"False

establish such an accusation, but in vain. witnesses were sought," and when at length they found them, their testimony was contradictory, and insufficient. They were obliged to abandon this method of prosecution.-Let it, therefore, be borne in mind, that Jesus could be convicted of no moral or political crime. He had advanced nothing in his doctrine, which calumniated or opposed the laws and institutions of Moses; he had stated nothing respecting himself, which he had not established by argument, and confirmed by miracles. And, in the face of such demonstration, they ventured not at this time to repeat their former imputations of blasphemy, lest, as aforetime, he should baffle their designs. He was questioned again as to his defence of himself against these varied, though inadmissible accusations. "The high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus, saying, Answerest thou nothing? What is it which these witness against thee?But he held his peace, and answered nothing."He left them to their own conviction of the insufficiency of the testimony; and would enter on no defence, when, in fact, there was no crime even apparently proved.

But the trial soon took a different turn. The high priest proposed a definite and leading ques

a Matt. xxvi. 59, &c. Mark xiv. 55, &c.

tion, and accompanied it with an adjuration; in order that Jesus, in obedience to a specific precept of Moses, might be compelled to give an answer". "I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ." And he said unto them, If I tell you, ye will not believe; and if I also ask you, ye will not answer me, nor let me go." He thus stated that he was fully aware of the manner in which they would receive his answer; yet he gave it, and said, "I am." And that they might learn that although he hitherto appeared in humility, yet he did not disavow a claim to the glories ascribed to the Lord's Christ, he assured them that though the time was not yet come for his exaltation, it would hereafter be known and recognized. He applied to himself the prophetic descriptions of the second and hundred and tenth Psalms, and of a passage in the book of Daniel. "Nevertheless, I say unto you, that hereafter ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of the power of God, and coming in the clouds of heaven." They all exclaimed in consequence of this declaration, "Art thou then the Son of God?" He said to

• Εξορκίζω σε κατὰ τοῦ Θεοῦ τοῦ ζῶντος ἵνα ἡμῖν εἴπης, K.T.λ. Matt. xxvi. 63.-See the precept concerning the pwvn ορκισμοῦ in Lev. v. 1. And see also 1 Sam. xiv. 24, 26. 1 Kings ii. 42, 43; viii. 31, 32; xxii. 16. Prov. xxix. 24.ἐὰν ὅρκου προτεθέντος ἀκούσαντες μὴ ἀναγγείλωσι. Septuagint.

them, "Ye say that I am." He assented to the justness of their supposition, that he asserted his right to that, as well as to every other dignity of the Messiah; and they all, contending that he had spoken blasphemy in their presence, declared that he was worthy of the capital punishment assigned to blasphemers by the law of Moses".

If he was not the Christ, he was justly condemned to death. If by that death itself he was not glorified, if he was not redeemed from the power of the grave, then the hopes of all that trusted in him were buried for ever with him. But assuredly he did burst through the bands, in which death for a season detained him; "because it was not possible that he should be holden of it." He died in the character, the avowed character, of the Christ, the Son of God. As the Christ he died. As the Christ he is risen from the dead, and "declared thereby to be the Son of God with power." He has "sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high." But if he were the Lord's Anointed, he was anointed to inherit a kingdom. And the next question to be determined, is, what is the nature and object, and who are the subjects of his kingdom? This we shall find stated in due time by Jesus, when he was accused to Pilate by the high priest of asserting himself to be "Christ, a king"."

Lev. xxiv. 16.

Luke xxiii. 1–3.

It was not lawful for those, who had decided that a cause of death was found in Jesus, to execute that punishment without the authority of the Roman governour; who required of course to be satisfied that the sentence was just. It was not sufficient that they assured Pilate that "if he were not a malefactor, they would not have delivered Jesus unto him." They were required to "take and judge him according to their law." But that would not content them, because they could not inflict that punishment which alone would satisfy them. They therefore contended that he was guilty of sedition, by assuming the title of the Christ, and therefore "making himself a king, and speaking against Cesar;" adding that he "forbad to give tribute to Cesar;" an assertion which they did not attempt to prove, and which was directly contrary to the truth. The question which Pilate had first to decide, was whether he really declared himself the king of the Jews; for they brought no witnesses to prove it. He asked Jesus whether he was so. Jesus demanded in return, "whether he asked this of himself, or whether others had told it to him?" Pilate implied that the latter was the only source whence he, a Roman, could have

John xviii. 29-31.

d Luke xxiii. 2.-See Matt. xvii. 27; xxii. 21.

learnt it. "Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief priests have delivered thee unto me. What hast thou done?" He answered in the words of our text; not merely alluding to the absence of any proof that he had done any thing which could be considered seditious, but even appealing to fact to shew the contrary; and applying that circumstance in illustration of the nature of the kingdom to which he advanced a claim. "My kingdom is not of this world; else would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Jews. But now is my kingdom not from hence."

There was therefore nothing which brought his claims under the cognizance of Pilate. He avowed his right to a kingdom; but not such as either had occasioned, or would occasion, any disturbance to the political order and civil government of the world. He had taught indeed the approach of a kingdom, but it was the kingdom of God; for admittance into which repentance, and the belief of promises relative to religious blessings, were requisite". He had taught that this kingdom "cometh not with observation," but

that it is situated in the hearts of men'. He had avoided every thing that might encourage tumults and insurrections for his temporal exaltation. He had refused to act as a judge and

a Mark i. 15. Luke iv. 21. b Luke xvii. 20.

John vi. 15.