Vindication of the Truth of the Christian Religion, Religious treatise · Section 2 · Chapter 17
CHAP. XVII.
Where we further anſwer the Objections of the Incredulous.
OF all the Objects which the Chriſtian Religion offers to our underſtanding, there is no one ſeems more to ſhock the Reaſon of a prejudiced and incredulous perſon, than the Death of the Meſſias. The Croſs of Jeſus Chriſt was, according to the Expreſſion of an Apoſtle, a ſcandal to the Jew and a folly to the Greek. But in our opinion there is nothing bears more viſible characters of Greatneſs and Divinity than that does. The Incredulous tell us, that could we but rid our ſelves of all our prejudices, we ſhould be heartily aſhamed to entertain ſuch ſtrange Ideas of God. And we alſo tell them, that could they once but free themſelves of thoſe paſſions which darken their underſtanding, they would certainly admire with us the wonders of ſo Divine an object. Who then is in the wrong in this thing? That will beſt appear by the anſwers we ſhall make to their objections.
We find in the Perſon of Jeſus Chriſt one who ſuffered himſelf to be ſeized upon, and was afterwards nailed on a Croſs, not having any one to deliver him from the power of his Enemies. This they object was a mark of his Weakneſs. For, ſay they, had he been the King of the Jews, why did he not come down from the Croſs, and all the World would have believed on him? He died as one condemned by the grand Council of the Jews, which God himſelf had eſtabliſhed. This was he as was found guilty. He was ſeized with ſorrowfulneſs even unto Death the day before his Paſſion, and cried out bitterly when he gave up the Ghoſt. This ſhews his wretched condition. He was made to ſuffer a puniſhment proper only for Slaves. It cannot therefore be doubted but that he died a moſt infamous Death. And who can imagin that Weakneſs, Guilt, or at leaſt Condemnation, Wretchedneſs and Infamy ſhould be the true Characters of the Son of God? Thus the Incredulous argue. We anſwer that Jeſus Chriſt ſuffer'd by the determinate Council of God; ſince the Scriptures foretold that he was to be wounded for our tranſgreſſions, and bruiſed for our iniquities, that he was to make his Soul an offering for ſin▪ that he was to be cut off, but not for himſelf. And St. John the Baptiſt ſeeing him coming to him, at a time wherein it was very unlikely he ſhould ever ſuffer, called him the Lamb of God that taketh away the ſins of the World, John 1. 29. Jeſus Chriſt ſuffered voluntarily; he foretold all his own Sufferings to his Diſciples, inviting them to take up their Croſs and follow him. He told them that he had made choice of a Company of miſerable and afflicted Wretches in the World who were notwithſtanding to overcome the World, and by their ſufferings eſtabliſh the Kingdom of Heaven upon Earth. He freely owned to them that he was not come to ſettle peace in the World, but the ſword, that God would ſmite the Shepherd, and that the Sheep ſhould be ſcattered, that they were to drink of the ſame cup with him, and be Baptiſed with his Baptiſm, that is, to taſte the bitter cup of his Afflictions, and be Baptiſed with him with a Baptiſm of Blood. He intermixed his ſuffering with theirs, that they might the better bear them in remembrance. If we ſhould in the leaſt doubt whether Chriſt foretold his ſufferings, we need only conſider the deſign of the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and the time wherein this Ceremony was inſtituted. For unleſs we ſhould call in queſtion the real inſtitution of that Sacrament, and ſo affirm that the Diſciples out of an unaccountable and fantaſtical Extravagance, pretended only that Jeſus Chriſt had inſtituted that Ceremony, when there was no ſuch thing: it will appear that Jeſus Chriſt foreſaw his Death, that he prepared himſelf for it, and affirmed he ſuffer'd it voluntarily for the Salvation of Mankind. The Sacrament of the Euchariſt which he inſtituted in cold Blood certifies us of all theſe things. But becauſe an involuntary Death would argue a certain kind of weakneſs, 'tis alſo moſt certain that nothing can better evince the ſtrength and courage of Jeſus Chriſt, than that tho' he foreſaw the horrours of an infamous and painful Death, yet he expoſed himſelf to it with ſuch a conſtant will and firm Reſolution, that by his example he ſhewed his Diſciples, how he would have them imitate and commemorate his ſufferings.
Jeſus Chriſt was condemned to Death by a Nation ſeditiouſly ſtirred up againſt him, and by a Sanhedrin envious of his Glory: but he was juſtified by the Conſcience of Judas, whoſe remorſe for having betray'd him, forced him to kill himſelf, and by the ſolemn declaration of Pilate, who waſhed his hands in the preſence of the Jews, to ſhew that he was innocent of the Blood of that juſt Perſon. He was juſtified too by the voice of the Centurion, who ſaw the prodigies his Death was attended withall, and ſoon after by the mouths even of thoſe who ſought his ruin, and who being prick'd to the heart, cry'd out to the Apoſtles, Men and Brethren what ſhall we do, Act. 2. 37. And certainly 'tis a very great glory to our Meſſias, that the moſt guilty Conſcience, the moſt unjuſt judges, the moſt inſenſible and hardened ſort of Soldiers, and the moſt barbarous Murtherers ſhould even bare record of his Innocence.
Jeſus Christ ſuffered, but it was for our ſakes: he gave himſelf up to the ſorrow and anguiſh of Death, and made his life an offering for Sin. And if thoſe wounds are counted honourable which a Subject receives ſighting in the preſence of his King, and if thoſe which a King receives for the ſafety of his Subjects are eſteemed yet far more glorious: what Glory then did Chriſt deſerve, who ſuffered in the preſence and by the will of his Father for the Salvation of his People and Children, and who by his ſufferings eſtabliſhed ſuch an Empire which no power can diſſolve?
Laſtly, Jeſus Chriſt ſuffered a puniſhment proper only to Slaves; but we are alſo very certain, that during the time of his ſufferings, he ſhewed himſelf to have a power over Nature her ſelf, ſince the Graves were opened at his Death, the Rocks rent, the Sun was darkened, and the Vail of the Temple was rent in twain: And it is impoſſible that the Diſciples of the Lord ſhould have invented ſo ſenſible and ſignal matters of fact, againſt the freſh and publick knowledge which thoſe men that lived in their days had of it, without being guilty of ſuch an Extravagance which is more than humane.
But here we will ask the Incredulous in our turn, whether a voluntary Death, an innocence publickly own'd, the ſorrows and anguiſh which a man ſuffered out of Charity to the World, the homages which even inſenſible Creatures paid to him whom men ſcorned and condemned, were not certain Characters worthy of the Meſſias that had been promiſed us?
Indeed if you take away the proofs which evidently ſhew Jeſus Chriſt to be the Son of God, you may then call his Croſs a ſcandal to him and the World, but whilſt thoſe proofs ſhall be left entire, his Croſs will ſerve the more to illuſtrate his Majeſty and Grandeur, and we ſhall not only then aſſert that it was a voluntary Death which he underwent, and a Death that was foretold us; but we ſhall alſo ſhew that it is as it were a looking-glaſs-like, wherein we may ſee at once all the vertues of man, and all the Attributes of God. There we may find the patience of a man, who ſuffered every thing from his equals, and from thoſe who ought to have been his Servants and Diſciples, the Charity of a man who pray'd for them that put him to Death; the Conſtancy of a juſt man, who bore the burden of the iniquities of mankind; and the constancy of an innocent man, who at once as it were wreſtled with the fury of men, and the Juſtice of God. There we may ſee the Masterpiece of Divine Wiſdom, the deſigns of our Enemies fruſtrated, and the deſigns of God triumphing over the vain opinions and projects of men; the propitiation of ſins made for us by the moſt dreadful parricide that was ever committed or conceived; the Synagogue buried in his grave whom they barbarouſly put to Death in defence of their priviledges; the Romans crowning a King with thorns who was to rule over all Nations, and putting a Reed inſtead of a Scepter into his hands, fleſh and blood ſhewing us in the Death of Chriſt the true pattern of mortification; Jeſus Christ dying attended with almoſt infinite numbers of Martyrs, who were willing to die in imitation of him, who was Conquerour of the World only by his ſhame, who crucifyed the fleſh by the preaching of his Croſs, and procured Reſt and Peace to the Souls of them that dyed by the Anguiſh of his Agony.
We may alſo ſee the Juſtice and Mercy of God clearly manifeſted in his Death. For what other Victim could have better evinced Gods hatred for Sin? What preſent could have been made unto men, that could have better diſcovered Gods love to them? The Incredulous therefore reproach us with the meanneſs of an object, wherein the vertues of men, and the attributes of God himſelf are ſhewn in their greateſt height and perfection.
But let him that any ways doubts, it, conſider the Reſurrection of Jeſus Chriſt which is as it were a key that opens all theſe Events to us. To dye and remain under the power of Death, is indeed an evident mark of weakneſs and miſery: but to dye and yet overcome Death by riſing from the Grave, is the mark of a ſupernatural power and a divine glory. Thus Jeſus Chriſt deſcended into the lower parts of the Earth for no other end but to aſcend into Heaven, as the Eye-witneſſes of that great and notable Event did plainly teſtify.
But the Incredulous will not believe their report, and they further pretend, that they can find in hiſtory the example of a teſtimony very like that, which was nevertheleſs without contradiction reputed Plutarch in the life of Romulus.to be a meer Impoſture. We read ſay they, that after the Death of Romulus, there was a certain ſenator, who having always lived in the repute of a very honeſt man, certified that Romulus was aſcended into Heaven, where he was inſerted among the Gods, and that this Monarch had appeared unto him, &c. Is not this a matter of fact not unlike that which the Diſciples teſtify'd of Jeſus Christ throughout the Univerſe?
'Tis very like it indeed, only it has theſe following differences; there you read of a ſingle perſon teſtifying that he had ſeen Romulus aſcended into Heaven; but here you have a very great number of people who certifiy'd that they had ſeen Jeſus Chriſt after his Reſurrection. There it is pretended that a great and triumphant Monarch during the courſe of his life, was inſerted amongſt the Gods after his Death; (which agrees well enough with the common notions of the Vulgar) but here that a man died a Death proper only to Slaves; that he roſe again and aſcended into Heaven, which is a thing that could not eaſily enter of it ſelf into any mans mind. There a Senator made uſe of a lie to free the Senate from the accuſation of having murthered their King; but here we find men who expoſed themſelves to Death, and to torments, if it were poſſible more inſufferable than Death it ſelf, to bear witneſs of that they look'd upon as a Truth. There it appears that 'twas a cuning man who ſoftned a multitude enraged for the murther of their King, by impoſing upon their beleif: but here we have only ſimple and ignorant perſons, who by their teſtimony convinced even the moſt obſtinate amongſt the Learned, and engaged them alſo to ſuffer Martyrdom. There a ſingle perſon barely affirmed without any proof, that Romulus had appeared to him: here we have ſuch Witneſſes as convince us of the Truth of their Teſtimony by the moſt real and ſenſible proofs in the World, viz. the extraordinary and miraculous gifts of the Holy Ghoſt conferred upon them, and which they themſelves frequently imparted to others.
But laſtly, it may be objected that we ſee now a days certain Enthuſiaſts and Quakers pretending themſelves inſpired by the Holy Ghoſt, who reveals to them as they ſay, both what they ſhould do and believe, whereas all men of ſenſe know very well they do but dream all this while; and perhaps too the Diſciples might have falſly pretended they had received the Gifts of the Holy Ghoſt. It will ſoon be ſeen how wretchedly fooliſh and trivial this ſame objection is, if it be only conſidered that tho theſe Enthuſiasts vainly boaſt of their being divinely inſpired, yet they pretend not to confirm their Doctrine by working any Miracles, or ſpeaking ſtrange Languages, &c. They think themſelves inſpired in reſpect of their Doctrine only; and ſince they commonly ſpeak in the ſtile of the Holy Scripture, which they have continually before their eyes, we have no reaſon to wonder at their taking for an inſpiration a continual repetition of that they have ſo often read over. But the Apoſtles not only pretended themſelves inſpired by the Holy Ghoſt, (that they might not advance any thing but what was Orthodox and conformable to the Holy Scriptures) but they affirmed alſo they had received ſome ſupernatural and miraculous gifts, the truth of which they could at any time juſtify by their Works. And if you ſhould doubt it, you need only obſerve they did not prove the ſame by meer ſpeculations, but by calling to bear witneſs of what they ſaid, the ſenſes of thoſe they ſpoke to, nay the eyes of the Jews themſelves both their Maſters and their Enemies too. He therefore being, ſay they, by the right hand of God exalted, has ſhed forth this which ye now ſee and hear, Acts 2. 33. If you ſhould doubt whether St. Peter really ſpoke juſt after this manner to the Jews; the multitude of thoſe Proſelytes converted by the evidence of this Demonſtration, and a whole Church purely founded by the efficacy of the ſame, will ſufficiently warrant the certainty of it. Should you ſuppoſe that the Diſciples deceived the multitude, we will only remind you that they had to deal with ſeveral learned and skillful Adverſaries, tho' they themſelves were but ſimple and ignorant People. If you ſhould imagin that the Vulgar delighted in ſuffering themſelves to be thus miſerably deluded, we will only put you in mind, that there could be no Faith more Grievous or terrible, according to the judgment of men, than that which they embraced when they turned Chriſtians; that it highly concerned them throughly to examin ſuch matters of fact, the belief of which obliged them to ſuffer Martyrdom; that thoſe of Berea who daily took care to compare the holy Scriptures, to know whether all things were really ſo as St. Paul had told them, certainly would not have failed to conſult their eyes and ears, to be aſſured whether the Apoſtles had any reaſon to pretend they could do ſigns and wonders; this latter examination being more ſure and eaſy than the former; that 'twas not once or twice only St. Paul boaſted of having made himſelf known by many ſigns, miracles and wonders wrought by him in the preſence of thoſe he wrote his exhortations to; that every one of his Epiſtles is full of Declarations of this kind, or of thoſe things viſibly relating thereunto; that he derived both his Arguments and the motives of his exhortations from that undeniably known effuſion of the ſupernatural graces of the Holy Ghoſt. Certainly no man can imagin St. Paul ſo ſenſeleſs as to write to the Corinthians in theſe Words, Wherefore, Brethren, covet to prophecy, and forbid not to ſpeak with tongues, 1 Cor. 14. 19. ſuppoſing thoſe gifts had not been actually viſible in the Church; nor would he have taken ſo much care to remedy thoſe diſorders which aroſe from the abuſe of thoſe miraculous gifts, as we have already obſerv'd he did. Neither would he have warned them that the end of Prophecying was to edifie the faithful, but that the gift of Tongues as being miraculous was to convince the Incredulous. Laſtly, he would never have undertook to correct the diſorders of men, who valued thoſe extraordinary Gifts more than Charity it ſelf, as we ſee he did when he obſerved, that whether there were prophecies, they ſhould fail, whether there were Languages, they ſhould ceaſe: but that Charity did never fail.
But we may eaſily ſee by his words how fully he was perſwaded of theſe things. He had ſo great an admiration for ſo many miracles, ſigns, and wonderful works, which the Spirit of God wrought in the ſight of men; that he knew not well what ſuitable name to give to that Divine principle. Sometimes he called it The excellency of the power of God, 2 Cor. 4. 7. ſometimes, the exceeding greatneſs of his power, Eph. 1. 19. ſometimes, the Excellency of the power of his might, Eph. 6. 10. All which expreſſions are to the full as Natural as they are ſtrong, and diſcover to us beyond all the arguments in the World the Idea St. Paul had of thoſe miraculous gifts, and conſequently that too which we our ſelves ought to have of them.