The great benefit, of course, is redemption from extreme
Christ 43 them that were nigh, and so established His kingdom by proclaiming on earth peace and goodwill towards men.
(c) Hts kingdom, as far as it prevails in the minds of men, and has the ascendant over them, will make them peaceable, and slay all enmities. It will cut off the battle-bow and beat swords into ploughshares. It will not only command the peace but will create the fruit of the lips—peace.
(d) It shall extend itself to all parts of the world, in defiance of the opposition given to it. The chariot and horse, that came against Ephraim and Jerusalem to oppose the progress of Zion's King, shall be cut off; His Gospel shall be preached to the world and be received among the heathen, so that "his dominion shall be from sea to sea, and from the river even unto the ends of the earth"' (Ps. Ixxii. 8).
8. CHRIST's BENEFIT TO MANKIND The great benefit, of course, is redemption from extreme misery, typified by the deliverance of the Jews out of their captivity (Zech. ix. 11). "As for thee also"—thee, O daughter of Jerusalem, or thee, O Messiah the prince—''by the blood of thy covenant', that is, by force and virtue of the covenant made with Abraham, sealed with the blood of circumcision, and the covenant made with Israel at Mount Sinai, sealed with the blood of sacrifices, in pursuance and performance of that covenant, I have now of late sent for thy prisoners, thy captives, out of Babylon, which was to them a most uncomfortable place, as a pit in which was no water. It was part of the covenant, that if in the land of their captivity they sought the Lord, He would be found of them (Lev. xxvi. 42, 44, 45; Deut. xxx. 4). It was by the blood of that covenant typifying the blood of Christ, in whom all God's covenants with men are Yea and Amen, that they were released out of captivity. And this was but a shadow of the great salvation wrought out by thy King, O daughter of Zion.
All this suggests that a sinful state is a state of bondage. It is a spiritual prison. It is a pit or dungeon in which there is no water, no comfort at all to be had. We are all by nature prisoners in this pit. The Scripture has concluded us all under sin, and bound us over to the justice of God. God is pleased to deal upon new terms with the prisoners, to enter into another covenant with them. The blood of Christ is the blood of that covenant, purchased for us, and all the benefits of it. By that blood of the covenant effectual provision is made for sending forth of these prisoners upon easy and honourable terms, and proclamation made of liberty to the captives, and the opening of prisons to them that were bound, like Cyrus's proclamation to the Jews in Babylon, which all those whose spirits God stirreth up will come and take benefit of.
g. THE EXPECTATION OF THE CHRIST
We see this in the information which Andrew gave to Peter as recorded in John 7. 41ff. He told Peter whom they had found: ''We have found the Messiah.'' Observe, first, that Andrew speaks humbly. He said not, '"'I have found," assuming the honour of the discovery to himself, but "we have''—rejoicing that he had shared with others in it. Secondly, Andrew speaks exultantly, and with triumph. ''We have found" that pearl of great price, that true treasure, and, having found it, he proclaims it, as those lepers (2 Kings vill. 9). For he knows that he shall never have the less in Christ for others sharing. Thirdly, Andrew speaks intelligently. "'We have found the Messias."" This was more than had yet been said. John had said He is the Lamb of God, and the Son of God, which Andrew compares with the scriptures of the Old Testament, and, comparing them together, concludes He is the Messiah promised to the fathers. For it is now that the fullness of time is come.
We see this general expectation of Christ, Messias, from the discourse between Jesus and the woman at the Well of
Samaria (fohn iv). She, a notoriously evil-liver, expected the Messiah. 'The Jews and the Samaritans, though so much at variance, agreed on the expectation of the Messiah and His Kingdom. The Samaritans received the writings of Moses, and were no strangers to the prophets, nor to the hopes of the Jewish nation. Those who knew least, knew this, that Messiah was to come; so general and uncontested was the expectation of Him. At this time the expectations were more raised than ever, for the sceptre was departed from Judah; Daniel's weeks were near expiring; so that she concludes, not only He will come, but goyvetar, 'He comes''; He is just at hand, "' Messias, which is called Christ"'.
Moreover, she expects from Christ when He comes that "He will tell us all things" relating to the service of God which