The INTRODUCTION. W E are now entering on the confideration of the most important and interefting of all histories, that of Jefus Chrift, from whom, we who be lieve his divine miffion, and profefs ourfelves to be his followers, are denominated christians. We cannot, therefore, give too much attention to the incidents of his life, and all his difcourfes; especially as he declared that the words which he fpake were not his own, and that the Father, who was in him, performed the miraculous works by which his divine miffion was attested. Jefus was a Jew, and the Jewish or Hebrew nation was a people eminently distinguished by Almighty God, as the medium of almost all his communications to mankind; all the prophets, except Balaam, having been of that nation. And the hiftory of Jefus is the more extraordinary, as the Jews had been without any prophet, or any perfon pretending to prophecy, about four hundred years before the appearance of John the Baptift, who announced the coming of Jefus as a prophet greatly fuperior to limfelf; his own miffion being only introductory to that of Jefus. At the time of the public appearance of Jefus, the Jews were in a state of subjection to the Romans, not having the power of life and death, and being governed by Roman officers, refiding at Cæfarea, but who attended at Jerufalem at the three great feflivals; at which time there was always a great concourfe of people in that city. With refpect to the religious ftate of the country, the Jews were divided into two great fects, the Pharifees, and the Saducees; of whom the former, which confifted of the bulk of the people, and efpecially the more religious of them, were firm believers in a refur rection; whereas the latter, who were in general the richeft, and alfo the more profligate, difbelieved that great article of faith. The Pharifees alfo held many traditions which had been added to the laws of Mofes, and were the foundation of much fuperftition; and an attention to fupernumerary duties derived from this fource, took off from their attention to the moral precepts of the law. But the most remarkable circumftance in the ftate of the Jewish nation at the time of Chrift's appearance, was their expectation of the Meffiah, a perfon announced by the prophet Daniel under the character of the Son of Man, who was to come in the clouds of heaven, and to whom God would give a kingdom that thould have no end. It was alfo generally understood to be foretold that the Meffiah fhould be cut off, and that his appearance was to be leventy weeks (or as the Jews themfelves interpret it) four hundred and ninety years, after an or der der (which must have been given by fome of the kings of Perfia) to restore and rebuild Jerufalem. The Jews muft therefore have been fenfible this time was expired about the time of Jefus ; and in fact, overlooking what was said about his being to be cut off, which they might think to have fome figurative meaning, the whole nation of the Jews, though in a more flourishing and happy ftate under the Romans than under any of their own princes fince the Babylonish captivity, bore with great impatience their fubjection to foreigners, and eagerly expected the appearance of their Meffiah, who they thought would refcue them from their fubjection; and many of them from the prohibition in the laws of Mofes (Deut. xvii, 15) to make themfelves a king of any but one of their own nation, confidered fubjection to foreigners to be unlawful; and fome time before Christ's appearance in a public character there had been a rebellion in the country, headed by Judas, furnamed Gaulonites, on this very account, and much blood had been fhed in the fuppreffion of it. The life of Jefus was written by four perfons generally called Evangelists, of whom two, Matthew and John, were apoftles, and the other two, Mark and Luke, early difciples. Mark was the fon of Barnabas's fifter the companion of Paul and Barnabas in their first journey to preach the gofpel, but afterwards he is fuppofed to have attached himself more particularly to the apofile Peter; and he was certainly well informed concerning the history which he undertook to write. Luke was a phyfician of Antioch, the companion of Paul A 3 |