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important respects, to their ideas of the nature of the Messiah's character; regardless of all other Proofs which, in the course of his Ministry, had been displayed of his being a person sent from God.

It cannot be denied that this historical fact, of the arraignment and trial of Jesus, as an Impostor, for assuming the character of the Messiah, perfectly harmonizes with the general tenor of the History, and, very naturally, arose from the erroneous ideas, which the Jews had, all along, held concerning the nature of the Messiah's character. And though it affords an awful and affecting example, of the amazing power of pre judice, and of the dreadful influence which an inordinate love of this world has, in counteracting the strongest evidence; yet this ought not to lessen the credibility of the narration ; for the instances which occur, in common life, of the power of prejudice, are found to be very frequent, even among whole nations, and to surmount, if not the evidence of a miracle, such at least, as might naturally have been supposed, fully sufficient to have produced conviction; especially when that conviction, as in the case of the Jews, is opposed by. views of worldly interest. *

But,

*To the question---"What motives could the Jews have to wish the Gospel might be false, and to shut their eyes against the light with so much obstinacy and peseverance ?" Dr. Beattie answers--" Motives they "had of the most cogent nature: motives, which among any people it might be difficult to prevail against, but which from the inherent perverseness of "the Jewish nation, could hardly fail to derive insurmountable strength. "For first, if the Jewish Rulers, after the death of our Lord, had acknow"ledged him to be the Messiah, they must also have acknowledged them

selves the perpetrators of the most dreadful crime that ever disgraced à "nation; and from Rulers so haughty, a confession so humiliating could

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hardly be looked for. Nor secondly, was it to be expected, that they "could bear to think of the abrogation of the law of Moses which "had subsisted so long; which did so much honour to their nation, Temple, and capital city; which taught them to consider themselves as "God's peculiar people; and from which their Priests, Scribes, and Elders, who we find were the most inveterate enemies of the new reli"gion, derived so many dignities and emoluments. They might also, thirdly, from many political considerations, be unwilling to receive the Gospel, and inclined to look on the men who taught it, as the enemies "of their country. For if the Messiah was now come, then all their flattering hopes of a glorious conqueror, who should rescue them from the "Roman yoke, and exalt them above all nations, were at an end for ever. "In a word; if it be in the power of prejudice, of pride, of ambition, of religious zeal, or of national partiality, to make men averse to the recep

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But, however difficult it may be to account for the conduct of the Jews, as a Nation, the fact is indisputable, as related by all the Evangelists, that they did arraign Jesus as an Impostor, for assuming the character of the Messiah. The conduct of the Jewish Rulers, as well as that of our Lord, upon this truly awful and affecting occasion, will be well deserving of an attentive consideration, more particularly as it will tend, in the strongest manner, to corroborate the propriety of the manner, in which the latter found it necessary to conduct himself, throughout the whole course of his ministry; and, as it will enable the judicious Reader to ascertain, with the utmost precision, the meaning of a passage which is, more immediately connected with the great design of this work; and that, in a connection which cannot easily be mistaken.

As Jesus was arraigned as an Impostor, for assuming the character of the Messiah, it was absolutely necessary, according to the usual forms, in judicial proceedings, to prove the fact, that he had claimed that character. And, the manner in which the Jews conducted themselves, in order to ascertain this fact, demonstrates the wisdom and the prudence, of our Lord's conduct, as narrated in the preceding History, in not declaring himself to be the Messiah, and shews, in the most striking point of view, the extreme propriety and, even the necessity, of the language, which he did adopt; for it appears that, notwithstanding their wicked artifices to obtain the necessary evidence of this important fact; they were constrained to apply to Jesus, that, if possible, they might extort from him the confession, that he was the Messiah, though in direct violation of a fundamental maxim in judicial proceedings, that a man should not be obliged to convict himself. When the witnesses who appeared against him, had delivered their evidence, such as it was, the High Priest, addressing

4tion of any system of opinions, we need not wonder at the obstinacy of "the Jewish Rulers. Their passions, generally violent, were all in arms, "and in the highest degree exasperated, against Christ and his religion. "That so many of that nation should have been his Disciples, is therefore

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more wonderful than that so many should have opposed him. In mò"dern times it cannot apparently be the interest of any, hardened sinners excepted, that the Gospel should not be true. Yet even in these days, "and in the most enlightened nations, a spirit of opposition to the Gospel, "and a want of candour with regard to its doctrines and evidence, are by "no means uncommon." See Beattie's Evidences of the Christian Relígion, pages 68, 69, 70, 73, 74. Vol. I.

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our Lord; asked him, what he had to say in his defence? Matt. xxvi. 62. Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus, according to the expressive language of the Evangelist, held his peace. The High Priest then, conscious of the deficiency of the evidence of the fact, which he wished to establish, and finding that Jesus made no reply to his question, said to him again,I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ-or the Messiah, the Son of the living God.

Although our Lord well knew the consequences of an acknowledgement that he was the Messiah; yet, being thus solemnly adjured, as to the nature of the character which he sustained; and having given the most unequivocal proofs in the miracles which he had wrought, and in the important instruçtions which he had from time to time communicated to them upon the subject; he, with great and becoming dignity replied,

Thou hast said,—or as it is in Mark, chap. xiv. 62. I am, i. e. I am the Christ-or the Messiah-to which he immediately added, Nevertheless I say unto you, hereafter, or as the original here, and in Luke xxii. 69. properly signify, from this time, shall -ye see the Son of Man-the Messiah, sitting on the right hand of power, and coming, not as you vainly imagine, with worldly pomp and splendor, to indulge your aspiring and ambitious views but in the clouds of heaven. As if he had said—The calamities which I have foretold, under the expression of coming in the clouds of Heaven, will soon begin to take place; which will very fully demonstrate, how much you have mistaken the true nature of the Messiah's character. St. Luke says, that this declaration, on the part of Jesus, produced another question, from the Jewish Rulers, chap xxii. 79. Then said they all,Art thou then the Son of God? i, e. Art thou the Messiah? plainly intimating, in what sense, they understood his assertion, that they should see him coming in the clouds of Heaven, and sitting on the right hand of poweror as it is in St. Luke, chap. xxii. 69--of the power of God.

This answer of our Lord to the questions of the Jewish Rulers the judicious Reader is requested, particularly, to observe, is similar to that language which he had before made use of in describing the awful calamities which were coming upon the Jews, as a Nation, Matt. xxiv. 30. They shall see the Son of Man, the Messiah, coming in the clouds of Heaven with power and great glory. In examining the meaning of

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that passage; it was observed, that this language was borrowed from the Prophecy of Daniel, when confessedly describing the coming of the Messiah; and, that the constant signification of the phrase, coming in clouds or in the clouds of Heaven, in the language of Prophecy is the execution of Judgments. But, whatever obscurity may have been supposed to exist, in Matt. xxiv. 30. in consequence of its connection, either with the preceding or the subsequent context-that obscurity cannot, in the present instance, possibly exist, for no one can entertain a doubt that the enquiry of the Jewish Rulers, upon this interesting and important occasion, related to the coming of the Messiah-or whether Jesus actually did profess to sustain that character, as he, most evidently, was arraigned, for assuming it falsely. * If therefore, there is any connection, between the question of the Jewish High Priest and the reply which our Lord made to it-if a person's meaning can be collected, from the situation and circumstances of things, at the time when he spoke these words the meaning of Jesus could be no other than this that though he was now, in the hands of his enemies, degraded-contemned and reviled, as a notorious Malefactor and Impostor, for assuming the character of the Messiah; yet that the claim which he had now, in the most public manner, made to it, was justly founded-and as a proof that it was so, and that they had totally mistaken its true nature-they

* Dr. Macknight very properly observes," that our Lord applied the "prophecy of Daniel, explicitly to himself, when the High Priest, in the "course of his trial, asked him if he was the Christ---or the Messiah; for, "having answered that he was, he added, out of Daniel's Vision, which, "by all was understood to prefigure the coming of the Messiah in his kingdom. "Mark xiv. 62. And ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power and coming in the clouds of Heaven. He applied this prophecy to himself likewise a few days before his Transfiguration, Matt. xvi. 28. "Verily I say unto you there be some here which shall not taste of death till they "see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom. He applied it to himself, in his "prophecy concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, and by introducing it "there, he shewed what particular event was meant in the Vision, by the Son "of Man's coming IN THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, Matt. xxiv. 30. And they shall "see the Son of Man coming in THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN, with power and great glory. He gave the same explication of this part of the Vision, Luke xvii. 30. where he calls the time of the destruction of Jerusalem---the day when the Son of Man is revealed---or pointed out, by this event, to be the Son of Man, in Daniel's Vision." See Macknight's Truth of the Gospel History, page 101. And for the sentiments of Bishop Chandler and Dr. Benson upon this subject, See page 109.

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should see the Son of Man, the Messiah, coming, not in the manner, in which they had expected him to come-but in the clouds of Heaven and that the vengeance which they had falsely imagined, was to be inflicted, upon their enemies, would be executed upon themselves. Such a declaration as this, must have been, a very severe and cutting one to them, as it struck at the root of all their dearest hopes and expectations! It was, as if he had said "You have been looking " and longing, with the utmost ardor and impatience, for a "person, under the character of your Messiah, who should

raise you to the highest distinction and pre-eminence among "the nations of the earth, and to render you prosperous and “successful, beyond the example of all former times. You "expect all the sensual gratifications, which power or "wealth can bestow-but these expectations will, most as"suredly, be frustrated: for though I, who have, in express 66 terms, asserted my claim to the character of the Messiah, 66 am now your prisoner, and the object of your utter con"tempt and derision though I am, as one of your own "prophets foretold of me, despised and rejected by you a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief-though in short, you see, in me, none of the characteristic marks of the "Messiah which you expected, and on that account, are "about to put me to a cruel and ignominious death, as an "Impostor yet, you shall soon see how much you have "been deceived-you shall see the Son of Man, the Messiah, "sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in THE CLOUDS OF HEAVEN. *

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This is one of the passages which Mr. Mede has referred to the second coming of Christ, and on which, he says, the Church hath always grounded her faith of that article. But from what hath been here advanced---there appears to be the most satisfactory evidence that it relates, solely, to the controversy which subsisted between Jesus and the Jews concerning the nature of the coming of the Messiah---the latter expecting that he would be a temporal Prince, to deliver them from the Roman yoke and raise them to the highest pitch of worldly glory---the former asserting that his coming would be, in cloudsor, in vengeance upon them. The Evangelists, it might have been imagined, had sufficiently guarded their Readers against misunderstanding them, not only, by the particular connection and occasion, in which the passage, in question, is introduced; but, by the use of the word, hereafter; which in the original, both here and in Luke xxii. 69. properly signifies--from the present time; which necessarily confines the meaning of our Lord's declara, tion to the age in which he lived. Of what use is language, if such precision is to be disregarded?

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