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desolate by the absence of their master, whose conversation and undertaking had formerly rendered every hill and village a place of interest-to listen with anxiety to the reports of those who say he is risen; to allow our wishes to overcome distrust; to imagine that the risen Messiah is still walking the earth, secure in his immortal state from further attempts of his enemies; to expect him at times to throw aside his invisible veil, and to look for him on the mountain, high road, and lake; to believe that his now divine nature enables him to assume different forms at pleasure, and to convert each dimly-seen or indistinctly-remembered shape into Jesus; and when he seems finally to have left the earth, to see him ascending to the right hand of God, there to wait the appointed time for revealing his kingdom. But imagination and feeling are unsafe guides in an inquiry into facts. The real occurrence is often found to bear no proportion in grandeur to the shape which it has assumed in contemplation. And in the circumstances attending the death of Jesus, we are forced to see a striking instance of the tendency of the mind to invest ordinary events with a higher beauty and interest than unimpassioned observation alone could discover, and to give to the common places of the world an impress of that higher life and perfection toward which it seems borne by its own nature. The disappearance of the body of the crucified Nazarene loses the mysterious grandeur which its connexion with themes most interesting to mankind had drawn around it, and shrinks into a comparatively poor and trifling incident when we approach for close inspection but the sublime views which it was in part the occasion of bringing forth, and the moral revolution which it contributed to promote, are in themselves deeply-interesting facts, which have an important bearing on every inquiry concerning the ultimate destination of the human mind.

CHAPTER VIII.

REMARKS ON THE OTHER MIRACLES IN THE FOUR

GOSPELS.

IN common life marvellous tales are often met with, which, on taking the trouble to trace them back through various stages to their source, we find to have originated in something perfectly intelligible and natural. And when we have done this in some instances, we conclude that the same result would follow in the case of similar tales, coming to us through the same channels, although in this latter case we might not have the means of following up such a tedious investigation.

For instance,-Irenæus says, "There were some who had heard Polycarp relate, how St. John, going one day to the bath in Ephesus, and finding the heretic Cerinthus in it, started back instantly without bathing, crying out, Let us run away, lest the bath should fall upon us, while Cerinthus, the enemy of truth, is in it."-Iren. 1. iii. c. 3. Epiphanius tells the same story of Ebion, and adds, that "St. John had never before made use of the public baths, till he was sent thither on this occasion by divine inspiration, to give this open testimony of his detestation of heresy." Feuardentius, in his notes on this passage of Irenæus, says that Jerome, in his treatise against the Luciferians, affirms that "immediately after the retreat of St. John, the bath actually fell down, and crushed Cerinthus to death." An ordinary event is thus grown into a miracle of some magnitude.

There is no reason why we should not apply the same mode of investigation to the narratives of the writers in the century before Irenæus, viz. those of the New Testament.

fishes.

Draught of In Matthew, ch. iv., and Mark i., there is an account of Jesus calling Peter to follow him, whilst he was fishing at the sea of Galilee. Luke relates the same occurrence, adding a miraculous draught of fishes, ch. v. John adds a miraculous fire of coals to broil the fish, and a prophecy of Peter's death; and makes the whole take place after the resurrection of Jesus. xxi.*

Here, again, we see the very natural progress of a story during sixty-four years, from a simple occurrence into a cluster of miracles. And it gives us reason to think that other accounts of miracles would also be easily explicable if we had the means of stopping them at each stage.

Descent of the spirit.

Matthew and Mark relate that Jesus was baptized by John the Baptist, and that he saw the spirit descending upon himself like a dove. Luke says that the spirit did descend in a bodily shape, like a dove. John adds, that this descent of the spirit had been foretold to John the Baptist. By the time of Justin, there was also a fire kindled in the Jordan. Dial. with Trypho.

Marriage

feast at Cana.

John alone gives the story of the marriage feast, where the water was turned into wine.

The in

ternal evidence becomes therefore of the more importance.

*That all the accounts are based upon the same incident is inferred from the following resemblances :

The scene was at the sea of Galilee or Tiberias '.
Peter, James, and John, were amongst those

present

They were fishing

Jesus gives the command to Peter, Follow me

Jesus promises Peter that he shall be a fisher of

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The fishermen forsake all and follow him

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in all four.

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Matt., Mark, and John.

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Luke and John.

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"When they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him, They have no wine." There is no reason why Jesus should be applied to for wine, which it was the duty of the host to furnish; but however unnatural the application in reality, it was quite natural on the part of the writer, who has to prepare the way for the event. Jesus replies, "Woman, what hast thou to do with me? mine hour is not yet come :" a reply no less unnatural, and of which the only object could be to demonstrate the prophetic dignity of Jesus, by indicating that he regulated all his actions so as to fulfil exactly the divine decrees concerning him; accordingly the phrase is a favourite one with this evangelist, John vii. 6; xiii. 1; xvi. 21. But as his compliance proves that the hour was about to come in a few seconds, such a declaration here would partake both of harshness and ostentation. "His mother saith unto the servants, Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it." This implies that the mother of Jesus had the same foresight of what was to come that the writer had; for how could she otherwise give such apposite introductory directions?-Jesus having as yet exhibited no miraculous powers, nor having intimated that he was about to give any directions to the servants. The enormous quantity of wine produced,* (about one hundred and thirty gallons,) and its goodness, which excites the wonder of the host, accord better with the aim of a narrator anxious to exhibit a great miracle, than with that of a reforming prophet. Whatever fact might have supplied a basis for the story, the greater part is evidently artificially contrived, to produce on the readers that effect

Josephus, Ant. viii. 2, 9, makes a bath equal to 72 éσral, an Attic measure holding a pint. The perpηThs or firkin, also an Attic measure, is commonly represented equal to 72 éσrai, or 9 English gallons. Jahn's Antiq. § 114. The bath is rendered in the Septuagint Base and μETρηTS. Calmet. But Calmet says the bath contained 74 gallons. Six water-pots of 2 or 3 metretes each (say 15) 1124, or 135 gallons.

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which the supposed occurrence is said to have produced on the beholders; viz. "to manifest forth the glory of Jesus." But as far as relates to the beholders, the whole must have been a failure; for we learn elsewhere after all, that the kinsmen of Jesus who were there did not believe in him. John vii. 5; Mark iii. 21.

Now in this instance we have no means of detecting the progress of exaggeration or invention by comparing the story with another account; but, unless we had seen reason to confide implicitly in the writer's veracity, (which we have not, see chap. vi.) it would be more reasonable to suppose the simple fact to have been, that Jesus was once in his life present at a marriage-feast, and that some of his disciples in after-times endeavoured to honour him by attributing to him a miracle on the occasion, than to believe a story loaded with such improbabilities.

Peter's wife's

Matthew says, that Jesus touched the hand of mother. Peter's wife's mother, " And the fever left her, and she arose and ministered unto them." Mark, although apparently borrowing from him, or from the same source, makes the affair resemble a miracle more by saying "immediately the fever left her, and she ministered unto them;" and Luke completes it by saying, "it was a great fever,” and "immediately she arose and ministered unto them." Now the variations, although perhaps made innocently, are important; for the reality of the miracle depends upon the greatness of the fever, and upon the patient's exhibiting immediately some visible sign of recovery, such as rising. Casting out A more striking instance of the same sort is the

demons.

following. Matthew says,

viii. 16, "When the even was come, they brought unto him many that were possessed with demons; and he cast out the spirits with his word, and cured all that were sick."

Mark i. 32, "And at even when the sun did set, they brought unto him

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