368

SECT.

Jesus is examined at the high-priest's hall.

The Lord turned and looked upon Peter. So may he graciously clxxxiv. look upon us if we at any time make any approach towards the Luke like sin! May he look upon us with a glance which shall penetrate xxii. 61. our hearts, and cause floods of penitential sorrow to flow forth! 62 Peter went out, and wept bitterly. He quitted that dangerous scene where temptation had met and vanquished him; and chose retirement and solitude to give vent to his overflowing soul. Thus may we recover ourselves; or rather, thus may we be recovered by Divine grace from those slips and falls which in this frail state we shall often be making! Let us retire from the business and the snares of life; that we may attend to the voice of conscience, and of God speaking by it; and may so taste the wormwood and the gall, that our souls may long have them in remembrance. To conclude; let us express the sincerity of our godly sorrow by a more cautious and resolute guard against the occasions of sin, if we would not be found to trifle with God when we pray that he would not lead us into temptation, but would deliver us from evil.

SECT.

John

SECT. CLXXXV.

Jesus is examined at the high-priest's hall, and afterwards condemned by the sanhedrim on confessing himself to be the Messiah. Mat. XXVI. 59–68. Mark XIV. 55-65, Luke XXII. 63, to the end. John XVIII. 19-23, 28.

JOHN XVIII. 19,

WE E now return to the examination of Jesus elxxxv. before the council, the thread of the story having been a little interrupted on the sad occaXVIII. sion of Peter's fall. The high-priest therefore 19 asked Jesus, as he stood before him, concerning his disciples, and concerning his doctrine; what it was that he taught, and with what view he had gathered so many followers.

20

JOHN XVIII. 19, THE high-priest then disciples, and of his asked Jesus of his doctrine.

20 Jesus answered him, I spake openly to

Jesus answered him, and said, What I have taught has been delivered in the most public the world; I ever taught manner, and I have spoke it openly and freely to in the synagogue, and the world; I have always, as I had proper op- in the temple, whither portunity, taught in the synagogue, and in the the Jews always retemple, whither the Jews continually resort in the I said nothing. greatest numbers; and have said nothing in secret, even to my most intimate friends, but what has been perfectly agreeable to the tenor of my

sort, and in secret have

21 public discourses. Why dost thou therefore ask 21 Why askest thou me, whose testimony in my own cause will not, me? ask them which

to

heard

False witnesses are sought to put him to death.

heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.

369

John

to be sure, be much regarded in such a circum. SECT.
stance as this, when I am standing as on a trial clxxxv.
for my life? Ask those that heard [me], what I
have spoken to them in the whole series of my mi- XVIII.
nistry; for behold they know it, and I am willing 21
to appeal to any impartial person among them as
to the innocence, propriety, and usefulness, of
what I have said.

22 And when he Such was the calm and rational reply which 22 had thus spoken, one Jesus made to those that examined him. But of the officers which stood by struck Jesus when he had spoken these things, one of the officers with the palm of his belonging to the court, who then stood by, rudely hand, saying, Answer- gave Jesus a blow, saying, Dost thou presume. est thou the high-priest to answer the high-priest thus, by sending him to others for a reply to his question?

so?

23 Jesus answered

him, If I have spoken

evil, bear witness of the evil; but if well,

why smitest thou me?

MAT. XXVI. 59. Now the chief priests

Jesus,

And Jesus, with his usual mildness, answered 23 him, If thou hast been one of my hearers, and canst say that I at any time have spoken evil, either of God or man, in the course of my preaching, thou wilt do well to bear thy testimeny concerning that evil: but if I have spoken well, why dost thou strike me? Can reason be answered by blows? or can such a sober appeal to it deserve them?

Now the chief priests and the elders of the Mat. and elders, and all the people, and the whole sanhedrim, with all its XXVI. council, sought [for] officers, not being able to make out a sufficient 59 false witness against accusation against Jesus from such answers as these, maliciously endeavoured by the vilest means to have something criminal alledged against him; and as they were determined to condemn him, that they might colour over their proceedings with some form of law, they sought for false evidence against Jesus, that they might put

a Gave Jesus a blow.] As the word pazioa is supposed by many etymologists to be derived from ga, a staff, or stick, Beza would therefore render it, he smote him with a staff: but the word is apparently used for any blow; and to limit it, as our translators do, to what we commonly call a slap on the face, does not seem reasonable; though Suidas explains it so; and Mat. v. 39. intimates it may have that sense.

b If I have spoken evil, either of God or man, in the course of my preaching, &c.] The pious and ingenious Mr. Bonnel (whose exemplary life deserves frequent reading, and whose harmony is in the main very judicious) is the only writer I have met with who seems to give the true sense of this clause. He urges the use of the word thanoa for Christ's teaching (ver. 20, 21),

and observes, that bearing witness could
not refer to the answer he had just made
to the high priest; but might properly be
used as to the course of his preaching, which
the high priest had not heard. He also sup-
poses that in Christ's appeal to his hearers
the person who smote Christ was singled out
by his eye, among others, as one who had
been his auditor; and that the language of
the blow was in effect as if he had said,

This is what I think your preaching de-
serves." But as he himselt seems to as-
sign another reason for this blow, even the
pretended rudeness of the answer Christ had
made to the high-priest, I have not follow-
ed Mr. Bonnel in my paraphrase on the pre-
ceding verse. See Bonnel's Harmony, p.
562.

c Sought

370

Mat.

But they could find none whose testimony was sufficient.

55.]

SECT. put him to death; and managed the trial in so Jesus, to put him to clxxxv. partial and unjust a manner, that they did in death. [MARK XIV. effect invite any of the most infamous of manXXVI. kind to come and depose against him, with the 60 assurance of being favourably heard: But they 60-But found none: found none that fully answered their purpose; false witnesses came [for] though many for though many false witnesses came, [and] false- [and bare false witness ly testified against him, yet they found none suffi- against him,] yet found cient; [for] the testimonies they gave did not so they none; for their far agree together, as that a capital sentence gether.] [MARK XIV. could be passed upon him on that evidence; 56.] since such a case required, at least, the concurrent oath of two persons. (See Deut. xvii. 6. xix. 15.)

witness agreed not to

-60 At the last

At last there came two false witnesses, [who], maliciously wresting some words he had former- [there] came two faise ly spoken relating to his own death and resur- and bare false witness witnesses, [who arose, rection, rose up, and falsely testified against him, against him.] [MARK 61 Saying, upon their oaths, This fellow said, in our XV. 57.]

61 And said, This

in three days.

We heard him say, I

hearing, I am able to destroy the temple of God, fellow said, I am able and to build it up again in three days: and would to destroy the temple any one talk of destroying it, unless he was an of God, and to build it enemy to that holy place? or think of building it again so soon, unless he was in league with Mark Beelzebub? [Yea] one of them, designing MARK XIV. 58. XIV. 58 to aggravate the matter, confidently affirmed, will destroy this temWe heard him say, I will destroy this temple that ple that is made with is made with hands, and in three days time I will hands, and within three build up another, which shall be made without days I will build anthe help of hands, in obedience to my com59 mand. Yet neither thus did their testimony exactly agree, nor was sufficient to convict him; as evidently appears from comparing the different words in which it was expressed: and as this difference was observed in court, they could not for shame proceed upon the evidence so as

c Sought for false evidence,—but found none.] As this was a great proof of Christ's innocence (for otherwise his confederates might have been glad to purchase their own security by impeaching him,) so it is a sin gular instance of the power of God over men's minds, that for all the rewards these great men could offer, no two consistent witnesses could be procured to charge him with any gross crime. Possibly the exertion of his miraculous power in striking to the ground those that were most forward to seize him, might intimidate the spirits of some who might otherwise have been prevailed upon.

d Designing to aggravate the matter,

to

other made without

hands.

59 But neither so did their witness agree together.

&c.] This is one instance, among many others, in which the bow of malice has been broke by overstraining it, and innocence cleared up by the very extravagance of those charges which had been advanced against it.-It is observable that the words which they thus misrepresented were spoken by Christ at least three years before. (Compare John ii. 19. Vol. VI. p. 158.) Their going back so far to find matter for the charge they brought was a glorious, though silent, attestation of the unexceptionable manner in which our Lord had behaved himself during all the course of his public ministry.

He is led away from thence to the sanhedrim.

LUKE XXII. 66.

day, the elders of the

into their council.

clxxxv.

371 to condemn Jesus to death for words which no SECT. two persons could pretend to ascertain; nor would they indeed have amounted to a capital Mark crime if they had jointly been charged upon XIV. 58

him.

XXI1.66

However, they resolved to try him in full Luke And as soon as it was council, even on this slender evidence, hoping people, and the chief that some further discovery would arise in the priests, and the scribes process of the examination. And accordingly, came together, and led as soon as it was day, after a very short recess, [Jesus from Caiaphas] the elders of the people, and the chief priests and [JOHN XVIII. 28.-] the scribes, who made up the sanhedrim, assembled together; and they led Jesus away from [the house of] Caiaphas the high-priest to their council, or to that magnificent chamber where their court used to sit for the dispatch of public MAKK XIV. 60. business. And, producing what imperfect evi- Mark And the high-priest dence they had, to give some colour to their XIV. 60 and asked Jesus, say- proceedings, while no regard was shewn by ing, Answerest thou Jesus to such false and frivolous accusations, the nothing? What is it which these witness high-priest stood up in the midst of the council, against thee? [MAT. and asked Jesus, saying. Answerest thou nothing? XXVI. 62.] What is it that these men testify against thee? Is But [Jesus] it true, or false? But Jesus, knowing how held his peace, and answered nothing. Vain it would be to plead for himself in so un[MAT. XXVI. 63.—] righteous a court, whose members came determined to condemn him, was silent, and made no reply.

stood up in the midst,

61

LUXE XXII. 67. [And they said,] Art thou the Christ tell And he said unto them, If I tell you, you will not believe.

us.

61

XXII. 67

And they said to him, Why art thou so much Luke upon the reserve? Dost thou give up the pretensions thou hast formerly made, or dost thou still maintain them? If thou art indeed the Messiah, tell us plainly, and it will bring matters to a short issue. And he said to them, If I tell you ever so plainly, I know that you will 68 And if I also ask not believe: And if I also ask [you.] Wherefore 68 it is that you persist in this unreasonable infidelity, you will only overbear me with renewed violence, and will neither answer nor dismiss

you, you will not answer me, nor let me go.

MAT. XXVI.-63.

me.

63

And [again] the high- And again the high-priest answered and said to Mat. priest answered and him, Think not that such evasions will suffice in XXVI. said unto him, I adjure an affair of such importance as this: thou knowthee by the living God, that thou tell us whe- est I have a way of coming at the certain truth, ther thou be the Christ and therefore I adjure thee in the most solemn the manner, by the name and authority of the living

e If thou art the Messiah, tell us.] Probably these wretches hoped to gain a great advantage against Jesus either way: if he confessed it, they would condemn him on VOL. VII.

God,

372

Being adjured to tell whether he be the Chri, he owns it.

SECT. God, whose high-priest I am, and to whom he the Son of [the blessed] clxxxv. has committed the power of administering this God? [MARK XIV.— 61.] oath f, that thou tell us directly, in the plainest

Mat.

XXVI. terms whether thou be the Messiah, the Son of the

63 ever-blessed God, or not?

64

Luke

XXII.70

Mat.

XXVI.

hast said: [I am :] ne

And Jesus boldly said to him, Thou hast 64 [And] Jesus said [right,] and mentioned me by my true and saith unto him, Thou proper titles; for I am indeed the Messiah, nor vertheless, I say unto will I ever recede from that claim and more- you, Hereafter shall ye over, though you may now condemn me to death see the Son of man sittting on the rightfor asserting it, yet I solemnly declare to you hand, [LUKE, of the all, That hereafter the day will come, when power of God,] and ye shall see the Son of man, who now stands in coming in the clouds of heaven. [MARK this despised and lowly form at your tribunal, XIV. 62. LUKE XXII. exalted to all the dignity and glory which that high title imports, sitting at the right-hand of the power and majesty of God, and coming with irresistible strength in the clouds of heaven, to take vengeance on the proudest of his enemies h.

65.

69.]

Then said they all, Art thou then the Son of God? And he said

LUKE XXII. 70.

unto them, Ye say that

And upon this, as they were willing to make
sure of so important a confession, they pressed
him with the question again, and all said, as in
amazement, Art thou then really the Son of God, m.
who is promised under the character of the Mes-
siah? and wilt thou actually abide and stand by
this profession, that thou art? And he said to
them, I will never retract it; ye say right, and
may be assured that I am.

MAT. XXVI. 65. Then the high-priest rent his clothes, say

Then the high priest, with all the hypocritical forms of pious indignation, rent his clothes, as in grief for the great dishonour done to God by ing, He hath spoken so false an oath, and so presumptuous a claim, blasphemy; what furas he pretended this to be; and he said, He has ther need have we now spoken the most direct blasphemy, in profess- now ye have heard his ing himself to be the Son of the most high God; blasphemy.

fTo whom he has committed the power of administering this oath.] That the Jewish high-priests had indeed such a power may appear from comparing Exod. xxii. 11. Lev. v. 1. and Prov. xxix. 24. xxx. 9. g Thou hast said right.] Sec note i, Mat. xxvi. 25. sect. clxx. p. 288.

h Ye shall see the Son of man, &c.] There seems a plain reference here to the view in which the Son of man is represented, Dan. vii. 13, 14, where he is said to come with the clouds of heaven to receive a dominion, &c. or to appear, as God did on mount Sinai in a chariot of clouds attended by angelic hosts. Our Lord looked very unlike that person now: but nothing could be more awful, majestic, and becoming, than such an admonition in these circumstan.

of witnesses? Behold,

[MARK

What XIV. 63, 64.-]

ces. Dr. Whitby excellently proves, 'in his Note on Mat. xxvi. 64. that the righthand of power is a phrase equivalent to the right-hand of God.

iRent his clothes.] Though the highpriest was forbidden to rend his clothes in some cases, when others were allowed to do it, (Lev. xxi. 10. yet in case of blasphemy, or any public calamity, it was thought allowable. (See 1 Mac. xi. 71. and Joseph. Bell. Jud. lib. ii. 15. § 2, 4.) Caiaphas therefore by this action expressed in the strongest and most artful manner his horror at hearing so vile a wretch, as he pretended Jesus was, thus claiming the sovereignty over Israel, and a seat at the right-hand of God, and this when adjured upon oath on so solemn an occasion.

k They