The Life and Ministry of Jesus Christ
Having considered the state of the church from Adam to Abraham, and from Abraham to Christ, which constitutes the Old Testament era and the administration of the covenant of grace during those periods, we shall now proceed to consider the New Testament church. We shall commence by considering the birth and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was the focal point of all the prophecies. All the types pointed to Him. When the time arrived which God had decreed in His counsel, denominated by Paul as the fullness of time Gal 4:4, God sent forth the angel Gabriel to Zacharias, a priest, and announced to him that his wife Elizabeth (even though they were both of great age) would bear a son whose name would be John, that is, delightful one. He would be the forerunner of the Lord Jesus, and according to prophecy would go before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah. Approximately six months later the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary, a very godly virgin of the seed of David, and made known to her that by the creative operation of the Holy Spirit she would conceive and bear a Son. She was commanded to name Him Jesus, as He would be the Savior. At the conclusion of nine months, she bore her first born son, who had been promised for a period of approximately four thousand years, and whom believers had already anticipated with great yearning. Subsequent to this, heaven and earth came into motion. An angel announced the birth of the Savior to some shepherds, which was confirmed by a multitude of angels glorifying God with these words, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men” (Luke 2:14). Thereafter the shepherds went to Bethlehem and found the newborn Savior wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. They made this known everywhere. Subsequently, prominent wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, asking for the newborn King of the Jews. This caused great consternation in all of Jerusalem. Herod convened the great council of the chief priests and scribes in order to learn from them where the promised Messiah would be born. Thereupon he sent the wise men to Bethlehem. They found and glorified Him by way of an extraordinary star that went before them and remained standing above the place where Jesus was. The birth of the Lord Jesus received even more publicity through the murdering of the children of two years old and under—a murder committed by Herod in Bethlehem and its surrounding region in order to kill the infant Messiah, whom he expected to be among those children. Joseph and the mother of Jesus, having been admonished by divine revelation, fled with Him to Egypt. Upon returning to the Jewish nation, they set up their residence in Nazareth in Galilee. Jesus at twelve years of age so manifested a glimpse of His divinity while in the presence of the doctors in the temple that they were astonished about His understanding.
After Jesus remained in hiding until His thirtieth year, John the Baptist began to preach, baptize, and prepare the way for the Lord Jesus. The Lord Jesus came to him and was baptized by him. John, knowing who Jesus was, made Him known to the people. Subsequently, the Lord Jesus appeared in public and preached in a most powerful and delightful manner. He showed Himself to be the Savior by performing innumerable miracles which resulted in the healing and deliverance of numerous wretched ones. Consequently the people clung to Him, and His reputation not only pervaded the Jewish nation, but also went forth into various regions and nations outside of Canaan. Since He neither came with external pomp nor made any move toward the establishment of an earthly kingdom and the deliverance of the Jewish people from the dominion of the emperor—and being esteemed by the people above the Pharisees and scribes—they were filled with envy and hatred toward Him, and therefore sought to kill Him. The Lord, upon having finished His course, gave Himself as a ransom for the elect by the accomplishment of His sacrifice. He permitted Himself to be taken captive and to be subjected to all that was prophesied concerning Him—even to His being put to death on the cross. After the third day He arose again; He ascended into heaven after forty days. Ten days later, on the day of Pentecost, He poured out His Spirit upon the apostles. By the agency of their preaching in various languages, three thousand people were converted in one day, and as they continued to preach and perform miracles, a large multitude of many thousands of Jews believed in Christ. These blessings were not restricted to the Jews only, but the gospel was also proclaimed among the Gentiles who were very desirous to hear and receive it, and were thus converted.
Prior to this, the Lord, by means of many internal and external adversities, had dispersed a large portion of the Jewish nation among numerous nations under the sun. Of those dispersed Jews an innumerable multitude, in obedience to God’s command, came every year to Jerusalem to celebrate the three feasts. Since Easter and Pentecost follow shortly upon each other, most who came from a great distance stayed in Jerusalem in order to celebrate both feast days. The Lord ordered in His providence that Jesus was crucified on the Passover, arose after three days, and that the Holy Spirit was poured out in an extraordinary manner upon the day of Pentecost—and thus a large multitude of Jews received Christ as the long-promised Messiah. This paved the way for the conversion of the Gentiles, for upon returning to their native country, these Jews would recount there all that had happened, namely, all that had transpired in Jerusalem as well as that Jesus had been acknowledged and received by many as the Messiah. The dispersed apostles—and other believers upon arriving in their native land—subsequently gained entrance among the Jews, and by reason of that opportunity, among the Gentiles.