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100 Pilate again declares, he found no Fault in him, [ T

547

many Things this Day in a Things To-day on his Account in a Dream (e), and Sect. 188. Dream, because of him. have had fuch terrible Views reprefented to my Matth.

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Imagination in my Sleep this very Morning, that XXVII. 19, I cannot, but look upon it as fomething Divine, and conclude that if thou doft upon any Terms confent to his Death, it will be attended with dreadful Confequences to thyfelf and thy Family. JOHN XIX. 4. Pilate Pilate, therefore, alarmed by fuch a Meffage as John XIX. therefore went forth again, this, went into the Palace himself, to see what 4 and faith unto them, Behold, I bring him forth to you, they were doing with the Prifoner, and when he that ye may know that I find beheld with ftrong Emotion all thofe Indignities no Fault in him, and Torments which Jefus had borne, and faw how feverely the Soldiers had fcourged him, thinking that the Sight of him in fo fad a Condition might move the Jews to Compaffion, he determined to make one Trial more. And accordingly he came out again to the Door of the Pavilion round which they were affembled, and having ordered Jefus to be led thither, he faid to them, ours wel sovitev, just before he appeared; Behold, I am bringing him out to you again, that ye may know and obferve it that I can find no Fault in him, tho' the Tortures he has now undergone are fuch, as muft furely have brought him to Confeffion, if he were indeed, guilty

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5 Then came Jefus forth, wearing the Crown of Thorns, and the Purple Robe. And Pilate faith unto them, Behold the Man.

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8

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Then, as he fpake thefe Words, Jejus came out 5
of the Prætorium, wearing the Thorny Crown, and
the Purple Robe, now alfo died in his own Blood,
which streamed forth from all Parts of his Body:
And Pilate faid to them, Behold the Man! View
him attentively; and when you fee what dreadful
Things the poor unhappy Creature, has fuffered,
let that content you, for furely, confidering his
Innocence,

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(e) I have fuffered many Things To-day on his Account in a Dream.] Perhaps the Word nepov, To-day, may imply, that he had dreamt thefe Things that Morning, fince Pilate rofe; and as the Heathens imagined, thofe Dreams moft fignificant, which came about ; Break of Day, the might on that Account lay the greater Strefs upon them. Yanfenius thinks, he had now a Reprefentation of thofe Calamities, which afterwards befell Pilate and his Family. (See Note (r) in the Improvement.) But it is an unaccountable Thought of Mr. Fleming, that the Devil might be the Author of this Dream, by which he might endeavour to prevent the Death of Chrift according to the Prophecies. His Two Arguments, from her calling Chrift a Man, (which is merely taken from our Verfion, for in the Origi nal it is only Te dixie exeve that righteous One) and from the Disquiet which this Dream gave her, are too inconfiderable to need a particular Reply. See Flem. Chriftol. Vol. ii. pag. 325.

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(f) He

548 The Jews infift on his Death, as making himself the Son of GOD. Sect. 188. Innocence, he has fuffered already much more

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than enough.

6 When the Chief Priefts therefore and Officers faw

him, they cried out, faying, Crucify him, crucify him.

-Pilate faith unto them,

When therefore the Chief Priefts and [their] attending Officers faw him, fearing left the People fhould relent, they prefently renewed their Exclamations, and eagerly cried out as before, faying, We know the Man fufficiently: Away with him to the Cross; crucify [him,] crucify [him;] and let Sentence be paffed upon the Wretch immediately. Pilate on this faid to them, If ye are thus refolute and inexorable, I leave him in your Hands Take ye him, and crucify to difpofe of him as you think fit: Take ye therefore, if it must be fo, and crucify [him] yourselves; but I defire to discharge myself from having any thing to do in it, either by myself, or by my Roman Guards; for, as I have told you again and again, I find no Fault in him worthy of any fuch Punishment.

bim

bim: for I find no Fault in him.

7 The Jews anfwered him, We have a Law, and

by

our Law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of GoD.

The Jews then anfwered him, There is no Room to reprefent him as a faultless Perfon, nor any Reafon to be backward to condemn him; but these Objections you have made oblige us to mention one Circumftance, which for the Horror of it we would willingly have concealed: We have a Divine Law which we received from Heaven, by which Blafphemy is forbidden on the highest Penalties; and by this our Law be ought to die, tho' he were not chargeable with Sedition and Treafon, because he has made himself the Son of the most High GOD, in fuch a Senfe as no Creature can be; and this he declared but this Morn ing in open Court. (Compare Mat. xxvi. 63, 64 Mark xiv. 61, 62. and Luke xxii. 70. pag. 526.) When Pilate therefore heard this Expreffion, be was still more afraid than before (f); for the heard that Saying, he was

Romans

8 When Pilate therefore

the more afraid;

(f) He was ftill more afraid than before.] Tho' I think, with Mr. Cradock, and several others, the Interpretation given in the Paraphrafe the most natural; yet I cannot forbear mentioning that of Mr. Lardner, who thinks, he was afraid of a Sedition among the Jews, from his Knowledge of their great Obftinacy in any thing, in which Religion might seem to be concerned: And he adds, he might be the more reasonably alarmed on this Head, as fince the Beginning of his Government he had met with Two remarkable Inftances of their Stiffnefs; one in an Attempt to bring the Image of Cafar into Jerufalem; the other in a Defign he had formed of fupplying the City with Water at the Expence of the Sacred Trea fury of the Temple. See Lardner's Gredibility, Vol. i. pag. 317.

(8) Whence

Pilate is afraid, and examines him again.

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ro Then faith Pilate unto him, Speakeft thou not

unto me? Knoweft: thou not, that I have Power to

John XIX.

549 Romans believed many Poetical Stories of Men be- Sect. 188. gotten by their Deities, and thought them a Kind of Demi-Gods, who could not be injured with- 8. out engaging their Divine Parents in the Quarrel. And therefore apprehending that his Wife's Dream 9 might also take its Rife from fuch a Cause, be entered again into the Palace, and taking him afide, he said to Jefus, Tell me plainly, from. whence thou cameft, and from whom art thou defcended? and what is this Divine Original, which thou art charged with claiming (g)? But Jefus, knowing that his Innocence was already apparent, even to the Conviction of Pilate's Conscience, gave him no Answer to that Question.

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Then Pilate in Surprize faid to him, What, 10% dost thou make me no Reply, and not so much as speak to me in fuch a Circumstance as this, in which arucify thee, and have Pow-thy Life is fo evidently concerned? Doft thou not know, that I have Power and Authority to crucify thee, and have Power to releafe thee, if I please, notwithstanding all the clamorous. Demands of thine Enemies?

ar to releafe thee?

Ir Jefus answered; Thou couldft have no Power at all against me, except it were given thee from. Above: there:

Jefus calmly replied, Thou couldst have no Power 11 at all against me, except it were given thee from Above, from the GoD of Heaven,, whofe Providence. I acknowledge in all thefe Events. (b) :.. There

(g) Whence art thou?] It is ftrange, Mr. Locke fhould think, (as he does, in his Reafon ableness of Chriftianity, Vol. i. pag. 133.) that Chrift declined giving him an Anfwer, left when he heard he was born at Bethlehem, he fhould have any fuch Apprehenfions as Herod had entertained. Pilate probably knew nothing at all of that Prophecy, as Herod himself indeed did not, till he had learnt it from the Jewish Scribes, whom he confulted on Chriff's Birth. (Mat. ii. 4, 5, 6. Vol. i. pag. 70.) The Answer which our Lord had, made to his former Enquiries, fhewed how far he was from declining any Danger;. and the true Reason of his prefent-Silence was, that Pilate's unfteady Conduct rendered him unworthy of farther Information.

(b) Thou couldst have no Power at all against me, except it were given thee from Above.] Some have thought, that the Word araber, from Above, refers to the Situation of the Temple, which. ftood much bigher than the Prætorium; and that it is, as if Jefus had faid, "I know, "that whatever thou doft against me, is only in Confequence of the Sentence paffed in. "yonder Court held Above; fo that their Guilt is greater than thine." But tho' this would very well account for the Connection of the latter Part of the Verfe, I cannot think it altogether juft; for had Providence permitted Pilate to feize Chrift, as one dangerous to Cafar's Dignity, he would have had as much Power of putting him to Death, as he now had. It is therefore much more reasonable to fuppofe, it refers to the Permiffion of GoD's Providence. No Thought was more proper to the Occafion; and I think,, the Interpretation I have given to the latter Claufe in this View, is natural, tho' not very common. But if any. are not fatisfied with it, they may confider, whether a Telo may not be connected with the

John XIX.

550 Sect. 188. Therefore he who has delivered me to thee, even the Jewish High-Prieft, and his Council, having far greater Opportunities of knowing him and his Law, bath the greater and more aggravated Sin ; yet thou thyfelf canft not but know, that on the Principles of natural Equity, an Innocent Perfon ought not to be given up to popular Fury.

The Jews declare, he is not Cæfar's Friend, if he let him go. therefore he that delivered

II.

12

13

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And from this Time Pilate was fo far fatisfied of the Injustice of the Profecution, and of the Innocence of Jefus, that he endeavoured the more earnestly to releafe him. But the Jews ftill infifted on his paffing Sentence on him to be crucified; and apprehenfive of the Governor's Defign, that they effectually might put a Stop to his Intention of difcharging him, they eagerly cried out, faying, If thou let this Man go off with his Life, thou art not Cæfar's Friend, tho' thou beareft his Com miffion, and reprefenteft his Perfon'; for every one that makes himself a King of Judea, peaks against Cæfar our Emperor, and in effect arraigns the Legality of his Government here.

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When Pilate therefore heard that Speech, he was very much alarmed, as he well knew how fufpicious a Prince Tiberius was, and how many Spies he kept on all his Officers, that nothing might be done or permitted by them in any of the Provinces, which could at all interfere with his Authority (i): And that he might not then be charged with any Want of Zeal for Cæfar's Intereft, he brought Jejus out of the Palace again, and once more fate down on the Tribunal, which was then erected (as we before obferved,) without the Palace, in a Place called in Greek Lithoftraton, or the Pavement, on Account of a beautiful Piece of Mofaic Work with which the Floor was adorned; but in Hebrew it was called Gabbatha, or the High-Place, because it stood on an

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edoni Emi-
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me

unto thee hath the

greater Sin.

12 And from thenceforth

Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews cried out, fay ing, If thou let this Man go, thou art not Cefar's Friend: whofoever maketh himself a King, fpeaketh against Cefar.

13 When Pilate therefore heard that Saying, he brought Jefus forth, and fat down in the Judgment-Seat, in a Place that is called the Pavement, but in the He

brew, Gabbatha.

Beginning of the Verfe, fo that it might be tranflated, Thou couldst have no Power at all. against me, unless it were given thee from Above for this Purpofe. (Compare Note (f) on John vii. 21. pag. 49.).

(i)

As he well knew how fufpicious a Prince Tiberius was, &c.] Every Body that knows the Character of Tiberius, especially as illuftrated by Suetonius in his excellent Hiftery, will fee how naturally Pilate might be apprehenfive on this Head.

(k) `In

About the Third Hour Pilate brings him out as their King.

14 And it was the Preparation of the Paffover, and about the Sixth Hour: and he

551

Eminence, so that the Judge fitting on his Throne Sect. 188..
there, might be heard and feen by a confiderable
Number of People (k).

John XIX.

And it was then the Preparation of the Paffo- 14
ver, or the Sixth Day of the Week, and confe-
quently the Day which fell before the Pafchal
Sabbath, which was obferved with fome peculiari
Solemnity; (fee John xix. 3 1. Sect. 192.) and the
Morning was fo far advanced, that it [was] draw-
ing on apace towards the Sixth Hour, and was
now about the Third Hour, or Nine in the
Morning (1), which obliged them to dispatch,
that

(k) In Hebrew, Gabbatha.] There are various Etymologies of this Word. I think the moft probable is that, which derives it from 3, elevavit, and fo it intimates its being raifed on high. It was, perhaps, a Kind of Stage, or Scaffold, in the Midft a fpacious Area belonging to the Palace, in which the Governor might place himself, on publick, and especially on judicial Occafions. It plainly appears from the Connection of the Words, that it was not in his House, but somewhere without, probably in fome open Place.

(1) Was drawing on apace towards the Sixth Hour, and was now about the Third Hour, &c.] Difficulties, which feem to me quite invincible, attend the Reading which is generally received, [It was about the Sixth Hour,] whether we reckon it, according to the Roman Method of Computation, Six in the Morning, or according to the Jewish Computation, Twelve at Noon. The best Commentators I know, (and among the reft of late, Dr. Guyfe,) think the whole Difficulty of reconciling thefe Words of John with Mark, who tells us, (chap. xv. 25. Sect. 189.) that Chrift was crucified at the Third Hour; and with Matthew and Luke, who exactly agree with him in fixing the Time of that Darkness which happened while Chrift hung on the Crofs; (compare Mat: xxvii. 45. Luke xxiii. 44. and Mark xv. 33. Sect. 191.) is easily folved by underftanding it, according to the Roman Account, of Six in the Morning. But as John was a Jew, and elsewhere feems to use the Jewish Account, (John i. 39. iv. 6.) that very Suppofition is in general improbable. Or if, out of Regard to the Confiderations, which the learned, but here dubious and perplexed, Zeltnerus has urged, (fee Zeltner. Hor. Pilat. pag. 14, & feq.) we were to grant it in general a fuppofable Cafe; very ftrong Objections will lie against fuppofing it here. For tho' we fhould, with many Criticks, take it for granted, that the Paflover here fell late in April, (which was the latest it could fall,) the Sun would not rife at Jerufalem till near Five o Clock, and one cannot fuppofe the Sanhedrim affembled till about Break of Day. How then is it poffible, that their Condemnation of Christ, his Arraignment and Examination, first before Pilate, then before Herod, together with Pilate's repeated Examinations of him, and Conferences with the Jews about him, as alfo the Change of Dress, Scourging, Crowning with Thorns, &c. fhould all be dispatched by Six? The very Contents of the preceding Sections feem to demonftrate the contrary. On the other hand, it could not now be: Twelve at Noon, fince Mark affures us to the contrary, and his Account is confirmed both by Matthew and Luke. (See the Places quoted above, and Note (d) on Mark xv. 25. Sect. 189.) I cannot therefore but conclude with Columelus, (Obferv. p. 77.) Beza, and Erafmus, that inftead of the Sixth we should read the Third Hour, that is, Nine in the Morning. For this we have the Authority of the Cambridge Manufcript, and of Peter of Alexandria, who exprefsly afferts it was pan, the Third, in the Original Copy, which he fays continued till his Time; and tho', as Dr. Mill-abundantly fhews in his Annotation on this Place, all the beft Manufcripts and antient Verfions are on the other Side, I am obliged here to follow the fuperior Authority of common Senfe; however in Submiffion to the greatest Number of Copies I have ftill retained the common Reading in the Verfion, and have only given what I apprehend to be the true Reading in the Paraphrafe. Some other unfatisfactory Hypotheses

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