Matth. 26: 17-19
THE disciples did not go to look for a room till they had consulted with their Lord. Never do anything without asking counsel of your Master. But why did they need to do this? It was Christ's way to wait till He was asked, and you know it is His way still. 'I will for this be inquired of.'
Do you not feel a sort of envy of those who were permitted to do anything for Christ? Do you not envy Peter who lent Christ his boat? And do you not envy this man who was able to lend Him his upper room? There are many things we can lend Christ now though He is not with us.
Here comes to light a secret friend, as if to counter balance the secret foe, Judas. This man loved Christ, for the name 'Master' ('didaskalos') works on him like a talisman. Notice—
I. This man's reverence for ordinances.—He had got ready a fine, large airy room to lend to worshippers who came up at this Feast. He had set couches ready for the guests— 'furnished'—for they were not as those in old time coming out of bondage, staff in hand. They are sons in freedom. The Lord chose the room for its airiness and comfort, for He never wants us needlessly to do penance. It was large—for He knew what was to be transacted in that upper room another day.
II. This man's love for Christ.—There was no more needed than to say, 'The Master saith.' Scribes and Pharisees would not speak of Him thus, but friends did. A hint was enough—as when John whispered to Peter, 'It is the Lord.' You may say there is no express command for certain things. But do you need an express command? Is a hint not enough?
III. The honour put on the man.—Did not Peter get a reward in the draught of fishes for lending his boat? and the boy who lent his basket? This room is to be known for ever as a 'Peniel'—a 'Bethel' — 'Jehovah Shammah'—greater than the temple. If men proudly say, 'Queen Mary stayed here a night'—what would this man ever after say? 'Here He, the King of Glory, washed His disciples feet. Here He ate the Passover, and instituted the Supper. Here he said, "Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you." ' That upper room is fragrant with the myrrh and aloes and cassia of Christ's words of grace. But more; He came back to that upper room, and breathed the Holy Ghost on His disciples. This man was no doubt one of the hundred and twenty disciples who afterwards waited in that upper room in prayer. Are you like him? Will you say of your heart, 'Be lifted up and let the King of Glory come in' ? He will sit down there and make that heart of yours memorable. He will wash you in His blood from every stain. He will fill you with His own Spirit. He will discourse over again to you these words of His. He will keep the Supper with you!
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Andrew Bonar (1810 - 1892)
He was a well-known pastor in Scotland with the Free Church. His brother Horatius was another well-known minister who was contemporary with Robert Murray Mchyene and others in those days. They saw a move of revival in their churches where the Spirit brought many immediate conversations in a short period of time.He is best known for his work on compiling the life of the prophet of Dundee: Robert Murray Mchyene: "Memoir and Remains of Robert Murray McCheyne." One cannot read this volume and feel the sobriety of eternity and the fear of the Lord. He also wrote a wonderful volume on Leviticus.
Andrew Alexander Bonar was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland, and the youngest brother of Horatius Bonar.
He studied at Edinburgh; was minister at Collace, Perthshire, 1838 - 1856 (both in the Church of Scotland and the Free Church); and of Finnieston Free Church, Glasgow, 1856 till his death.
He was identified with evangelical and revival movements and adhered to the doctrine of premillennialism. With Robert Murray McCheyne he visited Palestine in 1839 to inquire into the condition of the Jews there. During the visit of Dwight L. Moody to Britain in 1874 and 1875, Moody was warmly welcomed by Bonar, despite the latter receiving considerable criticism from other Calvinist ministers in the Free Church.
Andrew Bonar preached from the whole Bible, the Word of God from Genesis to Revelation. When one of his friends remarked on his originality in finding subjects for preaching, and wondered where he got all his texts, he just lifted up his Bible. He did not ignore any part of it, but explained it all. He did not shy away from any passages that might be seen as unpopular or unpleasant. Even the first chapters of Chronicles became 'God calling the roll of mankind.' He made it come alive as a history of men and women, living in their time, as we live in ours, accountable to God.
Christ and Him crucified was at the centre of all his preaching, in all parts of the Bible. He declared 'the whole counsel of God', and was deeply aware of his responsibility as a man of God. He spent hours every day in prayer and meditation of the Scriptures, and asking for the Holy Spirit to show the truth to him, so that he might pass it on to his flock. He wrote in a letter: "Persevering prayerfulness is harder for the flesh than preaching."
Above all, he was aware that his personal holiness would be of crucial importance to his preaching, as his remark shows: "Sins of teachers are teachers of sins."