,
a people among whom God had ordained his worship, his temple and
priesthood, and for whom he had instituted a peculiar government,
giving the high-priest power to say, Do so or you will be put to
death. Deut 17, 12. And of them were the glorious and great council of
the seventy-two elders originally ordained through Moses (Ex 18,
25-26), the council called the Sanhedrim. They ruled the entire people
and certainly knew right and wrong according to their law.
Was there not reason here to tear Paul to pieces with red-hot pinchers
as a seditious character, a public blasphemer, speaking not only
against the Jewish government but against the honor of God himself;
daring to accuse all the princes of the nation of being in error, of
knowing nothing of the Scriptures, even of being murderers of the Son
of God? The Pope and his crowd lack the credentials of such glory and
endorsement by God. They have merely reared a system of self-devised
doctrine and idolatry, which they still defend. Hence, whatever
censure and condemnation we heap upon the Pope and his crowd is small
in comparison to the thrust Paul dealt the Jewish leaders.
14. Note, Paul does not stand back for anything. He teaches men
utterly to disregard the hue and cry of the offended Jews that they
were the high-priests, teachers, rulers in a government ordained by
God and commanding the obedience of the people; that teaching
disobedience to them was equivalent to teaching disobedience to
parents and to civil government, yes, to God himself--something in the
nature of the case not to be tolerated. Yet Paul fearlessly does so
teach, as an apostle of God and in fulfilment of God's command. How
much more would Paul oppose our popish deceivers who, without the
authority of God's Word, boast themselves heads of the Church and of
the people of God, at the same time neither teaching nor understanding
the Scriptures, but offering their own drivel as God's commands!
15. But what cause has Paul at heart that he dares so boldly condemn
the judgment of these exalted officials? It is this, according to his
own statement: There is One called Jesus Christ, of whom the prophets,
in fact the entire Scriptures, speak. Him the Jews refuse to know. He
is higher and greater than the high-priests and the rulers, greater
than the temple or the whole city of Jerusalem. And the Jews know his
coming means their passing, and their obedience to him as Lord and
Supreme Ruler. Therefore, they are inexcusable in their rejection of
Christ. Of no avail is their evasion, "God has given us the dominion
and the supreme power, and has commanded obedience to us in equal
degree with obedience to parents."
16. The fact that an individual is a lord or a prince, a father or a
mother, a child or a subject, administers authority or obeys it, will
not excuse him from being baptized and believing in Christ. For Christ
is sole and supreme Lord over all kings, princes and governors. True,
we should be obedient to parents and to civil authority, but not to
the extent of disobeying the Lord, him who has created and subjected
to himself emperors and magistrates equally with the lowliest of men.
But the gentlemen and lords at Jerusalem, like those of our day, were
unwilling to permit obedience to any but themselves. From such
conditions arises the present dispute about ecclesiastical authority.
To go counter to it in obeying God's command--this the ecclesiasts
unjustly call disobedience and sedition. But such must be our course
if we are to be loyal to our Lord and theirs, whom they deny.
17. In the matter of salvation, Caiaphas or Pope, Cæsar or king,
avails naught; none avails but Jesus Christ. "Him," says Paul, "the
rulers of Jerusalem, the Holy City, have killed. Though ye were
ordained by God and given authority, God no longer regards you,
because ye reject Christ. Ye have become great blockheads, blind
leaders, understanding not at all the Scriptures. Yet ye should and
would teach others, just as Moses and the prophets have pointed to
this Christ promised to you and to all the world for salvation and
solace. Persisting in your blindness, ye have brought him to the
cross, though finding in him no cause for condemnation. Surely, he did
you no injury; he deprived you of naught, neither money, goods, honor
nor power, but has brought you all good--even salvation--if ye will
but receive him. But ye made yourselves the very ones who fulfilled
the Scriptures ye daily read--those who put Christ to death and
brought to pass the fact that he rose from the dead (though without
thanks to you or to Satan) and became a Lord commanding the obedience
of all creatures.
"We shall no longer regard what ye, or all the world, have to say of
our preaching Christ; it is all the same to us whether you rage or
smile. For we boast the Lord, the Son of God, made Lord over all the
fathers through his resurrection. It is his will that we preach of
him, and that all men believe. Since ye refuse him, your God-given
privilege ceases, which, however, was granted only until the advent of
the Messiah. We must withdraw from you, renouncing your authority and
priesthood, and Jerusalem itself. We tell you plainly that we cannot
and will not obey you in opposition to the will of the Lord."
18. Mark you, in order to make the Jews Christians, Paul had to preach
that Christ was already come; that he was no longer to be looked for.
He was obliged to bring home to them what they had done to Christ,
they the rulers and chief of those bearing the name of God's people
and entrusted with the Law and the order of divine worship--he was
forced to do so that they might perceive their sin and quit their
boast of having the true Law and worship, having nothing whatever
wherein to glory before God. For, though possessing the Law of Moses
and having heard often enough the Word of God, they would not
recognize and receive the Messiah sent by God in accordance with his
promise, but condemned him and became his murderers.
In view of this fact, what does their boast about being Abraham's
children, God's people, possessors of the prophets and the Law and the
priesthood, amount to? These privileges only magnify their sins, only
make their guilt the more grievous, before God. Not as blind, ignorant
heathen, but as a people who have, and should know, the Word of God,
they wilfully put to death God's Son. Thus we have the first part of
Paul's sermon.