by Jeremiah Burroughs
In the Christ who is both God and man, in one entity, invites us to approach him: from this, we derive the idea that surely, the Lord is infinitely inclined to bestow kindness upon humanity. This is a powerful incentive for all humble souls to approach Christ. When you hear that Christ, the Son of God, has become man in one entity, you can take this as encouragement, as an assurance that certainly God is infinitely inclined to do good for humanity. God would not have enacted such an extraordinary work, to merge our human nature into one entity with his Son, if he had not intended to bestow immense goodness upon mankind; the Lord has given a clear demonstration of this by uniting human nature with his own Son.
To illustrate, imagine if a King chose to marry his Son to your closest female relative. From this, you and all your acquaintances would infer, surely the King intends great kindness to this family, indicating a strong inclination to elevate this family's status. Similarly, when God chooses to unite his Son with our flesh, even going so far as to bring our nature into a closer union with him than a wife is with her husband, we can make this inference and conclude, surely, God intends great kindness for humanity. Therefore, come forward.
From pondering who Christ is, God manifested in human form, we can find the encouragement to approach him. The Lord, in uniting the divine nature with the human in Christ, has already accomplished a greater task for humanity than even the salvation of their souls. The salvation of your soul is a formidable task; you may think, 'Alas! For me to approach and hope to be saved by Christ, this seems too grand, too good to be true. It seems impossible that a sinner as poor as I could be elevated to the glory spoken of in scripture, the glory that God bestows upon his saints.' You may believe that the salvation of your soul is such a tremendous and potent thing, and thus, perhaps that notion discourages you from approaching.
However, when you learn who Christ is and how God has united the divine and human natures into one entity, from this you may find encouragement. You may realise that God has achieved a greater task than saving your soul – indeed, it is so. It's a grander work for God to unite the divine and human natures into one entity than to save all the souls in the world. As if Christ were saying, 'Oh, approach me, understand who I am. I am the Son of the Father, of the same essence and existence, and I have also become man. God the Father has united my divine nature with your flesh, and in this, he has accomplished a greater work than saving your souls. In this, he has shown his intentions for humanity's welfare, and in this, the fear of the almighty is diminished. Therefore, approach me.' This is the primary argument, approach Christ.
ARGUMENT II.
Secondly, approach Christ. Why? Because Christ has approached you. You should come to him, for he has come to you. To reach you, Christ has journeyed, metaphorically, from the very bosom of the Father, and was willing, for a time, to have his glory overshadowed. He came into this world, assumed the form of a servant, and endured humble circumstances here on Earth. Christ has endured more in his journey to you than you could possibly suffer in your journey to him. Christ was willing to leave the Father to reach you, so what is it that you cannot leave to approach him?
In the Song of Solomon, he is depicted as leaping over mountains, overcoming all obstacles to reach you. If you perceive difficulties in your journey towards Christ, recognise that there were much greater difficulties that stood in his path to reach you. Yet, whatever obstacles lay in his path, he was resolved to overcome them all. He did come, he was present in the world, in the flesh, with the purpose of saving you. And he, who has made this journey to you, invites you to approach him.
ARGUMENT III.
Thirdly, you must understand that Christ is the grand mediator set between God and humanity. He is the one who has undertaken the most significant task ever witnessed in the world – to mediate between the infinitely offended God and your sinful, wretched souls. Due to your sins, an infinite distance was created between God and you, a gap that could never have been bridged without this mediator.
This argument, if correctly understood and thoroughly considered, is of significant value. The vast divide that sin has created between God and sinful beings is such that they can never approach God except through the glorious mediator who has come into the world, the Lord Jesus Christ, God and man. He was designated by God the Father as the head of the second covenant and has pledged to redress all the harm our sins have inflicted upon God, to appease God's wrath, and to satisfy God's justice. He has undertaken the task of making peace between the Father and you, and it is he who invites you to approach him.
Imagine a group of prisoners facing the threat of death, and someone comes to the prince to mediate for them, to establish peace between the prince and them. Suppose this mediator is known to the prisoners as the prince's only son, his delight. Suppose he is dispatched by the prince himself to broker peace and pledge his commitment to them. He arrives at the prison gates, calls to the prisoners languishing in their cells, and says, 'Rise and approach me, heed what I bring to you, follow my guidance, and peace will be established between the prince and you. You will be pardoned, and your lives will be spared.' Wouldn't this incite them to listen to him and eagerly approach the gates?
Christ has come for this precise purpose. This was the task that God the Father sent him into the world to accomplish – to act as a mediator between himself and poor, wretched, sinful beings. And now, he approaches them, calls to them, and says, 'Approach me.' If you truly understood who Christ is and what his mission was in coming into the world, it would undeniably draw your hearts to him when he calls.
ARGUMENT IV.
Fourthly, 'Approach me,' says Christ, 'for if anyone ever deserved to be heeded and approached when they call, surely, I do. I haven't just come to be a mediator; in truth, it has cost me my blood. I have demonstrated such love towards you that I have given up my life for you. I have shed my most precious blood, been willing to be made a curse, all for the salvation of your souls. My love for you surpasses that for my own life, for it was laid down for you. Indeed, I have pledged to mediate between my Father and you, but it has cost me greatly. Yet, out of love for you, I have done this. All my blood is shed, the task is accomplished, the price is paid. Approach me so that you may have life.'
This is the meaning of the aforementioned scripture: The servant is instructed to invite the guests, for everything is prepared. So here, the task is completed. Christ has finished the work. Our forefathers, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, they didn't have this argument to compel them. Christ couldn't say to them, 'Approach me, for I haven't just pledged to mediate between the Father and your souls, but I have given up my life for you, shed my blood for you. I have already paid the price for you, I have redeemed your souls, I have finished the entire task, it is completed.'
But now, this argument exists to draw your hearts towards Christ, for the task is complete. The greatest task that ever was, or will be undertaken in the world, the most significant of all, is finished. Upon the completion of this task, Christ calls you to himself and says, 'Approach me.'
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Source: Jeremiah Burroughs, Four Books on the Eleventh of Matthew