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The effect which this declaration of our Lord had, upon the minds of the Jewish Rulers, is an unequivocal proof, in what sense they understood it; for, as was naturally to be expected, from men of their turn of mind, upon such an occasion their resentment was instantaneous, and their rage against him, was immediately raised to the highest pitch of fury. Then, says the Evangelist, Matt. xxvi. 65. the High Priest rent his clothes, saying-He hath spoken blasphemy what farther need have we of witnesses, of his being an ImposBehold now ye have heard his Blasphemy-What think ye? They answered, He is guilty, of a crime, which by the Jewish Law, is deserving of death. Then did they spit in his face and buffetted him, and others smote him with the palms of their hands, saying, prophecy unto us, thou Christ -thou that pretendest to be THE MESSIAH-Who is he that smote thee? What greater proofs of rage and indignation could they possibly have discovered-or how, in a stronger and more forcible manner, have expressed the extreme grief

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This learned Writer has, however, in his Letter to Dr. Twiss, upon the Call of the Gentiles, pages 433, 434. very strongly felt the difficulty of his own Interpretation; for, having quoted the 30th verse, he says" Here I find a rub, which I cannot get over: for this appearing of the signe of the Son of Man "in Heaven, as well as his coming in the clouds with great glory, is said to be immediately after that tribulation of those days; that is, (as I am wont to "expound it), soon after the long tribulation of the Jewish nation shall be "ended. But their tribulation shall not end till they be converted. There"fore their conversion must needs precede the signe of the Son of Man in Heaven there mentioned. Here I stick." Such a rub as this, is of itself, sufficient to destroy his whole hypothesis !

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The present Bishop of London, in his Lectures on the Gospel of St. Matthew, recently published, speaking upon this adjuration of our Lord, says, "Jesus "now conceived himself bound in conscience to break his silence, and said to the High Priest, Thou hast said; that is, thou hast said what is true, I am thế "Messiah, the Christ, the Son of God; for all these were synonimous terms among the Jews. But as our Lord's actual appearance and situation did "but ill accord with a character of such high dignity, he proceeds to assure his judges, that what he affirmed was nevertheless unquestionably true; and that they themselves should, in due time, have the fullest proof of it. For, says he, hereafter ye shall see the Son of Man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of Heaven. Sitting at the right hand of power, means sitting at the right hand of God, to whom the Jews some"times give the appellation of power; and coming in the clouds of heaven, was "with the Jews a characteristic mark, of the Messiah. And the whole passage "relates, not to the final judgment, but to the coming of Christ to execute vengeance on the Jews, in the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans." See Bishop Porteus's Lectures, Vol. II. pages 227, 228,

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which the very idea of the disappointment of their worldly views, produced upon their minds? He hath spoken blasphemy -It is not fit that he should live! Away with him—Crucify · him-Crucify him, was the universal cry. Not this man, but Barabbas! No crime, in their estimation, could equal that, which deprived them of hopes and prospects, so dear to their hearts, and so flattering to their pride, and which presented to their view, nothing but scenes of horror and desolation, of misery and ruin. No wonder that, in such circumstances, they should pursue him with the most unrelenting malice, and that nothing could possible satiate it but his blood!

"When the Jewish Rulers had accomplished their iniquitous purpose, by putting Jesus to an ignominious and cruel deaththey thought they had completely proved him to be, an Im-: postor, and had most effectually destroyed his pretensions to. the character of the Messiah. Even his own Disciples-the constant companions of his ministry-the very men who had received a commission to announce the approach of the. Messiah's Kingdom, shewed, as was naturally to be expected, in such trying circumstances, no small anxiety, at a fate so disastrous, and, as they seem to have imagined, so fatal to their hopes. We trusted, said they, that it had been he who should have redeemed Israel-who should have rescued us from our present degraded and dependant situation, under theyoke of the Romans, and have raised us, as a Nation, to the highest pitch of worldly prosperity and grandeur!

In the midst of such distressing apprehensions, and such gloomy prospects-one only hope remained, and that, as they seem to have imagined, almost a forlorn hope. After having related, in concise terms, the melancholy catastrophe to one, whom they supposed to be a stranger, they declared, in the words just cited, their confidence that he was the person whom they expected would have redeemed Israel-But, said they--besides all this, this is the third day-the day in which he said he should rise again. No language could have more strongly expressed the extreme anxiety, and the painful solicitude of the Disciples, with respect to the issue of an attachment, which a very few hours more, were to produce→ which were to decide the very important, and to them, more particularly the interesting question, whether, in the person of Jesus, they had been following the true Messiah, or an Impostor!

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The triumph of the enemies of Jesus, however, was but of short duration. He had foretold that he should rise again from the dead, and he had limited the period, within which, it should be accomplished. This prediction being verifiedthe malice of the Jews was effectually defeated, and the truth and integrity of the character, which he had claimed, was, in the fullest manner, confirmed. The Disciples now no longer doubted they no longer could doubt, that Jesus was the Messiah. But, as they still continued to retain their original prejudices that the Messiah's kingdom was to be a temporal one-hope, very naturally, revived in their minds, and the dying sparks of ambition, rekindled in their bosoms; which, presently afterwards, glowed with uncommon warmth —and no wonder, since, by such an astonishing display of the divine power, in the Resurrection of Jesus, they might well imagine, that Jesus had nothing now to do, but to declare himself, as the Messiah, and that all opposition to his claims as such, would immediately cease, and their most sanguine expectations be gratified, to the utmost extent of their wishes. This seems, in reality, to have been the case; for, it is a remarkable historical fact, that no sooner were the first emotions of surprize and astonishment, which naturally arose, from the wonderful event of his Resurrection, subsided, than they immediately asked him, though, with the utmost reverence and respect, saying, Lord-wilt thou, at this time, restore the Kingdom to Israel? In the honest simplicity of their hearts, they appear to have imagined, that their fellow countrymen would now be ready to join them, in promoting the establishment of his claims, and that the highest object of their ambition would soon be gratified!

It is extremely probable that the Disciples of Jesus were, at this moment, fortified in this idea, from a recollection of what Jesus, in the course of his ministry, had told them, viz. that they should not have gone over the cities of Israel, till the Son of Man, the Messiah, came-and that there were then some standing among them who should not taste of death till they saw THE KINGDOM OF GOD come with power. And, now, that they saw such a glorious display of this power, in his Resurrection from the dead, they imagined, and surely, not without reason, judging, as they most certainly did, from their own prejudices, that now was the time, when he would, openly, declare himself as the Messiah, by giving them the

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expected deliverance, from their enemies, and raising them to that envied state of independence to which they had, so long and so ardently aspired!

As this extraordinary display of divine power, in the Resurrection of Jesus from the dead, could not have failed to make an impression upon the minds of the Disciples, suffici ent to counteract the influence, which his Condemnation and Crucifixion, had a natural tendency to produce; it was evidently no longer necessary for Jesus to use that caution which he had, hitherto, observed, in answering their enquiries, concerning the time when he should appear in the character of the Messiah. He did not, now, therefore give them any assurances of his coming, within any given period. On the contrary, he told them, it was not for them to know THE TIMES AND THE SEASONS; which, says he, the Father hath put in his own power.

This answer of our Lord, appears to have been, at least, an indirect reproof, of the worldly mindedness of the Disciples, and of their extreme backwardness, in comprehending the great design of his coming as the Messiah. And it is, as if he had said, " Have, both you and myself, been the ob"jects of the most malevolent persecutions, which as you "have just seen, have terminated, in putting me to a cruel "and ignominious death? Have I told you, in the most "distinct and explicit terms, that for the extreme wicked"ness of your countrymen their utter ruin is approaching, "and do you still continue to cherish the hope of their libe"ration, and of the restoration of your country to the utmost "degree of splendor and magnificence? Are you so in"attentive to the language of your own Prophets, as well as to my declarations ? O fools and slow of heart, to "believe all that the Prophets have spoken !"

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Such appears to have been, the indirect reproof of the worldly views of the Disciples, conveyed in our Lord's answer to their question-When wilt thou restore the kingdom to Israel? But still, he seems not to have lost sight of his usual condescension to their prejudices; for, even at this late period, he does not tell them, that no such Kingdom, as they expected, would be set up. He only tells them, that it was not for them to know the times and the seasons, which the Father had put in his own power; which appears to be equivalent to his former declaration, Matt. xxiv. 36. Of that

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day and hour knoweth no man, &c. but my Father only. But, that they might not be discouraged by their not receiving an explicit and satisfactory answer to their question-our Lord immediately adds-But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be witnesses unto me, both in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost parts of the earth. In the parallel passage in St. Luke, chap. xxiv. 49. it is said,-Behold I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the City of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.

It seems highly probable, that the Disciples understood this promise of the Father, of the restoration of the kingdom to Israel; for so deeply rooted were the prejudices which they had imbibed, concerning the nature of the Messiah's Kingdom, that no trace appears of their being entirely eradicated, while our Lord remained upon earth! His entire removal, of which they were soon after the eye witnesses, and the subsequent effusion of the Holy Spirit, seem alone completely to have rectified their error, and to have removed that mist from before their eyes which had so long prevented them from perceiving the true nature of his character. After these events had taken place, the Reader will not find, the least hint, in the history of the Acts of the Apostles, of their expectations of a temporal Messiah-nor, do they seem to have entertained, the smallest doubt, that the necessary proofs had been given, that Jesus was THE MESSIAH. On the contrary they, in the most publick and decided manner, asserted that, by his Resurrection from the dead, he was declared to be THE SON OF GOD, the Messiah, with power. Thus St. Peter, addressing

The Bishop of Landaff, in his Apology, for Christianity, in answer to Mr. Gibbon, has said, that "the Apostles knew but in part; and concern"ing this particular point (to wit, the coming of Christ to judge the "world) Jesus himself had told them, just as he was about finally to leave "them, that it was not for them to know the times and the seasons, which

the Father had put in his own power." Page 64. And Mr. Thomas, in his Strictures on Dr. Edwards's Sermon, pages 28, 29, having said that our Lord seems, to declare that it was no part of his Mission to announce the time of the final judgement, and that Christ expressly prohibits curiosity in such enquiries, has quoted Acts i. 7. to prove it. But with all due submission, it may be observed, that this declaration of our Lord, has no relation whatever to the end of the world--but only to the restoration of the Jews, to a state of regal power. And that the question of the Disciples had a relation solely to that event, is evident beyond dispute! But more of this hereafter.

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