into themselves, nor fuffer others to enter into. And they could hot chufe but understand him, though he named not himself in the cafe.

Provoked anew by his rebukes, they get prefently to council, Matt. xxvi. "Then affembled together the chief priests, and the "Scribes, and the elders of the people, unto the palace of the "high-prieft, who was called Caiaphas, and confulted that they "might take Jefus by fubtilty, and kill him. But they faid, Not "on the feaft-day, left there be an uproar among the people. For "they feared the people," fays St. Luke, chap. xxii. 2.

Having in the night got Jefus into their hands, by the treachery of Judas, they prefently led him away bound to Annas, the fatherin-law of Caiaphas the high-prieft, who probably haying examined him, and getting nothing out of him for his purpofe, fends him away to Caiaphas, John xviii. 24. where the chief priests, the Scribes, and the elders, were affembled, Matt. xxvi. 57. John xviii. 19, 20. "The high-prieft then afked Jefus of his difciples, and of his "doctrine. Jefus answered him, I fpake openly to the world; I "ever taught in the Synagogue, and in the Temple, whither the "Jews always refort; and in fecret have I faid nothing." A proof that he had not in private to his difciples declared himself in exprefs words to be the Meffiah, the prince. But he goes on. Why "afkeft thou me?" Afk Judas, who has been always with me. "Afk them who heard me what I have faid unto them; behold, "they know what I faid." Our Saviour, we fee here, warily declines, for the reasons abovementioned, all difcourfe of his doctrine. The Sanhedrim, Matt. xxvi. 59. "fought falfe witnefs against him;" but when they found none that were fufficient, or came up to the oint they defired, which was to have fomething against him to take away his life; (for fo I think the words and mean, Mark xiv. 56, 59.) they try again what they can get out of him himself, concerning his being the Meffiah; which if he owned in exprefs words, they thought they fhould have enough against him at the tribunal of the Roman governor, to make him "Læfæ majeftatis "reum," and fo to take away his life. They therefore fay to him, Luke xxii. 67. "If thou be the Meffiah, tells us :" nay, as St. Matthew hath it, the high-priest adjures him by the living God to tell them whether he were the Meffiah, To which our Saviour replies, "If I tell you, ye will not believe; and if I afk you, ye will "not anfwer me, nor let me go." If I tell you, and prove to you, by the teftimony given of me from heaven, and by works that I have done among you, you will not believe in me, that I am the Meffiah: or if I fhould afk you where the Meffiah is to be born, and what ftate he thould come in, how he thould appear, and other things that you think in me not reconcilable with the Meffah; you will not anfwer me, and let me go, as one that has no pretence to be the Meffiah, and you are not afraid fhould be received for fuch. But yet I tell you, "Hereafter fhall the fon of man fit. "on the right-hand of the power of God," ver. 70. "Then faid

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they all, Art thou then the son of God? And he said unto them, "Ye fay that I am." By which difcourfe with them, related at large here by St. Luke, it is plain, that the answer of our Saviour, fet down by St. Matthew, chap. xxvi. 64. in these words, "Thou "haft faid;" and by St. Mark, chap. xvi. 62. in these, "I am;" is an answer only to this question, "Art thou then the fon of God?" and not to that other, "Art thou the Meffiah?" which preceded, and he had anfwered to before; though Matthew and Mark, contracting the ftory, fet them down together, as if making but one queftion, omitting all the intervening difcourfe; whereas it is plain out of St. Luke that they were two diftinct queftions, to which Jefus gave two diftinct answers. In the first whereof, he, according to his ufual caution, declined faying in plain exprefs words that he was the Meffiah; though in the latter he owned himself to be "the fon of God:" which though they, being Jews, understood to fignify the Meffiah, yet he knew could be no legal or weighty accufation against him before a heathen; and fo it proved: for, upon his anfwering to their queftion, "Art thou then the fon of God? Ye fay that I am;" they cry out, Luke xxii. 7t. "What need we farther witneffes? For we ourselves have heard out of his "own mouth :" and fo thinking they had enough against him, they hurry him away to Pilate. Pilate afking them, John xviii. 29-32. "What accufation bring you against this man? They an"fwered, and faid, If he were not a malefactor, we would not have "delivered him up unto thee." Then faid Pilate unto them, "Take ye him, and judge him according to your law." But this would not ferve their turn, who aimed at his life, and would be fatisfied with nothing elfe. "The Jews therefore faid unto him, "It is not lawful for us to put any man to death." And this was alfo, "That the faying of Jefus might be fulfilled which he spake, fignifying what death he fhould die." Pursuing therefore their defign, of making him appear to Pontius Pilate guilty of treafon against Cæfar, Luke xxiii. 2. "They began to accufe him, faying, "We found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbidding to give tribute to Cæfar; faying, That he himself is the Meffiah the king" all which were inferences of theirs from his faying, he was "the fon of God;" which Pontius Pilate finding (for it is confonant that he examined them to the precife words he had faid), their accufation had no weight with him. However, the name of King being fuggefted againft Jefus, he thought himself concerned to fearch it to the bottom. John xviii. 33-37. "Then Pilate en"tered again into the judgement-hall, and called Jefus, and faid "unto him, Art thou the king of the Jews? Jefus anfwered him,

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Sayeft thou this of thyfelf, or did others tell it thee of me? Pilate "anfwered, Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me: what haft thou done? Jefus anfwered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were "of this world, then would my fervants fight, that I fhould not be "delivered to the Jews? but my kingdom is not from hence.

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"Pilate therefore faid unto him, Art thou a king then? Jefus an"fwered, Thou fayeft that I am a king. For this end was I born, "and for this caufe came I into the world, that I fhould bear "witnefs to the truth: every one that is of the truth heareth my "voice." In this dialogue between our Saviour and Pilate we may obferve, 1. That being afked, whether he were the king of "the Jews?" he anfwers fo, that though he deny it not, yet he avoided giving the leaft umbrage, that he had any defign upon the government: for though he allows himself to be a king, yet, to obviate any fufpicion, he tells Pilate, "his kingdom is not of this "world" and evidences it by this, that if he had pretended to any title to that country, his followers, which were not a few, and were forward enough to believe him their king, would have fought for him, if he had had a mind to fet himself up by force, or his kingdom were fo to be erected. "But my kingdom," fays he, "is "not from hence;" is not of this fashion, or of this place.

2. Pilate, being by his words and circumftances fatisfied that he laid no claim to his province, or meant any disturbance of the government, was yet a little furprized to hear a man, in that poor garb, without retinue, or fo much as a fervant or a friend, own himself to be a king; and therefore afks him, with some kind of wonder, "Art thou a king then?"

3. That our Saviour declares, that his great bufinefs into the world was, to teftify and make good this great truth, that he was a king, i. e. in other words, that he was the Meffiah,

4. That whoever were followers of the truth, and got into the way of truth and happiness, received this doctrine concerning him, viz. that he was Meffiah their king.

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Pilate being thus fatisfied that he neither meant, nor could there arife any harm from his pretence, whatever it was, to be a king, tells the Jews, ver. 38. "I find no fault in this man:" but the Jews were the more fierce, Luke xxiii. 5. faying, "He ftirreth up "the people to fedition, by his preaching through all Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place." And then Pilate, learning that he was of Galilee, Herod's jurifdiction, fent him to Herod; to whom alfo the chief priefts and Scribes, ver. 10. "vehemently "accufed him." Herod finding all their accufations either falfe or frivolous, thought our Saviour a bare object of contempt; ând fo turning him only into ridicule, fent him back to Pilate; who calling unto him the chief priefts, and the rulers, and the people, ver. 14. "faid unto them, Ye have brought this man unto me as "one that perverteth the people; and behold, I have examined him before you, have found no fault in this man, touching these "things whereof ye accufe him; no, nor yet Herod; for I fent "you to him; and fo nothing worthy of death is done by him:" and therefore he would have releafed him; for he knew the chief "priests had delivered him through envy," Mark xv, 10. And when they demanded Barabbas to be released, but as for Jefus, cried, "Crucify him," Luke xxiii. 22, "Pilate faid unto them the

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"third time, Why? What evil hath he done? I have found no "caufe of death in him; I will therefore chaftife him, and let "him go."

We may obferve in all this whole profecution of the Jews, that they would fain have got it out of Jefus's own mouth, in exprefs words, that he was the Meffiah; which not being able to do with all their art and endeavour, all the reft that they could alledge against him not amounting to a proof before Pilate, that he claimed to be king of the Jews, or that he had caufed or done any thing towards a mutiny or infurrection among the people (for upon thefe two, as we fee, their whole charge turned), Pilate again and again pronounced him innocent; for fo he did a fourth and a fifth time, bringing him out to them after he had whipped him, John xix, 4. 6. And after all, "When Pilate faw that he could prevail no"thing, but that rather a tumult was made, he took water, and "washed his hands before the multitude, faying, I am innocent of "the blood of this juft man, fee you to it," Matt. xxvii. 24. Which gives us a clear reafon of the cautious and wary conduct of our Saviour, in not declaring himself, in the whole courfe of his miniftry, fo much as to his difciples, much lefs to the multitude or the rulers of the Jews, in exprefs words, to be the Meffiah the king; and why he kept himself always in prophetical or parabolical termis (he and his difciples preaching only the kingdom of God, i. e. of the Meffiah, to be come) and left to his miracles to declare who he was; though this was the truth which he came into the world, as he fays himself, John xviii. 37. to teftify, and which his difciples were to believe.

When Pilate, fatisfied of his innocence, would have releafed him, and the Jews perfifted to cry out," Crucify him, crucify him," John xix. 6. "Pilate fays to them, Take ye him yourselves, and crucify him; for I do not find any fault in him." The Jews then, fince they could not make him a state-criminal, by alledging his faying that he was "the fon of God;" fay, by their law, it was a capital crime, ver. 7. "The Jews anfwered to Pilate, We have "a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself "the fon of God," i. e. because, by faying he is the "fon of God,” he has made himfelf the Meffiah, the prophet which was to come: for we find no other law but that against falfe prophets, Deut. xviii. 20, whereby making himfelf the fon of God" deferved

death.

After this, Pilate was the more defirous to releafe him, ver. 12, 13.." But the Jews cried out, faying, If thou let this man go, thou art not Cefar's friend; whofoever maketh himfelf a king, fpeak-. "eth against Cæfar," Here we fee the ftrefs of their charge against Jefus, whereby they hoped to take away his life, viz. that he

made himself king" we fee alfo upon what they grounded this accufation, viz, becaufe he had owned himfelf to be the fon of "God" for he had, in their hearing, never made or profeffed himself to be a king. We fee here likewife the reason why they

were

were fo defirous to draw from his own mouth a confeffion, in exprefs words, that he was the Meffiah, viz. that they might have what might be a clear proof that he did fo. And, laft of all, we fee the reason why, though in expreffions which they understood he owned himself to them to be the Meffiah, yet he avoided declaring it to them in fuch words as might look criminal at Pilate's tribunal. He owned himself to be the Meffiah plainly to the underftanding of the Jews, but in ways that could not, to the understanding of Pilate, make it appear that he had laid claim to the kingdom of Judea, or went about to make himself king of that country. But whether his faying that he was "the fon of God," was criminal by their law, that Pilate troubled not himself about.

He that confiders what Tacitus, Suetonius, Seneca de Benef. 1. iii. c. 26. fay of Tiberius and his reign, will find how neceffary it was for our Saviour, if he would not die as a criminal and a traytor, to take great heed to his words and actions, that he did or faid not any thing that might be offenfive, or give the leaft umbrage to the Roman government. It behoved an innocent man, who was taken notice of for fomething extraordinary in him, to be very wary, under a jealous and cruel prince, who encouraged informations, and filled his reign with executions for treafon; under whom words spoken innocently, or in jeft, if they could be mifconftrued, were made treafon, and profecuted with a rigour, that made it always the fame thing to be accufed and condemned. And therefore we fee, that when the Jews told Pilate, John xix. 12. that he should not be a friend to Cæfar if he let Jefus go (for that whoever made himself king, was a rebel against Cæfar), he afks them no more whether they would take Barabbas, and spare Jefus, but (though againft his confcience) gives him up to death, to fecure his own head.

One thing more there is, that gives us light into this wife and neceffarily cautious management of himself, which manifeftly agrees with it, and makes a part of it; and that is, the choice of his apoftles, exactly fuited to the defign and fore-fight of the neceffity of keeping the declaration of the kingdom of the Meffiah, which was now expected, within certain general terms during his ministry: it was not fit to open himself too plainly or forwardly to the heady Jews, that he himself was the Meffiah; that was to be left to be found out by the obfervation of thofe who would attend to the purity of his life, the teftimony of his miracles, and the conformity of all with the predictions concerning him; by thefe marks, thofe he lived amongst were to find it out, without an exprefs promulgation that he was the Meffiah, till after his death: his kingdom was to be opened to them by degrees, as well to prepare them to receive it, as to enable him to be long enough amongst them, to perform what was the work of the Meffah to be done, and fulfil all thofe feveral parts of what was foretold of him in the Old Teftament, and we fee applied to him in the New.

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