further Need have we of Witneffes? Behold, now ye have heard his Blafphemy. [MARK XIV. 63, 64.-1 66 What think ye? They anfwered and faid, He is guilty of Death: [Luk. What need we any further Witness? for we ourfelves have heard of his own Mouth.] [And they all condemned him to be guilty of Death. ][MARKXIV.-64, LUKE XXII. 7.1.]; 527 Mat. XXVI. 65. They all declare he is guilty of Death, and abufe him. Clothes, faying, He hath Claim, as he pretended this to be; and he faid, Sect. 185. fpoken Blafphemy; what He has now spoken the moft direct Blafphemy, in profeffing himself to be the Son of the most High GOD: What further Need have we of Witnesses? Behold, now you have heard his Blafphemy with your own Ears. What think ye therefore as to 66. the Punishment he deferves? They answered and faid, He is guilty of the most notorious of all Crimes, and deferves immediately to be put to Death: What Need have we indeed of any other Teftimony? for we ourselves have heard [it] from his own Mouth. And thus they all condemned him as guilty of a Capital Crime: And accordingly Sentence was paffed upon him, no Witness appearing in his Defence, and none daring to plead: his Caufe (k); tho' fome of the Council, who had a Friendship for him, and particularly Jofeph. of Arimathea, and Nicodemus, difapproving these unrighteous Proceedings, either abfented themfelves, or withdrew. (Compare Luke xxiii. 50, 51. and John xix. 38. Sect. 192.). 63. LUKE XXII.63. [Then]" Then the Men that attended the Court, and bad Luke XXII. the Men that held Jefus, Jefus in Cuftody, finding he was condemned by mocked him, [MAR. and fome began to fpit] [in his the Sanhedrim, infulted him with renewed Injuries Face, [MAR. and to buffet and Affronts, and carried that infolent Usage yet him;] farther than they had done before (1); for fome of them began even to spit in bis Face, and to buffet any publick Calamity, it was thought allowable. (See 1 Mac. xi. 71. and Jofeph. Bell. Jud. lib. ii. cap. 15. §. 2, 4.) Caiaphas therefore by this Action expreffed in the ftrongeft and moft artful Manner, his Horror at hearing fo vile a Wretch, as he pretended Jesus was, thus claiming the Sovereignty over Ifrael, and a Seat at the Right Hand of GÓп· and this, when adjured upon Oath on fo folemn an Occafion. (k) No Witness appearing in his Defence, &c.] Dr. Samuel Harris, in his Obfervations. on the Old Teftament, (pag. 109, & feq. Quarto Edit.) has with much greater Learning and Ingenuity, than Solidity, endeavoured to prove this Circumftance referred to in Isaiah's Words, chap, liii. 8. Who fhall declare his Generation? and his first and fecond Differtation prefixed to his Effay chiefly center in this Point. (1) Carried that infolent Ufage yet farther than they had done before.] Luke mentions these Indignities before his being led to the Council, in which he tells us he was examined on · Oath, as above: But Matthew and Mark mention them, as immediately fucceeding his being condemned, as guilty of Blafphemy in the Anfwer he made when adjured by the High-Priest ; · and do not fo particularly, as Luke, diftinguish what happened in his Examination at the Houfe of Caiaphas from other fubfequent Circumftances. The attentive Reader will obferve, how they are formed in our compound Text into one confiftent Narration. I do not fee it neceffary to fuppofe, that Chrift answered to Two Adjurations, the one fome Hours after the other. Matthew and Mark naturally enough relate the whole of his Examination together, tho' carried on in Two different Places; and it is probable, fome Infults preceded, and others, 64. 528 Sect. 185. buffet him; and others fcornfully abused and beat bim: And having covered his Eyes, the Officers Luke XXII. and Servants ftruck him on the Face with the Palms of their Hands, and on the Head with Staves, and in a fcoffing and contemptuous Manner afked him, faying, Now fhew us, how thou canft divine; and if thou art indeed the true Meffiah, prophesy to us, ob [thou] Chrift, who is he that 65 Smote thee? Such were the vile Indignities they offered him, and many other Things they blafphemously spake against him (m): So that, on the whole, had he been the vileft Malefactor, they could not have used him worfe; and common Humanity, even in that Cafe, would not have allowed of fuch barbarous Infults. Reflections on the Examination of CHRIST by the Jews. Luke xxii. 63,-65. 60, 61. 23. him;] and [others] fmote 64 And when they had blindfolded him, [MAR. the Face [with the Palms of their Servants] ftruck him on the Hands,] and asked him, saying, Prophefy [unto us, thou Chrift,] who is it that fmote thee? [MAT. XXVI.-67, 68. MARK XIV.-65.] 65 And many other Things blafphemously spake they against him. IMPROVEMENT. did and the fron HUS was the patient Lamb of GOD furrounded by his BloodEnemies: Thus did the Dogs incompass him, and the strong Bulls of Bafhan befet him on every Side. (Pfal. xxii. 12, 16.) Thus was Mark xiv. he brought as a Lamb to the Slaughter, and as a Sheep before her Shearers is dumb, fo be opened not bis Mouth: (Ifa. liii. 7, 8.) He was taken from Judgment, and fuffered the worft Kind of Murther, even that which had John xviii. the Appearance of being Legal. But thofe gentle Words, which he dropped in the midst of all the Injuries which were offered him, are furely worthy ever to be recorded and remembered. It had always been his Care to provide Things honeft in the Sight of all Men; and as he answered with a most graceful and couragious Appeal to all that heard him, as to the Innocence and Usefulness of his Doctrine; fo it is well worthy our Obfervation and Reflection, that GOD fo far reftrained the Rage and Mat. xxvi. Malice of Hell, that no fuch falfe Witnesses arose against him, as could on the whole afperfe his Character, or bring it under any Brand of publick Infamy; tho' Judas, as well as others, might have fought a Reward, or at least an Indemnity for their own Villany, in accufing him. And indeed it is no inconfiderable Inftance of God's Providential Government of the World, that wicked Men are reftrained, by this one Remainder of Reverence for the Divine Omniscience, and Dread of his Vengeance, 59, 60. others, yet more violent, followed, his being thus folemnly condemned by the Sanbedrim as guilty of Death. (m) Many other Things they_blafphemously spake against him.] There is something very remarkable in this Expreffion. They charged him with Blafphemy in afferting himself to be the Son of GOD; but the Evangelift fixes that Charge on them, because he really was fo. 1 The Jews confult how to put Jesus to Death. ES 1 529 Vengeance, from deftroying the Reputations and Lives of his Children ; Sect. 185. efpecially in Countries, where (as in our own,) the Punishment which Human Laws inflict on Perjury is fo much below its Defert. When Chrift was examined on Qath, he witnessed a good Confeffion, Ver. 63, 64, and cited those that were now his Judges, to appear at his Bar. Nor was it a vain Boast! The Son of Man is now fitting at the Right Hand of Power, and will e'er long come in the Clouds of Heaven? And then they that condemned, and infulted, and pierced him, fhall mourn because of him. (Rev. i. 7.) May we be now fo wife, as to kifs the Son in Token of our humble Allegiance to him, left he be then justly angry with us; yea, left we immediately perish from the Way, when his Wrath is but beginning to be kindled! (Pfal. ii. 12.) CHRIST is brought before Pilate: The Jews demand Judg ment against him, and Pilate examines him. Mat, XXVII I, 2. II,---- 1 4. Mark XV. 1,---5. Luke XXII. 1,L!VXAN ----4. John XVIII. —28,----38. MAT. XXVII. 1. 1 [AND straightway] 'when the Morning was come, all the Chief Priests [held a Confultation with the] Elders of the People, [and Scribes, and the whole Coun cil,] against Jefus, to put him to Death. [MARK XV. 1.-] 2 And when they had bound him, LUK. the whole Multitude of them Matth. XXVII. I. UCH were the vile Proceedings of this hor- Sect. 186. rid and malignant Night, and thus was Chrift condemned, and treated as a Malefactor by the Jewish Rulers. And as foon as Morning was come, all the Chief Priests, having put Jefus out of the Room, confulted with the Elders of the People, and the Scribes, and the whole Sanbedrim (a), what Method they fhould take to exer cute this Sentence they had paffed against Jefus, and bow they might contrive to put him to Death in the most severe and contemptuous Manner. And after he had been infulted by the Servants 2 at the Council-Chamber, when for the greater arofe, Security they had bound him again (b), the whole Multi (a) All the Chief Priests confulted &c.] Many Criticks explain this, of their adjourning from the House of Caiaphas, to the Place where the Sanhedrim ufed to meet: But I think Luke's Account of this Matter fo circumftantial, that it is more reasonable to take thefe Words as they are explained in the Paraphrafe. Compare Luke xxii. 66. pag. 525. (b) When they had bound him again.] They bound him when he was firft apprehended, but had, perhaps, loofed him while he was under Examination: Or elfe they now made his VOL. II. X x x Bonds Matth. 530 Sect. 186. Multitude of them arofe, and led him away to the Prætorium, (as it was properly called,) or to the XXVII. a. Judgment-Hall, in which the Roman Magiftrate was used to fit for the Dispatch of publick Bufinefs: For the Jews being now a conquered People, and not having the Power of Life and Death in their Hands, they could not execute Jesus without a Warrant from the Romans (c); and therefore, to render his Death the more certain, as well as the more ignominious and painful, they determined immediately to carry him to them; and to afk, not a Confirmation of the Sentence which they had paffed against him as a Blafphemer, but a new Sentence of Crucifixion against him, as a feditious Enemy to Cæfar's Government. Accordingly having conducted him to the Prætorium, they folemnly delivered him, as a State Prisoner of confiderable Importance, to Pontius Pilate the Procurator or Governor, whom Tiberius Cæfar had, fome Years before this, fent among them. They carry him to Pilate, to confirm their Sentence. JohnXVIII. 28, And tho by this Time it was broad Day-light, yet it was very early in the Morning, and much fooner than the Governor ufed to appear: He was therefore called up on this extraordinary Occafion; but they themselves went not into the Palace, of which the Judgment-Hall was a Part, because it was the Houfe of a Gentile, and they were apprehenfive left they should be polluted, and fo prevented from eating thofe Sacrifices, which were arofe, and] they led him a way [JOH. unto the Hall of Judgment,] and delivered him to Pontius Pilate the Governor. [MARK XV. -I. LUKE XXIII. 1. JOHN XVIII.-28.—] JOHN XVIII.-28. And it was early, and they them felves went not into the Judgment-Hall, left they fhould be defiled; but that they might eat the Paffover. Bonds ftricter than before, that fo they might fecure him from any Danger of a Refcue or (c) Not having the Power of Life and Death in their Hands, &c.] Tho' Mr. Menne has lately attempted to prove, that they had fuch a Power, (Effay i. pag. 13,-19.) yet I apprehend Mr. Lardner, and other eminent Writers, have clearly demonftrated the contrary; and wonder indeed, that any can read this Story, without difcerning the most convincing Evidence, that they had not; for furely nothing else could have brought them to Pilate, to confirm the Sentence they had pafled, when by this Means the Execution of it was rendered fo precarious. Compare John xviii. 31. pag. 532. (See Mr. Lardner's Credibility, Vol. i. pag. 50,-88. and Jofeph. Antiq. lib. xx. cap. 9. (al. 8.) §. 1.) The Jewish Writers own, that no fuch Power was exercifed by the Sanhedrim for Forty Years before the Destruction of the Temple, as Dr. Lightfoot fhews by feveral Quotations from the Talmud; (Hor. Heb. on Mat. xxvi. 3. & John xviii. 31.) tho' he fuppofes, it was only loft by their Difufe of it, and was not taken from them by the Romans.The chief Arguments for their having fuch a Power, (from Mat. xxvi. 66. John viii. 33. xviii. 31. Acts vii. 57, 58. xii. 2. xxii. 4, 5. xxiii. 27. xxiv. 6. xxvi. 10.) are either directly anfwered in the Notes, or obviated in the Paraphrafe, on those Places. (d) A no Pilate enquires what they laid to his Charge. 29 Pilate then went out unto them, and faid, What Accufation bring ye against this Man? 30 They antwered and faid unto him, If he were not a Malefactor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee. 31 Then faid Pilate unto them, Take ye him, and Law. 531 were offered on this First Day of unleavened Sect. 186. 28. Pilate therefore, willing in this Inftance to 29 They answered and faid to him, with fome in- 30 Then Pilate faid to them, Take ye him back to 31 (d) A notorious Offender.] So I render xaxorotos in this Connection, because they had ftill the Power of inflicting flighter Punishments; fo that their bringing him to Pilate was a Proof, that they judged him to have incurred a Capital Sentence. The Word Malefactor has much the fame Senfe in our ordinary Speech. (e) With a View of fhifting off from himself &c.] Pilate could not be entirely ignorant of the Cafe before him; for he began his Government at Jerufalem before Jefus entered on his publick Miniftry; and befides many other extraordinary Things which he muft formerly have heard concerning him, he had, no doubt, been informed at large of his publick Entrance into Jerufalem, the Beginning of the Week; and alfo of his Apprehenfion, in which the Jewish Rulers were affifted by a Roman Cobort, which could hardly be engaged in that Service without the Governor's exprefs Permiffion. It plainly appears by his whole X x x 2 Conduct, |