The dictionary defines unique as “being the only one, without a like or equal.” Strictly speaking, something cannot be “somewhat unique” or “very unique.” According to Oxford, the word fell into disuse in the 17th and 18th centuries, no doubt because there was little opportunity to use it in a world where so few things are unique. It was entered in the 1818 edition of Johnson’s Dictionary as a foreign word and characterized as “affected and useless.”
By the middle of the 19th century it found new popularity, but with its popularity came a broadened use. Ignoring its roots (Latin, unicus; French, unus, one), the word was applied as a comparative, meaning simply unusual or peculiar. Something could now be “fairly unique.”
But I want to speak about Someone who is unique in the absolute sense. In His class there is only one. Of course the Bible is filled with comparisons of Him. He is stronger than the strong man (Lk. 11:22), chiefest among ten thousand (Song of Sol. 5:10), the First Begotten of the dead (Rev. 1:5), the Last Adam (1 Cor. 15:45), the Firstfruits of them that slept (1 Cor. 15:20, 23), the Great High Priest (Heb. 4:14), greater than Abraham, Jacob, Jonah, John, Solomon, Moses, Joshua, and the rest. Yet there are ways in which He is beyond all comparison.
The Lord Jesus is unique in His person. There is no other Godman in the universe. By Him there will be a great host of godly men and women in heaven, but only One who is fully God and fully man. He will bring many sons to glory, but there is only one Son who ever came from glory. He is God in every sense and man in every sense (sin apart, of course). Thus in His crosswork, He–the infinite God–could provide the infinite price necessary for divine satisfaction; He–the true Kinsman–could die for mankind, tasting death for everyone.
The Lord Jesus is unique in His incarnation. No one ever arrived on this planet as He did. He who made the worlds arrived on this little speck of dust. He who fashioned His creatures of flesh and blood partook of flesh and blood. But His arrival was a choice He made. As David Anderson-Berry puts it, “For once in all of history the door between time and eternity opened inward” and He stepped on purpose into this world.
He is unique in His life. The Lord Jesus had the only verifiably perfect life. His friends (who knew Him in His most private moments) said He did no sin, that in Him is no sin. His enemies grudgingly confessed, “He saved others…” and “Never man spake like this man.” The judge at His trial declared, “I find no fault in this man.” His executioner exclaimed, “Truly this was a righteous man!” Even the demons spoke out one day, “What hast Thou to do with us, Thou holy One of God?” And God broke a 400-year silence by saying, “This is My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”
He is unique in His offices and ministries. There is only one Saviour. There is only one Mediator between God and men. There is only one Forerunner leading God’s people within the veil. Who but Jesus can at the same time say, “I know what it’s like to be weary,” and at the same time offer rest to the weary? Who but Jesus can at the same time be a sympathizing Man and an all-sustaining God?
He is unique in His death and resurrection. No one else could say, “No man taketh [My life] from Me, but I lay it down of Myself. I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again” (Jn. 10:18). He proved it when they came to take Him in the garden and were literally blown off their heels by His “I am.”
No one else could die for another’s sins, but He died for the whole world. No one else could be at the same time a sin and trespass offering as well as a peace, meal and burnt offering–and completely satisfy God with that one offering. No one else surpassed the law’s requirements, opened the way into the holiest, answered the Old Testament types, and fulfilled the Scriptures as He did.
The Lord Jesus is unique in His present position. He is a Bridegroom awaiting His Bride, a King awaiting His kingdom, a Judge awaiting the Judgment. He shall not wait a moment too long. The day is coming when the Unique One will, before all, ascend the steps to His throne. Then in a moment uniquely His, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess His uniqueness–“the only one, without a like or equal.” He is Lord!