Character & Reward of the Faithful Minister 3

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II. The pastor's subordination and responsibility to Christ. These are implied in the expression, "the Chief Shepherd." It is needless to say that this refers to our divine Lord. Under the figure of a shepherd he was predicted by prophets, represented by apostles, and at great length described by Himself. An adjective of distinction is, however, generally applied to him, and he is called "the great," "the good," "the chief Shepherd." This latter epithet which is given to Jesus in the text implies,

1. His SUPERIORITY to all other all under-shepherds. Pastors are mere men of the same nature as their flocks; Jesus in his mysterious and complex person unites the uncreated glories of the Godhead with the milder beauties of the perfect man. Pastors (in a good sense of the term) are hired pastors; Jesus is the great owner of the sheep, whom he purchased from divine justice by the ransom of his blood, and rescued from the dominion of Satan by the power of his arm. Pastors partake of the infirmities of the people; Jesus is holy, harmless, and undefiled. Pastors are encompassed with ignorance, and with the best intentions often err in the direction of the church. Unerring wisdom characterizes all his dispensations towards the church, and then is he most wise (if comparison may be instituted) when most mysterious. Pastors, even when most particular in their attention, may overlook some members of their flock, and be unacquainted with the concerns of many whom they may wish to know; Jesus, by his attributes of omnipresence and omniscience, is near to everyone, and knows as accurately the state of all, and exercises as tender a care over each, as if one single lamb were the sole and exclusive object of his pastoral attention. Pastors possess affection for their flock—but the warmest bosom that ever glowed with ministerial love, is as the frigid zone itself compared with the love of his Jesus' heart. Pastors sink under the multiplied cares of office; but though the government is upon his shoulder, Jesus faints not, neither is weary, for "He is the Alpha and Omega, the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come." Pastors are mortal, and continue not by reason of death; Jesus is the "blessed and only potentate, who only has immortality," and reigns, as Head over all things to his church, not "by the law of a carnal commandment—but by the power of an endless life." Death has access to our pulpits—but not to his throne. Jesus maintains his church amidst the ravages of death, and though his flocks die, and the shepherds die with them, he raises up other sheep to occupy the folds, and other shepherds to feed and watch them.

It is in this sense (as some think) we are to understand his own language, "Upon this rock will I build my church, and the gates of hell (The word in the original, Hades, signifying the unseen world; of which, according to this interpretation, death is the gate.)shall not prevail against it." The gates of the unseen world were thrown open by the hand which plucked the forbidden fruit, and have been kept open ever since by the justice of God. Not only have the wicked passed through those gloomy portals—but every generation of the righteous. Millions of saints have passed the solemn barrier, with myriads of faithful holy ministers—but still others have been raised up in their place, and the church still continues through the power of her deathless Lord. Her boast and her joy amidst the ravages of death, is in his language, "I am he who lives and was dead, and behold I am alive for evermore, and have the keys of death and of the unseen world."

2. The AUTHORITY of Christ over all under-shepherds. He, in this respect, is the chief Shepherd. "All power is given unto him in heaven and in earth, and he is head over all things to his church." Any dominion over his church which is either independent of his, or opposed to it, whether it is civil or ecclesiastical, is clearly a rebellious invasion of his sublime and inalienable prerogative. It is exclusively his right to rule in the church, to regulate all its concerns, and all its officers. He calls the under-shepherds to their office, furnishes them with their intellectual and spiritual qualifications, assists them in their duties, selects for them their stations, blesses their ministrations, and will at last gather them around his bar to account for their conduct. Yes; for all the talents he has entrusted to their care, for all the opportunities of usefulness he has put within their reach; for all they have done and all they might have done; for their acts and their motives; for every hour of their time and every particle of their influence; for their Sabbaths and their sermons, must they render to Christ at the last day an exact and correct account. No distinctions either of talents or success will raise them above the scrutiny; no obscurity of station or feebleness of intellect will depress them below it. The shepherd and the flock must confront each other before the tribunal of the universal Judge; they to testify how he preached, and he to testify how they heard. O great and merciful Savior, who will then lay aside the amiable character of the shepherd for the solemn one of the judge, grant us that we may find mercy of you in that day. Then, when our conduct shall come under review, and even the motives of it shall be scrutinized,

"Cleansed in your own all-purifying blood, Forgive the evil, and accept the good."

III. The faithful minister's glorious REWARD.

1. The reward will be bestowed WHEN the chief Shepherd shall appear. Jesus Christ was once an inhabitant of our world. "The word was made flesh and dwelt among us," but having finished the work which required his personal appearance, having, like the high priest of the Jews, offered oblation for the sins of the people, "he entered, by his own blood, within the veil to appear in the presence of God for us." Since his ascension to glory he has carried on his cause by the operations of providence, the influence of grace, and the dependent agency of man—but He himself is invisible.

The whole fabric of practical Christianity is built upon the principle of faith; we believe in him whom we have not seen; and how will it redound to the glory of his wisdom and power, that notwithstanding the human race are so unwilling in most things to follow any other guide than the testimony of their senses, millions of them should be enabled by the operation of faith to make thingsunseen predominate over things seen; things future over things present; things eternal over things temporal; and in expectation of a world which none of them have ever seen, and which they knew only from the writings of men who lived nearly two thousand years ago—to resist the fascinations which surround them, and mortify the propensities inherent in their own hearts. Think what a triumph of faith is exhibited, when, out of love to an unseen Savior, men to whom life presents all its attractions, and death all its terrors, should be willing to die upon the scaffold or at the stake.

But the Son of God will not always be invisible "He shall appear." The veil of the material heavens will be drawn aside, and he who now makes intercession for us, shall be seen, like his illustrious type, clad in his beautiful garments, returning from the most holy place to bless the people in the name of Jehovah. He shall not come in humiliation, as he did when his business was to redeem the world; but he shall be manifested in glory befitting the judge of the universe, and appear as "the Great God and our Savior." It is not for us even to imagine the splendor of that appearance, which is expressly called the revelation of Jesus Christ. Who can form an idea of a being exhibiting as well as possessing the mingled glories of deity and humanity? or of that union of solemn justice and ineffable love which will then be visibly enthroned on his brow? or of that concentration of majesty which is implied in his coming in his own glory, and the glory of his Father, and the glory of his holy angels? or of the sights and the sounds which shall attend his descent from heaven, and announce his approach to our flaming world?

The present defects of our knowledge will, however, be supplied by the testimony of our senses, for when "he comes in the clouds, every eye shall see him." It is at this time, it is amidst these circumstances, that the reward of the faithful minister will be bestowed. Marks of favors conferred by a king in private are valued by every loyal subject; but to be singled out on a court day, to be applauded at a reception in their honor, and to receive an honorable distinction before all the rank and nobility of a kingdom, enhances, beyond calculation, the value of the favor. The minister, and indeed the Christian, no sooner leaves the body than he enters into the presence of Christ, and receives, as it were, a private testimony of his approbation—but this is not all. At the judgment day, when the chief Shepherd shall appear upon the throne of his glory; when all of the earth, with all their monarchs, legislators, philosophers, and warriors, shall be around his footstool; when thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers, shall surround the seat of the eternal majesty, and the cherubim and seraphim shall gaze upon the scene; then, to be singled out and proclaimed as the man whom the King of the universe delights to honor, will be a joy and a glory which no language can enable us ever to comprehend!

2. WHAT the reward shall be. "He shall receive a crown of life that fades not away." The ancients rewarded those who conquered either in their battles or their games, with crowns or garlands composed of the leaves of trees and herbs. These were of course but of short continuance, and withered, if not in the hand that bestowed them, upon the brows that received them. In allusion to this, it is that the apostle speaks when he says, "they do it to receive a corruptible crown—but we an incorruptible (amaranthine) one." On some occasions the crowns were composed of a flower which, because it retained its beauty for a long time, was called amaranthus (or incorruptible), and was, on that account, chosen by poets as the emblem of immortality. Amaranthine crowns were not unfrequently presented as votive offerings to departed heroes; and it is probably in allusion to this circumstance also that the Christian minister is said to receive an amaranthine crown. The figure implies honorable distinction. The crown was an emblem of honor; and to be crowned with glory is, perhaps, the most expressive phrase which language contains. The faithful pastor will no doubt be singled out amidst the solemnities of the last day, and occupy a station where every eye will behold him. He will receive a public testimony of approbation from the Chief Shepherd. With amazing condescension the Lord Jesus will recite all the acts of service which he has performed, proclaim before the universe that he was faithful until death, and finish the whole by saying, "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter into the joy of your Lord!" Tell me what higher honor, what richer bliss can be conferred on any rational being, than to hear the Lord of heaven and earth say publicly to him, "Well done, I am pleased with your services; you have found grace in my sight."

The hero who has fought England's battles, and subdued her enemies, delights in the acclamations of the multitude, and contemplates with pleasure the wealth and titles which he has won; but the proudest moment of his life, the meridian of his glory is, when he stands before the parliament of his country, when its members receive him standing, and the venerable president, in the name of the house and the nation, pronounces, "Well done you good and faithful servant." But O, what is this compared with the honor and distinction of that man, who shall stand before the judgement bar of the universe, and hear the King of kings and Lord of lords say to him, "Well done, well done!" The very anticipation almost overwhelms us. No wonder Peter thought nothing of living or dying—but had all his solicitude drawn to the one point of being accepted by Jesus Christ; no wonder the countenance of Cain fell when he went out from the presence of the Lord, or that despair marked every step of the rejected anger-smitten fugitive.

As we have every reason from Scripture to believe that there are degrees of glory in the celestial world, we may safely conclude that they who have been most useful in the cause of Christ on earth will be nearest his throne in heaven. This is another part of their honor. "They that are wise shall shine as the brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars forever and ever." And the distinctions of that world will be borne without pride, and be seen without envy.

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