ing* But when he found the attempt succeed, he would begin! to entertain more seriously the idea that he possessed the supernatural power attributed to him, and might easily conclude, that, by relying on it, and boldly exercising it, any miracle was possible. Perceiving that in such cases diffidence usually preceded a failure, he might naturally infer that a sufficient degree of confidence only was wanting to produce the most wonderful effect.

The prevalent opinion of his country was that diseases were occasioned by the entrance of demons into the human body, and the power of expelling them by certain words of command was believed in by the most enlightened Jews. The

• Matt. ix. 2, And Jesus, seeing their faith, saith unto the sick of the palsy... ix. 27, Believe ye that I am able to do this?... Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith, be it unto you.

+ Matt. xvii. 19, 20, Then said the disciples, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place, and it shall remove, and nothing shall be impossible to you.

skill which expels demons, He composed such incanAnd he left behind him the

Josephus has the following passages concerning demons:-" Yet after all this pains in getting, it (the root Baaras) is only valuable on account of one virtue it hath, that if it be only brought to sick persons, it quickly drives away those called demons, which are no other than the spirits of the wicked, that enter into men that are alive, and kill them, unless they can obtain some help against them."-War, vii. ch. vi. 3. "God enabled him (Solomon) to learn that which is a science useful and sanative to men. tations also by which distempers are alleviated. manner of using exorcisms, by which they drive away demons, so that they never return, and this method of cure is of great force unto this day; for I have seen a certain man of my own country, named Eleazar, releasing people that were demoniacal in the presence of Vespasian and his sons, and his captives, and the whole multitude of his soldiers. The manner of the cure was this:-He put a ring that had a root of one of those sorts mentioned by Solomon to the nostrils of the demoniac, after which he drew out the demon through his nostrils; and when the man fell down immediately, he abjured him to return into him no more, making still mention of Solomon, and reciting the incantation which he had composed. And when Eleazar would persuade and demonstrate to the spectators that he had such

miracle was one of the most ambiguous kind, since any change of symptoms might be regarded as proof of the demon's exit. In cases of lunacy, an authoritative word or gesture might produce a momentary calm; and in fits, exhaustion must soon bring on the same state.

In many other diseases, palsy, fever, &c., a sudden energetic effort on the part of the patient might produce the appearance of recovery. Instances of success, which were alone likely to be recorded, (although we have some indications of occasional failure,)* would be improved in passing from mouth to mouth, and by zealous partizans the account would soon be embellished with a few tales of more decided miracles, such as curing the blind and raising the dead; especially if such tales had some foundation in fact, so far as that the attempt, or the application only, had been really made.†

Jesus having thus acquired the reputation of a miracleworker, as well as of a prophet, was followed in his progress through the towns of Galilee by multitudes of the populace,

a power, he set a little way off a cup or basin full of water, and commanded the demon, as he went out of the man, to overturn it, and thereby to let the spectators know that he had left the man; and when this was done, the skill and wisdom of Solomon were shown very manifestly."-Antiq. viii. 2-5.

* Compare Matt. x. 1, "And he gave them power to cast out unclean spirits," with xviii. 16, "And I brought him to thy disciples, and they could not cure him." See also Mark vi. 5, "And he could there do no mighty work (ovk ndvvat0), save that he laid his hands on a few sick folk and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief." The translation of the Improved Version is "would not," but the usual sense of duraua, is "to be able." Besides, it is plain that want of will was not the cause of the ill success of Jesus, since he did make some attempts, and also because the word "marvelled" implies some disappointment.

This passage shows very clearly that belief was considered as an essential preparation for a miracle; and therefore when the miracle did not take place, it was natural enough for the disciples to attribute the failure to the want of belief.

The miracles attributed to Jesus will be examined more closely in chap. viii.

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and even by some of the better sort of the Jews,* who cherished in secret the hope of their country's revival, and began to look upon the new prophet of Nazareth, as more than a common pretender. Jesus then proceeded to lay the foundation for a separate organized society by selecting twelve of his countrymen to be his more immediate supporters, promising them that when he should obtain his kingdom, they should rule under him over the twelve tribes of Israel. These he sent forth to the neighbouring towns to preach,† like John and himself, the preparation for the approaching miraculous regeneration of Israel, or the Kingdom of Heaven.‡

Jesus at first assumed only the title of Son of Man,§ which had been given to some of the prophets. The more dangerous claim of the character of Messiah, or successor of

That some of the disciples, besides Matthew, had been in tolerable worldly circumstances, may be conjectured from Matt. xix. 29.

↑ Matt. x. 7, And as ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand.

That Jesus at first, like the rest of his countrymen, considered the kingdom of heaven to mean primarily the exaltation of his nation, appears from the following texts: Matt. v. 35, Swear not, neither by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great king; x. 5, Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; xv. 24, I am not sent but to the lost sheep of the house of Israel; xix. 28, When the Son of Man shall sit upon the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel; xxiii. 37, O Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wing, and ye would not.-Besides, the natural and common signification of the word Christ, or Anointed, was equivalent to king. See 1 Samuel xxiv. 6.

But in maintaining that Jesus aimed at the dominion over Israel, it is not pretended that his views were all along limited to this. The coming of the kingdom, in the last verse of Malachi, and in Isaiah, is made coincident with the spread of righteousness over the earth. Jesus, having derived his views in great part from the prophets, intended to be both king and prophet; and therefore spoke both as a national regenerator and a moral reformer.

§ The chief reason for Jesus's assuming this title will be considered in the examination of Daniel, chap. xiv.

David, he only acknowledged in secret to his more confiIdential followers; * for its open avowal was nearly equivalent to a declaration of revolt from the Romans, and an armed insurrection does not seem to have been his immediate aim. He contented himself with the exercise of his prophetic office amongst the people, and with spreading the expectation of the divine deliverance promised by the prophets. This conduct might appear to the ruling authorities suspicious, but was not immediate sedition; and their patience or indifference lasted till few synagogues or villages of Galilee remained which had not heard the voice of the new prophet or of his followers.

To understand the conduct of Jesus, we must allow that it was, like that of all other men, influenced, in some degree, by circumstances. If, at this critical time, his preaching throughout Galilee had been followed by a general rising of the Jewish nation, the expulsion of the Romans, and the election of himself to the throne, his acts and expressions up to this time lead us to conjecture that, although his superior prophetic dignity set him above the subordinate details of organizing and heading revolts in person, he might yet have accepted such success as a sign from heaven, and allowed himself to be borne on to the seat of David, in the generally understood character of the Messiah, a triumphant king of Israel. But events happened otherwise; and from them the views of Jesus necessarily took a somewhat different colour.†

His proceedings attracted the attention of the Jewish rulers. Herod, the tetrarch of Galilee, had already imprisoned

• Matt. xvi. 13-20.

xvi.

The character and views of Jesus will be considered more fully in ch.

Matt. xiv. 1.

John, from jealousy of his influence with the people, and, according to Josephus, put him to death from the same motive. Jesus appeared to be a still more dangerous person, and it became known that Herod was seeking to arrest him.

Jesus at first avoided the danger by retiring into desert places.* His situation was now become difficult and per- | plexing. Although followed by crowds of wonder-gazers, who, he knew, were able to confer only the name and the danger of royalty, none of the influential towns † had given him any support or countenance, and no signs from heaven yet appeared to indicate superhuman aid. His progress hitherto ! seemed brilliant; but it could not long be continued. To perambulate the towns of Galilee, preaching to hungry multitudes, must become a burden to both parties as soon as the excitement of novelty was lost. And now the local govern-, ment was about to interfere.

There were two courses open to Jesus; to endeavour to make his peace with the tetrarch, by withdrawing from the public eye and sinking back to his original station, or to sustain his claims and perish a martyr; for it was obvious that the danger must be greater at Jerusalem, or the parts adjoining, than in Galilee.

The magnanimity which leads public men to fear death less than a disgraceful retreat is not uncommon. The energy of his character, the raised expectations of his followers, and probably a secret persuasion that he was still the agent destined to accomplish the purpose of the God of Israel, led Je

Matt. xiv. 13.

+ Matt. xi. 21-23, "Wo unto thee Chorazin... Bethsaida... and thou, Capernaum." It will be seen that this sketch follows chiefly the order of Matthew, but not exactly. For reasons to be given hereafter, it appears that this gospel is the best guide in this respect, but still that it has not preserved the true order of all the events and discourses.