the mention of his being at Jerusalem, at the third Passover after his baptism; probably because he did nothing memorable there. Indeed, when he was at the feast of tabernacles, immediately preceding this his last Passover, he cured the man born blind : but it appears not to have been done in Jerusalem itself, but in the way, as he retired to the mount of Olives; for there seems to have been nobody by, when he did it, but his apostles. Compare ver. 2, with ver. 8, 10, of John ix. This, at least, is remarkable, that neither the cure of this blind man, nor that of the other infirm man, at the Passover, above a twelvemonth before, at Jerusalem, was done in the sight of the Scribes, Pharisees, Chief Priests, or rulers. Nor was it without reason, that in the former part of his ministry, he was cautious of showing himself to them to be the Messiah. But now, that he was come to the last scene of his life, and that the Passover was come, the appointed time, wherein he was to complete the work he came for, in his death and resurrection, he does many things in Jerusalem itself, before the face of the Scribes, Pharisees, and whole body of the Jewish nation, to manifest himself to be the Messiah. And, as St. Luke says, chap. xix. 47, 48, " He taught daily in the temple: but the Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the chief of the people, sought to destroy him; and could not find what they might do; for all the people were very attentive to hear him." What he taught we are left to guess, by what we have found him constantly preaching elsewhere: but St. Luke tells us, chap. xx. 1," He taught in the temple, and evangelized;" or, as we translate it, "preached the Gospel:" which, as we have showed, was the making known to them the good news of the kingdom of the Messiah. And this we shall find he did, in what now remains of his history.

In the first discourse of his, which we find upon record, after this, John xii. 20, &c. he foretels his crucifixion, and the belief of all sorts, both Jews and Gentiles, on him after that. Whereupon the people say to him, ver. 34, "We have heard out of the law, that the Messiah abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, that the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son

of man?" In his answer, he plainly designs himself under the name of Light; which was what he had declared himself to them to be, the last time that they had seen him in Jerusalem. For then, at the feast of tabernacles, but six months before, he tells them in the very place where he now is, viz. in the temple, "I am the Light of the world; whosoever follows me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life;" as we may read, John viii. 12. And ix. 5, he says, "As long as I am in the world, I am the LIGHT of the world." But neither here, nor any where else, does he, even in these four or five last days of his life, (though he knew his hour was come, and was prepared to his death, ver. 27, and scrupled not to manifest himself to the rulers of the Jews to be the Messiah, by doing miracles before them in the temple) ever once in direct words own himself to the Jews to be the Messiah; though by miracles and other ways he did every where make it known unto them, so that it might be understood. This could not be without some reason; and the preservation of his life, which he came now to Jerusalem on purpose to lay down, could not be it. What other could it then be, but the same which had made him use caution in the former part of his ministry; so to conduct himself, that he might do the work which he came for, and in all parts answer the character given of the Messiah, in the law and the prophets? He had fulfilled the time of his ministry; and now taught, and did miracles openly in the temple, before the rulers and the people, not fearing to be seized. But he would not be seized for any thing that might make him a criminal to the government: and therefore he avoided giving those, who, in the division that was about him, inclined towards him, occasion of tumult for his sake: or to the Jews, his enemies, matter of just accusation against him, out of his own mouth, by professing himself to be the Messiah, the King of Israel, in direct words. It was enough, that by words and deeds he declared it so to them, that they could not but understand him; which it is plain they did, Luke xx. 16, 19. Matt. xxi. 45. But yet neither his actions, which were only

;

doing of good; nor words, which were mystical and parabolical (as we may see, Matt. xxi. and xxii. and the parallel places of Matthew and Luke;) nor any of his ways of making himself known to be the Messiah could be brought in testimony, or urged against him, as opposite or dangerous to the government. This preserved him from being condemned as a malefactor and procured him a testimony from the Roman governor, his judge, that he was an innocent man, sacrificed to the envy of the Jewish nation. So that he avoided saying that he was the Messiah, that to those who would call to mind his life and death, after his resurrection, he might the more clearly appear to be so. It is farther to be remarked, that though he often appeals to the testimony of his miracles, who he is, yet he never tells the Jews, that he was born at Bethlehem, to remove the prejudice that lay against him, whilst he passed for a Galilean, and which was urged as a proof that he was not the Messiah, John vii. 41, 42. The healing of the sick, and doing good miraculously, could be no crime in him, nor accusation against him. But the naming of Bethlehem for his birthplace might have wrought as much upon the mind of Pilate, as it did on Herod's; and have raised a suspicion in Pilate as prejudicial to our Saviour's innocence as Herod's was to the children born there. His pretending to be born at Bethlehem, as it was liable to be explained by the Jews, could not have failed to have met with a sinister interpretation in the Roman governor, and have rendered Jesus suspected of some criminal design against the government. And hence we see, that when Pilate asked him, John xix. 9, "Whence art thou? Jesus him no answer.' 99

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Whether our Saviour had not an eye to this straitness, this narrow room that was left to his conduct, between the new converts and the captious Jews, when he says, Luke xii. 50, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, and πws ouvexoμai, how I am straitened, until it be accomplished!" I leave to be considered. “I am come to send fire on the earth," says our Saviour, "and what if it be already kindled ?" i. e. There begin

already to be divisions about me, John vii. 12, 43, and ix. 16, and x. 19. And I have not the freedom, the latitude, to declare myself openly to be the Messiah; though I am he, that must not be spoken on, until after my death. My way to my throne is closely hedged in on every side, and much straitened; within which I must keep, until it bring me to my cross in its due time and manner; so that it do not cut short the time, nor cross the end of my ministry.

And therefore, to keep up this inoffensive character, and not to let it come within the reach of accident or calumny, he withdrew, with his apostles, out of the town, every evening; and kept himself retired out of the way, Luke xxi. 37. "And in the daytime he was teaching in the temple, and every night he went out and abode in the mount, that is called the Mount of Olives," that he might avoid all concourse to him in the night, and give no occasion of disturbance, or suspicion of himself, in that great conflux of the whole nation of the Jews, now assembled in Jerusalem at the Passover.

But to return to his preaching in the temple: he bids them, John xii. 36, To believe in the Light, whilst they have it." And he tells them, ver. 46, "I am the Light come into the world, that every one who believes in me should not remain in darkness;" which believing in him, was the believing him to be the Messiah, as I have elsewhere showed.

The next day, Matt. xxi. he rebukes them for not having believed John the Baptist, who had testified that he was the Messiah. And then, in a parable, declares himself to be the "Son of God," whom they should destroy; and that for it God would take away the kingdom of the Messiah from them, and give it to the Gentiles. That they understood him thus, is plain from Luke xxi. 16. "And when they heard it, they said, God forbid." And ver. 19, "For they knew that he had spoken this parable against them."

Much to the same purpose was his next parable, concerning" the kingdom of heaven," Matt. xxi. 1-10. That the Jews not accepting of the kingdom

of the Messiah, to whom it was first offered, other should be brought in.

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The Scribes and Pharisees and Chief Priests, not able to bear the declaration he made of himself to be the Messiah (by his discourses and miracles before them, EμπρordEV AUTν, John xii. 37, which he had never done before) impatient of his preaching and miracles, and being not able otherwise to stop the increase of his followers, (for," said the Pharisees among themselves, Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold, the world gone after him,") John xii. 19. So that "the Chief Priests, and the Scribes, and the chief of the people sought to destroy him," the first day of his entrance into Jerusalem, Luke xix. 47. The next day, again, they were intent upon the same thing, Mark xi. 17, 18, "And he taught in the temple; and the Scribes and the Chief Priests heard it, and sought how they might destroy him; for they feared him, because all the ple were astonished at his doctrine."

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The next day but one, upon his telling them the kingdom of the Messiah should be taken from them, The Chief Priests and Scribes sought to lay hands on him the same hour, and they feared the people," Luke xx. 19. If they had so great a desire to lay hold on him, why did they not? They were the Chief Priests and the rulers, the men of power. The reason St. Luke plainly tells us in the next verse: "And they watched him, and sent forth spies, who should feign themselves just men, that they might take hold of his words; that so they might deliver him unto the power and authority of the governor. They wanted matter of accusation against him, to the power they were under; that they watched for, and that they would have been glad of, if they could have "entangled him in his talk;" as St. Matthew expresses it, chap. xxii. 15. If they could have laid hold on any word, that had dropt from him, that they might have rendered him guilty, or suspected to the Roman governor ; that would have served their turn, to have laid hold upon him, with hopes to destroy him. For their power not answering their malice, they could not put him to death by their