Juan Pérez de Pineda

Yesterday I preached at our church, and I used a quote from a reformer that you may not know Рa reformer from Spain, Juan P̩rez de Pineda.

Pérez was actually quite the interesting guy. He lived in Seville along with Casiodoro de Reina and Cipriano de Valera, best known for the translation which now bears their name (the Reina Valera, which you could say is the Authorized or “King James” Version of the Spanish speaking world).

Pérez was actually a translator, as well as a writer and preacher. His translations had an important influence on future translations. And when he died, he left his money to fund the revision of what is now the Reina Valera.

Anyway, this is some of what he had to say about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

God knows that those who receive are not perfect, but subject to all sin, and very skilled to do evil: nevertheless He accepts them as His own, knowing that they will fall, but He doesn’t reject them because of their falls. Well did Jesus Christ know that all His disciples would deny Him, be scandalized by Him, as He had said beforehand: but unashamedly, He made during His Last Supper promises of great favours and eternal life; and declared to them what He was about to do, which was to offer Himself as a sacrifice for the destruction of sin, for them, and in their place, so that in their falls they might receive life and forgiveness from Him.

And afterwards they all fell, and denied Him. But He, caring for them, promised their pardon, and did not reject them, though they rejected Him: He did not deny them, though they denied Him; He did not allow them to perish, although they had perverted themselves to perdition: but He forgave, restored, and healed them of all their falls.

So now, overcome by weakness, we have fallen with the cross, but God will not cast us off, because He has accepted us as His own, and made a promise of life: and what His mercy once takes upon itself, it does not leave to perish. It was not to help Him in His needs, and to heal His wounds, but to glorify Himself in them and give eternal life.

For when He receives us, He does not receive us on the condition that we will do well, we will be faithful, and will persevere in goodness – because this cannot be according to our nature which is so corrupt – but He receives us on the condition that He will be our life, our forgiveness, our firmness and perseverance, our physician and medicine, our teacher, our health, and perpetual Redeemer.