Mt.xxvi.52. Put up again thy sword into his place; for all they that Jerusalem. take the sword, shall perish with the sword.

53.

54

Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

But how then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled that thus

it must be?

Joh.xviii.11. the cup which my Father hath given me, shall I not

drink it?

Mt.xxvi.55. In that same hour

Mar.xiv.48. Jesus answered and said

Lu. xxii.52. unto the Chief Priests and captains of the temple,
Mt.xxvi.55. and to the multitudes,

Lu.xxii. 52. and the elders, which were come to him,

Mt. xxvi.55. Are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staves,
for to take me? I sat daily with you teaching in the
temple, and ye laid no hold on me.

Lu. xxii.53. ye stretched forth no hands against me :
Mar.xiv.49. but the Scriptures must be fulfilled.
Lu.xxii. 53. but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
Mt.xxvi.56.

But all this was done, that the Scriptures of the pro-
phets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook
him, and fled.

MATT. XXVI. part of ver. 47, 48.

47 And-came, and with him a great multitude with swords and staves, from the chief priests and elders

48 gave them a sign, saying, Whomsoever I shall kiss, that
same is he:-

MARK. xiv. part of ver. 43, 44, 45. ver. 46, 47. part of ver. 48, 49.
ver. 50.

43 while he yet spake, cometh Judas, one of the twelve, and
with him a great multitude-

44 -And he that betrayed him

45 he goeth straightway to him, and saith, Master, master; and kissed him.

46 And they laid their hands on him, and took him.

47 And one of them that stood by drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear.

48-And Jesus unto them, Are ye come out as against a thief, with swords and with staves, to take me?

49-I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and ye took

me not

50 And they all forsook him, and fled.

LUKE Xxii. part of ver. 47, 48. ver. 50. part of ver. 52, 53.
47-And while he yet spake, behold a multitude, and he that
was called Judas, one of the twelve-

48 But Jesus said unto him

50 And one of them smote a servant of the high priest, and cut off his right ear.

52 Then Jesus said-Be ye come out as against a thief, with swords and staves?

53 When I was daily with you in the temple

11-Then-drew it, and smote the high pricst's servant-
11 -Put up thy sword into thy sheath-

Joh.xviii.12.

13.

14.

Mar.xiv.51.

52.

Mt.xxvi.57.

Lu. xxii. 54.

CHAPTER VII.

From the Apprehension of Christ to the Crucifixion.

SECTION I.

Christ is taken to Annas, and to the Palace of Caiaphas.

MATT. xxvi. 57.

MARK XIV. 51-53.
JOHN Xviii. 12-14.

LUKE Xxii. 54.

Then the band, and the captain, and officers of the
Jews, took Jesus, and bound him,

And led him away to Annas' first; for he was father
in law to Caiaphas, which was the High Priest that same
year.

Now Caiaphas was he, which gave counsel to the Jews,
that it was expedient that one man should die for the people.
And there followed him a certain young man, having a
linen cloth cast about his naked body; and the young men
laid hold on him:

And he left the linen cloth, and fled from them naked.
And they that had laid hold on Jesus,

Then took they him, and led him,

Mt. xxvi.57. led him away to Caiaphas the High Priest,
Lu. xxii. 54. and brought him into the High Priest's house.
Mar.xiv.53. and with him were assembled all the Chief Priests, and
the elders, and the Scribes.

Lu. xxii. 54. And Peter followed afar off.

MATT. XXVI. part of ver. 57,

57-where the scribes and elders were assembled.

MARK XIV. part of ver. 53.

53 And they led Jesus away to the High Priest

LUKE Xxii. part of ver. 54.

54 Then-they-and led him-

The Annas here mentioned, is called by Josephus, Ananus. He had been deposed from the Pontifical office by the Roman power; but his influence on that account had been rather increased, than lessened, among his countrymen. Under these circumstances, however, he could not with prudence openly interfere; but from the passage before us, we may infer the great authority he still possessed; and it is more than probable that he privately suggested every measure that had been already devised against our Lord; and that on the present occasion he still continued to direct by his counsel and advice.-See John xviii. 24. Although Annas was deprived of the office of high priest, the Jews still acknowledged him as such, as we find from Acts iv. 6. where he is so called. His influence was so great, that he saw five of his own sons successively in possession of the high priesthood; and several also of his sons in law, among whom was Caiaphas.

Jerusalem.

SECTION II.

Peter and John follow their Master.

MATT. xxvi. 58. MARK XIV. 54.

LUKE Xxii. 55.

JOHN Xviii. 15, 16.

Joh.xviii.15. And Simon Peter followed Jesus,

Mt. xxvi.58. afar off, unto the High Priest's palace,

Joh.xviii.15. and so did another disciple: that disciple was known unto the High Priest, and went in with Jesus into the palace of the High Priest.

16.

Lu. xxii.55.

But Peter stood at the door without. Then went out. that other disciple, which was known unto the High Priest, and spake unto her that kept the door, and brought in Peter.

And when they had kindled a fire in the midst of the
hall, and were set down together, Peter sat down among
them.

Mar. xiv.54. the servants, and warmed himself at the fire.
Mt. xxvi.58. and sat with the servants, to see the end.

Joh.xviii.19.

20.

21.

22.

23.

24.

Mt. xxvi.59.

60.

MATT. xxvi. part of ver. 58.

58 But Peter followed

MARK XIV. part of ver. 54.

54 And Peter followed him afar off, even unto the palace of the High Priest, and he sat

SECTION III.

Christ is first examined, and condemned in the House of the
High Priest.

MATT. XXVI. 59–66. MARK xiv. 55-64. JOHN Xviii. 19—24.
The High Priest then asked Jesus of his disciples, and
of his doctrine.

Jesus answered him, I spake openly to the world; I
ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither
the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing.
Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me: be-
hold, they know what I said.

And when he had thus spoken, one of the officers which stood by, struck Jesus with the palm of his hand, saying, Answerest thou the High Priest so?

Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness
of the evil; but if well why smitest thou me ?

Now Annas had sent him bound unto Caiaphas, the
High Priest.

Now the Chief Priests and elders, and all the council,
sought faise witness against Jesus, to put him to death;
But found none: yea, though many false witnesses
came, yet they found none :

Mar.xiv.56. for many bare false witness against him, but their witness agreed not together.

Jerusalem.

Mt.xxvi.60. At the last came two false witnesses,

Mar.xiv.57. and bare false witness against him, saying,

Mt.xxvi.61. this fellow said,

Mar.xiv.58. We heard him say,

Mt.xxvi.61. I am able to destroy the temple of God, and to build it

in three days:

Mar.xiv.58. I will destroy this temple that is made with hands, and within three days I will build another made without hands. But neither so did their witness agree together.

59.

Mt.xxvi.62.

And the High Priest arose,

Mar. xiv.60. and stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus,

Mt.xxvi.62. and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee?

63.

But Jesus held his peace,

Mar.xiv.61. and answered nothing. Again the High Priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the Christ, the Son of

the Blessed?

Mt. xxvi.63. I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us, whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God.

64. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said:

Mar.xiv.62. I am:

Mt. xxvi.64. nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.

65.

Then the High Priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.

2 This passage of Daniel, to which our Lord refers, was always considered by the Jews as a description of the Messiah. Our Saviour, therefore, now in his lowest state of humiliation and depression, asserted his claims as the Messiah, who should appear again in the clouds of heaven, as the judge of the world.— Sohar Genes. fol. 85. col. 338, &c. Dan. vii. 13. w ɔbo nt, This is the king Messiah. Schoetgen. Hor. Heb. vol. i. p. 233. 3 This was only done by the High Priest in cases of blasphemy. 4 Christ was first arraigned before the High Priest, then before the whole Sanhedrim, (Mark xv. 1.) before both of whom he was accused of blasphemy, and on this charge was, by both, condemned, Matt. xxvi. 65, 66. He was next taken before the Roman Governor, as guilty of sedition, and acquitted, John xviii. 38. xix. 4, &c. When the Jews therefore saw this, they were compelled to acknowledge the real grounds of their prosecution: We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. But, finding that this charge also was disregarded by Pilate, who was still inclined to acquit him, (for blasphemy against the God of the Jews was not considered by the Romans to be a crime,) they, in despair, make a personal attack upon Pilate himself; and threaten, if he does not comply with their demands that he be crucified, to accuse him to Tibeberius, (whose suspicious and jealous nature was generally known,) of remissness in duty, and negligence in the suppression of sedition and rebellion. Intimidated and overcome by this menace, he yields to their importunate solicitations, and condemns a man, whom he publicly acknowledges to be inno

Jerusalem.

Mt.xxvi.66.

What think ye? They answered and said, He is guilty Jerusalem. of death.

Mar.xiv.64. And they all condemned him to be guilty of death.

cent, to the ignominious death of a common malefactor, that he
may screen himself from the malice of his accusers.

Some objectors to Christianity have argued, that the Jews
could not have believed in the reality of the miracles of our Sa-
viour, or they would not have delivered him up to the Roman
Governor. They deem it scarcely possible that a whole nation
would cry out for the crucifixion and scourging of a man, who
gave sight to the blind, healed the sick, and raised the dead to
life. It is implied in this objection, that the cotemporaries of
Christ discredited his miracles, because he was rejected and
crucified; whereas the Jews of every age have contended, that
miracles afford no proof of the divine mission of a prophet, who
teaches false doctrines, such as they suppose Jesus to have
taught; and consequently, according to their notions, he might
have been persecuted and crucified by their ancestors; while
the reality of his miracles was fully admitted. They even go so
far as to assert, that in their law against false prophets, Deut.
xiii. (a) the clause in ver. 6, was framed for the individual
case of Jesus Christ, and that it points to him in particular.
"This is Jesus," say they," who denied his father, saying that
he had a mother, but not a father; that he was the Son of God,
and that He himself was also God." Maimonides may be sup-
posed to give the general opinion of the Jews, when he affirms
that the miracles of a prophet, who recommends the worship of
other gods, are no criteria of the truth of his pretensions.
"Because the testimony of the understanding, which proves the
falsity of his professions, is of more weight than that of the eyes
which see his miracles (b)."

The Jews saw and acknowledged the miracles of Christ, but imputed them to the agency of evil spirits, (Matt. xii. 24. Luke xi. 15.) permitted by God to try the firmness of their faith, and the constancy of their obedience to the Mosaic law, Deut. xiii. 3. on the other hand, they heard him assert his own divine nature-the latter they considered as blasphemous; and the supposed impiety and impossibility of this claim, in their opinion, overturned the weaker evidence of undisputed miracles wrought in its support: they weighed what to them appeared opposite evidences, and the preponderance of that side on which their prejudiced opinions had placed the greater weight, accounts for the persevering conduct of the Sanhedrim, and the persecuting infidelity of the people (c).

Archdeacon Blomfield has justly observed, that the sum of the offence given by our Lord to the chief priests, was, his laying claim to the title of the Messiah: a title to which they did not imagine that any mere human being, as Jesus seemed to be, could have any right. Could he but have convinced the leading Jews of the justice of these pretensions, they would not have objected to his assumption of divine attributes. The fact is, that for any man to profess himself to be the Messiah, was considered as an offence against their law, inasmuch as by so doing he made himself the Son of God. We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God. This remark fully answers that objection to the divinity of Christ proposed by Dr. Priestley, who maintains the position that the Jews did not expect their Messiah to be a divine personage; which point is inconsiderately allowed by Mr. Wilson, in his answer to this great advocate of Unitarianism (d).