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apostles what perfonally concerned himfelf. They had been a good while witneffes of his life and miracles, and thereby being grown into a belief that he was the Meffiah, were in fome degree prepared to receive the particulars that were to fill up the character, and anfwer the prophecies concerning him. This from henceforth he began to open to them (though in a way which the Jews could not form an accufation out of) the time of the accomplishment of all, in his fufferings, death, and refurrection, now drawing on: for this was in the last year of his life, he being to meet the Jews at Jerufalem but once more at the paffover, and then they fhould have their will upon him, and therefore he might now begin to be a little. more open concerning himfelf; though yet fo, as to keep himself out of the reach of any accufation, that might appear juft or weighty to the Roman deputy.

After his reprimand to Peter, telling him, that he " favoured not "the things of God, but of man," Mark viii. 34. he calls the people to him, and prepares thofe, who would be his difciples, for fuffering; telling them, ver. 38. "Whoever fhall be afhamed of "me and my words in this adulterous and finful generation, of "him alfo fhall the fon of man be afhamed when he cometh in "the glory of his father with the holy angels:" and then fubjoins, Matt. xvi. 27, 28, two great and folemn acts, wherein he fhould fhew himself to be the Meffiah the King; "for the son of man fhall come in the glory of his father, with his angels; and "then he shall render every man according to his works." This is evidently meant of the glorious appearance of his kingdom, when he fhall come to judge the world at the laft day; defcribed more at large, Matt. xxv. "When the fon of man fhall come in his glory, "and all the holy angels with him, then fhall he fit upon the "THRONE of his glory. Then fhall the KING fay to them on "his right-hand, &c." But what follows in the place above quoted, Matt. xvi. 28. "Verily, verily, there be fome ftanding here, who "fhall not tafte of death, till they fee the fon of man coming in his "kingdom;" importing that dominion, which fome there fhould fee him exercise over the nation of the Jews, was fo covered, by being annexed to the preceding, ver. 27. (where he spoke of the manifeftation and glory of his kingdom at the day of judgement), that though his plain meaning here in ver. 28, be, that the appearance and visible exercife of his kingly power in his kingdom was fo near, that fome there fhould live to fee it; yet if the foregoing words had not caft a fhadow over thefe latter, but they had been left plainly to be understood, as they plainly fignified, that he fhould be a king, and that it was fo near, that fome there fhould fee him in his kingdom; this might have been laid hold on, and made the matter of a plaufible and feemingly just accufation against him by the Jews, before Pilate. This feems to be reafon of our Saviour's inverting here the order of the two folemn manifeftations to the world of his rule and power; thereby perplexing at prefent his meaning, and fecuring himself, as was neceflary, from the malice

of the Jews, which always lay at catch to intrap him, and accuse him to the Roman governor; and would, no doubt, have been ready to have alledged thefe words, "Some here fhall not taste of "death, till they fee the fon of man coming in his kingdom," against him as criminal, had not their meaning been, by the former verfe, perplexed, and the fenfe at that time rendered unintelligible, and not applicable by any of his auditors to a fenfe that might have been prejudicial to him before Pontius Pilate. For how well the chief of the Jews were difpofed towards him, St. Luke tells us, chap. xi. 54. " Laying wait for him, and feeking to catch fome"thing out of his mouth, that they might accuse him:" which may be a reafon to fatisfy us of the feemingly doubtful and obfcure way of speaking used by our Saviour in other places; his circumftances being fuch, that, without fuch a prudent carriage and reservedness, he could not have gone through the work which he came to do, nor have performed all the parts of it, in a way correfpondent to the defcriptions given of the Meffiah, and which would be afterwards fully understood to belong to him, when he had left the world.

After this, Matt. xvii. 10, &c. he, without faying it in direct words, begins, as it were, to own himself to his apoftles to be the Meffiah, by afluring them, that as the Scribes, according to the prophecy of Malachy, chap. iv. 5. rightly faid, that Elias was to ufher in the Meffiah; fo indeed Elias was already come, though the Jews knew him not, and treated him ill whereby "they under"ftood that he spoke to them of John the Baptift," ver. 13. And a little after he fomewhat more plainly intimates that he is the Meffiah, Mark ix. 41. in these words: "Whofoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to the "Meffiah." This, as I remember, is the first place where our Saviour ever mentioned the name of Meffiah; and the first time that he went fo far towards the owning, to any of the Jewish nation, himself to be him.

In his way to Jerufalem, bidding one follow him, Luke ix. 59.who would first bury his father, ver. 60. "Jefus faid unto him, "Let the dead bury their dead; but go thou and preach the king"dom of God." And, Luke x. 1. fending out the feventy difciples, he fays to them, ver. 9. "Heal the fick, and fay, The king"dom of God is come nigh unto you." He had nothing else for thefe, or for his apoftles, or any one, it feems, to preach, but the good news of the coming of the kingdom of the Meffiah. And if any city would not receive them, he bids them, ver. 10. "Go into "the treets of the fame, and fay, Even the very duft of your city, " which cleaveth on us, do we wipe off against you; notwithstand"ing be ye fure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh "unto you." This they were to take notice of, as that which they fhould dearly answer for, viz. that they had not with faith received the good tidings of the kingdom of the Meffiah.

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After this, his brethren say unto him, John vii. 2, 3, 4. (the feast of Tabernacles being near) "Depart hence, and go into Judea, that "thy difciples may fee the works that thou doeft; for there is no man that does any thing in fecret, and he himself feeketh to « be known openly. If thou do these things, fhew thyself to the "world." Here his brethren, which the next verfe tells us, « did "not believe him," feem to upbraid him with the inconfiftency of his carriage; as if he defigned to be received for the Meffiah, and yet was afraid to fhew himfelf: to whom he juftified his conduct (mentioned, ver. 1.), in the following verfes, by telling them, "That "the world" (meaning the Jews efpecially) "hated him, because "he teftified of it, that the works thereof are evil; and that his "time was not yet fully come," wherein to quit his reserve, and abandon himself freely to their malice and fury. Therefore, though he "went up unto the feast," it was "not openly, but as it were in "fecret," ver. 10. And here coming into the Temple about the middle of the feast, he justifies his being fent from God; and that he had not done any thing against the law, in curing the man at the pool of Bethesda, John v. 1-16. on the Sabbath-day; which, though done above a year and a half before, they made ufe of as a pretence to destroy him. But what was the true reason of fecking his life, appears from what we have in this viith chapter, ver. 2534. "Then faid some of them at Jerufalem, Is not this he whom "they feek to kill? But lo, he fpeaketh boldly, and they fay nothing "unto him. Do the rulers know indeed that this is the very Mef"fiah? Howbeit, we know this man whence he is; but when the "Meffiah cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. Then cried "Jefus in the Temple, as he taught, ye both know me, and ye "know whence I am and I am not come of myself, but he "that fent me is true, whom ye know not. But I know him, "for I am from him, and he hath fent me. Then they fought "[an occafion] to take him, but no man laid hands on him, be"caufe his hour was not yet come. And many of the people be"lieved on him, and faid, When the Meffiah cometh, will he do "more miracles than thefe which this man hath done? The Pha"rifees heard that the people murmured fuch things concerning "him; and the Pharifees and chief priests fent officers to take him. "Then faid Jefus unto them, Yet a little while am I with you, and "then I go to him that fent me: ye shall seek me, and not find me; " and where I am, there you cannot come. Then faid the Jews "among themselves, Whither will he go, that we shall not find "him?" Here we find, that the great fault in our Saviour, and the great provocation to the Jews, was, his being taken for the Meffah; and doing fuch things as made the people "believe in him :" i. e. believe that he was the Meffiah. Here also our Saviour declares, in words very eafy to be understood, at least after his refurrection, that he was the Meffiah: for if he were "fent from God," and did his miracles by the spirit of God, there could be no doubt but he was the Methah. But yet this declaration was in a way that

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the Pharifees and priests could not lay hold on to make an accufation of to the disturbance of his miniftry, or the feizure of his perfon, how much foever they defired it for his time was not yet come. The officers they had fent to apprehend him, charmed with his difcourfe, returned without laying hands on him, ver. 45, 46. And when the chief priests asked them, "Why they brought him "not?" They anfwered, "Never man fpake like this man." Whereupon the Pharifees reply, "Are ye alfo deceived? Have any "of the rulers of the Pharifees believed on him? But this people, "who know not the law, are curfed." This fhews what was meant by "believing on him," viz. believing that he was the Meffiah. For, fay they, have any of the rulers who are skilled in the law, or of the devout and learned Pharifees, acknowledged him to be the Meffiah? For as for thofe who, in the divifion among the people concerning him, fay, "That he is the Meffiah," they are ignorant and vile wretches, knowing nothing of the fcripture, and, being accurfed, are given by God to be deceived by this impoftor, and to take him for the Meffiah. Therefore, notwithstanding their defire to lay hold on him, he goes on: and ver. 37, 38. "In the "laft and great day of the feaft, Jefus ftood and cried, faying, If ર any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink: he that be"lieveth on me, as the fcripture hath faid, out of his belly fhall flow "rivers of living water." And thus he here again declares himself to be the Meffiah; but in the prophetic ftyle, as we fee by the next verfe of this chapter, and those places in the Old Testament that these words of our Saviour refer to.

In the next chapter, John viii. all that he fays concerning himfelf, and what they were to believe, tends to this, viz. That he was fent from God his father, and that if they did not believe that he was the Meffiah, they fhould die in their fins: but this in a way, as St. John obferves, ver. 27. that they did not well underftand. But our Saviour himself tells them, ver. 28. "When ye have lift up the son of man, then fhall ye know that I am he."

Going from them, he cures the man born blind, whom meeting with again, after the Jews had questioned him, and caft him out, John ix. 35-38. "Jefus faid unto him, Doft thou believe on the "fon of God? He answered, Who is he, Lord, that I might be"lieve on him? And Jefus faid unto him, Thou haft both feen "him, and it is he that talketh with thee. And he faid, Lord, I "believe." Here we fee this man is pronounced a believer, when all that was proposed to him to believe, was, that Jefus was "the "fon of God;" which was, as we have already fhewn, to believe that he was the Meffiah.

In the next chapter, John x. 1-21. he declares the laying down of his life for both Jews and Gentiles; but in a parable which they understood not, ver. 6-20.

As he was going to the feaft of the dedication, the Pharifees afk him, Luke xvii. 20. "When the kingdom of God," i. e. of the Meffiah, "fhould come?" He answers, that it fhall not come with

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pomp and obfervation, and great concourfe; but that it was already begun amongst them. If he had ftopt here, the fenfe had been fo plain, that they could hardly have miftaken him; or have doubted, but that he meant, that the Meffiah was already come, and amongst them; and fo might have been prone to infer, that Jefus took upon him to be him. But here, as in the place before taken notice of, fubjoining to this future revelation of himself, both in his coming to execute vengeance on the Jews, and in his coming to judgement mixed together, he fo involved his fenfe, that it was not easy to understand him. And therefore the Jews came to him again in the temple, John x. 23. and faid, "How long doft thou make us "doubt? If thou be Chrift, tell us plainly. Jefus answered, I told ແ you, and ye BELIEVED not the works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me. But ye BELIEVED not, because ye are not of my fheep, as I told you." The BELIEVING here, which he accufes them of not doing, is plainly their not BELIEV ING him to be the Meffiah, as the foregoing words evince, and in the same sense it is evidently meant in the following verfes of this chapter.

From hence, Jefus going to Barbara, and thence returning into Bethany, upon Lazarus's death, John xi. 25-27. Jefus faid to Martha, "I am the refurrection and the life; he that believeth in "me, though he were dead, yet he fhall live; and whofoever liveth " and believeth in me, fhall never die for ever." So I understand ἀποθάνη εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, anfwerable to ζήσεται εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα, of the Septuagint, Gen. iii. 22. or John vi. 51. which we read right in our English tranflation, "live for ever;" but whether this faying of our Saviour here can with truth be tranflated, "He that liveth and believeth "in me, fhall never die," will be apt to be queftioned. But to go "Believeft thou this? She faid unto him, Yea, Lord, I be"lieve that thou art the Meffiah, the fon of God, which fhould "come into the world." This fhe gives as a full anfwer to our Saviour's demands; this being that faith, which whoever had, wanted no more to make them believers.

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We may obferve farther, in this fame ftory of the raifing of Lazarus, what faith it was our Saviour expected, by what he fays, ver. 41, 42. "Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me; and Í "know that thou heareft me always. But because of the people "who ftand by, I faid it, that they may believe that thou haft sent "me." And what the confequence of it was, we may fee, ver. 45. "Then many of the Jews who came to Mary, and had feen the "things which Jefus did, believed on him:" which belief was, that he was " fent from the Father;" which, in other words, was, that he was the Meffiah. That this is the meaning, in the Evangelifts, of the phrafe of "believing on him," we have a demonstration in the following words, ver. 47, 48. "Then gathered the chief "priefts and Pharifees a council, and faid, What do we? For this "man does many miracles: and if we let him alone, all men will "BELIEVE ON HIM." Those who here fay, all men would BE

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