For the next several posts I want us to take a journey through Interpreter's House. In these posts, we will discuss the seven excellent things that Christian is shown by the Interpreter and reflect on their theological and applicable implications for Christians throughout the ages.
Christian’s time spent in the Interpreter's House is likely my favorite scene in John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress. It has rightly been called a ‘classic within a classic.” George Cheever said,
It would be difficult to find twelve consecutive pages in the English language that contain such volumes of meaning, in such beautiful and instructive lessons, with such heavenly imagery, in so pure and sweet a style, and with so thrilling an appeal to the best affections of the heart, as these pages.[1]
At this point in Christian’s journey, he has passed through the Wicket-gate. The Scriptural reference for the gate is Matthew 7:13-14, where Jesus says in the Sermon on the Mount,
“Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.”
For Bunyan, the moment of Christian’s conversion was being pulled through the Wicket-gate by the hand of Good-will. From here Christian is directed by Good-will to journey to the House of the Interpreter. At this house, the Holy Spirit of God will reveal to this newly regenerated child of God truths concerning the Kingdom of God that will assist him on his journey to the Celestial City. The Interpreter is the Holy Spirit of God, the third person of the Holy Trinity, who is now dwelling in the now regenerated Christian. The Interpreter/Spirit is enlightening, comforting, sanctifying, and instructing Christian in preparation for the perilous journey ahead. The ministry of the Spirit in the House of the Interpreter is common to every believer.
When Christian arrives at the Interpreter’s House he says to him, “I was told by the man that stands at the gate, at the head of this way, that if I called here, you would show me excellent things, such as would be a help to me in my journey.” The Interpreter shows Christian 7 ‘excellent things’ that help him and every other Christian on their journey.
1.) The portrait of the godly pastor.
2.) The distinction between the law and the gospel.
3.) The virtue of patience contrasted with passion.
4.) The grace of Christ conquers the assailed heart.
5.) The persevering pilgrim.
6.) The despairing reprobate in the iron cage.
7.) The warning of the final day of judgment.
The Portrait of the Godly Minister
Let us consider the Portrait of the Godly Pastor. Outside of the Scriptures, there may not be a better explanation of the godly pastor to be found in all of literature.
When Christian enters the House, Interpreter begins to show him profitable things. Christian lights a candle, enters a private room, opens a door, and at once sees a picture, a portrait of a man. We read,
“Christian saw the picture of a very grave person hang up against the wall; and this was the fashion of it. It had eyes lifted up to Heaven, the best of books in his hand, the law of truth was written upon his lips, and the world was behind his back. It stood as if it pleaded with men, and a crown of gold did hang over its head.”
Here is a brief and succinct, yet profound portrait of a pastor. Before we begin to discuss the seven characteristics of this man, it is important for us to consider the primacy of the pastor and pastoral care in the life of the believer. It should not be lost on us that upon the conversion of Christian, the first excellent thing which will be profitable for him on his journey that the Holy Spirit reveals to him is a pastor. In the interpretation of this portrait that follows Interpreter says to Christian,
“I have showed you this picture first, because the man who it portrays is the only man who the Lord of the Celestial City has authorized to be your guide in all of the difficult situations that you may encounter along the way.”
It is the pastor that will labor with, guide, counsel, teach, instruct, exhort, rebuke, pray for, and lead Christian on his journey to the Celestial City. Christians will face many misleading and distracting characters along their journey, and it will be the stabilizing consistent ministry of the Word offered by the pastor serving in the local church that will assist them and keep their eyes focused on their eternal destination.
We live in a world that has lost its respect and deference to the ecclesiastical office of the pastor. We exist in a church culture that sees the pastor as nothing more than a disposable hired hand who is purposed to do the bidding of the preferences of the congregants. This degraded understanding of the office of pastor was completely foreign to the experience and understanding of Bunyan. For him, there was not a more significant and important human person in the development, discipleship, and watchful care of the Christian. It is the pastor who is ordained by God to protect and guide the freshly regenerated child of God on his journey, therefore it is the pastor that the Holy Spirit shows to Christian first. This man serving in this office will be of the utmost importance for Christian as he continues on his journey after passing through the Wicket-gate.
The pastor is portrayed in seven ways in the picture that Christian sees in this room.
First, he is a very grave person
The picture that Christian sees is that of a man who is serious. His countenance is sober and thoughtful. He is earnest because his life and his task are weighty and burdensome. This man is not flippant, he is not light-hearted or frivolous. He is not spending his time seeking to entertain the masses or scratch the itching ears of the unbelievers. He understands that he is tasked by God to stand between heaven and hell and to proclaim and apply the word of God to lost and dying sinners and the believers that are under his care who are members of his local congregation.
Now, he is not a mediator in the priestly sense, but he stands on the edge of hell pleading with sinners who are about to take the plunge to turn to Christ and place their trust in him. He journeys with the saints through their plights and sufferings. He weeps with those who weep and he rejoices with those who rejoice. In all that he does, he feels the pain, the turmoil, the sufferings, the rejoicings, and the satisfaction of those who are under his care.
He is pictured as one who knows that not many should be teachers (James 3:1), bearing the responsibility of rightly dividing and applying the word. He is pictured as one who knows that he must stand before God and give an account for every single soul that is under his watchful care. (Hebrews 13:27) He is pictured as one who is aware that his task and office is noble, and that he is required to be above reproach, sober-minded, dignified, self-controlled, sound in faith, in love, and in steadfastness. (Titus 2:1)
He is pictured as one who has labored in the fields, who has been hardened and seasoned by time in ministry, who is ever ready to contend for the faith that was once and for all time delivered to the saints (Jude 3) and is always ready to assist weary pilgrims on their journey.
His grave countenance does not mean that he is lacking in compassion and empathy. Rather it reminds us that he is not immature, he is not a novice, he is not an entertainer—he is a preacher, a pastor ordained by God to tend, feed, and shepherd the flock of God and fight off the wolves that desire to harm them. He is a man and he is a very grave person because his ministry and calling require it. The portrait Christian sees is the portrait of a brave man, because the office of the pastor is no place for cowards and weak men, it requires boldness and valor.
Secondly, his eyes are lifted up to heaven
He is always looking to where his savior dwells sitting at the right hand of his heavenly Father. He is looking to Jesus who is the perfecter and founder of his faith. (Hebrews 12:1-3) He is always looking to God in prayer and thought for wisdom, guidance, protection, and perseverance in his calling. His ministry is God-centered, and in everything he does he desires to bring God glory and enjoy him forever.
He knows that his citizenship is in heaven (Philippians 3:20), yet while still part of this world he operates daily in the context of 2 Corinthians 5:1-2, “For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling.” He longs for glory, yet like Paul, he understands that he is stuck between the two, and in the providence of God he remains here on the earth for the glory of God and the good of others. (Philippians 1:21-26) So, he ministers and serves with his eyes to heaven, longing to finally enter into the Celestial City he has guided so many saints to.
In this portrait, the minister is seen as one who has his hope placed in the promised ‘inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you.’ (1 Peter 1:4) In everything, he ministers with heaven in the forefront of his mind. He is aware of his inadequacies, his inabilities, his shortcomings, and his unworthiness to hold his office, therefore he is in constant need of his God’s grace and mercy for the task of ministry that is unrelenting.
He is a picture for the people of God of what living Colossians 3:1-3 looks like,
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
Third, he has the best of books in his hand.
He is seen to be holding the holy, inerrant, inspired, infallible word of God close to him. He is one whose life and ministry has been brought under the authority of the word and is governed by the word. In everything, the Scriptures are supreme to him. He shares the conviction of John Wesley who declared “At any price, give me the Book of God. I have it; here is knowledge enough for me. Let me be homo unius libri!”[2]
He declares with the Psalmist,
The law of the Lord is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the Lord is sure,
making wise the simple;
the precepts of the Lord are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the Lord is pure,
enlightening the eyes;
the fear of the Lord is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the Lord are true,
and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.
Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward. (Psalm 19:7-11)
He is one who has devoted the entirety of this life to the study of the word and the rightly dividing of the word. He has prayed the Word daily and meditated upon it day and night. He is a living picture of Psalm 1:1-3 for his people. He is pictured as one who is ready in season and out of season to preach and apply the word of God to the people of God. (2 Timothy 4:2)
He believes this word is sufficient for his life, his ministry, and the church. He needs no further revelation, human tradition, philosophy, or ideology, for he has the special revelation of God bound together in his hand. The canon of Scripture is the weapon found in his hand. (Ephesians 6:17)
He wields this sword in the battles of the spiritual warfare in which he is engaged, and he is skillful in its use. With it, he cuts down wolves, defends the flock, and fends off the wiles of the evil one.
With this word he preaches, reproves, rebukes, and exhorts, with patience and teaching. (2 Timothy 4:2) He commends people “to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:32) He disciples others in the knowledge of this word, and his heart’s desire is to teach it to others.
He knows, “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:12)
And he is convinced that ‘faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ’ (Romans 10:17) so he has consigned his life to the preaching of this word, for ‘it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.’ (Romans 1:16)
Fourth, he has the law of truth written upon his lips.
This man is one who speaks the truth. When he speaks, he speaks the truth that is found within the word of God. His speech is saturated with the Scriptures. He is not one who wastes his time or the time of his listeners with worldly stories which are purposed to pacify and entertain them. He doesn’t offer ‘fables, smooth talk, [or] nebulous platitudes.” He preaches, teaches, and applies the word of God to the people of God.
He is like Levi, spoken of in Malachi 2:6-7,
“True instruction was in his mouth, and no wrong was found on his lips. He walked with me in peace and uprightness, and he turned many from iniquity. For the lips of a priest should guard knowledge, and people should seek instruction from his mouth, for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts.”
With the law on his lips, he is a man who preaches the beauty of both the law and the Gospel. He holds the law of God before lost and dying sinners, he reveals to them how they have violated the law of God, he shares with them how their sin and transgression has eternally separated them from the holy and righteous God whom they have sinned against, and he shares with them the grace and mercy and salvation of God only to be found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12) He is a preacher, so he does not shy away from the doctrine of sin or the doctrine of grace apart from works. (Ephesians 2:8-10) He is a theologian so he has given deep thought and consideration of both the law of God and the gospel of God.
Fifth, he stands with such a posture so as the world is behind his back.
He is a man that has turned his back on the world. He is not enamored, hindered, or allured by the temptation and philosophies of the world. He is driven by a biblical worldview and apologetically defends it, while polemically tearing down the worldviews that stand in opposition. (Acts 9:29, 18:28) He is a man who finds his ultimate satisfaction and purpose in serving and worshiping his Lord, Christ Jesus.
He is one who has experienced the promises of God’s satisfaction,
For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things. (Psalm 107:9)
And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail. (Isaiah 58:11)
For I will satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.” (Jeremiah 31:25)
As such, the fame, prestige, and wealth of the world are not his purpose or focus. He has the heart that in all things Christ must increase and he must decrease. (John 3:30) He desires the fame of the name of Christ above his own renown. He is humble and not a lover of money. He rejects the idea of celebrity. The ‘desires of the flesh and the desires of the eye and the pride of life’ (1 John 2:16) have been crucified within him. With his back turned to the world his primary focus is the glory of God in all things, including the salvation and sanctification of his fellow man.
Sixth, he also stands as one who pleads with men.
This man is portrayed as one who pleads with men to repent of their sins and to be reconciled to God. He is a preacher to the saints, but he is also zealous in his evangelistic effort. The pastor is a man who is burdened for the lost. He himself has experienced the joy of conversion to Christ. He has had his burden of sin and guilt lifted. He has experienced assurance of salvation. He has been transferred out of darkness and into the marvelous light of Christ. (1 Peter 2:9) He knows that in Christ there is therefore no condemnation for the repentant believer. (Romans 8:1) He has been saved from the wrath of God and the fires of hell and he desires that others will experience all that he has experienced. For he can not stand the thought of not sharing this joy with others.
At the same time, he is jealous for the glory of God. He knows that God commands all people everywhere to repent (Acts 17:30) and to worship him and he desires that God receive the worship that he alone is worthy of. He desires to lead people to become worshipers of the One True God of the Creation.
His goal is the conversion of unrepentant sinners. He is not driven by pragmatism. His desire is not numbers, or church growth, or notches on his own belt. He desires the glory of God in the salvation of the elect of God. He is obedient to the command to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20)
And finally, he has a crown of gold hanging over his head
This crown represents the reward that is due to the faithful minister who has sacrificed his life in obedience to the calling God has placed upon him. His hope is Paul’s hope,
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Henceforth there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will award to me on that day, and not only to me but also to all who have loved his appearing.” (2 Timothy 4:7-80
The world has despised him, he has been mocked and ridiculed, his ministry has been laborious and taxing, his life has been marked with rejection, hardship and sufferings. He has been attacked and slandered, even from those within the church. Yet despite all this, the Lord God esteems him highly and he longs and eagerly expects to hear from his Lord, “well done good and faithful servant.” (Matthew 25:23)
He is pictured as a man who receives his crown for his faithfulness in ministry.
Applications
1.) To the congregants of our churches, let us see our pastors as John Bunyan saw his own pastor (John Gifford, pastor of the independent church at Bedford) and as the kind of pastor he himself later became. The office of pastor is a noble and serious task. Those who desire and submit to the office take upon themselves a good work. (I Timothy 3:1) These men who obediently submit themselves to take on this task are constantly burdened by the souls of those who are under their care. Their work is an unrelenting labor and they sacrifice their lives for the good of the flock that is under their care. They literally give all that they have for the good of others. I know of no other vocation that is so sacrificial. They are truly gifts to us from the ascended Christ, let us see them as such. (Ephesians 4:8-14)
Let us heed the words of the author of the letter to the Hebrews,
“Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you. Pray for us, for we are sure that we have a clear conscience, desiring to act honorably in all things.” (Hebrews 13:17-18)
2.) To the congregants, let us carefully examine the Scriptures and also think through the portrait of the minister that Bunyan gives to us and look for and demand pastors who do not seek to pacify us and entertain us, but who devote themselves to prayer and the ministry of the word for the care and sanctification of our souls. (Acts 6:4, I Timothy 3:1-7, Titus 1:5-9)
3.) To brother-pastors, let us be obedient to the Scriptures, let us show our love for Christ by feeding and tending his sheep ( John 21:15-26). Let us compassionately love the flock of God under our care, let us be brave and fight wolves and contend for the faith, and silence those enemies of the gospel. (Titus 1:11). Let us look to this portrait and by God’s grace strive to be the pastors the word of God calls us to be. By all means, remember the charge that Paul gave to the Ephesian elders on Miletus as he saw them face-to-face for the last time.
Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood. I know that after my departure fierce wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves will arise men speaking twisted things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be alert, remembering that for three years I did not cease night or day to admonish every one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified. I coveted no one's silver or gold or apparel. You yourselves know that these hands ministered to my necessities and to those who were with me. In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. (Acts 20:28-35)
Grace and peace to you,
Chase
In the next post, we will consider the Interpreter’s explanation of the portrait of the minister.[3]
[1] Cheever, George, Lectures on Bunyan, p. 164
[2] Wesley, John, Works V. p. ii-iii
[3] References from this article come from, Bunyan, John. The Pilgrim’s Progress. Minneapolis: Desiring God. P. 28-29