Anti-Santy Ranty

In the eleventh century, Anselm of Canterbury wrestled with the question, Cur Deus homo? (Why did God become a man?). His book-length answer is still a classic. Our Lord Jesus gave his own pithy answer in Luke 19:10, “For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost.” What does our Lord affirm here?

“The Son of Man”

Jesus affirms that he is “the Son of Man.” This was his favourite self-designation. The Gospels mention his calling himself the Son of Man some eighty times. William White, Jr., explains that this title reflects Daniel 7:13, where the “Son of Man” is one to whom is given universal and eternal authority, glory, and sovereign dominion. He is one from among men to whom is given divine prerogatives. Since only God can receive such prerogatives, the Son of Man is a God-man (Dan. 10:16). Thus, the Son of Man, Jesus, descended from heaven (John 3:13) and was dependent on God, as he had nowhere to lay his head (Matt. 8:20). He exercises an authoritative and redemptive mission (John 3:14). He is the universal Lord (Matt. 28:18; cf. Dan. 7:13–14) and has total responsibility and authority for judging the world (Matt. 13:41–42; 19:28). (Theological and Grammatical Phrasebook of the Bible, p. 102 [Moody Press, 1984]. Cf. Geerhardus Vos, The Self-Disclosure of Jesus [Eerdmans, 1954].)

So when Jesus calls himself the Son of Man, he does much more than identify himself as having a human nature. He reveals himself as God incarnated as the Last Adam, the true Man, the Man of God’s right hand, the Messiah, the King, the Savior, Lord, and Judge! Compare Daniel 7:9–14 and Revelation 1:12–18. It’s an amazing claim.

“The Son of Man Came”

Even more amazing is Jesus’ claim that “the Son of Man came.” A few years ago, PBS aired a program which claimed that Jesus was just a good teacher. It alleged that later Christians fabricated claims that he was the Son of God and the Messiah. This view was broadcast all over the country. Tragically, this same view is proclaimed from many pulpits across our land. But this is not the view of God’s Word! It is not the view of Jesus! It’s a damnable lie!

Both Jesus and the Bible insist that “the Son of Man came.” It wasn’t happenstance. It wasn’t a delusion. It was a purposeful mission.

That he “came” means that he came from somewhere. God’s Word explains: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (John 1:1).

“ ‘I tell you the truth,’ Jesus answered, ‘before Abraham was born, I am!’ ” (John 8:58; compare Ex. 3:14). Before he was conceived and born, Jesus existed eternally as the second Person of the Godhead. That should never cease to amaze us! “The Son of Man came.” Without ceasing to be God, God really did become a man! It’s a huge mystery, a wonder-filled mystery, but it’s true.

Some people reject the miracle of the virgin birth as too incredible, yet claim to believe in the Incarnation. But the Incarnation was the most miraculous of all miracles! If you believe in the Incarnation, it should be easy to believe in the subsidiary miracle of the virgin birth. The Incarnation is the most mysterious of all mysteries! It involves the triunity of God, one God existing in three Persons. It also involves the “hypostatic union,” the union of two natures (divine and human) in one person, the Lord Jesus. “And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld his glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

The Son of Man came! But why did the second Person of the Godhead become a man?

“The Son of Man Came to Seek … the Lost”

Our text tells us why the Son of Man came to this earth: “to seek and to save the lost.” The Son of Man did not come just to see what it’s like to be human. The Son of Man did not come just to impart knowledge or to show compassion. The Son of Man came to meet our centralneed.

We need all sorts of things—important things, like peace, security, education, prosperity, happiness, and companionship. But none of these things is our central need. Our central need is for salvation, since we’re lost. That’s the root of all our problems.

Above all, being lost means that we are separated from God. Sin creates a great estrangement between us and the God who created us. Our corruption, on the one hand, and God’s holiness, on the other, keep us apart. The Bible doesn’t mince words about this. It says we’re “lost,” “enslaved,” “blind,” and “dead.” Furthermore, when we’re lost from God, we’re lost from everything.

Loud thunder woke a little girl one night. The storm got worse, and she was terrified. Her parents took her into their bed to comfort her. In the morning, they got up while she slept on. Later she came out crying, “Mommy, I looked in your bed, and you were gone. And I looked in Daddy’s bed, and he was gone. Then I looked in my bed, and I was gone, too!”

When that girl lost her relationship with her parents, she lost her relationship with everything. This helps us understand how it is with us. Every problem of alienation that plagues us—our social alienation, our psychological alienation, our ecological alienation—is rooted in our religious alienation, our alienation from God. We’re lost! We need to be rescued!

And the great news is that God became man “to seek … the lost.” Salvation is not first of all my seeking and finding Christ. “As it is written: ‘There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God’” (Rom. 3:10–11). Both Scripture and experience confirm that, left to ourselves, we sinners will look anywhere and everywhere except to Jesus Christ!

On the other hand, the Bible again and again pictures God as seeking sinners. For example, Jesus depicts God as a shepherd seeking a lost sheep (Luke 15:3–7), a woman seeking a lost coin (Luke 15:8–10), and a father seeking a lost son (Luke 15:11–32). Salvation isn’t first of all my seeking and finding Christ. It’s first of all his seeking and finding me.

I sought the Lord, and afterward I knew
He moved my soul to seek him, seeking me;
It was not I that found, O Savior true;
No, I was found of thee.
(Trinity Hymnal (1990), #466)

“The Son of Man Came … to Save the Lost”

God became man “to seek … the lost.” Moreover, God became man “to save the lost.”

Note well: Jesus does not say that he came just to make salvation possible for the lost. He says that he came “to save the lost.” This is so important! If Jesus merely made salvation possible, and if salvation becomes actual only if I do something, then the bottom line is that Imust save myself. Jesus might help, but the decisive factor boils down to me. And that leaves me without hope. For what the Bible says is true: I’m lost. I’m helpless. I can do nothing for myself. Apart from his grace, I cannot even want to do something. With Charles Spurgeon I acknowledge, “If I have to add even one stitch to the robe of my salvation, I am lost.”

Thank God, Jesus Christ came not merely to make salvation possible for the lost, but “to save the lost!” His life, death, and resurrection literally guarantee the full salvation of all those for whom he lived, died, and rose. The living, exalted Christ personally and effectually applies his saving work by his Word and Spirit to each of his elect people. Jesus said, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all that he has given me, but raise them up at the last day” (John 6:37–39 NIV). Our Lord Jesus is a Savior who truly saves! The great news is that salvation—full and free—is found outside of us. It’s found in Jesus Christ—Jesus Christ plus nothing. Put your confidence only and totally in Jesus Christ, the Son of Man, God incarnate.

Why Does Jesus Say This?

Up till now, we have passed over a word—the little word “for” at the beginning of our text: “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.” That word indicates that Jesus is explaining why he did something. Luke 19:1–10 relates what Jesus did. He graciously singled out a lost sinner, Zacchaeus, and rescued him from sin. In response to Zacchaeus’s confession of faith and repentance, “Jesus said to him, ‘Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham. For the Son of man came to seek and to save the lost’ ” (Luke 19:9–10). Jesus sought and saved Zacchaeus because that was the very reason he became flesh.

Evangelistic, missionary passion welled up in Jesus’ heart. He came for that very purpose—to seek and to save the lost. That is our hope. That is our salvation. We were like Zacchaeus, without hope and without God in the world. Then the Son of Man came and sought us and saved us! How then can he be anything other than our deepest passion and our foremost mission? Let us therefore renew our commitment both to know and to make known the Son of Man.

from New Horizons, December 2000

After recently preaching a missions-themed sermon on John 10:16, I found the following post by Sam Storms. I think it dovetails nicely.

Someone recently asked me if I believe in what’s called “replacement” theology. This is a massively complex subject, but I tried to provide a brief answer. Here it is:

 

All biblical interpreters recognise that there’s development between the Old Testament and the New. Some say the Old Testament is the seed to which the New Testament provides the flower. Others speak of the relationship as one of symbol to substance, or type to anti-type. The point is that we must strive to understand the progress in redemptive history. And when I look at the relationship between Israel and the church I see something similar to the relationship between the caterpillar and the butterfly.

The butterfly doesn’t replace the caterpillar. The butterfly IS the caterpillar in a more developed and consummate form. The butterfly is what God all along intended the caterpillar to become. Likewise, the church doesn’t replace Israel. The church IS Israel as God always intended it to be. Let me explain that further.

I believe that what we see in the NT isn’t the replacement of Israel; it’s an expanded definition of who Israel is. During the time of the Old Testament one was an Israelite (primarily) because one was a physical, biological descendant of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. One’s ethnicity was the deciding factor. But with the coming of Christ and the extension of the gospel to the Gentiles, the meaning of what constitutes a “true Jew” has undergone revision, or perhaps a better word would be expansion. Not one believing Jewish person has been replaced. Not one believing Jewish person has been set aside. Not one believing Jewish person has lost their promised inheritance.

Rather, God now says that a true Jew is one who is circumcised in heart and not just in one’s physical body (Rom. 2:28–29). The key passage is Galatians 3:16–18 and 3:25–29. There Paul says that the promises were made “to Abraham and to his offspring” (v. 16). I prefer the translation “seed” instead of “offspring” but either way the point is the same. In other words, when God gave the promises to Abraham and his seed in Genesis 12–17, it appeared he had in mind Abraham and all his physical progeny. But later we learn that he limited it to the progeny of Isaac and not Ishmael. Then we learn that he narrowed it down even further to be the progeny of Jacob and not Esau. By the time we get to the NT, Paul says God has narrowed it down even further, to only one Jewish person, Jesus. Here’s what Paul says:

“Now the promises were made to Abraham and to his offspring/seed. It does not say, ‘And to offsprings/seeds,’ referring to many, but referring to one, ‘And to your offspring,’ who is Christ” (v. 16).

Wow! Paul is saying that God’s ultimate meaning in the Abrahamic covenant was that all the promises would be fulfilled in only “one” of Abraham’s physical seed/progeny – Jesus Christ! But just when you feel led to conclude that it’s impossibly narrow, Paul opens it up and says:

“for in Christ Jesus you are ALL sons of God, through faith. . . And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (i.e., the promise made to Abraham) (v. 28, 29).

So, the only relevant question now isn’t whose blood is in your veins (physically speaking) but whose faith is in your heart (spiritually speaking). If you’ve got faith in Jesus and thus are “in” him then you become the seed of Abraham that will inherit the promises! That means being an ethnic Jew or Gentile doesn’t matter when it comes to who inherits the promised blessings. What matters – the only thing that matters – is whether or not you are in Christ by grace through faith.

So, a true “seed” of Abraham or a “true Jew” isn’t a matter of physical descent but of spiritual new birth. No one has been replaced. All ethnic Jews who are in Christ by faith are the seed of Abraham and no less so is it true of all ethnic Gentiles who are in Christ through faith.

This is what God insists on in Ephesians 2:11–22. Believing Gentiles are now equal members of the “commonwealth of Israel” (2:12) and are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (2:19). In Christ, God has torn down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile and “has made us both one” (Eph. 2:14). He has created “in himself one new man in place of the two” (Eph. 2:15). This “one new man” is the church of Jesus Christ. In the church are believing Jews and believing Gentiles, co-heirs of the promises made to the old testament patriarchs.

The old covenant ethnic, theocratic arrangement into which God entered with the physical descendants of Abraham was designed to be temporary “until” the coming of the Messiah and the New Covenant (Gal. 3:15–4:6). This is the consistent message of the book of Galatians. Now, anyone of any ethnicity has equal status as heirs of God’s promises so long as they believe in Jesus (Gal. 3:29).

Whether or not God will save the last generations of living ethnic Jews before the second coming of Christ is a matter of debate. How does one properly interpret Romans 11? I hope that it is true! Who could possibly protest? But God-honouring, Bible-believing Christians end up with differing answers. Still, no matter what one concludes on that matter, the Bible insists that whoever gets saved, whether now, during the course of church history, or later before Christ returns, all will be members of the one body of Christ, the church, equal in their inheritance of all that God has promised.

So I don’t believe that God’s saving work among ethnic Jews means that he will reconstitute the old covenant theocracy of Israel. I believe that all believing ethnic Jews, together with all believing ethnic Gentiles, will together constitute the elect, the church of Jesus Christ, the one “holy nation” that is in covenant with God (1 Peter 2:9). And because they are all in him, the true seed of Abraham, they are all likewise the seed of Abraham and thus heirs of the promise.

I don’t believe in replacement theology. I believe in inclusion theology: believing Gentiles have now been included in the commonwealth of Israel and are as much “true Jews” as are believing ethnic Jews (Eph. 2:19; Gal. 6:15–16). It’s not replacement, but fulfilment, just as the butterfly fulfils and completes what God intended when he first made a caterpillar.

John Calvin beautifully summarises our duties in Christ in our differing vocations and stations in life:

Finally, let each one see to what extent he is in duty bound to others, and let him pay his debt faithfully.

For this reason let a people hold all its rulers in honour, patiently bearing their government, obeying their laws and commands, refusing nothing that can be borne without losing God’s favour [Rom. 13:1 ff.; 1 Peter 2:13ff.; Titus 3:1].

Again, let the rulers take care of their own common people, keep the public peace, protect the good, punish the evil. So let them manage all things as if they are about to render account of their services to God, the supreme Judge [cf. Deut. 17:19; 2 Chron. 19:6-7].

Let the ministers of churches faithfully attend to the ministry of the Word, not adulterating the teaching of salvation [cf. 2 Cor. 2:17], but delivering it pure and undefiled to God’s people. And let them instruct the people not only through teaching, but also through example of life. In short, let them exercise authority as good shepherds over their sheep [cf. 1 Tim. 3; 2 Tim. 2; 4; Titus 1:6ff.; 1 Peter 5].

Let  the people in their turn receive them as messengers and apostles of God, render to them that honour of which the highest Master has deemed them worthy, and give them those things necessary for their livelihood [cf. Matt. 10:10ff.; Rom. 10:15 and 15:15ff.; 1 Cor. 9; Gal. 6:6; 1 Thess. 5:12; 1 Tim. 5:17-18].

Let parents undertake to nourish, govern, and teach, their children committed to them by God, not provoking their minds with cruelty or turning them against their parents [Eph. 6:4; Col. 3:21]; but cherishing and embracing their children with such gentleness and kindness as becomes their character as parents.

As we have already said, children owe obedience to their parents.

Let youth reverence old age, as the Lord has willed that age to be worthy of honour.

Also, let the aged guide the insufficiency of youth with their own wisdom and experience wherein they excel the younger, not railing harshly and loudly against them but tempering their severity with mildness and gentleness.

Let servants show themselves diligent and eager to obey their masters—not for the eye, but from the heart, as if they were serving God.

Also, let masters not conduct themselves peevishly and intractably toward their servants, oppressing them with undue rigor, or treating them abusively. Rather, let them recognize them as their brothers, their co-servants under the Lord of heaven, whom they ought to love mutually and treat humanely [cf. Eph. 6:5-9; Col. 3:22-25; Titus 2:9-10; 1 Peter 2:18-20; Col. 4:1; Philemon 16].

In this manner, I say, let each man consider what, in his rank and station, he owes to his neighbours, and pay what he owes. Moreover, our mind must always have regard for the Lawgiver, that we may know that this rule was established for our hearts as well as for our hands, in order that men may strive to protect and promote the well-being and interests of others. (Institutes of the Christian Religion, II.viii.46)