of what paffed at the Sepulchre, to the Womens going with the Angels Meffage to the Difciples, which ends with y 8. and take St. Mark's Account without tacking to it the separate Relation of the Appearance to Mary Magdalene, (which is indeed no Part of the Account as given by St. Mark of what happened at the Sepulchre) and then the three Accounts are (excepting the fmall Variations before mention'd, and hereafter to be accounted for) perfectly confiftent.

The Difficulty then remaining, is to account for St. Luke's faying nothing of this Appearance; for St. Mark's fpeaking of it as distinct from what happened at the Sepulchre; for St. Matthew's placing it before he had accounted for the Delivery of the firft Meffage, and adding a fecond Meffage of like Import from Chrift himself.

The Difficulty with respect to St. Luke is not great; he has omitted the Appearance; for it came not within the Compafs of what he propos'd to, relate, as will appear prefently. Neither are St. Matthew and St. Mark, who relate this Appearance, at Variance. They agree in the Appearance, agree that it was early on the first Day of the Week; St. Matthew fays, it was as they went to tell the Disciples; and so it might be confiftently with St. Mark, for he has faid nothing to the contrary. Thus the Cafe would ftand, had we only the Hiftory as given by these three Evangelifts,

When

When St. John wrote his Gofpel, he had Reason to enlarge the Account given of what paffed at the Sepulchre, for the fake of adding his own Testimony, who had been himself an Eye-Witness; which Teftimony the other Evangelifts had omitted. Compare St. John and St. Luke together, and St. John plainly carries on the Account, where St. Luke left it. St. Luke relates how the Women went to the Sepulchre, faw Angels, receiv'd a Meffage to the Disciples; that they delivered the Meffage, and that Peter upon hearing it went away to the Sepulchre, and found every Thing to answer the Relation. Now St. John went and was a Witness of these Things as well as Peter; he leaves therefore St. Luke's Account, (which was exact as to what happened before Peter went) as he found it; and carries it on by beginning with a clear and diftinct Account of his own going with Peter to the Sepulchre. To introduce this Account he fays, The firft Day of the Week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the Sepulchre; and feeth the Stone taken away from the Sepulchre. Then fhe runneth and cometh to Simon Peter, and the other Difciple whom Jefus loved, &c. He then gives an Account of what he and St. Peter obferved of the State of the Sepulchre. It appears at y 11. that Mary returned to the Sepulchre, and staid there after him; that the faw again a Vifion of

a

? John xx. 1, &c. ¿

Angels,

Angels, and faw Jefus himself, who gave her a Meffage to deliver to the Disciples. .

Let us fee now how their Accounts will correspond together.

1. It is manifeft that Mary went twice to the Sepulchre.

2. That St. John gives no other Account of what paffed at her firft being there, except that the found the Stone taken away from the Sepulchre, and this only as introductive to what he had to add further.

3. That the Story of her firft going, and what related to it, ended at the Relation the made of what she had seen, to Peter and John.

4. That the Appearance of Jefus to her, and the Meffage given to her, was at her fecond being at the Sepulchre.

It comes out from thefe Lights given by St. John,

Ift. That St. Luke's Account related only to what happened at Mary's first going to the Sepulchre; for it ends at St. Peter's setting out to view the Sepulchre, where St. John begins.

2dly. Since St. Luke's Account agrees with St. Matthew's and St. Mark's, in relating what paffed at the Sepulchre, it follows that their Accounts are Relations of what paffed only at Mary's first coming, i. e. St. Matthew's Account to 8, inclufive, and St. Mark's to ✰ 8. inclufive.

3ly. St. John having informed us, that Chrift appeared to Mary, and delivered his Meffage to

her

her at her fecond coming to the Sepulchre; it follows that what St. Matthew fays . 9, 10. and St. Mark . 9, 10, 11. happened at her fecond coming to the Sepulchre.

Thus St. John's additional Account has given us a clear Order of the whole Tranfaction. And it appears that St. Luke confidered the Women merely as Meffengers of the News to the Disciples; and as foon as the Meffage was delivered, and the Difciples made acquainted with it, he prosecutes their Story no further. St. Mark in like Manner, but adds the Appearance to Mary, as a distinct and separate thing by itself.

St. Matthew has given an Account of what happened at the first going to the Sepulchre ; and has alfo mentioned the Appearance to Mary, which he has connected to the former Account as Part (and fo indeed it was) of the fame Tranfaction. Had he mentioned this Appearance, as St. Mark has mentioned it, without making any Connection between the Appearance and the Story of the first Vifit to the Sepulchre, there had been no Difficulty in this Part of the Cafe.

The Difficulty there now is, arifes from the Manner in which St. Matthew connects these two Parts together; he says, that Jefus appeared to the Women, as they went to tell the Difciples; St. John's Account is, that he appeared to Mary after the had delivered the Meffage (not to the Difciples, but) to himself

and

1

and Peter, and had returned a fecond Time to the Sepulchre.

I believe there are very few Histories in the World, where Difficulties of this Sort, were they nicely enquired into, do not frequently occur. Writers of History, to make one Thread of Story, lay hold of any Circumstances to make a Tranfition from one Fact to another. A little Agreement of the Facts in Place or Time often ferves; and we read in or near the fame Place, or about the fame Time fuch and fuch Things happened; in which Exactness is not intended or expected. And had we nothing else to say upon the prefent Difficulty, it would be fufficient with reasonable Men.

But as this feeming Difagreement has been fo ftrongly infifted on, I defire the Reader to confider the following Obfervations.

1. St. Matthew's Account may very well confift with St. John's. St. Matthew does not fay, the Women had delivered no Meffage to the Disciples, nor does St. John fay they had delivered it to any but to himfelf and Peter. Confider then; the Women, who received the Meffage from the Angel at their firft going to the Sepulchre, could not deliver it to the Dif ciples all at once; for it is not to be fuppofed that they were all together fo early in the Morning: For which Reafon the Women probably divided themselves, and fome went to fome of the Difciples, and fome to others and that Mary Magdalene, and whoever elfe attended

her,