Sixteen Sermons Volume 2, Sermon 12
SERMON XII. The Vanity and Wickedneſs of honouring dead Saints, and Perſecuting the Living. Preached on All-Saints Day.
Luke XI. 49, 50, 51.
Therefore alſo ſaid the Wiſdom of God, I will ſend them Prophets and Apoſtles, and ſome of them they ſhall ſlay and perſecute: That the blood of all the Prophets, which was ſhed front the foundation of the world, may be required of this Generation; from the blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias which periſhed between the Altar and the Temple: Verily I ſay unto you, it ſhall be required of this Generation.
THE latter part of this Chapter is a very ſharp, but juſt Invective, made by our Saviour againſt the Hypocriſie of the Scribes and Phariſees, VOL. II.of which he gives many inſtances; and this among the reſt for one, that they pretended a great Honour and Reſpect for the Righteous Men, and Prophets of former Ages, whom their Fathers had Perſecuted and Slain; but yet were of the very ſame Spirit and Temper, and as ready to Perſecute Good Men, as their Fathers were. They raiſed indeed ſtately Monuments to the Memory of thoſe Saints and Martyrs, and adorned them with great Art and Coſt, and it is likely made a great Shew of Eſteem and Veneration for them: But all this while they were of the ſame diſpoſition with their Fathers, and bare the ſame implacable Hatred and Malice againſt the Prophets and Righteous Men who then lived among them, (yea againſt that great Prophet, whom God had ſent into the World, Jeſus the Son of God,) which their Fathers did againſt the Good Men of their Times. And tho' they diſclaimed the Wickedneſs and Cruelty of their Fathers, with never ſo much Zeal and Vehemency; yet for all that, they were ready to do the ſame things. Now this was ſo groſs and odious a piece of Hypocriſie in them,Serm. XII. that our Saviour doth with great Reaſon denounce ſo ſevere a Wo againſt them: Wo unto you; for ye build the Sepulchres of the Prophets, and your Fathers killed them: Truly ye bear Witneſs, that ye allow the deeds of youe Fathers; For they indeed killed them, and ye build their Sepulchres. And then it follows; Therefore alſo ſaid the Wiſdom of God, I will ſend them Prophets and Apoſtles, and ſome of them they ſhall ſlay and perſecute: That the blood of all the Prophets, which was ſhed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this generation; from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zacharias, which periſhed between the Altar and the Temple.
There are conſiderable Difficulties in both theſe Paſſages. As to the former, Wo unto you; for ye build the Sepulchres of the Prophets, and your Fathers killed them. Truly ye bear Witneſs, that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers: For they indeed killed them, and ye build their Sepulchres. The force of this Reaſoning; is at firſt ſight not eaſie to be diſcern'd; and therefore Expoſitors have gone ſeveral ways to explain it.
Some comparing this with the parallel Place in St. Matthew's Goſpel (Ch. 23.29.) will not have our Saviour to mean, that by building the Sepulchres of the Prophets they expreſs'd their approbation of their Fathers killing them. They did indeed teſtifie by their uſage of the Righteous Men that liv'd amongſt themſelves, that they were of the very ſame Temper and Spirit, which their Fathers had been of; and that they would have done juſt as their Fathers did, if they had been in the ſame Circumſtances with their Fathers; So that they were Witneſſes to themſelves (as it is in St. Matthew) that they were the Children of them which killed the Prophets;They own'd themſelves their Children by Deſcent, and their Actions Witneſſed that they were their Children alſo in Reſemblance; nay, (as it is there farther intimated) they ſeem'd reſolv'd to fill up the Meaſure of their Fathers: tho' all this while they pretended not to approve their Fathers Behaviour; and therefore whilſt they were building the Tombs of the Prophets, and garniſhing the Sepulchres of the Righteous, they ſaid, if we had been in the days of our Fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the Prophets. And the Interpreters that go this way do accordingly render theſe words of St. Luke; not as they are in our Tranſlation, ye bear Witneſs that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers: But, ye bear Witneſs, and ye allow (or, are well pleas'd with) the deeds of your Fathers; that is, ye own that they were your Fathers, who did theſe things; and tho' ye do not in words allow what they did, yet your inward Tempers and Diſpoſitions (whether you know it or no) are the very ſame with theirs, which you too plainly teſtifie by your Actions; ſo that when you build the Sepulchres of the Prophets, you only expoſe the Deceitfulneſs and Hypocrſie of your Hearts, your Pretences and your Actions directly contradicting each other. Thus ſome Expoſitors give the Senſe of this Paſſage.
But Others think, that our Saviour intended ſomewhat more, in St. Luke, namely, to retort upon them the Honour which they ſeem'd to do to the Prophets, in building their Sepulchres, as an Argument that they rejoyced in their Death; ſeeing they were ſo well content to be at the Charge of a Monument for them; like Herod, who when he had Murdered Ariſtobulus, made a Magnificent Funeral for him; or as the Roman Hiſtorians ſay of Caracalla, tho' he hated all Good Men, whilſt they were alive, yet he would pretend to Honour them, when they were dead. This Some think our Saviour intended in theſe Words, Truly ye bear Witneſs, that ye allow the deeds of your Fathers: For they indeed killed them, and ye build their Sepulchers; As if he had ſaid, Hereby ye teſtifie, that ye allow and like very well what your Fathers did to the Prophets. According to which latter Expoſition, there ſeems to be more Force and greater Sharpneſs in our Saviour's Reproof; as not only charging them with their ill uſage of the Righteous Men of their own Times; but moreover making them, by their building the Tombs, and garniſhing the Sepulchres of the Antient Prophets, to become as it were Acceſſories to the Murder of them.
But leaving this Digreſſion, I now proceed to that which I primarily intended, namely, Firſt, to explain the following Words, which I have choſen as my preſent Subject, and then to make ſome Obſervations upon them,
Therefore alſo ſaid the Wiſdom of God, I will ſend them Prophets and Apoſtles, and ſome of them they ſhall ſlay and perſecute; that the blood of all the Prophets which was ſhed from the foundation of the world, may be required of this Generation; from the blood of Abel, to the blood of Zacharias, which periſhed between the Altar and the Temple: Verily I ſay unto you, it ſhall be required of this Generation.
There are Three conſiderable Difficulties in the Words, which I ſhall endeavour to explain to you.
I. What is here meant by the Wiſdom of God.
II. Who this Zacharias was, here mention'd by our Saviour; from the blood of Abel, unto the blood of Zacharias, who periſhed between the Altar and the Temple.
III. In what Senſe, and with what Reaſon and Juſtice it is here threatned, that the blood of all the Prophets and righteous men, ſhed from the foundation of the world, ſhould be required of that Generation.
I. What is here meant by the Wiſdom of God. Therefore alſo ſaid the Wiſdom of God, I will ſend them Prophets and Apoſtles, &c. In St. Matthew our Saviour ſpeaks this in his own Name, wherefore behold, I ſend unto you Prophets: For which Reaſon Some think, that by the Wiſdom of God, our Saviour here deſigned himſelf; as if he had ſaid, therefore I, who am the Wiſdom of God, declare unto you. But this is not very probable, our Saviour no where elſe in the Goſpel ſpeaking of himſelf in any ſuch Style; tho' St. Paul calls him the Power of God, and the Wiſdom of God. Others think that our Saviour here refers to ſome Prophecy of the Old Teſtament, to this purpoſe; therefore the Wiſdom of God hath ſaid, that is, the Holy Spirit of Wiſdom, which Inſpired the Prophets in the Old Teſtament. But this Conceit is utterly without ground; for we find no ſuch Paſſage, nor any thing to that Senſe, in any of the Prophets of the Old Teſtament.
But the moſt plain and ſimple Interpretation is this, therefore hath the Wiſdom of God ſaid, that is, the most Wiſe God hath determined to ſend among you ſuch Meſſengers and Holy Men, and I foreſee that ye will thus abuſe them, and thereby bring Wrath and Deſtruction upon your ſelves. And whereas our Saviour ſays in St. Matthew, behold I ſend unto you Prophets; it is very probable, he ſpeaks in God's Name, and that it is to be underſtood, behold, ſays God, I ſend unto you. And this Phraſe of the Wiſdom of God, for the most Wiſe God, is very agreeable to other Forms of Speech, which we meet with in the Jewiſh Writers; as, Dicit norma judicii, the Rule of Judgment ſays, that is, the moſt Juſt and Righteous God; which ſerves very well to explain the Phraſe in the Text, Therefore ſaith the Wiſdom of God, I will ſend them Prophets and Apoſtles.
By Apoſtles is here meant, all ſorts of Divine Meſſengers: For ſo St. Matthew expreſſeth it, I ſend unto you Prophets, and wiſe men, and Scribes; that is, ſeveral Holy and Excellent Men, endowed with all ſorts of Divine Gifts; Prophets, and wiſe men, and Scribes, which were the moſt glorious and admired Titles among the Jews.
And ſome of them they ſhall ſlay and perſecute. St. Matthew expreſſeth it more particularly, ſome of them ye ſhall kill and crucifie; as it was afterwards fulfilled in the two James's, and Stephen, who were ſlain by them, and in Simon the Son of Cleophas, and before him in Jeſus the Son of God, who were Crucified; and ſome of them ye ſhall ſcourge in your Synagogues, as we read they did to Peter and John; and perſecute them from City to City, as they did Paul and Barnabas. The ſending of theſe Meſſengers of God among the Jews, and this ill uſage of them, the All-wiſe and All-knowing God had determined and foreſeen.
II. Who this Zacharias was, here mentioned by our Saviour. And there are ſo many of them, (no leſs than Four of this Name) to whom it may with ſome probability be applyed, but eſpecially to Two of them, that it is very hard to determine which of them our Saviour means. Three Zacharias's are mention'd in Scripture, and one more in the Hiſtory of Joſephus.
There was Zacharias the Father of John the Baptiſt; but whoſe Son he was, we do not read; and tho' of his Death the Scripture is ſilent, yet there are two Traditions about it; one that he was ſlain by Herod's Officers, becauſe he would not tell where his Son, John the Baptiſt was, when Herod ſent for him. But the Credit of this relies upon very doubtful Authors. The other is mentioned by ſeveral of the Fathers, and the ſubſtance of it is briefly this; that there being a Place in the Temple, where the Virgins by themſelves uſed to Pray, the Virgin Mary coming to that Place to pray among the Virgins, was forbidden, becauſe ſhe had had a Child; and that Zacharias for maintaining her Virginity, was ſet upon and killed between the Temple and the Altar. But this Tradition is rejected by St. Jerome; and I doubt there is little ground for it.
Zacharias, one of the leſſer Prophets, was the Son of Barachias, which agrees ſo far with St. Matthew's deſcription of him: But there is no mention in Scripture that he was ſlain; nor could he well be in the Temple, which was but building in his Time; tho' the Author of the Targum ſays, that Zacharias the Son of Ido, was ſlain by the Jews in the houſe of the Lord's Sanctuary, on the Day of the Propitiation; becauſe he admoniſht them not to do Evil before the Lord. Now Zacharias the Son of Barachias, was the Grand-Son of Ido; but yet, I think, this was only lapſe of Memory, and that he means Zachary in the Chronicles, who was ſlain by Joaſh.
And He is the Third Zacharias I mention'd, 2 Chron. 24.21. who as he was reproving the People for tranſgreſſing the Commandment of the Lord, was ſtoned with ſtones at the Comandment of the King, in the court of the houſe of the Lord. And this our Saviour ſeems more particularly to reflect upon, immediately after the Text; O Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem, thou that ſtoneſt the Prophets, &c. Now this one would think was certainly the Perſon intended by our Saviour, and fit to be mentioned with Abel, whoſe blood is ſaid to have cried to the Lord. For of Zacharias it is likewiſe ſaid, that when he died, he ſaid, the Lord look upon it, and require it. And Deruſius cites a Jewiſh Writer, ſpeaking thus by way of complaint againſt the Jewiſh Nation; becauſe in the midſt of thee fell the Prieſts of the Lord, and his Prophets, and becauſe before the Holy Temple in the midſt of thee, was ſlain the Godly and Righteous Prophet Zacharias, who lay unburied, nor did the Earth cover his blood, but to this day it goes up and ſpeaks in the midſt of thee. So that none could have been more fit to have been joyn'd with Abel in this reſpect.
But as probable as this looks, there are Two very great Objections againſt it. One is, that St. Matthew calls the Zacharias ſpoken of by our Saviour, the Son of Barachias; whereas this Zacharias ſlain by Joaſh, was the Son of Jehoiada: And tho' it be very conſiderable, which St. Jerome obſerves, that in the Hebrew, or Nazarene Goſpel, it is Zacharias the Son of Jehoiada; yet it is hard to rely upon that, againſt all the Greek Copies. But a more difficult Objection, in my opinion, is, that our Saviour ſeems to deſign to mention the Two Extreams, the Firſt and Laſt Righteous Man that was ſhin, and between them two comprehended the Good Men of all Ages, that were Perſecuted and Slain; and if ſo, then that Zacharias in the Chronicles, who was ſlain ſo long before, can by no means be the Perſon.
There is yet a Fourth Zacharias, mention'd by Joſephus, Lib. 4. the Son of Baruch (which is probably enough the the ſame Name with Barachias,) who was the laſt remarkable Good Man that was ſlain, immediately before the Siege of Jeruſalem; and that as Joſephus tells us, in the midſt of the Temple; which agrees with our Saviour's deſcription of it, between the Altar and the Temple; not the Altar of Incenſe, but of Burnt Offerings, which was in the outward Court, before the aſcent to the Temple. So that Grotius thinks this was the Man intended by our Saviour, yet ſo that he does both allude to the Hiſtory of the former Zacharias, and foretell the Death of this. And there is but one Objection againſt this; that our Saviour ſpeaks of this as already paſt, whom you have ſlain; whereas this Zacharias was not ſlain till after our Saviour's Death. But I think that a ſatisfactory Anſwer may be given to this (viz. that our Saviour foretelling thoſe future Perſecutions, which ſhould fill up the Meaſure of their Sins, and bring final Deſtruction upon them, he ſpeaks of this as already paſt; becauſe before that Deſtruction ſhould come upon them, it would be true, they had ſlain him: So that ſpeaking of the Vengeance coming upon them, well might he ſay, that upon them ſhould come the blood of all the righteous men, from Abel to Zacharias, whom they had ſlain, &c.
III. The Third Difficulty remains,III. and that is, in what Senſe, and with what Reaſon and Juſtice it is here threatned, that the blood of all the Prophets and Righteous Men, ſhed from the foundation of the World, ſhould be required of that Generation. Some underſtand this more ſtrictly; they ſhould be charged with it, and formally puniſht for it, becauſe in imitating their cruel Predeceſſors, they ſhould be guilty of all their Cruelty. But there is no neceſſity of this: All that our Saviour ſeems to intend, is this, that their Puniſhment in the Deſtruction of Jeruſalem, ſhould be ſo horrible, as if God had once for all Arraigned them of all the Righteous Blood that ever had been ſhed in the World, and brought the Puniſhment of it upon them; tho' in Truth the Puniſhment did not exceed the deſert of their own Sins. And if this be the meaning of it, there is nothing Harſh and Unreaſonable in it. And thus I have explain'd, as well as I can, the ſeveral Difficulties in the Text. I ſhall make Two or Three Obſervations from the main Scope and Deſign of it, and ſo conclude.
I. That it hath been the Lot of Holy and Righteous Men, in moſt Ages of the World, to meet with very bad uſage, to be Perſecuted and Slain. The Devil began this Work early. When there were but Three Men in all the World, and Two of them Brethren; the one ſlew the other, becauſe he was more righteous, and ſerved God better than he did. And this trade hath continued, and been practiſed more or leſs, in moſt Ages and Generations of the World, as might be deduced through the Hiſtory of the Old and New Teſtament, and of moſt Ages ſince: though the rod of the wicked hath not always abode upon the back of the righteous, leſt at laſt Piety ſhould be quite diſcouraged, and the faithful fail from among the Children of men. The People and the Church of God have had many Intervals of Peace and Proſperity; and ſometimes for a long continuance, the favour and countenance of Authority, and the Powers of the World, and the Laws of Nations on their ſide.
But yet there is a continual enmity between the Seed of the Woman, and the Serpent, between the Righteous and the Wicked, between thoſe that ſerve God, and thoſe that ſerve him not; becauſe their ways are contrary one to another, and quite of another faſhion, their Principles and Practices do contradict and claſh with one another; the Virtues of good Men are a continual upbraiding of the bad, a living reproof and reproach to them; ſo that it is no wonder, that evil Men do ſo violently hate and perſecute the good, and do by all means endeavour to remove out of the way thoſe who are ſo oppoſite and offenſive to them.
II. We may obſerve likewiſe hence, how great a Sin they are guilty of, who perſecute the Righteous, and how terrible a Vengeance from God waits on them. Particular Examples of this have been in all Ages: But as the guilt of this Sin never went higher, than at this time foretold by our Saviour, when God ſent to the Jews ſuch Prophets, and Wiſe-men, and Scribes, and ſuch a Number of them, as never upon any occaſion were ſent unto the World, and they uſed them in that bloody and barbarous manner; no wonder, if the Vengeance that came upon them was ſuch as never had been before; and if, after they had filled up the meaſure of their Sins, by crucifying the Lord Jeſus, and perſecuting his Apoſtles, and ſtoning and killing all the Prophets that were ſent unto them, the wrath of God came upon them to the utmoſt, and ſuch a terrible Deſtruction from the Lord, as never befel any People; inſomuch that our Saviour, upon the foreſight and mention of it, Forty Years before it happen'd, could not but weep over them, and expreſs himſelf in thoſe compaſſionate Words, O Jeruſalem, Jeruſalem, thou that killeſt the Pro: phets, and ſtoneſt them which are ſent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thee, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings; but ye would not! Behold your houſe is left unto you deſolate.
III. From this whole Paſſage of our Saviour, which I have been explaining to you, we may learn, how vain it is for Men to pretend to Honour the dead Saints, when they Perſecute the living. This was the great Hypocriſie of the Scribes and Phariſees among the Jews in our Saviour's time; and is at this Day of the Rulers and Governor's of the Roman Church among us Chriſtians; Nay, they exceed the Scribes and Phariſees, not only in their Veneration of the ancient Saints and righteous Men, but alſo, if it be poſſible, in their malice and cruelty towards the living. For they not only build coſtly Monuments to their Memory, which was the utmoſt the Scribes and Phariſees did, but they honour them with Shrines and rich Offerings, with Prayers and Vows to them, more frequent than to Almighty God himſelf, and our Bleſſed Saviour: But then they hate and perſecute the living, with as great violence and cruelty, as ever was uſed by any part of Mankind towards one another. 'Tis true they do it under the Notion of Hereſie; and ſo did the Scribes and Phariſees too, as St. Paul witneſſeth, After the way which ye call Hereſie, ſo worſhip I the God of my Fathers, believing all things that are written in the Law and in the Prophets. So they call us Hereticks; tho' we receive and believe all that is written in the Holy Scriptures, only rejecting their Additions, whereby they would make the Commandment of God of none effect. And as Rome is parallel with Jeruſalem in many other reſpects; ſo eſpecially in the bloody Perſecution of righteous Men: And as Jeruſalem is charged by our Saviour with the blood of all the Prophets and righteous men of all Ages; ſo St. John in the Revelation ſays of Rome, that in her was found the blood of Prophets, and of Saints, and of all that were ſlain upon the earth, ch. 18.24. Which is no leſs true of Rome Chriſtian, than of Rome Pagan. In all the Churches and Religions in the World, and perhaps in Rome Pagan her ſelf, hath not ſo much innocent Blood been ſhed, as in Rome Chriſtian and Catholick, and that under a pretence of Religion: And no doubt there is a Day a coming, when ſhe ſhall be called to a heavy Account for theſe things, when the Heavens ſhall rejoyce over her, and the Holy Angels and Prophets, becauſe God hath avenged them on her.