7. Christ is entrusted by God to distribute his grace to great sinners.
exalt him: 'He shall divide him,' etc., Isa. 53:12. Why? 'Because he poured out his soul to death.' What purpose would there be for him to bear sin, if God had no intention to forgive it? And because 'he was numbered among the transgressors,' which the evangelist understands as his being crucified with thieves, Mark 15:28.
Therefore his making intercession for transgressors must be understood as his prayer on the cross. If God exalted him for this, would God be pleased with him, or would Christ fulfil the purpose of his exaltation, if he did not continue to make intercession for sinners of the like kind? Go and tell God that he sent Christ to bless you, Acts
3:26, in converting you, and ask Christ to do his duty.
7. Christ is entrusted by God to distribute his grace to great sinners.
Christ is God's Lord-Almoner for the distribution of redemption and the riches of his grace. To whom? Not to the righteous, as they have no need for it, but to sinners, and those who have the greatest need.
He would be a poor steward who, when entrusted by his lord to give alms to the poor, overlooks the most miserable, needy, and necessitous individuals when they ask for it and assists those who do not have such pressing needs. Christ is a priest for the same purposes as the legal, typical priests were. They were to have compassion, Heb.
5:2, to measure out their compassion, to offer the sacrifice based on the nature of the sin of the person who presented it. Similarly, Christ, by virtue of his office, is to distribute his grace according to the magnitude of a person's need, as manna was to be gathered according to each person's wants.
To conclude this exhortation, then, have the courage to approach Christ. This is the apostle's purpose in all his preceding teachings, as stated in Heb. 10:19, and so on. God does not demand a heart free from sin, but one that is honest. Who needs more courage than great sinners? And the apostle puts no limits on it. Let us, who have been as great sinners as any, make the same decision as Jeremiah's people in Jer. 3:22. They had both a command and a promise. "Return," was the command. "I will heal," and so on, was the promise. Immediately they responded, "We will come to you," and so on. They seem to have
taken the promise out of God's mouth. How will these quick and eager converts stand against your sluggishness and reluctance on judgment day! Shall they do this with only one promise, while you, having all the promises in the book of God repeated to you, give no other answer than "We will not return" or "We dare not come, we dare not believe you"? Did God give Adam only one promise, which he accepted and lived on for his entire life (for we read of no other promise he had than that of the seed of the woman crushing the serpent's head), and yet you will not return when you have so many promises, filling every page in the Scripture?
Have you not many examples? Did not God save all of His saints from the lowest state, with all their rags, and clothe them? Were any of them born princes and sons of heaven? Alas, every person initially asked for a Saviour as a sinner, and all pleaded in the court of heaven as paupers. Were they not in debt, and could they do anything that might make God cross out one of those debts they owed Him? Oh, do not think that you can dam up that flood of love that has flowed so freely to the world for so many ages. Although your illness is severe, it is not irreversible, provided that you go to the physician. He can with a breath burn up your corruption, as quickly as dissolve the creation. Christ can turn the dirtiest water into such wine that can please the heart of God and people. If you have been vessels of sin, and you will be vessels of repentance, God will make you overflowing with mercy. Do not plead your own unworthiness. A person's unworthiness has never stopped the flow of God's kindness. It is too weak a barrier to stop the current of God's favour. The greater your unworthiness, the greater opportunity free grace has to demonstrate its uncontrollable excellence. That person dishonours God who places their sin above God's goodness, or their unworthiness above
God's condescension. You cannot do God a greater favour than to come to Him to be made clean. When He enumerates your sin, it is not with a rebuke, but a compassionate sigh, Jer. 13:27. He longs for the time of your return and reminds you of your sin, so that you may seek a remedy sooner, and wonders why you would remain in such a filthy state for so long.