V. CHAP. wife. The desire of revenge would be strengthened by a feeling of insecurity, and an apprehension of the precariousness of an union, declared, on such revered authority, null and void. As long as this stern and respected censor lived, her influence over her husband, the bond of marriage itself, might, in an hour of passion or remorse, be dissolved. The common crime would cement still closer, perhaps for ever, their common interests. The artifices of Herodias, who did not scruple to make use of the beauty and grace of her daughter to compass her end, had extorted from the reluctant king, in the hour of festive carelessness - the celebration of Herod's birthday the royal promise, which, whether for good or for evil, was equally irrevocable.* The head of John the Baptist was the reward for the dancing of the daughter of Herodias.† Whether the mind of Herod, like that of his father +, was disordered by his crime, and the disgrace and discomfiture of his arms contributed to his moody terrors; or whether some popular rumour of the re-appearance of John, and that Jesus was the murdered prophet restored to life, had obtained currency; indications of hostility from the government seem to have put Jesus upon his guard. For no sooner had he been re *Matt. xiv. 1-12.; Mark, vi. 14-29; Luke, ix. 7—9. Josephus places the scene of this event in Machærus. Macknight would remove the prison of John to Tiberias. But the circumstances of the war may have caused the court to be held in this strong frontier town, and the feast may have been intended chiefly for the army, the "Chiliarchs" of St. Mark. According to Josephus the Jews ascribed the discomfiture of Herod's army by Aretas, king of Arabia, to the wrath of Heaven for the murder of John. § Matt. xiv. 13, 14.; Mark, vi. 30-34.; Luke, ix. 10, 11.; John, vi. 1, 2. V. joined by the Apostles, than he withdrew into the CHAP. desert country about Bethsaida, with the prudence which he now thought fit to assume, avoiding any sudden collision with the desperation or the capricious violence of the Tetrarch. Jesus with- draws from tudes fed in But he now filled too important a place in the public mind to remain concealed so near his customary residence, and the scene of his extraordinary actions. The multitude thronged forth to trace his footsteps, so that five thousand persons had pre-occupied the place of his retreat; and so completely were they possessed by profound religious enthusiasm, as entirely to have forgotten the difficulty of obtaining provisions in that desolate region. The manner in which their wants were preternaturally The multisupplied, and the whole assemblage fed by five the desert. loaves and two small fishes, wound up at once the rising enthusiasm to the highest pitch. It could not but call to the mind of the multitude the memorable event in their annals, the feeding the whole nation in the desert by the multiplication of the manna.* Jesus then would no longer confine himself to those private and more unimposing acts of beneficence, of which the actual advantage was limited to a single object, and the ocular evidence of the fact to but few witnesses. Here was a sign performed in the presence of many thousands, who had actually participated in the miraculous food. This then, they supposed, could not but be the long-desired commencement of his more public, Matt. xiv. 15-23.; Mark, vi. 35—45.; Luke, ix. 12-17.; John, vi. 3-14. CHAP. V. Enthusiasm of the people. more national, career. Behold a second Moses! behold a Leader of the people, under whom they could never be afflicted with want! behold at length the Prophet, under whose government the people were to enjoy, among the other blessings of the Messiah's reign, unexampled, uninterrupted plenty.* Their acclamations clearly betrayed their intentions; they would brook no longer delay; they would force him to assume the royal title; they would proclaim him, whether consenting or not, the king of Israel.t Jesus withdrew from the midst of the dangerous tumult, and till the next day they sought him in vain. On their return to Capernaum, they found that he had crossed the lake, and entered the city the evening before. Their suspense, no doubt, had not been allayed by his mysterious disappearance on the other side of the lake. The circumstances under which he had passed over‡, if communicated by the Apostles to the wondering multitude (and unless positively *He made manna to descend for them, in which were all manner of tastes; and every Israelite found in it what his palate was chiefly pleased with. If he desired fat in it, he had it. In it the young men tasted bread; the old men, honey; and the children, oil. So it shall be in the world to come (the days of the Messias); he shall give Israel peace, and they shall sit down and eat in the garden of Eden; all nations shall behold their condition; as it is said, "Behold my servants shall eat, but ye shall be hungry." Isaiah, lxv. Rambam in Sanhed. cap. 10. Many affirm that the hope of Israel is, that Messiah shall come and raise the dead; and they shall be gathered together in the garden of Eden, and shall eat and drink, and satiate themselves all the days of the world .; and that there are houses built all of precious stones, beds of silk, and rivers flowing with wine and spicy oil. Shemoth Rabba, sect. 25.; Lightfoot in loc. vol. xii. 292. + John, vi. 15. Matt. xiv. 24—33. ; Mark, vi. 47-53.; John, vi. 16-21. V. prohibited by their master, they could not have CHAP. kept silence on so wonderful an occurrence) would inflame still farther the intense popular agitation. While the Apostles were passing the lake in their boat, Jesus had appeared by their side, walking upon the waters. synagogue When therefore Jesus entered the synagogue Jesus in the of Capernaum, no doubt the crisis was imme- of Caperdiately expected: at length he will avow him- naum. self; the declaration of his dignity must now be made; and where with such propriety as in the place of the public worship, in the midst of the devout and adoring people.* The calm, the purely religious language of Jesus was a death-blow to these high-strung hopes. The object of his mission, he declared in explicit terms, was not to confer temporal benefits; they were not to follow him. with the hope that they would obtain without labour the fruits of the earth, or be secured against thirst and hunger-these were mere casual and incidental blessings. The real design of the new religion was the improvement of the moral and spiritual condition of man, described under the strong but not unusual figure of nourishment administered to the soul. During the whole of his address, or rather his conversation with the different parties, the popular opinion was in a state of fluctuation; or, as is probable, there were two distinct parties, that of the populace, at first more favourable to Jesus; and that of the Jewish leaders, who were altogether hostile. The former appear more humbly + Ibid. 26-29. * John, vi. 22-71. CHAP. V. to have inquired what was demanded by the new Teacher in order to please God: of them Jesus required faith in the Messiah. The latter first demanded a new sign*, but broke out into murmurs of disapprobation when "the carpenter's son" began in his mysterious language to speak of his descent, his commission, from his Father, his reascension to his former intimate communion with the Deity; still more when he seemed to confine the hope of everlasting life to those only who were fitted to receive it; to those whose souls would receive the inward nutriment of his doctrines. No word in the whole address fell in with their excited, their passionate hopes: however dark, however ambiguous his allusions, they could not warp or misinterpret them into the confirmation of their splendid views. Not only did they appear to discountenance the immediate, they gave no warrant to the remote, accomplishment of their visions of the Messiah's earthly power and glory.† At all events the disappointment was universal; his own adherents, baffled and sinking at once from their exalted hopes, cast off their unambitious, their inexplicable Leader; and so complete appears to have been the desertion, that Jesus demanded of the Twelve, whether they too would abandon his cause, and leave him to his fate. In the name of the Apostles *John, vi. 30. There is some difficulty in placing the conversation with the Pharisees, (Matt. xv. 1-20.; Mark, vii. 1-23.), whether before or after the retreat of Jesus to the more remote district. The inci dent, though characteristic, is not of great importance, and seems rather to have been a private inquiry of certain members of the sect, than the public appeal of persons deputed for that purpose. |
