32. On this, as on former fimilar occafions, we difcover marks of the feeling, compaffionate temper of Je fus. This difplay of extraordinary power, did not proceed from a principle of oftentation, but from humanity, befides his general object, of giving fufficient evi dence of his divine miffion. He 33. It is rather extraordinary that the difciples, who knew what their master had done in thefe very circumftances, fhould put the fame question to him now, that they did then. But it appears that they often did not give fufficient attention to what he faid or did. complains of their hardness of heart, on which a fufficient impreffion had not been made, by these very mira. cles, as we shall fee prefently. But they probably asked the question very haftily, before they had given themfelves time to reflect at all, and in this cafe it is not furprizing that any particular thought should be abfent from the mind. 38. That the history of this miracle is no invention of the evangelift is fufficiently evident from the circumftances of it. For it is lefs in magnitude than the preceding, the number of perfons fed being less, the quantity of provifions greater, and yet what remained was not fo much. Whereas had the ftory been the invention of the writers, they would hardly have related a miracle of the fame kind with another preceding it, without making fome advances upon it, fo that the latter should have appeared the more wonderful of the two. XVI. 1. It is evident that tho' Jefus made no open pretenfion to his being the Meffiah, the people in genR 2 eral eral had entertained the idea that he might be the perfon. The Pharifees and chief priests certainly neither wifhed nor believed him to be the Meffiah; and it was probably to undeceive the people that they here, as upon another occafion, demanded of him to fhew them that sign from heaven which is mentioned in Daniel, who fays that the son of man came in the clouds of heaven. For as Jefus did not make his first appearance in that fplendid manner, they concluded that he never would, and therefore they probably made this propofal in a fneering or infulting manner, here called tempting him. 3. Here our Lord enumerates the figns of fair and foul weather in that country, with which every body was well acquainted, and therefore he justly blames thefe wife Pharifees for giving lefs attention to the signs of fome thing much more important, viz. the approach of the kingdom of God, for which they were looking. For as Jefus wrought fo many miracles, and none had been wrought, or pretended to be wrought, in that country for feveral centuries before his time, and as few or no perfons before John the Baptift had ever affumed the character of a prophet without working miracles, they might naturally have concluded that there was fomething very important, as well as very extraordina ry in all this; and whether it denoted the fpeedy coming of the Meffiah or not, it was a proof that God had again begun to fend prophets, and, as it is elsewhere expreffed, was visiting his people; and no doubt for fome great purpofe or other, which demanded their particular attention. Mark 4. Mark fays upon this occalion that no sign had been given, and according to Matthew he said nothing to explain the fign of the prophet Jonah. But upon a former occafion he had added that as Jonah was three days and three nights (or fome part of three days) in the belly of the fish, fo he should be the fame time in the heart of the earth; which was a pretty clear intimation that he should lie in the grave fo long, and no longer. This, therefore, he made the test of his being the Meffiah. For he gives the Pharifees this fign inftead of that which they had demanded; and the fign that they demanded was as a teft of his being the Meffiah. 12. We have here one of the many infances in which our Lord spake figuratively and enigmatically, taking hints from fenfible objects. The apoftles probably imagined that when he bade them beware of the leaven of the Pharifees and Sadducees when they wanted bread, he intended to intimate that they should not buy any bread of them; and they might not know where to procure any; and he reproaches them for their folicitude on that fubject, when they knew by experience that he was able to fupply their wants, and give them bread without money. Mark VIII. 12. There shall no sign be given.] & Sofnosta. An elliptical form of expreffion, equivalent to an oath: As if he faid, As I speak the truth, no sign shall be given, &c. Pearce. Luke XII. 54, 55. Dr. Shaw fays that the wefterly winds in the Holy Land are ftill generally attended with rain, but that the easterly winds are ufually dry, See Harmer's Observations, p. 329. Le Bruyn fays there was, when he was at Rama, a fouth eaft wind, which, coming from the defert beyond Jordan, caused a great heat, and that it continued fome days. See Harmer's Observations, Vol. I. p. 61. Mark VIII. 26. This is another inftance of Jefus curing a person with fome previous application, and alfo in a more private manner than usual, for which it is not eafy to imagine any fufficient reafon. He could hardly intend to make this man believe that he was cured without a miracle. It is evident, however, that he did not chufe to work this miracle in the town of Bethfaida, the inhabitants of which he had reproached for their unbelief. He would not honour them with what they had despised, or with which they had not been fufficiently impreffed. He even enjoined this man not to speak of his cure in the town, and for any thing that appears, he did observe the injunction that was laid upon him. PARAPHRASE. Matthew XVI. 9. Mark VIII. 16. How could you imagine that I was talking to you about a stock of bread for our ufe, and laying fo much stress upon that circumflance. Have you already forgot my late miracles of the multiplication of food, and do you not con fider how easy it must be for me to supply our wants in the fame manner upon any emergency? SEC SECTION XLIV. Jesus begins to foretel his Sufferings. Matt. XVI. 13-28 .Mark VIII. 27——38. IX; 1. WE have attended Jefus through one excurfion to the Northern parts of Galilee. We now find him once more, and for the last time, in thofe parts, in the territory of Philip, and here we have a very remarkable conversation with his difciples about his character, whether he was the Meffiah or not. It is remarkable that this is the first time that he difcourfed with them on the subject, tho' he had now preached publicly near four months, and according to the common opinion, between two and three years. This, in the circumstances in which Jefus was, was a very delicate fubje&, and therefore he entered upon it with none but his difciples, probably the apofties only were prefent. Till this time he had left not only the Jews in general, but even his own difciples, to infer who he was, from his works, and his conduct, and had not thought proper to make any exprefs declaration on the fubject. 13. This Casarea Philippi was a town built, or much enlarged by Philip, and called Cæsarea, in honour of the homan emperor Auguftus Cæfar; but to diftinguish it from the other Cæfarea which had been built by Herod the great, it was called Cæsarea Philippi. R4 There |