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LIGHT SHINING OUT OF 
 DARKNESS. 
 
 THIi FIDELITY OK 
 
 THE FOUR EVANGELISTS 
 
 KVINCKI) HY THKIR AI'PARKNT IMTPJRFECTIONS. 
 
 THE RKV. ALFRED "UOBEllTS, M. A., 
 
 LATK OF TRINITY COLI.EGK, OXFORD. 
 
 LONDON . 
 JAMES NlSnET AND CO., HEKNEKS STREET. 
 
 .MDCCCXXXIX. 
 
T. C. JOHNS, 
 Ked I ion Court, Kket ;-lrett. 
 
P R E F A C E. 
 
 The following- work orig-inated in a few 
 loose papers, upon some peculiarities in 
 the Gospel Narratives, which occasionally 
 appeared in the pages of "The Christian 
 Observer." It has no pretensions to disclose 
 any new branch of Internal Evidence ; 
 but rather to carry into fuller detail, and 
 to hold forth in more varied lights, one 
 which has hitherto (as it appears to me) 
 been slightly and generally treated. The 
 Author does not undertake to address him- 
 self directly to any of those who march 
 under the banners of unbelief — to the 
 Atheist, who anxious to throw off the re- 
 
IV PREFACE. 
 
 straint of religion altogether, would secretly 
 undermine its foundations — to the Deist, 
 who instead of receiving his religion from 
 above, and allowing his Maker to be the 
 Expounder of His own AYill, is deter- 
 mined to fabricate a creed for himself 
 — to the Neologist, who professedly 
 embraces Revelation, but will cut and 
 shape it in accordance to his specu- 
 lative fancy ; he would rather wish to 
 devote his labours to the service of the 
 serious and sober inquirer into Truth. If 
 he shall be enabled to soften one doubt 
 of a candid mind ; to render one passage 
 of the Word of God more clear, more 
 interesting, or more consolatory to the 
 weakest Christian ; or to throw the faintest 
 light upon one link of the mighty, but 
 sometimes "dimly seen" chain of Christian 
 Evidences, he will consider that his en- 
 deavours, however imperfect, have not 
 
PREFACE. T 
 
 been altogether in vain. But whatever 
 may be his doubts as to the success of his 
 work, he has none of the ultimate triumi^h 
 of that Cause to which it is designed to be 
 a slender contribution — a Cause, which, 
 when all the works and reasonings of man 
 shall have passed away, can never fail, for 
 it is founded upon a rock — ' the Rock of 
 Ages.* An indifferent state of health and 
 spirits, which can offer no apology for 
 any unsoundness in the writer's principles, 
 or even incorrectness in his arguments, 
 may yet, he trusts, form some extenuation 
 of those superficial inaccuracies, and that 
 want of clear arrangement which may be 
 too often apparent. Upon the whole he 
 would wish, humbly, yet tranquilly, to 
 commit this his first publication, to the 
 Divine blessing, and the deliberate judg- 
 ment of the Church. 
 
C O N T E N T S. 
 
 Page 
 Introduction j, 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Upon the Obscurities in the Narrative parts of the Tour 
 
 r;ospcls ........ 13 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 Instances of particularity and minuteness of detail in 
 
 the Evangelists 31. 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 Improbable remarks or Incidents .... 38 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 Objections or difficulties introduced in the History itself 49 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 Variations and resemblances between the Works of 
 
 the several Evangelists ... . . .82 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Peculiar characteristics of our Eord's conduct and lan- 
 guage, r,s rcpretenled ill (lifferent Gospels loy 
 
via CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Upon the character and behaviour of Pontius Pilate, as 
 
 described in the Gospels . . . . .147 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 The Kvangelists contrasted with Writers of Romance 
 
 — their simplicity and negligence . . 1G7 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Conclusion 191 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 There have been many, in every age of the 
 World, who have either openly maintained, or at 
 least secretly imagined, that a single unquestion- 
 able miracle, wrought before their eyes in proof 
 of Revelation, would at once chase away from 
 their minds every cloud of doubt and uncertainty. 
 The futility of this very plausible notion has been 
 often exposed. It is contradicted by the testi- 
 mony of our own consciences when rightly and 
 fairly consulted ; for true self-knowledge must 
 convince us that the evil plant of unbelief springs 
 from a deeper root than simple incredulity. — But 
 let the supposition be made that this Sign or 
 ' Manifestation' from Heaven Avere actually grant- 
 ed — that every individual had been enlightened 
 by a direct and conspicuous Revelation — are we 
 justified in supposing that the tongue of blasphemy 
 would be for ever silenced — that the webs of 
 
sophistry would be scattered to the winds — that 
 the hosts of infidelity would never again assault 
 our Zion ? This we are by no means entitled to 
 expect : it is far more likely that such assaults, 
 instead of losing any portion of their force or 
 malignity, would only assume a new direction. 
 We should then be reminded that human senses 
 are fallible, that imagination is ever liable to 
 mislead the judgment, that our powers of observa- 
 tion are limited, and our memory deceitful ; or 
 perhaps recourse would be had to some theory, 
 which (like those of Pyrrho and Bishop Berkeley) 
 might throw into doubt the reality of our percep- 
 tions. While Mankind continue morally consti- 
 tuted as they are at present, the spirit of unbelief 
 will, under every degree of light, continue to 
 operate — its partizans will always find new 
 weapons ready made to their hands — new artifices 
 prepared for every emergency — and they will 
 employ these with vigour and perseverance, 
 though they should live amidst the blaze of open 
 miracles. 
 
 Now if the proof of Christianity entirely de- 
 pended upon direct 'Manifestations' of divine 
 Power, the slightest doubt with which infidels 
 could shake our belief in their certainty, would 
 disturb the whole fabric. We may hence learn 
 the advantage which arises from the various and 
 complex nature of the evidences which we actually 
 
possess. If an infidel could explain away the 
 fulfilment of Prophecy, the onus would still 
 devolve upon him of disproving the miracles : If 
 he could fix a stigma also upon these, there would 
 still be undeniable phenomena of which a satis- 
 factory account must be given, before the adver- 
 sary could claim his triumph. Let us represent 
 to ourselves a studious man, born and brought 
 up in some distant country, without the knowledge 
 that such a Religion as the Christian existed, 
 suppose this man, sitting down with the works of 
 the four Evangelists spread before him : He 
 might certainly lose much by the absence of those 
 various grounds of conviction which we enjoy — 
 nevertheless, with no other data than these 
 volumes, he might be fully competent to decide 
 this great question — whether these works were 
 the fruit of forgery and fiction, or worthy to be 
 looked upon as the productions of true men. 
 
 ■Internal Evidence has some certain advan- 
 tages peculiar to itself. It stands independently 
 upon its own basis. It shines with an unborrowed 
 light. It has also a tendency continually to 
 increase in power and lustre. The proofs from 
 External Evidence are of a more stationary cha- 
 racter; if they do not rather lose than acquire 
 strength by the flux of time. It is true that 
 Prophecy is very gradually receiving accessions, 
 according to the march of events — but internal 
 b2 
 
proofs, without waiting for this development, are 
 continually spreading themselves into new rami- 
 fications, and disclosing new illustrations in pro- 
 portion to the attention bestowed upon them. In 
 this respect the study of the Word of God may be 
 compared to that of His Works in the visible cre- 
 ation : considerable knowledge of human nature 
 and exercised literary habits are requisite to detect 
 it ; yet in proportion as it is elaborated by patient 
 inquiry, it becomes more and more satisfactory to 
 the Christian student. It is then found to present 
 a complex tissue of circumstances, the harmonious 
 arrangement of which lies far beyond the reach of 
 accident, imposture, or fiction. 
 
 The work of Soame Jenyns affords a clear and 
 general, though perhaps somewhat cursory and 
 superficial view of the Internal Evidences of our 
 Faith, presenting only those strong and prominent 
 features in the character and conduct of the 
 Apostles, which distinguish them from impostors 
 or enthusiasts. The Horce Paulhice of Paley 
 traces farther this branch of the Christian Evi- 
 dence : Seizing one of those peculiar attributes 
 of Truth, which bears the least marks of study 
 and contrivance, — namely ' Undesigned Coinci- 
 dences,' and pursuing with careful steps these 
 broken and devious tracks through the Acts of 
 the Apostles, and the Epistles of St. Paul, this 
 writer has brought a valuable accession to the 
 
armoury of the Christian student, llie Rev. 
 J. Blunt has, in our own day, applied the same 
 argument to the four Gospels, and to other parts 
 of the Sacred volume. Both have made it their 
 study to draw forth into light the latent harmonies 
 of the Word of God — not with a neological design 
 of bringing every mystery or obscurity of Scripture 
 to the test of unaided Reason, but in order to 
 deduce from its facts and sentiments, as they 
 stand, such inferences as may be satisfactory to 
 the candidly sceptical — interesting and consolatory 
 to the Christian mind. 
 
 Such purposes as the above, especially the last, 
 the author of the present Treatise would wish to 
 have been constantly present to his thoughts. 
 The particular path of enquiry he has chosen may 
 appear from the following outline. Many infidel 
 and sceptical writers have laboured to hold forth 
 the narrative books of Scripture to the finger of 
 scorn, as loose unfinished productions, replete with 
 error and inconsistency. The few charges of the 
 latter kind which wear the least colouring of 
 probability, have been often and elaborately dis- 
 cussed : my present concern is with those lesser 
 irregularities and negligences, those omissions and 
 seeming improbabilities, which have often afforded 
 a false triumph to the enemy, and an equally false 
 alarm to the timid believer. It shall be my 
 endeavour to show in some detail, that these 
 
apparent defects, instead of weakening the basis 
 of our Faith, have a tendency, when fairly ex- 
 amined, to add largely to the strength of its 
 collateral Evidence. In whatever degree upon a 
 rigid investigation, our Gospels may appear de- 
 ficient in polish, in order, and in symmetry, they 
 will be found proportionably to rise above the 
 suspicion of forgery or fiction. An impostor 
 would find few experiments more dangerous than, 
 for the sake of giving an artless air to his history, 
 to adopt a course which would lay him open to the 
 cavils of the critic and objector — to venture upon 
 negligencies chiefly obvious to those ignorant or su- 
 perficial readers who must always be most numerous. 
 But there are also reasons which must have 
 made such a procedure peculiarly hazardous to 
 men in the situation of the four Evangelists. 
 They were, in the first place, far from possess- 
 ing cultivated minds ; two, at least, of their 
 number, could originally have known no lan- 
 guage but that of Judea. Further, if we suppose 
 them to have written in the first century, they 
 must have been wanderers and almost outcasts 
 upon the face of the earth, " Without any certain 
 dwelling-place," every where strangers, and living 
 always in the midst of enemies, circumstances 
 most unfavourable to the execution of any literary 
 task. The character and prepossessions of the 
 people whom they addressed, should also be con- 
 
sidered. They had three classes to deal with. — 
 1st. The Gentiles, whether Greeks or Romans, 
 who disliked every thing Jewish, — despised 
 every thing which brought no incense to hu- 
 man reason and science, and were cordially 
 opposed to all tenets which could be suspected 
 of interfering with the established worship of the 
 state; indeed their hostility to a religion which 
 sought out and maintained the truth, while it 
 would tolerate no error, was apparent in the train 
 of bloody persecutions which soon succeeded the 
 publication of the Gospel. — 2nd. They had to en- 
 counter the Jews, whose most inveterate preju- 
 dices and dearly-cherished hopes, Christianity 
 appeared to dissipate — who considered the preach- 
 ing and writing of the Apostles as immediately 
 aimed against themselves — who were also best 
 acquainted with the origin and history of the 
 first believers — while they were most strenuously 
 disposed to contradict, to silence, or, if possible, 
 utterly to destroy them. 3rd. They addressed 
 the Christians, many of whom were actual agents 
 in the scenes which these histories describe, or 
 perfectly well acquainted with them, and others 
 would carefully compare the writings of their 
 teachers with the verbal testimony they produced. 
 It would therefore appear important that these 
 narratives should contain nothing likely to stagger 
 the faith of these young converts. 
 
The subject also of the evangelical memoirs was 
 calculated to increase the embarrassment of the 
 writers. This arose partly from the claim therein 
 advanced to the power of working miracles, of 
 whose reality and divine origin their enemies would 
 naturally require the fullest proof, especially as 
 the Apostles asserted the continuance of these 
 supernatural gifts ; partly from the mean and des- 
 pised birth, circumstances, and fate of Him whom 
 they proclaimed as the anointed Prince and Prophet 
 of the Jews, the " Desire of all nations ;" partly 
 from the humiliating nature of the doctrines they 
 taught. They promulged tenets, not only pecu- 
 liarly unpalatable to the Jew and the Gentile, 
 but directly opposed to the strong and native 
 current of human prejudice and passion. What 
 could be more unwelcome than the mediation of 
 a Redeemer to those who thought that their out- 
 ward privileges, their profession, or their works, 
 had power to save them? What could appear 
 more futile than the forgiveness of sin to those 
 who had no anxious sense of its guilt and its 
 danger ? or what more mortifying than the ne- 
 cessity of a Divine renewal and sanctification, 
 to them who thought they had already the will 
 and power to perform good and even meritorious 
 actions. The doctrines they preached were in- 
 deed of such a nature that none but the humble. 
 
the teachable, and the simple-minded, could cor- 
 dially embrace them. 
 
 The circumstances we have stated would 
 strongly tend to aggravate the difficulty of a for- 
 gery on the part of the Evangelists — they must 
 render it incomparably more arduous for its con- 
 trivers to maintain an air of veracity — to conciliate, 
 or to interest their readers. The same conside- 
 rations also afford us peculiar opportunities of 
 investigating the true character and intentions 
 of these authors. Uneducated persons usually 
 retain more strongly than others their original 
 propensities — they are more undisguised in dis- 
 playing them — and situations of difficulty, toil, 
 and danger, naturally throw out into strong relief 
 these native pecuharities. Thus situated, with 
 what views and feelings might our historians be 
 expected to enter upon the undertaking of writing 
 their master's life — a project, upon the success 
 of which they must be prepared to stake the 
 safety of their whole cause. On the supposition 
 that they were not writers of truth and honesty, 
 only two hypotheses appear to present themselves 
 to our notice: either that having involved them- 
 selves in the Christian system, they thought thoy 
 might serve its cause by imposing upon mankind 
 a suppositious history; or that they judged that 
 a historical romance grounded upon the origin 
 of their faith, might prove interesting and per- 
 b3 
 
10 
 
 haps edifying to their Fellow Christians. In a 
 word, their memoirs, if not true histories, must 
 be regarded either as deliberate forgeries, or as 
 avowedly tales of wonder founded upon truth. In 
 either of these supposed cases, * we are compelled 
 to assume that they built upon a certain foun- 
 dation of fact. That Jesus Christ really existed — 
 that He was put to death under Tiberius — that 
 He was understood to work many miracles which 
 were never contradicted — that His followers ra- 
 pidly multiplied in every part of the Roman 
 empire, in defiance of the sharpest persecutions, 
 these are facts fully confirmed by heathen and 
 Jewish authorities. It is impossible to deny them 
 without undermining the pillars of all historical 
 truth. Taking for granted then these, and a 
 few other collateral facts, how should we con- 
 ceive that the projectors of a fabrication, under 
 the circumstances of difficulty I have described, 
 would, in the two cases above supposed, be likely 
 to proceed ? And first, we may consider the case 
 of a deliberate forgery. Having embarked in an 
 undertaking upon which they had staked their 
 own credit and that of their cause, perhaps their 
 subsistence and their personal safety, it is evi- 
 dent that they would use more circumspection 
 than might be expected fi-om ordinary dealers 
 in falsehood. Their first and greatest object 
 would be to maintain, as far as possible, an air 
 
11 
 
 of truth, and with this view to ward off the least 
 suspicion of artifice ; a second, might be to avoid 
 any error or inadvertency ; a third, to propitiate, 
 by all means in their power, readers of every class. 
 They would make it then their careful aim to 
 exclude from their history, — 
 
 1. Obscurities, especially in the narrative parts. 
 
 2. Needless particularity. 
 
 3. Improbable remarks or incidents. 
 
 4. (And chiefly) The introduction of unneces- 
 sary difficulties and objections. 
 
 5. Disagreement w ith other histories. 
 
 6. Close resemblance to other histories. 
 
 7. Omissions of any important links in the nar- 
 rative. 
 
 Nearly the same objects would be kept in view 
 by a mere romancer or fabulist, though he would 
 certainly prosecute them with less care and circum- 
 spection. His principal aim would be to astonish, 
 interest and amuse — perhaps also to edify his 
 readers. He would be very unlikely to indulge 
 himself in minute, tedious, or superfluous remarks, 
 or in needless repetitions, nor would he be willing to 
 lose an advantage by the omission of any interest- 
 ing circumstance. The object of the following 
 pages shall be to ascertain whether the Evangelists 
 appear, upon a minute inspection of their writings, 
 to have been actuated by any such motives as the 
 above, or whether, on the other hand, their histories 
 
12 
 
 evince an absolute disregard of these precautions. 
 There is also another test of truth and integrity, 
 which I shall endeavour constantly to keep in view : 
 although both an impostor and a romance-writer 
 might study an appearance of truth, and artfully 
 contrive to conceal art, yet is there a certain sim- 
 plicity, equally indescribable and inimitable, which 
 lies beyond the reach of fiction ; there is a certain 
 easy and familiar style, which nothing but close 
 and daily acquaintance with the objects de- 
 scribed, can be expected to impart. This when 
 complete and consistent, no study or invention 
 can command — it is the genuine unaffected cha- 
 racteristic of an actor in the scene which he 
 pourtrays. I shall therefore endeavour to as- 
 certain how far these various marks of truth are 
 stamped upon the writings of St. Matthew and 
 his companions — whether, in a word, the lesser 
 peculiarities of their narrative^ are such as might 
 reasonably be looked for in plain-dealing per- 
 sons, surrounded by their advantages, their dif- 
 ficulties, and their trials. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 UPON THE OBSCURITIES IN THE NARRATIVE 
 PARTS OF THE FOUR GOSPELS. 
 
 In conformity with the outline which has been 
 laid before my readers, I now proceed to con- 
 sider some of those occasional obscurities which 
 are scattered through the writings of the four 
 Evangelists. In the author of a forgery, we 
 should certainly expect great artfulness, and the 
 utmost caution. He must be aware that a want 
 of perspicuity and fulness, even in the slightest 
 circumstances, might render his narrative not 
 only disagreeable, but incoherent, and therefore 
 liable to suspicion. He could have no suffi- 
 cient motive to aim at obscurity, but would 
 rather affect a lucid style. If he sometimes 
 chose for his model the abrupt and mysterious 
 language of prophetic inspiration — in narrative, 
 at least, he would make perspicuity his object. 
 At the same time, it is highly probable that a 
 
14 
 
 false history, though wonderfully clear, smooth, 
 and consistent on the surface, would, upon mi- 
 nute inspection, betray latent defects and in- 
 congruities. On the other hand, a true historian 
 would naturally be lucid and coherent in the 
 general course of his narrative. But, having 
 truth principally in view, and not, like the 
 former writer, always anticipating the effect of 
 that which proceeded from his pen, he might 
 be expected to disregard points of lesser in- 
 terest, especially where he felt engrossed by 
 some more important matter ; or where he 
 was conscious of perfect familiarity with his 
 subject, and might expect his readers to 
 view it in the same light. This would be 
 likely to apply still more strongly to a person 
 of inferior or narrow education, in whose works 
 we should expect several things to be left un- 
 explained, or to be glanced at in a slight and 
 cursory manner. 
 
 2. Now it must, I think, be sufficiently evi- 
 dent, that the most material events in the 
 Evangelical History, our Lord's birth ; the re- 
 surrection of Lazarus ; the cure of the man 
 born blind ;> the trial, crucifixion, and ascension 
 of Christ ; are narrated in a style strikingly 
 perspicuous and simple. For the most part, 
 there is nothing defective, nothing superfluousj 
 and the whole tenor of the narrative is so 
 
15 
 
 lucid, so natural, and so vivid, as strikingly 
 to exemplify that figure called by Aristotle, 
 tvtpyua,* by which we be come in a manner, 
 witnesses, or even actors in the transaction de- 
 scribed. Nevertheless scattered through these 
 histories are certain remarks and allusions, which 
 can be explained only by comparison with parallel 
 passages ; in some cases, by collation with other 
 books, or lastly, by mere conjecture. These 
 appear to me to add to the artless character of 
 the whole narrative. 
 
 3. Sometimes this obscurity arises from a cer- 
 tain vagueness of expression; as in Luke i. 39, 
 where the Virgin Mary is said to go into the 
 hill country, "into a city of Juda." Whether 
 Hebron be here intended, (as Lightfoot, Whit- 
 by, and Doddridge suppose) or some other city, 
 commonly known by that term ; or whether 
 the phrase be wholly indefinite, M^e cannot pro- 
 nounce ; but a writer studious of accuracy, 
 would probably have named some particular 
 place. 
 
 4. Sometimes we find an omission, which is 
 supplied, as it were accidentally, after some 
 interval. Thus, John i. 26, our Lord's fore- 
 runner, when asked by the priests why he bap- 
 tized, answered, " I baptize with water ;" and 
 
 * See Do JRhct. 1. iii. c. II. 
 
16 
 
 then proceeds to describe One who was vastly 
 his superior. Here we should naturally ex- 
 pect to hear that this Personage would do 
 something greater than 'baptizing with water;' 
 but the Evangelist stops short, and passes on 
 to the appearance of Christ, with John's pub- 
 lic testimony to his character. In v. 31, how- 
 ever, he returns to the subject of ' baptizing 
 with water f and, after mentioning the remark- 
 able circumstances of our Saviour's Baptism, at 
 last tells us (v. 33) " the same is He which 
 baptizeth with the Holy Ghost." * Here is an 
 important fact darkly alluded to, then sus- 
 pended for several verses ; and again resumed. 
 Hence a partial obscurity arises, which a nearer 
 view indeed dispels, but which a deceiver would 
 be anxious entirely to obviate. 
 
 4. In several instances the difficulty is to be 
 traced to the exclusion of some slight circum- 
 stance. When our Saviour came down from 
 the Mount, after His transfiguration. He found 
 His disciples, amid a great multitude, disput- 
 ing with the Scribes. The Evangelist then 
 says, Mark ix. 15, "all the people when they 
 beheld Him were greatly amazed, f and run- 
 
 * In St. Matthew iii. 1 1 , the two baptisms are imme- 
 diately connected. 
 
 t EKGaj-tjitofiai — expavcsco, obstupesco, attonitus sum 
 Schleusncr. 
 
17 
 
 ning to Him, saluted Him." Had they wit- 
 nessed the glory of Christ on the Mount, 
 this amazement would have appeared highly 
 natural ; but why should His mere return so 
 greatly astonish them, especially when their at- 
 tention was occupied by the very extraordinary 
 case of the demoniac who was brought to be 
 healed ? Many commentators suppose that the 
 face of our Lord retained a supernatural bright- 
 ness upon it, like that which Moses displayed on 
 his descent from Sinai, but this is merely a 
 supposition. St. Mark supplies not the slight- 
 est hint for our direction. Here is an omis- 
 sion of one circumstance, which would at once 
 have explained the whole. 
 
 5. A similar remark may be made upon the 
 behaviour of our Lord's disciples on another 
 occasion, Mark x. 32, " And they were in the 
 way, going up to Jerusalem, and Jesus went 
 before them ; * and they were amazed, and, as 
 they followed, they were afraid." They had on 
 several previous occasions gone up to Jerusa- 
 lem, without expressing any such surprise or 
 apprehension. Nothing is mentioned in the 
 former part of the chapter, which would ap- 
 pear to justify these feelings. On the con- 
 trary, Christ had just before, v. 29, 30, held 
 
 * See Luke xix. 28. 
 
18 
 
 out to His disciples the prospect of a gra- 
 cious remuneration for the sacrifices they had 
 endured for His sake. If however we refer 
 back to ch. ix. v. 30 — 1, we find our Saviour 
 telling them, " The Son of Man is delivered 
 into the hands of men, and they shall kill 
 Him, and after that He is killed, He shall rise 
 the third day." These words, it is said, v. 32, 
 the disciples " understood not, and were afraid 
 to ask Him;" and, in the parallel passage. 
 Matt. xvii. 23, we read they " were exceed- 
 ing sorry." The language of our Lord was so 
 plain, that they could not but comprehend its 
 direct meaning. The point they were unable 
 to understand, was doubtless how the Messiah, 
 who, they thought, would speedily enter into 
 His glory, could possibly die and suffer. The 
 prediction they now heard greatly disappointed 
 them, and appears to have dwelt upon their 
 minds ; and hence their astonishment at learn- 
 ing, that their Master, with these impressions, 
 should still resolve to visit Jerusalem, the 
 centre of danger; and should even go before 
 them, as if eager to cast HimseK into the 
 midst of the fire.* These considerations may 
 to us, who soberly examine one Scripture by 
 the light of another, well account for the 
 
 * See also John xi. 7, 8. 
 
19 
 
 amazement and fear which now seized upon 
 our Lord's followers ; but to careless or ordi- 
 nary readers, they would be unlikely to oc- 
 cur : the passage would leave an uncertain 
 impression on their minds — ^just that impression 
 which a subtle deceiver would be assiduous to 
 prevent. 
 
 6. Although we have seen that the disciples 
 were often perplexed and disheartened by our 
 Saviour's announcement of His death and passion, 
 the idea did not long dwell upon their minds — 
 they still strove to shut their eyes upon a suffer- 
 ing, and to cling to the image of a triumphant 
 Messiah. They might have expected that their 
 Lord's death was merely a parable or figure of 
 speech — that legions of angels would appear 
 to rescue Him from the fate he anticipated: or 
 at least, that He would at some period, notwith- 
 standing, " restore again the kingdom to Israel." 
 Thus Luke xix. IL, we find Jesus speaking a 
 parable, " because He was nigh to Jerusalem, 
 and because they thought that the kingdom of 
 God should immediately appear." Now if we 
 revert to chapter xviii. 31 — 33, it would appear 
 that there was little in their Lord's conversation 
 at this juncture, to encourage, but rather much to 
 dispel their carnal hopes. There might however 
 be some circumstances by which these hopes were 
 sustained: 1. Our Lord's expression to Zaccheus 
 
20 
 
 immediately before, " This day is salvation come 
 to this house," ver. 9. 2. The projected pubhc 
 entry of Christ into Jerusalem, which soon fol- 
 lowed, and for which the disciples seemed to be 
 prepared. 3. His mention of ' rising again' after 
 His sufferings, however this was understood by 
 His hearers. 4. Nor was it long before that the 
 Pharisees had asked when the kingdom of God 
 should come, and that Christ had, in reply, uttered 
 a very remarkable prophecy of His second advent. 
 In Luke xviii. 7,16,24, we may find intimations by 
 which the same ideas may have been kept floating 
 in the minds of the disciples. All this may have 
 prepared them to expect that this eventful journey 
 to Jerusalem, might at length, usher in the glory 
 of the latter days. They appear however to have 
 been, at this period, in a state of great uncer- 
 tainty, 'carried about by every wind of doctrine.' 
 now disturbed at the prospect of coming dangers, 
 — now elated by bright but unwarrantable hopes 
 — a state of feeling, which appears very naturally 
 from disjointed remarks in the history, but no at- 
 tempt is made to reconcile any seeming anomalies. 
 7. In Matt. xvi. 1 — 4. the Pharisees are repre- 
 sented as very urgent with Jesus, to " shew them 
 a sign from heaven." In reply to this demand, 
 He reminds them that the present dispensation 
 disclosed signs the most convincing, to every mind 
 which was not blinded by the film of prejudice — 
 
21 
 
 and added that no sign should be given them, but 
 " the sign of the prophet Jonas." These words 
 must naturally have appeared an enigma to those 
 who had heard no allusion to the subject before, 
 and so must they a})pear an enigma to any cursory 
 reader of the Bible. It is true those who would 
 take the trouble to turn back to Matt. xii. 39, 40, 
 might find that this sign related to a remarkable 
 event which was to happen to Christ ; " for, as 
 Jonas," he declared, " was three days and three 
 nights in the whale's belly, so shall the Son of 
 Man be three days and three nights in the heart 
 of the earth :" but even these words must before 
 the resurrection have appeared mysterious. The 
 difficulty here is indeed very far from inexplicable, 
 but it requires some investigation ; and this a 
 politic writer would be anxious to spare his 
 readers. 
 
 8. Luke xxii. 47. A person who had read no 
 other gospel than this, might be startled to find 
 Judas drawing nigh to kiss his Master, at the 
 moment when he was directing a hostile attack 
 upon His person. It might have appeared suffi- 
 cient, had he simply pointed him out to the 
 multitude. Even our Saviour himself is repre- 
 sented as appearing surprised at the proceeding. 
 Nevertheless we should search in vain for any com- 
 ment upon it, in St. Luke, either here or else- 
 where : only the possessors of Matthew's or 
 
22 
 
 Mark's Gospel,* could learn the plan concerted 
 between the chief priests and Judas, that whoso- 
 ever he might kiss, should be apprehended. The 
 enemies of Christ were doubtless anxious to gain 
 possession of his person, with as much quietness, 
 certainty, and promptitude, as possible ; but the 
 circumstance appears too singular for a writer, 
 studious of pleasing, to let it pass by without a 
 word of explanation. 
 
 9. Luke xxiv. 49. In these words spoken just 
 before his ascension, Jesus undertakes to send 
 down upon his disciples what he terms the pro- 
 misef of his Father : it is added, that they would 
 soon be " endued with power from on high.'*'* 
 Now where was this "promise" recorded? The 
 very word is scarcely to be found elsewhere in 
 St. Luke. Christians have indeed determined, 
 with one consent, that the miraculous descent 
 of the Holy Spirit is here to be understood ; but 
 it may be rather doubtful whether they could have 
 collected this even from a careful examination of 
 St. Luke's gospel alone. John the Baptist (Luke 
 iii. 16) certainly declares that the wonderful 
 Person, whose forerunner he was, would baptize 
 with the Holy Ghost ; but this could hardly have 
 appeared to refer to the period succeeding our 
 Saviour's death and resurrection. Again, Luke 
 
 * See Matt. xxvi. 48. Mark xiv. 44. 
 f 'ETTayyeXiav. 
 
23 
 
 xi. 13, it is announced that God would " give the 
 Holy Spirit to them that ask Him." This was 
 indeed a promise, but it appears to have been a 
 general one. The Holy Spirit seems to be here 
 represented (as we learn from the parable of a 
 Son asking his Father for bread,) as a gift neces- 
 sary to all, and ready at all times to be bestowed 
 upon believers in answer to heartfelt prayer. We 
 find also in Luke xii. 11, 12, our Saviour pro- 
 mising that when his servants were called to wit- 
 ness a confession before rulers and magistrates, 
 ' the Holy Ghost should teach them, in the same 
 hour, what they ought to say.' Still this promise 
 was indefinite, and the hearers would be likely 
 to refer it generally to the particular occasions 
 which our Lord specifies. 
 
 If a benefactor were to give his dependent a 
 general assurance of his favour and assistance, 
 and long afterwards told him, that in a few days 
 he would fulfil his promise to him, the poor man 
 would probably be rather puzzled to understand 
 what promise this could be, and still more to 
 conjecture in what manner he was to expect its 
 fulfilment. Now this diflBculty is not likely to 
 have arisen in the case of Christ's disciples. We 
 know from St. John's gospel, xv. 26, &c., that 
 they had received the most express promise of 
 a " Comforter," whom, after his departure, he 
 would send unto them from the Father, ' even 
 
24 
 
 the Spirit of Truth, who should teach them all 
 things ;' nor can we doubt that the coming of this 
 Divine Messenger must have formed a principal 
 subject of our lledeemer"'s discourses with his 
 friends, between his resurrection and ascension. 
 Indeed St. Luke himself, in another work,* re- 
 peats the present phrase, and explains it of the 
 ' Baptism with the Holy Ghost.' The idea there- 
 fore was, doubtless, familiar to the minds of the 
 disciples ; but the present question is, whether 
 this Evangelist could have expected this unex- 
 plained phrase to be intelligible to an ordinary 
 reader of his Gospel alone. 
 
 10. Another source of the obscurity which oc- 
 casionally marks the evangelical narratives, may be 
 found in their abrupt allusions to different points in 
 the history, manners, and opinions of the times, 
 John i- 21. The priests and Levites, who were 
 sent to John the Baptist, after inquiring whether 
 he was " the Christ," or " Elias," further ask, " Art 
 thou that prophet ?" John v. 25. The phrase 
 appears altogether doubtful ; but there is probably 
 an allusion to some individual whom the Jews of 
 that time were accustomed thus to designate, f 
 If such a mode of speech were actually used on 
 
 • Acts i. 4, 5— ii. 33- See also Gal. Hi. 14. Eph. i. 13. 
 ■j" Thus our Saviour himself was reported to be "Jeremiah, 
 or one of the prophets.'' Matt. xvi. 14. 
 
25 
 
 this occasion, he might naturally employ it ; hut 
 as it manifestly could convey no information to 
 persons of other times and countries, an author 
 who studied perspicuity, and shrank from difl&- 
 culties, would hardly have thought of the re- 
 mark ; still less would he have left it unexplained. 
 11. Mark ix. 11. "Why say the Scribes, that 
 EHas must first come." When these w^ords were 
 uttered, the disciples of Christ had just beheld 
 their Lord transfigured in glory upon the Mount. 
 With Him had appeared the spirits of Moses 
 and Elias. This extraordinary vision reminded 
 the Apostles of one of the current traditions of 
 the times. The prophet Malachi had said, iv. 5, 
 " Behold, 1 will send you Elijah, the Prophet, 
 before the coming of the great and dreadful day 
 of the Lord." The Scribes, ever prone to de- 
 press Scripture to the level of their own carnal 
 imaginations, chose to understand the passage 
 literally, and expected that Elias or Elijah, would 
 become incarnate before the Messiah's kingdom 
 was established. In the speech of the angel, 
 however, to Zacharias, Luke i. 17, it is inti- 
 mated, that this coming of the Prophet would be 
 simply spiritual. " He,"" that is John the Baptist, 
 " shall go before Him in the spirit and power of 
 Elias." Still the Jews retained their prejudice, 
 and when John proclaimed himself the forerunner 
 of Christ, they supposed him to be the real Elias ; 
 
26 
 
 but when he positively denied this, they began 
 to think that Jesus might prove to be the ex- 
 pected Incarnation of that Prophet.* Resolved 
 to own none but the kingly and triumphant Christ 
 of their own imaginations, they had no objection 
 to bestow the dignity of his forerunner upon 
 Jesus of Nazareth. With respect to the Apostles, 
 their general standard of knowledge was, at this 
 time, little superior to that of their countrymen. 
 They, doubtless, expected a literal Elias; and 
 when John the Baptist so expressly renounced 
 that designation, when firmly convinced that their 
 Master was indeed " the Christ, the Son of 
 the living God," they were doubtless at a loss 
 to determine how the prophecy could be fulfilled. 
 This difficulty was rather increased than dimi- 
 nished by the momentary appearance of Elias, 
 long after their Lord had begun his ministry; 
 and, in their perplexity, they asked, " Why say 
 the Scribes that Elias must Jirst come. Our 
 Saviour's answer does not appear calculated di- 
 rectly to remove the ambiguity ; He declares it 
 to be true that Elias " cometh first," v. 12 ; a 
 person, in the character of Elias, was really to 
 appear upon earth as the precursor of Christ. 
 He then passes rather abruptly to the conside- 
 ration of his own sufferings, which were naturally 
 
 * See Matt. xvi. 14. 
 
27 
 
 at this period uppermost in his mind ; and then, 
 in V. 13, retm-ns to the subject of Elias, who, 
 he states, " is indeed come, and they have done 
 unto Him whatsoever they hsted," and here the 
 subject is entirely dropped by this Evangelist. 
 In St. Matthew xvii. 11, &c. where a similar 
 conversation is introduced, it is added, " the dis- 
 ciples understood He spake of John the Baptist."* 
 Now by the assistance of this, and the other texts 
 I have cited, the whole matter becomes perfectly 
 clear and consistent; and, without such assistance, 
 we might expect a well-taught Christian of that 
 age readily to comprehend it, but a person who 
 knew Christianity solely through the medium of 
 St. Mark's Gospel, would take a very different 
 view of the subject — He would see no particular 
 reason to consider John as the representative of 
 Elias. Not the slightest allusion to Elias is 
 made in the first chapter of this Evangelist, 
 which describes the Baptist's ministry; he would 
 find indeed Elias once appearing at a late 
 period in the life of Christ, but might well 
 be startled at the words Elias "cometh first," 
 and perplexed by those that follow, " Elias is 
 indeed come," &c. 
 
 The Apostles might, indeed, without much 
 
 * In chap. xi. v. 14, of the same Evangelist, our Lord 
 also affirms of John, " This is Elias which was for to come." 
 c2 
 
28 
 
 difficulty, have gathered that John the Baptist 
 was here specified. But all readers of the 
 Gospel could not be gifted with their intimate 
 knowledge of their Lord's affairs, still less with 
 their disposition to receive His Word with all 
 simplicity of mind. An author conscious of deceit 
 would surely write rather for his enemies than 
 his friends; he will rather arm himself against 
 the suspicions,* than rely upon the favour of his 
 readers. 
 
 Luke xxii. 35.f The direction which our Savi- 
 our here gives to His disciples, that every one 
 who wanted a sword should now carefully provide 
 one, may occasion us some surprize, as He had 
 often urged upon them the doctrine of non-resis- 
 tance ; but it seems still more singular, that when 
 they informed Him that they had two swords, He 
 should reply, " It is enough :" as this was mani- 
 festly too scanty a supply for eleven men. It 
 appears however that the thoughts of Jesus were 
 now painfully occupied by the last terrible scenes 
 of His mortal career, vividly pictured to His 
 mind by the power of Omniscience.^ His heart 
 was wrung by the thought of the treachery of 
 Judas, and the cowardice of Peter, and He wished 
 
 * See Paley's Evidences, ii. 94, upon John xx. 16, 17. 
 t For the suggestion of this instance I must acknowledge 
 the kindness of a friend. 
 
 I See. V. 21—28, 31—40 of this chapter. 
 
29 
 
 strongly to urge upon His disciples the pressing 
 necessity, not indeed for carnal weapons ; but for 
 the sword of the Spirit, the shield of Faith, the 
 armour of watchfulness and prayer. This advice 
 Christ conveyed in the figurative manner which 
 was habitual to Him, and when the disciples, as 
 we frequently observe, understood Him literally, 
 EQs reply was intended probably to intimate that 
 He meant to lay no stress upon warlike pre- 
 parations — that He had other objects in view, 
 which the time would not allow Him at present 
 to explain. The mistake however of the Apostles 
 continued, and when our Lord was apprehended, 
 Simon Peter is represented* as ' having a sword,' 
 drawing it, and wounding the servant of the 
 High Priest ; and St. John here incidentally 
 confirms St. Luke, showing that some of the 
 Apostles, though not all, were provided with 
 swords : for otherwise Peter would not have 
 been distinguished as ' having one.' At the same 
 time, the promptness of Christ in healing the 
 servant — the sharp rebuke which He gave to 
 His Apostle, and the whole subsequent conduct 
 of the early Christians, evinces that it was far 
 from our Saviour's intention to encourage the 
 use of weapons among His followers. A certain 
 dubiety however hangs over the conversation 
 
 * John xviii. 10. 
 
30 
 
 cited from St. Luke, which a relation of the 
 whole discourse might have removed, but the 
 Evangelist, without thinking of this difficulty, 
 contents himself with simply detailing the things 
 which left the freshest impression on his memory. 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 INSTANCES OF PARTICULARITY AND MINUTENESS 
 OF DETAIL IN THE EVANGELISTS. 
 
 12. An author who proposes to himself the 
 attainment of some important and difficult object, 
 would naturally disencumber himself of everything 
 likely to draw attention to the weaker parts of his 
 undertaking. For this reason the contriver of a 
 forgery would guard against frequent allusions to 
 persons and places of any general notoriety, either 
 in public or private Ufe. This would apply yet 
 more strongly to the mention of living personages. 
 He must prepare himself to address many readers, 
 well acquainted, either personally, or by familiar 
 report with the place and time, with which he has 
 connected his narrative. If then he spake of 
 persons, in a conspicuous station, who never 
 existed, or if to well known persons, he ascribed 
 actions which they never performed, the result 
 upon the minds of his readers could only be 
 surprize, and enquiry, speedily followed by sus- 
 
3-2 
 
 picion, or resentment . He would therefore judge 
 it safer, to confine himself, for the most part, to 
 generalities, but if the mention of well-known 
 persons did occur, he would at least most care- 
 fully abstain from representing, in any detail, the 
 obnoxious parts of their character or conduct. 
 
 13. We have now to enquire, whether the 
 writers of the four Gospels, appear to have 
 adopted such maxims as the above. Their nar- 
 rative is not regularly consecutive, yet we find it, 
 in several parts, extremely minute. St. Luke* 
 (i. 5.) particularly specifies the station and cir- 
 cumstances of Zacharias, and his wife Elizabeth ; 
 insomuch that the people of Jerusalem could not 
 well be ignorant, whether he was numbered among 
 the priests of their own time. Anna, who is only 
 once mentioned, is declared, by the same Evan- 
 gelist, (ii. 36.) to be the daughter of Phanuel, of 
 the tribe of Aser : which allusion is the more 
 remarkable, as this was a tribe which was under- 
 stood to remain still in captivity. St. John 
 (xix. 13, 17) has mentioned, not only the Greek, 
 but the Hebrew name of the place where Pilate 
 passed judgment upon our Lord, and of that 
 where Jesus was crucified. But the mention of 
 Simon, the Cyrenian, by St. Mark, may deserve 
 our more attentive notice. 
 
 * For the instances here adduced, I am greatly indebted 
 to the Evidences of Dr. Paley. 
 
S3 
 
 Mark xv. 21. It was the ordinary Roman custom 
 for criminals to bear their own crosses to the place 
 of execution, whence Furcifer became a term of the 
 most extreme ignominy. As the Redeemer drank 
 to the very dregs, the cup which His Father had 
 given Him, and as He makes an instructive 
 allusion to " taking up the cross," it would appear 
 most probable that His biographers should repre- 
 sent Him in that degraded situation. Neverthe- 
 less, without assigning any reason, St. Mark 
 (confirmed in this point by Matthew and Luke) 
 devolves this office upon another — not upon one 
 of the soldiers — not upon any one mentioned as 
 a prisoner, nor an inhabitant even of Jerusalem, 
 but upon " one Simon, a Cyrenian, who passed 
 by, coming out of the country." Nor is it men- 
 tioned, in order to lend verisimilitude to the 
 story, that he was known or suspected to be a 
 disciple of Christ. One particular indeed is added 
 by St. Mark, which, while calculated to draw the 
 attention of his readers to this person, seems yet 
 nothing at all to his main purposes, this Simon, he 
 tells us, was " the father of Alexander and 
 Rufus." Had he mentioned him as the son of 
 such a one, there would have been nothing 
 singular, for this phrase is extremely common in 
 the Eastern languages, and also in Greek : but 
 why add the names of his children ? Either they 
 were persons well known among the ancient 
 
34 
 
 Christians or otherwise : If they were well known, 
 here is a tacit appeal to the knowledge which 
 Simon and his family possessed of the death of 
 Christ, and of the prodigies by which it was 
 accompanied. From whence then could this 
 proceed, but from the boldness of conscious truth ? 
 But if Alexander and Rufus were unknown, why 
 introduce their names? Such an allusion must 
 then not only have appeared impertinent, but 
 must have naturally led to the question among 
 contemporary persons, ' who are these individuals 
 spoken of as familiarly known in the Church? — 
 we never heard of them.' Hence would have 
 arisen a suspicion little creditable to the Christian 
 history. Upon the whole, I cannot think that 
 a writer anxious to produce rather things probable 
 than things true, would have entangled himself 
 with an allusion so apparently superfluous and 
 inconvenient. 
 
 14. No reluctance appears in these historians, 
 to mention the names of persons upon whom 
 miracles are stated to have been wrought. Thus 
 Mark x. 46, " bhnd Bartimeus, the son of 
 Timeus," must, if a real character, have been 
 knowai to the people of Jericho, and it must also 
 have been known whether his blindness was truly 
 cured. Mary Magdalene, or of Magdala,* is 
 
 * A well known city beyond the lake of Tiberias. 
 
35 
 
 described (Luke viii. 2) as one " out of whom 
 went seven devils:"" and John xviii. 10, the man 
 w^hose ear Peter cut off, and whom Christ re- 
 stored, is said to be Malchus, a servant of the 
 High Priest: this person must have been known, 
 and his brother is afterwards mentioned, (v. 26) 
 as one who conversed with Peter, when he pub- 
 hcly denied his Master. In all these cases, the 
 mention of names would seem to occasion a need- 
 less risk, especially as miraculous relations must 
 more forcibly call the attention of men to the 
 individuals connected with them. 
 
 15. Chuza, Herod's steward — Zaccheus, the 
 chief publican at Jericho — Lazarus, and his 
 sisters, who were evidently people of some con- 
 sequence at Bethany — Joseph of Arimathgea, and 
 Nicodemus, members of the Sanhedrim — Simon 
 the Leper, at Bethany : all these persons were 
 doubtless generally known in their day, and some 
 of them, we must suppose to have been living at 
 the time when the Gospels were written. 
 
 16. This particularity extends also to historical 
 facts and persons. In Luke iii. 1, 2, we have a 
 minute enumeration of the districts sm-rounding 
 the scene of Christ's ministry, and of their civil 
 governors, at the time when John the Baptist 
 began to preach. Herod the great is distinctly 
 and most unfavourably mentioned, in connection 
 with the visit of the Magi to Bethlehem, and 
 
36 
 
 with the murder of the innocents. To Herod 
 Antipas is ascribed the imprisonment and death 
 of John the Baptist ;* he is represented also as 
 making remarks upon Christ, as even seeking to 
 slay Him, as pointed out by our Lord under the 
 designation of 'a Fox:' and, when Jesus was sent 
 to him by Pilate, as ' mocking Him with his men 
 of war.' Caiaphas the High Priest utters a pro- 
 phecy concerning Christ,f and t^kes an active 
 part in his trial before the Council ; indeed from 
 the language of St. Matthew (xxvi. 59) we are 
 led to infer, that he united with the rest of the 
 hierarchy, in seeking false witness against Jesus. 
 Lastly, the wavering, timid, and time-serving 
 conduct of Pontius Pilate is delineated in several 
 vivid portraits. Now the policy of imposture 
 would, surely, have never dictated such allusions 
 as these. They fearlessly hold up to general 
 obloquy, the characters of public and powerful 
 men. If indeed we assume the truth of the 
 History, the publication of such facts was, in 
 many instances, unavoidable ; but if they were in 
 any instance false, what could their authors have 
 expected but enquiry and suspicion — if not in- 
 dignant refutation and punishment? H the 
 personages thus attacked, had left such charges 
 
 * Sec Matt. xiv. Luke ix. 7. xiii. 31—2. xxiii. 11. 
 + John xi. 49,50. 
 
37 
 
 unnoticed, there were enemies enough of the 
 Gospel among the Pharisees and chief priests, 
 who would have been eager to expose their false- 
 hood — and this would have been more probable 
 during the first preaching of the Apostles, at a 
 time when the believing and unbelieving Jews 
 were brought into direct and hostile collision. A 
 writer, conscious to himself of falsehood, or of 
 any sinister view, would have avoided, as much 
 as possible, references — especially those of an 
 invidious nature, to public events or characters. 
 He might venture to be particular indeed where 
 he felt himself to be in safe company, in the bosom 
 of his own party, or among characters of his own 
 creation — but he would shrink from entering the 
 precincts of real life, lest the sober light of truth 
 should at once unmask him. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 IMPROBABLE REMARKS OR INCIDENTS. 
 
 17. It appears certain that an artful writer 
 would be little inclined to entangle himself with 
 circumstances of an improbable aspect, but that a 
 simple narrator of truth would by no means 
 study to avoid them. Some instances of this 
 negligence in the Evangelists may have been 
 already cited, but a few are added in this place. 
 Nothing is more evident, than that the great 
 object of our Lord's ministry, was to publish, 
 throughout the land, the glad tidings of salvation. 
 He came upon earth not only " to seek and to 
 save that which was lost," but, as the bearer of 
 a miraculous commission, to proclaim those bles- 
 sings. He could not however be received in 
 this character, unless His miracles obtained 
 general notoriety. May not a reader of the 
 Gospels then be startled, when he finds Christ 
 frequently charging the subjects of His most 
 
39 
 
 wonderful works, to " tell no man." * This is 
 repeatedly mentioned, but no reason is, in most 
 instances, assigned for this order, although in onef 
 it is expressly stated that our Saviour had in 
 view the Prophecy of Isaiah, (xlii. 2.) " He 
 shall not cry nor lift up, nor cause His voice 
 to be heard in the streets."" 
 
 He might doubtless wish practically to enforce 
 upon His disciples, that modesty and obtrusive- 
 ness in the discharge of duty, which His pre- 
 cepts had recommended : " Let not your left 
 hand know what your right hand doeth."":}: In- 
 fallibly acquainted with all the relations between 
 causes and effects, the Son of God could pre- 
 cisely perceive what degree of notoriety might 
 be essential to the purposes of His mission, 
 and what degree would excite ambitious projects 
 among His worldly-minded fiiends; or needlessly 
 provoke the wrath, and precipitate the designs 
 of His opponents. We may further observe, 
 that, after His transfiguration, Christ laid this 
 injunction upon His three apostles to " tell no 
 man." § It might be thought that an event 
 which set so glorious a seal upon His Mes- 
 siahship, could not be made too public; but 
 we may recollect that a general announcement 
 
 * Matt. viii. 4; ix. 30; xii. 16. Mark i, 43— 1. Luke 
 V. 14. 
 
 t Matt. xii. 19. I Matt. vi. 3. § Matt. xvii. 9. 
 
40 
 
 of it might have given rise to an idea, either 
 that Christ had already entered upon His 
 glory, or that the kingdom of God was im- 
 mediately to appear ; a consummation which 
 some of the Jews appear to have expected. 
 Doddridge and others also suggest, that such 
 a rumour might have been regarded as idle 
 and incredible, before the full confirmation of 
 the Redeemer's claims. But still more singular 
 does it appear, that St. Luke (ix. 36) should 
 simply tell us that the Apostles kept this 
 glorious vision altogether secret ; an almost in- 
 credible instance of self-restraint in uneducated 
 men, unless we suppose them influenced by 
 some powerful motive. Upon this point, how- 
 ever, St. Luke remains wholly silent, and only 
 the readers of St. Matthew * and St. INIark f 
 could be enabled to learn that the reason of 
 this silence was the express command of their 
 divine Master. In the particular case of the 
 leper, to whom our Lord gave this direction 
 to " tell no man," the Pharisees might have 
 denied his cure, if it had been noised abroad 
 before he had been pronounced clean by a 
 priest. Christ therefore sent him in haste to 
 have that needful ceremony performed. Thus 
 we can, upon due consideration, perceive pro- 
 
 * xvii. 9. t ix. 9, 10. 
 
41 
 
 bable reasons for this peculiar part of our 
 Lord's conduct, but it is most unlikely that 
 a writer, conscious of falsehood, would em- 
 barrass himself, in repeated instances, with re- 
 marks so little auxiliary to his object. 
 
 18. We may now turn our attention to some 
 peculiarities in the behaviour of our Lord's 
 disciples. In Luke ix. 44, their Master de- 
 clares, " the Son of Man shall be delivered 
 into the hands of men ;" adding an admonition 
 that those sayings should " sink down into 
 their ears." It might be thought that these 
 words signified, not obscurely, that Christ must 
 soon be placed in the power of those enemies, 
 by whom he was known to be surrounded. 
 But in jViark ix. 31 — 2, where these words 
 are repeated, any dubiety which might be 
 thought to lurk in them, is entirely removed, 
 for it is added, " and they shall kill Him, 
 and after that He is killed, He shall rise the 
 third day." A stupendous miracle is here pre- 
 dicted, but one by no means without example, 
 and it might be thought the simplest mind 
 could embrace the two ideas here presented. 
 Nevertheless, in both these cases, we are in- 
 formed. His disciples " understood not that 
 saying." The subsequent conduct of the Apos- 
 tles, no less than their writings, proves that 
 
42 
 
 they were not incurably stupid — Avhence then 
 their present dulness? The truth doubtless 
 was, that they were not willing to understand 
 their Master's words. The defect was not in 
 the intellectual, but in the moral constitution 
 of their minds. This is indeed no uncommon 
 case. The propensity I have mentioned, is 
 the general disease of the unrenewed heart. 
 
 Every minister of the Gospel has too fre- 
 quent reason to experience, that there are im- 
 portant truths, clearly revealed in Holy Scrip- 
 ture, and clearly inculcated from the pulpit, 
 which seem not to make the least impression 
 upon the understandings of their hearers. 
 Among these, we may reckon the ruin wrought 
 in our nature at the fall of Adam ; Recon- 
 ciliation by the atonement of Christ; justifi- 
 cation through faith; regeneration, and constant 
 renewal, through the sanctifying grace of the 
 Spirit. These cardinal doctrines of our religion 
 are not often, indeed, directly opposed, but 
 more frequently cavilled at, and evaded, and 
 in numerous instances, practically neglected. 
 Men who are by no means inclined to dis- 
 pute their truth, seem nevertheless to have 
 shut their minds against them. They feel them 
 to be at variance with the passions of their 
 nature, often with the prejudices of their edu- 
 
43 
 
 cation, and we are always slow in perceiving 
 that which tends to mortify, to humble, or to 
 correct us. Now nothing could be more con- 
 trary to ' the early prejudices and favourite 
 views of the Apostles than the idea that their 
 Master could die, without entering upon His 
 kingdom. The preaching of the cross was to 
 them, as yet, a stumbling-block. They could 
 not, because they would not understand, how 
 the triumphant Christ of their imaginations, 
 could be identical with the suffering and des- 
 pised Christ whom their master described. 
 Thus we see, that the seeming impropriety of 
 the Evangelist's language, is removed ; not by 
 any explanation of his own, but by an investi- 
 gation of the general subject, upon which he 
 had little reason to calculate. 
 
 19. The prepossessions which have just been 
 ascribed to the Apostles, may throw light upon 
 another part of their conduct. Immediately 
 after the conversation mentioned by St. Luke, 
 we are told, chap. ix. v. 46, " there arose a 
 reasoning among them, which of them should 
 be the greatest." Again, in Mark x. 33 — 7, 
 when our Lord had declared that the imme- 
 diate result of their present journey to Jeru- 
 salem, would be His betrayal, death, and 
 resurrection, (without saying a word of His 
 
44 
 
 future ^lory) we hear of James and John 
 making a request to Jesus, to be permitted to 
 sit on His right hand and on His left, in 
 His kingdom. Now we may account for this, 
 by observing, that the incident in St. Luke 
 follows the relation of our Lord's transfiguration, 
 an event which doubtless excited the imagi- 
 nations of His followers, and that, in several 
 parts of the chapter of INIark which I have 
 cited, are allusions to the kingdom of God — 
 (see v. 14, 15, 17, 21, 23, &c.) besides a re- 
 markable promise, in v. 30, of the recompense 
 of those who should suifer for His sake. All 
 this might have encouraged the apostles to 
 overlook the dark realities of the prospect, 
 and to gaze wistfully upon the seducing pic- 
 tures which were drawn in their fancy. We 
 might perhaps have expected that the idea of 
 their Lord"'s resurrection would have dwelt upon 
 their minds, but, in turning away fit'om the 
 contemplation of His death, they lost sight also 
 of this. Notwithstanding His repeated assu- 
 rances, that He should rise the third day, they 
 appeared, after His crucifixion, to have no 
 curiosity upon the subject. So utterly indeed were 
 they disheartened by His loss, that, after they 
 had learned from the women the disappearance 
 of the body, after Peter and John had them- 
 
45 
 
 selves ascertained the truth of this report, they 
 could only say " we * trusted that it had been 
 He which should have redeemed Israel;" though 
 spontaneously remarking " to-day is the third 
 day since these things were done,f and when 
 Christ actually appeared to the eleven, they 
 " supposed (v. 37) that they had seen a spirit." 
 Thomas also refused to acknowledge his risen 
 Master, until assured by the evidence of all his 
 senses. The whole of this conduct can only 
 appear probable to those, who have well con- 
 sidered the power of preconceived prejudices, 
 over simple and unlettered minds. 
 
 20. After so lamentable a picture of the infir- 
 mities of the apostles, we may be little prepared 
 to find that, after Christ's ascension, " they re- 
 turned to Jerusalem with great joy,*" Luke xxiv. 
 52. What ! these faint-hearted and timid men, who 
 were even indignant at the least mention of sepa- 
 ration from their Lord — who were thrown into 
 despair by his death, and could scarcely, by any 
 power of evidence, be persuaded of the truth 
 of his resurrection ; these men who seemed to be 
 buoyed up only by the hopes of a long perspective 
 of glory upon earth : could they rejoice when 
 
 * Luke xxiv. 21. See also v. 11. 
 
 f They had not even patience, it seems, to wait the 
 event in Jerusalem, for their intent was plainly to spend 
 the night at Emmaus. 
 
46 
 
 their master was finally divided from them, when 
 they were left without any visible defence, to 
 strive alone against all the power and art of men 
 and devils ? This result was certainly not to be 
 augured from the ordinary operation of human 
 feeling and opinion. Still less might we have 
 expected, that, from henceforth, they should cast 
 away from them all their fears, suspicions, and 
 misgivings — all their doubts and perplexities — all 
 their vain glorious hopes, and their petty jealousies: 
 that they should stand forth boldly beneath the 
 banner of the cross ; that cross the abomination 
 of the Jew — the scorn of the Greek; and set 
 themselves in open array against the arm of civil 
 power, the subtleties of "science falsely so called,"" 
 and the long rooted influence of a splendid and 
 complex ritual. Of the gradual but complete 
 victory which they gained over this mighty alliance 
 of the powers of darkness, I say nothing at present; 
 my immediate object is to express the greatness of 
 the change which the apostles experienced after 
 their Lord''s departure, and the incompatibility of 
 such a change with the motives by which the 
 conduct of human beings is usually governed. 
 
 Nevertheless, the more narrowly we examine 
 their character and situation, both before and after 
 this period, the more we shall perceive the latent 
 verisimilitude of their whole behaviour. This will 
 better appear if we consider, I. The power which 
 
47 
 
 the prejudices of education exercise over unculti- 
 vated minds, lending their own peculiar colouring 
 to every object, blinding them to things which 
 others consider obvious, and giving an unnatural 
 prominence to many which are visionary or in- 
 significant. 2. The natural disinclination of all 
 human minds, especially such as we have specified, 
 to rise above carnal and sensible ideas, to embrace 
 those which are invisible and spiritual. 3. The 
 inconsistency so common in the best men. A man 
 may believe himself to be sincere in a cause which 
 he adopts, and yet be really much influenced by 
 low and secondary motives, or he may be strangely 
 divided by conflicting objects, or, amidst much 
 honesty and steadiness of purpose, he may have 
 his moments of extreme weakness. These con- 
 siderations may forbid us to wonder at the irregu- 
 larity, fickleness, and irresolution, which marked 
 the conduct of Christ's disciples at this trying 
 crisis of their history. But, fourthly, we must 
 not disregard the transforming effect which true 
 religion, when received into the heart and con- 
 science, produces upon the affections, habits, and 
 opinions of certain individuals. We see them, 
 more or less suddenly, adopt a course of conduct 
 which they would previously have thought melan- 
 choly, or even contemptible : and constantly per- 
 severe in it, fearless of neglect or ridicule, and 
 often to the detriment of their fairest world! v 
 
48 
 
 prospects. There may be different opinions, re- 
 specting the source of this transformation, its 
 precise nature, or its continuance, but that it 
 actually takes place, the history of persecutions, 
 in all ages, may convince us, and where the above 
 marks of sincerity permanently ajjpear, we have 
 surely reason to ascribe the outward change in 
 the manners and behaviour, to that inward change 
 in their principles, views, and feehngs, which these 
 individuals profess to have experienced. Now 
 these characteristics of human nature might cer- 
 tainly not be unknown to a sagacious inquirer, but 
 they are unlikely to be appreciated by a writer 
 who is not himself more or less under the influence 
 of religion ; a hypocrite or worldly man could 
 have little experience of their force, he would be 
 unwilling, and even unable naturally to pourtray 
 them. But even if inclined to dilate upon these 
 subjects, he would hardly deem them very in- 
 teresting or important to the mass of his readers. 
 He would seek to edify them by a display, not 
 of the inconsistencies — but rather of the faith, 
 perseverance, and knowledge of those apostles to 
 whom they owed their religion, and with whose 
 cause his own was so closely allied. He would 
 carefully exclude fi'om his narrative every thing 
 which could disappoint the expectations, shock 
 the prepossessions, or mortify the vanity of those 
 whose favour he chiefly sought to propitiate. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 OBJECTIONS OR DIFFICULTIES INTRODUCED IN THE 
 HISTORY ITSEUF. 
 
 21. A concealed criminal, or partner in a conspi- 
 racy, would naturally be fearful of making any 
 allusions to his crime, or of stating any suspicions 
 which might have arisen against him; thus the 
 author of a forgery, conscious that his undertaking 
 has exposed him to objections, would be anxious 
 to keep them as much as possible in the back 
 ground of his picture. Rendered by guilt " trem- 
 bhngly alive"" to the danger of detection, he would 
 be unwilhng to admit that the least shadow of 
 suspicion could be cast upon his character or cause. 
 If he did ever mention accusations, we might 
 expect that none would be adduced but those by 
 the complete refutation of which, he might hope 
 to claim a triumph. He would be afraid of sug- 
 gesting that which might otherwise never occur to 
 his readers : well aware that an objection, started 
 in the caprice of a moment, ages have sometimes 
 
 D 
 
50 
 
 been unable entirely to dispel. Hence he might 
 deem it the safest course to exclude them alto- 
 gether. 
 
 22, It may possibly however be alledged, that 
 the writer we are supposing, in his anxiety to 
 preserve an appearance of truth, might aifect a 
 bold, neglect of suspicion, and that in this endea- 
 vour he might overact his part, and unwarily ex- 
 pose his cause. But here let me suggest, 1. The 
 contriver of a successful imposture, on the plan of 
 the Gospels, must be a master of his art, and 
 would rarely indeed be guilty of an oversight ; much 
 less would he commit a succession of glaring 
 mistakes of the same nature. 2. It is likely that 
 upon this supposition he would indeed aim at a 
 dramatic propriety in his characters, and at 
 fidelity in pourtraying the workings of passion ; 
 but he would be fearful of overstepping these 
 limits. Can we suppose that, in order to assume 
 an air of confidence, he would wantonly risk his 
 reputation for accuracy and consistency, and bring 
 needless suspicion upon his cause? 3. In the 
 the present times we justly regard the negligence 
 of the Evangelists as a strong confirmation of 
 those weighty external evidences which we possess; 
 but we must at present place ourselves in the situ- 
 ation of a writer, who should first attempt to 
 impose upon the world, a miraculous narrative of 
 events supposed to have happened in his own age. 
 
51 
 
 He has of course no safe witnesses to whom he can 
 appeal — no supernatural tests — no circumstantial 
 agreement — he must rely almost entirely upon the 
 inherent credibility of his relation. Thus situated, 
 his first and principal object must be to recommend 
 himself as an accurate, clear, and consistent his- 
 torian. For no secondary object then would he 
 be likely to sacrifice or endanger these necessary 
 qualifications. 4. He would naturally seek to 
 adapt himself to the taste of the majority of his 
 readers. Not every ordinary man, even of educa- 
 tion, has skill or curiosity to detect or to value the 
 finer lights and shades of character, or the latent in- 
 dications of truth ; these would be nearly lost upon 
 all but the learned : but the simplest reader could 
 understand a direct attack upon the truth of the 
 history, or upon the character of the agents ; and 
 these, if observed, might have a most disadvan- 
 tageous effect upon his mind, still more would 
 these charges impress him, if they were suggested 
 to his notice by the narrative itself. Now it 
 is evident that the majority of those, into whose 
 hands the Gospels were likely to fall, were of the 
 latter description. They were mostly plain persons 
 who had no advantage in forming their estimate of 
 these productions, except a general familiarity with 
 the circumstances of the history. They were bad 
 critics indeed of the composition, but formidable 
 judges of the matters of fact. For these reasons 
 d2 
 
52 
 
 a dishonest biographer, would be the last to en- 
 danger his whole cause, for the sake of those 
 minute excellencies and delicate shades of proba- 
 bility, wliich only a microscopic eye could discover. 
 
 23. Let the four Gospels be now examined 
 by the above test. It will appear, upon in- 
 spection, that we can turn over few pages of 
 any Evangehst, in which we find not allusions 
 to some cavil of our Lord's enemies, aimed 
 against His doctrine or character ; to some 
 doubt suggested, or some offence taken on the 
 part of His false, or wavering friends. Oc- 
 casionally, Christ answers these objections, as in 
 some cases where His miracles were ascribed 
 to Satan, and where He was accused of ' making 
 Himself God.' But these instances are far from 
 common. For the most part he either takes 
 no notice of the attack, or glances at it in 
 general terms, or makes it the foundation of 
 some warning or remonstrance. Upon these 
 occasions, the Evangelists scarcely ever under- 
 take to reply for their master, but are con- 
 tented to suffer the reproach to pass un- 
 heeded. 
 
 24. The objections thus introduced, are of 
 different degrees of importance. Some are 
 glaringly improbable, as where Jesus was ac- 
 cused of threatening to destroy the temple; 
 some may be said to be at once refuted by 
 
53 
 
 the facts of the case, as the complaint of the 
 Jews, that Christ might have prevented Laza- 
 rus from dying. * Others however wear a 
 more formidable aspect, and, in some instances, 
 must have met with far more attention in the 
 age of the Apostles, than they would have ex- 
 perienced in our own. These it may be use- 
 ful to consider at greater length. 
 
 25. There are some remarks, scattered through 
 the Gospels, which might appear to imply a 
 want of power in our Saviour. Thus, Mark 
 vi. 5, we read Christ " could there (at Naza- 
 reth) do no mighty work." Now when we 
 remember, that He is constantly represented 
 in the act of working the most stupendous 
 miracles, and that He never once refused any 
 sincere application for relief, we can hardly 
 suppose that physical incapacity was here in- 
 tended. No elucidation however is here of- 
 fered by the writer. He only says, in the 
 next verse, that Jesus " marvelled because of 
 their unbelief." If, however, we turn to Matt, 
 xiii. 58, we shall find that this abstinence from 
 His usual works of wonder and goodness, was 
 occasioned by ' the unbelief of His country- 
 men. Thus, He tells the father of the de- 
 moniac, Mark ix. 23, " all things are possible 
 
 * John xi. 37. 
 
54 
 
 to him that believeth." It was part of our 
 Lord's general plan, to require an exertion of 
 faith from those who applied to Him for aid. 
 At Nazareth, few or no such applications were 
 probably made, or made in a faint and waver- 
 ing spirit ; conformably then to the above rule, 
 it was not in His power to work miracles. * 
 
 26. It is observable that the Jews were, on 
 several occasions, clamorous in demanding from 
 Christ, " a sign from Heaven." Not contented 
 with His daily and hourly wonders, they re- 
 quired some open and direct confirmation of 
 His credentials, on the part of God himself. 
 In this wish Jesus did not, at least in general, 
 think proper to indulge them. He knew that 
 the works He wrought, the prophecies He 
 fulfilled, the whole tenor of His life and doc- 
 trine was amply sufficient to bring conviction 
 to every candid enquirer; but He also knew 
 that no evidence whatever would overcome the 
 prejudices which these considerations had been 
 unable to shake. Nevertheless, by refusing 
 this request, our Lord laid Himself open to a 
 suspicion of want of power ; a disadvantage 
 which, in a forgery, would be sedulously a- 
 voided. 
 
 '27. A very common objection to our Saviour's 
 
 * Doddridge's Family Expositor. 
 
55 
 
 most striking miracles was, that He wrought 
 them by the power of Beelzebub, the prince 
 of the devils. This is a plea, which may 
 perhaps appear ridiculous to us in the present 
 day, but, in that early period, it would be 
 deemed neither irrevelant, nor unimportant- A 
 belief in demons, both good and bad, and in 
 their interference with human affairs, was then 
 universal among Jews and Pagans, and a ready 
 credence was given to the wildest tales of 
 witchcraft and enchantment. Indeed this iden- 
 tical argument was always adduced by the 
 Heathen opponents of the Gospel, and is still 
 adhered to in the legends of the modern Is- 
 raelites. * It absolutely required therefore the 
 satisfactory confutation which our Lord gave it.f 
 Nevertheless it may surprize us that, in one 
 place, (Matt. ix. 34) an accusation then deemed 
 so formidable, should be inserted without an 
 answer, and that the Evangelist, who now first 
 touches upon the circumstance, should take no 
 pains to supply the deficiency. This we could 
 only expect from a writer, who felt so impreg- 
 
 * It is well known that the Jewish writers, who have 
 fabricated the most malicious and extravagant accounts of our 
 Redeemer, do not affect to deny His miracles, but rather as- 
 cribe them to the influence of a powerful charm. See Mack- 
 night, Truth, &c. 1. ii. c. 3, 4. 
 
 f Matt, xii, 25, &c, ; Luke xi. 17 ; Mark iii. 22. 
 
56 
 
 liable in the strength of his cause, as to con- 
 temn or overlook objections. 
 
 28. The attention of the reader may be next 
 directed to the solemn scene of the crucifixion. 
 While hanging upon the cross, Christ was taunted 
 by His enemies with His helpless condition, " If 
 thou be the Son of God, come down from the 
 cross."" * " He saved others. Himself He can- 
 not save." " He trusted in God ; let Him 
 deliver Him now if He will have Him." The 
 Jews evidently affect to make His present con- 
 duct a test of the reality of His misson. Like 
 the tempter in the wilderness, they challenge 
 His power, and call upon Him sneeringly to 
 enter publicly upon His kingdom as the Mes- 
 siah. Would not a deceitful writer have seized 
 this moment to exhibit his hero in the most 
 triumphant attitude, and to give the most un- 
 answerable proof of his divine energy? Would 
 such a writer have introduced so full and pointed 
 a challenge on the part of the Jews, and then 
 have left it unanswered ? But if we consider it 
 as part of a true history, nothing can appear 
 more probable. 
 
 The language of bitter sarcasm is exactly what 
 we might have expected from the enemies of 
 
 • Matt, xxvii. 40—2, 3. 
 
57 
 
 Jesus, and a calm silence is exactly what we 
 should expect from Him who had resolved to 
 drink, to the very dregs, " the cup which His 
 Father had given Him;'" to sustain the very 
 extremity of those sufferings which were the 
 ransom of a world's transgressions. Nor would 
 a simple writer have the least scruple in re- 
 lating the circumstance, as it happened, or any 
 impatience to explain it ; well aware that the 
 succeeding events would make everything as 
 clear as the noon-day. 
 
 29. Another argument, which was frequently 
 in the mouth of our Lord's calumniators, re- 
 ferred to the meanness of His origin. After 
 He had publicly declared (John vi. 38) that 
 He * came down from Heaven,' the Jews ex- 
 claimed, " Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, 
 &c." In the next chapter also, when certain 
 Jews said, " this is Christ,'" others asked " Shall 
 Christ come out of Galilee ? * Hath not the 
 Scripture said that Christ cometh of the seed 
 of David, and out of the town of Bethlehem, 
 &c. ; and again, v. 27, " we know this man whence 
 he is : but when Christ cometh, no man knoweth 
 whence He is." Here then are two serious ob- 
 jections brought against the Messiah-ship of our 
 Lord. In the first place. His enemies deny that 
 
 • John vii. 41. 
 d3 
 
58 
 
 He came down from Heaven, because He was 
 generally understood to be the son of Joseph 
 and Mary — persons well known among the Jews. 
 These two propositions certainly, upon a super- 
 ficial view, appear inconsistent. It might be 
 thought He could scarcely be of earthly and 
 heavenly origin at the same time. But what 
 reply does Jesus make to these aspersions ? He 
 cannot be said even to attempt one. He makes 
 no direct allusion either to His heavenly birth, 
 or to His reputed parentage, but enters at once 
 upon an exposition of one of the most mys- 
 terious, yet precious doctrines of His religion. 
 V. 44, " No man can come to me, except the 
 Father which hath sent me, draw him," &c., and 
 then, V. 51, boldly and unconcernedly returns to 
 His former assertion, " I am the living bread 
 which came down from Heaven." Now Mhat may 
 we suppose the reason of our Lord's disregard 
 of this objection? Was He unprovided with an 
 answer ? Could He not easily have referred His 
 o})ponents to Joseph and Mary themselves for a 
 proof of His supernatural origin ; to John the 
 Baptist, the witness of His solemn acknowledge- 
 ment as the Son of God by a voice from Hea- 
 ven? Or was not the least of His miracles a 
 sufficient evidence of the validity of His preten- 
 sions ? Upon the supposition however of the truth 
 of the history, we may readily account for this 
 
59 
 
 apparently unguarded silence. Christ well kiiew 
 that the most elaborate confutation would avail 
 nothing against the force of prejudice and envy. 
 
 To answer His revilers might be a needless 
 waste of precious opportunities — might argue 
 weakness in His own cause, and only increase 
 their condemnation. Hence He rather had re- 
 course to those subjects, which, if unfruitful in 
 respect to them, might make a powerful impres- 
 sion upon others. Such conduct then need not 
 much surprize us, if recorded in a true narrative, 
 but the question is how far we should expect it 
 in writers conscious of imposture ? The objection 
 here alledged was certainly plausible : It must 
 have appeared so to those who had little know- 
 ledge of Christ's history, except from the Gospel 
 of St. John. He was commonly reported to be 
 the Son of Joseph and Mary. In the very 1st 
 chapter of this Evangelist, (v. 45) Philip, a 
 disciple (though a new convert) describes Him to 
 Nathanael as " Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of 
 Joseph." No relation is given of His miraculous 
 birth, or of the divine communications made to 
 His reputed parents. Superficial readers are left 
 at liberty to suppose that Jesus was indeed the 
 Son of Joseph. It is true they could not atten- 
 tively read St. Matthew or St. Luke, without 
 finding their mistake — they could not study the 
 first chapters of St. John himself, without learning 
 
60 
 
 that our Lord's origin was divine ; but still no 
 tangible answer is afforded to the cavil, no par- 
 ticulars are specified, everything is left to the 
 knowledge or industry of the inquirer. 
 
 30. Some attention may now be paid to the 
 second charge brought against our Saviour on 
 this occasion — that Christ must be born in Beth- 
 lehem, whereas Jesus was of Nazareth in Galilee. 
 Now it was unquestionably true that He had been 
 brought up at Nazareth, which had long been 
 the dwelling of His supposed parents. He was 
 almost universally known, as He is among the 
 Jews of the present day, by the name of " Jesus 
 of Nazareth :" this epithet was part of the in- 
 scription affixed to his cross by Pilate, and even 
 the Christians themselves were known by the 
 name of Nazarenes.* Indeed it was extremely 
 usual to connect the names of individuals with 
 the place of their nativity. The term then 
 "Jesus of Nazareth," seemed to imply that our 
 Lord was a native of that place, and gave a 
 plausible colouring to this attack of His enemies. 
 Besides there was here an appeal to the Scrip- 
 tures, and this appeal, it may be said to the credit 
 of the Jews, amidst all their corruptions, was 
 still held conclusive. The Prophet Micah had 
 declared, in some emphatic words, that Christ 
 
 * Acts xxiv. 5. 
 
61 
 
 should be born at Bethlehem, a prediction so- 
 lemnly recognized by the Jewish Sanhedrim, when 
 applied to by Herod the Great* Now specious 
 as this objection was, neither Jesus nor his his- 
 torian appear to have felt any anxiety on the 
 subject. It would be totally vain to turn over 
 the pages of this Gospel in search of any account 
 of the Redeemer's birth. We should find that 
 Bethlehem was only mentioned in this single 
 passage of the whole work. It is true we should 
 find all that we could desire in the other Evan- 
 gelists; but would the writer of a forged narra- 
 tive trust so much to accident ? Would he leave 
 the sceptical reader to search, as it were, with a 
 lantern, through the pages of contemporary re- 
 cords,-f- when a word from him would throw 
 meridian light upon the whole subject ? An art- 
 less narrator of the truth would be far less 
 anxious : He would be well aware that the tes- 
 timony of the Magi and of the shepherds of 
 Bethlehem had given sufficient publicity to the 
 birth of Christ, that this point had been fully 
 insisted upon by all the preachers of the Gospel, 
 and that all candid inquirers after truth, to whom 
 
 * Matt. ii. 4—6. 
 f It must be carefully recollected, that a considerable 
 time must have elapsed, before the works of the four 
 Evangelists could have been collected into a single volume, 
 or have become, even in their separate form, easy of access. 
 
62 
 
 alone the Gospel was addressed, might have 
 abundant means of obtaining satisfaction to their 
 doubts. Hence desirous only of giving a plain 
 and clear relation of events, as they really hap- 
 pened, he would pay little regard to the difficulties 
 with which unbelief might entangle his history. 
 
 31. Upon another occasion, an appeal to the 
 Jewish Scriptures is treated with as little atten- 
 tion by the same Evangelist. Our Lord, alluding 
 to the manner of His death, having described 
 Himself as " Ufted up from the Earth," (John 
 xii. 32) the people remark,* " We have heard 
 out of the Law that Christ abideth for ever, and 
 how sayest thou the Son of man must be lifted 
 up ?"" They readily understand the phrase of 
 his suffering death, and immediately seized the 
 opportunity to introduce a specious objection. 
 Their first remark was certainly just, for numer- 
 ous passages from the Scriptures of the Old 
 Testament (here probably called by one compre- 
 hensive term " the Law") speak of the eternity 
 of the Messiah's kingdom : but they chose to 
 forget that these Scriptures never announced a 
 kingdom eternal upon earth, and that the pro- 
 phets Isaiah, Daniel, and Zechariah had explicitly 
 declared that Christ must suffer death. Hence 
 they might have seen that, because " Christ 
 
 * V. 34. 
 
63 
 
 abideth for ever," it by no means followed that 
 He might not " be lifted up," nay that, as the 
 prophets had described Him under both charac- 
 ters — that of a triumphant prince, and " a man 
 of sorrows :" He could not, unless He appeared 
 in both, fulfil their predictions. But this eluci- 
 dation, however just it might be, would be readily 
 overlooked by ignorance, and eluded by preju- 
 dice : the Pharisees would not, the multitude 
 were unable to regard it ; to suffer this remark 
 then to go forth to the public unexplained, would 
 appear to be the part of an unguarded, rather 
 than of a pohtic writer — yet the Evangelist, 
 without pausing upon it, proceeds at once to a 
 most searching and impressive exhortation of his 
 divine Master. 
 
 32. No individual, it is likely, has appeared in 
 the guise of humanity, against whom the secret or 
 open darts of calumny have never been directed, 
 and the most distinguished have often experi- 
 enced the least mercy. The purest substances 
 are most easily soiled and defaced. Indeed the 
 character of the Almighty himself has been by no 
 means sacred from detraction the most audacious. 
 As there is no virtue which does not border upon 
 a vice, and as there is no good action which, under 
 different circumstances, might not become bad or 
 indifferent, opportunities of indulging these pro- 
 pensities are readily afforded. The most heinous 
 
64 
 
 charge which was brought against our Saviour was 
 that of falsely assuming divinity ; upon two occa- 
 sions the unbelieving Jews attempted to stone 
 Him upon this plea. In John v. 18, they urge 
 that he said " that God was His Father, making 
 Himself equal with God." This, in the eyes of 
 Jews, who prided themselves upon their clear no- 
 tions of the Divine unity, as a tenet distinguishing 
 them from all the nations of the earth, was a 
 heavy impeachment. Nothing could possibly tend 
 to render Jesus more unpopular among the Phari- 
 sees. It is true, on this occasion, he had done no 
 more than style Himself " the Son of God :" but 
 he had assumed it in a pecuHar and exclusive 
 sense ; a sense which evidently suggested to the 
 Jews the notion of a divine title which no mere 
 man might arrogate to himself.* 
 
 Thus in the 7th chapter of this Gospel, where 
 our Lord says, " Before Abraham was I am,'** 
 His enemies, ever ready to put what they con- 
 ceived to be an evil construction upon His words, 
 immediately caught up the phrase, upon the 
 manifest ground that it placed Him upon an 
 equality wuth God. Upon neither of these occa- 
 sions, is the least attempt made to refute the 
 accusation. It is true when a similar attack was 
 
 * The term nartpa iciov, clearly expresses more than that 
 paternal relation between God and themselves which all the 
 Israelites Oohn viii. 41.) were willing to claim. Doddiiclgi . 
 
65 
 
 made upon Jesus, as related John x. 81, &c. He 
 entered upon a sort of explanation of His words, 
 intimating, that if the term "gods" might, in an 
 inferior sense, be applied to the Prophets, much 
 more might He whom the Father had " sanctified, 
 and sent into the World," be justly called " the 
 Son of God :" But even here He evidently dis- 
 tinguishes Himself from all other emissaries of 
 the Almighty; and so little satisfactory did this 
 elucidation appear to the Jews, that when Jesus 
 afterwards said, " the Father is in me and I in 
 Him," (v. 38 ) they were again provoked to lay 
 violent hands upon his person. Upon another 
 occasion when He said to the sick of the palsy,* 
 " Son, thy sins be forgiven thee," the Scribes, 
 who were present, reasoned in their hearts, 
 " Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies ? 
 who can forgive sins but God only r" Here our 
 Lord makes no attempt to prove, from the Scrip- 
 tures, that men might forgive sins : He is anxious 
 only to prove that He was actually in possession 
 of this power. But this courageous disregard of 
 the national prejudices, appears more strongly 
 in the closing scene of His sufferings.f When 
 brought to take His trial before the High Priest, 
 and solemnly questioned whether He was " the 
 Christ — the Son of God:" He openly confesses 
 
 * Mark ii.. 5, f Matt. xxvi. 63, Sec. Mark. xiv. Gl— 2. 
 
66 
 
 it, and describes His future glory, when, "sit- 
 ting at the right hand of power, and coming in 
 the clouds of heaven ;" at these words the High 
 Priest rends his clothes, as if in horror ; and all 
 agree that He has "spoken blasphemy,"" and is 
 " guilty of death." Of this same offence was He 
 accused before Pilate.* The Jews said, " We 
 have a law, and by that law he ought to die, 
 because he made himself the Son of God." Thus - 
 was our blessed liOrd vilified and persecuted by 
 those He came to save — apprehended, judged, 
 condemned, and crucified, on the charge of blas- 
 phemously assuming a divine character.f This 
 was among the Jews a capital offence ; and He 
 was comm-only reported to have suffered a de- 
 served doom. Now is it probable that a subtle and 
 designing writer, would allow such a report to go 
 forth unrefuted, among the bitterest enemies of 
 the Gospel, and to reach the ears of those inex- 
 perienced multitudes to whom that Gospel was 
 yet to be preached ? It might appear singular 
 that he should introduce into his history words 
 so offensive; but if he were induced to do this, 
 he would at least be careful that they might 
 
 * John xix. 7. 
 
 t Other grounds of accusation were indeed alledged, but 
 
 this was mainly kept in view, at least by his Jewish enemies. 
 
 That of 'making Himself a King,' appears to have been 
 
 chiefly introduced in order to work upon the fears of Pilate. 
 
67 
 
 wound the prejudices of his hearers as Uttle as 
 possible. A refutation might have been attempt- 
 ed, either by showing that the terms in question 
 did not imply an assumption of divinity, or by 
 explicity maintaining that this assumption was 
 valid. Where a poison is supposed to have been 
 swallowed, it is important that the antidote should 
 be administered as quickly as possible. Hence 
 we should expect such explanatory remarks im- 
 mediately to follow the passages which required 
 their insertion. But no such course is pursued— 
 just after these unpopular expressions, we find 
 others tending perhaps yet more to exalt the 
 Redeemer's pretensions. The calumnies are left 
 to their full effect upon the minds of the pubhc, 
 and nothing but the innate force of truth, and 
 the weight of supernatural evidence can possibly 
 counteract them. Indeed, though the Gospels 
 abound with indications, more or less latent, of our 
 Lord's divinity, they no where undertake to prove 
 it. Even in the first chapter of St. John, that 
 truth is delivered by him, rather in the form of an 
 authoritative message from heaven, addressed to 
 the faith, than as an argument suited to the 
 reason of his readers. 
 
 33. The framers of a forged Gospel, would 
 naturally make it their aim to conciliate, as much 
 as possible, the favour of the Jewish nation, not 
 only as their own countrymen, but as those who 
 
68 
 
 had it most fully In their power to produce counter 
 evidence, and thus annihilate the Christian system. 
 This would doubtless be made a steady and inva- 
 riable rule of their conduct. How then can we 
 reconcile with this maxim their representation of 
 their Lord's behaviour respecting the Sabbath ? 
 The Pharisees, a sect to whom the chief priests 
 and authorized teachers of the people appeared, at 
 that period, to belong, had the utmost abhorrence 
 of anything which savoured of servile work upon 
 that day. The w^ay then to gain their favour, 
 would be to represent Christ as zealous, even to 
 supererogation, for the preservation of its sanctity. 
 On the contrary, we find Him, by his disregard of 
 the minute observances of the times, continually 
 drawing upon Himself the animadversions of the 
 rulers. This was not done occasionally, nor in a 
 corner. The Sabbath-day seemed to be especially 
 chosen by Jesus as the time, and the synagogue 
 as the place, in which He performed some of his 
 most illustrious miracles. He even went so far as 
 to command a man, who was healed upon such an 
 occasion, to carry his bed home.* It is true He 
 assigned, in their hearing, some valid reasons for 
 his conduct,f but when these (as there was reason 
 
 • This might, as the present Bishop of Calcutta suggests, 
 be a hght couch, suitable to a condition of poverty in a warm 
 climate. 
 
 ■f In one instance, John v. 10, where the Jews objected 
 
69 
 
 to expect) made no impression upon his adver- 
 saries, He continued the practice, in open defiance 
 of their authority. He even assumed to Himself 
 an absolute right to re-model that divine institu- 
 tion — declaring, " the Son of Man is Lord also 
 of the Sabbath." * Conduct like this could not be 
 very palatable to those, upon whose reception of 
 the infant Gospel so much might appear to depend. 
 .34. Amon<? the articles of accusation which were 
 laid before the Jewish High Priest and Sanhedrim, 
 was the following : f that Jesus had declared Him- 
 self able " to destroy the Temple of God, and to 
 build it in three days." The veneration of the 
 Jews for their temple was akin to their most vivid 
 recollections of ancient times — to their fondest 
 feelings of national vanity. That of Solomon was 
 considered " the glory of the whole earth ;" but 
 the Prophet Haggai had pronounced that the 
 glory of the second Temple would exceed that of 
 the former. No idea then could be more unfor- 
 tunately connected with a bad cause, than the 
 prospect of danger to this venerated fabric. This 
 imputation also was not unsupported by a certain 
 semblance of truth. Christ had certainly said,:}: 
 " Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will 
 raise it up ;" and though the Jews expressed as- 
 
 to carrying a bed, as a servile work, no apology of any kind 
 is attempted. See also verse 18. 
 
 * Mark ii, 28. f Matt. xxvi. 61. { John ii. 19. 
 
70 
 
 tonishment at his words, He left them unex- 
 plained — the Evangelist only adding, " but He 
 spake of the temple of his body." The allegation 
 of his enemies might also appear to be counte- 
 nanced by the remarkable prophecy of Christ,* 
 that a day would come^ when not " one stone " of 
 this magnificent fabric would " be left upon an- 
 other. Such a notion as this was Hkely, not only 
 to afford the fairest pretext for the enmity of the 
 rulers towards the Gospel, but to exasperate to the 
 highest pitch the prejudices of the nation at large. 
 Nevertheless our Lord — even when pointedly chal- 
 lenged by the High Priest — made not the slightest 
 answer to the charge. Nor does the historian take 
 the trouble to direct his readers to that part of the 
 history, in which the actual words of his INIaster 
 are recorded. It must be admitted, that the tes- 
 timony of the witnesses was delivered in a clumsy 
 and contradictory manner, and might be considered 
 to confute itself; but still the accusation was one 
 which must have appeared serious to the Jews.f 
 No refutation, however, or so much as a defence, 
 appears even to have been attempted. 
 
 35. If our Lord took little pains to ingratiate 
 Himself with men in power among the Jews, 
 
 * Matt. xxiv. 2. 
 •f" One of the heads of impeachment brought against St. 
 Stephen (Acts vi. 13.) was, " This man ceaseth not to speak 
 blasphemous words against this holy place." 
 
71 
 
 He was equally careless of the favour of the 
 Gentile rulers. At that critical moment when 
 His life appeared to hang upon the nod of the 
 Roman governor, He, in calm silence, heard 
 Himself accused* as one who had been " per- 
 verting the nation, forbidding to give tribute to 
 Caesar ; saying that he himself is Christ, a king." 
 This was of course the gravest offence, in the 
 estimation of their conquerors, which his coun- 
 trymen could possibly lay to his charge. It was 
 the more plausible, as a question had actually 
 been put to Jesus respecting the payment of 
 tribute, to which He had returned a general and 
 apparently dubious answer.f There was also a 
 party, about that period, who commonly taught 
 that tribute was unlawful. As to the latter part 
 of the charge, it was universally believed that 
 the Christ would deliver the Jewish nation from 
 their enemies, and reign over them in a glory 
 greater than Solomon''s ; and it was now publicly 
 known that Jesus advanced pretensions to that 
 dignity. He had even entered Jerusalem with 
 some degree of triumph, and had been pro- 
 
 * Luke xxiii. 2. 
 t Our Saviour, however, appears plainly to intimate, that 
 the impost ought to be paid : that while the Jews suffered 
 the money of Cesar's coinage to circulate, they could not 
 justly refuse it in tribute, — Sec Doddridge Fam. Expos, 
 sect. 154. N. (d). 
 
72 
 
 claimed king by the multitudes who attended 
 His steps. Notwithstanding all this, not the 
 least answer to so grave an accusation, is, in 
 this Gospel, either ascribed to our Lord, or at- 
 tempted by his biographer. If we refer, indeed, 
 to another Evangelist, . John xviii. 36, it will 
 appear that Christ was by no means unprepared 
 with a reply. He is there represented, explain- 
 ing to Pilate the spiritual and heavenly na- 
 ture of His kingdom, and stating, that if earthly 
 dominion had been His object. His followers 
 would have been ready to maintain it by force 
 of arras. Of this defence, however, St. Luke, 
 though he alledges more heinous charges than 
 his brother Evangelist, takes not the slightest 
 notice. 
 
 36. The next cavil of our Saviour's enemies, 
 which I shall adduce, is the only one which was 
 ever aimed against His moral character, and this 
 cavil, it should be observed, is obtruded upon us 
 by Himself. Matt. xi. 19. " The Son of man came 
 eating and drinking, and they say, Behold a man 
 gluttonous and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans 
 and sinners." Nearly the same words are also in- 
 serted in Luke vii. 33—4, and, in both instances, 
 we have nothing like a reply, except one emphatic 
 sentence, " But wisdom is justified of her chil- 
 dren." This conduct would be highly becoming 
 in persons conscious of truth and integrity. Christ 
 
73 
 
 knew that His character was above the reach of 
 calumny. Upon another occasion,* after reprov- 
 ing the Jews in the most expUcit and offensive 
 terms, " Ye are of your father the devil," He 
 scruples not to make the most unqualified appeal 
 to their knowledge of His innocency ; " Which of 
 you,"" He asks, " convinceth me of sin ?" The 
 disciples also knew that the bitterest enemies of 
 the Gospel could not attempt to substantiate such 
 a charge. They felt that it was no more than the 
 malicious misrepresentation of men, who were 
 resolved to find fault. But a falsifier could not 
 have taken this view of the subject — He would 
 be well aware that he was treading upon delicate 
 ground — that his cause was in his own hands, and 
 could ill bear to be dragged into the light of public 
 enquiry, still less to be breathed upon by public 
 scandal. He would not forget, that the taunt 
 above cited was the more plausible, because Christ 
 was generally understood to have sought the com- 
 pany of persons, many of whom were, doubtless, 
 loose livers. If such things had really been said, 
 he would probably be anxious to suppress, or at 
 least to soften them; if they had not been said, 
 he would scarcely have ventured to suggest them 
 to his readers. He certainly could not be willing 
 
 * John viii. 44—6. 
 £ 
 
74 
 
 that they should go down unexplained to posterity, 
 upon the stream of the national records. 
 
 36. Another insinuation of the Jews may be 
 mentioned, with which an artificial writer would 
 hardly think of entangling his narrative. At the 
 opening of our Saviour's ministry, the first impres- 
 sion resulting from His words and works was so 
 remarkable, that a constant throng beset His 
 dwelling, insomuch that he could scarcely take 
 His necessary food. His friends, astonished at 
 these proceedings, " went out to lay hands on 
 Him, for they said, ' He is beside himself.""' * Now 
 in this there was nothing singular or inconsistent ; 
 most of our Lord's relatives, at that period, pro- 
 bably followed the current of practice and opinion 
 which prevailed in the world around them. ITiey 
 would not trouble themselves so far as to look 
 upon God's ancient dealings with His people, upon 
 His prophetic word, or upon the things which 
 were then coming upon the earth. They thought 
 only of the pursuit of present gain or comfort, and 
 any conduct which seemed at variance with this 
 object, was, in their eyes, the height of folly and 
 imprudence. The behaviour of Christ, unless some 
 extraordinary reason could be alleged in its de- 
 fence, would certainly merit this imputation. With- 
 
 * Mark iii. 21. 
 
75 
 
 out searching however for such a reason, they at 
 once took it for granted, that because His proceed- 
 ings were contrary to those of other men. He was 
 " beside Himself." This exceedingly resembles 
 the way of the world in every age. We form 
 certain prepossessions which, because they are our 
 own, we deify and worship, and by these we mea- 
 sure the opinions and conduct of other men. It 
 is rarely that we then make an allowance for a dif- 
 ference of circumstances, habits, and opportunities. 
 More especially are we prone to this hasty judg- 
 ment in matters of religion. If we perceive an 
 individual acting or speaking upon these subjects, 
 in a manner different from the generality around 
 us, he is immediately stamped by public opinion 
 as an enthusiast ; and if a reluctant compliment be 
 paid to the qualities of his heart, it is always at 
 the expense of those of the head. This decision, 
 may, indeed, in particular instances, be more or 
 less true, but the native prejudice and vanity of 
 the human heart, most commonly prevents it from 
 being discriminative. From views such as these, 
 appears to have arisen the intended kindness of 
 our Lord's friends. They were anxious to deter 
 Him from a course of conduct which they con- 
 sidered hazardous to Himself, and not unlikely 
 to bring obloquy upon them. Their interference 
 therefore was natural, and, considered as a matter 
 of fact, very proper to be related by those whose 
 E 2 
 
76 
 
 great aim and business was, to " bear witness unto 
 the truth." Writers of this class might confidently 
 leave it to be decided by the general tenor of their 
 Master's discourses, and by the effects of His 
 ministry, whether this taunt were really worthy 
 of credit. Certainly, however, this was a circum- 
 stance which a falsifier would scarcely take the 
 trouble to invent, or to adopt from others. He 
 would be in no great haste to proclaim to all the 
 world, that the subject of his memoir was treated 
 as a madman by His own friends. More especially 
 if they heard that the character of Christ had been 
 actually assailed, would they carefully avoid giving 
 the least countenance to such reports. Let us 
 imagine the case of a man who was a candidate 
 for some public and responsible office, and who 
 had undertaken to draw up a narrative of his pro- 
 ceedings and course of life ; in what way would he 
 dispose of certain insinuations, with which some 
 of his relatives might have sought to undermine 
 his character ? If they were of a private nature, 
 he would leave them in their own obscurity; but 
 if they were too notorious to be suppressed, he 
 would surely mention them in such a manner as 
 either to afford a full refutation, or at least to 
 expose their futility ; he would not scatter them, 
 as it were, at random through his narrative, with- 
 out attempting an answer. 
 
 37. Some observations may now be made 
 
77 
 
 upon the various shades of doubt and unbelief, so 
 frequently described by the Evangelists in our 
 Saviour's hearers. I am here, it must be con- 
 fessed, entering a beaten track, Paley and others 
 have trod it with success before me ; but it is, 
 nevertheless, a branch of my subject too important 
 to dismiss without a brief notice. It would not 
 be extraordinary, that a designing writer should 
 describe a violent spirit of hostility to have early 
 arisen against the Gospel. Nothing is more com- 
 mon in works of fiction, than to set in array a 
 formidable squadron of enemies, against the lead- 
 ing personage of the story. The enmity of the 
 wicked, throws out into stronger relief, the excel- 
 lence of the cause which they oppose ; and greater 
 scope is afforded for the display of that courage 
 and fortitude, which is chiefly exercised in the 
 conquest of difficulties. Nor need it surprize us 
 that the unbelief of those adversaries should be 
 represented as proof against the strongest evidence. 
 Nevertheless there are circumstances, the mention 
 of which would scarcely advantage, and might seri- 
 ously injure the cause. If the writers drew a strong 
 picture of the obstinacy or the scepticism of their 
 enemies, we should be little prepared to hear of 
 similar conduct in the more honest and unpre- 
 judiced; still less among the ranks of Christ's 
 professed followers. Upon their part we should 
 expect to hear of the most unhesitating faith; the 
 
78 
 
 most unwavering perseverance. This however 
 formed no part of the plan upon which the Gos- 
 pels were constructed. Unfavourable admissions 
 are made, in a manner the most abrupt and un- 
 qualified. Thus we are informed, * that the peo- 
 ple of Gadara generally, ' besought Christ to de- 
 part from them ;' that after His discourse re- 
 specting ' the bread of life,' " many of His disciples 
 went back, and walked no more with him :" t and 
 that, when, after His resurrection. He appeared 
 to His disciples upon a mountain in Galilee, 
 " some " among their number " doubted." % No 
 comment is made upon these doubts, nor is the 
 least intimation given, whether they were ever 
 removed. Let us consider also, the representation 
 given of the conduct of the chosen Apostles and 
 constant companions of Jesus. That we should 
 hear of one atrociously wicked man and traitor 
 among them, is not unreasonable. The character 
 
 * Luke viii. 37. f «I^ohn vi. 66. 
 
 I Matt, xxviii. 17. These instances are noticed by Paley. 
 See his Evidences, ii. 89. He supposes with Tovvnsend, 
 that the " doubts" here mentioned, referred to the identity of 
 Christ's person, seen at a distance; but the e.xpression must 
 be thought peculiarly unhappy, if employed by a writer 
 anxious to make his story good. I cannot here avoid refer - 
 ing the reader to Paley 's remarks (Evidences, ii. 85, &c.) 
 upon the artless manner in which the Evangelists have 
 signified, or rather suffered it to appear, that Christ, after his 
 resurrection, was seen by His disciples alone. 
 
79 
 
 of Judas might have been conceived as a striking 
 contrast and foil to those of his associates ; but 
 what are we to say of the continued disincUnation, 
 ascribed to the whole college of Apostles, to under- 
 stand the spirituality of their Master's kingdom, 
 or to conceive that He could suffer and die ? of 
 their forsaking Him, with one consent, in the 
 moment of danger ? of their ' slowness of heart,' 
 not only in expecting His resurrection, but in 
 listening to the most circumstantial testimony of 
 the fact ? lastly, of the repeated denial of Peter, 
 after all his expressions of constancy and zeal? 
 The ignorance of our Lord's person and circum- 
 stances manifested by the cripple at the pool of 
 Bethesda, and by the man who was born blind, 
 describing Him as " a man that is called Jesus,"" * 
 is, to say the least, needlessly introduced. 
 
 38. But how remarkable is the message sent 
 by John the Baptist to the Redeemer,f " Art 
 thou He that should come, or do we look for 
 another?" I am ready to admit, that most com- 
 mentators suppose this enquiry to have been made, 
 only to satisfy the doubts of the Baptist's disciples ; 
 but they are not unanimous upon that point. A 
 considerable degree of dubiety hangs about the 
 incident; but for what purpose could it be men- 
 tioned if untrue? nay, even if true, how would 
 
 * John ix. 11. t Matt. xi. 3—11. 
 
80 
 
 a designing writer find it worth his while to record 
 it ? He would be rendered over timorous by con- 
 scious dishonesty. Would he wish then to have it 
 needlessly suspected that the faith of Christ's great 
 forerunner began to w aver — that John had doubts 
 respecting the Messiah-ship of Him whom it 
 was the sole purpose of his life and ministry 
 to announce. Might not this, in the judgment 
 of those ignorant readers who would naturally be 
 numerous, throw an air of uncertainty around his 
 whole testimony? Or if it really appeared expe- 
 dient to incur such a risk, was no explanation 
 to be given ? If the doubts of John's disciples 
 only, were expressed in this message, a single word 
 would have made every thing clear. Would this 
 word then be omitted by a writer whose cause was 
 at stake? The courageous simplicity of truth 
 could alone disregard the danger. Truth may 
 venture unarmed in the midst of enemies, but 
 falsehood would wear all her panoply in the bosom 
 of peace. But let us suppose the circumstance 
 introduced, in order to throw an air of truth and 
 nature around the narrative, how would it in 
 that case have been managed? Either John 
 would have been pourtrayed as an actual apos- 
 tate, as another Judas, who at last threw oiF the 
 mask of allegiance to his Master, and deserted 
 the cause of the Gospel; or, on the other hand, 
 we should hear of his repentance — that he re- 
 
81 
 
 canted his error — expressed his conviction and 
 his penitence, and confirmed, with more than his 
 wonted energy, " the testimony of Christ." Ei- 
 ther of these methods (though not without some 
 risk of weakening the cause), might have added 
 to the force and interest of the narrative, lint 
 no such expedient is attempted. We read no 
 more, either before or after this passage, of the 
 Baptist's scruples ; on the contrary, our Lord 
 seizes this very occasion to utter a high eulogium 
 upon his character. We hear nothing of any 
 change or recantation on the part of John ; but 
 are left to suppose, if we please, that he might 
 have continued in his delusion till the day of his 
 death. A peculiar dubiety, indeed, is thrown over 
 the whole transaction, which the writer seems to 
 consider it unimportant to remove ; but what 
 writer of falsehood would regard any thing as 
 immaterial, which could possibly bring discredit 
 upon his history ? 
 
 e3 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 VARIATIONS AND RESEMBLANCES BETWEEN THE 
 WORKS OF THE SEVERAL EVANGELISTS. 
 
 39. The remarks which have hitherto been 
 made, have referred indiscriminately to the four 
 biographies of Jesus Christ, which at present 
 exist, considered as one mass of historical mate- 
 rials. I now proceed to compare them as four 
 separate narratives, immediately devoted to a com- 
 mon subject, and written by persons embarked 
 in a common cause. The question will then arise, 
 whether, when fairly compared, their mutual con- 
 nection and relation is such as we should expect, 
 on the supposition that they were the fabrications 
 of imposture. Our present undertaking is to shew 
 that this assumption is inconsistent with the facts 
 which appear, upon a careful comparison of the 
 four documents. It should, however, be here pre- 
 mised, that the observations which follow, are more 
 specially applicable to the first three Gospels, as 
 that of St. John, which was written at a later 
 
83 
 
 period, and under special circumstances, has a 
 character peculiar to itself. Let the case then be 
 imagined of three or four persons, composing dif- 
 ferent forged accounts of the life of the same 
 individual. Three alternatives here appear to pre- 
 sent themselves : — 
 
 I. The writers may be supposed to have no 
 means, direct or indirect, of knowing the contents 
 of each other's performances; but to draw en- 
 tirely upon the stores of their own invention and 
 judgment. 
 
 II. They might either act in concert, or have 
 ready access to each other's writings. 
 
 III. Without any direct communication, they 
 might have recourse to common materials ; namely, 
 either to one, or several more ancient documents, 
 or to oral reports and traditions. 
 
 40. I. That the Evangelists were wholly inde- 
 pendent of each other in composing their histories, 
 is, if they were impostors, a position wholly un- 
 tenable. There is scarcely an ordinary reader of 
 the New Testament, who must not have remarked 
 instances of a close resemblance in the writings of 
 Matthew, Mark, and Luke — a resemblance extend- 
 ing not only to statements and sentiments, but to 
 phraseology — not only to phraseology, but to the 
 choice and even arrangement of words. Some 
 
84 
 
 instances shall be shortly introduced,* and for 
 many others the reader may be referred to Bishop 
 Marsh's Dissertation upon the Origin of the three 
 first Gospels, appended to his Translation of 
 Michaelis.f 
 
 It would then be utterly contrary to all human 
 analogy, to suppose that three writers, under the 
 guidance only of fancy, or accident, should re- 
 peatedly have lighted not only upon the same facts 
 and sentiments, but upon the same sentences, 
 many of which might seem to be borrowed, word 
 for word, from each other's pages. Either then 
 we must conclude them to have had some access 
 to the matter of each other's works, or we must be 
 prepared to gi-ant that they composed a faithful 
 record of that which they had actually seen and 
 heard. 
 
 41. II. If we suppose them to have written in 
 concert — to have plotted together to impose upon 
 the public several feigned narratives of our Savi- 
 our's life, their main object would be, so to execute 
 their respective tasks, that the poet's rule might 
 be exemplified, 
 
 " And, vvhere though all things differ, all agree." 
 
 Their first care would be to avoid discrepancies — 
 at least any which might not admit a very ready 
 
 * See Sect. 47. 
 
 t Bishop Marsh's Dissertation. Camb. 1801. Vol. V. 
 chap. vii. pp. 44., &c. 
 
85 
 
 explanation. They must be aware that, where 
 witnesses even appear to disagree, the individual 
 marks of truth and honesty will avail them little — 
 a slight flaw of this kind, in their credentials, 
 might cast a shadow of suspicion over their cause, 
 which nothing could entirely dispel. Now it evi- 
 dently could not have cost them much trouble to 
 avoid the appearance of contradiction, even in 
 trifling matters. They could easily have agreed 
 upon a common outline, and a series of facts, from 
 which none should be at liberty to depart, and 
 when their works were completed, a frequent and 
 diligent collation would enable them to prune away 
 all inadvertencies. Nevertheless they would avoid 
 the appearance of servilely copying each other — 
 they would be anxious to m.aintain, as far as pos- 
 sible, a distinct character in their several produc- 
 tions. Each writer would naturally wish to intro- 
 duce something of his own ; if not new events, at 
 least some interesting incidents 'or conversations. 
 He would feel desirous that his own history should 
 not be the least important, or the least attractive. 
 At the same time, they would take special care 
 that no one of their number should omit any con- 
 siderable circumstance ; this would not only appear 
 a defect, but would throw an air of doubtfulness 
 over that particular. For a similar reason, no one 
 would be allowed to vary from the order of events 
 observed by the rest. . 
 
86 
 
 42. It may now be inquired how far the Evan- 
 gehsts have actually conformed themselves to the 
 rules above mentioned ; and, first, how far they 
 have studied a strict conformity in their state- 
 ments. It may be sufficient to examine a few 
 particular instances. In Matt. ix. 9, we hear of 
 the call of a publican named Matthew — of his 
 promptness in following Christ, and of the dinner 
 to which (as it evidently, though indirectly ap- 
 pears,) he invited our Lord. Now, upon referring 
 to Mark ii. 14, and Luke v. 27, we shall find the 
 relation of a strictly similar incident ; and, in 
 every one of the three Evangelists, it is inserted 
 between the cure of the palsied man, and a con- 
 versation respecting our Saviour^s practice of 
 eating with publicans ; which circumstances are 
 related by all, in nearly the same words. One 
 difference, liowever, is to be observed. The per- 
 son who is called Matthew, by the first mentioned 
 Evangelist, is by St. Mark and St. Luke denomi- 
 nated Levi. When we consider the close resem- 
 blance of tlie context, in the three histories, we 
 cannot doubt that the same individual is intended ; 
 nor does it seem, in the least, likely that the name 
 could be changed, in two of them, through mere 
 inadvertency. We can indeed perfectly well ima- 
 gine that Matthew might have borne two names, 
 and have been called by them indiscriminately — 
 a case of frequent example — but might not a 
 
87 
 
 single word from one of the writers have explained 
 this, and would not this appear more expedient, in 
 an affair which personally concerned one of the 
 authors of the undertaking? There is certainly 
 a discrepancy glaring enough to startle an ordinary 
 reader, and which a sagacious one could only re- 
 concile by a probable conjecture. 
 
 43. Matt. xxi. 2. We have here related the 
 fulfilment of a singular prophecy of Zechariah. * 
 Our Saviour directs two of His disciples to pro- 
 ceed to a village near the Mount of Olives, where 
 they would find "an ass tied, and a colt with 
 her," which they were to bring to Him. This was 
 accordingly done, and " they set Him thereon." f 
 There is a singularity in this expression, but we 
 may probably collect from it, that Christ, in some 
 way, rode upon both these animals, and this is 
 strictly accordant with the letter of the ancient 
 prophecy. Thus far there appears no more than 
 a slight obscurity. But if we turn to the parallel 
 passages, % we find indeed a general agreement, 
 yet three points must be considered remarkable; 
 1. that in Mark and Luke only the colt should be 
 mentioned ; 2. that so vague a term as -n-wXag -f 
 should be used, when the words of the prophet 
 
 * Zech. ix. 9. f tTravu avTwir. 
 
 I Mark xi. 2 — 7 ; Luke xix. 30, &c. 
 
 § This terra properly expresses a young horse, though it 
 appears to be capable of an applicaUoa to other domestic 
 
88 
 
 absolutely required that an ass should he the 
 animal employed by Christ ; 3, that no mention 
 should be made of the remarkable prediction here 
 accomplished. Now could anything appear more 
 natural, than that three or four writers, anxious 
 to sustain each others credit, should, after citing 
 the words of Zechariah, state their fulfilment, as 
 nearly as possible, in the same manner. St. ]\Iat- 
 thew has given a narrative closely corresponding 
 with the prediction ; why then should the others 
 express themselves in terms, which, at first sight, 
 convey a different impression. The occasion was 
 not unimportant ; it was material that our Lord 
 should be considered, as exactly as possible, to 
 have accomplished every prophecy. Upon the 
 hypothesis then which we are assuming, would 
 not the Evangelists appear wantonly and gra- 
 tuitously to injure their own cause? But, on 
 the other hand, unpractised writers, conveying 
 the impressions that they had separately received 
 from witnessing the affair, or from hearing it de- 
 scribed by eye-witnesses, might be expected (es- 
 pecially at a considerable distance of time) to 
 narrate it in different terms. Their general fa- 
 miliarity also with the subject, and confidence in 
 
 animals. See Schol. Aristoph. ap Scbleusner. Indeed the 
 phrase in John xii. 14, 15, -rrwXot: ovov greatly tends to 
 remove this difficulty. 
 
89 
 
 their readers, might render them not very studious 
 of accuracy in the use of words. 
 
 44. Luke xxiv. 12. We have here the relation 
 of a circumstance which followed the resurrection 
 of Christ. When the women who went early to 
 the sepulchre, came back with a report to the dis- 
 ciples, that the body was missing, and that they 
 had seen a vision of angels, their ^vords were for 
 the most part treated "as idle tales," v. 11. St. 
 Peter, however, always the most prominent where 
 anything was to be said or done, resolved to satisfy 
 himself upon this point ; he therefore ran to the 
 tomb, and having found it vacant, and " the linen 
 clothes laid by themselves," departed in wonder. 
 An account very similar to this is observable in 
 John XX. 3, &c., but with one difference; that this 
 Apostle mentions himself as the companion of 
 Peter. It is supposed by West, Doddridge, and 
 Mack night, and with considerable probability, that 
 two separate visits are recorded ; but, however 
 this be, I would wish it to be particularly ob- 
 served, that, while both Evangelists relate the 
 visit of Peter to the sepulchre, St. Luke makes 
 no mention of any on the part of John. Now 
 it certainly appears probable in itself, that the 
 beloved Apostle should not have been backward 
 upon this occasion, and it might even have ap- 
 peared singular had he failed to accompany St. 
 
90 
 
 Peter. Upon this point, however, St. Luke is 
 silent, but there is reason to think that he was not 
 ignorant of the circumstance ; for, in detaihng the 
 conversation of the two disciples with Christ on 
 the road to Emmaus, he makes Cleopas say, * 
 " and certain of them which were with us went 
 to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the wo- 
 men had said." It seems here to be acknowledged 
 that some other person was the companion of 
 Peter, and, as we hear of no other male disciple 
 inspecting the tomb of Christ, that person could 
 only be St. John. We may therefore judge that 
 there is here, not only no real contrariety, but 
 an incidental confirmation of one Evangelist by 
 the other ; there is nevertheless an apparent re- 
 pugnance, with which persons writing in concert, 
 would hardly have risked perplexing their nar- 
 rative. 
 
 45. A sagacious writer remarks, " the more that 
 different witnesses keep to the same method of 
 bringing forward their testimony, the less danger 
 is there of falling into real or apparent incon- 
 sistencies." f This is a truth which the joint 
 contrivers of a forgery would assuredly keep in 
 view. In statements especially, relative to the 
 principal events or characters of their history, 
 they would study to preserve the strictest har- 
 
 * Luke xxiv. 24. f Cook upon the New Testament, p. 409. 
 
91 
 
 mony. Let us examine then by this standard, 
 the lists which the Evangehsts give of the names 
 of the twelve Apostles. It must surely have 
 appeared material, that, in this instance, every- 
 thing should be clear and consistent, nor could it 
 have been difficult to avoid variation. 
 
 Now between Matthew* and Markf we ob- 
 serve a strict correspondence, but the catalogue 
 in St. Luke % differs from both the first-mentioned 
 writers, in two particulars. 1, " Simon the Canaan- 
 ite"§ of Matthew and Mark, is introduced as 
 " Simon called Zelotes." Now if any difference 
 was admitted in this place, we might expect it to 
 extend no farther than to the order of the names, 
 or the addition of a surname ; as, for instance, 
 Matthew calls the " Thaddeus," of Mark also 
 " Lebbeus ;" but here we have one surname 
 changed for another. It is indeed easy to con- 
 ceive, that Simon might have been commonly dis- 
 tinguished by either appellative, but this we can 
 only conjecture ; neither Evangelist adds a word 
 to explain the point. 2, The other discrepancy 
 however, appears more serious. The Lebbeus 
 or Thaddeus of St. Matthew and Mark, is entirely 
 
 * Matt. X. 2. t Mark iii. IG. J Luke vi. 14. 
 
 § The introduction of this epithet, which seems to fix upon 
 one of the chosen Apostles, the stigma of a Gentile descent, 
 would hardly have been hazarded by a writer anxious to please 
 hi3 countrymen. 
 
92 
 
 omitted in the list of St. Luke, who substitutes 
 " Judas the brother of James."" Here is certainly 
 a marked difference, for it would not seem very 
 probable, that the Apostle in question, passed by 
 three distinct names. Nor could this be a mere 
 oversight in St. Luke, for, in Acts i. 13, wliere 
 a catalogue of the eleven is inserted, he mentions 
 this individual in exactly the same manner. " Are 
 we to suppose then that the Evangelist commits 
 a deliberate error in this particular? We have 
 distinct and satisfactory witnesses to prove that 
 there really was an Apostle, besides Iscariot, who 
 bore the name of Judas. Both Matthew* and 
 Markf concur in speaking of James and Jude 
 as the near relations of Christ, and part of this 
 statement is incidentally confirmed by St. Paul, 
 who calls James "the Lord's brother.":!^ But 
 farther, St. John § presents us with a remark made 
 by " Judas not Iscariot ;" evidently one of the 
 Apostles ; and St. Jude himself, in the first verse 
 of his Epistle, styles himself " the brother of 
 James." There is thus amply suflScient evidence, 
 that all the Gospel writers acknowledge an Apostle 
 of this name, though St. INIatthew, with his usual 
 .simplicity, familiarly mentions him by two of his 
 
 * Matt.xiii.5.5. f Markvi.3. + Gal. i. 19. 
 
 § John xiv. 22. 
 
93 
 
 appellations, omitting that of Judas, * and St. 
 Mark sees no occasion to depart from his lan- 
 guage, in a matter of such general notoriety. 
 Luke, on the other hand, usually studious of ac- 
 curacy, distinguishes this Apostle by the name 
 generally current in the Church, when his Gos- 
 pel was written. This variation then may, upon 
 the whole, convince us how undesignedly the 
 writers of Scripture confirm each others state- 
 ments ; yet can this only be the result of a minute 
 examination upon our part, and upon the proba- 
 bility of this, a cautious writer would hardly stake 
 his reputation for truth or exactness. 
 
 46. A few specimens have now been adduced of 
 that marked difference in their mode of narrating 
 the same circumstance, which occasionally occurs 
 in the Evangelists; but many instances must be 
 suggested to every attentive reader of the New 
 Testament. I may then fairly assume, — 1. That 
 such differences do clearly exist. 2. That they are 
 too obvious and frequent to be ascribed to mere 
 inadvertency. 3. That a single word might, in 
 most cases, have made every thing consistent. 
 
 It may, however, be objected, that designing 
 writers might ' agree to differ,' in order to remove 
 
 * Some suppose, not without reason, that this alteration is 
 to be ascribed to an anxiety in the two Evangelists, to dis- 
 tinguish this Apostle from Judas ** the traitor." 
 
94 
 
 any suspicion of collusion among themselves. 
 But we must bear in mind, that one of their 
 first objects would be to add light and strength 
 to each other's testimony — to the attainment of 
 which a close agreement, in matters of fact, must 
 be indispensable — still more essential would this 
 appear, when they considered, that the majority 
 of the persons for whom they wrote, would be 
 much more shocked by their discordance, than 
 pleased with their variety, and that the least sus- 
 picious circumstance, especially when confirmed 
 by others, might produce effects which nothing 
 could obviate. 
 
 47. There is, nevertheless, a defect of an op- 
 posite nature to the above, which would naturally 
 prove injurious to a bad cause, and which a party 
 of impostors would study to avoid. I mean an 
 appearance of servilely copying each other's pro- 
 ductions. This would seem scarcely to detract 
 less than positive disagreement from their credit 
 as independent witnesses. We shall find that this 
 point has been very little regarded by the Gospel 
 writers. Let me request my readers to compare 
 Matt. xxiv. 9—36 with Mark xiii. 13—32, Matt, 
 xi. 4 — 19 with Luke vii. 22 — 35, and the three 
 following passages: IVIatt. ix. 2 — 17, Mark ii. 
 3—22, and Luke v. 18 — 39. If we read these 
 together for the first time, it will, I think, strike 
 us as perfectly obvious, that the writers of these 
 
95 
 
 narratives must have had some connection with 
 each other. We shall observe, not only a strict 
 agreement in the order of the incidents, but a very 
 striking resemblance in the phraseology, and fre- 
 quently in the words. It has been said generally 
 of St. Mark's Gospel, that, with occasional varia- 
 tions, it has greatly the air of an abridgment of 
 the works of St. Matthew and St. Luke. In 
 many parts, the correspondence is very close, and 
 the additions of Mark chiefly consist of minor 
 particulars. We find no attempt to interest or 
 amuse his readers by new anecdotes or discourses 
 of Christ ; his object might appear to be no other 
 than to comprise, in a clear and brief narration, 
 the events recorded more at length by his pre- 
 decessors.* Now few writers would take the 
 trouble of abridging a work which they knew to 
 be a forgery ; if they bestowed any labour upon it, 
 it would be with the hope of producing a more 
 captivating and artful composition of their own — 
 at all events, they would guard against any ap- 
 pearance of private correspondence — against simi- 
 larity of style, and especially verbal agreement 
 in the narrative portions of the vvork.f Upon the 
 contrary, the reporters of truth would not be very 
 
 * The writer would not be understood to assert, but only 
 to suppose, the priority of St. Luke's Gospel to that of 
 Mark. 
 
 t We might expect them indeed to harmonize in detailing 
 
96 
 
 anxious about their concord or disagreement in 
 little things, and they would consider the simplest 
 epitome of a genuine history entitled to attention. 
 
 48. It is not to be supposed that several writers, 
 uniting in a fabrication, would venture to vary 
 from one another in the order of their events. 
 The transactions of a history commonly happen 
 in a certain connected train ; any deviation from 
 which, in the historian, tends to perplex his Avork, 
 and to draw upon him some suspicion of ignorance 
 or inaccuracy. This the confidence of conscious 
 integrity might disregard, especially on the part 
 of an unpractised author, not so where a party 
 had leagued together to deceive the public. They 
 would probably have a common outline before 
 them, and to this they would carefully conform, 
 unless any one had peculiar reasons for purposely 
 turning aside from the beaten track. But such 
 irregularities could surely answer no good pur- 
 pose, particularly where their resemblance in phra- 
 seology was such as to betray the secret of their 
 acquaintance with each other's productions.* The 
 Evangelists, nevertheless, differ so much in the 
 arrangement of circumstances, that it is often a 
 task of considerable diflBculty, to blend their nar- 
 
 the same discourses of our Lord ; but here we actually find 
 considerable variety. 
 
 * They might surely be expected to attend more to ac- 
 cordance in matters of fact, than in mere language. 
 
97 
 
 ratives into one continuous series. This fact is, 
 periiaps, too obvious to need exemplification. 
 
 49. Upon the supposition of collusion among 
 several writers, the parties so engaged, would 
 surely make it a rule, that no one of their number 
 should omit any important circumstance. There 
 is, indeed, no writer who would not feel satisfac- 
 tion in adding to his work any striking event with 
 which he might be acquainted; most are ready to 
 seize, and even make an opportunity of effecting 
 this. Nothing is more usual, in works of all 
 descriptions, than long and often needless epi- 
 sodes. Few, certainly, would throw away an 
 advantage of this sort. Besides, might not the 
 omission, in one memoir, of any principal circum- 
 stance, recorded in the others, have a tendency 
 to bring that circumstance into doubt, or to throw 
 an air of suspicion over one at least of the nar- 
 ratives. Let us suppose, that in writing the life 
 of Alexander the Great, Arrian had described his 
 conquest of Tyre, while Qiiintus Curtius and 
 Diodorus Siculus had passed it by unnoticed. 
 Would not this silence appear at least singular 
 and difficult to explain ? If then these writers 
 wished their books to be received as separate 
 and complete histories, they would be careful that 
 each should record, at some length, every material 
 event in the life of their subject — or, at least that 
 he should not pass over any such event, without a 
 
 F 
 
98 
 
 distinct allusion to it. Inadvertency here could 
 have no place, for we must suppose them to concert 
 a common fi-amework, to the general plan of which 
 their consciousness of fraud must make them 
 studious to conform. Do the writings of the Evan- 
 gehsts then present us with any marks of this care 
 and exactness ? Let us consider the early history 
 of John the Baptist. We are informed by St. 
 Luke, that he was of the sacerdotal race — that 
 he was related to our Lord — that his birth was 
 attended with both prophesy and miracle — and that 
 some remarkable intercourse took place between 
 his mother and the Blessed Virgin. This is an 
 interesting and instructive part of the Gospel his- 
 tory — it gratifies a natural anxiety to know some- 
 thing more of him who was pronounced " greater 
 than a prophet." Yet only in the pages of this 
 one Evangelist, can such a curiosity be indulged. 
 In those of Matthew, Mark, and John, we are 
 hurried at once in medias ?rs — into the midst of 
 John's ministry, without the slightest allusion to 
 his origin. Not so much as the name of his father 
 Zacharias is mentioned by one of these historians. 
 How is this to be explained? Believers can best 
 explain it, who consider that. St. Matthew, brought 
 up in the north of Galilee, would naturally have 
 less knowledge of events which happened in Judea ; 
 and that he wrote early, when the Church was 
 chiefly composed of Jews, who could not be igno- 
 
99 
 
 rant of John's history ; that St. Mark is very brief, 
 and confines himself greatly to the personal history 
 of Christ; and that St. John attempts not a full 
 or regular narrative of events. All this is pro- 
 bable and consistent; but the silence of a falsifier 
 upon such subjects would, by no means, admit of 
 the same explanation. 
 
 50. It is still more singular that not one of these 
 three Evangelists relate, at length, the circum- 
 stances of our Saviour's birth. In St. Matthew, 
 indeed, we have an account of His parents; His 
 miraculous conception, and His nativity at Beth- 
 lehem ; but nothing is said of the annunciation 
 made to the Virgin ; of her previous residence at 
 Nazareth ; of the providential arrangement which 
 brought her, with her husband, to the city of 
 David ; or of the proclamation of Christ's advent 
 to the shepherds. St. Mark goes farther, and 
 maintains a perfect silence respecting the whole of 
 our Lord's history, previous to His baptism by 
 John. No allusion is made to Joseph, His reputed 
 father, nor is the name of Bethlehem once men- 
 tioned. St. John also, although his first chapter 
 contains a noble testimony to the twofold nature of 
 the Redeemer, relates not a single particular of 
 His birth and childhood. Bethlehem is only once 
 noticed in his Gospel, and then only in a cavilling 
 speech of the Pharisees. There are also some 
 minor events, for whose omission by impostors it 
 f2 
 
100 
 
 seems difficult to assign a reason, as the repentance 
 of St. Peter after denying his Master,* which is 
 wholly unnoticed by St. John, and the appearance 
 of the Virgin Mary at the crucifixion, a circum- 
 stance recorded only by that Evangelist.f I cannot 
 forbear adding the following instance of omission 
 on the part of St. Mark, adduced by Michaelis,J 
 with a different object. " A very circumstantial 
 description is given, by St. Matthew, of Christ"'s 
 conversation with the Apostles (after His resur- 
 rection) on a mountain in Galilee. Yet St. Mark, 
 though he had before related that Christ promised 
 His disciples that He would go before them into 
 Galilee, has, in the last chapter of his Gospel, no 
 account whatever of Christ's appearance in Ga- 
 lilee." A writer anxious about his reputation, 
 would surely take care, after inserting the promise, 
 to say something of its fulfilment. The very re- 
 markable omissions of St. John miight appear suit- 
 able to the peculiar and limited plan of his Gospel, 
 but as he still generally throws his work into the 
 form of a consecutive history, we may wonder 
 at his neglect of such events as the restoration 
 of Jairus' daughter, and the transfiguration of 
 Jesus; upon which occasions this Evangelist, St. 
 Peter, and St. James, were alone present; the 
 
 * John xvii. '27. f John xix. 25. 
 
 I Marsh's Translation, Camb. 1801, iv. 219. 
 
101 
 
 election of the twelve Apostles ; and the beheading 
 of John the Baptist.* The silence of the diffe- 
 rent Evangelists upon all these points, can only 
 be well explained by the supposition, that the 
 prominent features of our Saviour's history, were 
 known to be true, and that they were the common 
 theme of preaching and conversation in all the 
 early churches. 
 
 51. But what shall we say of the total silence of 
 St. Matthew and St. John respecting the ascen- 
 sion of our Lord. The first closes his hi-story with 
 the appearance of Jesus to " the eleven " upon a 
 mountain in Galilee ; f the second with His con- 
 versation at the Lake of Tiberias. X St. Mark 
 speaks briefly of His being " received up into 
 Heaven," § but says nothing of the memorable 
 appearance and words of the two angels mentioned 
 in the Acts |1 by St. Luke ; while this last Evan- 
 gelist passes over the Redeemer's equally me- 
 morable command to "baptize all nations." If If 
 the whole history had been a fabrication, the read- 
 ers of St. Matthew and St. John could have pre- 
 viously known nothing of the ascension. Yet was 
 
 * Michaelis iv. 305, 6. See in Macknight's Harmony, 
 (Prelim. Observ. II. p. xxiv. v.) instances of allusions by the 
 Evangelists to circumstances which not one of them has 
 narrated. 
 
 t xxviii. 16, &c. I John xxi. § xvi. 19. || i. 10. 
 51 xxviii. 19. 
 
102 
 
 this an event of much importance, referred to in 
 ancient prophecy, and expressly announced in 
 several of the discourses of Jesus Himself.* Those 
 who had only access to one or both of those two 
 Gospels, might have continued in ignorance of it, 
 and could scarcely have known whether Christ 
 were not still upon earth. Besides, would men, 
 whose object it was to propitiate their readers, and 
 disarm criticism, leave their memoirs so incomplete, 
 as to pass by an event, which set a crown of glory 
 upon the head of their Master^ — threw a character 
 of divinity around Him, and pointed Him out as a 
 celestial object of adoration and of faith ; an event 
 also which one of them had expressly predicted, f 
 Nothing indeed could account for such conduct, 
 but a simple confidence on the part of the Evan- 
 gelists, in the notoriety of the fact in every Chris- 
 tian Church ; and a general habit of proclaiming 
 it in their public preaching, and familiar instruc- 
 tions. Thus, will even a superficial examination of 
 the Evangelists convince us, that, if considered as 
 human authors, they are altogether negligent and 
 unguarded with respect to mutual discrepancies; 
 that, in many instances, they take no pains to avoid 
 the closest verbal correspondence ; that they write 
 with little regard to any settled order of events; 
 and lastly, that occurrences, not only of general 
 
 * See especially John vi. 62 ; xx. 1 7. f John xx. 17. 
 
103 
 
 interest, but even of great moment, are frequently 
 published by one or more of their number, and 
 entirely omitted by the rest. This method of pro- 
 ceeding must be regarded as very different from 
 that which could be kept in view by several 
 persons, leagued together in a project of im- 
 posture. 
 
 52. We may next suppose that our authors did 
 not write in concert, but that the last simply 
 availed themselves of the labours of their pre- 
 decessors. In this case, they must either wish to 
 disparage, or to confirm these accounts, for they 
 could hardly be supposed to view them with in- 
 difference. Directly to disparage them would be 
 dangerous, especially if they were known and re- 
 ceived as the writings of Christ's disciples. Such 
 an attempt might bring discredit or suspicion upon 
 both histories. If however it were made, the ob- 
 jector, conscious that he was standing upon delicate 
 ground, would take care that his charges were well 
 considered, and clearly made out, and that his own 
 statements upon the subject, were full and satis- 
 factory ; otherwise the stroke would but recoil 
 upon his own head. At the same time we might 
 expect him to discover a spirit of vigilant jealousy 
 towards his competitors for the public favour. 
 I would now demand whether this is a fair re- 
 presentation of any one of our Saviour's histories. 
 Notwithstanding their many points of resemblance, 
 
104 
 
 we shall find there is not one which contains any 
 direct allusion to the rest. Several instances of 
 discrepancy have been already pointed out, but in 
 none of those cases do we find any endeavour, in 
 one Evangelist, to establish his own views, or to 
 undermine those of his precursors ; any marks of 
 a censorious or jealous feeling, of even a sensitive- 
 ness upon any point which might seem a subject 
 of disputation ; or any pains taken to explain a 
 difference. There appears then no reason to con- 
 clude that the differences perceptible between the 
 Evangelists are traceable to an endeavour to weaken 
 each other's authority; and we have clearly seen 
 that no studious attempt at conformity is per- 
 ceptible in their writings. We cannot then think 
 that any individual Evangelist has acted as a 
 writer conscious of falsehood would act, if made 
 acquainted with the work of another upon the 
 same subject. They have rather the air of men, 
 who, feeling the stability of their ground, and 
 anxious only to witness the things they had heard 
 and seen, were almost indififerent who might agree 
 or disagree with their testimony. 
 
 53. III. We have now to suppose that, without 
 any direct communication, the Evangelists had 
 recourse to common materials ; that they made 
 use of the same original document, or of several 
 such documents, which were generally received in 
 
105 
 
 the early church. The intrinsic probability of this 
 theory I have no present intention to discuss; 
 stating only, that it appears to me to labour under 
 some serious objections ; my object is rather to 
 show, upon the assumption of its truth, how 
 little it could, in the present case, be consistent 
 with a system of imposture. Adopting this sup- 
 position, we might probably have expected that 
 each biographer, pretending to have personal know- 
 ledge of the transactions, would add incidents and 
 conversations of his own coinage ; but that all would, 
 in the first place, insert, as faithfully as possible, 
 either all, or at least the more important facts 
 contained in the original. Aware that the public 
 had access to that document, they would not 
 venture to alter it ; or to add any new link to 
 the general chain of the history. Hence, if any 
 considerable fact appeared even in one, much more 
 if in two of the copyists, we should expect to find 
 it in the rest ; or if any such circumstance was not 
 found in any one of their histories, we should hardly 
 suppose that the others would introduce it. If, on 
 the other hand, they were faithful eye-witnesses 
 who had recourse to such a document, we need not 
 be surprized if they used their own discretion in 
 the whole arrangement of the history ; boldly 
 omitting some things, and adding others according 
 to their particular opportunities, their views of the 
 subject, and of the circumstances of those for whose 
 
 benefit they wrote. 
 
 f3 
 
106 
 
 Now which of these characters is most observable 
 in the writers of the New Testament? 1. We 
 find that thpy in general make a practice of intro- 
 ducing a portion of matter peculiar to themselves ; 
 St. Luke and St. John, in particular, relate several 
 very important transactions and discourses, of 
 which nothing is elsewhere to be found. This 
 must be obvious to every reader of the Bible. 
 Whence then this diversity, if they had before them 
 the same exemplar from which they were afraid to 
 depart ? 
 
 Again, the conductors of a forgery would not fail 
 to preserve the main facts of an accredited docu- 
 ment. For what reason then are circumstances 
 so material as the birth and early history of our 
 Lord, and of John the Baptist, his fore-runner, 
 and the ascension of Christ to heaven, not related 
 in every one of these histories ? Can we suppose 
 that they were not inserted in the original memoir? 
 How then came St. Matthew and St. Luke to 
 • agree as to the general circumstances of the nati- 
 vity, and how came St. Mark and St. Luke to 
 agree in a similar account of the ascension ? If 
 they wrote this part of their narration from fancy, 
 we miist suppose fancy to -have supplied them with 
 the very same incidents. But can we conceive 
 that the document in question would omit to give 
 a clear account of our Lord's parentage — of the 
 place and circumstances of his birth, and of the 
 manner in which He terminated his abode upon 
 
107 
 
 earth— points intimately connected with the an- 
 cient prophecies ? This can scarcely be imagined. 
 If then these things were stated in the common 
 memoir, what could induce some of the Evange- 
 lists to exclude them ? Must they not have per- 
 ceived, that such a course might weaken, not only 
 the interest, but the authority of their works ? 
 Would not the early readers of St. Matthew and 
 St. Mark, upon comparing their Gospels with this 
 ancient history, be startled at the exclusion of links 
 so important in the chain of the narrative ? The 
 same order, moreover, of events would surely, on 
 the above hypothesis, be implicitly followed. If 
 certain annals were placed in an author's hands, 
 with directions to work them up in his own man- 
 ner, carefully preserving an air of truth, would 
 he think of departing from the order of occur- 
 rences ? Could anything be more unnecessary or 
 more dangerous to his pretensions ? If then we 
 find one of these writers to differ, in this respect, 
 from any of the rest, we must surely pronounce 
 that either one or the other must have varied from 
 the original, if such exist. Now it is evident that 
 harmonists have had some trouble in reducing the 
 four Gospels to one settled order. In the arrange- 
 ment of the Passovers only, observed by our Lord, 
 a considerable difficulty has arisen. If then the 
 Evangelists had an archetype before them, they 
 have certainly taken no pains to conform even 
 
108 
 
 to its general outline. The existence of several 
 distinct, but similar documents, from which our 
 Gospels might have been modelled, has also been 
 conjectured. If any of these be supposed to con- 
 tain a true history, it would seem singular that 
 the genuine work should perish, and its spurious 
 offspring survive. But if we assume these pieces 
 to have been forgeries, they must have partaken 
 of nearly the same features of common resem- 
 blance and occasional disparity as distinguish the 
 Gospels themselves — the striking, and even verbal 
 agreement of many passages will still remain un- 
 explained. In a word, this would do no more 
 than shift the question a little farther backward, 
 and render it more intricate — the original forgeries 
 would be even more difficult to explain than those 
 of a later date. By multiplying hypotheses upon 
 this subject, we are likely to do no more than mul- 
 tiply difficulties. We must then conclude either 
 that the four Evangelists had access to no previous 
 documents, or that if they had, they by no means 
 employed them in the spirit and manner which 
 might have been expected from deceivers. Thus 
 it appears that no hypothesis of the origin, and 
 mutual relation of the Gospels, can be made con- 
 sistent with any supposition but that which the 
 believer entertains. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 PECULIAR CHARACTERISTICS OF OUR LORD's CON- 
 DUCT AND LANGUAGE, AS REPRESENTED IN 
 DIFFERENT GOSPELS. 
 
 The above remarks upon the mutual connection 
 of the four Evangelists, might appear imperfect, 
 without a brief view of the character of their great 
 Subject, as it is depictured in their different narra- 
 tives. It has been often remarked, that to draw a 
 character so perfect as our Saviour's, would be an 
 undertaking beyond the capacity of common men 
 — much more of persons whom we assume to be 
 corrupt and unprincipled. In spite of themselves, 
 some of their own latent defects would be occa- 
 sionally betrayed. Either their portrait would be 
 modelled from some visionary and extravagant 
 beau ideal of perfection, or, which is most hkely, 
 their standard of excellence would be much lower 
 than that which gives substance and consistency to 
 the morality of the Gospel. The most popular 
 
no 
 
 virtues would be most exalted, or one would be 
 magnified at the expense of another. Nor would 
 such a portrait be naturally traced. Unable to 
 draw from the living fountains of their own hearts, 
 they would have recourse to artificial contrivances 
 — to elaborate panegyric — to florid speeches — to 
 details of the most splendid and conspicuous ac- 
 tions. Everything would be made to stand forth 
 in bold relief. No opportunity would be lost by 
 the authors of spreading a halo of glory around 
 the brow of their hero. Now it is not thus that 
 the Redeemer is represented by the historians of 
 his life. Not only does his character stand forth 
 in the purity of heaven''s own light — in a perfec- 
 tion which the fairest creations of poetry and 
 romance have never attained, but we observe that 
 those qualities are made most prominent in their 
 pages, which are in least repute — nay, which are 
 most despised among the mass of mankind. His 
 words and actions receive no adventitious grace 
 from the pen of his biographers, for they require 
 none ; they find at once their own way to the 
 hearts and consciences of those who read them in 
 a candid and teachable spirit. There are, how- 
 ever, two or three features of this portraiture to 
 which our attention may be more particularly 
 directed. 1. Not only the general excellence, but 
 the idiosyncrasy of Christ's character is pourtrayed 
 in these memoirs. 2. These peculiarities appear 
 
Ill 
 
 not only in direct remarks, and important actions, 
 but in slight allusions, in familiar habits, in the 
 general tone which pervades the sentiments and 
 language. 3. Every Evangelist represents, not 
 only the greater, but the minor features of the 
 Saviour's character in the same light. 4. Yet 
 each has his own manner of conveying the same 
 impressions to our minds. There are many dif- 
 ferent touches of their pencils — many varying 
 shades according to the artists peculiar manner — 
 while a strict harmony is preserved between the 
 outline and colouring of their several pictures. 
 
 55. (1.) It would not have been difficult to 
 have described our Lord, in a general way, as 
 uniformly humane, just, and self-denying ; but 
 had nothing more been attempted than this, we 
 should have had a description of qualities, rather 
 than of an individual. Abraham is not simply 
 pourtrayed as a man " stedfast in the faith ;"" nor 
 David as a man living to the glory of God ; nor 
 Moses as ' the meekest of men :' they are placed 
 before us with the infirmities and imperfections 
 to which flesh is subject, and this gives the stamp 
 of reality to their history. Our blessed Lord, 
 doubtless, when considered even as a man, rises 
 far above the level of common humanity, nor 
 wore, like the Patriarchs, " a garment spotted 
 by the flesh ;" but His character, perfect as it 
 is, has that complexity which might be expected, 
 
112 
 
 not only from the union of two natures in one 
 individual, but from the general condition of 
 human beings — He is perfectly benevolent, and 
 perfectly humble, but He is benevolent and 
 humble in a manner peculiar to himself. While 
 He displays a dignity which no human elevation 
 could impart, He speaks and acts with a simplicity 
 which no art could assume. While utterly des- 
 pising the objects for which mankind are usually 
 contented to live and toil, He has yet a fellow- 
 feeling for all their sinless infirmities. Wliile 
 endowed with power over the whole range of 
 creation, over diseases, the elements, and the 
 spirits of darkness — He is yet ready to be ' sub- 
 ject unto His parents,' to submit to every lawful 
 ordinance among men, without nicely enquiring 
 into the authority upon which it was founded ; 
 but at the same time allowing no interference, 
 on the part even of His mother, with paramount 
 duties; and, on some remarkable occasions, as- 
 suming a degree of legislative and even executive 
 power, befitting the " Prophet like unto Moses." 
 While careful to maintain the general influence 
 of the Mosaic Law, He was yet solicitous to 
 prune away the abuses with which man had 
 encumbered it. 
 
 We must also observe that while Christ wrought 
 no miracle to relieve Himself from want, or even 
 from dependence upon the alms of others. He 
 
113 
 
 was no enemy to the innocent gratifications of 
 life. Those lineaments in our Saviour's character 
 have, I am aware, been repeatedly illustrated; 
 but a summary has been here given of some of 
 the most striking, in order to evince that the 
 complex circumstances in which He was placed, 
 required the union, and the nice balance of 
 qualities which might often appear discordant, 
 and fully to reconcile which, without any violence 
 to nature, would seem to exceed the greatest 
 effort of skill in a fictitious writer. But there 
 are also some peculiarities in the conduct of Jesus, 
 which were by no means the necessary result of 
 His moral qualities : among these may be in- 
 stanced His general mode of treating the Samari- 
 tans, a race of people with whom He was not 
 likely to be often brought into contact, as " the 
 Jews had no dealings with them.* Yet our Lord 
 makes it a special object to soften the enmity 
 which prevailed between them and their neigh- 
 bours. We may specify also, His custom of 
 forbidding His miracles to be published by the 
 subjects of them ; though we remark exceptions 
 to this practice, particularly in the case of the 
 Gadarene demoniac. — His solemn declaration of 
 the forgiveness of sin to several persons whom 
 He had healed. — His retiring to a mountain alone 
 
 * Luke viii. 38—9. f John iv. 9. 
 
114 
 
 to pray. — His usage of seldom instructing the Jew- 
 ish multitude without parables, while He spoke 
 more plainly to His disciples. His frequent and 
 open intercourse with " publicans and sinners," 
 at the risk of His reputation among His country- 
 men in general. In these and other instances, 
 Christ adopted a method, peculiar to Himself, 
 of enforcing the saving truths and precepts of 
 His Gospel. A method w^hich often shows both 
 the deepest knowledge of human nature in ge- 
 neral, and the most accurate observation of the 
 character and opinions of individuals. 
 
 56. (2.) But it is farther observable, that these 
 peculiarities of mind and conduct in our blessed 
 Saviour, are, by no means, studiously obtruded 
 upon our notice by the Evangelists, they rather 
 discover themselves in natural anecdotes, and 
 incidental remarks. In what way are we made 
 acquainted with our Lord's plan of reconciling 
 the Jew and the Samaritan ? Not by an elaborate 
 discourse upon the subject, an expedient which 
 would probably have been adopted by Josephus, 
 Thucydides, or Livy — not by any appeal to the 
 passions, or exhibition of stage effect : nothing of 
 this sort is attempted, because it is not required. 
 We have only a few simple incidents which suffi- 
 ciently speak for themselves. Christ enters into 
 conversation with a woman of Samaria, whom 
 He meets with, while reposing Himself at Jacob's 
 
115 
 
 well;* to her He represents Himself, although the 
 Jewish Messiah, as fully disposed to extend the 
 blessings of His ministry to her countrymen ; and 
 the people of Sychar, no less won by His con- 
 ciliating manners, than impressed by His divine 
 authority, are described as showing a readiness of 
 mind to receive His word. Upon another occa- 
 sion, ten lepers are cleansed by the Redeemer,f 
 but only one of the number returns " to give 
 glory to God," — and he proves to be a Samaritan, 
 and is publicly commended for his faith. In one 
 of His parables, also, Christ expressly introduces 
 a Samaritan, acting the part of a kind neighbour 
 to a distressed Jew, who was neglected by his 
 own countrymen ;J and, in His journey towards 
 Jerusalem, when inhospitably received in a Sam- 
 aritan village. He earnestly represses those vindic- 
 tive feelings which national antipathy§ doubtless 
 embittered in the minds of His disciples. || At 
 the same time, the prudence of our Lord led 
 Him to guard carefully against any appearance 
 of a preference for this neglected race, or any 
 conduct which could irritate the jealousy of the 
 Jews, for He forbad his disciples, when they 
 
 * John iv. -j- Luke xvii. 12. J Luko x. 33. 
 
 ^ This animosity appears casually in an abusive speech of 
 the Jews towards our Lord, preserved only by St. John, 
 (viii. 48.) " Thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil." 
 II Luke ix. 52, &c. 
 
116 
 
 went forth to preach, to enter into any village 
 of the Samaritans.* The privilege of a first 
 call was to be fully extended to the more 
 orthodox part of the Jewish nation, and though 
 some aliens were occasionally admitted, to ' gather 
 up the crumbs which fell from the children's table,' 
 yet the time was not arrived, when many from 
 the " streets and lanes," nay, even from " the 
 highways and hedges," were called to ' eat bread 
 in the kingdom of God.' 
 
 57. It is far from surprizing that the grace of 
 humility should be a frequent subject of our 
 Saviour's discourses ; this was highly suitable to 
 the prophetical character of the Messiah. But 
 His admonitions upon this subject, assume a very 
 definite aspect. They do not simply chastise 
 pride and vanity in the aggregate, but are often 
 directly aimed against the ambitious propensities 
 of His own disciples. 
 
 It might appear singular and unnecessary for 
 an artful writer, or mere romancer, to picture 
 even the twelve Apostles, at the most important 
 moments of their Master's ministry — as on the 
 night of the Last Supper — disputing who should 
 be the greatest in the Messiah's kingdom. But 
 
 * Matt. X. 5. We may add that, in His conversation with 
 the woman above mentioned, the Redeemer plainly intimates 
 that the Samaritan worship was irrational, and that "salva- 
 tion was of the Jews." 
 
117 
 
 we have to observe the methods which Christ 
 employs for correcting their fault. He not only 
 sets before them his own example, who * " came 
 not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and 
 to give his life a ransom for many ;" and who, 
 though their Master, appeared among his disciples 
 " as one that scrveth ;"f but He takes every na- 
 tural opportunity of curbing the ambition, and 
 damping the extravagant expectations of his fol- 
 lowers. He exposes the vain-glory of the Phari- 
 sees, in choosing the chief rooms at feasts. J He 
 paints to his disciples, in vivid colours, his own 
 approaching sufferings, and the shame and con- 
 tempt which they must themselves, for his sake, 
 expect to endure ; and it has been observed, that 
 our Lord especially takes occasion to do this, after 
 the occurrence of any circumstances which tended 
 to elate their minds. Thus He introduces a pro- 
 phecy of his passion, immediately after He had 
 made a solemn grant of apostolical authority to 
 St. Peter; and that such a corrective was neces- 
 sary, appears from the indignation with which that 
 disciple received the announcement. § Thus when 
 the splendour of the transfiguration had filled the 
 imaginations of the Apostles with brilliant and 
 vain-glorious expectations, Jesus labours to bring 
 them back to the regions of sober reality, by re- 
 
 * Matt. XX. 28. t Luke xxii. 27. 
 
 I Luke xiv. 7. xx. 46. § Matt. xvi. 13. 
 
118 
 
 minding them that he must yet be a " man of 
 sorrows."* Actuated probably by the same object, 
 our Saviour, on one occasion, refused the title of 
 " good master;"! often forbade his miracles to be 
 published, washed his disciples' feet, took up a 
 little child in his arms, and encouraged those who 
 brought infants to receive his blessing; thus con- 
 veying practical lessons of that poverty of spirit 
 which was to form so distinguishing a badge of 
 the followers of the Lamb. Notice has been 
 already taken of the boldness with which our 
 Lord is represented to have corrected the Phari- 
 saical mode of observing the Sabbath ; at present 
 I will only add, that this method of exposing their 
 hypocrisy, was not by composing a set discourse, 
 but simply by performing works of mercy, on that 
 day, in the midst of the synagogue, asking his 
 adversaries, " Is it lawful to do good on the Sab- 
 bath-day, or to do evil ? to save life, or to kill ?"" J 
 
 58. It was the general impression of the Jews, 
 at that period, that the Gentiles could have no 
 claim to be admitted to the privileges of the Mes- 
 siah's kingdom ; nor was it thought lawful to have 
 any intimate, and especially religious intercourse 
 with the uncircumcised. This opinion our blessed 
 Lord in no place directly attacks. Upon the con- 
 trary, He forbids his Apostles, when first sent forth 
 
 * Matt. xvii. 12, 22, 23. See also Luke xvii. 20, 25. 
 t Mark x. 17. J Mark iii. 4. 
 
119 
 
 as heralds of the Gospel, to go " into the way of 
 the Gentiles."* He also describes Himself, as 
 only sent " to the lost sheep of the house of 
 Israel."f Nevertheless, it is not difficult to per- 
 ceive in Jesus, a disposition to extend his mercies, 
 both spiritual and temporal, even to the remotest 
 branches of this neglected race. Not only does 
 He signify, in one place, that " many shall come 
 from the east and vtest, and shall sit down with 
 Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom 
 of Heaven,'"':]: but two of his most remarkable 
 miracles were wrought upon Gentiles — namely 
 the centurion's servant, and the daughter of the 
 Canaanitish woman. In the first of those cases, 
 so much humility and unlimited reliance upon 
 Christ was expressed, as to draw from Him this 
 remark, " I have not found so great faith, no, 
 not in Israel," Matt. viii. 10 : in the other, such 
 was the patient importunity of the sorrowing 
 mother, that our Lord exclaimed, " O woman 
 great is thy faith, &c." Matt. xv. 28. By thus 
 studiously exhibiting instances of Gentile piety, 
 and by the simple exercise of those acts of mercy 
 which could give the least reasonable offence to 
 his countrymen, Christ gradually prepared their 
 minds for that command, given before his As- 
 cension to the apostles, Matt, xxviii. 19. " Go 
 
 * Matt. X. 5. t I^- XV. 24. + Id. viii. 11. 
 
120 
 
 and teach," or rather ' make disciples,' from "all 
 nations," and for the privileges, which were after- 
 wards, without respect of persons, extended to 
 all — of every race, who were willing to be " obedi- 
 ent to the faith." Our Saviour appears in this — 
 as in several other instances, teaching by facts and 
 examples rather than by words. 
 
 59. But I have remarked, that a characteristic 
 identity marks also the sentiments of our Re- 
 deemer, and His mode of illustrating the truths 
 with which He was charged. We cannot fail to 
 observe, that not only was faith in His divine mis- 
 sion and saving grace, required by Christ from 
 His disciples, but faith in His healing power, was 
 also commonly demanded from the subjects of His 
 miracles. " Believe only," He said to Jairus, when 
 bereaved of his daughter, " and she shall be made 
 whole f * to the centurion, " as thou hast be- 
 lieved, so be it done unto thee ; f and to the 
 father of the demoniac, " all things are possible 
 to him that believeth," Mark ix. 23 : in several 
 instances also we meet with the expression, 
 " Thy faith hath saved thee.'' It is also observ- 
 able that that conduct, in the Apostles, which 
 might seem to argue timidity, ignorance, or narrow 
 prejudice, is generally referred, by their Master, to 
 want of faith. To this is ascribed the undue solici- 
 
 * Luke viii. 50. f Matt. viii. 13. 
 
121 
 
 tude of the disciples, respecting ' what they should 
 eat, what they should drink, and wherewithal they 
 should be clothed ; * their alarm at the fury of the 
 winds and waves ; f and their incapacity to dis- 
 possess a demoniac. % Indirectly as well as di- 
 rectly, our Lord endeavours to inculcate the great 
 truth, that the Christian is living in a state, which 
 requires him, at all times, to " walk by faith, and 
 not by sight ;" § that nothing but faith in the 
 invisible realities of the future, can counteract the 
 constant pressure of present things, thus ' over- 
 coming the world ;' and that this faith, exposed to 
 incessant trial from their rude contact, needs the 
 constant exercise of watchfulness and prayer. 
 
 60. But this characteristic mode of expressing 
 His sentiments, is perhaps most apparent in the 
 parables of our Lord. The apologue or fable, was 
 undoubtedly a most common mode of instruction 
 in Eastern countries ; it was carried along the tide 
 of early colonization into the remotest regions, and 
 everywhere found a soil congenial to its growth. 
 Comparisons also, and instances from common life, 
 have been, at all times, in familiar use ; but, as a 
 method of teaching, they have no where been 
 employed with such frequency and success, as in 
 the discourses of our Saviour. We do not find 
 this habit ascribed to Moses, although the teacher 
 
 * Matt. vi. 30. t iMatt. viii. 26. 
 
 J Id. xvii 20. § 2 Cor. v. 7. 
 
122 
 
 of a new law, nor is it very prominent in the 
 writings of David, or the Prophets, though they 
 seem often to exhaust the whole range of oriental 
 imagery. The proverbs of Solomon are distin- 
 guished by antithesis, and brief but pithy sayings ; 
 similitudes occur, but are rarely thrown into the 
 narrative form. The impassioned poetry of the 
 book of Job, is descriptive, not so much of the 
 manners of men, as of the beauties and wonders 
 of the natural creation. If the Memorabilia of 
 Xenophon present us with an approach towards 
 this style of teaching, they certainly cannot be 
 compared, in that respect, to the conversations of 
 Christ ; though we might have expected so simple 
 and popular a teacher of morality as Socrates, to 
 have been conversant with this practice. But his 
 illustrations, though often familiar, are not com- 
 monly thrown into the narrative form, but partake 
 rather the nature of the similitude. The cha- 
 racteristic of his method consisted in interrogation ; 
 and this practice then, of chiefly instructing by 
 parables, derived not from the regions of romance, 
 but from common and every-day life, may be con- 
 sidered, if not a peculiar, at least a very marked 
 feature in the habits of the Redeemer. 
 
 Gl. But the object which I have at present 
 directly in view, is to point out the similarity of 
 imagery — the sort of family resemblance, which 
 may be traced in different parables of our Lord, 
 
123 
 
 especially as it discovers itself in the pages of 
 different Evangelists — the natural and often abrupt 
 occurrence of the same turn of thought, even in 
 instances where the subject and the occasion is 
 distinct. Thus, Matt. xxv. 1. we find a parable 
 relating to the different conduct of ten young 
 damsels, who awaited the coming of the bridegroom 
 to the marriage. In another place of the same 
 Evangelist, a king is represented as "making a 
 marriage for his son," * and one of the guests 
 appears without "a wedding garment." There 
 seems in both these similitudes a reference to 
 the image, found in other parts of Scripture, in 
 which the union between Jehovah and his people — 
 between Christ and his Church, is illustrated by 
 the marriage tie. But, in St. Luke,f we have an 
 allusion of a different kind to the same subject, 
 Christ's disciples are there described, not as attend- 
 ants at a wedding, ready to enter in with the bride- 
 groom, and assist at the ceremony, but as his 
 servants waiting for their Lord, ." when He will 
 return from the wedding," to his own house. This 
 comparison is introduced in the most artless, and 
 even abrupt manner, and shows how readily the 
 same image arose in our Saviour's mind, when 
 treating of similar subjects. But upon an occasion 
 quite different, when our Lord was asked the 
 
 * xxii. 2. txii.SG. 
 
 g2 
 
124 
 
 reason vhy his disciples fasted not, He, without 
 the least preface, mtroduces the above-mentioned 
 figure, " Can the children of the bride-chamber 
 fast, while the bridegroom is with them?"* In 
 the parable of the unmerciful servant ; in that 
 of the unjust steward ; also in those of the talents, 
 and of the wicked husbandmen, we have the same 
 idea introduced of servants or tenants, owing 
 certain sums of money to a powerful lord. The 
 labourers in the vineyard, still present to us the 
 relation of master and servant, and a money 
 transaction between them. I may add the solemn 
 admonition, " No man can serve two masters,'"f 
 and that in St. Luke, " which of you having a 
 servant, ploughing or feeding cattle," &c.J and, 
 immediately afterwards, " So likewise ye, when ye 
 shall have done all those things that are commanded 
 you, say. We are unprofitable servants." In our 
 Saviour's Sermon on the Mount, we find a de- 
 scription of the " strait gate " which " leadeth 
 unto life," of the 'broad way that leadeth to 
 destruction.'' § This similitude is not repeated in 
 St. Luke's account of a similar discourse, but we 
 find it related |1 in that Evangelist, that as our 
 Lord was teaching in the villages, on his way to 
 Jerusalem, when the question was proposed to 
 Hhn, " Are there few that be saved T He in- 
 
 * Mark ii. 19- t ^latt. vi. '24. J Luke xvii. 7—10. 
 
 ^ Watt. vii. 3-14. || Luke xiii. 24. 
 
125 
 
 troduces the same image, without the explanation 
 added by St. Matthew, but followed by a remark- 
 able clause, only to be found in this place, " Strive 
 to enter in at the strait gate, for many, I say unto 
 you, shall seek to enter in, but shall not be able." 
 Christ seems here familiarly to recur to the 
 parable He had already employed. We may also 
 remark a frequent allusion to the subject of 
 treasure. The disciples of Christ are exhorted 
 not to lay up for themselves treasures " upon 
 earth,"* but rather to seek them "in heaven." 
 The same idea is glanced at, in the passage, where 
 Jesus, admonishing the rich young man to devote 
 his riches to the poor, adds, " And thou shalt have 
 treasure in heaven." f Similar expressions occur 
 in a general discourse of St. Luke, X " Sell that ye 
 have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags 
 which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that 
 faileth not :" and again our Saviour's hearers are 
 exhorted to hospitality towards the poor, rather 
 than the rich, by the promise, "thou shalt be 
 recompensed at the resurrection of the just." 
 I may also refer to the parable of the " rich man,"§ 
 whose ground " brought forth plentifully," where 
 our Lord adds, as the point and moral of the tale, 
 " So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and 
 is not rich toward God." In the 12th chapter of St 
 
 * Matt. vi. 19. t Mark. x. 21. 
 
 X xii. 33. also xiv. 14. § Luke xii. 21, 
 
126 
 
 Matthew,* Christ tells his hearers, " a good man, 
 out of the good treasure of his heart, bringeth 
 forth good things," and, in the next chapter, we 
 have the description of the man, well furnished 
 with knowledge of the best kind, as a house- 
 holder," f which bringeth forth out of his treasure, 
 things new and old." The two parables also 
 of the ' hidden treasure,' and of the " pearl of 
 great price," present us with the same illustration. 
 61. (3.) Several instances have already been 
 adduced of an unstudied resemblance, perceptible 
 in the portrait which different Evangelists have 
 traced of our Saviour's mind. If we select pas- 
 sages ad libitum from any of those writers, we can 
 pronounce, without a shadow of hesitation, that 
 they delineate the same character. It cannot be 
 asserted, that one of their number exhibits it in 
 a point of view opposed to the descriptions of the 
 rest. I would now remark, that the same resem- 
 blance extends also to the phraseolog}- of this 
 portion of Scripture. It may here be premised, 
 that, considering the birth, education, and con- 
 nexions of the first disciples, the frequent occur- 
 rence of Hebraisms in their language, is no more 
 than we have reason to expect ; nor is it remark- 
 able that they should often have recourse to the 
 peculiar religious language of the Old Testament. 
 
 * V. 3j. t >>'"i- jS. 
 
127 
 
 We might also expect, that men like the first 
 Christians, of little or no learning, banded to- 
 gether in a common cause, which they pursued 
 with an absorbing interest, should adopt an idiom 
 peculiarly expressive of the new and extraordinary 
 subjects with which they had become conversant. 
 But I have now to observe, that there is a man- 
 nerism (if the expression may be allowed) in the 
 style of our Lord's discourses, quite independent 
 of the causes above mentioned, which is faithfully 
 preserved by the different Evangelists, in passages 
 which are generally dissimilar. Nothing can be 
 more evident to those who read the Gospels with 
 any degree of attention to their general style, than 
 that they must have been composed by different 
 individuals, who, at the time of writing their 
 works, had little direct intercourse with each 
 other; who separately thought for themselves, 
 and chose their own mode of arranging their his- 
 tories. We have already had occasion to observe 
 that there are discrepancies in their writings which 
 can only be reconciled by a probable conjecture — 
 glaring omissions of important facts, and differ- 
 ences in the arrangement of particulars. Yet in 
 conjunction with these obvious differences, I would 
 remark a striking and general resemblance in the 
 phraseology which they severally ascribe to our 
 Lord. There are, in the first place, certain ex- 
 pressions, almost too obvious to mention, which 
 
128 
 
 are indiscriminately scattered through the pages 
 of all — as, " Gospel," " Son of Man," applied 
 by our Saviour to Himself, " the kingdom of 
 heaven," " the Father," and " the Son," expres- 
 sive of the relation of Christ to the Almighty ; 
 " Verily I say unto you," " he that hath ears to 
 hear, let him hear." It is observable, that Jesus 
 frequently speaks of his disciples as " little chil- 
 dren ;" partly, we may suppose, as a testimony of 
 his affection for them, partly to express the humi- 
 lity and simplicity which he exempliffed in his own 
 life, and required in his followers. Allusion has 
 already been made to this method of checking the 
 ambitious hopes of his servants, by taking up a 
 young child in his arms ; also by receiving the 
 infants which were brought to Him, with this 
 comment, "of such is the kingdom of heaven." 
 Upon a different occasion, when Christ had been 
 speaking of the advantages enjoyed by the cities 
 in the neighbourhood, and of their proud and 
 obstinate rejection of Gospel mercies. He ex- 
 claims, " I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of 
 heaven and earth, because Thou hast hid these 
 things from the wise and prudent, and revealed 
 them unto babes"* — unto men of a humble and 
 teachable spirit. It should be remarked that these 
 instances, variously illustrating the same turn of 
 
 * Matt. xi. 20—25. 
 
129 
 
 thought, occur in the pages of different Evange- 
 lists. Our Saviour familiarly expresses the con- 
 dition of sinners in general, and especially of the 
 Jewish nation, as Isaiah had also done* by the 
 image of sheep wandering from the true fold. He 
 tells the Syrophoenician woman, that He was 
 specially sent to " the lost sheep of the house 
 of Israel ;" and designated, by the same term, 
 those to whom his disciples were, in the tirst 
 instance, commissioned to address themselves ;f 
 and, when speaking of the tenderness with which 
 the weak in faith, and poor in spirit, were to be 
 treated, says, " For the Son of Man came to 
 seek and to save that which was lost.":}: The very 
 same expression is found in St. Luke, § but on a 
 different occasion, where Christ justifies his in- 
 tercourse with " publicans and sinners ;" also in 
 the parables of the ' lost sheep,'' and ' lost piece 
 of money,' and in that of the prodigal, who is 
 described as a son who " was lost and is found." || 
 I may add, that the same train of thought, dif- 
 ferently expressed, appears in the tenth chapter 
 of St. John's Gospel,^ where the sheep are repre- 
 sented as in danger from " the thief," and " the 
 wolf," who " catcheth them, and seattereth the 
 sheep," while the good shepherd " layeth down 
 
 * Isa. lii G. t Matt. X. 6. tMatt.xviii.il. 
 
 § Luke xix. 10. || Luke xv. If John v. 10, 12, 1,5. 
 
 g3 
 
130 
 
 his life" for them, and collects the stragglers to- 
 gether into one fold. From our Lord's discourses, 
 we may now pass to the general idiom of the 
 several narratives. A few specimens of minute 
 resemblance between them shall be selected. The 
 term apxiepev^ properly denotes the High Priest, a 
 functionary who, strictly speaking, can have no 
 colleague ; the application of it therefore, in the 
 plural, to contemporaneous persons, is certainly 
 peculiar ; * yet we find it, in connection with " the 
 Scribes and Pharisees," constantly and familiarly 
 used by different Evangelists. The same may be 
 said of " publicans and sinners ;" also of " the 
 twelve," an expression continually applied to the 
 Apostles of Christ. There is, however, one in- 
 stance which appears to me to deserve a more 
 particular notice. The eighth chapter of St. 
 Matthew relates some circumstances which fol- 
 lowed our Lord's delivery of his Sermon upon 
 the Mount ; namely the cure of the leper ; that of 
 the centurion's servant; of the mother-in-law of 
 St. Peter, &c. ; the scene of which miracles was 
 chiefly Capernaum. We are then abruptly in- 
 formed, f that Christ, finding Himself thronged 
 by the multitudes who flocked around Him, 
 " gave commandment to depart unto the other 
 
 * It is, however, to be found in Joscphus Antiq. 1, xviii. 
 chap. 15. sect. 3, 4. ; and De Bell, 1, xi. chap. 12. sect. 6. 
 t Matt. V. 18. 
 
131 
 
 side." This expression in itself certainly conveys 
 little information to the general reader. Nor does 
 the context immediately remove the difficulty. A 
 conversation follows with two of our Saviour's 
 hearers, but, in verse 23, we read, " And when 
 He was entered into a ship, his disciples followed 
 Him." We can now reasonably conjecture, that 
 by " the other side," is intended, the farther side 
 of that lake, which was called the Sea of Galilee, 
 near the shore of which Capernaum was situated. 
 Now this is exactly the language we might expect 
 to be used by a simple-minded man, like St. 
 Matthew, who had probably past much of his 
 life on the banks of this very lake. This phrase, 
 " the other side," conveyed to his mind no idea 
 but that of the opposite shore of the Sea of 
 Galilee. It was an idiom he might probably have 
 been familiar with from his childhood. Accord- 
 ingly he repeats it in three other passages,* and 
 in neither case, with the least comment. But we 
 find also the same expression more than once in 
 St. Mark, with this difference, that, in the parallel 
 passage to Matt. viii. 28., he says, " to the other 
 side of the sea." This was also natural in a writer 
 much less acquainted with that country. St. 
 Luke, for a similar reason, says, " to the other 
 
 viii. 28. ; xiv. 22. ; xvi. 5. 
 
132 
 
 side of the lake ;"" * and St. John, though a native 
 of the district in question, yet, writing much later 
 than the rest, in the midst of Gentiles, uses the 
 same language as Mark. We may ohserve, how- 
 ever, that even the last-mentioned phrase is 
 abrupt, and supposes some geographical knovvlege 
 in the reader. I have heen more minute in treat- 
 ing of this instance, because it betokens the agree- 
 ment of the sacred writers in a simple idiom, which 
 they employ in that manner which their different 
 circumstances might lead us to expect. We cannot 
 suppose this resemblance to have been studied. 
 
 62. (4.) Some examples may now be adduced 
 of language which is altogether, or in great 
 measure, peculiar to a single Evangelist. That 
 such instances should occur in four different 
 writers, may not indeed appear surprizing, but 
 we shall also, if I mistake not, have occasion to 
 remark that a general family reseniblance — if the 
 expression may be allowed — pervades, in many 
 cases, even these varieties, a resemblance such 
 as might be expected, among men of different 
 minds, accustomed constantly to converse and 
 preach upon one subject of a new and extraor- 
 dinary nature, and to place the conduct and 
 language of one individual before them as a 
 model. We observe, in the Gospel of St. 
 
 * Luke viii. 22. 
 
133 
 
 Matthew, the expression often repeated, " My 
 Father which is in Heaven :"* this occurs not 
 in any other part of Scripture. The term 
 " Father," however, as apphed to the Almighty, 
 is frequent in every part of the New Testament ; 
 and in our Lord's discourses, as detailed by St. 
 John,, " the Father" in emphatic distinction from 
 " the Son," is rather a marked characteristic of 
 that Evangelist. Again the term " Gospel" is 
 wel] known to be in frequent and familiar use 
 among the Christian writers. There can hardly 
 be a doubt, that it originated in the announce- 
 ment of the angel to the Jewish shepherds at Beth- 
 lehem. The same 'good tidings,"' that the long- 
 expected Saviour had arrived, which formed the 
 burden of the angelic chorus, was the theme also 
 of that message which was sounded in every 
 language, and circulated through every clime. 
 But a peculiar application of the Word is observ- 
 able in St. Matthew. In three places he speaks 
 of the " Gospel of the Kingdom,"f and in 
 another, of the " Word of the Kingdom," evi- 
 dently a kindred expression : St. Mark has 
 introduced the first mentioned phrase, but with 
 an addition, " Gospel of the Kingdom of God."| 
 Air. Myers, in his dissertation upon the pro- 
 phecies of Christ, considers that a principal object 
 
 * Matr. vii. 21. x. 32—3. xviii. 19. f Id. iv. 23. ix. 35. 
 xxiv. 14. xiii. 19. | Mark i. 14. 
 
134 
 
 of the apostle Matthew, in the composition of his 
 Gospel, was to give a view of the rise and nature 
 of the Messiah's Kingdom. This, as a native 
 Jew, he may have done in language accomodated 
 to the prevailing ideas of his countrymen. Hence 
 perhaps the familiarity with which he alludes to 
 the Vision of Glory which filled his imagination, 
 calling it, in general terms, " The Kingdom." 
 Yet this pecuharity is incidentally confirmed by 
 St. Mark, where he informs us that the main 
 tenor of our Saviour's, and John the Baptist's 
 early preaching, was " The Kingdom of God is 
 at hand,* repent ye, and believe the Gospel." 
 The Gospel or glad tidings which they announced, 
 liad the most intimate relation to that everlasting 
 Kingdom, Christ came to establish. Lastly, the 
 particular expression, ' healing every sickness and 
 every disease,' is, in three different places, pre- 
 dicated of Christ by St. Matthew, j* in the first 
 and second instances, with the addition of the 
 words "among the people," the original being 
 precisely the same. This phraseology may seem 
 sufficiently obvious, yet the other Evangelists 
 express themselves differently in treating of the 
 same subject. 
 
 63. A specimen may now be added fi'om St. 
 Luke's Gospel, of this characteristic mode of 
 
 * Mark i. 15. f Matt. ix. 35. x. 1 . iv. 23. 
 
135 
 
 thought. In three places of the first chapter of 
 this Evangehst, the expression occurs " filled 
 with the Holy Ghost;"* it is applied to John the 
 Baptist, to Elizabeth, and to Zacharias ; also, 
 in the 4th chapter,f to Christ Himself. I may 
 add, it is very frequently repeated, in the Acts 
 of the Apostles, in relation to Peter, Paul, 
 Barnabas, and to the disciples generally — thus 
 affording an incidental corroboration of the fact, 
 that these two histories are the productions of 
 the same hand. Our Lord is also described, by 
 the same writer, as " led by the Spirit,"J and 
 " in the power of the Spirit." We can readily 
 imagine that to the mind of Luke, St. PauFs 
 immediate companion in some of his principal 
 journies, and at the most critical moments of his 
 ministry — the agency of the Holy Spirit must 
 have been most impressively displayed — more 
 especially in the gifts of tongues, and of prophecy, 
 so suddenly and awfully imparted to the new 
 converts, as the messengers of salvation passed 
 from city to city. Nevertheless this phraseology 
 is not quite peculiar to this Evangelist. St. 
 Matthew speaks of David, " in spirit," calling 
 Christ Lord.§ St. John recounts a discourse of 
 our Saviour, in which He insists upon the 
 necessity of a ' new birth by the Spirit,' || and 
 
 * Lukei. 1j, 41, 67. f vcr. I. t iv. 1, 14. 
 
 { Matt. xxii. 43. || John iii. 
 
136 
 
 another, in which He enforces the necessity of 
 worshipping God " in Spirit and in truth."* It 
 is almost unnecessary to add, that the Epistles of 
 St. Paul, the instructor and fellow-traveller of 
 Luke — abound in expressions either identical with, 
 or closely allied to the above . 
 
 64. But perhaps the stamp of a peculiar 
 character, and habit of thinking, is most con- 
 spicuous in the pages of St. John. The long 
 residence of this Apostle in Asia Minor, and the 
 late period at which he wrote, may partly account 
 for this. His Gospel certainly exhibits a form 
 and colouring which applies to no other part of 
 the New Testament, with the exception of the 
 Epistles which bear his name ; the strong re- 
 semblance indeed between these pieces and the 
 history, stamps them with the clearest internal 
 marks of authenticity. My limited plan will only 
 allow me to adduce a few instances of the parti- 
 cular manner of this writer. The phrase " The 
 Word," as applied to Christ, is to be found 
 only in the first chapter of his Gospel, f and in 
 his first Epistle, "born of God," is observable 
 only in the same chapter ver. 13; in the third 
 however we remark " born again," J and "born of 
 water and of the Spirit." A similar vein of 
 thought however appears in other parts of the 
 
 • John iv. 23. f '• !■*•• > -^ohn i. 1. t ver. 3, 5. 
 
137 
 
 Bible. Our Lord, in the Gospel of St. Matthew, 
 speaks of that " Restitution of all things," which 
 shall attend his second coming, by the term 
 "Regeneration" or ' New Birth;'* and St. Paul 
 applies the same word more particularly to the 
 privileges of the Christian. The same Apostle 
 strongly contrasts the "new" and the "old 
 man,"f the former and the present state of the 
 believer, and speaks repeatedly of the necessity of 
 an inward renewal. In three places of St. John's 
 Gospel,:}^ we have the remarkable expression, 
 " Prince of this world," by which Satan is sig- 
 nified. The precise term does not elsewhere 
 occur, but St. Paul terms the evil one, " Prince 
 of the power of the air,"§ and. in another place 
 of the same Epistle, describes corrupt spirits as 
 " principalities,"" " powers," " rulers of the dark- 
 ness of this world." II The terra "world,'" as ex- 
 pressive, not so much of mankind in general, as 
 of the present course of things, is frequent in the 
 New Testament ; but St. John uses it repeatedly 
 in an emphatic sense — nearly as the Jews of those 
 times employed the word " Gentile," to denote 
 all beyond the pale of the true Church or flock 
 of God. The three remaining Evangelists do not 
 thus apply it, excepting perhaps St. Luke, in a 
 single instance, xii. 30. In the Epistles however, 
 
 * Matt. xix. 28. t Eph. iv. 22- I John xii. 31, xiv. 30. 
 xvi. 11. § Eph. ii. 2. II John vi. 12. 
 
138 
 
 especially those of St. Paul, we find the same 
 meaning attached to it as in the Gospel of John.* 
 I may further add, that there are one or two other 
 modes of speaking, scattered indeed through dif- 
 ferent parts of the New Testament, but more 
 usual in this Evangelist ; as " Him that sent me," 
 " the Father," apphed to God, and such expressions 
 as " mine hour," or " my time is come," or " is 
 not yet come." It may be further remarked, that 
 the term " gospel," though several times used 
 by each of the other Evangelists, does not once 
 occur in the history or Epistles of St. John ; it 
 appears however in one place of the Revelation. 
 Now if the supposition be correct, that this 
 Apostle wrote his memoir from twenty to thirty 
 years later than his three brethren, it is reasonably 
 to be expected, that his style and manner should 
 be found perceptibly to differ from theirs. A 
 language might easily, under peculiar circum- 
 stances, undergo certain transitions in that period. 
 But the early disciples of Christ were placed in 
 a situation which had no precedent. They were, 
 in the first instance, Jews, but became more 
 and more intermixed with Greek and Roman 
 converts — They had adopted a mode of life 
 
 * The resemblance between the style of this Evangelist, 
 and that of some of the later Epistles may corroborate the 
 date usually assigned to his history. 
 
139 
 
 altogether new and peculiar — Their minds were 
 continually and powerfully employed upon sub- 
 jects lately revealed, the full expression of which 
 would have transcended the utmost force of 
 human, and perhaps angelic language. Persons 
 of different classes, sentiments, and manners, were 
 from time to time added to the Church. New 
 sects began to cast their shadow across the pure 
 light of the first age, and, as Christians multiplied, 
 new situations and new emergencies arose. St. 
 John appears to have been a man of a peculiar 
 turn of mind, who was influenced in writing by 
 some particular objects, and living long at Ephe- 
 sus, was surrounded by foreign and Gentile 
 associations. These circumstances may greatly 
 explain the unique character which marks his 
 religious phraseology. My present design does 
 not lead me to comment upon his mode of using 
 the Greek language, for observations upon which, 
 reference may be made to the fourth volume of 
 Marsh's Michaelis. 
 
 65. A short summary may here be attempted of 
 the inferences which are afforded by this part of 
 my subject. Let four impostors be conceived 
 sitting down to draw perfect portraits of the 
 teacher of a new religion. We cannot in this 
 case doubt, first, that they Avould labour to invest 
 him with the attributes of majesty and sublimity — 
 every thing would be vast; many things, it is 
 
140 
 
 likely, improbable, or even extravagant. They 
 would also chiefly confine themselves to gener- 
 alities. The strokes of their pencil, their lights 
 and shades would be bold and glaring ; they would 
 scarcely venture to descend into particulars ; to 
 pourtray the more delicate features ; the individual 
 peculiarities of the character. 2. It is certain 
 they would most cautiously avoid anything likely 
 to expose their subject to needless suspicion, and 
 would shrink from introducing, at least without 
 a complete refutation, the cavils and slanders of 
 his enemies. 3. If they undertook in concert 
 four distinct histories, they would be most careful 
 that no discrepancy should appear in the conduct 
 and sentiments they might severally ascribe to this 
 personage. Yet, notwithstanding all their pre- 
 cautions, it seems impossible that their works 
 should not betray serious imperfections and incon- 
 sistencies. Their own standard of feeling and 
 sentiment must be low, and they could hardly, with 
 fidelity to nature, maintain, through their narra- 
 tives, a superior tone. They would be detected ex- 
 aggerating virtue, or palliating vice ; while their 
 efforts to paint perfection, would continually tempt 
 them into the regions of romance and bombast. 
 Still more proba])le is it, that some one of their 
 number would betray such deficiencies. Their 
 productions, when compared together, would either 
 bear marks of servile imitation, or if variety was 
 
141 
 
 attempted, the more closely they were inspected, 
 the more evidently would contradictions appear. 
 Four false witnesses could hardly avoid disagree- 
 ment about simple matters of fact, more especially 
 if they gave their testimony at different periods, 
 and in a distinct form and order; but their agree- 
 ment would be still more improbable, if they 
 treated of those points of religious and moral 
 feeling, respecting which even good men are 
 frequently known to differ. If they avoided glaring 
 inconsistency, is it conceivable that they would 
 all persevere in pourtraying their Master, that 
 indiosyncrasy of sentiment, habit, and opinion, 
 which distinguishes the same individual ? Or, 
 would they, having no common bond of truth 
 to unite them, maintain this harmony, in many 
 varied situations, amidst the continual play of 
 the passions and prejudices of men, without suffer- 
 ing one jarring chord to betray their secret. Nor 
 would it be much less difficult for persons so 
 circumstanced, to display a resemblance in phrase- 
 ology, not forced and servile, but easy and natural. 
 If we met with four writers, treating the same 
 events and religious tenets in language altogether 
 different, we should pronounce that they had no 
 common familiarity with the transactions they 
 narrated; if, on the other hand, we found them 
 invariably and rigidly adhering to the same words 
 and expressions, we might suspect them of studi- 
 
14'2 
 
 ously aiming at uniformity; but if we observed 
 them, among many slight differences, everywhere 
 presenting the same general features of resem- 
 blance ; a resemblance not so much in words, as in 
 their usual tone of thought, and form of expres- 
 sion, we should then judge that they had actually 
 been long familiar with those particular trans- 
 actions, habits, and discourses which they repre- 
 sent. Thus it would not be difficult to distinguish 
 the spontaneous language of a religious sect, from 
 the studied agreement of a knot of impostors. 
 If it be said that they might have .reported real 
 discourses of some teacher of their day, but with 
 additions of their own, we demand that at least 
 they have the full advantage of this admission; 
 that M'herever this characteristic, yet simple and 
 unaffected style appears in their narratives, they 
 should be allowed to be describing real persons, 
 events, and conversations, and we shall then have 
 all that we at present require. 4. It might be 
 expected, that feigned discourses upon new and 
 difficult subjects, would be frequently obscure, and 
 would partake largely of a metaphysical or poetical 
 character ; there is little probability that we should 
 find them familiar, affectionate, and practical. We 
 may now, in a few words, enquire whether any of 
 these marks of forgery appear in the several 
 portraits here presented to our notice. 
 
 1. We find the character of Christ, as it is drawn 
 
143 
 
 in the pages of the four Evangehsts, neither ex- 
 aggerated, vague, nor inconsistent, but altogether 
 probable and coherent ; displayed not so much by 
 general remarks, as by minute incidents ; and 
 glowing with the vivid colouring of actual life. 
 The same elevated views, the same unswerving 
 integrity, the same unspotted purity is uniformly, 
 yet naturally depicted. 2. No peculiar anxiety is 
 manifested by these biographers respecting the 
 reputation of their Lord ; no care is taken to sup- 
 press objections ; to explain away what might ap- 
 pear suspicious, or to elucidate that which is 
 obscure. 3. The four memoirs, when compared 
 together, exhibit no attempt whatever to preserve 
 strict uniformity. Different incidents and senti- 
 ments are introduced in their respective works ; 
 the same are continually related in a different way, 
 and in an altered order, and the several Evangelists 
 affix, for the most part, their own peculiar stamp 
 to the phraseology they employ. Yet throughout 
 their writings, we perceive, even where they differ 
 most, that they are delineating the same character. 
 The same qualities are unfolded in different anec- 
 dotes ; the same sentiments embodied in varied 
 language ; the same simple figures pursued through 
 new illustrations. The varieties observed appear 
 to be no more than the colouring, distinct minds 
 will communicate to that general mode of thinking 
 and speaking, which results from the common ob- 
 
144 
 
 ject in which they may be engaged, and the habits 
 of the society to which they belong. 4. The dis- 
 courses of Jesus have a spirit and tendency which 
 distinguishes them from all others, and especially 
 from the method of instruction prevalent in His 
 own age. We discover in them none of the trifling 
 glosses upon Scripture, nor the " old wives fables," 
 in which the Scribes dehghted : none of the af- 
 fected obscurity, or the sophistical distinctions, 
 common in the Grecian Schools of philosophy. 
 No particular stress is laid upon the explanation of 
 doctrinal points, or the interpretation of difficult 
 passages in the Old Testament. We remark 
 everywhere a tranquil familiarity with the highest 
 subjects ; a disposition rather to assume, and 
 authoritatively to enforce, than to demonstrate the 
 truths He taught. Yet is His manner, in the 
 highest degree affectionate. A " spirit of love," 
 no less than of " a sound mind," animates His ex- 
 hortations as well as His actions ; a love which, 
 while directed towards His heavenly Father as its 
 supreme object, embraced all His creatures within 
 its bands. If His first object was to glorify God 
 by ' bearing witness to the truth,' His second was 
 to render that truth acceptable to His hearers, to 
 convince them that it came from One who perfectly 
 loved them, and was willing and able to do more 
 for their present and eternal welfare than man had 
 ever undertaken. His whole soul appears so pos- 
 
145 
 
 sessed with these high purposes, as to become 
 insensible to His own glory ; prepared in this cause 
 to endure, even to court every extremity of shame 
 and indignity. Our Lord's teaching is also re- 
 presented as practical ; not so much calculated to 
 win mere admiration, to gratify the intellect, and 
 excite the fancy, but directly effectual to supply 
 the actual necessities of man ; of man as he exists 
 in every age, and in every clime ; to make a way 
 for the doctrines He enforced, to the hearts, as 
 well as to the understandings of His hearers ; to 
 represent them vividly to their eyes and ears ; to 
 connect them with their domestic usages and daily 
 duties. May the ministers and stewards of His 
 mysteries be enabled more and more to approx- 
 imate towards that spirit and method of teaching, of 
 which their Lord was the perfect example ; may 
 their hearers remember, that it is possible, me- 
 chanically to acknowledge the truths presented to 
 them in these Gospels, without any serious en- 
 deavour to view them in their genuine force aiKl 
 bearings ; nay, that they may become intellectually 
 masters of the whole subject, without allowing it to 
 have a vital influence upon their consciences, their 
 hearts, and their lives. Unless that view of Scrip- 
 ture be sought from above, which sanctifies the 
 will, while it enlightens the understanding, the 
 philosophical examination of its evidences, or the 
 critical survey of its literary character will rather 
 H 
 
146 
 
 be of disservice to our real welfare. Without that 
 safeguard, such enquiries, by multiplying facts and 
 notions of slight or secondary moment, will distract 
 and deter us from the simple reception of the 
 Word of God, as the direct channel of com- 
 munication between our souls, and that Power, 
 who implanted, and will again require them. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 UPON THE CHARACTER AND BEHAVIOUR OF PON- 
 TIUS PILATE, AS DESCRIBED IN THE GOSPELS. 
 
 66. That impressive scene of the Gospel His- 
 tory which represents the Redeemer before the 
 judgment seat of Pilate, appears to me to testify, 
 in a high degree, the fearless simplicity of the nar- 
 rators ; their intimate acquaintance with their sub- 
 ject ; and, amid some superficial variations, their 
 essential conformity with each other, and with the 
 truth of history. During the period of His active 
 ministry, our Saviour may certainly be considered 
 to have lived chiefly in public ; yet it was not often 
 that His simple and unambitious duties drew Him 
 into contact with persons of high rank or general 
 celebrity. In treating then of His ordinary con- 
 duct, His biographers were subject to few re- 
 strictions. Keeping prophecy and probability just 
 in view, they might almost have given their im- 
 aginations the range through the regions of fiction ; 
 h2 
 
148 
 
 but the case was otherwise when they approached 
 their Master's sufferings and death. Here they 
 found themselves suddenly within the pale, and 
 beneath the light of regular history. The Roman 
 historian, Tacitus, has declared, that Christ, in the 
 reign of Tiberius, was punished by the procurator 
 Pontius Pilate. This officer was bound to trans- 
 mit to Rome a record of the most remarkable 
 transactions of his government ; and Justin Mar- 
 tyr,* as well as Tertullian, the first of whom wrote 
 about the middle, the other at the end of the 
 second century, boldly appeals to such a record of 
 the circumstances of our Lord's death, as really 
 existing. Here therefore impostors would find 
 themselves upon tender ground. They must not 
 venture to affirm anything which could be con- 
 tradicted from public documents in the keeping of 
 their enemies. The least inconsistency might at 
 once betray them. As crafty and designing men, 
 therefore, they might be expected to adopt one of 
 the following courses. 1. They might have treated 
 this part of their subject in the most general way, 
 avoiding all particularity ; 2. they might have 
 copied verbatim the account of their INIaster's 
 death, contained in the ' Acts of Pilate ;' or, 3. if 
 they did attempt to add incidents of their own 
 coinage, they would at least make this document 
 
 * Apol. I. p. 74, 101. Edit. Ashton, 1768. 
 
149 
 
 the basis of their narrative, strictly observing the 
 order of its circumstances, and keeping closely in 
 view the generally known features of Pilate's public 
 character. In this task they would be assisted by 
 several historical circumstances. At his very en- 
 trance into office, this governor had irritated the 
 Jews in the tenderest point, by introducing the 
 emperor's images into Jerusalem, in open contempt 
 of the Mosaic law, and contrary to the custom of 
 former procurators; until the consternation testi- 
 fied by the people, induced him at last to remove 
 the grievance. Upon another occasion, he em- 
 ployed some of the sacred money in the temple, for 
 the purpose of conducting water into the city, 
 which so provoked the inhabitants, that when the 
 governor came to Jerusalem, they openly mur- 
 mured; to be prepared against this he had in- 
 troduced soldiers in disguise, who attacked the 
 Jews so vehemently with clubs, that many perish- 
 ed. * Philo also relates,! that Pilate attempted to 
 consecrate golden bucklers to Tiberius in the palace 
 of Herod ; the magistrates and all the people, after 
 urgent but vain remonstrances, wrote a complaint 
 to the Emperor, who caused the offerings to be 
 removed. This supplication, it is added, greatly 
 alarmed Pilate. At a later period we hear of a 
 massacre, executed by this governor, upon some 
 
 * Joseph Antiq. 1, xviii. 4. f Legal ad Caium. p. 1033. 
 
150 
 
 Samaritans, whom an impostor was leading to 
 Mount Gerizim ; a circumstance which led to his 
 citation before Cesar by the President of Syria, 
 and to his final exclusion from office. I may also 
 add, that one of the Evangelists, mentions some 
 Galileans, " whose blood Pilate mingled with their 
 sacrifices." * From the circumstances to which 
 we have referred, it is by no means difficult to col- 
 lect, that Pilate was a man of an arbitrary and 
 cruel disposition ; utterly without respect for the 
 religious customs and prejudices of the Jews; 
 obstinate in the course he chose to pursue, yet 
 anxious to remain in favour at the court of Rome. 
 67. But our attention may also be directed to 
 the character which our Saviour was generally 
 understood to assume ; that of the Messiah, whom 
 the Jews had so long expected, as a royal con- 
 queror; who had been repeatedly announced in 
 the Old Testament, as a King who would sit upon 
 the throne of David, and deliver His people from 
 their oppressors. In this character He had been 
 recognized by His disciples, and even predicted 
 among the Gentiles, as One who should reign over 
 the East. Although Jesus did not openly assume 
 any kingly state, or place arms in the hands of His 
 followers. He had fully laid claim to the Messiah- 
 ship; had made a triumphant entry into Jerusalem, 
 
 * Luke xiii. 1, 2. 
 
151 
 
 (of which Pilate could hardly be thought ignorant), 
 and had evidently gained a remarkable influence 
 over the minds of the multitude. Herod the Great 
 also, though not a Roman, regarded the birth of 
 Christ with the most violent apprehension, which 
 he testified by the slaughter of the innocents. 
 Moreover the Jewish enemies of Christ seemed to 
 fear that the success of His religion would cause 
 the Romans ' to come and take away both their 
 place and nation ;' * and, at His trial, they made a 
 direct attempt to w^ork upon the governor's jealousy 
 and fear of the authorities at Rome. This might 
 appear more likely to impress him, because he had, 
 in several things, outraged their prejudices, and 
 could not wish to put it in their power to accuse 
 him before Cesar ; — a proceeding they had al- 
 ready adopted in the case of Archelaus, though an 
 individual of a neighbouring race. For all these 
 reasons, it seems very unlikely that an inventor 
 would represent Pilate as favourable to Jesus ; 
 taking pains to clear Him from guilt, and to pre- 
 serve His life; still less as almost indifferent to 
 His pretensions as the Messiah and King of His 
 nation. 
 
 68. Nor does it seem likely that such a writer 
 would make Pilate show any respect to Christ in his 
 religious character. From the few circumstan- 
 
 * John xi. 48. 
 
152 
 
 ces recorded of his life, we may gather that he 
 was a man, who not only resisted the power, but 
 even despised the name and ceremonial of religion. 
 He appears, on several occasions already specified, 
 to have set at nought, not only the prejudices, but 
 the established doctrines and usages of the Mosiac 
 system. Indeed, in common with the Roman 
 rulers of that period in general, he seemed to 
 affect an ignorance of every thing Jewish, * while 
 his conversation with our Lord, recorded by St. 
 John, might be thought to evince a sceptical habit 
 of mind. It seems then improbable that, in the 
 pages of a deceiver, Pilate would be represented 
 as under the influence of any religious considera- 
 tions whatever. 
 
 68. But it may now be time to enquire what is 
 the actual picture of this remarkable transaction, 
 which the Evangelists have traced. 1. They have 
 not shrunk from a particular recital of this very 
 public proceeding. 2. They have not taken the 
 least trouble to preserve an exact correspondence 
 between their narratives ; though generally har- 
 monious, they have every appearance of drawing 
 upon independent sources, f 3. They have not 
 
 * John xviii. 35 — 8. 
 
 f The greatest resemblance may be observed between St. 
 Matthew's relation and that of St. Mark, yet the latter has 
 omitted the interesting circumstances of the message of 
 Pilate's wife, and the governor's vindication of himself by 
 
153 
 
 brought into any prominence th^ known cruelty of 
 Pilate's character ; on the contrary, they have 
 made him solicitous to save Jesus, though delivered 
 up by his own nation as adverse to the Roman 
 authority. 4. Pilate, according to the Gospel, 
 appears far from jealous of our I-.ord's supposed 
 pretensions to the throne of Israel, — inclined 
 rather to ridicule them, yet ready to make a seem- 
 ing acknowledgment that they were not without 
 foundation. 5. We observe in him symptoms of 
 superstitious feeling. When our Lord was ac- 
 cused of ' making Himself the Son of God,' 
 Pilate, we are informed, " was the more afraid ;" * 
 not of justifying Christ ; for, after this, he openly 
 sought to release Him ; but he probably suspected 
 that he was some good daemon. His sudden 
 question " whence art thou ?" might be intended 
 to ascertain whether his origin were Divine or 
 human. He listens also to his wife's dream, and 
 is anxious to clear himself from the guilt of con- 
 demning innocent blood. 
 
 69. How then are these seeming anomalies to 
 be explained? Pilate's situation, at this juncture, 
 was doubtless of a very complex and embarrassing 
 
 washing his hands ; while he has added some particulars re- 
 lating to Barrabbas (xv. 7,) and to Simon the C'yrenian (v. 
 21.) The facts respecting Barabbas are also in Luke 
 xxiii. 19. 
 
 * John xix. 7, 8. 
 H 3 
 
154 
 
 nature. He was, in his general character, tyrani- 
 cal, irreligious, and strongly prejudiced against 
 the Jews. Indeed a dislike and contempt for 
 their authorities and institutions, appears to have 
 been a leading principle of his conduct. Never- 
 theless, aware that he had incurred displeasure at 
 Rome, he was unwilling to provoke the elders to 
 send thither such complaints against him as they 
 had already preferred in the case of Archelaus and 
 others. Naturally sceptical, despairing of finding 
 truth among the jarring systems of philosophers, 
 and little inclined to any tenets which might curb 
 his licentious propensities, he appears yet to have 
 been inclined to superstition — a combination by no 
 means without example. Saul was a believer in 
 witchcraft. Herod Antipas, after outraging the 
 holiest ties, and taking the life of John the 
 Baptist, was persuaded by a guilty conscience that 
 Christ was the murdered saint, risen from the 
 dead. Among moderns, the apparent extremes of 
 superstition and unbelief, have been not nn- 
 frequently united. Shaftesbury was addicted to 
 astrology. Lord Herbert, of Cherbury, relates 
 amidst his deistical speculations, a supernatural 
 incident as having happened to himself; amidst a 
 manifest indifference to all creeds, Buonaparte 
 seemed to make a god of his vague notions of 
 ' destiny ;' and a nobleman, too celebrated of late 
 for his balefully brilliantly career, attached con- 
 
155 
 
 siderable importance to lucky and unlucky days, 
 and some other vulgar superstitions. It is natural 
 to man to carry his thoughts to something super- 
 natural. Fear and wonder at the mysteries of 
 Creation cannot be entirely overcome ; his weak- 
 ness requires some support and guide ; his roving 
 imagination demands some field for speculation be- 
 yond that which the visible world can furnish. We 
 need not be surprised that those who shut their 
 minds against the evidences of God's revelations, 
 should be often enslaved by a guilty conscience, 
 to terrors of popular belief, or even of their own in- 
 vention. It cannot therefore be considered inconsis- 
 tent that the reckless scepticism of the procurator, 
 should be mingled with vague and lurking fears of 
 supernatural agency. Thus circumstanced then, 
 and actuated by such feelings, how would he 
 receive the accusations brought against Jesus by 
 the Pharisees? At this period he could hardly 
 view any pretensions to the Messiahship with 
 actual indifference ; yet there was little in our 
 Lord's life and conduct calculated to alarm him. 
 His followers were few and almost entirely unarm- 
 ed ; they had made no tumult, and the multitude 
 who lately followed him with ' Hosannas' were now 
 clamorous for his death. Christ had also the 
 reputation of doing much good ; of preaching pure 
 morality, and even strict obedience to the existing 
 authorities, and Pilate would hardly object to his 
 
156 
 
 practice of unmasking the errors of the Jewish 
 teachers, and correcting some of the national 
 observances. Upon the other hand, he would 
 rejoice at an opportunity of thwarting and morti- 
 fying the chief priests, especially as ' he knew that 
 for envy they had delivered ' * up Jesus, a con- 
 sideration which might be expected to excite a 
 certain indignation in every bosom. Actuated 
 then by a dislike to the chief priests, and a spirit 
 of contradiction, Pilate was unwilling to gratify 
 their malice, and, in order the more to 
 mortify them, tauntingly represented Christ as 
 " King of the Jews," a title which he affixed to 
 the inscription over His cross, and obstinately 
 refused to alter, f Still, the conduct of the 
 Governor indicated something more than ill-will 
 towards the Jews, and indifference to our Lord's 
 pretensions. He had evidently a real reluctance 
 to condemn Him, a feeling which we can hardly 
 ascribe to humanity or the love of justice. It is 
 in all probability to be referred to a superstitious 
 uneasiness. Pilate had heard of our Lord's mira- 
 cles, and of his assumption of a rehgious character. 
 However sceptical relative to the great truths of 
 religion, the spirit of the age would not allow him 
 to doubt the influence of magic or of demoniac 
 agency. Hence when he heard that the prisoner 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. 8. \John xix. 14, 15; 19, 21, 22. 
 
157 
 
 was accused of ' making himself the Son of God,'* 
 when a remarkable dreara was reported to him by 
 his wifef — a circumstance which in those days 
 would be deemed far from immaterial — and when 
 Christ Himself assured him that ' His kingdom 
 was not of this world,:]: and that all the power 
 Pilate could possess over Him was given from 
 above,§ thus claiming a direct communication 
 with the world of spirits, it is not surprising that 
 the licentious Roman felt uneasy, and had misgiv- 
 ings as to the consequences of any violent pro- 
 ceeding. Hence his persevering endeavours to 
 release Jesus; hence his eagerness to send Him 
 to Herod, in the hope, doubtless, that the conduct 
 of that prince might afford him a precedent, or 
 that the people might be contented with his 
 decision ; thus Pilate hoped that he might him- 
 self escape the supposed danger of condemning 
 Christ. Herod's treatment of our Lord, encouraged 
 the governor to persevere in the lenient conduct 
 he had adopted towards Him ; for he readily 
 appeals afterwards to the example of the Galilean 
 ruler. |1 
 
 * John xix. 7. t Matt, xxvii. 19. 
 
 I John xviii. 3G. § Id. xix. 11. 
 
 II We may remark that Herod had no disposition to resist 
 the pretensions of Jesus. He clearly viewed him as a man 
 gifted with supernatural power, though His meek demeanour 
 and seeming helplessness led tlie tyrant to ' set Him at 
 nought.' 
 
158 
 
 That Pilate was not, however, actuated by a 
 simple love of justice, appears from his proposal to 
 inflict the minor punishment of scourging upon one 
 whom he had pronounced to be without fault.* 
 However inclined to oppose and to irritate the 
 Jews, he remained steady in his determination to 
 avoid an open rupture with them. Had he been 
 truly just, he could never have given up the 
 innocent; but his spite towards the chief priests, 
 and his superstition finally gave way before his 
 worldly interest. He saw that his remonstrances 
 availed nothing — that "rather a tumult was 
 made," — he heard it intimated, that by sparing 
 Jesus, he would offend Cesar, and saw that he 
 must not give his enemies this additional oppor- 
 tunity of accusing him at the court of Rome. He 
 therefore yielded to their importunity, but, as a 
 remarkable proof of his real reluctance to condemn 
 Jesus, " he took water and washed his hands 
 before the multitude, saying I am innocent of 
 the blood of this just person, see ye to it."f His 
 whole conduct, however singular, and even para- 
 doxical, will, the more narrowly it is scanned, 
 appear the more natural. Should it be deemed 
 unaccountable, that Pilate was not withheld by 
 political considerations fi'om proclaiming Jesus 
 King of the Jews, in the superscription upon his 
 
 * Luke xxiii. 16—22. t Matt, xxvii. 24. 
 
159 
 
 cross, we may recollect the wayward and head- 
 strong temper he displayed on other occasions, 
 when, in defiance of former dangers, he repeated 
 his outrages against the Jews, until they occa- 
 sioned his ejection from his government ; and also 
 his evident desire to mortify the Hebrew nation ; 
 something may also be ascribed to a superstitious 
 reverence for Christ — perhaps even to a wish 
 to propitiate the spirit of Him whom he had 
 attempted to save when living. He probably 
 thought that the condemnation of Jesus to the 
 cruel and shameful death of crucifixion, would 
 exempt him from the suspicion of favouring so 
 apparently .obscure a pretender to the throne of 
 Judea. His general policy throughout this trans- 
 action, seems to have been to show to our 
 Saviour all the indulgence he could, consistently 
 with avoiding any direct collision with the influen- 
 tial part of the Jewish nation. Perhaps we might 
 not expect him to have sanctioned the insults 
 offered to our blessed Lord by the soldiers — but 
 such was probably the custom of the times, and 
 scarcely to be repressed ; the soldiers seem to 
 have led our Lord away from the immediate 
 presence of Pilate, into the " common hall."* 
 The Governor probably was not displeased at 
 that which he might consider, not so much a 
 
 * Matt, xxvii. '27. 
 
160 
 
 mockery of Jesus, as of His enemies, who had 
 so absurdly represented Him as a formidable 
 rival to Tiberius. The whole of Pilate's beha- 
 viour has that vacillating, and even inconsistent 
 air, which betokens a mind struggling beneath 
 contending feelings; and this appears not from 
 formal speeches, or from any comment on the j)art 
 of the Evangelists, but from short abrupt remarks, 
 discovering at once fear and embarrassment. We 
 may further observe, that the narratives of this 
 transaction show no elaborate dove-tailing on the 
 part of the historians. Scarcely any part of their 
 work seems less studied ; their order is varied, 
 and some important circumstances are stated by 
 only one writer : indeed considerable pains, upon 
 our part, is necessary to collect from their brief 
 disjointed hints, an orderly account of the whole 
 affair. The following may be adduced as an 
 instance of their unguarded simplicity. — There 
 were passages in the ancient Prophets, describing 
 certain personal indignities, which it was part of 
 the Messiah's appointed portion to endure from 
 his enemies. * Now in that which purports to 
 be a narration of Chrisfs sufferings by his im- 
 mediate disciples, we naturally look for a clear 
 account of the fulfilment of these predictions. 
 Accordingly, St. Matthew tells us that when 
 
 * See espesially Isa, i. 6. - 
 
161 
 
 Jesus was brought before the High Priest, those 
 who stood by " did spit in His face, and buffeted 
 Him;'"* this was all which it was necessary to 
 relate : here was a full accomplishment of Scrip- 
 ture. Nevertheless the biographer thinks fit to 
 add one particular insult which was offered to 
 his Master : while smiting Him, some of his 
 enemies said, "prophecy unto us, thou Christ, 
 who is he that smote thee ?" v. 68. No reason is 
 alledged why these particular words should have 
 been used ; but on referring to the parallel place 
 in St. Mark's Gospel, we find that the soldiers 
 covered our Lord's face before they used the taunt 
 above mentioned ;f this at once explains the 
 obscurity in St. Matthew : their object was first 
 to blind-fold Christ, next to buffet Him, and then 
 ironically to call upon Him as a prophet, to point 
 out who had struck Him. Yet from St. Matthew 
 alone this could scarcely have been inferred, nor 
 even li-om St. Mark, who omits the words " who 
 is he that smote thee." St. Luke however, who 
 is generally accurate, briefly and clearly describes 
 the whole circumstance.:}: Now can we conceive 
 that two writers, who in any degree studied 
 appearances, would, when engaged in one of the 
 most critical scenes of their whole history — the 
 last sufferings of their great Subject, and the 
 
 • Matt. xxvi. 67. t Markxiv. Go. | Luke xxii. 64. 
 
162 
 
 fulfilment of prophecy ; that they would then, by 
 omitting two circumstances needful to the clear- 
 ness of their recital, oblige us to compare them 
 together, or to go for an explanation to a third 
 writer. Do we see here the marks of laborious 
 accuracy, — or of systematic coherence, or even of 
 a common regard for their own reputation ? 
 
 70. But another feature in this wonderful rela- 
 tion demands our notice. The Christian will view 
 this as a history, which is not only strikingly true 
 to nature, but which clearly reveals the hand of 
 Providence, fulfilling the great purposes of his 
 wisdom and mercy. It is His prerogative, without 
 forcing the human Avill, so to mould it, and to 
 modify its effects, that while men are following 
 their own devices, they are found to be really 
 performing God's work. Thus Joseph''s brethren, 
 in selling him into Egypt, were yeilding to the 
 impulse of envy and revenge — as he expressed it 
 himself, " they thought evil against him, but God 
 meant it unto good."* He was carrying on, by 
 their agency. His secret plans for the preservation 
 of His people, and educing good out of their 
 evil^ Nebuchadnezzar and other conquerors, while 
 giving the rein to their boundless ambition, were 
 really acting as the 'rod of the Lord's anger,"" 
 towards His apostate people. Thus, while the 
 
 * Gen. i. 20 
 
163 
 
 Jews and Pilate were behaving as persons of their 
 character would naturally do, and serving, as 
 they thought, their own passions and interest, 
 they were really, though unwillingly, ' doing God 
 service.' Now what do we know, from the 
 general tenor of prophecy, to have been the 
 purposes of God in the proceedings before us? 
 We may easily collect, 1. that it was neces- 
 sary that Christ should be put to a violent death,* 
 2. that He should be betrayed by one of His 
 own disciples to the Jewish authorities.f 3. That 
 He should be delivered by them to the Gentiles, 
 who should scourge, deride, and crucify Him.J 
 4. That nevertheless His real innocence should be 
 established. § Now, by searching the Evangelical 
 histories, we shall, if I mistake not, see circum- 
 stances the most varied, and interests apparently 
 the most opposed, working together for the ac- 
 complishment of these divine purposes. 1. We 
 may notice the disappointment which the Phari- 
 sees experienced in their vain expectations of 
 a splendid and triumphant Messiah, and their 
 jealousy of the influence which Jesus had 
 acquired over the minds of the people. It 
 might not have seemed very improbable, that 
 the Jewish nation generally, like our Lord's im- 
 
 * Ps. xxii. 16, 17 ; Isa. liii. 5, 8. f Ps. xli. 9, Iv. 
 
 12—14 ; Zech. xi. 12, 13 + Isa. 1 6 ; liii. 3. 
 
 § Isa. liii. 9, 10, 12. 
 
164 
 
 mediate disciples, who were by no means free 
 from earthly and ambitious views, should have 
 been induced by His miracles to adopt His cause, 
 at least until they were convinced that no tem- 
 poral kingdom would be established. We might 
 even suppose them glad of such a pretext for dis- 
 affection towards the Romans. This, as far as 
 they were concerned, would have defeated the 
 prophecy, by preventing, or at least deferring, the 
 death of Christ. But we find them clinging to 
 their prejudices with an unexampled and almost 
 unaccountable pertinacity, even when swift and 
 certain destruction was coming upon them. 2. I 
 would remark the covetousness of Judas, one of 
 those men selected by our Saviour as His imme- 
 diate and constant companions. This person had 
 certainly nothing less in view than the fulfilment 
 of prophecy, and subserviency to the Divine dis- 
 pensations. 3. Our Saviour might (judging from 
 the state of parties at this time in Judea, and from 
 the changes of human things,) have been slain in 
 a tumult of the people, or, like St. Stephen, by 
 an apparently judicial act of the rulers, or by pri- 
 vate assassination on the part of some zealot for 
 the law ; but His enemies deemed neither of these 
 courses safe or advisable ; they therefore had 
 recourse to the Roman governor, who alone, 
 properly speaking, had the power of life and 
 death. But it was also needful that Jesus should 
 
165 
 
 be punished by crucifixion — a death peculiar to 
 the Gentiles, and reserved for slaves, and the 
 vilest malefactors. Pilate, as we have seen, was 
 strongly inclined, either at once to release Jesus, 
 or to limit His punishment to scourging, and 
 would doubtless have acted thus, had not his fears 
 been wrought upon by the Jewish rulers ; nor 
 perhaps would their solicitations have prevailed, 
 had not the multitude, urged by the chief priests, 
 clamourously demanded our Lord's death, so that 
 " a tumult was made." This might also have 
 appeared unlikely, for this very populace were, 
 but yesterday, shouting after " Him that cometh 
 in the name of the Lord ;"" yet, with the fickleness 
 of a mob, they now thirsted for His blood. 5. 
 Lastly, the innocence of Christ could not have 
 been fully established, unless it had been acknow- 
 ledged by His judge : but that a judge, who was 
 a Roman and a heathen, and who actually con- 
 demned Him to death, should solemnly clear Him 
 from all guilt, was hardly to be expected. Yet did 
 Pilate, swayed by the mingled influence of hatred 
 to the Jews, and superstition, pursue this remark- 
 able line of conduct, and even show an anxiety to 
 prove himself ' innocent of the blood of that just 
 person."" Thus, throughout this narrative, while a 
 common observer may remark the natural results 
 of men's feelings and interests, the pious reader 
 will everywhere discern the hand of a wise and 
 
166 
 
 good Providence, carrying forward His dispensa- 
 tions by means at once the most unexpected and 
 the most effectual. Of the various transactions 
 which are constantly forming the tangled web of 
 human hfe, some seem to spring directly from our 
 own conduct ; some from the interference of others ; 
 some more immediately from the hand of God. 
 1. Although the All-wise can make our evil work 
 together for good, this can never authorize us to 
 do the least evil in order to promote His plans ; 
 our part is to pursue the direct path of known 
 duty in whatever direction it may appear to lead 
 us. 2. However appearances may stagger us, we 
 cannot be left even for a moment in the hands of 
 others. God can prevent their mischief, or make 
 it ultimately tend to good ; and He will assuredly 
 do so, whenever the general advantage of His 
 creation may require it. 3. No evil can proceed 
 directly from Providence. That moral evil, which 
 resulted from the abuse of free-will, God can 
 mould and divert to His own purposes ; that 
 physical evil which sin brought into the world, 
 is made the scourge of His rebelhous creatures — 
 the furnace in which the faith and constancy of 
 His children are brought to the proof. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE EVANGELISTS CONTRASTED WITH WRITERS 
 OF ROMANCE THEIR SIMPLICITY AND NEG- 
 LIGENCE. 
 
 71. A WRITER whose object it was to impose 
 upon the public falsehood for truth, might be 
 expected to pursue a different course fi'om another, 
 whose aim was simply to entertain or instruct 
 them by an ingenious story. The former would 
 confine himself by the sti'ictest rules, and walk as 
 it were perpetually in trammels ; his first aim 
 would be to say nothing which was likely to expose 
 his cause, and to preserve a general air of veracity. 
 The writer of a mere work of fiction, on the other 
 hand, would be likely to neglect these restraints, 
 and, in many cases, would suffer his imagination to 
 wander uncurbed through the whole range of 
 probable or even possible existence. Nevertheless, 
 amidst all the irregularities of romance-writing, 
 there are, if I mistake not, certain characteristics 
 by which it may, with little difficulty, be dis- 
 
168 
 
 tinguished from simple truth. In some of those 
 productions we find a certain method very carefully 
 observed. But even amidst the wildest sallies of 
 fancy, the most trifling incidents and speeches are 
 commonly so contrived, as either to introduce some 
 remarkable event, or to contribute to scenic effect. 
 If an individual is described as leaving his home, 
 we may confidently expect, either that he will meet 
 with some important personage — that eome dis- 
 tressing, joyful, or mysterious incident will betide 
 him ; or, at least, that he will visit some scene, 
 whose beauties or wonders may be forcibly deline- 
 ated. An impostor might indeed scatter through 
 his narrative minute particulars, in order to lend it 
 an air of truth, but a mere story-teller would be 
 always afraid of tiring or disgusting his readers ; 
 his constant aim would be to insert something 
 novel, beautiful, or noble. With such a com- 
 position let us compare the evidence of an un- 
 learned, but honest witness in a court of justice. 
 For the most part, he will have neither amuse- 
 ment nor edification in view, but simply the 
 declaration of the naked truth. He will tell his 
 unvarnished tale, in the first language which occurs 
 to his mind. His work will seldom be smoothed 
 by the chisel, or coloured by the pencil : it will 
 be a block fresh from the quarry; adorned only 
 with those veins which nature his traced upon its 
 surface. Hence it will abound in those little cir- 
 
169 
 
 cumstances, which have no particular importance 
 in themselves, but are only valuable as they form 
 features in a real portrait. A man, for instance, 
 giving an account of a robbery, would mention the 
 different persons whom he might have met near 
 the spot where it occurred ; the dress they wore, 
 the indifferent remarks they made, and a number 
 of little particulars, which would hardly enter into 
 the fancy of one who was intent upon working up 
 a scene, and which, to persons uninterested in the 
 affair, would appear impertinent. How many 
 things do we continually observe and narrate to 
 others, which, if not real, would never have oc- 
 curred to our minds ; or, at least, would not have 
 been considered worth recording. Their value 
 simply consists in their truth, in the light they 
 may throw upon more important facts; or upon 
 human nature in general. Now these remarks ap- 
 appear to me to apply strongly to the case of a 
 biographer, relating from personal knowledge, the 
 life of a celebrated individual. We naturally feel a 
 certain interest in every anecdote or object con- 
 nected either with our own particular friends, or 
 with public characters, more especially after their 
 departure from life. Affection or admiration 
 stamps a value upon their slightest rehcs, though 
 no more than a lock of hair, or a fragment of 
 dress ; still more will even their ordinary words 
 and actions be treasured up in our memories. 
 1 
 
170 
 
 72. Now that the Evangehsts, in recording their 
 Master''s proceedings, have acted upon the prin- 
 ciple just stated, may appear, partly from their 
 general style, partly from some particular passages 
 of their histories. A specimen of these may be 
 introduced in this place, John ii. In the opening 
 verses of this chapter, we are generally informed, 
 that there was a wedding at Cana of Galilee, to 
 which the mother of Jesus went. We might have 
 expected to have been first told that Jesus Him- 
 self was there, but a particular importance seems 
 attached to the presence of the Virgin, who, we 
 find from v. 3 and 5, took a familiar interest in the 
 preparations for the feast, and even assumed an 
 authority over the servants. Most probably she 
 had some connection with the parties who gave the 
 entertainment, but this would seem a circumstance 
 in itself so unimportant, that nothing but its truth 
 could recommend it to the attention of a bio- 
 grapher. After relating the remarkable miracle 
 which distinguished our Lord's visit to Cana, St. 
 John occupies the concluding part of the chapter, 
 in recounting some still more memorable things 
 which happened during His stay at Jerusalem ; 
 but verse 12 simply acquaints us that Christ came 
 to Capernaum with His friends, and soon left it 
 again. For what purpose could this circumstance 
 have been mentioned ? It could not have been 
 "^stated for the sake of geographical accuracy, be- 
 
171 
 
 cause Capernaum lay in the route from Cana to 
 Jerusalem ; for the maps will inform us that it 
 was farther north than the first-mentioned town. 
 Christ must therefore have made a separate ex- 
 cursion thither. Nor do we hear that any par- 
 ticular miracles or discourses occupied this visit. 
 Now it is difficult to conceive that a mere story- 
 teller would mention it, unless as the ground-work 
 of some further incident. But suppose the Evan- 
 gelist to be recording truth ; suppose our Saviour 
 really to have spent some days at Capernaum, 
 and we have sufficient to account for the allusion ; 
 this alone would give the circumstance importance 
 in the eyes of the attached biographer, and a 
 regard to clearness and regularity made him un- 
 willing to omit it. 
 
 73. A writer, whose principal aim was to con- 
 struct a specious and interesting history, would be 
 anxious to give full force and effect to the exami- 
 nation of Christ before Caiaphas, the high priest ; 
 but he would hardly consider it worth his while to 
 carry Him first before Annas, the father-in-law of 
 that Pontiff. This Annas is mentioned in only 
 one other passage of the Gospel history, and 
 appears, at that time, to have held no judicial 
 office. He is mentioned however by St. Luke * as 
 if he were joint high priest with Caiaphas, and the 
 
 • Luke iii. 2. 
 i2 
 
172 
 
 truth appears to have been, that he had lately held 
 that dignity ; for this reason, and because he was 
 father-in-law to Caiaphas, it was considered a 
 proper compliment to send Jesus to him first; 
 as our Saviour was afterwards sent by Pilate to 
 Herod, the Tetrarch of Galilee. That our Lord 
 therefore should be carried before this personage, 
 was not otherwise than natural, and that the fact 
 should be recorded by a faithful biographer, was 
 also natural ; but if the circumstance never hap- 
 pened, it would be difficult to discover how the 
 introduction of it could serve the purposes of 
 fiction. John xx. 5, 6. The Apostle is here re- 
 lating his own visit with St. Peter, to their Lord's 
 sepulchre, on the morning of the resurrection. 
 We might have expected that, at so critical a 
 moment, they would not have been contented with 
 stooping down and looking into the tomb, but that 
 they would immediately have entered it. Neverthe- 
 less some timid or superstitious feeling might have 
 withheld one or both of them from doing this : but 
 it appears singular that St. John should represent 
 himself as less prompt and curious on this occasion 
 than his companion. The mention of such a 
 circumstance could scarcely reflect any credit upon 
 him. Would he then have introduced it unless 
 swayed by a simple regard for truth ? The whole 
 incident will, upon examination, appear highly 
 natural, and may illustrate the difference between 
 
173 
 
 the characters of St. John and St. Peter — John, 
 the younger, outran Peter, but, upon their arrival, 
 the promptness of the latter would not be con- 
 tented without entering the sepulchre : when 
 however he found it empty, he wondered, but 
 appears to have thought little more of the cir- 
 cumstance ; while St. John, more careful and 
 observant of all that Jesus had said and done, 
 comparing this occurrence with others, at length 
 believed that his Master had fulfilled His own 
 wonderful prediction. 
 
 74. Mark xiv. 51—2, " And there followed 
 Him a certain young man, having a linen cloth 
 cast about his naked body, and the young men 
 laid hold on him, and he left the linen cloth, and 
 fled from them naked." We have here a very 
 simple incident, related in a manner the most 
 unaffected. There is nothing whatever improb- 
 able in it. In the hurry of our Lord's apprehen- 
 sion, a person sitting, or perhaps sleeping in a 
 neighbouring house, very thinly clad on account 
 of the hot weather, might easily be aroused and 
 induced to mingle in the crowd : perhaps he was 
 a disciple, but, at all events, following Christ in 
 this unusual dress, he might easily be mistaken 
 for one ; some have supposed, though probably 
 without suflBcient authority, that it was the 
 Apostle John.* My object however is not to 
 
 • In this case would it not have been mentioned in lii 
 
174 
 
 explain the anecdote, but simply to point out how 
 needless and unsatisfactory it must appear in an 
 elaborate work. A writer who studied amuse- 
 ment, would surely wish to make the utmost of 
 every circumstance he introduced. Would he not 
 then have worked it up into a scene, or if intended 
 as a mystery, should we not hear more of it in 
 another place ? But neither course is here pur- 
 sued. We may easily imagine the individual 
 mentioned to have been well known in the early 
 Church, and that his name was either prudentially 
 omitted, or passed over by the Evangelist with 
 his usual simplicity. This would at once give 'a 
 certain interest to the affair; but it would do 
 little credit to the invention of a romance writer, 
 and might rather be of disservice in an imposture, 
 for the boldness of this young man in following 
 Christ, would appear in rather disadvantageous 
 contrast to the timidity of the Apostles, who had 
 just, with one consent, deserted their Master. 
 
 75. An author whose purpose was to cater 
 for the entertainment of the public, would care- 
 fully avoid any needless repetitions. He would 
 be afraid of wearying his readers by ' a twice- 
 told tale.' He could not forget that an incident, 
 mentioned the second time, may be expected to 
 
 own Gospel ? or why should ISIark have scrupled to add 
 the name, in an affair rather creditable to the person con- 
 cerned ? 
 
175 
 
 lose at least half its effect. If then an author 
 of this stamp had any reason for alluding to 
 an event the second time, he would either do 
 so slightly, or relate it under varied and more 
 imposing circumstances. But a faithful bio- 
 grapher w^ould have no such solicitude : attach- 
 ing a peculiar importance to the subject of his 
 memoir, he would be inclined to give the public 
 credit for the same feeling ; he would be desir- 
 ous of treasuring up the slightest words and 
 actions of Him whose life he was tracing, and 
 one of his main purposes vi^ould probably be to 
 impress certain points, which he judged impor- 
 tant, upon the minds of his readers. In some 
 cases therefore he would studiously recur to 
 them, in others he would record events in their 
 natural order, without taking pains to vary, or to 
 embellish them. This may appear in the follow- 
 ing instances. Matt. xiv. 15, &c. xv. 32. In the 
 first of the two passages here cited, we have a 
 relation of the very remarkable miracle performed 
 by Christ in feeding the 5000 persons with five 
 loaves and two fishes. Now we should by no 
 means have been surprized to find a similar 
 account inserted in one or more of the other 
 Evangelists ; they might have wished thus to 
 confirm each others testimony. Nor would it 
 have been very singular, had St. Matthew, in 
 some part of his Gospel, intimated that his 
 
176 
 
 Master repeated this work of wonder; but in 
 this case we might expect that the EvangeUst, if 
 he paid the least regard to appearance, would 
 introduce the relation at a considerable interval — 
 that he would studiously vary the circumstances, 
 and that he would represent the second prodigy 
 as rather superior than otherwise to the first, for 
 this manifest reason, that repetition must neces- 
 sarily weaken the effect of the incident : but every 
 one of these points has been disregarded by our 
 author. We observe 1. That a relation of a closely 
 similar miracle occurs in the chapter immediately 
 succeeding that which records the first. 2. That 
 the circumstances are strikingly analogous. 
 Upon both these occasions, our Lord had retired 
 into a solitude — great multitudes had flocked 
 together to be healed — Jesus directed His disciples 
 to supply their wants — they excused themselves 
 in nearly the same terms — the multitude were 
 commanded to sit down — Christ blessed and dis- 
 tributed the loaves by the hands of his disciples, 
 and several baskets were filled with the fi-agments 
 of the feast: these minute features of correspon- 
 dence occur in either account. Nor can this 
 resemblance be ascribed to mere inadvertency, 
 for not long afterwards our Saviour separately 
 refers to each of these miracles. 3. The second 
 instance is represented as inferior to the first — 
 a smaller number of persons are relieved by a 
 
177 
 
 larger quantity of food. Now if we suppose both 
 to be real transactions, it will appear highly 
 natural that multitudes should more than once 
 follow our Lord even into His retirement — that 
 the disciples should be provided with a small 
 quantity of bread and fishes, doubtless their most 
 ordinary food — that the wants of the people should 
 be twice relieved in nearly the same manner — 
 and that, to render the miracle more complete, 
 in both cases a residue should be left. That all 
 this should happen more than once, and that 
 simple-minded historians should record both in- 
 stances, was no more than probable — but nothing 
 could be less probable than that a writer whose 
 object was to strike or to please, and who drew 
 only or chiefly upon the stores of his fancy, 
 should, after so short an interval, repeat the 
 same story, with scarcely any variation, except 
 one likely rather to injure than promote the 
 general effect. 
 
 76. Our Saviour had, it appears, a practice of 
 retiring frequently to a desert or mountainous 
 spot. In a country of very irregular surface, ex- 
 posed in the summer to violent heat and length- 
 ened droughts, such spots were of frequent occur- 
 rence. The object of the Redeemer, in seeking 
 this retirement, was not the mere desire of present 
 quiet or recreation, but sometimes that of privately 
 teaching and exhorting His Apostles : sometimes 
 
178 
 
 that of withdrawing in spirit from the perishing 
 and deceitful trifles of this world, to the eternal 
 realities of the other. His prayers and His medi- 
 tations were commonly poured forth in the silence 
 of night, and in the solitude of the desert, where 
 no eye and no ear could regard Him, save those 
 of His unseen but ever-present Father. It was 
 in these moments, doubtless, that He wrestled in 
 strong supplication ; for Himself, that He might 
 be strengthened to drink the cup which His 
 Father had given Him ; for His chosen disciples, 
 that their faith might not fail them in the fiery 
 trial ; for His Church, that temple, not made with 
 hands, built upon the foundation of the Apostles 
 and Prophets, of which He formed Himself the 
 chief corner-stone ; lastly, for the world at large, 
 that world which He had created and nourished — 
 which had rebelled against Him, but which He 
 continued to love even when rebellious, and for 
 whose accumulated guilt He came, once for all, 
 to pay the ransom. To the Christian mind, there- 
 fore, this seclusion of Jesus may well appear full 
 of deep and solemn interest, but how would the 
 subject be treated by the author of a sacred 
 romance ? He would, doubtless, dilate upon it 
 with all the force and feeling in his power, and 
 would probably seize the opportunity to introduce 
 recitals of visions and ecstacies. I may here refer 
 to the elaborate diffuseness with which Klopstock, 
 
179 
 
 in his Messiah, has treated this part of our Lord's 
 history. Thence let us turn to the Gospel of St. 
 Lake, who, without circumlocution or detail, con- 
 tents himself with stating the dry fact of Christ's 
 retirement, about five times in six consecutive 
 chapters.*' What fabulist would have exercised a 
 self-denial so unnecessary ? 
 
 Several other instances might be noticed of 
 these brief and simple repetitions. Thus our 
 Saviour's prophecy of His sufferings is introduced 
 by St. Matthew three times, in nearly the same 
 language, between his fifteenth and twenty-first 
 chapters. The disregard also shown by Christ for 
 the Pharisaical mode of observing the Sabbath — 
 a subject not likely to be very palatable to Jewish 
 readers, nor very interesting to the Gentiles, is 
 continually obtruded upon our notice. Two in- 
 stances of this conduct are to be found in the 
 sixth chapter of St. Luke, and, in the thirteenth, 
 we have another. The above may suffice to con- 
 vince us that the Evangelists have no fear of being 
 charged with monotonous repetition — one of the 
 last qualities which would recommend a work of 
 fiction. 
 
 77. A writer of romance or compiler of legends, 
 having much scope before him far the exercise 
 
 * Here and elsewhere I allude to the modern division of 
 the Gospels, in order to express the near proximity of the 
 passages in question. 
 
180 
 
 of his fancy and judgment, would probably not 
 neglect a clear and consistent arrangement of his 
 incidents, but certainly he would omit none which 
 promised to add to the interest or moral of his 
 tale. Indeed there are circumstances which such 
 writers would seem to have every temptation to 
 insert, and none to omit. If we were reading an 
 account of the fabulous, or more than semi-fabu- 
 lous life of Hercules, we should have a conviction, 
 perhaps amounting to certainty, that his contest 
 with the Nemoean lion, and the manner of his 
 death upon Mount CEta, would be fully related ; 
 and, if we found these particulars omitted, not 
 only in one, but in two such histories, our as- 
 tonishment would certainly be great. To pass by 
 events striking and poetical in themselves, and 
 universally ascribed to this demi-god, would not 
 only leave their stories incomplete, but would de- 
 prive the narrators of a fair opportunity of making an 
 impression upon their readers ; it would, therefore, 
 be one of the last things which we could possibly 
 expect. We may now advert to two of the most 
 remarkable omissions which are to be found in 
 the Gospels that of the circumstances of our Sa- 
 vioui-'s birth, in St. Mark and St. John, and that 
 of His ascension in the last-mentioned writer, and 
 in St. Matthew. I have already pointed out how 
 unaccountable, it might be said infatuated, such a 
 deficiency must appear in the authors of a forgery. 
 
181 
 
 but it can scarcely appear more reasonable upon 
 any supposition excepting that which every Chris- 
 tian firmly maintains. The miraculous birth and 
 ascension of Christ are not only fully recorded by 
 two Evangelists, but are taken for granted by 
 subsequent writers of the New Testament, and 
 by the early fathers. They form an original and 
 invariable part of the tradition of the Church. 
 The circumstances also of those events are no 
 less interesting than new. If then an impostor 
 would be too cautious to neglect them, a legendary 
 writer would be deterred by his anxiety to please, 
 and to depart as little as possible from probability 
 and tradition; both would be too jealous of their 
 reputation, unnecessarily to rob their works of 
 circumstances so attractive ; and, if several inven- 
 tors compared their narratives together, each would 
 pique himself upon producing, if not the fullest, 
 at least the most interesting history. Nothing but 
 the boldness and simplicity of conscious truth could 
 account for the anomaly. 
 
 78. It has already been stated, that the author 
 of a forgery could not be expected to allude to 
 persons and things unknown to his readers, with 
 the familiarity of one who speaks the truth. This 
 familiarity is perhaps inimitable. Nevertheless 
 such an author might do his best to assume this 
 manner. A story-teller would also sometimes 
 affect a natural and easy mode of introducing the 
 
182 
 
 personages of his tale, but he would still avoid 
 anything abrupt and unusual, and would take 
 care, sooner or later, to unravel every mystery. 
 A true historian alone could venture to disregard 
 these prudential considerations. We may observe 
 a certain familiar eagerness with which illiterate 
 persons are wont to obtrude upon us their own 
 private affairs, which they forget we can neither 
 know nor regard with much interest. But we 
 should find nothing of this in one who was care- 
 fully upon his guard, and intent only upon making 
 out a plausible story. Now the Evangelists appear 
 to display much of the simplicity, though not the 
 egotism, of the former character. They write like 
 persons full of their subject, and unsuspicious that 
 it can require any preface, apology, or explanation. 
 They seem to have no other object in view than 
 briefly to tell their tale, and then^ according to the 
 common but improper expression, leave it to its 
 fate. Thus, when St. Matthew* mentions the 
 first call of some of the Apostles, he specifies 
 generally their names and connections, which 
 would, indeed, appear unavoidable. But St. Luke, 
 describing a similar interview of Christ with the 
 same persons, just before the miracle of the 
 draught of fishes, f after speaking of " two ships 
 standing by the lake," which the fishermen had 
 
 * Matt. iv. 18, &c, t Luke v. 1, &;c. 
 
183 
 
 left, adds, that our Lord entered one, " which was 
 Simon's." Should any reader be disposed to ask 
 who Simon was, he would only find him alluded to 
 once before,* in a manner equally abrupt, where 
 our Saviour is recorded to have " entered into 
 Simon's house," and to have healed his wife's 
 mother of a fever. In neither case is a word said 
 of the manner in which this disciple became con- 
 nected with Jesus. Thus James and John, who 
 were with St. Peter on this occasion, are men- 
 tioned, for the first time, as joining in his astonish- 
 ment at the miracle which had been wrought. All 
 this was natural on the supposition of St. Luke 
 writing later than St. Matthew, and feeling no 
 doubt that all who had any acquaintance with the 
 Gospel, must know the early history of these pil- 
 lars of the Church; but it would appear inconsistent 
 in a writer who was conscious of dealing in fiction. 
 79. Luke ii. 44. It might at first appear sin- 
 gular, that the parents of Christ should travel a 
 whole day's journey on their return to Nazareth, 
 without knowing certainly whether the child Jesus 
 was one of their party ; but nothhig will appear 
 more natural, if we suppose that they were travel- 
 ling, according to custon, from the feast in a large 
 caravan, assembled, in those uneasy and perilous 
 times, for mutual protection, and including several 
 
 • Luke iv. 38. 
 
184 
 
 other relations and friends who came up with 
 them from Galilee. As this company consisted of 
 persons of all ages and classes, they w-ere not 
 likely to observe any particular order, especially in 
 a mountainous country, and in a climate where 
 travelling is wearisome ; hence many of the younger 
 and weaker travellers might be expected to 
 straggle from the rest. All these circumstances 
 may be implied, but are by no means specified by 
 the Evangelist. 
 
 80. John xi. Nothing can be more inartificial 
 than the opening verses of this chapter. Lazarus 
 had never been mentioned before by St. John, nor 
 does his name occur in the other Evangelists ; 
 yet it appears only accidently, and in a paren- 
 thesis, that he was the brother of Martha and 
 Mary. The circumstance is glanced at in the 
 manner of a writer, whose mind is occupied with 
 matter more grave and interesting. Again, when 
 the message of the sisters respecting the illness of 
 Lazarus had reached our Saviour, and He had 
 remarked to his disciples that this sickness was 
 " not unto death," ver. 4. what could have appeared 
 more probable than that He should immediately 
 have obeyed the summons, and saved the life of 
 his friend ? and this probability would be increased 
 by the remark of the Evangelist which follows, 
 " Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and 
 Lazarus." This certainly might appear at first 
 
185 
 
 sight rather contradictory ; yet the sacred writer is 
 in no haste to remove any disadvantageous im- 
 pression. In verse 11 indeed, our Lord refers to 
 the resurrection of Lazarus, but in a figurative 
 manner which was unintelligible to the disciples. 
 He also intimates (v. 15.) that his absence from 
 the scene might be profitable to them, but without 
 specifying any reason ; and even when the Re- 
 deemer tells Martha that her brother should rise 
 again, he employs language capable of a more 
 general meaning. A writer of fiction would hardly 
 have ascribed words to Jesus which might be liable 
 to misrepresentation ; he would either have made 
 no mention of his Master's attachment to Lazarus 
 and his family, or he might probably have thus 
 expressed himself — ' Now, though Jesus had an 
 affection for the brother and sisters, and fully in- 
 tended to relieve them, yet He judged that greater 
 good would result from the resurrection, than from 
 the cure of His friend. He therefore remained 
 two days where He was." Yet the Evangelist 
 uses no such language. Anxious to treasure up 
 the words and actions of his Divine Master, en- 
 tertaining no doubts of their truth and excellence, 
 and therefore seeking no apologies for them, he 
 is contented to narrate the particulars as they 
 occurred to his memory. 
 
 81. John i. 37, 38. From the picture which 
 John the Baptist had drawn of our Saviour, 
 
186 
 
 it is far from surprising that the disciples here 
 mentioned should be inclined to follow Him ; 
 but when Jesus turns round with the sudden 
 question, " What seek ye," we seem to expect that 
 a more important answer will be returned than 
 " Rabbi, where dwellest thou ?" As these indi- 
 viduals are hereafter to occupy a prominent place 
 in the history, most writers would have been glad 
 to put in their mouth some confession of faith, 
 some avowal of their spiritual wants, or a least of 
 a desire to witness the glory of the long-expected 
 Messiah. But, if I mistake not, the insignificance 
 of their question, though perhaps less dignified, 
 was more natural. They were simple fishermen, 
 unpractised in courtly phrase or learned inquiries ; 
 the appearance of Christ had, doubtless, height- 
 ened that impression of awe with which John's 
 portrait had inspired them ; something more than 
 curiosity induced them to follow his steps timidly, 
 and at some distance. When, therefore, our Savi- 
 our unexpectedly turned round and questioned 
 them, they were probably disconcerted, and, sup- 
 pressing their real feelings, contented themselves 
 with simply asking, " Where dwellest thou ?" Yet 
 in part from this incident, apparently so trivial, 
 resulted (as we frequently experience in real life) 
 consequences the most extensive and momentous. 
 
 8*2. John XX. 2. It would have reflected more 
 credit upon the first disciples of Christ, if Mary 
 
187 
 
 Magdalene, who was remarkable for her faith and 
 affection, had, at this juncture, discovered some 
 suspicion of the truth of the resurrection ; but, if 
 we examine further into the feelings of the human 
 breast, we shall find it natural that a powerful 
 prejudice (especially one which interests the pas- 
 sions and imagination) should take such possession 
 of ignorant minds, as to sweep away or smother 
 the suggestions of reason and common sense. 
 Such a feeling becomes a partial madness, and 
 imparts its colour to every object which is pre- 
 sented to the understanding. Prepossessed with 
 the idea that Christ was about to assume His 
 kingdom, and that He could not possibly submit 
 to death, the disciples were thrown into dismay 
 and perplexity by his actual crucifixion. The dis- 
 course of two of their number, on the road to 
 Emmaus, may express the state of their minds on 
 this interesting subject. Their affection, indeed, 
 for their Master's person still subsisted, but they 
 seemed to entertain no hope of his re-appearance 
 upon earth, and were inclined to shut up their ears 
 and understandings against all the evidence of so 
 glorious a change. With these sentiments nothing 
 could be more consistent than the remark of Mary 
 Magdalene to the other disciples, " They have 
 taken away the Lord out of the sepulchre, and we 
 know not where they have laid Him." The 
 vague abrupt turn of the expression betokens 
 
188 
 
 breathless haste. The anxiety nearest her heart 
 (an anxiety usually very strong in the Eastern 
 world,) was to be allowed to pay the last honours 
 to Him whom she had loved and venerated in life. 
 When questioned then by the angel, (verse 13,) 
 instead of any expression of fear or wonder, the 
 same complaint as in verse 2. rushes to her lips, 
 and the third time, (verse 15,) in reply to the 
 question of our Lord Himself, she still touches 
 the same chord, with a very slight variation, " Sir, 
 if thou have borne him hence, tell me where thou 
 hast laid him," &c. Persons in alarm and per- 
 plexity will naturally suppose the first persons 
 they meet acquainted with their distress. An 
 ordinary historian (Josephus for instance,) would 
 have studied to introduce expressions the most 
 moving and eloquent, or a discussion of the 
 evidence of the Resurrection ; but faithful no less 
 to truth and nature, than to the suggestions of 
 his Divine monitor, the Evangelist simply lays 
 before us that unpremeditated language, which is 
 wont to be poured forth from the heart to the 
 lips, when the strong affections of the soul are 
 called into action. 
 
 83. But let us now suppose four several writers 
 to compose historical romances upon a certain 
 foundation of fact. They would doubtless have 
 little scruple in moulding these facts to their own 
 particular purposes. They would use them as a 
 
189 
 
 simple frame-work upon which they might hang 
 their characters and descriptions. Hence they 
 would seldom agree, except in those points which 
 were notorious. Anxious to gain the credit of 
 originality, they would rarely borrow from each 
 other, or at least would take pains to disguise the 
 resemblance. A writer of this stamp would hardly 
 condescend to be the tame copyist of another. 
 Now these remarks could not properly apply to 
 the case of faithful historians. We should expect 
 them to display a close as well as general corres- 
 pondence in matters of fact. The same truths, 
 forming the common staple of their fabric, must 
 everywhere present the same general aspect, 
 though interlaced here and there with variegated 
 materials. If these historians were personally 
 engaged in the scenes they paint, we might also 
 expect a strong analogy in manner and phrase- 
 ology. This will always more or less apply to 
 persons who have been long embarked in the same 
 pursuit or undertaking, especially when describing 
 the same or similar incidents and conversations. 
 Now, 1 believe, an appeal may safely be made to 
 the observation of every student of Scripture, to 
 decide which of these two characters will best 
 befit the Evangelists. It is evident that the same 
 leading facts are repeated in each history — that 
 they are often repeated, without addition or 
 diminution, in the same order, and not unfre- 
 
190 
 
 quently in the same language — that the writers 
 seem to have no scruple to tread in each others 
 steps — that the Gospel of St. Mark in particular 
 resembles in parts a mere abridgement of Mat- 
 thew and Luke* — that the same phrases are with 
 little variation used in the most familiar manner 
 by all the Evangelists — that although there is a 
 marked difference in style, (especially between St. 
 John and the rest,) yet through this we may 
 discern the same characteristic peculiarities which 
 distinguish these Histories from all others of 
 ancient and modern times. 
 
 * I may refer to Chap, i, 1 — 20, in which are shortly 
 related the important circumstances of John's preaching, our 
 Lord's Baptism, His Temptation, and the call of some of the 
 Apostles — matters upon which St. Matthew employs about 
 34 verses. 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 84. It has been remarked that while many of 
 the works of art exhibit on their surface the finest 
 poUsh, the most faultless symmetry, yet the more 
 minutely we examine them, the more defects we 
 discover; the works of nature, on the other hand, 
 often display outwardly a coarse and even con- 
 temptible aspect, but the more we bring to bear 
 upon them those powers by which science is con- 
 stantly spreading her light into the dark recesses 
 of Creation, the more subtile and delicate beauties 
 we are enabled to discern. Not dissimilar to this, 
 appears the difference between moral truth and 
 fiction. Mark the oration of some practised and 
 wily politician. How smoothly does it sink into 
 the ear ; how faultless, probable, and consistent 
 does it appear to the judgment of the general 
 hearer ; but look beneath the glossy surface, and 
 all is hollow. Study it at your leisure, and you 
 
192 
 
 will find it less and less qualified to stand the test 
 of enquiry. Contrast with this the evidence of an 
 honest but unlearned witness in a court of justice, 
 which may indeed be clumsily and carelessly de- 
 livered, but the more closely it is scrutinized, the 
 more satisfactory — the more natural it will appear. 
 Such features, if I mistake not, must have forced 
 themselves on our notice in a careful examination 
 of the works of the Evangelists. We have had 
 reason to observe how little care is taken, in their 
 pages, to avoid even those irregularities which are 
 most glaring and obtrusive ; namely, obscurities 
 which a word might have cleared up, but which are 
 unscrupulously left to their fate ; a particularity as 
 to persons and places, which might be expected to 
 draw needless attention to the accuracy of the 
 writers ; the introduction of circumstances the 
 most unusual and even improbable ; of objections 
 the most specious which their enemies could devise, 
 without the least attempt to dispel them. We 
 remark also an entire disregard of superficial dis- 
 agreements, or of verbal resemblances between the 
 different narratives ; and lastly, the apparently 
 unnecessary omission, in one or more of these 
 histories, of some important link in the chain of 
 events. These characteristics are not detected 
 upon careful scrutiny, and as it were cross-ex- 
 amination of the witnesses, but are prominent 
 upon the very face of the Gospels. Yet as we 
 
193 
 
 proceed to dive beneath the surface, to compare 
 the different productions and their different parts 
 carefully and faithfully together, we shall see con- 
 tinually more reason to admire their latent, but 
 close conformity to truth and to each other ; the 
 voice of nature will become more audible, and the 
 irresistible influence of the highest motives more 
 conspicuous in every page of the narrative. 
 
 85. What estimate then must we form of these 
 works when compared with the productions of other 
 historians ? These have greatly varied according 
 to their subject-matter, their object, and the quali- 
 fications of the writer. There are some who have 
 attempted to work up a few real circumstances into 
 an elaborate system of imposture. Such probably 
 was the compiler of the Koran. Others might, 
 from similar materials, weave a curious, interesting, 
 and perhaps instructive romance, in which truth was 
 not so much perverted, as made subservient to the 
 favourite maxims or phantasies of the author. 
 Among these productions perhaps may be classed 
 the Cyropedia of Xenophon. Others who pro- 
 duced a narration substantially true, might stil 
 have little scruple in introducing extraneous, 
 and doubtful circumstances, tending to recommend 
 themselves, their party, or their nation, or in ap- 
 pending to their work elegant harangues of their 
 own composition. This may, in a degree, apply 
 
 K 
 
194 
 
 to Livy and Thucydides. Others might compose 
 a plain and literal record of matters of fact, but ex- 
 ecuted in a manner so mechanical as to evince 
 little attachment to the truth, still less a disposition 
 to sacrifice their own interests at its shrine. Some 
 few have certainly proceeded a step farther. Not 
 contented with strict fidelity to truth, they have 
 shown themselves deeply and seriously interested 
 in the cause they have espoused, and have even 
 readily exposed deficiencies in their own conduct ; 
 but still they have not failed to claim the allow- 
 ances which might fairly be made for their faults, 
 to point out the change which has since been 
 wrought in their character, and evidenced in their 
 lives ; and to improve any opportunity of ad- 
 vancing the credit of their sect or circle. It seems 
 hardly possible for ordinary men so far to divest 
 themselves of human feelings, as to disregard the 
 judgment which the public — and especially the 
 religious public, might pass upon them. Indeed, 
 in the majority of cases, such a course would 
 neither be safe nor advisable. Some works of this 
 description — as the Confessions of Rousseau, are 
 little more than monuments of egotism and vanity ; 
 others, as the " Force of Truth," * manifest a wish, 
 together with a candid admission of error, to do 
 justice to the writer's character, and fully to testify 
 
 * By the Rev. T. Scott. 
 
195 
 
 his adoption of more sound and Scriptural senti- 
 ments. 
 
 Now^, if I mistake not, the preceding pages have 
 led us to perceive certain features in the Gospels, 
 which raise them above the several classes of 
 writers who have here been specified. Not only 
 must we pronounce them superior to the suspicion 
 of imposture, or of simple fiction, but we must 
 acquit them of all studious endeavour to display 
 their own characters or talents to advantage ; or 
 even to magnify their subject, or recommend their 
 cause. Nay, we observe a neglect of all oppor- 
 tunities of this kind, an abrupt and unguarded 
 introduction of unfavourable circumstances, which 
 might betoken an absolute disregard of reputation. 
 
 86. It may possibly appear, that in seeking to 
 evince the sincerity of the Evangelists, I have 
 represented them as careless and disorderly writers, 
 and thus have impeached their character as com- 
 petent witnesses of the truth. But here we must 
 not fail to consider, 1. That the general facts of 
 their histories are both inherently probable, and 
 confirmed by collateral authorities ; 2. That their 
 narrative, from its very artlessness, bears incon- 
 testible proof of their familiarity with the scenes 
 they describe — a familiarity, the fruit of long 
 personal observation, increased by the habit of 
 since making those scenes the subject of continual 
 conversation and preaching. 3. Nor can it be 
 
196 
 
 doubted that they felt a deep and heartfelt interest 
 in the matters they narrate. These qualifications 
 would sufficiently preserve them from any hurtful 
 inaccuracy. Neither their simplicity then, nor 
 their general ignorance could affect their credi- 
 bility as competent witnesses; but this very sim- 
 , plicity is important to prove them faithful witnesses 
 — as we might often place more credence in the 
 unprepared and unvarnished tale of a peasant, 
 than in an attestation of the same facts drawn up 
 with evident marks of study and circumspection. 
 
 87. But it may also be suggested, that we have 
 represented the Evangelists in a light which may 
 seem scarcely consistent with their Inspiration. 
 But I would here recal to the minds of my readers, 
 the following considerations. It is an incontro- 
 vertible fact, that the writers of the Bible fre- 
 quently display the natural feelings of human 
 beings ; that, amid some peculiarities, they employ 
 the general language of their age and country ; and 
 that they are distinguished by those diversities of 
 manner which apply to different minds. Whether 
 then we adopt the hypothesis of a general, or even 
 that of a verbal inspiration, we must believe that 
 the Holy Spirit supplied them with such matter, 
 or such words, as while fully suitable to their high 
 commission, were yet strictly in keeping with their 
 various circumstances in life. This cannot be 
 thought difficult to Him by whom, in all cases. 
 
197 
 
 understanding is imparted to the mind, and utter- 
 ance to the tongue. It seems also consistent with 
 the exigencies of their case, for thus would their 
 communications be rendered more intelligible, 
 familiar, and credible to their less gifted fellow- 
 mortals ; and this good purpose might also be pro- 
 moted, by suffering them to fall into those little 
 irregularities, which their characters and situation 
 would render natural. If this be admitted, it will 
 not be difficult to perceive that the simple de- 
 votedness to one heavenly object — the indifference 
 to present interests and personal considerations — 
 the disregard to the most plausible objections, 
 which is so apparent in these historians, evince 
 them to have written under an influence which has 
 been vouchsafed to no other writers. 
 
 88. I cannot permit myself to cloSe my present 
 undertaking, without venturing a few remarks up- 
 on the spirit in which it becomes the Christian to 
 receive those documents, which are the foundation 
 of all his religious hopes, knowledge, and conversa- 
 tion. If we suppose a commander engaged in a 
 difficult and dangerous attempt upon a strong 
 fortress, he would naturally look around anxiously 
 for counsel and direction, and would rejoice in any 
 instructions which might improve him in military 
 tactics, or in the knowledge of the surrounding 
 region ; but let us farther conceive, that a power- 
 ful sovereign, favouring his design, were to send 
 k2 
 
198 
 
 him an account of an expedient, which, under his 
 auspices, could not fail of success. If this manual 
 had every mark of authority, with what interest 
 would he receive it; how narrowly would he 
 examine and weigh every word it contained, put- 
 ting aside all other pursuits. Yet how different 
 from this is the spirit of mind with which we 
 usually receive an express message fi'om a greater 
 potentate — the King of kings, and Lord of lords — 
 a message fraught with the eternal interests of the 
 millions who have ever existed — of the milhons 
 who may be yet unborn. By some it is regarded 
 with distrust, because it treats of things which are 
 beyond their ordinary experience, or because it 
 comes as an unwelcome monitor, disturbing them 
 in their favourite pursuits ; urging them to remem- 
 ber their glorious birthright; to rise superior to 
 the pressing solicitations of sense and passion. 
 Such individuals are often assiduous in hunting for 
 objections, by which they may justify to themselves 
 their neglect of religion, and thus gradually reason 
 themselves out of the belief of those truths which 
 they find it inconvenient to acknowledge; or if 
 reason refuse its aid, they have ready recourse to 
 the mocking tongue, and the lip of the scorner. 
 Others there are who treat the Word of God as a 
 work indeed of some importance ; as an useful 
 ancient history, and a valuable code of morals, but 
 still as an authority which must bend before one 
 
199 
 
 still higher, that of science, often " falsely so call- 
 ed," and which must be tortured or pared down 
 into conformity with some one of the crude and 
 jarring systems which have borne that specious 
 name. They either pursue hypothesis to the 
 neglect of truth, or aim at truth by indirect 
 methods, or place it on an infirm foundation. 
 They will indeed receive the Bible, but they will 
 only receive it interwoven with their own precon- 
 ceived notions. To these they often labour to 
 accommodate it, but as the result of this endeav- 
 our is usually disappointment, and many are more 
 inchned to cUng to their own notions, than to any 
 external authority, they become alienated from a 
 Revelation which refuses to bend before the will or 
 imagination of man. There are also critical 
 students of Scripture, who rightly estimate the im- 
 portance of thoroughly understanding its original 
 languages, and the rules of biblical interpretation ; 
 yet some among this number are in danger of for- 
 getting that Inspired Truth is something more than 
 a frame-work for the display of learning, or an 
 arena for the war of dialectics. Others seem to 
 regard the Scriptures chiefly with a poet's eye, 
 and gladly draw upon its rich treasures of sublime 
 thought and Eastern imagery — nay, in too many 
 instances, they go a step farther, not only opening 
 the Bible in order ' to point a moral, or adorn a 
 tale ;' but taking advantage of an unhappy pro- 
 
200 
 
 pensity in our nature, to connect the solemn with 
 the ludicrous, they seek for merriment, not by ex- 
 posing things contemptible, but by debasing things 
 that are great. Some very popular works of im- 
 agination are highly chargeable with this offence, 
 and it is occasionly observable even in the writings 
 and conversation of those who appear to have some 
 real value for Divine truth. There are others who 
 regard the Scriptures with more reverence and 
 simplicity of mind, yet their views are dark and 
 narrow. Under the influence of some party, or of 
 some particular teacher, they have embraced an 
 exclusive and artificial system. This may contain 
 much which is substantially true, but still it is a 
 system formed by the private judgment of fallible 
 men, and those who decidedly adopt it, will be 
 anxious to press into its service as many texts as 
 possible — to mould some to its peculiar shape and 
 dimensions, and to keep in the back ground those 
 which refuse to yield. The appointed formularies 
 of the Church of England, seem, in a remarkable 
 degree, to steer clear of these dangers, by giving 
 to each side of certain controverted questions that 
 degree of prominence which Holy Scripture and 
 the general consent of antiquity assigns them, 
 without attempting a superficial harmony in every 
 feature. There is also a way of frequently read- 
 ing the Scriptures, without searching them — a 
 cursory, or formal habit of going through a certain 
 
"201 
 
 portion in a certain time, to which some seem to 
 attach importance as an opus operatum, though it 
 has often as Httle connection with the understand- 
 ing as with the conscience, and leaves scarcely 
 more impression than that produced by the Latin 
 services of the Church of Rome upon the minds 
 of illiterate hearers. 
 
 Lastly, some even of those who have obtained 
 more serious and enlarged views of Scripture, are 
 yet contented with too loose and vague an appre- 
 hension of it. They accustom themselves to read 
 it in parcels torn from their context. They 
 turn to certain chapters, as to a collection of beau- 
 tiful and useful lessons ; but they perceive not the 
 general harmony of inspired truth. Now as Holy 
 Scripture is the principal substitute for those 
 instructions of men supernaturally gifted, which 
 the first age of the Church afforded, it is highly 
 important that we should divest ourselves of those 
 tendencies and habits, which can prevent us from 
 finding in the Divine oracles, the utmost help and 
 consolation, in our various trials, which they are 
 qualified to bestow. I would therefore humbly 
 suggest, that in the study of the Bible ; — I allude 
 not to its critical investigation, but to that devo- 
 tional and practical use of the Scriptures, from 
 which none who have the means can be exempted ; 
 that in tliis study there are two general principles 
 which cannot too diligently be kept in view. 
 
202 
 
 First, that we regard the Scriptures as one great 
 whole, like some luminary of the heavens, beheld 
 from a distant point, with all its peculiar features 
 blended into one harmonious aspect ; that we con- 
 sider them as evolving, though briefly, and at 
 intervals, the religious history of our race, from 
 the birth of time unto that period when time shall 
 be lost in eternity ; exhibiting, though with varying 
 degrees of light, the same great plan for the 
 restoration of a world ruined by sin — composed by 
 members of God's visible Church, in different 
 ages, by the suggestion and under the superintend- 
 ance of the same Spirit of Truth. Thus may we 
 be enabled to collect the main features of God's 
 dispensation for ' the healing of the nations ;' to 
 observe, amid superficial irregularities, the general 
 consistency of His Word, breaking upon us more 
 clearly as we more fully imbibe its spirit, and 
 penetrate its depths; carefully noting how the 
 several parts are variously auxiliary to the main 
 object, so that beneath the various aspect and 
 colouring of the surface, an under current, calm, 
 but irresistible, rolls onward on its high destination, 
 bearing on its bosom the eternal interests of the 
 human species. But, Secondly, it appears to be 
 no less a duty to view the Word of God with a 
 miscroscopic eye, carefully ascertaining its more 
 minute and distinctive features, in the firm as- 
 surance that it will bear the most elaborate 
 
203 
 
 analysis which we can bestow upon it. The dili- 
 gent naturalist will scarcely suffer a leaf or a 
 stone to lie before him unheeded; thus the Chris- 
 tian enquirer, while glancing through the works of 
 creation, will perceive God in everything; but yet 
 more assiduously will he search for Him in every 
 page, almost in every sentence of His own Word. 
 Placing before his eyes, as his polar star, the 
 authoritative message of Holy Writ; making its 
 precepts the rule of his public and private, of his 
 religious and his every-day life; he will be anxious 
 to suffer none of the words of his Divine monitor 
 to " fall to the ground." In its historical facts he 
 will look for examples and warnings, for traces of 
 the workings of a wise and beneficial Providence — 
 In its poetical imagery for the shadows of import- 
 ant truths — In its simplest dialogues, he will 
 recognize the language of nature — In its slightest 
 remarks, links which may strengthen the general 
 connection of the parts, or loop-holes, as it were, 
 through which some rays of heavenly light might 
 find their way, or some illustration be obtained of 
 the history, morals, or manners of the times — 
 nay, in the very irregularities, obscurities, and 
 omissions of the Sacred pages, he will observe 
 new reason to admire the striking indications of 
 integrity, simplicity, and disinterestedness in the 
 writers. Thus, after being fed from the hands of 
 our Redeemer, with the " bread of life,"" with that 
 
204 
 
 which is "meat indeed," and "drink indeed;" 
 after thus satisfying the pressing necessities of the 
 soul, we may "gather up the fragments which 
 remain, that nothing be lost." The more dili- 
 gently we follow these rules, the more clearly we 
 shall see that the Bible is the most wonderful of 
 all Books — wonderful in its grasp and compre- 
 hensiveness — wonderful in its variety, its minute- 
 ness, its applicability to all the exigencies of our 
 nature, in every age and in every clime — its con- 
 nection with everything which is important in 
 morals, interesting in science, and sublime in 
 poetry; insomuch that the complete illustration of 
 this single Volume may call into requisition nearly 
 the whole circle of human knowledge. Happy are 
 those who can thus make the Word of God at once 
 the foundation, the link, and the crown of all their 
 studies; but happier still, those who, with the 
 understanding of men, but the simplicity of 
 children, so receive the engrafted Word, through 
 the teaching of Him who inspired it, that they 
 may grow thereby both in fitness for every present 
 duty and trial, and in ripeness for that eternal 
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