Twelfth remark. As for the miracles wrought by Christ; since no authority, inferior to that which formerly established the law, could be capable of repealing it, it was necessary that he should work miracles, who came to take down that way of worship, which had been at first settled by a power of miracles in Moses, that God might not be wanting to the faith of that people, who had received their law by signs and wonders from heaven; but that there should be as strong an evidence given to them, that the fulness of time was come, when that dispensation was to have an end, and to give place to another more perfect, which was to be established instead of it. We plainly find our Saviour very often appealing to his miracles, as the evidence of his divine commission; If I had not done the works among them which no man else did, they had not had sin; that is, in not believing him. Whereby Christ both sets forth the necessity of his working miracles, in order to the conviction of the world, and the greatness of the miracles which he wrought. He did those which no man else had done, no not Moses, or Elias, in curing all manner of diseases, by the word of his mouth. Again, the power of miracles did evidently declare that Christ was the promised Messiah, in whom the prophecies, concerning the miracles which the Messiah should work, were exactly fulfilled; as that of Isaiah xxxv. 5, 6. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped; then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing; and therefore it is observable, that of John the Baptist it is said, that he wrought no miracles; God reserving the glory of miracles wholly to the name of Christ, that the evidence of his being the Messiah

See Bishop Stillingfleet's Orig. Sacr. 1. ii. c. ix. §. 2, 3. f John xv. 24. g John x. 41.

1

might be made more clear, by the miracles which he wrought; and that the minds of people might not be distracted between John and Christ. It may here be further remarked, concerning the miracles wrought by Christ, that there appears a difference between them, and those wrought by Moses; which last were, for the most part, of short continuance, and of a horrible effect; as the plagues in Egypt, and the punishment of those who murmured in the desert: whereas the miracles Christ wrought had a lasting effect, and were beneficial to men; as in curing their diseases and infirmities.

After what hath been remarked concerning the necessity of Christ's miracles, it should be enquired why he so often gave charge to conceal his miracles': he strictly charged the blind men, whose eyes he had opened, See that no man know it. This seems to be done not only to avoid vain-glory; but, 1st, he knew the malice of the Scribes and Pharisees, with the other rulers of the Jews; and that they would make an ill use of the accounts told them of his miraculous works, and be the more incensed against him, and seek the sooner to destroy him, (as we find they did upon their own seeing him heal the man with the withered hand',) but his time was not then come, and therefore he would have his miracles concealed from them. 2dly, Another reason might be, to prevent the Jews from making insurrections, on pretence of his being a temporal king; for as such they expected their Messiah should appear, as it hath been observed before; but his kingdom was not of this world; and therefore, although he did enough to prove himself the Messiah, yet he would not have the effects of his mighty power so blazoned abroad, as to indulge the people in their conceit of

1

i. Matt. ix. 30. k So Matt. xii. 16. and in other places. Mark iii. 6.

his being such a temporal Messiah and King as they expected: thus, when they would take him by force, and make him a king, upon his feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fishes, he withdrew himself from them, and departed into a mountain himself alone", For the same cause, he might charge his disciples, to tell no man, at that time, that he was the Christ or Messiah". Again, Christ's resurrection, and the attesting it by the powers of the Holy Spirit, was to be the last and most satisfactory proof which he thought fit to give of his commission, and to gain credit to all his former miracles. Hence we find him so often enjoining his disciples, not to publish his works till after his resurrection, and the confirming of that, by the undeniable power of the Holy Ghost on the apostles, who attested it°.

Thirteenth remark. It was most requisite that Christ, as being our Mediator, should suffer death, if we consider him in regard to any part of his mediatory office; either, 1st, As a prophet, or teacher come from God, to confirm the truth of his doctrine by his death, and to give us an example of obedience to the will of God, and of humility and patience. Or, 2dly, As a priest, to offer an acceptable sacrifice for the remission of sins. Now this was the notion of an expiatory sacrifice, both among Jews and Gentiles, (which made them the easier to understand the nature and cause of the sacrifice of Christ,) viz, that the sin of one person was transferred on another, or on a beast; who was upon that devoted and offered up to God, and died and suffered in the room of the offending person; and by this oblation, the punishment of sin being laid on the sacrifice, an ex

m John vi. 14, 15. xvii. 19. Eph. i. 19.

Luke ix. 21.

• Matt. xvi. 20. and P Grot. de satisfactione Christi, cap. 10. and see what has been said concerning the sacrifices under the law, in Part I. chap. 9.

piation was made for sin, and the sinner was believed to be reconciled to God. Now, on the one hand, it was not possible that the blood of bulls or goats should take away sins, that is, any otherwise than as being a type or shadow; and all that had the nature of man, besides Christ, had sins of their own, and therefore could not atone for others: wherefore, he being the only one that was partaker of man's nature, who had never sinned himself, and had united the human nature to the divine, (which gave a dignity to his sufferings,) was to make his soul an offering for sin', or to die for our sins, whereby he made an atonement for us, and became a propitiation for our sins": that is, what the sin-offerings were to the Jews, a sacrifice to appease God's anger, and to render him propitious or reconciled to us. Though there was this peculiar in Christ's sacrifice, that he was both the priest and the sacrifice too.

Lastly, It was necessary Christ should die, that as a king, being afterwards risen again, he might conquer and triumph over death and the grave.

The particular death which Christ suffered was by being crucified on the cross; which was a beam, or piece of wood, set in the ground upright; on which was another beam laid across near the top: the hands of the person that was crucified were stretched out and nailed to the cross beam, and his feet were nailed down to the other. This was a punishment among the Romans for the highest crimes, and was esteemed the most painful death; insomuch, that in their language they called a most violent pain, a cruciating, or suffering the cross.

r Isa. liii. 10.

1 Cor. xv. 3. t Rom.

4 Heb. x. 4. v. 11. 1 John ii. 2. * Pearson on the Creed, Article 4. was crucified. y He who was to be crucified was nailed to the cross whilst it lay upon the ground, and being properly fastened to the wood, it was placed in an upright position. Ibid. Pœnæ extremum. a Cruciatus.

It was also reckoned the most infamous death, and never inflicted on a free man, but only on slaves and fugitives; and therefore called, the punishment of slaves". Whereby it appears, that Christ hath undergone the most tormenting, and shameful, or accursed death; and hath thereby redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us; for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree©. The providence of God hath been observed before* in ordering it so, that Christ should suffer under a Roman governor, otherwise he had not been crucified; that being a kind of death that was never inflicted upon any by the Jews, but by Roman go

vernorse.

Fourteenth remark. Concerning Christ's manifestation of himself after his resurrection. The holy Gospel acquaints us, that the apostles saw him ascend up into heaven, but they did not actually see him arise out of his sepulchre: the reason is evident; for it was a sufficient confirmation of their faith in his resurrection, that they saw the sepulchre empty, and Christ actually appearing to, and conversing with them; but they were not to see him in heaven till themselves were admitted thither; and therefore they ought to behold him ascending, that they might evidence the truth of it to the world.

Again, Christ, when risen from the dead, and when he ascended into heaven, was not pleased to shew himself openly to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God. These witnesses themselves had sufficient, sensible, and frequent evidences given them thereof. But why did he not shew himself to all the people, especially the rulers, who, if con

b Servile supplicium. Ibid. c Deut. xxi. 23. Gal iii. 13. In the former part, concerning the government of Pontius Pilate, chap. 22. e Casaubon. Exercit. 16. Ann. 34. num. 92. * John xx. 19-30. and chap. xxi. Luke

Acts x. 40, 41. xxiv. 36-45.