Jeremiah 23:5 Behold, the days come, said the LORD, that I will raise to David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper… I. INQUIRE WHO IS THE PERSON HERE SPOKEN OF; AND WHETHER ANY INDIVIDUAL HAS APPEARED, SINCE THE DAYS OF JEREMIAH, ANSWERING THIS DESCRIPTION. Jeremiah, we find, flourished in the reigns of Josiah, Jehoiakim, and Zedekiah. In vain shall we look either to the times of the prophets, or to the commencement of the Christian era, for any individual answering the description in the text. 1. He was to be of the stock of David: to this description Christ exactly corresponded. He was born of a virgin, "of the house and lineage of David." 2. He was to be righteous. To this part of me description, also, Christ exactly corresponded. He "did no sin," and in Him "no guile was found." 3. He was to be a King. To this, also, the character of Jesus of Nazareth corresponded. He was born "King of the Jews"; He was so called by the wise men who came from afar to worship Him. When asked by Pontius Pilate if He were a King, He did not deny it; and when He was pressed, He replied in the affirmative — "Thou sayest that I am a King." A King He was, but in disguise — a King, but wearing the garb of a servant. 4. It is here predicted that He should reign and prosper. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction before us. To reign and to prosper, is to have victory over all open enemies, and to see his friends in peace, and happiness, and prosperity around him. But mark the history of Jesus of Nazareth. Being in disguise, He hid Himself: He refused to be made a King when the people would have done so; and, instead of reigning and prospering, He was despised, scorned, crucified, and slain; instead of having the victory over His enemies, they had the victory over Him; and though, from the inherent dignity of His person, they could not hold Him, for He was a King, yet He left the world under a disguise, and left His foes in apparent triumph, to rejoice in the success of their rebellion. 5. He was to execute judgment and justice in the earth. Here, again, the history does not correspond with the prediction. He was, indeed, just; but He did not execute justice; He did not establish an ascendency of righteousness. On the contrary, injustice, violence, and deceit remain to this day. 6. In the reign of the King here spoken of, Judah is to be saved, and Israel is to dwell safely. Here, certainly, the history of Jesus of Nazareth does not correspond with the prediction. In His days, Judah was despised and trodden down: according to their own confession, they had "no king but Caesar": — to Caesar, the Emperor of Rome, they paid tribute. 7. His name was to be called, the Lord our Righteousness. Now, what shall we say to this? Why, instead of all acknowledging Christ as the Lord our Righteousness, the bulk of professing Christians scoff at the very doctrine connected with this name! But I dwell not on this: — the speaker is a Jew, and the words must apply to Jews; — "the Lord our Righteousness"; — the Righteousness of the Jewish nation. Now I ask, Has the Jewish nation ever acknowledged the Messiah to be the Lord their Righteousness? Certainly not: therefore, the prophecy of Jeremiah has not been fulfilled. In examining this prophecy, we have seen that three points of the description have been fulfilled in Jesus of Nazareth; that three other points of His description have not been fulfilled in Him; and that the seventh has been fulfilled in a very partial manner, and not in a peculiar application to the Jewish nation. Now, it is an acknowledged truth, by all who believe the Word of God, that Christ, who, for a season, dwelt upon earth, shall come again. So that between what He did and what He shall do, all the parts of the prophecy shall be fulfilled in Him. Now, it is very remarkable that what we should expect from this prophecy He would be, we are told from other prophecies He shall be. For we are told that He will execute judgment and justice in the earth; and that He will reign as a King in the earth. II. CONSIDER ONE OR TWO OF THE IMPORTANT PARTICULARS WHICH ARE REVEALED CONCERNING THIS KING, SO PROSPERING AND REIGNING. 1. Concerning the reality and identity of the King's person. The human nature of Jesus, returning to earth as He quitted it from Mount Olivet, — the nature that was degraded, persecuted when on earth, — this same human nature shall be exalted in Zion; calling His brethren after the flesh, the Jews, to rally around Him, and to acknowledge Him as Jehovah their Righteousness in that day. 2. Concerning the appearance of the King in that day. On this subject the history of the Transfiguration was, I think, intended to instruct us. 3. Concerning the manner of His administration in His kingdom: the manner, I mean, of His interference in this kingdom. It was a Theocracy under which the Jews were placed. All difficult questions were referred to God Himself; and He gave answers by the Urim and Thummim on the breast of the High Priest. He either spake to the people by Moses, or by some visible appearance. The Lord Jesus Christ will reign by a visible interference; by stretching out His arm to award and to punish. And then will be said that which is written in the Psalms: "So that a man shall say, Verily, there is a reward for the righteous; there is a God that judgeth in the earth." (H. M'Neile.) Parallel Verses KJV: Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a King shall reign and prosper, and shall execute judgment and justice in the earth. |
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