know, what Policy there was in the Contrivance. He fays, he fufpects fome fraudulent Defign in it; but what Purpose was or could be ferved by this Fraud? Did the Apostles get any thing, either Honour or Profit, by relating their own Prejudices and Hardness of Belief? But what is to be faid for the chief Priefts? how came they to be apprehensive of a Refurrection. They no more believed that Christ the King of the Jews could dye and rife again, than the Disciples did. Very true; but that Prejudice ftood not in their Way, for they did not admit Jefus to be Chrift. If they had, they would not have attempted to kill him. Why then did they fear his Refurrection? The plain and clear Anfwer is, Because he had foretold it: for it was one Thing to believe him to be a great Prophet, and another to believe him to be the Chrift. That this was a well known Distinction amongst the Jews appears from the Difcourfe of the two Difciples going to Emmaus; who, though they had given over all Hopes that Jefus was the Chrift, were ftill firm in the Perfuafion that he was a Prophet mighty in Deed and Word before God and all the People. Now the Jews had been Witneffes to fo many Wonders and Miracles wrought by him, that, whether they f Luke xxiv. 19. thought thought him to be the Chrift or no, they could not but fufpect that he was a great Prophet at least, and might poffibly come from the Grave armed with Power, to take Vengeance of their wicked and cruel Treatment of him. This was but a natural Apprehenfion; and their Fears and guilty Confciences added Weight to every Sufpicion of this Kind; and they were exactly in Herod's Cafe, who, when he heard the Fame of the great Miracles which Jefus performed, faid, This is John the Baptift, he is rifen from the Dead; therefore mighty Works do fhew forth themselves in him & What is there in this, that is not natural and probable? , Let us hear what the Confiderer fays to it: If we take the Opinion of the chief Priests and Pharifees from their own Words, as delivered by St. Matthew, they believe Jefus was a Deceiver h and appear afraid, not of his rifing in the Day, but of the Difciples ftealing him away in the Night. All that the Confiderer fays here depends upon his fuppofing, that the chief Priests and Pharifees fpoke their real Sentiments to Pilate without any Disguise; for otherwise, if they used any Art, or formed a Story merely as a Pretence to obtain a Guard to watch the Sepulchre, nothing can be concluded from % Matt. xiv. 2. Edit. p. 29. First Edit. P. 37. i Third what what they tell Pilate, but this only, that they wanted a Guard to fecure the Sepulchre. Put the Cafe that they were convinced of his Miracles, apprised of the Prophecy of his Refurrection, and under a real Apprehenfion, that it might be fulfilled; and that, to fatisfy their Doubts, they wanted to get a Guard; I would fain know what fort of Speech to Pilate, the Confiderer would make for them. Would he have them fay, Sir, this Perfon whom you "crucified at our Inftigation was indeed a mighty Prophet, and the Hand of God was "with him in performing many wonderful Works: He faid too in his Life Time, that "he would rife from the Dead after three Days, and we are very apprehensive that " he will rife indeed. Let therefore the Se pulchre be guarded." If these had been indeed their real Sentiments, would they have told them to Pilate, after they had extorted from him the Condemnation of Jesus, by representing him as a Malefactor worthy of Death, and as an Enemy to the Roman Government? No body can think it. They were under a Neceffity, whatever their private Thoughts were, of carrying on the Shew before Pilate, of treating Jefus as a Deceiver, and pretending another Reason than the true one for defiring a Guard, viz. for fear his Disciples should fteal away the Body. To argue therefore, that the chief Priefts really believed all that they they pretended to Pilate, is childish and ridiculous. I have laid together the feveral Predictions of our Lord's Refurrection, and the Circumftances that attended them, in order to fhew, what little Reason the Confiderer had to fuppofe the chief Priests entire Strangers to them; upon which one Mistake all his Reasoning against guarding and fealing the Sepulchre depends. The Confiderer afferts, that the chief Priests had no Prophecy of the Refurrection, but what could be deduced from the Sign of Jo nas; and that, he fays, could not be understood by them. Let us admit it, and fee what the Confequence will be. Is a Prophecy no Prophecy unless it can be understood by every Body at the Time it is given? If the Confiderer can perfuade the World of this, he will do more towards deftroying the Credit of Prophecy, than all his Predeceffors have done from Celfus to this Time. We often find Jefus fpeaking to the Jews in Parables, and explaining them clearly to his Difciples. The Cafe here was much the fame with respect to the Prophecies of the Refurrection. Thofe to his Disciples were clear; thofe to the Scribes enigmatical, yet delivered in Terms fo correfponding to the Event, that, when the Event happened, the Jews could not doubt whether the Prophecy related to it. faid of that other Prophecy; The fame may be Deftroy this Temple, ple, and in three Days I will raife it up. The Difciples understood not this, till after Jefus was rifen; but when the Event had explained the Terms, the Prophecy was clear, and had the Effect that all Prophecy is meant to have, that when the thing comes to pass, we may believe. But the Confiderer thinks the Prophecy from the Cafe of Jonas, not only dark and unintelligible at firft; but, when understood and applied to the Refurrection, falje in Fact in two Refpects; I fuppofe he means it did not correfpond to the Fact foretold in two Respects. Let us hear the Charge. First, The Son of Man was to lie three Days and three Nights in the Earth; whereas Jefus lay but the Time of one Day and a half, that is two Nights and a Day. Secondly, The Sign promifed to be given, was not given to those it was promifed to, i. e. to that evil and adulterous Generation. It is fomewhat ftrange, that this great Writer fhould be content to tread the dull Road of vulgar Infidels and Sceptics; repeating Difficulties and Objections, that have been a thoufand Times propofed, and as often confuted; but it is still more ftrange, that they should be fuch as are fully confidered, and most clearly explained in the very Book he profeffes to an John ii. 19. f First Edit. p. 27. Firft Edit. p. 28. Third Edit. p. 19. fwer. |