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I. THROUGH THIS MAN. Such a man as there never was nor will be — "God manifest in the flesh," "the brightness of His Father's glory, and the express image of His person." In consequence of this union He becomes the proper object of our faith, and therefore the proper object of our preaching. If Jesus Christ were but a mere man, we could not have preached pardon through Him. What merit could there be in the actions or sufferings of a mere man? For, when he had done all, he would only have done what was commanded him. Gold in bullion is valuable, but it is not the circulating medium of the country, and, before it can become so, it must be melted down and stamped with the king's arms and image. Now, if Christ had been the best of mere men, His actions and sufferings would have been mere gold in the bullion, not the circulating medium. But when I consider the Divine nature in union with the human, then I see that they are stamped with the king's arms and image, and thus they become the circulating medium of salvation, and they will pay every man's debts on this side hell.

II. WE POINT YOU TO THIS MAN ON THE CROSS, and you there see Him bearing our sins in His own body on the tree. There is infinite merit in the sacrifice of this Godman. Prophets looked at Him on the Cross, and they saw and proclaimed pardon through Him, and the sole song of heaven's joy is, "He has redeemed us to God by His blood." We cannot tell why Jesus Christ did suffer and die, except on the ground of atonement. He could not suffer and die on His own account. "The soul that sinneth it shall die"; but, as Jesus Christ never had sinned, therefore He had no right to die. On the contrary, by the letter of the law, he had a right to live. "Do this and thou shalt live." Rationally, we can give no account except this: "He died, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." When you look at the Cross, and see the infinite value of the sacrifice, you need not wonder "that we preach through this Man the forgiveness of sins."

III. THIS IS JUST THE VERY BLESSING WE WANT. "Look at the poor man condemned to be hanged. A messenger might be sent to say, "His majesty has graciously taken your ease into consideration, and I have brought you a purse with a thousand sovereigns." The poor man would say, "What good can they do me? I must be hanged tomorrow." "Well, but I have another message; he has considered your case, and sent you the title deeds to an estate of £50,000 a year." "What will that do for me? I may be hanged to morrow." "Stop; I have another proposition to make; I have brought you his coronation robe, the richest robe that ever covered a monarch." The man bursts into tears; he says, "Do you intend to mock me? What a creature I shall appear when I ascend the scaffold with the coronation robe! But what, no news — none at all?" "I have another word; his majesty has taken your case into consideration, and sent you a pardon, signed and sealed by the great seal of the king. Here, I have brought you a pardon — what do you say to that?" The poor man looks at him and says that he doubts it is too good news to be true. Then he leaps and praises. But the messenger says, "I have not done; I have got you the pardon, and here is the purse of gold, the title deeds, and the robe into the bargain!" So we preach pardon through the blood of the Lamb, and more than simple pardon. Not merely is the displeasure of God removed, but His favour enjoyed. Not merely is the pardoned sinner made a subject, but a child, brought to the king's palace, and made an heir of God and a joint heir with Christ.

IV. AND HOW MUST WE OBTAIN IT? "Whosoever believeth." Where a sinner believes the testimony of God, that he is a guilty sinner, sees the evil of his sin, the danger of his state, and feels a deep abhorrence of himself, a deep hatred to sin, and breathes out his soul in prayer — I do not say that he shall obtain remission of sins, but that is a preparatory operation that must take place, more or less, in all our souls. Remission of sins is not attached to believing God's record concerning Himself, but the eye turns itself out of itself, out of its own sins, out of its own weakness, and fixes itself upon the Lord Jesus Christ, in the dignity of His person, the virtue of His sacrificed the prevalence of His mediatorial office, this riches of His love. And then, when it looks to Jesus, there is in Christ everything that the guilty sinner wants. Here is the pardon presented, but he can bring no price. What, then, can he do? Why, he can open his hands and receive the blood-bought, freely-offered pardon for all his transgressions.

V. THERE IS NO OTHER SYSTEM IN THE WORLD THAT, AT THE SAME TIME THAT IT BRINGS PARDON TO THE SINNER, BRINGS THE HIGHEST GLORY TO GOD. Here is pardon, the fullest and the freest. Even in the Mosaic economy there were some sins for which there was no propitiatory sacrifice, and consequently those who lived under that economy could not be justified from all things. But the soul that believeth on Jesus Christ is justified from all things. And then it brings the highest glory to God, for He is glorified in the very exhibition of pardon to a ruined world. Some may say that to look for mere pardon and acceptance is a narrow and selfish principle; that we should look to a higher object, viz., the glory of God. Well, when I am pardoned, God is glorified, the plan of salvation, the merits of Christ, the goodness and holiness of God are glorified. When our Lord was a babe in the manger, angels sang, "Glory to God in the highest." I think we can sing it better now that He is a prince on the throne. We cannot glorify God without loving Him, and how can we love Him without being pardoned? Having much forgiven, we love much; and when we love much, we shall glorify God. We glorify God when we prize Him. When the sinner obtains pardon, he says, "I will praise thee, though Thou wast angry with me." God is glorified by our devotedness. We glorify God with our bodies and our spirits, which are His.

(W. Dawson.)

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KJV: Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins:

WEB: Be it known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man is proclaimed to you remission of sins,