A Century of Sermons, Sermon 9 – Half title 6
THE NINTH SERMON UPON THE RESURRECTION.
MAT. xxviii. 13.
Say ye, his Diſciples came by night, and ſtole him away while we ſlept.
IN the Parable where the King made a Marriage for his Son (and I may truly apply it, this day was the glorious Nuptial of the Son of God) but in that Parable, the Servants went out for Gueſts into the high ways, and gathered together all, as many as they found, good and bad. So the Evangeliſts have filled up the ſtory of our Saviours Reſurrection, with all kind of Circumſtances of Saints and Reprobates, truth and fictions, good and bad. It is agreed by them who have exactly wrote an harmony of the Goſpels, that Chriſt made five Apparitions, and no fewer, all of them upon this triumphant day, after he was riſen from the dead, to the devouteſt of all others, men and women, that loved the Lord. The firſt, to Mary Magdalen; The ſecond, to the other Women that were going from the Sepulchre to tell the Diſciples what the Angels had ſaid unto them; The third, to Peter, Luc. xxiv. 34. The Lord is riſen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon. 1 Cor. xv. 5. Seen of Cephas, then of the Twelve; The fourth, to Cleophas and the other Diſciple toward the ſetting of the Sun, to whom he was known in the breaking of bread. The fifth, to the Diſciples late that night. Whereas they had received a Meſſage to go into Galilee, and there they ſhould ſee the Lord, yet out of fear and incredulity they moved not out of doors. Therefore on the ſame day at Evening, being the firſt day of the Week, when the doors were ſhut where the Diſciples were aſſembled for fear of the Jews, came Jeſus, and ſtood in the midſt of them, and ſaid, Peace be unto you. And howſoever ſome of thoſe portions of Scripture are read for the Goſpel to morrow, ſome for next Sunday, yet all thoſe five Apparitions hapned upon this one day. He appeared ſo often to the beſt of thoſe that loved him, but the relation of his Reſurrection was made alſo on this day to the worſt of thoſe that hated him. The Angels ſpake it to the Women in the hearing of the Souldiers that he was riſen to life; the news went from bad to worſe, the Souldiers tell the High Prieſts and Elders what they had heard and ſeen; the High Prieſts again ſophiſticate the news, and tell them fraudulently to Pilate for the Souldiers ſafety; then Pilate and the High Prieſts agreeing together fill the whole Nation of the Jews by their cunning with incredulity.
Look not therefore to hear me ſpeak at this time of thoſe good Saints, to whom the myſtery of Chriſts Reſurrection was the ſavour of life unto life, but of thoſe wicked Infidels, who by their own impiety made it unto themſelves the ſavour of death unto death. There is not one good perſon within the compaſs of the ſtory, whereof my Text is a part. It is Manipulus zizaniorum; If ever, according to the Parable, God ſent his Angel to gather the worſt Tares in one bundle by themſelves, here they are. The High Prieſts prevaricating with God and his Angels, the Souldiers corrupted, Pilate the Governour miſperſwaded, the people wholly ſeduced, bad is the beſt: Yet St. Matthew, and no other Evangeliſt, hath interſerted this piece of treachery among the other ſweet Narrations of this moſt happy day. And for theſe cauſes, if St. Chryſoſtome hit it right, foreign, truth will have the better audience, when it paſſeth through the mouths of moſt contrary Authors, ſay not that his Diſciples, and ſuch Women as had Chriſt in admiration, ſpread theſe things abroad, for the malignant Souldiers ſpeak the ſame. 2. That we may ſee that very hour, when God did firſt ſmite the Jews with that vertiginous ſpirit to hearken to Cabaliſtical Legends, to the doating dreams of the Rabbines, as they do at this day, that is in St. Pauls Phraſe,1 Tim. 4.7. to profane and old Wives Fables. For indeed this Text is a mere Romancy, as arrant a Jewiſh Fable as ever was told: A Conſpiracy ſo full of rotten Fictions, that nothing is true in it all, but that it is a Conſpiracy, and that it is a Fiction. 1. Then we muſt bolt out the Confederates, Gebal and Ammon joyn together the High Prieſts, the Elders, and the Souldiers. 2. The way of Confederacy is by putting a forged Tale in the Souldiers mouths, they muſt avouch any thing that the Prieſts ſuborn, Ye ſhall ſay. 3. The Plot is collaterally againſt the Diſciples for being foreign, breakers up of Graves, and robbers of the dead, Say ye his Diſciples came by night. 4. The main intended contrivance was to diſcredit the true Doctrine of our Saviours Reſurrection, Say ye his Diſciples came by night and ſtole him away. 5. In the laſt place I will handle the improbability of all, of what contradictions the Plot conſiſts, never to be pieced together, for all this, if it like you, muſt be done while they ſlept. Say ye, &c.
The Text being part of a Confabulation of ſome that laid their heads together to do miſchief, in the firſt place it will be moſt proper to ſpeak of theſe Confederates. On the one part, to ſee that men of the beſt gifts and qualities are the moſt wicked Sons of Belial when they are left to themſelves, they are of no worſe credit and calling than High Prieſts and Elders. The ſelected Tribe of God to burn Incenſe to his name, and offer Sacrifice continually, the eyes of the people for counſel, and their tongue to pray for them: So bleſſed by Jacob, and by Moſes in the name of their Father Levi, that nothing but ſuch an horrid ſin as a conſpiracy againſt Chriſt could unbleſs them again. Every houſe thought it ſelf happy to receive one of that order, ſo Micah of Mount Ephraim; every Lot of Iſrael took them for innocent and unſuſpected, as it is 1 Mach. vii. 14. One that is a Prieſt of the Seed of Aaron is come, and he will do us no harm. Marcus dixit, ita eſt, their word was Law, and their righteouſneſs unqueſtioned. All this credit they had, that now the Devil might uſe them the better to ſuppreſs a manifeſt truth. When one did highly commend Julian the Cardinal the Popes Legate at the Council of Baſil, Sigiſmund the Emperour anſwers, Tamen Romanus eſt; for all your great commendation this man is a Roman; So the High Prieſts ſate in Moſes Chair, were zealous of the Law, faſted, look'd ſowerly, pretended much affection to the Temple of the Lord, Tamen ſunt Phariſaici, for all this praiſe they taſted deeply of the Leaven of the Phariſees, and envied it that God himſelf ſhould ſend his own Son to have more authority among the people, or to be greater in eſtimation than they; ſuch as loved the praiſe of men more than the praiſe of God. That was a mild character of our Saviours; but the meaning of it is, they had rather conjure with Hell to maintain their Error, than retract it with open repentance, and incur a little ſhame for their former obſtinacy. When Lazarus was raiſed from the dead, and all the people wondred at it, preſently the High Prieſts warn their Council to meet, (for upon every good deed they fell a conſpiring) and the matter propounded to the Council was, What do we? For this man doth many Miracles. O fools, and ſlow of heart!Joh. 11.47. If he do many Miracles, what ſhould ye do? But confeſs him to be the Son of God, and fall down and worſhip him. "Is Lazarus revived to their knowledge? And doth it not ſay unto "them, why will ye periſh and not believe? Nay, God invited them thus far, that thoſe mighty ſinners, the Authors that put Chriſt to death, heard of his Reſurrection on this day within a little while after he was riſen, and by their own Miniſters, ſuch as were of their own Faction, that watched the Sepulchre, thoſe told them very certain tidings, that an Angel of God had ſaid to certain devout women, He is riſen, he is not here. They ſaw it, they heard it, they quak'd for fear and felt it, they could not be miſtaken. O God what abundant means were theſe, to let them know the truth and be ſaved? For all this they are at their old ſantez, What do we? This man is riſen from the dead, let us caſt a miſt before mens eyes, that they may never believe it. Thus that which ſhould have begot Faith in them begot madneſs; and that heart will never be well ſoftened which is hardened with the very grace of God. Was Pharaoh ever religiouſly mollified that wax'd ſtubborn after ſo many Meſſages which Moſes brought, after ſo many Plagues on Earth, ſo many Wonders from Heaven? He never had a true relenting heart that dodg'd the grace of God ſo often. Beloved, that Pharaoh, and theſe High Prieſts, let them be your examples, what a fearful thing it is to make ill uſe of thoſe good means which are ordained for your ſalvation.
But I am not yet off from the main Point, the Prieſts are one part of this wicked combination, and they invited the Souldiers to joyn with them in the Plot againſt Chriſts Reſurrection, and undertake for another Plot, to make Pilate wink at all paſſages, and be pleaſed, Davos Davos omnia, theſe are the wits that carry the whole ſtratagem before them. For what Impoſtures will not paſs for fair dealing when they are recommended upon the credit of the Chief Prieſts? Iis qui occaecantur authoritate ſacerdotali facilè pro veritate obtruditur mendacium. When well meaning men have the perſons of ſome great Clerks in reverence, and think the Spirit of God is among them; how eaſie it is to fall into great errors upon that truſt? That it is no wonder if many ſtick obſtinately to Popiſh ſuperſtition, whoſe eyes are dazled with Pontifical Authority. Woe be to them who are rotten in their own foundation, and yet inveigle others to build upon their conſcience. And mark who thoſe others were, whom the High Prieſts made their Confederates, ſome of thoſe Souldiers that watcht the Sepulchre. So the Fox and the Lion are yoked together, Vulpina pellis & leomna; force and policy, wit and violence. The Sword of Paul, as Pope Julian the Second ſaid, with the Keys of Peter.
Some of the Watch came into the City, and ſhewed the High Prieſts all things that were done, ver. 11. At firſt they told the certainty of Chriſts Reſurrection, and gave God the glory; and made a juſt Apology for themſelves, that they were charged indeed to look to the Tomb, that the body which was in it might be kept ſafe, and unremoved; but ſome dreadful Powers from above came down, and broke open the Sepulchre; who could blame them therefore that they did not fight againſt Heaven? If they might have been let alone to themſelves, they had ſaid no more, and gone away well excuſed. But the High Prieſts, more unjuſt by far than theſe Heathen, make them unſay every word, which they had ſpoken true, and ſcandalize Gods name among the Heathen, by teaching them to blaſpheme. A very hard caſe, that in all likelihood theſe had been far more honeſt and ſincere if they had never conſulted with thoſe that by their Duty and Office were their Teachers. But a little matter, alas, draws men into the high-way of iniquity, and the Prieſts could no ſooner propound treachery, but the Souldiers are in the knot. Firſt, they carry more reverence to man than unto God, and conjoyned to betray the greateſt Article of truth in all the Goſpel to do their friends a favour. Secondly, See how ſoon the wicked forget into what great fear they were put, it was but even now that they quaked, and became as dead men at the Apparition of an Angel, their ſin was before their eyes, that they ſhould watch his Sepulchre, of whom the Prophet had ſaid, Thou ſhalt not ſuffer thine holy one to ſee corruption; the guiltineſs of this took all their courage from them, yet within two hours after at the moſt they are deeper in the ſame wickedneſs than ever they were before, as if the terrible admonition they had early in the Morning had been ſeven years ſince, or before mans remembrance. So let the Plague, or Famine, or Sword of the Enemy be removed from a Nation, in one year, nay, in one month you ſhall ſee the ſins of wont and cuſtom as high and as riſe, as if that People had never been beaten with ſuch calamity. When Moſes had interceded to God to rid away ſome ſore judgment from Pharaoh, after a little pauſe he was never the better: But when Pharaoh ſaw there was reſpite,Exod. 8.15. he hardened his heart, Exod. viii. 15. So the Souldiers ſeeing there was reſpite, and that the revenging Angel did not follow them at the heels, fall immediately in a little ſpace into a fouler ſervice than before. Thirdly, As the ſaying is very true, Facinus, quos inquinat, aequat; great men loſe much of their ſuperiority and power when they match themſelves with their underlings in a bad deed; the baſeſt ſervants are their equals when they have made them conſorts in their iniquity. The High Prieſts loſt all their veneration in the eſteem of theſe Souldiers when they were guilty one to another of a mutual Confederacy. They ſhould and would have been as fearful to do any wicked thing in the preſence of the High Prieſts as in the preſence of an Angel; but now they carry no awe at all to them who had forgot their reverence to their God.
Fourthly, We read at verſe 11. they were but ſome of the Watch that concurred in this devilliſh ſtratagem againſt Chriſt, and his Diſciples, but the Chief Prieſts are indefinitely named, not ſome of them, but the whole Fraternity, for none are excepted. So divers Synods of Chriſtian Prieſts and Biſhops have with one mouth proteſted againſt the Faith, with one Pen ſubſcribed to Hereſie, ſo that the unity of Prieſts, let ſome ſay what they will, is not always a token of Gods Spirit upon them, but ſometimes of Satanical Confederacy. Of the Souldiers, who watch'd the Sepulchre, but one part only came into the City, and of that part it may be but a few of the chief ſticklers conſented to evil, the reſt, perhaps, were like thoſe two hundred in Jeruſalem, who were called by Abſolon to Hebron, 2 Sam 15.11.of whom the Scripture witneſſeth, That they went in their ſimplicity, knowing nothing. Among this Band of Souldiers, and among thoſe that were tempted to tell the forgery, he that writes the Calendar of the Greek Saints, Simeon Metaphraſtes, nominates one Longinus, and brings him in for a Saint on the Fifteenth of March, the next day after Chriſt was crucified. Metaphraſtes hath patched together this Legend of him, that it was he who pierced our Saviours ſide with a Spear, and that a drop of the bloud which ſtreamed out fell upon the eye of Longinus, whereof he had loſt the ſight before by ſome miſchance, and this drop of bloud reſtored him to the ſight, yea, and to the eyes of his mind, preſently to confeſs Chriſt and believe. How will the next ſtory hang with this? That for all his converſion and belief, he was by appointment of Pilate one of them that watch'd the Sepulchre of Chriſt; ſurely, all thoſe were evil inſtruments, and the Angel handled them accordingly, by ſtriking a fear into them like dead men. But proceed we, for Metaphraſtes ſays, that Longinus, and two more with him, refuſed the evil ways of the High Prieſts, ſtiffly avouched the truth of the Reſurrection, for which he incurred the great hatred of Pilate, and the Jews, and when they deſpited him for it he gave up his Souldiers Caſſock, and Belt, would ſerve the Romans no more, went into Cappadocia to preach the Goſpel, and became a Martyr. But that you may know Metaphraſtes is no ſure Author for Canonizing of Saints, Baronius at the end of this, and another ſtory I ſhall tell you anon, bids the Reader beware, ſays he, As Paul admoniſheth, prove all things, hold that which is good.
But before I leave this firſt Point of my Text, mark that, which is moſt apparent, how the Chief Prieſts and Souldiers pieced together,Ver. 12. why the Elders and the Council gave large money to the Souldiers, like Claudius his Witneſſes, of whom Tully ſays, they knew him to be a man of no faith, for they would not ſpeak one word of his ſide till their hire was in their Pocket. Emitur à cuſtodibus argento reſurrectionis ſilentium; Hilarius.The Jews gave money to the Souldiers to keep the truth of the Reſurrection in ſilence, and by ſo much the more is the Reſurrection of Chriſt grown ſo famous, becauſe this Bribery is ſo infamous, (they offer a little Silver to them that will conceal it, God doth infinitely out-bid them, and offers the Kingdom of Heaven to them that preach it, and publiſh it.) For the Phariſees, who, no doubt, were the principal in this action, were moſt greedy of gain, and loth to part with their ſubſtance, eſpecially by the lump, wherefore they would never have given foreign, large money, much more than they covenanted for, when they hired a Cohort to watch the Sepulchre, I ſay, they would never have given ſo much to the Souldiers to ſtop their mouth if there had been any probability left to out-face the truth; no certainly, if it had been poſſible, they would have brought them in for careleſneſs, or treachery, but the matter was clear, it could not be anſwered ſo; they muſt poyſon the whole Band with money, or the truth would come out to their ſhame and infamy. O what folly there is in the wiſdom of the wicked? What prudent man would ever hope that a Multitude would keep counſel? That among ſo many Witneſſes none would blab it out in a corner? That no Scoffer in the ranks would take their money, and laugh at them for their impiety? Or that God would not raiſe up ſome other faithful Witneſſes though all theſe did continue in Perjury? It was a Proverb once in the Chriſtian Church, that it had Golden Prieſts when it had Woodden Chalices, that is, a brave Clergy in the times of poverty and perſecution; but when Riches flowed in, that they had Golden Chalices, they had for a great part but Woodden Prieſts. I find this moſt true in the Synagogue of the Jews, that in this Age they had more wealth than they knew how to uſe well, for in theſe three laſt Chapters of St. Matthew, four times, and no leſs, they did moſt groſly abuſe that Talent which the Lord had given them: 1. They gave Judas thirty Pieces of Silver to betray his Maſter. 2. They were at charges to bribe a Multitude with ſwords and ſtaves to take our Saviour in the Garden. 3. They ſet a Watch to look to the Sepulchre, expence was drawn from them for that uſe. And 4. They gave large money to have the Souldiers ſay, as it is in my Text, His Diſciples came, and ſtole him away by night. Pecuniam quae in uſus templi data fuerat, vertunt in redemptionem mendacii, ſays St. Hierom; which I would Engliſh, They took a part of Gods portion to ſee the Devil. One ſays, that this is a note of the Antichriſt, Proditur venturus armatus pecuntis; a Tradition goes that he ſhall be full of money, able to bribe abundance to take his part, ſo that they ſhall maintain falſhoods and errors againſt their own conſcience. Not unlikely to be true, and I am ſure the myſtery of Antichriſt began betimes, even on this very day, and let us all take notice of it, to whom the Reſurrection of our Saviour is ſweet and precious, what an horrid and Antichriſtian ſin Bribery is, both in the Giver, and in the Taker, that the Devil did fly to that ſin rather than any other, thereby to ſubvert the glory of God, and the deareſt conſolation of all Chriſtians, the Reſurrection of Jeſus. As Brimſtone will ſmell in Wollen, ſo all ſorts of Bribery, intended to the prejudice of truth and innocency, ſmell of that abominable corruption which put the Chief Prieſts and the Souldiers into this deep confederacy, that ſhall be ſuccinctly handled, now I have made the reſt that follows more eaſie to be underſtood by opening the condition of the perſons that carried the plot between them.
The way of the Confederacy follows, by putting a forged Tale in the Souldiers mouths, they muſt ſay any thing that the Prieſts ſuborn, Say ye. There is a threefold lie,Lib. de Mendac. c. 14. ſays St. Auſtin: 1. Vain Fiction, which doth neither harm nor good, Quod fit merâ mentiendi libidine, a mere trick of ſcurvy cuſtom without any bad intention, yet this is a ſin. 2. There is a lie which hurts one party to help another, and that is a greater ſin than the firſt. 3. Tale eſt quod nulli prodeſt & obeſt alicui; there is a lie which is pernicious to ſome, and beneficial to none, that is worſt of all; ſuch ſtuff was this that was perſwaded to the Souldiers. Roman Souldiers were wont to be commended for their fidelity above all Military men in the world, In Rom. militibus rarò fides ſuit deſiderata; They were very truſty and true in the praiſe of all Hiſtories, and God gave them grace to bring truth with them as far as from the Sepulchre to the Council Chamber of the High Prieſts, but there they loſt it, there they were bought out of it, and to this day the Jews, if they could, would make us unſay all the truth that we tell them. O beware of ſuch as turn away their ears from the truth, and give heed unto Fables; eſpecially, note thoſe for the enemies of Chriſt, like theſe in my Text, that will hire others to forge, to diſſemble, to forſwear; theſe are they that drive the Devils Market, and they muſt look for the reward from him, he is their father, the father of lies and liars. But what reward ſhall be given thee thou falſe tongue? Even mighty and ſharpe Arrows, with hot burning coals.
We deteſt Baudes and Pandars very juſtly, the wicked dealers for other mens filthy Luſts: Ought not they to be as much deteſted (I think they ought) that are other mens hirelings and Inſtruments to vent their falſhoods and diſſimulations. Anthimus, Surius de vit. Pa. lib. 2.Biſhop of Nicomedia, was enquired after to be put to death for being a Chriſtian, and being found had the courteſie offered him by the Serjeants, that they would tell the Tyrant that ſent them they could not find him, they were reſolved to be ſo kind, and Anthimus had his leave to make an eſcape; but the thing wrought in his conſcience, and rather than they ſhould tell a lie for his ſake, he went after them, and offered himſelf to ſuffer death. But Siſera was not ſo ſtreight-laced, as we uſe to ſay,Judg. 4.20. he would have been content, nay, he deſired Jael, If any of the Perſuers, askt for ſuch a man, to ſay no man was there. This is the caſe which of all others may ſeem moſt plauſible, whether one might be entreated to tell an untruth lawfully to ſave the life of another, that is followed by an enemy. St. Auſtin quickly reſolves it, you muſt not do a wicked thing to ſave your own life, much leſs doth it urge you to corrupt your own ſoul to ſave another mans body. So he doth extoll Firmus Biſhop of Tagaſtum, Firmus nomine, firmior voluntate; into whoſe houſe a fearful perſon fled for fear of Aſſaſſinates, and being asked for him, Reſpondit nec mentiri ſe poſſe, Cap. 13. lib. Pradict.nec hominem prodere; he anſwered, he muſt not lie, and he would not betray a man to them that thirſted for his bloud, and from this anſwer he would not be beaten with many wounds. O take not away from me thy truth, ſays David; not Eloquence, nor a ſhrill voice like a Symbal, nor a muſical warbling as ſweet as a Syren, none of theſe are the honour of a mans lips, truth goes beyond them all. foreign, ſays Syneſius; A word truly ſpoken is nobly born, falſhood and lies are beggarly begotten, that is, either out of fooliſh eaſineſs, or out of fear, or out of baſe reward, as when the Souldiers had the Bribe in their hand, they muſt ſay any thing that was put into their mouths, Say ye.
Say ye: Why let ſuch as they are talk their pleaſure; But who would believe them? A lie hath a kind of croaking harſhneſs in it at any time, eſpecially from ſuch reporters as theſe. I am induced to ſuppoſe that the High Prieſts were half jealous of them, that all was not Goſpel which they related about the Angels appearing, and the body riſen, and would they have the people truſt them more than they did? But here was Gods judgment upon that ſtiff-necked Nation, though theſe were heathen men, without God in the world, vile Mercenarie witneſſes, of no credit, yet their tale was received of the Jews as if Moſes had brought it; and it is reported commonly to this day, ſays St. Matthew. If St. Matthew meant at that day when he wrote his Goſpel, that was eight years after, ſays Theophylact. Juſtin Martyr ſays,2. lib. contra Tryph. that in his days, more than an hundred years after, it was taken up among the Jews for a true ſtory, and that they wrote Letters to their Countrimen over all the world, to aſſure them it was ſo, and no otherwiſe. But in holy Scripture that phraſe, to this day, notes the durance, and long continuance of a thing, the twelve ſtones which Joſhuah ſet up on the banks of Jordan are there to this day; after Dagon fell on the Threſhold, the Prieſts of Baal tread not on the Threſhold to this day, ſo this figment was commonly reported among the Jews long after, that is, unto this day. See what Prophets were their Inſtructors, after they had ſet their heart to reſiſt the truth; Teſtimonium Martyrum nolunt audire ut vivant, Aug. hom. 37& teſtimonium dormientium receperunt ut pereant; They ſtop their ears at the Doctrine of the holy Martyrs that invite them to eternal life, and receive the witneſs of Souldiers, that belie themſelves, ſaying, they ſlept and did not; and belie Chriſt and his victory over the Grave, ſaying, that ſuch men, as I think, they knew not, His Diſciples came and ſtole him away by night. Attende potiùs eum qui emit te, non eum qui mendacium emit tibi. De verb. Dom. Ser. 45Liſten unto Chriſt, and learn of him who hath bought thee with a price, with the price of his own bloud to inherit eternal life; liſten not to them that gave a price of money to buy a lie, whereby thou ſhalt be ſwallowed up of eternal death. And beware to be either active or paſſive in falſe ſubornations, either the giver or the taker. Beware of lying lips, and a deceitful tongue, all theſe are moſt odious for their ſakes that would have undermined the credit of our Saviours Reſurrection. Wherefore putting away all lying, ſpeak every man truth with his neighbour, for we are members one of another. Eph. 4.25.Buy the truth, and ſell it not, Prov. xxiii. 23.
Now the Jews have rigg'd their Witneſſes, and ſet them forth ſo well greazed in the hand that they dare ſay any thing; We are come in the third place to that which they muſt ſay: Firſt, They muſt lop at the branches, and ſtrike at the root afterward, the Diſciples muſt be firſt drawn into danger; that they are breakers open of graves, and robbers of the dead, his Diſciples came by night. Poor ſouls, they thought they had taken the ſafeſt way that the wit of man could invent to eſcape both envy and danger, they were ſhut up, ſtirr'd not abroad, medled with nothing; but let a man live as private as he can, as retired as he can, if malice mean him an ill turn it ſhall fall upon him; Chriſt was private enough in Mount Olivet, yet there he was attached. And it is an argument unto us, that many times they fared better through Gods providence, who adventured themſelves abroad in ill times, and conteſted for the name of Chriſt, rather than they that out of humane providence would hide themſelves and their gifts for fear like a Candle under a Buſhel. But whether in a private or in a publick life the Diſciple is not better than his Maſter. If Chriſts Doctrine and Miracles were ſo ill entertained by the Phariſees, that they hated him to the death, yea, and beyond death; his Miniſters ſhall feel their anger before the ſtorm be ended; the very name of a Diſciple was grown a taunt and reproach. The Synagogue thought it had called the blind man all to nought, when they ſaid of him in their paſſion, Thou art his Diſciple, Joh. ix. This is an infallible character of a baſe and ignoble ſpleen to grudge at all thoſe that depend upon ſuch as they perſecute, to deſpite the poor Diſciples for Chriſts ſake. As Zedekiah commanded not only Jeremiah the Prophet to be laid up in Priſon, but Baruch his Scribe to be apprehended, Jer. xxxvi. 26. And the Jews, when they could not tear Paul in pieces, nor come at him, they beat Soſthenes his Companion, whom he had converted to the faith, Act. xviii. The old devilliſh State rule was, leave no whelps living of the brood of a Lion: ſo the Phariſees would deſtroy all thoſe whom Chriſt had gathered about him, if theſe were made away they thought there was not a tongue left that would wag to offend them with this truth, that Chriſt was riſen from the dead.
His Diſciples came by night; did they, will you ſtand to it? then call the Diſciples and the Souldiers face to face, and examine them before Pilate: reus ore proprio reſpondere debet, it is the Law of Nations and Nature, that the accuſed in all Courts of the world muſt ſpeak for themſelves againſt their accuſers, this is moſt indifferent juſtice it cannot be denied, to believe a tale againſt a man without ſuffering him to ſay what he can for his innocency, is barbarous and inhumane proceeding. He that came to the Marriage Chamber not having on a Wedding Garment, was not caſt forth till he became ſpeechleſs, and could not anſwer: But the Diſciples have no ſhadow of law or trial permitted unto them, but are impleaded and condemned behind their backs, his Diſciples came by night. Since they were not permitted to ſay ought to clear themſelves, I will anticipate a little of the laſt point, and ſay one thing for them, how improbable this defamation was, with little partiality to their perſon. They that ran away in the Garden from their Maſter when he was alive, becauſe a few Bandogs of the High Prieſts had him in their teeth, how durſt they adventure againſt an whole Cohort of Souldiers to come near his Sepulcher when he was dead? though one of them drew a ſword, and ſmote a Servant of the High Prieſts, it was before Chriſt was griped in their clutches; but ſince they ſaw him dead, nil iſte nec auſus, nec potuit, their hearts fainted, they ſhut themſelves cloſe, and durſt not be known where they were, are theſe likely to reſcue their Maſters Body from a Roman Garriſon? Loquere veriſimilia, ſpeak likelihoods, though they be falſehoods. Good wits ſays one love to make diſcoveries of treaſons where there are none, it makes their own perſpicacy and diſcerning admired, but they do it upon ſeeming and ſtrong conjectures, but here is no ſcent in this tale to follow it to any probability. The truth is a knaviſh wit might have found out many more colourable evaſions, but with this fiction, if it took, the High Prieſts ſet forth themſelves not only for wiſe men, but to have Propheſie and Divination in their ſpirit; for in the former chapter, verſe 64. they requeſt Pilate, that he would command the Sepulcher ſhould be made ſure, leſt his Diſciples come by night and ſteal him away: No better excuſe therefore to advance their credit to be Divine and Prophetical, than to charge the Diſciples with the ſame fact, even as they had foretold it a day before. Nonne ſex totos menſes priùs olfeciſſem? ſays old Demea: So theſe were ſuch cunning men, that they had the Diſciples plot in the wind, before ever it was intended. Silly fellows, God wot, for all this cunning, fifty days full had not run on after Chriſt roſe from the dead, but St. Peter and his Aſſociates filled all Jeruſalem with their Doctrin, that Jeſus was riſen from the dead, and that He whom they had crucified was both Lord and God. Where were their wits to foreſee this and prevent it? and when the fame of it was openly begun, how will they mend it? lay not night works to the Diſciples charge, as if they durſt not avouch the Reſurrection but in darkneſs, dies diei eructat verbum, one day certifieth another, and one night telleth another, that Chriſt roſe by his own virtue, and by no fraud of the Diſciples to turn the nights of ignorance into manifeſt light, and to bring us from the night of Hell and the Grave into everlaſting day.
But the malignance of the High Prieſts againſt the Diſciples was a leſs crime than their envy againſt the glory of Chriſt, that's the fourth point of my diviſion, and their main drift to diſcredit the true Doctrin of his Reſurrection, Say ye his Diſciples came by night and ſtole him away. Virtutem magiſtri faciunt eſſe diſcipulorum crimen; theſe are rotten Jewiſh Fables, for Chriſt roſe by his own virtue, and was not ſurreptitiouſly convey'd away, but they make this Divine virtue in Chriſt to be an helliſh vice in the Diſciples; foreign, breakers up of Monuments of the dead, a moſt infamous crime, in the judgment of all Laws, Heathen and Chriſtian, accounted among the Enditements of Sacrilege, not only becauſe the Corps is laid up in a place, but becauſe the body of a Chriſtian is ſacrum depoſitum, interred in an aſſured hope of the Reſurrection. It was hateful in the very Beaſts to root up the Carkaſſes of the dead;Hiſtor. Animal. Ariſtotle imputes it to the ravening Hyaena, foreign, to long for the fleſh of man, and therefore to turn up his Grave to devour him; and Pliny adds to it, that it is commonly believed, ab hôc uno animali ſepulchra erui inquiſitione mortuorum, that no brutiſh creature but that Hyaena is ſo brutiſh, to deſpoil the dead in their Sepulchers: but if any men or women did treſpaſs in this kind, as more ſavage than beaſts, either they were accounted Witches, that ranſackt for ſomewhat to make incantations, or the moſt odious kind of Theeves,Suidas. Favorinus. foreign, ſuch as ſtript the dead for their Winding-ſheet. Pope Sergius found out another way, neither of the former, but for a worſe end, if worſe might be than Witchcraft; for after his Predeceſſor Pope Formoſus was dead, he cauſed his body to be taken up, arraign'd it at the Bar, cut off an hand or ſome fingers from it in diſgrace, and then threw him into Tybris. But the Diſciples are charged with an Enterprize more ſcandalous and wicked than all theſe, to ſteal their Maſter out of his Monument, and then to preach a new Religion to the World, that He was riſen from the dead.
The Cretians are alwayes liars, ſays Paul, Tit. i. 12. not as they were Cretians, as if that were a National vice, St. Paul did not revile the whole Nation, but becauſe they gave heed to Jewiſh Fables. This one Jewiſh Fable, Ver. 14.if they had no more falſehoods, is ſo contagious that it envenoms the whole truth of Chriſtianity: For if Chriſt be not riſen from the dead, then is all our faith in vain, 1 Cor. xv. but the vanity was the High Prieſts, vanitas vendens vanitatem, in St. Auſtins words: For although they might colour this Allegation, that the Diſciples undertook this couſenage for the honour of Chriſt, who had foretold, that if the Temple of his body were deſtroyed he would raiſe it up again in three days, yet would they have been impriſoned and ſcourged, yea and died for the teſtification of the Reſurrection, if they had been guilty of ſuch falſe play, that this was nothing ſo, but that they had ſtoln away the body? It makes much for the confirmation of our faith, that the Souldiers and the Jews complain Chriſts body was not in the Sepulchre on the third day. Hereupon S. Chryſoſtom framed this Logical dilemma againſt their infidelity: The body of Jeſus which was depoſed in the Grave, in that Grave on which you rolled a great ſtone, and ſealed it with a Seal; how comes it to be miſſing? either it is riſen, or ſtoln away: how could it be ſtoln away, when you ſet it to be watcht with a Band of Souldiers: the theft might have been ſuſpected if you had not hired ſo many to watch and look to it, but your own ſuſpicion and policy hath ſhut you out from that excuſe; therefore it muſt be that the third day he roſe again from the dead: Aut mortuum nobis reddant Judaei, cujus cuſtodiam ſuſceperunt, aut vivum adorent; ſince the Jews took the care and cuſtody of his body, either let them bring him forth dead, or worſhip him, as we do, that lives for evermore, and is the Fountain of Life.Hiſtor. lib. 1. cap. 21. Gregorius Turonenſis tells a ſtory (but Baronius ſays you ſhall chooſe whether you will believe it) yet he avers he took it out of thoſe Letters which Pilate wrote to Tiberias the Emperor, how the Phariſees and Rulers were moſt offended at Joſeph of Arimathaea for begging the Body of Jeſus to bury it, and committed him to a Priſon which had no doors, but letting him in at the Seiling, and cloſed it up again, but an Angel of God made the walls to open and ſhut again, and brought him out. Afterwards the Prieſts being angry at the Souldiers upon the firſt report that the Body of Chriſt was gone, the Souldiers conteſted with them, reddite vos Joſeph, & nos reddemus Chriſtum; do you tell us what is become of Joſeph whom you kept, and we will tell you what is become of Chriſt whom we kept. Every figment and device of the High Prieſts was retorted upon them, but the Devil had emboldned them to ſay any thing, or to do any thing againſt the Reſurrection.De Reſur. Serm. 1. St. Bernard makes an elegant alluſion upon it thus, Senior frater occiſum nobis ſaginatum vitulum indignatur, foris ſtat, omnino non acquieſcit intrare, as the elder Son in the Parable was offended that the fatted Calf was killed for his younger brother, he would not come in a-doors, he refuſed to mix with his fathers Family; ſo the Jews are diſpleaſed that Chriſt is ſacrificed for us Gentiles, they come not to our Churches, they deſpiſe our Congregations. O ſays the Father, if his Croſs doth ſcandalize you, let his Reſurrection confirm you: you ſay let him come down from the Croſs, and we will believe him, ſi non creditis reſurgenti, utique nec credidiſſetis deſcendenti, if you will not believe in him now he is riſen to life again, you would never have believed in him though he had delivered himſelf from death. The rich man ſaid in Hell, if one came from the dead his Brethren would believe, therefore they of the High Prieſts Faction made themſelves unfit to receive any article of faith, becauſe they ſtreined their wits to bely the Reſurrection.
Now in the laſt place I come to handle the improbability of this formal Tale and Fiction, of what contradictions the Plot conſiſts never to be pieced together;Suidas in voce foreign. for all this, if it like you, muſt be done while they ſtept. Say ye, &c. foreign foreign; it was a Proverb in Greece, if a man talked idly, that he told a tale, as if he crept out of a Tomb. I am ſure this ſtory about our Saviour ſtoln out of his Tomb is as doting a Dream as ever was told out of a Tomb, no part hanging together with congruity to another. Certainly it was with them, as God ſaid He would deal with them that built Babel, Gen. 11.7.Go to, let us go down and confound their language, that they may not underſtand one what another ſays. The error of thoſe Jews was affected, and very wilful, they knew that Chriſt was riſen, and they would not know it, and voluntary errors are ever puniſhed with great blindneſs, they that will believe a lie ſhall fall into ſtrong deluſions.
Firſt, why would the Souldiers (ſay they ſlept?) why would they be brought to put themſelves into ſuch infamy and danger: Infamy, that ſuch a crew of them would be talked of to have ſlept and ſnorted on the ground about the Sepulcher like Swine in their drunkenneſs: but danger alſo; admit the High Prieſts for all their fair promiſes could not have pacified the Governour? where had they been? according to the Laws of ſome Countries, they that were to watch the Corpſes of Malefactors executed, were to anſwer Body for Body. When Herod ſought for Peter and found him not,Acts 12.10. he commanded the Keepers ſhould be put to death, yet they could not help it; will theſe Souldiers ſay they loſt the Body by negligence, which they ſhould have kept, and do they look to be rewarded? ille crucem ſceleris pretium tulit, hic diadema. This forgery would have coſt them dear if Pilate had been a juſt Magiſtrate: But the High Prieſts knew what a notable, Ruler ſhould ſit upon the cauſe, they could tell the Souldiers before hand how he ſhould ſhuffle up all, and pronounce as they would have him; but it had been juſtice they ſhould have ſuffered for this fault, which they never committed, I mean for ſleeping in the time of their charge: as David kill'd the Amalekite, who made a formal tale that he ſlew King Saul when indeed he did not. One wonders at it, and for very good reaſon, that all of the conſpiracy were not afraid, leſt in the very moment that they began to publiſh their fiction Chriſt ſhould have appeared and ſtood before them, and convinced them for their forgery. As when Athanaſius was accuſed at a Council for breaking of Arſenius his Readers arm in his rage, juſt at the nick Arſenius came in preſence of the Council, and it appeared upon his body that he had ſuffered no ſuch violence.
But ſuch cautions were ſo little in their thoughts at that time, that they conſider'd nothing at all, a thick darkneſs which might be felt was faln upon them: for who would ever produce witneſſes that were a ſleep? would their teſtimony be ever taken unleſs the Judg were aſleep too? and if the body was ſtoln away while they ſlept, which way did they come by the ſpirit of Prophecy to know the Diſciples did it rather than other men? or why did they not follow them and take it from them? or why did they not crave Pilates Warrant to ſearch for it where they had conveyed it? durſt they not abuſe Pilates Authority ſo far? and durſt they mock God? Into what confuſions, and inextricable errors a man falls that ſins againſt his own conſcience? I could waken them with many queſtions more, but I will not be tedious. But who will believe them, that in ſuch a great Court of Guard, as no doubt this was, all the Band ſlept at once, and not one of them ſo careful as ſome ſay a Flock of Cranes are by nature, to watch by courſe? or how could they all ſleep, when that which they had in charge was of ſo much rumour and expectation; or is it poſſible ſuch a deep Lethargy was faln upon them, the air being ſo ſharp, that anon before they had a fire of coals within doors, that none of them ſhould waken, either when the Diſciples went in, or came out of the Sepulcher; the creaking which the ſtone would make when it was rolled off from the door muſt needs be heard a far off. Anſwerable to this too the linnen cloaths which were about the Body were in the Sepulcher by themſelves: Had they ſuch leiſure to ſtrip thoſe off, and ſtay longer by far than they needed? had it not been a better concealment for the Body to bear it away wrapt than naked: Beſide Myrrh and Alloes which were caſt about Chriſts Body were moſt glutinous things, and would ſtick to the fleſh ſo faſt, that they could not be taken off without much cunning, and long patience. Unleſs witneſſes which were aſleep may ſay any thing, theſe things were impoſſible to be reconciled. And his obſervation was right true that made it, that the Prieſts might have ſpread this rumour with far more ſafety and likelihood, if they had never truſted the Souldiers to tell the lie for them. But God would not let them ſee their way,Matth. 27.62. that all Ages might be aſtoniſht at their folly. For this Guard of Souldiers was not begged of Pilate to compaſs the Sepulcher about till Chriſt had lain one night in the Grave, till the day after he was crucified. If they had ſaid his Diſciples ſtole him away the firſt night before the Watch was ſet the lye had been the ſtronger; but with far leſs cunning they impute the loſs of the Body to the Souldiers negligence, not looking well to their charge the ſecond night, Say ye his Diſciples came and ſtole him away while we ſlept. A ſleepy Project; Nec fide conſtantes, nec in perfidiâ, men of no faith, and of moſt fooliſh infidelity. I reduce the Uſe of it to that notable Memorandum; Where men are averſe from hearing truth, God dazles their mind with groſs and ſenſeleſs deceipts; yea though they be High Prieſts, as we know who they are that entangle themſelves with a thouſand abſurd queſtions about the Sacrament, becauſe they will not be driven from their idolatrous practice to adore the Elements. But let us approach unto it with ſimplicity of heart, ſetting aſide all contention and frowardneſs, let us believe in Chriſt in this breaking of bread that our eyes may be opened, let us drink of the fruit of the Vine in remembrance of his blood-ſhedding here, that we may eat and drink with him in his Kingdom. Finally, as being riſen with Chriſt, let us ſeek thoſe things which are above. AMEN.
FIVE SERMONS UPON THE Deſcent of the Holy Ghoſt.