Reflections on CHRIST's Readiness to meet his Sufferings.

269

the meanest and worst of Men, fo far as to be Sect. 142.
unwilling to do them Good, or to fubmit to La-
bour and Inconvenience for their Benefit.

And wonder not, that this fhould be required Mark X. 45.
of you, when you confider how great an Exam-
ple you have of this Temper, in him who is fo
far your Superior; for even the Son of Man him-
felf, tho' a Person of such illustrious Dignity, and
conftituted to fo glorious and lafting a Kingdom,
came not to be waited upon, but to ferve others;
and was not fent into the World, to exercise a
Temporal Dominion, and in a lordly Way to rule
I over Men, but to take upon him the Form of a
Servant, and not only to labour, but to die for their
Good, and to give his own Life as a Ranfom for
many, who had forfeited theirs to the Juftice of
an offended GOD. Think not therefore, that the
Difciples of fuch a felf-denying Mafter are to
dream of fecular Power, Dominion, and Gran-
deur; but rather ftudy to mortify these very un-
becoming Defires after it.

And quickly after this, they came to Jericho, 46
where Two Blind Men were cured by Christ,
which was foon after followed with the remark-
able Converfion of Zaccheus, as will be feen in
the next Section.

IMPROVEMENT.

STONISHING Grace, and Compaffion of the Son of GOD, in Mark x. 33, going up to Jerufalem at this Paffover, when he fo circumftantially 34. knew all the Things which were to befal him there! not only that he fhould be put to Death, but in what Manner he should fuffer; and what Cruelty, and what Scorn, fhould introduce the laft Scene of his Agonies! Yet, with fo fad a Profpect in his Eye, he marched on with diftinguished Alacrity, leading the Company, as if he longed to encounter what they Ver. 32. could not bear to fee, or even to hear of. Glorious Captain of our Salvation, give us the like Alacrity, in all the Sufferings we are to bear for thee!

Who would not grieve to fee thefe good Apoftles ftill fo much poffeffed Ver. 35,-37with the Spirit of this World, and ftill dreaming of Preferment in a Temporal Kingdom? Who would not especially lament it, that his most inti

mate

270

Ver. 38.

JESUS paffes thro' Jericho, and many follow him... Sect. 142. mate Friends, James, and John the beloved Difciple, should be the Perfons who fhould come to him with this ftrange Requeft? Juftly did our Lord answer them, You know not what you afk. And may not the fame Answer often be made to us? When therefore he denies us the great Things that we are seeking for ourselves, let us be satisfied with the Denial he fees fit to give us, believing that it is Wisdom and Love, and not Unkindness, that produces it.

Ver. -38.

Let us often afk ourselves, Can we share the Sufferings which our Lord endured? If we do not defire to do it, fo far as he fhall appoint, we are not worthy to be called his Difciples. Let us then gird up the Loins of our Minds, and wait our Mafter's Signal to go forth to any Suffering, or Service, that he shall require; ever ready to make ourselves Ver. 44, 45. the Servants of all, and therein to imitate the Humility of the Son of Man, who came not to be miniftered unto, but to minifter: Yet after all we can do, or bear for him, let our Truft ftill be in the Merits of his Righteousness and Blood, who gave his Life a Ransom for many. So shall we be fitted for those distinguished Honours in the Heavenly World, in Comparison with which Thrones and Sceptres on Earth are but empty Pageants, and childish Toys.

Sect. 143.

SECT. CXLIII.

Our LORD paffing thro' Jericho in his Way to Jerufalem, cures Two Blind Men as he came out from thence, and converts Zaccheus the Publican. Mat. XX. 29, to the End. Mark X. -46, to the End. Luke XVIII. 35, to the End. XIX. 1,—-10.

Α
A

MARK X. 46.

ND Jefus, being come to Jericho, proceeded on his Journey towards Jerufalem; Mark X. 46. and being obferved by many, as he was paffing thro' the City, they were all ready to run after him: And accordingly, as he went out of Jericho with his Difciples in his Train, a great Multitude of other People followed him.

Mat. XX. 30.

And behold, an Occafion offered for a remarkable Display of his Power and Grace at his Departure thence; for it came to pass, as he was yet

nigh

Blind Bartimeus and his Companion beg to be cured.

per

30.

271

nigh unto Jericho (a), that Two Blind Men fate Sec. 143.
begging by the Way-fide, as Beggars ufe to do in
Places that are much frequented; [the one] of whom Mat. XX.
was well known by the Name of Bartimeus, that
is, the Son of Timeus (b): And bearing the Luk.XVIII.
Noife of a great Multitude paffing by, be together 36.
with his Companion afked, what that unusual
Concourfe of People meant, and how it was oc-
cafioned. And they told him, that Jefus of 37
Nazareth, that celebrated Prophet who had
formed fo many Miracles, was coming by, and a
vaft Number of the People of the Town were
with him. And when be heard that it was Je- Mark X. 47.
fus of Nazareth, as he had frequently been told
what remarkable Cures of this Kind he had per-
formed in other Places, he could not but look
upon it as a happy Circumstance, that he was
now paffing by the very Place where he fate; and
immediately he began to cry out with a loud Voice,
and with great Eagerness to fay, Jefus, thou Son
of David, thou great and glorious Meffiah, pity
my fad Condition, and have Mercy on me! [yea,
they both] cried out, faying in the fame Manner,
and with one Voice, Have Mercy on us, oh Lord,
thou illuftrious Son of David, and exert thy Al-
mighty Power to deliver us from this deplorable
Darkness and Distress!

And fome of the Multitude, who went before Mat. XX.
Jefus, rebuked them for their making fuch a Cla- 31.
mour; and as the Voice of Bartimeus diftin-
guifhed itfelf on this Occafion, many particularly
charged him, that he should be filent, and not be
fo importunate and troublefome: But they, know-

ing

(a) As he was yet nigh unto Jericho.] In our Tranflation it is rendered, as he was come nigh unto Jericho; but the Original, To eye, only fignifies, when, or while he was near it; (compare Luke xix. 29.) and it is neceffary to underftand it thus, in order to reconcile Luke's Account of this Miracle, with that of Matthew and Mark, who both exprefsly fay, it was performed, as he departed, or went out of Jericho. Some have indeed fancied, that he restored Sight to one Blind Man, as he entered in, and to another, as he came out (fee Lightfoot's Harmony, §. 69.) but this is improbable, efpecially confidering how the Multitude rebuked Bartimeus for his Importunity, which furely they would never have done, if fuch a Cure as this had but just now been wrought at the other End of the fame Town.

(b) The Son of Timeus.] It is very probable, Timeus might have been a Perfon of fomeNote, whofe Son, by a Complication of Calamities, fell both into Poverty and Blindness.

(c) Rem

Mat. XX. 31.

272 Sect. 143. ing that if fuch an Opportunity as this was loft, it might never return, regarded nothing but the Success of their Petition, and therefore cried out a great deal the more earnestly, faying, as before, Have Mercy on us, oh Lord, thou Son of David! and Bartimeus efpecially repeated it again and again, faying, Thou Son of David, have Mercy on me, and help me.

JESUS orders them to be brought to him.

Mark X. 49.

And fefus, as he was advancing forwards in his Way, obferved how earnestly they cried; and as they ftill repeated their Requeft, he graciously food still, and ordered them both to be called [and] brought to him, that they might tell him what it was they fo earnestly defired. And upon this, the People had their Expectations raifed; and as they now concluded that they fhould fee him, work a Miracle, they ran immediately to call the Blind Man and his Companion, faying to him, as alfo to the other, Be of good Courage, and rife up, for he calleth thee to him; and you may therefore hope that

And

but they cried the more [a great deal, 1. faying, Have Mercy on us, O Lord, thou Son of David: [Thou Son of David, have Mercy on me.] [MARK X. 48. LUKE XVIII. 29.]

MARK X. 49. And Jefus ftood still, and com

manded [them] to be called, [Lux, and brought unto him:] and they call the him, Be of good Comfort, Blind Man, faying unto rife, he calleth thee. [MAT XX. 32.- LUKE XVIII. 40.-]

50 And he cafting away

meus joyfully received the Meffage, Bart his Garment, rofe, and came

and throwing
afide his upper Garment, that it might not hin-
der him a Moment, be arofe, and came to Jefus
with all poffible Hafte and Eagerness, the other
Blind Man alfo following as faft as he could.
51 "And when he was come near,
was come near, Jefus, to try his
Faith, and to encourage his Dependance on his
Power and Goodness, anfwered and faid unto him,
What is the Mercy you fo earnestly intreat? or
what dost thou defire I should do for thee? And the
Blind Man faid unto him, Rabboni, that is, my
Mafter and my Lord, the Favour which I beg is
obvious from the Circumftance in which thou feeft
me, even that I may be so happy as to recover my
Sight (c), the Lofs of which I cannot but lament
as a great Calamity to me, from which I know
that thou art able to deliver me. The other like-
wife by this Time came up, making the fame

Request ;

to Jesus.

51 And [LUK. when he was come near,] Jefus anWhat wilt thou that 1 fhould fwered and faid unto him, do unto thee? The Blind Man faid unto him, Lord, Sight: [They say, Lord, that I might receive my that our Eyes may be opened.] [Maт. XX. —32, 33. LUKE XVIII. 40, 41.]

(c) Recover my Sight.] This the Word aracas exactly fignifies, and feems to import, that he was not born blind, but loft his Sight by fome Difeafe or Accident, which made him fo much the more fenfible of the Calamity. Yet I acknowledge, it appears from Jobn ix. 11, 18. that the Word is fometimes used in a greater Latitude.

(d) He

They have their Sight reftored, and follow him.

MAT. XX. 34.-So Jefus had Compaffion on them, and touched their Eyes; [LUK. and faid unto him, Receive thy Sight,] [and go thy Way; thy Faith hath made the whole.] [MARK

X. 52. LUKE XVIII. 42.]

LUKE XVIII. 43. And immediately [their Eyes received Sight, and they] followed [MAR. Jefus in the Way, glorifying GOD: and all the People, when

they faw it, gave Praife unto GOD. [MAT. XX.-34. MARK X.-52.]

LUKE XIX. 1. And

273 Requeft; and they both joined to fay, Lord, we Sect. 143. befeech thee, that our Eyes might be opened.

Then Jefus had Compassion on them both, and Mat. XX. touched their Eyes; and as a Testimony of his Ap- 34. probation of that eminent Degree of Faith, which they had each of them expreffed, and Bartimeus in particular in the strongest Terms, he said to him, and his Companion, Be it unto thee as thou haft defired; receive thy Sight, [and] go thy Way; thy Faith has faved thee from the fad Condition thou waft in, and if thou continueft to exercise it in a Reliance upon me, thy Salvation and Happiness will be fecure.

And immediately their Eyes were opened, and Luk. XVIII. received Sight, fo that they now could fee di- 43. ftinctly; and with a grateful Sense of their Deliverance they joined the Company, and followed Jefus in the Way to Jerufalem, glorifying GOD for this amazing Inftance of his Goodness to them: And all the People likewife, when they faw [it,] gave Praife unto GOD, who in Remembrance of his Mercy had fent them fo great a Prophet, to appear and act among them under the Character of the Son of David.

And presently the News of this furprizing Mi- Luke XIX. Jefus entred and paffed racle was fpread abroad; and [Jefus] having enthro' Jericho.

2 And behold, there was

a Man named Zaccheus, the Publicans, and he was

which was the Chief among

zich.

tered (as was faid before,) into the City, and
having passed thro' Jericho, a vaft Number of
People had followed him from thence; and this
new Inftance he had given of his miraculous.
Power, increased his Fame thro' all the Neigh-
bourhood, and drew the Multitude as he passed
along in Crouds about him.

I.

And as he thus proceeded on his Journey, be- 2
bold, another most remarkable Occurrence hap-
pened, in which the Efficacy of his Grace was
fignally difplayed; for [there was] a Man in that
Country, whofe Name was Zaccheus, who was the
Chief among the Publicans, or Head-Collector of
the Customs in thofe Parts; and having heaped
up Abundance of Wealth by his gainful Employ-
ment, he was very rich. And the great Things 3
Jefus, that he had heard of Jefus, made fuch a power-
ful Impreffion on his Mind, that when he was
VOL. II.

3 And he fought to fee

M m

informed