nounced him innocent. But we fee what he faid to his accufers, Luke xxiii. 13, 14. Pilate, when he had "called together the chief priests and the rulers of the "people, faid unto them, you have brought this man unto me, as one that perverteth the people; and behold, I, having examined him before you, have "found no fault in this man, touching those things "whereof you accufe him: no, nor yet Herod, for I "fent you to him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death " is done by him." And therefore, finding a man of that mean condition, and innocent life, (no mover of feditions, or disturber of the publick peace) without a friend or a follower, he would have difmiffed him, as a king of no confequence; as an innocent man, falfely and maliciously accufed by the jews.

How neceffary this caution was in our Saviour, to fay or do nothing that might juftly offend, or render him fufpected to the roman governor; and how glad the jews would have been to have had any fuch thing against him, we may fee, Luke xx. 20. The chief priefts and the fcribes "watched him, and fent forth

fpies, who fhould feign themselves juft men, that might take hold of his words, that fo they might "deliver him unto the power and authority of the

governor. And the very thing wherein they hoped to entrap him in this place, was paying tribute to Cæfar; which they afterwards falfely accufed him of. And what would they have done, if he had before them profeffed himself to have been the Meffiah, their King and deliverer?

And here we may obferve the wonderful providence of God, who had fo ordered the ftate of the jews, at the time when his fon was to come into the world, that though neither their civil conftitution, nor religious worfhip were diffolved, yet the power of life and death was taken from them; whereby he had an opportunity to publifh the kingdom of the Meffiah;" that is, his own royalty, under the name of "the kingdom of God, and of "heaven;" which the jews well enough underfood, and would certainly have put him to death for, had the power been in their own hands. But this being no mat

ter

ter of accufation to the romans, hindered him not from fpeaking of the "kingdom of heaven," as he did, fometimes in reference to his appearing in the world, and being believed on by particular perfons; fometimes in reference to the power should be given him by the Father at his refurrection; and fometimes in reference to his coming to judge the world at the laft day, in the full glory and completion of his kingdom. These were ways of declaring himself, which the jews could lay no hold on, to bring him in danger with Pontius Pilate, and get him feized and put to death.

Another reason there was, that hindered him as much as the former, from profeffing himself, in exprefs words, to be the Meffiah; and that was, that the whole nation of the jews, expecting at this time their Meffiah, and deliverance by him, from the fubjection they were in to a foreign yoke, the body of the people would certainly, upon his declaring himself to be the Messiah, their king, have rose up in rebellion, and set him at the head of them. And indeed, the miracles that he did, fo much difpofed them to think him to be the Meffiah, that, though fhrouded under the obfcurity of a mean condition, and a very private fimple life; though he paffed for a Galilean, (his birth at Bethlehem being then concealed) and affumed not to himself any power or authority, or fo much as the name of the Meffiah; yet he could hardly avoid being fet up by a tumult, and proclaimed their king. So John tells us, chap vi. 14, 15, "Then thofe men, when they had "feen the miracles that Jefus did, faid, This is of a "truth that prophet that should come into the world. "When therefore Jefus perceived that they would "come to take him by force to make him king, he

departed again into a mountain, himself alone." This was upon his feeding of five thousand with five barley loaves and two fishes. So hard was it for him, doing those miracles which were neceffary to testify. his miffion, and which often drew great multitudes after him, Matt. iv. 25, to keep the heady and hafty multitude from fuch disorder, as would have involved him in it; and have disturbed the course, and cut short

the

the time of his miniftry; and drawn on him the reputation and death of a turbulent, feditious malefactor contrary to the defign of his coming, which was, to be offered up a lamb blameless, and void of offence; his innocence appearing to all the world, even to him that delivered him up to be crucified. This it would have been impoffible to have avoided, if, in his preaching every-where, he had openly affumed to himself the title of their Meffiah; which was all was wanting to fet the people in a flame; who drawn by his miracles, and the hopes of finding a Deliverer in fo extraordinary a man, followed him in great numbers. We read everywhere of multitudes, and in Luke xii. 1, of myriads that were gathered about him. This conflux of people, thus difpofed, would not have failed, upon his declaring himself to be the Meffiah, to have made a commotion, and with force fet him up for their King. It is plain, therefore, from these two reafons, why (though he came to preach the gofpel, and convert the world to a belief of his being the Meffiah; and though he says so much of his kingdom, under the title of the kingdom of God, and the kingdom of heaven) he yet makes it not his bufinefs to perfuade them, that he himself is the Meffiah, nor does, in his publick preaching, declare himself to be him. He inculcates to the people, on all occafions, that the kingdom of God is come: he shows the way of admittance into this kingdom, viz. repentance and baptifm; and teaches the laws of it, viz. good life, according to the strictest rules of virtue and morality. But who the King was of this kingdom, he leaves to his miracles to point out, to thofe who would confider what he did, and make the right ufe of it now; o to witness to those who should hearken to the apostles hereafter, when they preached it in plain words, and called upon them to believe it, after his refurrection, when there should be no longer room to fear, that it fhould cause any disturbance in civil focieties, and the governments of the world. But he could not declare himself to be the Meffiah, without manifeft danger of tumult and fedition and the miracles he did declared it so much, that he was fain often to hide himself, and

withdraw

withdraw from the concourse of the people. The leper that he cured, Mark i, though forbid to fay any thing, "blazed it fo abroad, that Jefus could no more yet "openly enter into the city, but was without in defert places," living in retirement, as appears from Luke v. 16. and there "they came to him from every quarAnd thus he did more than once.

<<ter.'

This being premised, let us take a view of the promulgation of the gospel by our Saviour hin.felf, and fee what it was he taught the world, and required men to believe.

The first beginning of his miniftry, whereby he showed himself, feems to be at Cana in Galilee, foon after his baptifm; where he turned water into wine: of which St. John, chap ii. 11, fays thus: "This beginning of miracles Jefus made, and manifested his glory, and his disciples believed in him." His difciples here believed in him, but we hear not of any other preaching to them, but by this miracle, whereby he "manifefted his glory," i. e. of being the Meffiah, the Prince. So Nathanael, without any other preaching, but only our Saviour's discovering to him, that he knew him after an extraordinary manner, presently acknowledges him to be the Meffiah; crying, "Rabbi, "thou art the Son of God; thou art the King of "Ifrael."

From hence, staying a few days at Capernaum, he goes to Jerufalem to the paffover, and there he drives the traders out of the temple, John ii. 12-15, faying, "Make not my Father's house a house of merchan"dize." Where we fee he uses a phrafe, which, by interpretation, fignifies that he was the "Son of God," though at that time unregarded. Ver. 16, Hereupon the Jews demand, "What fign doft thou show us, fince "thou doeft these things?" Jefus anfwered, "Destroy ye this temple, and in three days I will raise it again." This is an inftance of what way Jefus took to declare himself: for it is plain, by their reply, the Jews understood him not, nor his difciples neither; for it is faid, ver. 22, "When, therefore, he was rifen from the dead, his difciples remembered, "that hẹ he

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"faid this to them: and they believed the fcripture, "and the faying of Jefus to them."

This, therefore, we may look on in the beginning, as a pattern of Chrift's preaching, and showing himself to the jews, which he generally followed afterwards; viz. fuch a manifeftation of himself, as every one at present could not understand; but yet carried fuch an evidence with it, to those who were well difpofed now, or would reflect on it when the whole courfe of his ministry was over, as was fufficient clearly to convince them that he was the Meffiah.

The reafon of this method used by our Saviour, the fcripture gives us here, at this his firft appearing in public, after his entrance upon his miniftry, to be a rule and light to us in the whole courfe of it: for the next verse taking notice, that many believed on him, "because of his miracles," (which was all the preaching they had,) it is faid, ver. 24, "But Jefus did not "commit himself unto them, because he knew all "men;" i. e. he declared not himself so openly to be the Meffiah, their King, as to put himself into the power of the jews, by laying himself open to their malice; who, he knew, would be fo ready to lay hold on it to accufe him; for, as the next verse 25, shows, he knew well enough what was in them. We may here farther observe, that" believing in his name" fignifies believing him to be the Meffiah. Ver. 22, tells us, That many at the paffover believed in his name, when they "faw the miracles that he did." What other faith could thefe miracles produce in them who faw them, but that this was he of whom the fcripture fpoke, who was to be their Deliverer?

Whilft he was now at Jerufalem, Nicodemus, a ruler of the jews, comes to him, John iii. 1-21. to whom he preaches eternal life by faith in the Meffiah, ver. 15 and 17, but in general terms, without naming himself to be that Meffiah, though his whole difcourfe tends to it. This is all we hear of our Saviour the first year of his ministry, but only his baptifm, fafting, and temptation in the beginning of it, and spending the rest of it after the paffover, in Judea with his difciples, baptizing there.