One Saviour, Many Servants

 

 

“For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus” (1 Tim 2:5). The Lord Jesus Christ is the only Saviour of the world, for He is the only One born sinless, who was crucified on the cross for our sins, and who rose from the dead on the third day according to the Scriptures. Mary is no Co-Mediatrix. She was but a servant used by God to fulfil His redemptive plan, just like Elisabeth who gave birth to John the Lord’s heralder. And John knew his place very well for he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:30). God used many servants for His sovereign purpose, but for our salvation, He has given only one Saviour—the Lord Jesus Christ.

Here are lessons we can learn from Mary, Elisabeth, and John—they all point to the Lord Jesus Christ who alone can save us from our sins.

Servant Song of Elisabeth

After Mary heard from the angel that her cousin, Elisabeth, was also pregnant (cf Luke 1:36), she quickly went to see her, no doubt, to tell her what God had done for her as well. Not only Elisabeth, but also baby John, though still in his mother’s womb, leaped for joy to hear Mary calling. Filled with the Spirit, Elisabeth pronounced a blessing upon Mary addressing her as “the mother of my Lord.” John Calvin says that the phrase—“the mother of my Lord”— “denotes a unity of person in the two natures of Christ; as if she had said, that he who was begotten a mortal man in the womb of Mary is, at the same time, the eternal God.” It must be noted that this is not the same as saying that Mary is the “Mother of God” as taught by the Roman Catholic Church, deifying Mary. Elisabeth’s statement in no way deified Mary, only Christ! The attention here is not on Mary but on Christ.

Servant Song of Mary

Mary knew her place in God’s plan. She did not in any way think that she was the “Mother of God,” and hence superior to Him. At the outset, she made clear that she was but a “handmaiden” of God. Neither did Mary see herself as perfect or sinless (contra the Roman Catholic doctrine of “immaculate conception”). She readily admitted her sinfulness when she confessed that God was her Saviour. “Holy is His name,” she said, not “holy is my name.”

Calvin, against the deification of Mary by the Roman Catholic Church, commented,

Now observe, that Mary makes her
happiness to consist in nothing else, but
in what she acknowledges to have been
bestowed upon her by God, and
mentions as the gift of his grace. ‘I shall
be reckoned blessed,’ she says, ‘through
all ages.’ Was it because she sought this
praise by her own power or exertion? On
the contrary, she makes mention of
nothing but of the work of God. Hence we
see how widely the Papists differ from
her, who idly adorn her with their empty
devices, and reckon almost as nothing
the benefits which she received from
God. They heap up an abundance of
magnificent and very presumptuous titles,
such as, ‘Queen of Heaven, Star of
Salvation, Gate of Life, Sweetness,
Hope, and Salvation.’ Nay more, to such
a pitch of insolence and fury have they
been hurried by Satan, that they give her
authority over Christ; for this is their
pretty song, ‘Beseech the Father, Order
the Son.’ None of these modes of
expression, it is evident, proceeded from
the Lord. All are disclaimed by the holy
virgin in a single word, when she makes
her whole glory to consist in acts of the
divine kindness. If it was her duty to
praise the name of God alone, who had
done to her wonderful things, no room is
left for the pretended titles, which come
from another quarter. Besides, nothing
could be more disrespectful to her, than
to rob the Son of God of what is his own,
to clothe her with the sacrilegious
plunder.

Birth of John the Heralder

After a full pregnancy term of nine months, John was born to Elisabeth and Zecharias (Luke 1:57). During all those months, Zecharias’ mouth was shut. He was struck dumb because he doubted Gabriel’s words. Through a chalkboard, he named his son John in obedience to God (Luke 1:63-64).

After God lifted his dumbness, Zecharias announced to all what his son John would be to the glory of God. John was to become “the prophet of the Highest: for thou shalt go before the face of the Lord to prepare his ways; To give knowledge of salvation unto his people by the remission of their sins, Through the tender mercy of our God; whereby the dayspring from on high hath visited us, To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace” (Luke 1:76-79).

All this happened because God is faithful. God remembered the covenant He made with Israel—“the oath which he sware to our father Abraham, That he would grant unto us, that we being delivered out of the hand of our enemies might serve him without fear, In holiness and righteousness before him, all the days of our life” (Luke 1:73-5 cf Gen 12:1-3; 13:14-17; 15:4-5, 17-18; 17:1-8; 22:15-18). The promise of deliverance is twofold: It is both physical and spiritual. The Messiah has come to deliver us from our enemies. These enemies refer not only to rebellious men, but also to fallen angels. He will deliver us from the curse of sin which is death, and from the bondage of Satan and of sin (1 Cor 15:26, Rom 16:20, Col 1:12-13). He will not only rule over the hearts of men, but also all the lands of the earth in holiness and righteousness (Isa 2:1-5, 9:6-7, 11:1-9, Phil 2:5-11, 1 Thess 3:13, 2 Thess 1:7-9, Rev 19:11-20:6).

Birth of Jesus the Messiah

Philippians 2:8 reveals that the Lord Jesus took the form of a man in order to die for our sins: “And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.” Galatians 4:4-5 sheds additional light that Jesus became man not only to die but also to live for us: “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” Jesus kept the law perfectly in His life to redeem us. It is important to understand that we are saved by the twofold obedience of Christ—His active and passive obedience, His life and His death. As we study the life of Christ, we will see how He saved us not only by dying (ie, passive obedience), but also by living (ie, active obedience) for us.

When was Christ born? Today, we are living in the period called AD (ie, Anno Domini, “in the year of the Lord” Jesus Christ). The period before AD is called BC (“Before Christ”). On the basis of the terms BC and AD, people think that Christ must be born in AD 1. This is wrong. Christ could not have been born in AD 1. Matthew 2:1 tells us that Christ was born at the time when Herod was king. But by AD 1, Herod the Great was no longer living; he died in 4 BC. Moreover, Luke 2:2 tells us that Christ was born at the time when a census was being conducted by Cyrenius. This census occurred in 5 BC. Jesus thus was not and could not be born in AD 1! When was Christ born then?

Christ was born in 5 BC, and not AD 1. How did this discrepancy come about? This discrepancy was due to Dionysius’ (a Scythian monk) miscalculation when he prepared a standard calendar for the Western Church. In Dionysius’ calendar, January 1, 754 AUC (Anno Urbis Conditae, ie, “from the foundation of the city of Rome”) was AD 1. This became a problem because later research showed that Herod the Great (cf Matt 2:1) died in 750 AUC, ie, 4 BC. How could Jesus be born at a time when Herod was already dead? This contradicts the historical records of Scripture which tell us that Jesus was born when Herod was still alive. Thus, Jesus could not have been born in AD 1 (so Dionysius), but sometime before Herod’s death (ie, 4 BC) according to the Scriptures.

Now, exactly when was Jesus born? Jesus must have been born within two years prior to Herod’s death. This we gather from Matthew 2:7 which tells us that after Herod had ascertained the time of the star’s appearance, he commanded the execution of all the baby boys two years old and below (Matt 2:16). Thus, Jesus must have been born sometime between 6-4 BC. We know that John the Baptist was conceived in the womb of Elizabeth six months before Mary became pregnant with Jesus (Luke 1:36). The difference in age between John and Jesus was only six months. Luke 3:1 tells us that John began his ministry in the 15th year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar. Tiberius became ruler in AD 11. The 15th year would bring us to AD 26 as the inaugural year of John’s baptismal ministry when he reached the age of 30. In keeping with Luke 3:23, Jesus would also be about 30 years old that year since he was only 6 months younger than John. This would thus make 5 BC the year of Christ’s birth.

Jesus was born in a little town called Bethlehem (cf Mic 5:2). He was born not in a palace but in a stable, and His bed was not a cradle of silk but a manger of straw. It was a very lowly and humble birth for One who is Himself the Son of God and King over all. The Apostle Paul drew from the incarnation of Christ an important lesson on humility: “Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2:3-8). His lowly birth reveals the life He was going to live—the life of a lowly slave. Jesus Himself said, “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45). He came not to be served, but to serve. For our sake He came. He was born to die, to save us from our sins. JK

Very Blessed by FEBC

Kimiko Goto, Japan

To Dr. Jeffrey Khoo, the principal of Far Eastern Bible College & all the faculty members.

I am so thankful for you to send me a precious DVD “Forever, Infallible & Inerrant” published by  FEBC. I received it few days ago and I read and heard some part of it. It is so wonderful and precious. I am so glad for you to continue to fight for the Word of God and the Gospel. I am strengthened by your testimonies for our Saviour, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has been good to me. I am still given many opportunities to serve Him, especially in teaching, in preaching and in writing. I am now 71 years old. I am grateful for Him to give me strength to serve Him. I always remember those days when I was at FEBC and precious teaching and fellowship with Rev. & Mrs. Tow and others. I was very blessed by FEBC. Thank you.

Please give my regards to Mrs. Ivy Tow.

May the Lord continue to bless your ministry.

In His grace
Kimiko Goto
December 6, 2011