Lu. xix. 21. thou takest up that thou layedst not down, and reapest Jericha.

that thou didst not sow.
22. And he saith unto him, Out of thine own mouth will I

judge thee, thou wicked servant, Thou knewest that I
was an austere man, taking up that I laid not down, and

reaping that I did not sow :
23. Wherefore tben gavest not thou my money into the

bank, that at my coming I might have required mine own

with usury ?
24.

And he said unto them that stood by, Take from him
the pound, and give it to him that hath ten pounds.
25. (And they said unto him, Lord, he hath ten pounds.)
26.

For I say unto you, That unto every one which hath
shall be given ; and from him that hath not, even that he

hath shall be taken away from him.
27. But those mine enemies, which would not that I should

reign over them, bring them hither, and slay them before

me
28. And when he had thus spoken, he went before, ascend-
ing up to Jerusalem.

SECTION XLVI.
The Resurrection of Lazarus.

JOHN xi. 17-46.
Johp xi. 17. Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in Bethany.

the grave four days already.

34 The noble truth, the resurrection of the body, is so important to man, that it has been confirmed by the most convincing evidence, and the most undeniable facts. Our Lord gave life to the human body from the grave in all its various stages of corruption and decay. The body of the widow's son was restored within one or two days after his decease: for he was recalled to life as they were carrying bim to the grave. The resurrection of Lazarus was the third instance, and it was attended with some striking peculiarities. The body had lain four days in the grave. In those warm climates, the terrible process of corruption and decay was always rapid. The flesh would have begun to mingle with its kindred elements. The relations and friends of the departed were so sensible of this, that they attempted to dissuade our Lord from going to the sepul. cbre. Although they knew that our Lord had raised one man from the dead, they did not believe it possible that Ho could restore life to him, who for so many days had “said to corruption thou art my father, and to the worm thou art my sister and brother.” Our Lord, however, proceeded to demonstrate his almighty power, and the great truths he had come down to teach, by the resistless evidence of a public and undeniable fact. No sooner were the words uttered, Lazarus come forth,” than he that was dead came forth. Upable to walk, for he was swaddled, and bound both hand and foot in his grave clothes, according to the Jewish custom. He glided forth from the grave, and appeared among the astonished multitude. His body was anchanged. He was again to dwell with his family and friends, the same as he had ever been. Like the daughter of Jairus, and the widow's son, he was again to re

John xi. 18. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen Bethany.

furlongs off:
sume his place in society, to fulfil the ordinary duties of life,
and bis body resumed the same functions and properties as it
had ever possessed. And we are informed, by the history of the
early Church, that Lazarus lived for many years, an unexcep-
tionable witness of the truth of God, and the divinity of
Christ.

The next great fact which demonstrated the resurrection of
the body at the command of our Lord, took place at the death
of Christ, When He bowed his head and gave up the Ghost,
the veil of the temple was rent-the ground trembled--the
graves were laid open--and, after his resurrection, the bodies
of many holy persons arose and went into the city of Jerusa-
lem, and appeared unto many. This attendant miracle is so
briefly related, that we cannot safely deduce many conclusions.
But that interpretation seems the most satisfactory, which re-
presents the graves as opening at the resurrection of Christ,
who is the first-fruits of them that sleep; and that while his
body continued in the grave, the same process which is de-
scribed the vision of Ezekiel, 37th chapter, took place on
the bodies of those holy persons who went into Jerusalem after
that Christ rose from the dead. The sinews came up-the
flesh revived--the skin covered it again the bones came to-
gether-and the spirit returned they breathed-they lived
they moved and they appeared to many:

From this miracle the disciples might have received the comfortable assurance that Death and Corruption had no power to resist the voice of their Lord and Master, it ought to have taught them, that though scourged, persecuted, and crucified, he had power to lay down bis life and to take it up again-and the same voice which called the spirit of Lazarus from the invisible world, and bade it reanimate the corrupting body, shall again command the dust to live, and the dead to rise. The Scripture has given us a moral demonstration of the divine power of our Lord, which shall effect this mighty work, whenever the morning of the resurrection shall dawn, all who have been committed to the ground will be included among those whose bodies have entirely decayed, mouldered into dust, or are in various stages of corruption, from the first stiffening of the limbs, to their mingling with their kindred elements. As the earth is covered with the dew of the morning, so says the Scriptures shall it cast forth her dead. The sea shall give up her dead. The elements around us shall restore their borrowed atoms. Over the surface of the whole earth, the dust shall quicken into life ; and man from the opening graves shall ascend into the air, and summoned in his body before the tribunal of the Most High, to be judged every man according to his works.

The other Evangelists have omitted the resurrection of Lazarus, because (it is supposed) he was still alive when they wrote, and would have been rendered, by notice, more liable than otherwise to persecution. The question is discussed by Kuinoel, in loc. who comes to the same conclusion. We have hitherto been fortunate enough in this country to have escaped from the contamination of the German theological speculators on the miracles of Christ, &c. &c. Should any student, how. ever, have become in any degree entangled by them, He will find a most admirable antidote in the writings of Kuinoel.-See particularly on the Resurrection of Lazarus.

The resurrection of Lazarus was the last and most solemn appeal of a miraculous nature which be made to the Jewish nation before

Jahr xi, 19. And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to Bethany.

eomfort them concerning their brother.
20. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was

coming, went and met him : but Mary sat still in the

house.
21. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been

here, my brother had not died.
22. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask

of God, God will give it thee.
23.

Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again.
24. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again

in the resurrection at the last day.
25.

Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life:
he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall

he live:
26. And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never

die. Believest thou this?
27. She saith unto him, Yea, Lord : I believe that thou art

the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the

world.
28. And when she had so said, she went her way, and call-

ed Mary her sister secretly, saying, The Master is come,

and calleth for thee.
29. As soon as she heard that, she arose quickly, and came
unto him.

Now Jesus was not yet come into the town, but was in
that place where Martha met him.
31. The Jews then which were with her in the house, and

comforted her, when they saw Mary that she rose up
hastily and went out, followed her, saying, She goeth
unto the
grave

there.

30.

to weep

his apprehension. St. Jobn is the only Evangelist who has relat-
ed the miracle, and he proceeds to mention the consequences both
to Christ himself and to the Jewish nation. Immediately after the
bystanders had reported the miracle to the sanhedrim, they de-
cided upon putting Jesus to death. He thereupon retired to
Ephraim, about twenty iniles from Jerusalem, that he might
escape the persecution of the Jews, who were anxionsly bent
on his destruction, Joho xi. 55. and remained there with his
disciples until six days before the Passover, when he went to
Bethany, to sup with Lazarus, and was anointed by Mary. The
internal evidence arising from the conversation which the
three Evangelists have recorded, seems to be decisive of the
propriety of this arrangement. Our Saviour is represented as
going up towards Jerusalem, conversing with his disciples,
and predicting his sufferings and death. The resurrection of
Lazarus was the immediate cause of those sufferings; for the
public report of this miracle induced the Sanhedrim to take
their most decisive measures against him. The opportunity
therefore seemed to be most fit for our Lord to demonstrate to
his disciples that he knew before baud the consequences of his
actions, and that the time bad come wben be was to make a free
will offering of himself for the sins of the whole world.

Bb

34.

38.

John xi. 32. Then when Mary was come where Jesus was, and saw Bethany.

him, she fell down at his feet, saying unto him, Lord, if

thou hadst been here, my brother had not died.
33. When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews

also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the
spirit, and was troubled,

And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto
him, Lord, come and see.
35.

Jesus wept.
36. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!
37. And some of them said, Could not this man, which

opened the eyes of the blind, have caused that even this
man should not have died ?

Jesus therefore, again groaning in himself, cometh to
the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it.
39. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sis-

ter of him that was saith unto him, Lord, by this

time he stinketh : for he hath been dead four days.
40. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou

wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God?
41. Then they took away the stone from the place where

the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and

said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me.
42. And I knew that thou hearest me always : but because

of the people which stand by I said it, that they may be

lieve that thou hast sent me.
43. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud

voice, Lazarus, come forth!
44. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot

with grave-clothes ; and his face was bound about with a

napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.
45. Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had

seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him.
46. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and

told them what things Jesus had done.

SECTION XLVII.
The Sanhedrim assemble to deliberate concerning the Resur-

rection of Lazarus.

JOHN xi. 47, 48. John xi. 47. Then gathered the chief priests and the Pharisees a Jerusales.

council, and said, What do we? for this man doeth many

miracles.
48. If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on him;

and the Romans shall come, and take away both our
place and nation 34

34 There is much difficulty in the reasoning of the Sanhedrim
on this occasion. Why should they fear the Romans, even if

SECTION XLVIII.
Caiaphas Prophesies.

JOHN xi. 49-52.
John xi. 49. And one of them, named Caiaphas, being the high

Jerusalem. priest that same year, said unto them, Ye know nothing

at all, 50.

Nor consider that it is expedient for us that one man
should die for the people, and that the whole nation perish

not.
51. And this spake he not of himself: but, being high priest

that year, he prophesied *, That Jesus should die for that
nation;

they had acknowledged our Lord to be the Messiah? They
believed that their Messiah was to be a powerful and mighty
King, who would overthrow the dominion of the Romans, and
restore the kingdom to Israel.

The cause of their apprehension seems to have been the meek
and unostentatious pretensions of our Lord, and his severe re-
proofs of the pride and hypocrisy of the Pharisees and rulers.
They demanded a Messiah who should appear with the insignia,
as weil as the reality of power, and who should not only conti-
nue; but even enbance to the utmost the temporal dominion of
the Jews. As our Lord did not possess the external proofs of
royalty, they would not believe that He would be able to
oppose the Roman power, whose vengeance they would cer-
tainly bring upon themselves, if they had acknowledged any
other political sovereign; but as the resurrection of Lazarus
was the cause of this assembling by the Sanhedrim, it is evident
that the miraculous powers of our Lord must have been known
to that body: and the supposition of Lightfoot, therefore, that
they knew him, is not irrational ; they probably knew him as a
Prophet, but not as the Messiah.

25 Commentators are divided respecting the meaning of these
words. In the former ages of the Jewish Church, the spirit of
prophecy rested with the High Priest. As this was the great
year in which the object of the Jewish dispensation was at-
tained, and the spirit of prophecy, according to the prediction
of Joel, quoted by St. Peter, was abundantly poured forth; it
is supposed that the High Priest was now inspired to utter cer-
tain words, with the full meaning of which he was unacquainted,
as was frequently, and in the opinion of the Jews, uniformly, the
case among the ancient prophets. Others interpret the words ac-
cording to the literal sense in which they were spoken by Caiphas,
and suppose that St. John gave them another signification. Hau-
senius, in his learned dissertation on this subject (a), endeavours
to prove that the words of St. John must likewise be inter-
preted literally, and that Caiaphas did actually prophecy; and as
High Priest foretell the necessity of Christ's death. The ques-
tion is admirably summed up by Hausenius, in bis 17th sec-
tion.
· Iloc modo et Saulus cum suis inter prophetas relatus, majori
violentia spiritus actus est. E quibus constat, modum, quo
profano Caiaphæ vaticinium inditum est, omnibus fere, qui im-
piis obtigerunt, tenuiorem, lenioremque fuisse.
He then proceeds in his last section to shew that though this