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"My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me :" and his divine instructions and mighty works occasioned a division in the sentiments of men, whether he were the Christ. During this 'festival he called himself the light of the world; appealed to his Father's testimony, meaning the works which he performed; when asked, Who art thou? answered, The same that I said unto you at the beginning [of my ministry;] observed that Abraham saw his day and was glad; and solemnly affirmed that he existed before Abraham. He also expressly said to the blind man, whom he healed at this festival, and who asked him who the Son of God was, "Thou hast both seen him, and he that talketh with thee is he."

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At the feast of dedication, three months before his death, on being directly asked, whether he were the Christ, he answered, " I " told you, and ye believed not the works which I do in my Father's name bear witness of me." And afterwards, in vindication of his high title implied in calling God his Father, he asserted that his Father had sanctified him and sent him into the world.

Near Bethany Martha declared her belief before the twelve, that he was the Christ, the Son of God, who should come into the world.

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He was repeatedly called the Son of David, a title equivalent to the Messiah.

When he publicly entered Jerusalem, the acclamations of the multitude were, "Hosanna to the Son of David. d Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest."

It is expressly said that even of the Jewish rulers many believed on him; or were persuaded that he

was the Messiah.

When he foretold the destruction of Jerusalem to four of his apostles, part of his prophecy was, " Many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ."

Before Caiaphas he acknowledged that he was the Christ, the Son of the blessed God. And before Pilate he bare a like testimony to the same truth proposed in an invidious form, agreeably to the suggestion of his enemies; and, as St. Paul observes, witnessed this good confession, that he was "the King of the Jews.

Let us now examine the instances of our Lord's reserve on this subject, and assign the probable reasons for it.

When Jesus healed a demoniac in the synagogue of Capernaum, the man cried out, "I know who thou art, the Holy One of God. And Jesus rebuked him, saying, Hold thy peace and come out of him." And on the evening of the same day "he cast out many demons, and suffered not the demons to speak; for they knew him to be the Christ." Our

nava a Syriac word from san Ps. 118. 25. Serva quæso, or, serva nunc we address this to the Son of David: SAVE, WE BESEECH thee, in the highest heaven, where thou hast favour with God.

Lord had proclaimed the 1approach of the kingdom of heaven in Galilee, a remote province: he had also called some of his disciples to follow him statedly : these, and some other of his words and actions previous to these, were intimations, or explicit declarations, of his high character: but he declined the extraordinary and awakening attestations now afforded him, not only from humility, but, as will soon appear, from the dictates of consummate prudence : and therefore it may be observed, as we pass on, that they served both to excite the attention of the Jews and to display our Lord's eminent virtues.

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During the second paschal festival in the course of our Lord's ministry, he healed an infirm man on the sabbath. For this the Jews sought to kill him; and when, in vindication of himself, he called God his Father, their rage was still more inflamed against him. It must be well observed that this conduct furnished an additional reason for Jesus's caution on future occasions: as when, immediately before the appointment of the twelve, "he" rebuked the impure spirits in many words: that they should not make him known; because, as soon as they saw him, they fell down before him, and cried, saying, Thou art the Son of God."

It appears that the leading Jews were uniformly jealous of our Lord's growing reputation, and attentive to suppress the opinion of his Messiahship as it occasionally started up in the minds, of the people.

Matt. iv. 17. and p. p. in See p. 324, 325.

Here observe well v. 6.

" Mark iii. 11, 12,

When all the people were amazed at his healing a blind and dumb demoniac, and said, "Is not this the Son of David ?" the language of the Pharisees was, "This man doth not cast out demons but by Beelzebub the prince of the demons.” And when, on occasion of a like miracle, "the multitudes marvelled, saying, It was never so seen în Israel;" the Pharisees strove to disparage it by the same blasphemous insinuation. At the feast of tabernacles, six months before our Lord's crucifixion, " many of the people believed on him, and said, "When Christ cometh, will he do more miracles than these which this man hath done?" and because "the people murmured such things concerning him, the Pharisees and Chief Priests sent officers to take him." When he asserted his existence before Abraham, the Jews "took up stones to cast at him." When he affirmed that he and his Father were one, they "again took up stones to stone him." And on account of his many miracles, and particularly that illustrious one of raising Lazarus from the dead, the Chief Priests and Pharisees convened an assembly, and "from that day forth took counsel together to kill him."

From this disposition of the Jews we may collect the reason why, after Peter's acknowledgment that Jesus was the Christ, the apostles were so "straitly charged and commanded to tell no man:" why, when our Lord was asked at the feast of tabernacles,

answer,

"Who art thou?" he gave this indirect " even the same that I said unto you at the beginning" why, when the Jews said to him at the succeeding feast of dedication, "If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly," he again obliquely replied, "I told * you, and ye believed not: the works which I do in my Father's name, these bear witness of me :" and why, during the last passover, he wholly evaded the question put to him by the chief priests and elders, "By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this authority ?"

Upon the whole the unbelieving Jews, and their blasphemous and murderous rulers, were on many occasions unworthy of explicit declarations on the subject of our Lord's Messiahship; from the motive of humility he might sometimes decline or forbid the publication of it; an uniform and direct avowal of it, by one whose appearance was so obscure and deportment so unambitious, would have led the powerful and secular Jews to obstruct his ministry by an early apprehension and accusation of him; and publicly assuming this character might have induced the Jews to rebel against the Romans in support of a temporal prince; and might have awakened the jealousy of the Roman governor, especially under so cruel and suspicious an emperor as Tiberius.

To confirm some of these remarks it must be recollected, that, notwithstanding our Lord's caution

* See Locke's Reasonableness of Christianity, p. fol. 1759. a See John vi. 15. b See ib. xi. 48.

y Matt. xxi. 23. 526, 8, 9, vol. ii. Acts xvii. 7,