J. P. 4739. V. Æ. 26*. Bethabara, where the ark had rested on its passage SECTION XIX. The Baptism of Christ ". from the wil. MATT. iii. 13. to the end. MARK i. 9, 10, 11. derness into Canaan. e Matt. lii, 13 21, 22. and part of 23. • And it came to pass in those days, when all the people were baptized, LUKE iii. Mark i. 9. Luke iii. 21. ON THE PERIOD THAT ELAPSED BETWEEN THE COMMENCEMENT OF THE • Much discussion has at various times taken place respecting the period which elapsed between the commencement of the ministry of John and the baptism of Christ. Lightfoot, (Harmony, p. 8. Works, vol. i.) and Newcome, (Harm. not. in loc.) suppose six months.-Bedford's (Scrip. Chron.) the same. -Benson (Chron. of the Life of Christ,) five months.-Dean Prideaux three years and a half. It is the general opinion, that about the same interval, elapsed between the commencement of the ministry of the Messiah and of his forerunner, as had previously elapsed between their births. Pilkington, however, has supposed there were about seventeen months between these events; and, contrary to the united authorities of the most learned harmonizers, and perhaps to his general good judgment, he has adopted the fanciful theory of Whiston, who supposes thirteen months to have transpired, and that the baptism of Christ followed the calling of Andrew, Philip, and Nathanael,—the marriage at Cana,— the first driving of the buyers and sellers from the temple, and the conversations which were held, in the course of that period, in Jerusalem, and with Nicodemus. It is after this last event, that Whiston inserts the baptism of Christ. Pilkington goes on to arrange, in addition to these events, the baptizing by Christ himself of many disciples in Judæa, and his conversation with the woman of Samaria,-the believing of many of the Samaritans and Galileans, and the healing of the nobleman's son at Capernaum: it is not till then, that he proceeds to the account of the baptism of our Lord, and his subsequent temptation; both of which events these two commentators concur in placing, as the Scripture expressly asserts, immediately after that event. Whiston's arguments, together with those of Pilkington and Marshall, in favour of the later date assigned to the baptism of Christ, may be thus enumerated and answered. 1. Eusebius asserts that the three Evangelists omitted the former part of Christ's ministry, which took place before the imprisonment of John. This assertion of Eusebius, as is easily proved by examining the several harmonies, is totally groundless; the more public ministry of Christ certainly did not begin till that event: and even if it were correct, John no where declares that the date of the baptism of Christ was that, which is assigned to it by Whis ton. 2. It appears, from Matt. iii. 14. that Jesus baptized before his own baptism. In reply to this remark, Archbishop Newcome has observed, that John, ac 48 See page 90. that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee, Bethabara,&c. knowledging Christ to be the Messiah, exclaims, "I have need to be baptized of Thee," (by the Holy Spirit). 3. The baptism of Christ is placed after the history of John's ministry, and before his imprisonment. The Evangelists, like the writers of the Old Testament, do not exactly observe the chronological order, as Whiston supposes they did in this instance. As John was the forerunner of Christ, it might have been expected that they would follow the plan they have actually adopted; that is, would put together all those actions of John which characterized the second Elias: and would then proceed to the ministry of our Lord, beginning with his baptism, in which he was solemnly anointed by the Holy Spirit to his high office. 4. It appears, from Luke iii. 21. that Christ did not come to be baptized till all the rest of the people had been baptized. The expression, ἐν τῷ βαπτισθῆναι, implies that Christ came to John while the people were still continuing to desire baptism from John; it is not μerà ró. Campbell translates the passage, "Now when John baptized all the people, Jesus was likewise baptized." 5. The Baptist was imprisoned immediately after the baptism of Christ, Luke iv. 13, 14. But this observation has been already answered. Whiston assumes that St. Luke wrote in order of time; whereas he has merely anticipated the relation of the imprisonment of John, that he might better conclude for a time the history of the Baptist. To these arguments Pilkington adds, that John did not know Christ till he had seen the Spirit descending on him ;-but before his baptism, when the Spirit descended, he declared he knew him. To this the Archbishop replies: "John i. 31. 33. may be reconciled with Matt. iii. 14. by supposing that John, for wise reasons, knew not Jesus personally till he came to be baptized; though he must have heard before of Jesus's name and wonderful birth, from his own relations. God seems to have revealed to the Baptist, soon after he entered on his ministry, that the visible descent of the Spirit should point out to him the Messiah, John i. 33. When Jesus came to be baptized, Matt. iii. 14. it is probable John knew him by a supernatural impulse; as Samuel knew Saul and David, 1 Sam. ix. 17. xvi. 12; and as Ahijah discovered the wife of Jeroboam, 1 Kings xiv. 5. See also Luke ii. 28. 38. and afterwards the sign foretold, John i. 33. confirmed the Baptist in his belief that Jesus was the Christ. Le Clerc's Paraphrase on Matt. iii. 14. is, Quod afflatu prophetico ab eo dicebatur: nam Jesum non norât. Harm. p. 40. And F. Spanheim says, dub. evang. 2. p. 147. Nihil aliud propositum Joanni Baptistæ nisi ostendere se non ex familiaritate aliquâ ante contractâ Christum novisse; sed ex merâ revelatione cœlesti; adeoque nihil a se dari nec cognationi, nec amicitiæ, nec gratiæ, nec collusioni alicui clandestina. The Baptist is not to be understood as saying, he did not know Jesus, but by a sign from heaven; see Dr. Priestley's Harm. p. 78. but that he knew him not, before he came to be baptized, and that God had promised a sign by which he should be Bethabara,&c. But John forbad him, saying, I have need to be Matt. iii. 14. baptized of thee, and comest thou to me? And Jesus answering said unto him, Suffer it to Matt. iii. 15. be so now for thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness 49. Then he suffered him: And [he] was baptized of John in Jordan. Mark i. 9. And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up Matt. iii. 16. straightway out of the water: And straightway coming up out of the water; and praying, lo! *Or, cloven, he saw the heavens or, rent. opened Mark i. 10, Matt. iii. 16. Mark i. 10. unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descend- Matt. iii. 16. ing like a dove 50, known; which sign, intended for a full confirmation, was preceded by an inspired knowledge of Jesus."-Newcome, Harm. notes, p. 6. These apparently inconsistent passages have been reconciled in various other ways. Hales, vol. ii. part ii. p. 731. is of opinion that John knew Christ personally, but was not informed of his dignity and office, till he was assured of it by a miracle. Lightfoot supposes that John knew not that Christ was in the world till he came to be baptized-when, knowing him by the Spirit, John forbade him ;-and the sign of the Holy Ghost, descending from heaven, was the sign given him for assurance and confirmation. Vide Elsley on John i. 33. I have discussed this question at greater length than to many will appear necessary: because Pilkington is one of my authorities, and has written a dissertation expressly on the subject. 48 The time had now arrived when the Messiah was to begin his public career, and to break forth from the obscurity of his lowly life. He commenced it in that manner which was most suited to his dignity as a spiritual Being, by an act of obedience to the established law of his heavenly Father, accompanied with the most fervent prayer. On this important occasion, in the presence of the assembled multitude, a voice from heaven declares him to be "The beloved Son of God, in whom he was well pleased." His divine mission now received the miraculous confirmation which had always satisfied the ancient patriarchs and fathers of the Jewish Church. It received the testimony of the "Bath Col," or "voice from heaven ;" and the visible glory of the Shechinah hovered over him. The question, whether the inauguration of Christ into his high office was not as public, and therefore as generally known, as that of Moses, will be discussed in the note to 2 Peter i. 16. Danzius, in a learned tract preserved by Meuschen, in his N. T. ex Talmude, has treated this curious and interesting subject at some length. 49 Christ came to John to be baptized. He was baptized by John not of necessity, not for his own sake, but for ours. He was baptized that he might confer honour on John, sanction his ministry, and commend it to the doubting Jews. By this act he made himself the head of all who by baptism confess their 50 See next page. Mark i. 11. Luke iii, 23. and lighting upon him: And lo! there came a voice from heaven, saying, Thou art And Jesus himself began to be about thirty years MATT. iii. part of ver. 13. 16, and 17. 13 f Then cometh Jesus from Galilee 16-and-the heavens were opened 17 -a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. sins, and are admitted into the Church. He sanctified baptism by thus subjecting himself to it, that man might not despise it as an useless or unmeaning ceremony. He would not that men should refuse to come to the baptism of their Lord, when he had not disdained the baptism of his servant. By baptism he shadowed out the difference between the carnal and spiritual state of man, and between our fallen condition and his own; first mean, then glorious ;-first earthly, then heavenly ;-first mortal, then immortal;-first buried under the earth, as the worshipper was buried under the water, and rising therefrom spiritual, changed, and glorious. Christ by his baptism renewed his covenant with his Father; and fulfilled all righteousness, by complying with every law, which proceeded from the wisdom of God, and was designed only for the happiness and restoration of man.-Vide Witsius de Vita Joannis:-Miscell. Sac. vol. ii. p. 537. 50 As a dove hovers over her nest with an undulating and gentle motion, so did the emblem of the presence of God wave and bend, and rise and fall, over the head of our Saviour. Such seems to be the most defensible, as well as the most generally received, interpretation. It is consistent also with the analogy that may be found between the old and new covenants (a). At the beginning of the material creation the Spirit of God moved on the face of the waters; the Spirit of God, "dove like, sat brooding on the vast abyss (b)." (a) This view of the analogy between the action of the Spirit at the Creation, and at the baptism of Christ, I find confirmed by a singular tradition among the Jews. In a note in Brescith Rabba, sect. 2. fol. 4. 4. on Genesis i. 2. we read, "Et spiritus Dei: intelligitur Spiritus Regis Messiæ, de quo dicitur, Isa. xi. 1. Et quiescit super illum Spiritus Domini." Post quæ verba allegata statim hæc addit R. Ephraim in Gr. Gibborim ad Genes. 1. 2., 66 Incubuit, sicut columba, quæ volitat super nido, illum attingens, et non attingens." Pergunt vero in Brescith Rabba: "Quomodo vero ministratur Spiritus Messiæ, et venit movens se super faciam aquarum? Resp. Quando vos movebitis corda vestra, sicat aquas, per pœnitentiam; quum admodum dicitur," Thren. ii. 19. "Effunde, sicut aquas, cor tuum coram Domino. Intelligitur Spiritus Messiæ. Quum primum enim ille se super aquis legis commovit, statim facta est redemptio." Vide Schoetgeneii Hora Hebraicæ, vol. i. p. 9 and 10. This, then, is another instance of the wonderful fulfilment, in the person of Jesus of Nazareth, of many of the singular traditions entertained among the Jews respecting their Messiah. (b) The word in Genesis non without points, must be considered as a participle of Hiphil, the causative; with points it is the participle of Pihel, the intensive; a signification much more consistent both with the sense of the passage in Genesis, and the description of the descent of the emblematical representation of the power of the Spirit in the Evangelical narrative. Bethabara,&c. f Mark 1. 9. Luke iii. 21. Bethabara,&c. g Matt. iii, 13. MARK i. part of ver. 10. 10 and the Spirit, like a dove, descending upon him : LUKE iii. 21, 22. 21 Now- it came to pass, that Jesus also being baptized-the heaven was opened, 22 And the Holy Ghost descended-upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased. J. P. 4739. Wilderness. SECTION XX. The Temptation of Christ 51. MATT. iv. 1–11. MARK iv. 12, 13. LUKE iv. 1-13. And Jesus being full of the Holy Ghost re- Luke iv. I. h Matt. iv. 1. turned from Jordan: and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness. 51 ON THE TEMPTATION OF CHRIST. In order to understand the passage of the New Testament, which is contained in this section, and is justly supposed to be attended with many difficulties, it is necessary to consider the Messiah under that name which is alike given to him in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and in those of the Jewish traditions, which may be received with most confidence. Christ must be considered under the character of the second Adam, who came into the world to fulfil the same law which the first Adam had violated. That he might more evidently and effectually accomplish this object, it was appointed that he should be tempted like unto Adam, and undergo the same trial. If we consider the Messiah in this point of view as the second Adam, it seems possible that we shall more easily solve many of the difficulties which have been supposed to attend the literal interpretation of this interesting narrative. The Old Testament begins with an account of the preparation of the material world for the accommodation of the first Adam; the New Testament relates the preparation of the spiritual world, or Church, for the reception of the second Adam. When the time of his creation came, the first Adam was formed by the power of God, out of the then unpolluted earth; the second Adam was created by the same power of the Most High, in a similar state of innocence and perfection. When the first Adam was ushered into the world, he was a perfect man, and his Father blessed him. When the second Adam had attained to the fulness of manhood, he was, while submitting for our sakes to the rite of baptism, blessed from above: both were sinless; both were, in a peculiar sense, the sons of God, and partakers of the human nature. The first Adam was placed in Paradise, and fell into the Wilderness. The second Adam was placed in the Wilderness, and regained that Paradise which his predecessor had forfeited. Adam was driven out of Paradise into the Wilderness, and banished from the tree of life. Christ was led or driven into the Wilderness by the same Spirit, to undergo the same trial, and by a sinless obedience to revoke the sentence of condemnation, open again the gates of Paradise, and regain the tree of life. In him we have another perfect man, as yet untouched by the Tempter. To him, therefore, as to the |