him to be the Messiah, yet there were many occurrences of his life, which they understood not (at the time when they happened) to be foretold of the Messiah; which, after his ascension, they found exactly to quadrate. Thus according to what was foretold of him, he rode into the city, "all the people crying, Hosanna, blessed is the King of Israel, that cometh in the name of the Lord." This was so open a declaration of his being the Messiah, that, Luke xix. 39, "Some of the pharisees from among "the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy dis

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ciples." But he was so far now from stopping them, or disowning this their acknowledgment of his being the Messiah, that he said unto them, "I tell you, that "if these should hold their peace, the stones would im"mediately cry out." And again upon the like occasion of their crying, "Hosanna to the Son of David," in the temple, Matt. xxi. 15, 16, "When the chief priests " and scribes were sore displeased, and said unto him, "Hearest thou what they say? Jesus said unto them, "Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouths of babes "and sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" And now, ver. 14, 15, "He cures the blind and the lame openly "in the temple. And when the chief priests and "scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the "children crying in the temple, Hosanna, they were "enraged." One would not think, that after the multitude of miracles that our Saviour had now been doing for above three years together, the curing the lame and blind should so much move them. But we must remember, that though his ministry had abounded with miracles, yet the most of them had been done about Galilee, and in parts remote from Jerusalem. There is but one left on record, hitherto done in that city; and that had so ill a reception, that they sought his life for it as we may read John v. 16. And therefore we hear not of his being at the next passover, because he was there only privately, as an ordinary jew the reason whereof we may read, John vii. 1," After these things "Jesus walked in Galilee; for he would not walk in "Jewry, because the jews sought to kill him."

Hence we may guess the reason why St. John omitted

the mention of his being at Jerusalem, at the third passover, after his baptism; probably because he did nothing memorable there. Indeed when he was at the feast of tabernacles, immediately preceding this his last passover, he cured the man born blind: but it appears not to have been done in Jerusalem itself, but in the way, as he retired to the mount of Olives; for there seems to have been nobody by when he did it, but his apostles. Compare ver. 2. with ver. 8, 10, of John ix. This, at least, is remarkable, that neither the cure of this blind man, nor that of the other infirm man, at the passover, above a twelve-month before, at Jerusalem, was done in the sight of the scribes, pharisees, chief priests, or rulers. Nor was it without reason, that in the former part of his ministry, he was cautious of showing himself to them to be the Messiah. But now, that he was come to the last scene of his life, and that the passover was come, the appointed time, wherein he was to complete the work he came for, in his death and resurrection, he does many things in Jerusalem itself before the face of the scribes, pharisees, and whole body of the jewish nation, to manifest himself to be the Messiah. And, as St. Luke says, chap. xix. 47, 48, "he taught daily in the temple: but "the chief priests, and the scribes, and the chief of the "people, sought to destroy him; and could not find " what they might do; for all the people were very at"tentive to hear him." What he taught we are left to guess, by what we have found him constantly preaching elsewhere but St. Luke tells us, chap. xx. 1, “He taught in the temple, and evangelized;" or, as we translate it," preached the gospel;" which, as we have showed, was the making known to them the good news of the kingdom of the Messiah. And this we shall find he did, in what now remains of his history.

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In the first discourse of his, which we find upon record, after this, John xii. 20, &c. he foretels his crucifixion, and the belief of all sorts, both jews and gentiles, on him after that. Whereupon the people say to him, ver. 34, "We have heard out of the law, that the "Messiah abideth for ever: and how sayest thou, that "the Son of man must be lifted up? Who is this Son

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"of man?" In his answer, he plainly designs himself under the name of Light; which was what he had declared himself to them to be, the last time that they had seen him in Jerusalem. For then at the feast of tabernacles, but six months before, he tells them in the very place where he now is, viz. in the temple, "I am "the Light of the world; whosoever follows me shall "not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life;" as we may read, John viii. 12. And ix. 5, he says, "As long as I am in the world, I am the LIGHT of the "world." But neither here, nor any-where else, does he, even in these four or five last days of his life, (though he knew his hour was come, and was prepared to his death, ver. 27, and scrupled not to manifest himself to the rulers of the jews to be the Messiah, by doing miracles before them in the temple,) ever once in direct words own himself to the jews to be the Messiah; though by miracles and other ways he did every-where make it known unto them, so that it might be understood. This could not be without some reason; and the preservation of his life, which he came now to Jerusalem on purpose to lay down, could not be it. What other could it then be, but the same which had made him use caution in the former part of his ministry; so to conduct himself, that he might do the work which he came for, and in all parts answer the character given of the Messiah, in the law and the prophets? He had fulfilled the time of his ministry; and now taught and did miracles openly in the temple, before the rulers and the people, not fearing to be seized. But he would not be seized for any thing that might make him a criminal to the government: and therefore he avoided giving those, who, in the division that was about him, inclined towards him, occasion of tumult for his sake: or to the jews, his enemies, matter of just accusation, against him, out of his own mouth, by professing himself to be the Messiah, the King of Israel, in direct words. It was enough that by words and deeds he declared it so to them, that they could not but understand him; which it is plain they did, Luke xx. 16, 19. Matt. xxi. 45. But yet neither his actions, which were

only doing of good; nor words, which were mystical and parabolical (as we may see, Matt. xxi. and xxii, and the parallel places of Matthew and Luke;) nor any of his ways of making himself known to be the Messiah; could be brought in testimony, or urged against him, as opposite or dangerous to the government. This preserved him from being condemned as a malefactor; and procured him a testimony from the Roman governor, his judge, that he was an innocent man, sacrificed to the envy of the jewish nation. So that he avoided saying that he was the Messiah, that to those who would call to mind his life and death, after his resurrection, he might the more clearly appear to be So. It is farther to be remarked, that though he often appeals to the testimony of his miracles, who he is, yet he never tells the jews, that he was born at Bethlehem, to remove the prejudice that lay against him, whilst he passed for a Galilean, and which was urged as a proof that he was not the Messiah, John vii. 41, 42. healing of the sick, and doing good miraculously, could be no crime in him, nor accusation against him. But the naming of Bethlehem for his birth-place might have wrought as much upon the mind of Pilate, as it did on Herod's; and have raised a suspicion in Pilate, as prejudicial to our Saviour's innocence as Herod was to the children born there. His pretending to be born at Bethlehem, as it was liable to be explained by the jews could not have failed to have met with a sinister interpretation in the Roman governor, and have rendered Jesus suspected of some criminal design against the government. And hence we see, that when Pilate asked him, John xix. 9, "Whence art thou? Jesus gave him 66 no answer.'

The

Whether our Saviour had not an eye to this straitness, this narrow room that was left to his conduct, between the new converts and the captious jews, when he says, Luke xii. 50, "I have a baptism to be baptized with, " and πws σuvéxoua, how am I straitened until it be ac"complished!" I leave to be considered. "I am "come to send fire on the earth," says our Saviour, "and what if it be already kindled ?" i. e. There be

gin already to be divisions about me, John vii. 12, 43, and ix. 16, and x. 19. And I have not the freedom, the latitude, to declare myself openly to be the Messiah; though I am he, that must not be spoken on, until after my death. My way to my throne is closely hedged in on every side, and much straitened; within which I must keep, until it bring me to my cross in its due time and manner; so that it do not cut short the time, nor cross the end of my ministry.

And therefore, to keep up this inoffensive character, and not to let it come within the reach of accident or calumny, he withdrew, with his apostles, out of the town, every evening; and kept himself retired out of the way, Luke xxi. 37. "And in the day-time he was "teaching in the temple, and every night he went out "and abode in the mount, that is called the Mount of "Olives," that he might avoid all concourse to him in the night, and give no occasion of disturbance, or suspicion of himself, in that great conflux of the whole nation of the jews, now assembled in Jerusalem at the passover.

But to return to his preaching in the temple: he bids them, John xii. 36, "To believe in the Light, whilst they have it." And he tells them, ver. 46, "I am "the Light come into the world, that every one who "believes in me, should not remain in darkness;" which believing in him, was the believing him to be the Messiah, as I have elsewhere showed.

The next day, Matt. xxi. he rebukes them for not having believed John the Baptist, who had testified that he was the Messiah. And then, in a parable, declares himself to be the "Son of God," whom they should destroy; and that for it God would take away the kingdom of the Messiah from them, and give it to the gentiles. That they understood him thus, is plain from Luke xxi. 16, "And when they heard it, they said, "God forbid." And ver. 19, "For they knew that "he had spoken this parable against them."

Much to the same purpose was his next parable, concern ng the kingdom of heaven," Matt. xxi. 110. That the jews not accepting of the kingdom