Forgotten Honour - Matthew Henry

Matthew Henry, the son of a Preacher, was born in Wales in 1662 and died in Cheshire, England in 1714. Apparently he could write Latin and read part of the Greek New Testament at the age of nine!

He is probably one of the most well known Bible Commentators from Church History, possibly because, though part of the Puritan era, his exegetical commentary is more devotional and practical in style than academic. It has impacted many across the centuries and you have probably seen it or read part of it - at least the concise one volume edition or online at places like biblehub.com, if not the 6 volume edition.

I have mentioned him before on this blog in relation to honour and shame, but I recently came across yet another reference to his work in which he pointed his readers to these dynamics, when he was quoted by Nancy Ganz in her commentary on Leviticus (part of her excellent and highly recommended 'Herein is Love' bible commentary series for children).

Here is his comment (emphasis mine) on Leviticus 13:45 (ESV): ""The leprous person who has the disease shall wear torn clothes and let the hair of his head hang loose, and he shall cover his upper lip and cry out, 'Unclean, unclean.'"

When the priest had pronounced the leper unclean, it put a stop to his business in the world, cut him off from his friends and relations, and ruined all the comfort he could have in the world. He must humble himself under the mighty hand of God, not insisting upon his cleanness, when the priest had pronounced him unclean, but accepting the punishment. Thus must we take to ourselves the shame that belongs to us, and with broken hearts call ourselves Unclean, unclean; heart unclean, life unclean; unclean by original corruption, unclean by actual transgression; unclean, therefore deserving to be for ever shut out from communion with God, and all hope of happiness in him; unclean, therefore undone, if infinite mercy do not interpose. The leper must warn others to take heed of coming near him. He must then be shut out of the camp, and afterward, when they came to Canaan, be shut out of the city, town, or village where he lived, and dwell with none but those that were lepers like himself.

Here we have a situation where in Leviticus - one of the most 'law-oriented' books of the bible, Matthew Henry automatically assumes a shame interpretation and application to the passage. We might look at the passage and see it is about being unclean. And so does he…but he has no hesitation in understanding that uncleanness is to be rightly understood in terms of shame.

Not only this, but in commentating on this 'law-oriented' book of Leviticus, we see here that he did not see the 'transgression' of the law as the primary problem of the sinner. In fact he saw that transgression was one of several aspects of the main problem of shameful uncleanness and a cause of being unclean and shameful - 'heart unclean, life unclean; unclean by original corruption, unclean by actual transgression;'

In our Western world we have come to think that our main sin problem is a guilt-transgression problem. But here Matthew Henry saw the main problem as a shame problem that is described by the term 'unclean'. And he saw being unclean as a problem that is not the outcome of shame but a contributor to shame.

Furthermore he understood that the concept of the leper was not only that he/she was 'unclean' but that the uncleanness meant being 'shut out from communion with God' because of being shut out of the camp. They were 'cut off' (another term that permeates the book of Leviticus) from fellowship with God and with others.  This is what sin does to us - it cuts us off from God and others.

Here Matthew Henry calls his readers to take the 'shame' seriously and be willing to come to a place of humility and 'take to ourselves the shame that belongs to us'. If we are to know cleansing from shame through Christ, we have to first recognise that we are shamefully unclean….unclean before God and deserving of being shut out and cut off.

It is this being 'shut out', and 'cut off' eternally from which Christ rescues us….because he took that shame of ours onto himself. 

Do you ever feel unclean for sin?  If you don't then Matthew Henry believes you need to, and feel the shame of it. But if you do, then there is good news for you at the Cross and in Christ, by whom you are made clean and reconciled to God, because Jesus took your shame!

…and this was something John Bunyan recognised and highlighted in his famous book 'Pilgrims Progress'…..as we will take a look at in another blog!