Adam, who was the son of God.— Adam being descended from no human parents, but formed by the immediate power of the divine creating hand, might with peculiar propriety be called the Son of God, in his original state, the heir of immortality and glory. The evangelist might likewise intend by this expression to prove, if needwere, the possibility of Christ's being born of a pure virgin; for if divine Omnipotence could create or produce the first Adam from the dust of the earth, without a parent, it was equally capable of producing the second Adam from the womb of a virgin. Wetstein observes, that St. Matthew, writing for the Jews, deduces our Saviour's pedigree from Abraham to David; but St. Luke, writing for the Gentiles, traces his pedigree as high as Adam, the common father of mankind, to shew that Jesus is the Saviour of the world, born for the common good of the human race: and when he calls Adam the son of God, he means to express that Christ, born of the virgin, is the second Adam, and that his birth, by the Holy Spirit, is a no less singular instance of the divine power, than was the creation of the first Adam.
Inferences drawn from Luke 3:23-38 of this chapter.—We have before observed, that when we survey such a series of generations as this before us, it is obvious to reflect, how, like the leaves of the tree, one passeth away, and another cometh. Of those who formerly lived upon the earth, and perhaps made the most conspicuous figures, how many are there whose names have perished with them! how many, of whom only the name is remaining! and in this view, how vain is the search after posthumous fame, a desire to render ourselves conspicuous to future ages!
It is observable, that all which the divine wisdom has been pleased to tell us concerning Methuselah, the oldest of the sons of men, is, that at the age of 187 he begat a son called Lamech; that after this he begat other sons and daughters; that he lived 969 years, and that he died. Genesis 5:25-27. This is the whole history of his life and actions; and it is a picture of the generality of mankind, who think themselves of great consequence in the world. They marry, and are given in marriage; they perform the common offices of nature; and all that their posterity, is like to know of them is, perhaps, barely their names, in a genealogy like that before us; or, at most, the number of years they lived, the names of the children they begat, and possibly the sum total of the wealth they left behind them, after a painful and penurious life. Now, who would wish for such a fame as this! Or who would desire to be so impertinently remembered for circumstances which do no honour to his memory?
It would be well, therefore, if those who are fond of a posthumous acquaintance with mankind would seriously consider with themselves, from a review of their character, in what light they may suppose posterity will regard them. They should consider and examine, whether they are masters of the amiable and useful qualities of the genuine Christians; and whether, if their actions were drawn out to view, and the sources of them opened, they would appear to flow from pure motives, and tend to promote the glory of God and the good of mankind: if not, their names are not worth preserving, and silence is the best compliment that can be paid them.
There are others, of a more lively and active turn indeed than the former; yet they are as far from entertaining any pious and truly Christian sentiment, or doing any thing more agreeable to their holy calling: I mean those who are led away by their sensitive appetite, and who have a great alacrity in all brutish pleasures; pretenders to wit and humour, ridiculers of the preachers of righteousness, and far gone in those fashionable vices which erewhile caused the universal deluge. What a mortifying reflection must it be to a polite and well-bred sinner, to consider, that even at that awkward age, before the modern arts of gallantry probably were in being, iniquity should be carried to so great a height, that it was very near extirpating the species! surely nothing can give us so mean an idea of the pretensions of our men of pleasure, as to compare them with an antediluvian reprobate.
Whatever we may fancy of our refinements upon wickedness, it will appear that we can no more out-act the vices than the virtues of our predecessors. Some advantages our ancestors before the deluge certainly had above any of their puny successors: they had a long scene of life before them, to perpetrate and lengthen out their pleasures; and as their bodies were more durable than ours, so were they likewise proportionably more robust, since it requires less natural vigour to support a man to the age of eighty or ninety, than eight or nine hundred years. How then must it have moved the scorn of one of these ancient libertines, to see a creature so full of weakness and infirmity, pretending to primitive vigour and activity, and aping his strong progenitors!
If the abandoned could be persuaded to think seriously of their condition; if they would look backward upon what they have been doing, and forward to what they have to do; if they would reflect upon the transitory nature of their enjoyments, and the certainty of either a weak old age, or an immature and hasty death; they could not, if they had the least degree of gracious sensibility, withstand the terrors of so powerful a conviction. Alas! if we speak truth, when we tell one of this stamp and character that he must die at last, what matters it how long his life is? What matters the youth and beauty, the strength and vigour that he enjoys!
But where is the voluptuous libertine that lives out even half his days! how often is he cut off in a midnight revel, or in prosecuting a criminal amour! the pains and infirmities of age are his portion even in the bloom of youth. His vigour is worn out at once, and the rest of his days are but labour and sorrow,—under the fears of quitting even this wretched being, and of entering into another more dreadful and discouraging! Disabled for the pleasures of this life, he has no relish for the happiness of a better; and the most that can be said of him is, that he lives under a perpetual uncertainty whether he should wish to live or die. What an abject state of mind! thus to linger upon the brink of a precipice, when we are sure that we must take the leap at last!
There is not in nature a more melancholy consideration than is afforded to us by a poor wretch of this stamp. His youth is despicable, but his old age is almost beyond contempt. At the same time he sees that he is the jest of fools, and scarcely pitied by the wise and good; the scorn and derision of all around him, and not so much as the favourite of himself. What horror, to be conscious that no one values or esteems him, and, at the same time, to be conscious that he deserves it all! to have out-lived the capacity of enjoying life, and yet to be convinced by every thing he hears and sees, that it is time for him to quit the stage and make room for others!
This indeed is the case of the wicked only—of those particularly who are full of youthful follies. But old age is far from being an object of desire, even in its best and most venerable circumstances. How often do we see the ruins of an excellent understanding, so disfigured and defaced with age as to be a reproach to human reason! and who knows how soon he himself may sink down to circumstances as miserable and disgraceful? Who would accept of life upon such ignominious terms? Surely none can be so fond of this present world, but those who fear to venture upon another!
The happiness and value of human life therefore consists not in the number of years, but in the internal experience of the life of God, and in the outward manifestation of every divine grace and virtue. It is but a passage to a better state; and he who has his eye fixed upon his journey's end, will never be offended at the shortness of it.
Methuselah, we read, lived 969 years; Enoch but 365. One of them secured a blessed immortality; he walked with God, and was translated: concerning the other, we only know that he died. Need I put the question to any one, Whether, at first sight, he would rather be Methuselah or Enoch?
Thus much for human life in general: and as to the titles and marks of honour that distinguish us from each other in it, however they may divide the world, yet how very soon will they be extinguished! what do we know of these patriarchs before us?—And what a poor idea must we form hence of all our little strifes and competitions! Are any of these worthies either the better or the worse for the high or low stations which they possessed in life?—Their fortunes are now determined:—Their love also, and their hatred, and their envy, is now perished; neither have they any more a portion for ever in any thing that is done under the sun. Ecclesiastes 9:6.
And such will be the state of all the great ones whose names now fill the world with wonder. They shall lie down alike in the dust, and the worms shall cover them. And is it worth while then for an ambitious spirit to rend the world into parties, for the sake of so short-lived a glory?
Vain and despicable indeed is all sublunary glory depending on the breath of men. But religion opens to us a new scene of ambition, in the realms of bliss, by recommending to us beings of a superior character. The time will come, when, if it be not our own fault, we shall be removed from the groveling pursuits of this transitory life, to the society of the glorified saints and angels of God. The reason why we are so apt to be unmoved with these thoughts in our lifetime, is, because they are so refined and abstracted, and we so fallen and carnal. But the day will arrive, when the partition between the two worlds will be broken down, and all the tribes of intellectual beings be laid open to our view; and, if we be faithful to the grace of God, we shall know, even as also we are known: we shall then with ever-waking eyes behold the glories of our blessed Redeemer, who will be the joy of our hearts to all eternity; when the frail monuments of which the world is so proud shall for ever be buried in oblivion.
To conclude. If we desire that our lives here may not be useless, let us, under the aid and blessing of heaven, fill them up with acts of love, charity, and benevolence. If we would avoid being bewitched with pleasure, let us begin to despise it while young: If we will provide against the miseries of age, let us, through the grace of God, arm ourselves with early piety; if we be fond of rank and precedence, let us consider that death will level us; nay, and if we be desirous of fame upon earth hereafter, let us reflect that we shall be incapable of enjoying it. In short, let us all remember, that we are intended for another life, and let us fix all our hopes of happiness, of fame, and of pleasure there; while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
REFLECTIONS.—1st, Great expectations had been raised concerning the son of Zacharias from his infancy; and now he appears to answer them.
1. The time of his entering publicly on his ministry, is here observed. It was in the reign of Tiberius, when Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip of Iturea, and Lysanias of Abilene. They were called tetrarchs, either as having each the fourth part of what was under the dominion of Herod the Great, or as standing in the fourth rank of governors, which are reckoned thus; the emperor, proconsuls, kings, tetrarchs. They were all foreigners, a mark of the sad subjection of the Jewish people, now reduced entirely under the Roman yoke, the sceptre being finally departed from Judah, and the very kingly office abolished in Judea:—Annas and Caiaphas being the high-priests, not that they both bore that office at the same time, but Annas had been, and Caiaphas was now in that station; or as some suppose, Annas was the sagan, or chief of the priests, who stood next to the high-priest in rank and honour. See the Annotations.
2. The origin and tendency of his ministry is declared. The word of God came unto John in the wilderness, he was inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to go forth, being endued with extraordinary gifts and graces, and possessed of the spirit of prophesy; and hereupon leaving the solitude where he had hitherto abode, he came into a more populous part of the country near to Jordan, preaching publicly the necessity of repentance, and admitting to his baptism those who made profession of it, as the sign and seal of the remission of their sins. Note; All who repent truly of their sins, and by faith turn to Jesus, are assured of their pardon.
3. John herein eminently fulfilled the prophesy of Isaiah, chap. Isaiah 40:3-5. He was the voice of one crying in the wilderness, loud and vehement, prepare ye the way of the Lord into your hearts; by a deep and humbling sense of your sins make his paths straight; let every obstruction from pride and ignorance be removed, as the harbinger clears the way for the entry of the king. Every valley shall be filled, the lowly and depressed with sin shall be raised up by pardoning grace and divine consolations; and every mountain and hill shall be brought low, the proud and self-righteous shall be humbled into the dust of humiliation, or sunk into the belly of hell; and the crooked shall be made straight, the perverse dispositions and conduct of sinners shall by divine grace be rectified; and the rough ways shall be made smooth, the most untractable spirits softened and subdued, or every difficulty in the way of men's receiving the Messiah shall be removed. And all flesh, not of the Jews only, but of the Gentiles also, shall see the salvation of God; multitudes of all nations, ranks, and ages, will embrace the gospel of Jesus, and partake of his eternal redemption.
4. He addressed himself with very awakening language to the multitude who came to him. He charges them as a generation of vipers, full of venom, hypocrisy, and Satanical subtilty; and asks, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come? from the national judgments ready to descend upon them, or the more terrible and eternal vengeance hanging over every guilty sinner's head? He warns them therefore of the necessity of a speedy and real change of heart and life, evident in the fruits of all holy conversation and godliness; without which, their boasted privilege as Abraham's descendants would profit them nothing, but rather aggravate their guilt. God wanted them not; he could, and would, from stones, from Gentiles, raise up a more illustrious and numerous race, the heirs of Abraham's faith, his spiritual children, who should supply their place, if they continued hypocritical and impenitent: now therefore the call of mercy was sent to them, that they might prevent their impending doom, before the axe of divine vengeance was laid to their roots; and they, as barren trees, were cut down and cast into the fire, utterly destroyed as a nation; and as the sinners of old, suffering also the vengeance of eternal fire. Note; (1.) The sinner has no moment to lose; death and judgment are at his heels. (2.) No outward privilege can profit those whose hearts remain unrenewed and unholy. (3.) True repentance will be seen by its fruits; the change will be internal, universal, evident. (4.) It is a fearful thing for an impenitent soul to fall into the hands of the living God.
5. The Pharisees and Sadducees were probably disgusted at these hard sayings, and left him; but the people, the publicans and soldiers, were deeply affected, and earnestly solicitous to know what those fruits of repentance were, which they were required to produce: and a blessed symptom it is of real penitence, when we are thus diligent to inquire what is the mind of God, and really disposed through grace to follow it. To these, therefore, John directs his instructions, suited to their several circumstances and temptations.
[1.] To the people in general, he recommends a liberal distribution to the necessities of their brethren; supplying them according to their ability with food and raiment; and where the call was urgent, straitening themselves, rather than suffer their neighbours to perish with cold, or be famished with hunger: and a truly charitable soul is not only to its power, but sometimes above its power, willing.
[2.] To the publicans, the collectors of the public taxes, many of whom were Jews, he gave in charge, that they should use no exaction, nor levy more than the government demanded. Their employment, though in general odious to the people, was not in itself unlawful, while they demeaned themselves in it with justice and integrity.
[3.] To the soldiers, who seem to have been also Hebrews, perhaps the guards of Philip, or Herod, he said, do violence to no man, extort nothing from the people by threatening, behave not insolently nor outrageously in your quarters: when employed in war, use no unnecessary devastations, nor wanton cruelty; neither accuse any falsely, neither their comrades to their officers, nor the people where they might be stationed, through malice, or for the sake of money; and be content with your wages, neither increasing them by plunder, nor seeking to advance them by mutiny; a caution well deserving the notice of all servants, who, if once they give way to discontent, will soon be tempted to use unlawful means to gratify their covetousness.
2nd, We have,
1. The general expectations which the people were in of the Messiah. The sceptre was departed from Judah, and the prophesies of Daniel concerning him now required his coming; which made many turn their eyes to John, who appeared with marks of such singular distinction, and spoke with such authority and zeal, that they began to think that this might be the long-expected Messiah.
2. John immediately undeceived them, disclaiming all pretensions to that honour; and directs them to expect shortly the Great Prophet, whose forerunner he was. The meanest office under him he acknowledges himself unworthy to discharge; and his baptism was not worthy to be compared with the more powerful and efficacious influences of that Holy Ghost, which, under the ministry of Jesus, should be abundantly dispensed, and act, like fire, with astonishing energy upon the souls of men. By his gospel he would make a thorough separation between the faithful and the hypocrites; and by his judgments on the Jewish people sweep them away as the chaff before the fan: and, when he has gathered in his saints, the wheat, into his garner; the wicked, the self-righteous, and the apostate, will be cast into the everlasting burnings,—an awful declaration, which deserves the most awakened attention. These and many other things did John with great freedom and fidelity deliver, preaching the glad tidings of the gospel (ευηγγελιζετο) to the people, and urging upon their consciences the importance of the truths that he declared. Such ministers ought all who are put in trust with the gospel to be; affectionate, zealous, indefatigable, free, copious, evangelical. Then may we expect to reap the fruit of our labours, in a harvest of immortal souls.
3. After a short but glorious course of about a year and a half, a sudden stop is put to the Baptist's ministry by a most unjust imprisonment. Unable to flatter, yea, zealous to reprove, the most exalted sinners, Herod the tetrarch escaped not his sharp rebukes for the complicated crime of taking his brother Philip's wife, and marrying her during his life; thus joining incest to adultery; and for all the other evils which Herod had done, which were many and notorious. Exasperated at this plain and faithful dealing, he added this to all his other wickedness, that he shut up John in prison, and after a while was prevailed upon to take away his life. Note; (1.) When God's ministers are thus compelled to an involuntary silence, their sufferings speak as loud as their sermons. (2.) Mysterious are the ways of Providence. The excellent of the earth become a prey to persecutors, who triumph at their fall. Where, will some say, is the God of judgment? Wait a moment. The mystery will soon be unfolded.
3rdly, The evangelist finishes the history of John's ministry, which continued near a year after Christ's baptism, before he enters upon the public appearance of Jesus.
1. After a multitude of others had been baptized, at last Jesus also comes to John, and is baptized of him in Jordan: when, looking up in prayer to his Father, instantly the heavens were opened, and the Holy Ghost in a bodily shape descended upon him, both to qualify him for his mediatorial work, and to be a sign to John that he was the Messiah; which was farther confirmed by an audible voice from heaven, God the Father testifying his delight in this Son of his love, and his perfect satisfaction in his undertaking. Note; (1.) Christ prayed, to set us the example. In this way the communion between earth and heaven is to be maintained. (2.) If God be well pleased in his Son, then may we confidently rest our souls on him as our Saviour, and never doubt of his willingness and power to save to the uttermost.
2. The age and pedigree of Jesus are recorded by the evangelist. He was about thirty years of age when he entered on his public ministry, descended from David by his mother's side, as well as by Joseph's his reputed father. See the Annotations.