20 PERIOD I....LIFE OF CHRIST....A. D. 34. Under the law, the priests were consecrated to their office by baptism, and anointing with oil. Instead of the oil, he was baptized by the Holy Ghost. For the "heavens were opened, and the Spirit of God descended like a dove, and lighted upon him." 5. Being thus inducted into office, he chose twelve men as his disciples, whom he named apostles, These he selected as the witnesses of all that he should do and teach; and to become, after his death, the heralds of his doctrines, and the organizers of the Christian Church. The Christian Church, as already observed, can scarcely be said to have been organized, during the life of Christ. He designed only to prepare the way. He abolished the Jewish Church, and introduced to the notice of his disciples such things as were to be adopted in the Christian Church, viz: a new ministry; the Lord's supper; baptism; and spiritual worship in every place, and at all times; in the room of the carnal ordinances and burdensome rites, which were observed only at Jerusalem. 6. The public ministry of Christ continued for the space of three years, or three years and a half, during which, he was chiefly employed in instructing his disciples in reference to the nature of his kingdom; in preaching to them and others his doctrines; and in relieving the wants, and healing the infirmities, of men. The doctrines which Christ taught related to the nature and perfections of God; to the sinfulness and miserable condition of man; to his own character, as the Son of God and the promised Messiah; to the atonement which he should accomplish by his death; to justification by faith; to repentance, and faith, and love, and obedience; to a resurrection from the dead; and to a state of future rewards and punishments. These were the great doctrines of the Christian system,-doctrines which he commissioned his disciples to preach through the world; and which the Christian Church was required to maintain to the end of time. The miracles which Christ wrought were chiefly of a benevolent kind; but they had a still higher object than the relief which was effected by them. They were designed to prove his divine mission; and were often appealed to, with the strongest confidence, for this purpose. And well might he appeal to them; for they were performed under circumstances which precluded the possibility of deception. They were performed at his word, and in an instant; on persons, too, both near and at a distance; they were done by him in the most public and open manner; in cities; in villages; in synagogues; in the public streets; in the highways; in the field; and in the wilderness. They were performed on Jews and Gentiles; before Scribes and Pharisees, and rulers of the synagogues; not only when he was attended by few persons, but when he was surrounded by multitudes; not merely in the presence of his friends, but before his implacable enemies. Thus, they invited the strictest examination. They evinced a power which could come only from God, and bespoke a benevolence which could be nothing short of divine. Such was the authority with which he was clothed, and such was the evidence of his divine commission, who came to set aside the Jewish rites and ceremonies, and, in the place of the Jewish Church, to found a Church, which should embrace Jew and Gentile, bond and free; and against the ultimate increase and glory of which, not even the gates of hell should be suffered to prevail. As a 7. The ministry of Christ, though distinguished by unwonted zeal and perseverance, was attended with comparatively little success. nation, the Jews rejected him as the Messiah; and through their instrumentality, he finished his eventful life, under the tortures of crucifixion. This event occurred in the eighteenth year of Tiberius, the successor of Augustus Cæsar. From the testimony of ancient historians we learn, that, about the time of Christ's appearing, the Jews were anxiously looking for him as the great deliverer and chief PERIOD I....LIFE OF CHRIST....A. D. 34. 21 ornament of their nation. But, in the humble appearance of Jesus, the Jews saw nothing which corresponded to their expectations. They were looking for a temporal prince, the splendor of wke their nation the centre of their admiration of worldly pomp, and who should make their nation the centre of universal monarchy. The doctrines, too, which Christ taught were little suited to the taste of this bigoted people. Being the descendants of Abraham, and the covenant people of God, they imagined that they enjoyed a peculiar claim to the divine favor. This claim they supposed could not be forfeited, and could not be transferred to any other people on earth. These mistakes were the result of prejudice, and vain-glory. Yet they laid the foundation of charges against the Son of God, which, though manifestly false, issued in a demand, on the part of the nation, for his death. Accordingly, after having been declared an impostor, a blasphemer, and a usurper-after having suffered the most bitter reproaches and shameful indignities, he was brought to the cross, upon which, under its agonies, he shortly after expired. 8. The death of Christ was apparently a signal triumph to his enemies, and as signal a defeat to all his followers. The hopes of the latter appear, for a short time, to have been blasted; not knowing the power of God, nor fully comprehending that it was a part of the divine plan that he should suffer, and afterwards be raised from the dead. Christ had, indeed, repeatedly foretold his resurrection to his followers; and this intelligence had been communicated to the Jews at large. The former anticipated, though faintly, perhaps, this glorious event; but the latter believed it not. They only feared that his disciples might steal his body, and pretend that he had risen from the dead. They therefore sealed his sepulchre, and round it stationed a guard, until the day should pass, on which it was said he would rise from the dead. But neither the precaution, nor the power of his enemies, could prevent an event, which was connected with the salvation of millions of the sons of men. The third day, at length, arrived; the appointed hour and moment came, and GOD RAISED HIM FROM THE DEAD. THE PERIOD OF THE LABORS OF THE APOSTLES EXTENDS FROM THE DEATH OF CHRIST, A. D. 34, TO THE DESTRUCTION OF JERUSALEM, A. D. 70. 1. The resurrection of Christ, (A. D. 34, in the eighteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, emperor of Rome,) an event clearly predicted in ancient prophecy, and often foretold by himself, took place on the third day after his crucifixion. The resurrection of Jesus is an article of such importance in the system of Christianity, that, like the key-stone in the arch of the building, it is emphatically that which supports the whole superstructure. "If Christ be not risen," says the apostle, "then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain; yea, and we are found false witnesses of God." That the Messiah should rise from the dead, was an event clearly predicted in ancient prophecy; and Jesus himself repeatedly foretold both the fact of his rising, and the day on which it should happen, not only to his disciples, but to his enemies also, and even rested the evidence of his divine mission upon that event. Of the truth and certainty of his resurrection, then, the apostles were witnesses, and they were every way qualified for substantiating the fact." He was seen by them alive, after his cucifixion. It was not one person, but many that saw him. They saw him not only separately, but together; not only by night, but by day; not only at a distance, but near; not once only, but several times. They not only saw nim, but touched him, conversed with him, ate with him, examined his person, to remove their doubts." "He shewed himself alive to them after his passion by many infallible signs, being seen of them forty days;" during which time, "he spake to them concern. ing the kingdom of God," which they were employed in setting up in the world. 2. At the expiration of forty days from his resurrection, having instructed his disciples to wait at Jerusalem, for the descent of the Holy Spirit, and then to "go and teach all nations," he led them out as far as Bethany, where, while blessing them, he ascended to heaven, a cloud receiving him out of their sight. 3. Ten days after the ascension of Christ, and fifty from his crucifixion, the promise of the Holy Spirit was fulfilled. By this effusion, the apostles were suddenly endued with the power of speaking many languages, of which before they had no knowledge; and, at the same time, were inspired with a zeal in their Master's cause, to which before they had been strangers. The effects produced on the minds of the apostles, on this occasion, were of an extraordinary kind. A flood of light seems to have broken in upon them, at once. Their remaining doubts and prejudices were removed; their misapprehensions were rectified, and their views conformed to the scope of the doctrines which had been taught by Christ. It is manifest, also, that they were endued with unwonted zeal and fortitude. On several occasions, while Christ was with them, they had exhibited no small degree of listlessness and timidity. At the time of his apprehension, they had all forsaken him, and fled. Even the intrepid Peter denied that he knew him. But, from the day of Pentecost, they seem to have felt no weariness, and feared no danger. But perhaps the most astonishing effect of all was, that they were hereby qualified for speaking various languages, which they had never learned; thus making known their message to men of all nations under heaven, and confirming its truth, by performing such miraculous works, as were an evident indication that God was with them. This was indeed in perfect onsistency with Christ's promise to them, when he said: "In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover." "What gifts, what miracles, he gave! And power to kill, and power to save! DR. WATTS. 4. A rumor of this stupendous miracle spreading abroad in the streets of Jerusalem, a multitude of Jews, residents and strangers, were soon collected to the spot. To these, Peter explained the mystery, by declaring it to be effected by the power of that Jesus, whom they had wickedly slain. The explanation and the charge, being accompanied to their consciences by the Spirit of God, led to the very sudden conversion of about three thousand souls, who were forthwith baptized. This may be considered as the gathering or organization of the First Christian Church in the world. An occurrence so remote from the common course of nature, we may readily sup pose, would produce an astonishing sensation upon those who were witnesses of it; -especially upon those, if any there were, who had taken part in the crucifixion of our Lord. The sudden ability of so many rude, illiterate Galileans, to speak perfectly in all languages-to explain themselves with propriety and force, so as not only to be clearly understood, but to inform the consciences of the hearers-was a phenomenon which carried with it proof of divine interposition too incontestible to admit of a rational doubt. Those who first observed it, spake of it to others, and the rumor spread abroad. Jerusalem was at this moment the resort of Jews and Jewish proselytes, dispersed throughout the various parts of the Roman empire, who had come to celebrate the feast. The promiscuous throng, who were collected by so strange a report, and had been accustomed to different languages, were therefore greatly astonished to hear the apostles declare, each one in his own tongue, the wonderful works of God.-While some expressed their surprise at this, others ascribed it to the effects of wine. This weak and perverse slander was, however, immediately refuted by the apostle Peter, who, standing up with the other eleven apostles, lifted up their voice, and said unto them :-" Ye men of Judea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, that these men are not drunken as ye suppose, seeing that it is but the third hour of the day*—but this is that which is spoken by the prophet Joel." He then quotes the words of Jehovah, in which he had promised to pour out his Spirit upon all flesh-attended with the most awful denunciations against those who should despise it; but with a gracious promise of salvation to all that should call upon the name of the Lord. The illustration of this remarkable prophecy, and its application to what was now obvious to all their senses, paved the way for the apostles' drawing their attention to the great subject of his ministry, the death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth, whom they had taken, and by wicked hands had crucified and slain. The Holy Spirit gave energy to the doctrine. Like a torrent, it bore down all the vain imaginations, and presumptuous reasonings, by which the minds of his hearers were fortified; it brought conviction to their minds; so that, like men frantic with despair, they cried out, in the anguish of their hearts: "Men and brethren, what shall we do?" To persons reduced to this extremity, conscious that they had been imbruing their hands in the blood of the Son of God, how unspeakably welcome must have been the words of the apostle: "Repent and be baptized every one of you, in the name of Jesus, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the Holy Ghost; for the promise is to you and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even to as many as the Lord our God shall call." This divine declaration of mercy to men in the situation of these convicted Jews, pricked to the heart with a consciousness of their guilt, and overwhelmed with despair, must have been like life from the dead. Three thousand of them joyfully received the apostles' doctrine, were baptized, and on the same day were added to the disciples that already existed in Jerusalem. From the manner of Peter, on this occasion, ministers may learn, with what point they should at least sometimes address the conscience; and from the distress produced in the hearts of these sinners may be perceived the power of the Spirit, and what is the usual method which he takes in bringing them to repentance. 5. Shortly after the above miracle, the healing of a poor cripple, accompanied by a second discourse from Peter, led to the conversion of about five thousand, who, in turn, were added to the Church. 6. This rapid increase of the followers of Christ, greatly alarming the Priests and Sadducees, they seized the two apostles, Peter and John, and committed them to prison. The next day, being brought before the Sanhedrin, the language and conduct of Peter were so bold, that it was deemed impolitic to do any thing further, than to dismiss the apostles, with a strict injunction not to teach any more in the name of Jesus. The Sanhedrin, of which frequent mention is made, both in the Bible and in ecclesiastical history, was a tribunal instituted in the time of the Maccabees, and was composed of seventy-two members. The high priest generally sustained the fice of president; he was assisted by two vice-presidents. The other members composing this tribunal consisted of chief priests, (or those who had previously exercised the high priesthood,) elders, or princes of the tribes, and scribes, or learned men. When this tribunal met, they took their seats in such a way as to form a semicircle, and the president and vice-president occupied the centre. They sat either upon the floor, a carpet merely being spread under them, or upon cushions slightly elevated, with their knees bent and crossed. Appeals, and other weighty matters were brought before this tribunal. Among other questions of importance, subject to its decision, the Talmudists include the *Corresponding to our nine in the morning. + Jones's History of the Christian Church. |