THE HOLY CHILD, JESUS “ – Charles Spurgeon
The Holy Child, Jesus
Introduction
“That signs and wonders may be done by the name of Your holy child, Jesus.” — Acts 4:30.
The opposition of the world is often a very great blessing to the Church. When it is met by holy boldness, it is sure to yield a glorious triumph for the servants of God. Sanctified by the Holy Spirit, out of the eater comes forth honey, for it becomes an incentive to greater zeal. Now that the enemy is determined to conquer, the Church will be resolved to hold its own. Pressure from without drives the members of the Church together, and so promotes holy love. When love and zeal come together, there is such a blessed unity of action and power in every effort that great success must follow! Woe unto the world when it persecutes the Church, for it kicks with its naked foot against the pricks; it stirs up a nest of hornets about its own ears; yes, it provokes the Lion of the tribe of Judah to spring upon His enemies!
Our text is a portion of an apostolic song which celebrated the release of Peter and John and the confusion of the priests and scribes. Every persecution shall yield songs of victory for the people of God! There is one sweet result that always flows from the opposition of the world, namely, that it draws true disciples nearer to their Master. You will perceive that they sing concerning the birth, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ—the Lord is the theme of their grateful song! The title by which they salute Him, “Your holy child, Jesus,” is most appropriate to their case.
The History of the Church and Christ’s Humanity
The history of the Church is Christ’s life written out in length. Our Lord enters the world a holy child—when the Church begins her history, she is as a holy child, too, and therefore rejoices in the childhood of her gracious Lord. How precious is it to see Jesus as made in all points like His people and how rapturous for His people to see their Redeemer’s features drawn by the pencil of fellowship in themselves. Trial is often sanctified to this noble end. Let the world oppress the Church; let the members of that Church be thoroughly weaned from any other ground of comfort; let the Lord Jesus be their only rock and refuge, and they will soon perceive analogies in the history of Christ beautifully explaining their own—analogies which they never would have discovered except in the glare of the furnace.
In the chapter before us, the apostles are thrown back upon the person of Jesus for comfort, and they revel in the thought of His being a child, because they discover in this His likeness to the Church, which, in its infancy, the enemy sought to destroy, even as Herod sought to slay the newborn King of the Jews! Brothers and sisters, whenever we endure adversities, tribulations, or distresses, it is ours to turn to Christ, and consider the Apostle and High Priest of our profession; for we may rest assured that the black finger of our distresses will often point out beauties in the person of Immanuel up to now unseen.
There is a certain spot from which alone each glorious trait in the Savior’s character can be seen—and many of our most painful positions are ordained for us in order that we may, from their vantage ground, behold the Lamb of God! Our subject this morning may, perhaps, be suitable to the experience of some—may the Lord make it useful to all! Taking the text as we find it, we shall, first of all, meditate upon the humanity of Christ as here declared. Secondly, we shall view it as here described—“A holy child.” And thirdly, we shall then behold it in the glory which surrounds it—signs and wonders are worked by the name of the holy child, Jesus.
I. The Real Humanity of Christ
First, let us meditate upon the beauty and excellence of the real humanity of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. While we always contend that Christ is God, very God of very God, let us never lose the firm conviction that He is most certainly and truly a man. He is not a God humanized, nor yet a human being deified; as to His Godhead, pure Godhead, equal and co-eternal with the Father; as to His manhood, perfect manhood—made in all respects like unto the rest of mankind, sin alone excepted.
His humanity was real, for He was born. He lay hidden in the virgin’s womb, and, in due time, was born into a world of suffering. The gate by which we enter upon the first life, He also passed through; He was not created, nor transformed, but His humanity was begotten and born. As He was born, so in the circumstances of His birth, He is completely human; He is as weak and feeble as any other baby. He is not even royal, but human.
Those who were born in marble halls of old were wrapped in purple garments, and were thought by the vulgar to be a superior race. But this baby is wrapped in swaddling clothes and has a manger for His cradle—that the true humanity of His being may come out. More than a man, He is a Prince of the House of David. He knows the woes of a peasant’s child.
As He grows up, the very growth shows how completely human He is. He does not spring into full manhood at once, but He grows in stature, and in favor both with God and man. When He reaches man’s estate, He gets the common stamp of manhood upon His brow. “In the sweat of your brow shall you eat bread” is the common heritage of us all, and He receives no better! The carpenter’s shop must witness to the toils of a Savior, and when He becomes the preacher and the prophet, still we read such significant words as these—“Jesus, being weary, sat thus on the well.”
We find Him needing to betake Himself to rest in sleep; He slumbers at the stern of the vessel when it is tossed in the midst of the tempest. Brothers and sisters, if sorrow is the mark of real manhood, and “man is born to trouble as the sparks fly upward,” certainly Jesus Christ has the true evidence of being a man! If to hunger and to thirst are signs that He was no shadow, and His manhood no fiction, you have these.
If to associate with His fellow men, and eat and drink as they did, will be proof to your mind that He was none other than a man—you see Him sitting at a feast one day—at another time, He graces a marriage supper, and on another occasion, He is hungry, and “has not where to lay His head.” Since the day when the prince of the power of the air obtained dominion in this world, men are tempted and He, though He is born pure and holy, must not be delivered from temptation—“The desert His temptation knew His conflict and His victory, too.”
The garden marked the bloody sweat, as it started from every pore, while He endured the agony of conflict with the prince of this world. If, since we have fallen and must endure temptation, we have need to pray, so had He—“Cold mountains and the midnight air witnessed the fervor of His prayer.” Strong crying and tears go up to heaven mingled with His pleas and entreaties!
Reflections on Christ’s Humanity
What clearer proof could we have of His being man of the substance of His mother, and man like ourselves, than this, that He was heard in that He feared? There appeared unto Him an angel strengthening Him; to whom but men are angels ministering spirits? Beloved, we have never discovered the weakness of our manhood more than when God has deserted us. When the spiritual consolations which comforted us have been withdrawn, and the light of God’s face has been hidden from us, then, we have said, “I am a worm and no man,” and out of the dust and ashes of human weakness have we cried unto the most high God. Let, “Eloi! Eloi! lama Sabachthani” assure you that Christ has felt the same!
Christ, Our Brother
Follow man wherever you will, and you find the footprints of the Son of Mary. Go after man where you will, into scenes of sorrow of every hue, and you shall find traces of Jesus‘ pilgrimage there. You shall find in whatever struggle and conflict of which man is capable, the Captain of our salvation has had a share! Leave out sin, and Christ is the perfect picture of humanity.
Simple as the truth of God is, and lying as it does at the very basis of our Christianity, yet, let us not despise it, but try to get a personal grip of it if we can. Jesus, my mediator, is a man—“Immanuel, God with us.” He is a child born. He is better than that, for “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given.” He is to us a brother; He is bone of our bone today. As a man leaves his father and mother, and cleaves unto his wife and they, two, become one flesh, so has He left the glory of His Father’s house and become one flesh with His people. Flesh and bone, and blood and heart, that may ache and suffer, and be broken and be bruised, yes, and may die—such is Jesus; for herein He completes the picture.
As the whole human race must yield its neck to the great iron-crowned monarch, so must Christ Himself say, “Into Your hands I commend My spirit, Father,” and He, too, must yield up the ghost. Oh, Christian, see your nearness to Him and be glad this morning! Oh, sinner, see His nearness to you! Come to Him with confidence, for in body and soul He is completely human!
II. The Holy Child: A Reflection on Holiness
Now, let us view the humanity of Christ as it is here described—“holy child.” Christ’s humanity was perfectly holy. Upon this doctrine, you are well established; but you may well wonder that Jesus was always holy. He is conceived of a woman, and yet, no sort of sin comes from His birth. “That holy Thing which is born of you shall be called the Son of God.” He is educated in the midst of sinful persons. It could not be otherwise, for there were none on earth who could be called good—all having become unprofitable—and although residing in the midst of sinners, in Him is no taint or trace of sin!
Conclusion
He goes into the world, and as a physician must mingle with the sick, so He is found in the very worst of society. The harlot may speak to Him, and from the publican He turns not away, yet, from none of these did He receive any corrupt influence. He is tempted, and it is usually supposed that a man can scarcely be tempted; even should he overcome the temptation, without receiving some injury to his innocence. But the prince of this world came and had nothing in Christ; his fiery darts fell upon the nature of Christ as upon water, and were quenched at once.
Satan was but as one who should whip the sea; he left no mark upon the perfect holiness of Christ. Imputation of sin would be the nearest approach to making our Lord a sinner; but let it always be remembered that, though Jehovah made Him to be sin for us, yet, He knew no sin. The world’s sin was put upon the shoulders of Christ, and yet, He had no sin for all that; the imputation was accomplished in such a manner that it did not in any sense or in any degree derogate from His title to perfect holiness.
A Childlike Heart in Christ
Well, that is because such a man has a degree of childlikeness about him. Now, in the person of Christ, there is all this carried out to the fullest degree! Come, then, and tell Jesus everything. Whatever your trouble or difficulty may be, stand not back through shame or fear. Will you fear Immanuel, or dread the Lamb of God? Will you be afraid of a holy child? No, rather come, and like Simeon, take Him in your arms, and acknowledge Him as your consolation and your trust.
Overcoming Fear of Jesus
I wish I could get a hold, this morning, on those timid ones who always say, “I am afraid of Jesus.” Why, dear friends, how can you talk so? You do Him wrong. You know Him not, or you would not thus speak! This is the unkindest cut of all, to think that He is unwilling to forgive. Dying for you, living as a holy child for you—O can it be, can it be possible that He should be hard to forgive and receive you?
Thinking of a holy child while I looked through this verse, I turned to Mrs. Harriet Beecher Stowe’s story of Eva and little Topsy. She gives a graphic picture there of a holy child, indeed. There is the law in the person of Miss Ophelia—she whips the child, but the more she whips her, the worse she is; she gets no further than, “I’s so wicked, I can’t help it; I’s so wicked.” That is all the law can do; it can only make a man feel he is “so wicked,” that he cannot help it, and he goes on sinning.
Eva’s Compassion for Topsy
But what a picture is that when St. Clair draws the curtain and sees the two little children sitting with their cheeks together. Eva says, “What does make you so bad, Topsy? Why won’t you try and be good? Don’t you love anybody, Topsy?” “Don’t know nothing ‘bout love; I loves candy and sich, that’s all,” said Topsy. “But you love your father and mother?” “Never had none, you know; I telled you that, Miss Eva.” “Oh, I know,” said Eva sadly, “but hadn’t you any brother, or sister, or aunt, or—” “No, none of ‘em—never had nothing nor nobody.” “But, Topsy, if you’d only try to be good, you might.” “Couldn’t never be nothin’ but a Nigger, if I was ever so good,” said Topsy.
Eva’s Love for Topsy
“O Topsy, poor child, I love you!” said Eva, with a sudden burst of feeling. And laying her little thin white hand on Topsy’s shoulder, she said, “I love you because you haven’t had any father, or mother, or friends—because you’ve been a poor, abused child! I love you, and I want you to be good. I am very unwell, Topsy, and I think I shan’t live a great while; and it really grieves me to have you be so naughty. I wish you would try to be good for my sake. It’s only a little while I shall be with you.”
The round, keen eyes of the black child were overcast with tears—large, bright drops rolled heavily down, one by one, and fell on the little white hand. Yes, in that moment, a ray of real belief, a ray of heavenly love had penetrated the darkness of her heathen soul! She laid her head down between her knees, and wept and sobbed—while the beautiful child, bending over her, looked like the picture of some bright angel stooping to reclaim a sinner.
Now, something like this, only in a far nobler style, Jesus Christ has behaved towards us. He sees us lost and ruined, wicked—hopelessly wicked—and He comes as a holy child and sits down by our ruined humanity. And He says, “I love you—I love you because you are so lost, so ruined, so hopelessly ruined—because I know the dreadful doom into which you will fall. There is nothing in you that makes Me love you, but I do love you; I cannot bear to see you die like this. I would sooner die than you should remain a sinner. I would sooner die and bear My Father’s wrath for you, than that you should be a sinner and disobedient to Him.”
Christ’s Sacrifice and Our Response
The holy child sits down by you, this morning, and weeps for you. Will you grieve Immanuel? Will you break the heart of Jesus, your soul’s lover? Oh, will you open His wounds afresh and crucify Him again? If you would not, then trust Him now—fly to Him—give yourselves up to Him! He waits to be gracious to you; His loving arms are wide open to receive you. “Whoever wIll,” He says, “let him come, and he who comes to Me I will in no wise cast out.” Such is the coming of the “holy child Jesus.”
The Glory of Christ’s Humanity
III. To conclude—it seems that the name of this holy child is to work great wonders. Only for one second, let us turn aside, and behold the glory of His humanity. Although Christ was a man, all the powers of nature knew their Master and crouched at His feet. He could command the sea or the boisterous wind—diseases, the myrmidons of death, and Death their prince, all owned allegiance to Him who is immortality and life.
The Power of Jesus’ Name
After His resurrection, He endowed His disciples with His own power and more than His own power—”For greater works than these shall you do, because I go unto My Father.” The name of Jesus was uttered, uttered by feeble men—and devils fled, dumb mouths began to sing, lame men leaped like a hart, and the blind began to see—no, in several instances the grave, itself, yielded up its prey when the name of Jesus sounded through its hollow vaults!
Miracles of the Spirit
The age of miracles passed off, it was well it should. Miracles are but the cradle in which the man-child, the Church, must be rocked. When the Church became strong enough to stand alone, she left her swaddling bands behind her; but the name of Jesus has not less power today because no risen dead, no opened eyes follow in our train. At this hour, dead souls hear the voice of God and live! At this moment, spiritual eyesight is restored—hearts that were stone are turned to flesh—and tongues that were ready enough at cursing begin to sing!
The miracles of the spirit world are infinitely greater than those of the natural. It is little to turn a stone into bread, but it is much to turn a stony heart into flesh! It is comparatively little to open a blind eye, but it is divine, indeed, to enlighten the understanding, and illuminate the dark heart! The name of Jesus is just as mighty in this Tabernacle, today, as it was on the lips of Paul upon Mars Hill, or when he stood in his own hired house in Rome! Do not say that you entertain a doubt concerning it; look around and see the proofs!
The Power of Jesus in Us
O brothers and sisters, you and I have been the willing trophies of the power of that great name in this house, or in the Surrey Music Hall and elsewhere, where that name was proclaimed! We received a broken heart—we who once had hearts hard as adamant! There, the tears of repentance began to flow; there, the griefs, the heavy glooms of our spirit, were scattered by the Sun of Righteousness. If we have been made to walk in holiness, this is one of the signs and wonders of His name; if drunkenness and lust have been shaken off, this, too, is to His praise!
The Transforming Power of Christ’s Name
If the demoniac, the man who was full of devilry, has been clothed and made to sit in his right mind at the feet of Jesus, this is another of the signs and wonders in this place—not only in this great chamber, but below stairs in our classes, and in our Sunday schools, too, signs and wonders are worked by the name of the holy child, Jesus! And in other places of worship in London, wherever Christ is lifted up—wherever His sacrifice is made the prominent theme—the dry bones in the valley come together—the Spirit breathes upon them, and they live as an exceeding great army!
Spreading the Name of Jesus
We defy the whole world to show anything comparable to the power of Jesus’ name! There is more magic in it than ever was in Moses’ rod; it is more mighty even than his voice, though he divided the Red Sea and brought water out of the rock! Brothers and sisters, let us spread His name; let it be always on our tongues! Let us each, in our proper sphere, declare His glory, and we shall see His kingdom come, and His will shall be done on earth, even as it is in heaven!
I wonder whether there is anyone here who will be a sign and wonder of the love of Christ! Do you wish to be? Ah, then, I hope you are! Do you wish to be? Then the door is open! “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned.” One look at Jesus and you are saved—a trustful casting of yourself on Him, and you are delivered! God enable you to do this now, and you shall see in the change which is worked within you, an internal evidence of the majesty of Christ’s person which shall never fail you! You shall be established by that which you feel within, in so sure and certain a manner, that the arguments of infidelity or deism shall never be able to shake you off the rock. May God grant this for His holy name’s sake! Amen.
Adapted from The C. H. Spurgeon Collection, Version 1.0, Ages Software