The scribes and pharisees and chief priests, not able to bear the declaration he made of himself to be the Messiah (by his discourses and miracles before them, '/^Trpoo-Ofv auroJv, John xii. 37, which he had never done before) impatient of his preaching and miracles, and being not able otherwise to stop the increase of his fol lowers, (for, " said the pharisees among themselves, " Perceive ye how ye prevail nothing? Behold, the " world is gone after him,") John xii. 19. So that " the chief priests, and the scribes, and the chief of the " people sought to destroy him," the first day of his entrance into Jerusalem, Luke xix. 47. The next day again, they were intent upon the same thing, Mark xi. 17, 18, " And he taught in the temple; and the scribes *• and the chief priests heard it, and sought how they " might destroy him; for they feared him, because all " the people were astonished at his doctrine."
The next day but one, upon his telling them the kingdom of the Messiah should be taken from them, " The chief priests and scribes sought to lay hands on " him the same hour, and they feared the people," Luke xx. 19." If they had so great a desire to lay hold on him, why did they not? They were the chief priests and the rulers, the men of power. The reason St. Luke plainly tells us in the next verse: " And they watched " him, and sent forth spies, who should feign them- " selves just men, that they might take hold of his " words, that so they might deliver him unto the " power and authority of the governor." They wanted matter of accusation against him, to the power they were under; that they watched for, and that they would have been glad of, if they could have " entangled him in his " talk;" as St. Matthew expresses it, chap. xxii. 15. If they could have laid hold on any word, that had dropt from him, that they might have rendered him guilty, or suspected to the Roman governor; that would have served their turn, to have laid hold upon him, with hopes to destroy him. For their power not answering their malice, they could not put him to death by their as delivered in the Scriptures. 73 own authority, without the permission and assistance of the governor; as they confess, John xviii. 31, " It is " not lawful for us to put any man to death." This made them so earnest for a declaration in direct words, from his own mouth, that he was the Messiah. It was not that they would more have believed in him, for such a declaration of himself, than they did for his miracles, or other ways of making himself known, which it ap pears they understood well enough. But they wanted plain direct words, such as might support an accusation, and be of weight before an heathen judge. This was the reason why they pressed him to speak out, John x. 24, " Then came the jews round about him, and said " unto him, How long dost thou hold us in suspense? " If thou be the Messiah, tell us PLAINLY, TrappW*;" i. e. in direct words: for that St. John uses it in that sense we may see, chap. xi. 11 — 14, " Jesus saith to " them, Lazarus sleepeth. His disciples said, If he " sleeps, he shall do well. Howbeit, Jesus spake of " his death; but they thought he had spoken of taking " rest in sleep. Then said Jesus to them plainly, wap- " pcti<na, Lazarus is dead." Here we see what is meant by Trapp'rxna, PLAIN, direct words, such as express the same thing without a figure; and so they would have had Jesus pronounce himself to be the Messiah. And the same thing they press again, Matt. xxvi. 6'3, the high priest adjuring him by the living God, to tell them whether he were the Messiah the Son of God; as we shall have occasion to take notice by-and-by.
This we may observe in the whole management of their design against his life. It turned upon this, that they wanted and wished for a declaration from him in direct words, that he was the Messiah; something from his own mouth that might offend the Roman power, and render him criminal to Pilate. In the 21st verse of this xxth of Luke, " They asked him, saying, Master, we " know that thou sayest and teachest rightly; neither " acceptest thou the person of any, but teachest the " way of God truly. Is it lawful for us to give tribute " to Caesar, or no?" By this captious question they hoped to catch him, which way soever he answered, 74 The Reasonableness of Christianity, For if he had said they ought to pay tribute to Caesar, it would be plain he allowed their subjection to the Ro mans; and so in effect disowned himself to be their King and Deliverer; whereby he would have contra dicted what his carriage and doctrine seemed to aim at, the opinion that was spread amongst the people, that he was the Messiah. This would have quashed the hopes, and destroyed the faith of those that believed on him; and have turned the ears and hearts of the people from him. If on the other side he answered, No, it is not lawful to pay tribute to Caesar, they had out of his own mouth wherewithal to condemn him before Pontius Pilate. But St. Luke tells us, ver. 23, " He " perceived their craftiness, and said unto them, Why " tempt ye me?" i. e. Why do ye lay snares for me? " Ye hypocrites, show me the tribute money;" so it is, Matt. xxii. 19, " Whose image and inscription has it? " They said Caesar's." He said unto them, " Render " therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and u to God the things that are God's." By the wisdom and caution of which unexpected answer, he defeated their whole design: " and they could not take hold of " his words before the people; and they marvelled at " his answer j and held their peace." Luke xx. 26. <( And leaving him, they departed." Matt. xxii. 22.
He having, by this reply (and what he answered to the sadducees, concerning the resurrection, and to the lawyer about the first commandment, Mark xii.) an swered so little to their satisfaction or advantage, they durst ask him no more questions, any of them. And now, their mouths being stopped, he himself begins to ques tion them about the Messiah; asking the pharisees, Matt. xxii. 41, " What think ye of the Messiah? whose " son is he? They say unto him, the Son of David." Wherein though they answered right, yet he shows them in the following words, that, however they pretended to be studiers and teachers of the law, yet they understood not clearly the scriptures concerning the Messiah; and thereupon he sharply rebukes their hypocrisy, vanity, pride, malice, covetousness, and ignorance; and par ticularly tells them, ver. 13, " Ye shut up the kingas delivered in the Scriptures. 75 " dom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in " yourselves, nor suffer ye them that are entering, to " go in." Whereby he plainly declares to them, that the Messiah was come, and his kingdom begun; but that they refused to believe in him themselves, and did all they could to hinder others from believing in him; as is manifest throughout the New Testament; the history whereof sufficiently explains what is meant here by " the kingdom of heaven," which the scribes and pharisees would neither go into themselves, nor suffer others to enter into. And they could not choose but understand him, though he named not himself in the case.
Provoked anew by his rebukes, they get presently to council, Matt. xxvi. 3, 4. " Then assembled together " the chief priests, and the scribes and the elders of " the people, unto the palace of the high priest, who " was called Caiaphas, and consulted that they might " take Jesus by subtlety, and kill him* But they said, " Not on the feast-day, lest there should be an uproar " among the people. For they feared the people/' says Luke, chap. xxii. 2.
Having in the night got Jesus into their hands, by the treachery of Judas, they presently led him away bound to Annas, the father-in-law of Caiaphas. Annas, probably, having examined him, and getting nothing out of him for his purpose, sends him away to Caiaphas, John xviii. 24, where the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders were assembled, Matt. xxvi. 57. John xviii. 13, 19. " The high priest then asked Jesus of his dis- " ciples, and of his doctrine. Jesus answered him, I " spake openly to the world: I ever taught in the syna- " gogue, and in the temple, whither the jews always " resort, and in secret have I said nothing." A proof that he had not in private, to his disciples, declared himself in express words to be the Messiah, the Prince. But he goes on: " Why askest thou me?" Ask Judas, who has been always with me. " Ask them who heard " me, what I have said unto them; behold, they know " what I said." Our Saviour, we see here, warily de clines, for the reasons above-mentioned, all discourse of his doctrine* The sanhedrim, Matt, xxvi, 59, 76 The Reasonableness of Christianity, " sought false witness against him:" but when " they " found none that were sufficient," or came up to the point they desired, which was to have something against him to take away his life (for so I think the words Ira* and trn mean, Mark xiv. 56, 59.) they try again what they can get out of him himself, concerning his being the Messiah; which, if he owned in express words, they thought they should have enough against him at the tribunal of the Roman governor, to make him " Ise- " sae majestatis reum," and to take away his life. They therefore say to him, Luke xxii. 67. " If thou be the " Messiah, tell us." Nay, as St. Matthew hath it, the high priest adjures him by the living God, to tell him whether he were the Messiah. To which our Saviour replies, " If I tell you, ye will not believe; and if I " also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go." If I tell you, and prove to you, by the testimony given me from heaven, and by the works that I have done among you, you will not believe in me, that I am the Messiah. Or if I should ask where the Messiah is to be born, and what state he should come in; how he should appear, and other things that you think in me are not reconcileable with the Messiah; you will not answer me, nor let me go, as one that has no pretence to be the Messiah, and you are not afraid should be received for such. But yet I tell you, " Hereafter shall the Son " of man sit on the right hand of the power of God," ver. 70. " Then say they all, Art thou then the Son of " God? And he said unto them, Ye say that I am." By which discourse with them, related at large here by St. Luke, it is plain, that the answer of our Saviour, set down by St. Matthew, chap. xxvi. 64, in these words, " Thou hast said;" and by St. Mark, chap. xiv. 62, in these, " I am;" is in answer only to this ques tion, "Art thou then the Son of God?" and not to that other, " Art thou the Messiah?" which preceded, and he had answered to before; though Matthew and Mark, contracting the story, set them down together, as if making but one question, omitting all the interven ing discourse; whereas it is plain out of St. Luke, that they were two distinct questions, to which Jesus gave two distinct answers. In the first whereof he, accordas delivered in the Scriptures. 77 ing to his usual caution, declined saying in plain ex press words, that he was the Messiah; though in the latter he owned himself to be " the Son of God." Which though they, being jews, understood to signify the Messiah, yet he knew could be no legal or weighty accusation against him before a heathen; and so it proved. For upon his answering to their question, " Art thou then the Son of God? Ye say that I am;" they cry out, Luke xxii. 71, " What need we any fur- " ther witness? For we ourselves have heard out of his " own mouth." And so thinking they had enough against him, they hurry him away to Pilate* Pilate asking them, John xviii. 29 — 32, " What accusation " bring you against this man? They answered and said, " If he were not a malefactor we would not have deli- " vered him up unto thee." Then said Pilate unto them, " Take ye him, and judge him according to your " law." But this would not serve their turn, who aimed at his life, and would be satisfied with nothing else. " The jews therefore said unto him, It is not lawful for " us to put any man to death." And this was also, " That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which " he spake, signifying what death he should die." Pur suing therefore their design of making him appear, to Pontius Pilate, guilty of treason against Caesar, Luke xxiii. 2, " They began to accuse him, saying, We " found this fellow perverting the nation, and forbid- " ding to give tribute to Caesar; saying, that he him- " self is the Messiah, the King;" all which were infe rences of theirs, from his saying, he was " the Son of " God:" which Pontius Pilate finding (for it is conso nant that he examined them to the precise words he had said), their accusation had no weight with him. How ever, the name of king being suggested against Jesus, he thought himself concerned to search it to the bot tom, John xviii. 33 — 37. " Then Pilate entered again " into the judgment-hall, and called Jesus, and said " unto him, Art thou the king of the jews? Jesus an- " svvered him, Sayest thou this of thyself, or did others " tell it thee of me? Pilate answered, Am 1 a jew? (< Thine own nation and the chief priests have deli- 78 The Reasonableness of Christianity, " vered thee unto me: what hast thou done? Jesus an- " swered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my king- " dom were of this world, then would my servants " fight, that I should not be delivered to the jews; " but now my kingdom is not from hence. Pilate there- " fore said unto him. Art thou a king then? Jesus an- " swered, Thou sayest that I am a king. For this end " was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, " that I should bear witness to the truth: every one " that is of the truth heareth my voice." In this dia logue between our Saviour and Pilate, we may observe, 1. That being asked, Whether he were " The king of the jews?" he answered so, that though he deny it not, yet he avoids giving the least umbrage, that he had any design upon the government. For, though he al lows himself to be a king, yet, to obviate any suspicion, he tells Pilate, " his kingdom is not of this world;" and evidences it by this, that if he had pretended to any title to that country, his followers, which were not a few, and were forward enough to believe him their king, would have fought for him, if he had had a mind to set himself up by force, or his kingdom were so to be erected. " But my kingdom," says he, " is not from hence," is not of this fashion, or of this place.
, 2. Pilate being, by his words and circumstances, sa tisfied that he laid no claim to his province, or meant any disturbance of the government; was yet a little surprised to hear a man in that poor garb, without re tinue, or so much as a servant, or a friend, own himself to be a king; and therefore asks him, with some kind of wonder, " Art thou a king then?"
3. That our Saviour declares, that his great business into the world was, to testify and make good this great truth, that he was a king; i. e. in other words, that he was the Messiah.
4. That whoever were followers of truth, and got into the way of truth and happiness, received this doc trine concerning him, viz. That he was the Messiah, their King.
Pilate being thus satisfied that he neither meant, nor could there arise, any harm from his pretence, whatas delivered in the Scriptures. 79 ever it was, to be a king; tells the jews, ver. 31, " I " find no fault in this man." But the jews were the more fierce, Luke xxiii. 5. saying, " He stirreth up the " people to sedition, by his preaching through all " Jewry, beginning from Galilee to this place.'* And then Pilate, learning that he was of Galilee, Herod's jurisdiction, sent him to Herod; to whom also " the " chief priests and scribes," ver. 10, " vehemently ac- " cused him." Herod, finding all their accusations either false or frivolous, thought our Saviour a bare ob ject of contempt; arid so turning him only into ridi cule, sent him back to Pilate: who, calling unto him the chief priests, and the rulers, and the people, ver. 14, " Said unto them, Ye 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 these things whereof ye " accuse him; no, nor yet Herod; for I sent you to " him: and lo, nothing worthy of death is done by " him." And therefore he would have released him: " For he knew the chief priests had delivered him " through envy," Mark xv. 10. And when they de manded Barabbas to be released, but as for Jesus, cried, " Crucify him;" Luke xxiii. 9/2; " Pilate said unto " them the third time, Why? What evil hath he done? " I have found no cause of death in him; I will, there- " fore, chastise him, and let him go.
We may observe, in all this whole prosecution of the jews, that they would fain have got it out of Jesus's own mouth, in express words, that he was the Messiah: which not being able to do, with all their heart and en deavour; all the rest that they could allege against him not amounting to a proof before Pilate, that he claimed to be king of the jews; or that he had caused, or done any thing towards a mutiny or insurrection among the people (for upon these two, as we see, their whole charge turned); Pilate again and again pronounced him innocent: for so he did a fourth, and a fifth time; bringing him out to them, after he had whipped him, John xix. 4, 6. And after all, " when Pilate saw that " he could prevail nothing, but that rather a tumult 80 The Reasonableness of Christianity, " was made, he took water, and washed his hands be- " fore the multitude, saying-, I am innocent of the " blood of this just man: see you to it:" Matt, xxvii. 24. Which gives us a clear reason of the cautious and wary conduct of our Saviour, in not declaring- himself, in the whole course of his ministry, so much as to his disciples, much less to the multitude, or to the rulers of the jews, in express words, to be the Messiah the King; and why he kept himself always in prophetical or parabolical terms (he and his disciples preaching only the kingdom of God, i. e. of the Messiah, to be come), and left to his miracles to declare who he was; though this was the truth, which he came into the world, as he says himself, John xviii. 37, to testify and which his disciples were to believe.
When Pilate, satisfied of his innocence, would have released him; and the jews persisted to cry out, " Cru- " cify him, crucify him," John xix. 6, " Pilate says " to them, Take ye him yourselves, and crucify him: " for I do not find any fault in him." The jews then, since they could not make him a state criminal, by alleging his saying, that he was " the Son of God," say, by their law it was a capital crime, ver. 7. " The " jews answered to Pilate, AVe have a law, and by our " law he ought to die; because he made himself the " Son of God," i. e. because, by saying " he is the Son " of God," he has made himself the Messiah, the pro phet, which was to come. For we find no other law but that against false prophets, Deut. xviii. 20, whereby " making himself the Son of God," deserved death. After this, Pilate was the more desirous to release him, ver. 12, 13. " But the jews cried out, saying, If thou " let this man go, thou art not Caesar's friend; whoso- " ever maketh himself a king, speaketh against Caesar." Here we see the stress of their charge against Jesus; whereby they hoped to take away his life, viz. that he " made himself king." We see also upon what they grounded this accusation, viz. because he had owned himself to be " the Son of God." For he had in their hearing, never made or professed himself to be a king. We see here, likewise, the reason why they were SQ deas delivered in the Scriptures. 81 sirous to draw from his own mouth a confession in express words, that he was the Messiah; viz. That they might have what might be a clear proof that he did so. And, last of all, we see reason why, though in expressions which they understood, he owned himself to them to be the Messiah; yet he avoided declaring it to them in such words as might look criminal at Pilate's tribunal. He owned himself to be the Messiah plainly, to the under standing of the jews; but in ways that could not, to the understanding of Pilate, make it appear that he had laid claim to the kingdom of Judea; or went about to make himself king of that country. But whether his saying that he was " the Son of God," was criminal by their law, that Pilate troubled not himself about.
He that considers what Tacitus, Suetonius, Seneca de benef. 1. 3. c. 26. say of Tiberius and his reign, will find how necessary it was for our Saviour, if he would not die as a criminal and a traitor, to take great heed to his words and actions; that he did or said not any thing that might be offensive, or give the least umbrage to the Roman government. It behoved an innocent man, who was taken natice of, for something extraordinary in him, to be very wary under a jealous and cruel prince, who encouraged informations, and filled his reign with executions for treason; under whom, words spoken in nocently, or in jest, if they could be misconstrued, were made treason, and prosecuted with a rigour, that made it always the same thing to be accused and condemned. And therefore we see, that when the jews told Pilate, John xix. 12, that he should not be a friend to Caesar, if he let Jesus go (for that whoever made himself king, was a rebel against Caesar:) he asks them no more whether they would take Barabbas, and spare Jesus, but (though against his conscience) gives him up to death, to secure his own head.
One thing more there is, that gives us light into this wise and necessarily cautious management of himself, which manifestly agrees with it and makes a part of it: and that is, the choice of his apostles: exactly suited to the design and foresight of the necessity of keeping the declaration of the kingdom of the Messiah, which was G 82 The Reasonableness of Christianity, now expected, within certain general terms, during his ministry. It was not fit to open himself too plainly or forwardly to the heady jews, that he himself was the Messiah; that was to be left to the observation of those who would attend to the purity of his life, the testimony of his miracles, and the conformity of all with the pre dictions concerning him: by these marks, those he lived amongst were to find it out, without an express promul gation that he was the Messiah until after his death. His kingdom was to be opened to them by degrees, as well to prepare them to receive it, as to enable him to be long enough amongst them, to perform what was the work of the Messiah to be done; and fulfil all those several parts of what was foretold of him in the Old Testament, and we see applied to him in the New.
The jews had no other thoughts of their Messiah, but of a mighty temporal prince, that should raise their na tion into an higher degree of power, dominion, and pro sperity than ever it had enjoyed. They were filled with the expectation of a glorious earthly kingdom. It was not, therefore, for a poor man, the son of a carpenter, and (as they thought) born in Galilee, to pretend to it. None of the jews, no, not his disciples, could have borne this, if.he had expressly avowed this at first, and began his preaching and the opening of his kingdom this way, especially if he had added to it, that in a year or two, he should die an ignominious death upon the cross. They are therefore prepared for the truth by degrees. First, John the Baptist tells them, " The kingdom of " God " (a name by which the jews called the kingdom of the Messiah) " is at hand." Then our Saviour comes, and he tells them " of the kingdom of God;" some times that it is at hand, and upon some occasions, that it is come; but says, in his public preaching, little or nothing of himself. Then come the apostles and evan gelists after his death, and they, in express words, teach what his birth, life, and doctrine had done before, and had prepared the well-disposed to receive, viz. That " Jesus is the Messiah."