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CHAPTER XXI.

CHRIST declareth himself to be the Light of the World, and justifieth his Doctrine against the Pharisees: He promises Freedom, through Knowl edge of the Truth, to those Jews who believed on him: Confuleth their vain Boast of being Abraham's Seed, and the Children of God: Answereth their Reviling, by shewing his Authority and Dignity: and by Miracle, rescueth himself fron their Attempts to stone him: He rcstoreth to Sight, a Man that was born blind, who relateth to his Neighbours the Means of his Cure; and he is brought to the Pharisees, who examine strictly into the Fact, and are offended with his Acknowledgment of the divine Mission of the Author; they excommunicate him; he is received of JESUS, and confesseth him. CHRIST tareth the Pharisees with spiritual Blindness: He declareth himself to be the Door, and the good Shepherd: Divers Opinions concerning him. CHRIST reproveth the fiery Zeal of James and John against the Samaritans, who would not receive him; and proposeth Terms to three Persons, who of fer to follow him: He sendeth out the seventy Disciples, a second Time, to work Miracles and to preach: He pronounceth a Woe against Chorazin, Bethsada, and Capernaum: The seventy return with Joy; CHRIST sheweth them wherein to rejoice: He thanketh his Father for having revealed his Gospel to the Simple only: He teacheth a Lawyer how to attain eternal Life; and by the Parable of the good Samaritan, sheweth whom we are to consider as our Neighbours.

JESUS having, by an amazing display of his wisdom and penetration, defeated the malice, and mortified the pride of the Scribes and Pharisees, and they being sent away ashamed, under the full conviction that he knew the secrets of their hearts and lives; our Lord having, by his superior wisdom, made use of their own consciences to defeat their cruel and villainous designs, he turned to the people and with the utmost propriety declared, that he was the light of the world;" that light which could penetrate through the darkness of the human heart, and discover and bring to light the dark designs and wicked devices of the sons of men; that light which could pierce through the outside shew of sanctity and holiness, and discover the secret abominations of the most proud and accomplished hypocrite; and that light which could discover the paths of darkness and error, and lead those who are enabled to follow our Redeemer, in the road to eternal blessedness and rest. Hence, our blessed Saviour declared, "I am the light of the world: he that followeth me, shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." John viii. 12.

Some of the enemies of our Lord were amongst the people who heard this declaration, and they were so highly provoked that they told him, he must be a deceiver because he boasted of himself: "Thou bearest record

of thyself," said they; "thy record is not true." To this, the great Saviour of sinners replied, that he did not call himself the light of the world from a principle of pride and falsehood, but it was a title that justly belonged to him, which they would acknowledge, had they received true ideas of the Messiah's kingdom: but their carnal views had blinded their eyes, and corrupted and depraved their judgments, so that they did not know from what authority he had received his commission, nor whether he should return when he had executed it: Though I bear record of myself," said he, " yet my record is true: for I know whence I came, and whither I go: but ye cannot tell whence I came or whither I go. Ye judge after the flesh; 1 judge no man." Nor, added he, is there any truth or justice in your remark, that I bear witness of myself, and have none to witness for me: for, let it be known, that my Father is with me; & joins me in whatsoever I say or do: ". And yet if I judge," said he, " my judgment is true: for I am not alone, but I and the Father that sent me. It is also written in your law, that the testimony of two men is true. one that beareth witness of myself, and the Father that sent me, beareth witness of me."

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The Jews then inquired, Where is thy Father, the other witness to whom thou appealest? To which our Lord replied, that their conduct and foolish inquiries, sufficiently demonstrated, that they were strangers, both to him and to his Father: for had they known who he was, they would certainly have been at no loss to know who it was that he called his Father: had they known that he was the Messiah, they must understand that his Father was the Great JEHOVAH, that all-wise and all-powerful Being, who was the great Maker, the all-wise and all-potent Preserver, the supreme Governor, and King of the universe: Ye neither know me, nor my Father," said our great Redeemer; if ye had known me, ye should have know my Father also."

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This discourse, the evangelists inform us was held in the treasury, where the chests, were placed for receiving the offerings of all who came up to worship in the temple, & must, therefore bave been a place of great resort, being frequented by all sorts of people: but, notwithstanding the public manner in which our Lord advanced his claim to the character of the Messiah, and the pride and rage of the Pharisees, no man attempted to seize him; Divine Providence did not permit them to put their cruel designs into execution, because his hour, or the time of his sufferings and death, was not yet come.

After this discourse was ended, JESUS repeated what he had before told them, declaring that he should shortly depart from them, and that then they should seek him, and not be able to find him: "I go my way," said he, "and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your sins. Whither I go ye cannot come." Perhaps, in these words he might allude to the state of the Jewish nation after his death, and may be supposed to say, I soon shall depart from amongst you, and such miseries and calamities will overspread the land, that you will be glad of a prophet to direct your conduct, and to pray for you: the Roman armies will spread such devastation and horror over the face of your country, that you will then earnestly wish for the coming of the Messiah, in expectation of being delivered, by his power from your cruel enemy: but ye shall then find your mistake, ye shall die in your sins, and be forever excluded the realins of blessedness and rest.

But the Jews were very far from understanding what he meant by going from them, they were so foolish as to imagine, that he designed to put an end to his life with his own hands; for they thought the only retreat where they could not find him, must be the dark and silent chambers of the grave: "Will he kill himself," said they, "because he saith, Whither I go, ye cannot come." To this, the blessed Jesus replied, your base insinuation betrays, at once, the wickedness of your hearts, and the corruption and

depravity of your natures: ye are from the earth, and are partakers of all the corruption and depravity consequent on the fall of man; and from the evii passions which arise in your own wicked hearts, you form your conceptions of me; and, thinking me like yourselves, conclude, that I can be capable of committing so horrid a crime as self-murder: but you are mistaken in me; my extraction and my disposition are very different from yours: I am not of this world; I am no partaker of the evils consequent on sin; 1 have no propensity to corrupt and evil passions; my mind is not tainted with the corruption of human nature, the source of temptation, and the fountain of all evi!: I came from above, and if you believe in me, you will find a remedy for those evils which flow from the bitter fountain of the fall of man, and will be cleansed from that pollution which flows from your earthly origin; but if ye still continue in unbelief, "ye shall die in your

sins."

The Jews, in order to vindicate themselves, inquired what sort of a person he was, or who he pretended to be? To which our Lord replied, "Even the same that I said unto you from the beginning; meaning the light of the world," which he had stiled himself in the beginning of this discourse; adding, "I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I spake to the world those things which I have heard of him."However plain this discourse may appear, it was not understood by the stupid Jews; they did not perceive, that he spake to them of the Father." But JESUS told them, that when they had crucified him, they would be convinced by the miracles attending that awful hour, his resurrection from the dead, the descent of the Holy Spirit on his disciples, and the destruction of the Jewish nation, both who he was, and who the Father was that sent him: "When ye have lifted up the son of man," said he," then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him."

As he spake these words, many of the Jews believed him to be the Messiah; perhaps, by his being lifted up they did not understand his crucifixion, but his being exalted to the throne of David: but JESUS told them, if they persevered in the belief of his word, they should really become his disciples, and being fully instructed in every doctrine of the gospel, they should not only be freed from the slavery of sin, but also from the ceremenial part of the law of Moses: "If ye continue in my word," said he, "then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,"

The Jews on hearing him declare, that they should be made free, hastily and warmly replied, "We be Abraham's secd, and were never in bondage to any man." This assertion, if taken in a literal sense, was absolutely false, the whole nation being at that very time, in bondage to the Romans; nor were their ancestors any strangers to bondage and slavery, having severely felt the tyrannical yoke of the Egyptian, Assyrian and Babylonish kings. It must therefore be supposed, that the expression was meant in a metaphorical sense, and alluded to spiritual bondage: in this sense, it was a freedom in respect to religion which they asserted, and they meant, that they were the descendants of illustrious ancestors, who in the worst of times, had preserved sentiments of religion and government worthy the posterity of Abraham; nor had the hottest persecution of the Assyrian kings, been able to compel them to embrace the religion of the Heathens; in respect to truth, they were never in bondage to any man, and they asked our Redeemer, "How sayest thou, ye shall be made free?"

In answer to this question, JESUS replied, that they who gave themselves up to a vicious course of life, and to the gratification of sensual appetites, were the worst of slaves, and it was highly necessary for them to

consider whether that character did not belong to themselves: " Verily 'verily, I say unto you," said he, "whosoever committeth sin, is the servant of sin." And as a slave cannot be assured of the continuance of his master's favour, nor of abiding in his house continually, so our great Redeemer observed, that his Father might justly, for their sins, deprive them of the external privileges which they had so grossly abused: as their sin had rendered them bond-slaves to divine justice, they might expect to fall under the severest marks of his displeasure, except they prevented the dreadfal evils consequent on their wickedness, by believing on his Son, and receiving him who alone was able to make them free indeed, and place them in the heavenly Jerusalem. Our Lord then proceeded to inform them, that though, in a natural sense. they were the seed of Abraham; yet, in a moral sense, they were the offspring of Satan, which was fully manifested by their unjust & cruel design to destroy their great Deliverer: “I know,” said he," that ye are Abraham's seed; but ye seek to kill me, because my word hath no place in you. I speak that which I have seen with my Father; and ye do that which you have seen of your father." To this the Jews hastily and angrily replied, "Abraham is our Father" but our Re deemer informed them, that it appeared from their conduct, that they were of another original: "If, said he, 66 ye were Abraham's children, ye would do the works of Abraham. But now ye seek to kill, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God; this did not - Abraham,"

Our Lord having declared to the Jews, that it was manifest from their deeds, and their wicked inclinations, whose children they were; they, willing to justify themselves, replied with some warmth: "We be not born of fornication: we have one Father, even God." By these expressions, the Jews did not mean a natural, but a spiritual lineage, and by their not being born of fornication, their being free from idolatry, which in the language of the prophets, is represented as fornication and adultery: they were not idolatrous themselves, nor born of idolatrous parents, and therefore, they stiled themselves the children of God. But JESUS gave them to understand, that if they were the children of God, they would manifest their relation by their love to his Son: "If God were your Father," said he, " ye would love me: for I proceedeth forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me:" but ye, continued our great Redeemer, are of your father the devil; you appear in his likeness and continue to gratify the evil inclinations, and diabolical passions which ye have learnt of him, and derived from him; falsehood, pride, and cruelty, are the passions which he constantly inspires, and these are abundantly manifested in your temper and conduct; he delights in murder and blood, and you are plotting against the life of the innocent; falsehood and lies are * natural to him, and he never speaketh the truth but to put off some lie which he hath joined to it: "Ye are," said the exalted Savionr of sinners, "of your Father the Devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own; for he is a liar, and the father of it. And because I tell you the truth, ye believe me not."

Our Lord then publicly challenged all his enemies, to prove him guilty of any falsehood: "Which of you," said he, " convicteth me of sin ?" Are any of you able to shew that I have done any thing which renders me unworthy of belief? Can you prove that I have taught false doctrine? Have I reproved you unjustly for your actions? Have I charged you with erimes you were not guilty of ? And can any of you prove me guilty of any sinful action, or prove any part of my conduct to be inconsistant with the character I have assumed? If none of you can do this, but must confess that my doctrine and life are such as might be expected from a messenger sent

from God; "Why do ye not believe me ?" But the reason is plain, yon do not belong to God, ye have no interest in his favour, nor are partakers of his grace: He that is of God, heareth God's words; ye therefore heard them not, because ye are not of God."

This declaration exasperated and enraged the Jews to the highest pitch, and with a mixture of disdain and contempt, they replied, "Say we not well, that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil ?" His calling the de scendants of Abraham the children of the Devil, they thought was a sufficient proof that either he must be a profligate wretch, which they meant by calling him a Samaritan, or else must be instigated by some evil spirit. But JESUS replied, that he was not under the dominion of any evil spirit, but spake the words of eternal truth; was not in league with hell, nor in alliance with the prince of darkness: on the contrary, he honoured his Father, by speaking the words of truth, which he sent him to deliver : have not a devil," said he "; "but 1 honour my Father, and ye do dishonour' me, and I seek not mine own glory; there is one that seeketh and judgeth." Our great Redeemer, by these words, gave them to understand, that he did not court their applause, or fear their reproaches: for there was one concerned, that was able to vindicate his honour, and severely punish all who should dare to attack him with unjust and malignant reproaches.

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Our great Redeemer, having vindicated his character, proceeded to make a declaration, which very much surprised the Jews with whom he was conversing, Verily, verily I say unto you," said he, "if a man keep my words, he shall never see death." The Jews, thinking these words had reference to a natural death, cried out with an air of triumph, "Now we know that thou hast a devil. Abraham is dead, and the prophets; and thou sayest, if a man keep my saying, he shall never taste of death. Art thou greater than our father Abraham, which is dead? And the prophets are dead; whom makest thou thyself ?" John viii. 52. 53. To this our great Redeemer replied, that as they had lately objected to the testimony which he bare of himself, he should not rest the cause on that foundation, but refer it to his Father whom they acknowledged to be the supreme Lord of heaven and earth; but, though they pretended to worship the true God, they were totally ignorant of him; they neither formed just conceptions of him, nor worshipped him in the manner they ought; they were not the persons by whom he required to be worshiped, and whom he always accepted; on the contrary, JESUS declared, that he formed just ideas of God, and obeyed his precepts; if he was to say he did not know him, he would be a liar, like the Jews with whom he was conversing. And as to the patriarch Abraham, of whom they boasted so much, he earnestly desired to see the day of the Messiah, and had so much of it revealed to him, as filled his heart with gladness; "If I honour myself," said our great Redeemer, my honour is nothing; it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, he is your God, yet ye have not known him, but I know him; and if I shall say, I know him not, I shall be a liar like unto you; but I know him, and keep his saying. Your father Abraham rejoiced," or desired, "to see my days; and be saw it, and was glad."

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The Jews understanding these words in a natural sense, concluded that he affirmed, that he was before Abraham, and knowing that he was under fifty years old, they considered this declaration as absolutely impossible and highly ridiculous. They had no conception of his divine nature, though he had so often told them he was the Son of God, and, of consequence, existed with the Father before the commencement of time. This gross stupidity and perverseness, induced our great Redeemer to assert his dignity in the plainest terms; "Verily, verily, I say unto you, before Abraham was, I am." This declaration so enraged the Jews, that they R