The Quotable Matthew Henry (continued)
Christ: His Sufferings
Chnist: His Sufferings
There was a struggle between the work he had taken upon him, which required — sufferings, and the nature he had taken upon him, which dreaded them; between these two he here pauses with 'What shall I say?' He looked, and there was 'none to help', which put him to a stand. Calvin observes this as a great instance of Christ's humiliation, that he should speak thus like one at a loss.
See what abuses were put upon Him:
1. He was reproached as a bad man, as a blasphemer, a sabbathbreaker, a wine-bibber, a false prophet, an enemy to Caesar, a confederate with the prince of the devils. 2. He was despised of the people aS a mean contemptible man, not worth taking notice of, his country in no repute, his relations poor' mechanics, his followers none of the rulers, or the Pharisees, but the mob. 3.He was ridiculed as a foolish man, and one that not only deceived others, but himself too. Those that saw him hanging on 'Father, glorify thy name', to the same purport with 'Father, thy will be done'; for God's will is for his own glory. This expresses more than barely a submission to the will of God; it is a consecration of his sufferings to the glory of God. It was a mediatorial word, and was spoken by him as our surety, who had undertaken to satisfy divine justice for our sin. The wrong which by sin we have done to God is in his glory, his declarative glory; for in nothing else are we capable of doing him injury. We were never able to make him satisfaction for this wrong done him, nor any creathe cross laughed him to scorn. So far were they from pitying him, that they added to his afflictions, with all the gestures and expressions of insolence upbraiding him with his fall.
Our Lord Jesus, having undertaken to satisfy for the dishonour we had done to God by our sins, did it by submitting to the lowest possible instance of ignominy and disgrace. ture for us; nothing therefore remained but that God should Psalm 22 get him honour upon us in our utter ruin. Here therefore our Lord Jesus interposed, undertook to satisfy God's injured honour, and he did it by his humi-
The most unspotted innocency, and the most unparalleled excellency, will not always be a fence against the reproach of tongues; nay, a man's best gifts and best actions, which are both well intended and well calculated for edification, may be made the matter of his reproach. The best liation; he denied himself in, and divested himself of, the honours due to the Son of God incarnate, and submitted to the greatest reproach. Now here he makes a tender of this satisfaction as an of our actions may become the equivalent: 'Father, glorify thy name'; let thy justice be honoured upon the sacrifice, not upon the sinner; let the debt 'be worst of our accusations, as David's fasting (Ps. 69:10).
Matthew 11