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Jesus Christ himself, I am unwillingly compelled to pass by.

It remains to recapitulate, in as few words as possible, the substance of what has been advanced.

SUMMARY ·

OF THE

FOREGOING ARGUMENT.

"Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he." JOHN Xiii, 19.

Ir appears that Jesus of Nazareth, having been baptized by John when about the age of thirty, shortly after excited the animosity of a powerful party among the Jews, by assuming a species of authority in sacred matters (p. 2); and in defence of his conduct made use of expressions which obliquely and by a figure intimated His future violent death and subsequent resurrectiona. Presently after, in discourse with a man eminent in their Church, we find him to speak of Himself in terms which, being repeated by Him on other occasions, were undoubtedly predictive of the death He died; at the same time that they conveyed the final end, (according to the belief of all Chris

a John ii, 19; "Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up."

tians), of that death". This was three years before the event; at Jerusalem on occasion of the Passover. The terms in which the prediction was conveyed were as yet, it will be observed, typical and figurative.

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On the imprisonment of the Baptist, He began His public career as a teacher, with the announcement that The Kingdom of Heaven' was at hand; which implied the Advent of the Messiah (pp. 6, 8).

At the commencement of His teaching, we find Him to have avoided a great personal danger which the boldness of speech He used had brought upon Him (p. 9), and soon after to have withdrawn Himself from a multitude who had flocked together in consequence of their full persuasion of His miraculous powers (p. 10). Both these circumstances are in accordance with what we remark on various occasions in the course of His short and wonderful career; for, although uniformly courageous in opposing without reserve the wicked prejudices and hypocrisy of his coun

John iii, 14, 15; "As Moses lifted up the serpent în the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up; that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Compare John viii, 28, and xii, 32, 33. "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. This he said, signifying what death he should die."

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trymen, He appears no less uniformly to have. avoided the danger of what may be termed a tumultuary death, by stoning; to which His indirect or more open avowal of His high claims, and His opposition to their prejudices, exposed Him. In like manner, we seem to observe in His conduct the traces of a predetermined plan, in constantly withdrawing himself from the concourse of multitudes devoted to His cause. The first of these circumstances I would ascribe to His Divine purpose of offering Himself to one peculiar death, and at a peculiar time and place: the other to His determination not to become the leader of a multitude, which would, (humanly speaking), either have brought about in the end another mode of death, or have interfered with His suffering any.

It appears to have been a part of the same fixed purpose that He scarcely ever allowed the miracles which were characteristic of Him to be publicly proclaimed, and frequently in the very performance of them avoided publicity 1; as well

c It is sufficient to refer to Matth. xii, 1-14. Mark vii, 6-14, etc. See p. 69.

d Matth. xii, 14, 15. John v, 13; viii, 59, etc. * See Luke v, 16, and preceding verse; Mark i, 35. John vi, 15, etc.

f See the remarks offered pp. 42, 43.

Mark v, 43: vii, 36; viii, 26, etc.

h See

pp. 36, 37, note; 48, note; and 49.

as that He most rarely and only under very peculiar circumstances announced Himself, in so many words, to be the Messiah'; at the same time that His actions appear to have been constantly intended to demonstrate it.

The reason for all this may perhaps be humbly divined to have been, (conformably to what has just been stated), a settled purpose of suffering at a particular time and place, and after the lapse of a certain period; which might have been frustrated by a premature acknowledgment, on His own part or that of His disciples, of His true character. At the same time we remark that,

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k John x, 24, 25; "Then came the Jews round about him, and said unto him, How long dost thou make us to doubt? If thou be the Christ, tell us plainly.

Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me.'

"

Because the miracles referred to were characteristic

of the Messiah. See pp. 23, 24.

Accordingly when, in the last year of His ministry, He had drawn from Peter's lips His confession that He was the Christ, we find Him strictly charging His disciples to keep their conviction, and His admission of its truth, a secret.

Matth. xvi, 20; "Then he charged His disciples that they should tell no man that he was Jesus the Christ."

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