CHRIST WAS ONCE OFFERED TO BEAR THE SINS OF MANY; AND UNTO THEM THAT LOOK FOR HIM

ADDEND A.

OF MARY THE MOTHER OF JESUS.

The first hint which I received on the point, is at the last verse of the first chapter of St. Matthew. I saw that Jesus was called the "first-born" son of Mary; and that Joseph did not live with her, as her husband, "till" the birth of Jesus. The two words which I here underline, appear to me significant. But this time also I would not hasten to a conclusion, and I liked better to believe, before a still more evident proof to the contrary, that Mary had no other children besides Jesus.

'Such was the tendency of my mind after reading the first chapter of St. Matthew; and I greatly hoped that nothing, in advancing in the perusal, would oblige me to resist it. It was almost with terror that on reaching chap. xii. ver. 46, (§ 31, p. 240,) I encountered these words:-" As Jesus was speaking to the people, his mother and his brothers, who were outside, asked to speak to him." "His brothers!" I cried; "if Jesus had brothers, Mary then had several children! No, no; it must not be thus! No doubt the word brother here means cousin; let us pass over it, and may God grant that no other difficulties may recall me to the argument!"

brothers of Jesus were mentioned, but sisters too. The word cousin might possibly have been put for brother, for the Greek term (as a note in your Bible informs me) will bear both senses; but, alas! the word sister absolutely cannot be taken in the sense of cousin; for.... these two words are never used interchangeably in the original text of the New Testament. You may, therefore, yourself judge of the force of my argument, and that without understanding either Hebrew, Greek, or Latin. I reflected: There are in this passage the Greek words adelphos and adelphe; now, since adelphe always in the scriptures signifies sister and never cousin, is it not evident that adelphos here means brother, and not cousin?

'As for the rest, one reflection suggested by good sense settles the question: to make the word adelphos signify brother, it need only be taken in its ordinary sense; but, to make it mean cousin, it must be understood in its exceptional sense. If those who wrote the Bible, had believed the perpetual virginity of Mary, surely they would have avoided the ambiguity. 'Directly I had admitted this interpretation, a thousand other details came to the confirmation of I went on, and immediately found the following my new opinion. Thus in a passage which I am lines, ver. 47-50-" And some one said to Jesus, Be-examining, the Nazarenes, astonished that Jesus, hold, thy mother and thy brothers are without, and who had passed his childhood among them, should ask to speak to thee. But Jesus answered him, Who is my mother? and who are my brothers? And to-day be working miracles, exclaim: "Is not this the son of the carpenter? is not his mother called stretching out his hands over the disciples he said, Behold my mother and my brothers ! for whoever' Mary? his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Jude? and are not his sisters also with us ?" (ver. 55,.6, p. 287.) does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, my sister, and my mother!" 'Now, when neighbours enumerate the members of a family, is it not natural to think that, after having named the father and mother, they would mention the names of the brothers and sisters rather than those of the cousins?

"This close of the story only added to my embarrassment. For if, I reflected, the word brother means cousin in the first line, it ought also to mean cousin in the second. And in that case, Jesus would seriously have addressed to the crowd this burlesque phrase: "He who does the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my cousin!" This supposition is ridiculous, absurd, impossible! This is to clothe in a grotesque form that thought-so touching in the noble expression of the Saviour-that we are brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

You perceive it here becomes necessary to choose between two translations and their consequences: either, Mary was accompanied by her nephews, therefore it is to cousins that Jesus compares the apostles, and thereby we lose the beautiful name of his brothers; or else, she was surrounded by her own children, but thus Mary loses her glorious title to a perpetual virginity. For my own part, I confess that if one must absolutely make the election, I would rather think that Mary had several children than disinherit the whole church, the Christians of all ages, of the beautiful prerogative of being brothers and sisters of Jesus Christ.

'Nevertheless, we do not so easily renounce the ideas held since our tenderest infancy, and nourished during a whole life; although my mind was convinced, my heart was not won. I still inwardly resisted, and I hoped for an almost miracle to restore to me my former illusion.

'Finally, if Jesus were the only child of Mary, why does not the holy scripture say so? It says, indeed, and that several times, that Jesus is the only Son of God; why does it not say also, at least once, that he is the only son of Mary? If the words are different, it is because the facts are different also. We must suppose that authors, inspired by the Holy Spirit, knew how to choose their expressions, and that they speak with equal truth when they call Jesus only Son of God, and first-born son of Mary.

'From these considerations we must necessarily come to this conclusion:-Mary, after having conceived by the Holy Spirit, carried in her virgin womb a body free from pollution, and brought into the world the only Son of God, had accomplished her supernatural task, and from that time re-entered into the ordinary course of nature; i.e., became in all things the chaste wife of her husband Joseph.

'Now then, according to this thirteenth chapter of St. Matthew, Jesus had at this period four brothers and some sisters. The plural of the word sisters. represents at least the number two; I therefore draw this final inference: Mary had as children :

Jesus, her first-born;

His four brothers; and his two sisters; in other words, Mary was mother of seven children.' The Portrait of Mary in Heaven, translated from the French of Rev. Napoleon Roussel.

'I turned the leaf, and I read the following chapter. Would you believe it? To my great surprise, I saw at verses 55 and 56, (§ 37, p. 287,) that not only 'It must be evident, that in this separation of his soul from his body our Lord did not wait for the natural progress of dissolution, but exerted his Divine power, in anticipation of the effect: the reason of which was the necessity of so timing his death, that in all the circumstances, which took place afterwards, the scriptures might be fulfilled, as they had been fulfilled before; that he might be taken down from the cross and committed to the grave before sunset-without which, and if he was to rise again on the Sunday, he could not, even according to the Jewish computation of time, have been previously three days and three nights in the earth; that, when the soldiers came to accelerate the deaths of the parties crucified, they might find him dead already, and so offer no violence to his body, but what instead of infringing, was rather the fulfilment of, prophecy, Ex. xii. 46; Ps. xxxiv. 20: A bone of him shall not be broken-and, They shall look upon me whom they have pierced,' Zec. xii. 10.

Simultaneously with the expiration of Christ, the vail of the tabernacle, according to the three first evangelists, is rent in twain, (so simultaneously, that it might be mentioned, as it is by St. Luke, even before the mention of the expiration itself,) the earthquake ensues-the rocks are rent-the graves are openedand the bodies of many holy men are resuscitated-though their entering into Jerusalem, and appearing alive unto many, do not take place until after the resurrection of our Lord himself, who was the proper first-fruits of such as slept: all which circumstances, though they may be implicitly alluded to in St. Luke, are specified distinctly by St. Matthew only; the confession of the centurion, in relating which both the others agree with St. Luke, is extorted from him-and the people who had come to the spectacle return, according to St. Luke, with minds changed, and beating their breasts, as under the consciousness of some great sin.'-Ibid., p. 252.

VOL. II.]

I HAVE A GOODLY HERITAGE.-Psa. xvi. 6.

[469

Heb. ix. 28.

SHALL HE APPEAR THE SECOND TIME WITHOUT SIN UNTO SALVATION.

HE IS OUR PEACE, WHO HATH MADE BOTH ONE, AND HATH BROKEN DOWN THE MIDDLE WALL OF PARTITION

-Ephes. ii. 14.

SECTION 92.-(G. 102, ..3.)-[Lesson 96.]-PARTICULARS OF WHAT TRANSPIRED
AFTER JESUS GAVE UP THE GHOST, UNTIL HE WAS TAKEN DOWN FROM THE CROSS.
AND BURIED, AND A GUARD SET UPON THE SEPULCHRE.-Matt. xxvii. 51-66.
Mark xv. 38-47. Luke xxiii. 47-56. John xix. 31-42.-See Greswell, Vol. III.
pp. 252-..6.
INTRODUCTION AND ANALYSIS.

Mt. xxvii. 51. Mk. xv. 38. Upon the Redeemer committing his spirit into the hands of his Father, the veil of the temple' is 'rent in twain from the top to the bottom;'

-xxvii.51-.3.

The earth quakes, the rocks are rent, the tombs are thrown open; and, after the resurrection of Jesus, many bodies of the saints which slept' arise, go into the holy city, and appear unto many. -xxvii.54.

Lu.xxiii.47. -xv.39. The centurion seeing creation as if responding to the expiring cry of Jesus, acknowledges the hand of God in that saying, Certainly this was a righteous man ;' in truth this was the Son of God.'

-xxiii.48. The people who have come to look at the crucifixion, seeing what has happened, smite upon their breasts and return to the city.

-xxvii.55,.6.xv.40,.1. xxiii.49. Jesus' acquaintance, and the women who followed from Galilee, ministering unto him, stand afar off: among them are Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and Salome the mother of James and John.

Jno.xix.31.

The Jews request Pilate to have the legs of the cru-
cified broken, that so their death may be hastened,
and their bodies removed ere the next day, that being
a sabbath of peculiar solemnity.
- xix.32.

The soldiers accordingly break the legs of the two
that are crucified with Jesus.

-xix.33,.4. Finding Jesus already dead, they break not his legs; but to make sure that he is dead, one of the soldiers thrusts a spear into his side, causing to flow therefrom blood and water.

- xix.35-.7. These things seen by the evangelist, he deems it important to notice, inasmuch as it had been predicted of our paschal sacrifice, A bone of him shall not be broken, and of our Messiah They shall look on him whom they pierced.'

| Mt.xxvii.57,.8. Mk.xv.42,.3. Lu.xxiii.50-.2. Jno.xix.38.
Evening being come, Joseph of Arimathæa, an ho-
nourable counsellor, a good man, and just, one who
had not consented to Jesus' death, but rather was his
disciple, though secretly for fear of the Jews, with
unwonted courage goes now to Pilate, and asks that
he may be given the body of Jesus.
-xxvii.58. -xv.44,.5.
-xix.38.
Pilate having ascertained from the centurion that
Jesus had been dead some time, commands that the
body be delivered to Joseph.
- xix.39.
Nicodemus also, who at first came to Jesus by night,
now comes, bringing with him an hundred weight of
a mixture for embalming his body.
xxvii.59. -xv.46. -xxiii.53. — xix.40.
Joseph having received the body, they wrap it with
the spices in fine linen.
-xxvii.60. -xv.46. - xxiii.53,.4. — xix.41,-2.
There was in the place of crucifixion a garden, and
in the garden a new tomb belonging to Joseph, in
which no one had hitherto been buried: being the
eve of the sabbath, for convenience they lay the body
of Jesus there, and roll a great stone to the door of
the sepulchre.
- xxvii.61. -xv.47. -xxiii.55,.6.
women from Galilee having seen where the body of
Jesus is laid, return and prepare spices and oint-
ments; but although anxious to complete what they
deem needful with regard to Jesus' burial, they rest
on the sabbath day according to the commandment.'
-xxvii.62-.4. On the evening of the succeeding
day, the sabbath being past, the chief priests and
Pharisees come to Pilate, telling him they remember
Jesus, whom they call a deceiver,' had, when alive,
said something respecting his rising again after
being dead three days; they therefore request that
the sepulchre be made sure until the third day, in
then reporting him to be risen from the dead.
order to prevent his disciples stealing him away, and
-xxvii.65. Pilate grants their request.
-xxvii.66. They go, and make the sepulchre
sure, sealing the stone, and setting a watch.'

No. 92.-G. 102.)—The veil of the temple rent.
MATT. xxvii. 51.
(Ver. 50, 291, p. 468.)

51 And, behold, the veil of-the temple was-
rent in twain from the-top to the-bottom;

MARK XV. 38.
(Ver. 37, ib.)

The

And the veil of-the temple was-
rent in twain from the-top to the-bottom.

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

38

Mt. xxvii. 51. veil of the temple-The veil of the enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, by a new tabernacle was made of blue, and purple, and scarlet, and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, and fine twined linen of cunning work: with cheru- through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;'-Is. xxv. 7, bims,' and was hung upon four pillars overlaid withHe will destroy .... the face of the covering cast gold-Within the veil was placed the ark of the tes- over all people, and the vail that is spread over all timony; the veil thus divided the holy place from nations. Upon the sounding of the seventh trumpet, the most holy, Ex. xxvi. 31-3-The high priest was Rev. xi. 15-8-ver. 19, the temple of God was opened not at all times to come into the holy place, within in heaven, and [the veil being removed] there was the veil, before the mercy seat, lest he should die, Le. seen in his temple the ark of his testament:'-In xvi. 2-was to come with a censer full of burning vision of the glory, ch. iv., both the veils being recoals.... from off the altar,' and incense to burn moved, the seven lamps of fire' outside the inner thereon, and the blood of atonement, to sprinkle the veil, and the sea of glass' outside the first veil, are mercy seat, ver. 12-5--Called the second veil,' He. all seen in connection with the throne or mercy seat, ix. 3-x. 19, 20, 'Having..... brethren, boldness to ver. 5, 6, &c. NOTE.

Mt. xxvii. 51. The veil of the temple. There were two veils of the temple; one at the entrance into the holy place, the other between the holy place and the sanctuary, called the inner veil:' and it is called, He. ix. 3, the second veil,' to distinguish it from a

the

curtain which was hung at the entrance of the holy place. It is particularly described, Ex. xxvi. 31—3, and is the veil here intended. It was of the strongest contexture, the richest materials, and the finest workmanship.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

[Mt. xxvii. 51. The way into the holiest of all hath been opened unto us, through the rent veil of the Redeemer's flesh. Let us embrace the privilege of the royal priesthood, and draw near unto God, through Him in whom the Father is well pleased.] 470] THROUGH HIM WE BOTH HAVE ACCESS

[The veil concealing the mystery of the kingdom has been rent, and we can now look into that state which was prefigured by the throne and cherubim, and of which such glorious things have been spoken by the prophets; we see that it lies beyond the grave BY ONE SPIRIT, ETC.-Ephes. ii. 18. [VOL. II.

HAVING ABOLISHED IN HIS FLESH THE ENMITY, EVEN THE LAW OF COMMANDMENTS CONTAINED IN ORDINANCES, ETC.-Ephes. ii. 15.

MATT. xxvii. 51.

and the earth did-quake, and the rocks rent;

MARK.

The graves are opened, &c.-Matt. xxvii. 52, .3.

52 and the graves were-opened; and many bodies of-the saints which-slept arose, 53, and came-out of the graves after his resurrection eyepov, and-went into the holy city, and appeared-eve paviobnoav-unto many.

MAY THE WORD OF GOD, TESTIFYING OF A CRUCIFIED REDEEMER, BE PROVED ABUNDANTLY POWERFUL FOR BREAKING THE HARD ROCK IN PIECES.

which stood over against him,'-6

LUKE Xxiii. 47-.9.
[Ver. 46, 91, p. 468.]

54 Now when-the centurion, 39 And when-the centurion, Now when-the centurion'- 47

and they that-were

with him,-watching Jesus,

saw

saw

that he-so-cried-out, and-gave-up-the-ghost,d

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

.... then

saw

what was-done,

given to the saints who sleep, Is. xxvi. 19; Jno. v. 25, .9, § 23, p. 178; 1 Co. xv. 20; Rev. xx. 4-6.

Mt. xxvii. 51. did quake-Ps. xviii. 6, 7, 'In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried unto my God: he heard my voice out of his temple, the earth shook and trembled ;'-Not only the earth-The Jews call themselves of the holy city,' Is. 53. the holy city-Jerusalem was so called, Ne. xi. 1 is to be shaken, but also heaven, He. xii. 26, 7- xlviii. 2-In his temptations, the devil took Jesus up Great earthquake at the opening of the sixth seal, into the holy city, and placed him on a pinnacle of Rev. vi. 12, &c. immediately before the seventh trumpet, xi. 13-after the pouring out of the seventh the temple, Mt. iv. 5, § 9, p. 64-The holy city is yet to arise and sit down, being indeed made holy, Is. vial, xvi. 18. lii. 1, 2-The new Jerusalem that cometh down from God out of heaven is called the holy city,' Rev. xxi. 2. 54. the centurion, &c.-Jesus had prayed for those who crucified him, see Lu. xxiii. 34, § 91, p. 459, and the prayer seems to have been answered in the conversion of at least some of those who were engaged in his crucifixion- The very centurion was led to glorify God, and not only to acknowledge that Jesus 'was a righteous man,' ver. 47, but that Truly this man was the Son of God,' Mk. xv. 39, infra.

52. graves were opened-A pledge of the triumph referred to, Is. xxv. 8, He will swallow up death in victory;'-1 Co. xv. 55, O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory ?'

slept, &c.-The term sleep is sometimes applied to those who have died in the Lord, 1 Co. xv. 51; 1 Th. iv. 14-see also Jno. xi. 11, § 58, p. 128, Our friend,' &c. arose An assurance that a resurrection will be

NOTES.

Mt. xxvii. 51. The earth did quake. This is thought to have been the very great earthquake, which happened in the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, by which twelve cities in Asia were destroyed. It was a general token, in various places, and to all nations, of God's indignation against the wickedness of mankind, as Ps. xviii. 7; Joel iii. 16.

[About one yard and a half distant from the hole in which tradition says the foot of our Saviour's cross was fixed, is to be seen a fissure in the rock supposed to have been made by the earthquake which happened when the Son of God resigned his spirit. This cleft, as to what now appears of it, is about a span wide, at its upper part, and two deep, after which it closes; but it opens again below (as may be seen in a chapel contiguous to the side of what is called Calvary), and runs down to an unknown depth in the earth. That this fissure was made by the earthquake that happened at our Lord's passion, there is only tradition to prove; but that it is a natural and a genuine breach, and not counterfeited by any art, is very evident; for the sides of it fit like two tallies to each other; and yet it runs in such intricate windings as could not well be counterfeited by art, nor arrived at by any instruments.] 52. And the graves were opened. Graves, or sepulchres, were most commonly made among the

Jews in solid rocks, or in caves of rocks. The graves were opened at the moment of the death of the Lord; but inasmuch as he is the first-fruits from the deadthe Resurrection and the Life-the bodies of the saints in them did not arise till He rose, and having appeared unto many after his resurrection-possibly during the forty days-went up with him into glory. -Alford.

§ 31, p. 238. It would appear, that these saints were Many bodies of the saints, &c. See on ch. xii. 38, disciples who had died but lately: for when they went into the city, they were known to be saints by the happened had they not been their contemporaries. persons who saw them; which could not well have Christ was the first-fruits from the dead; and there is given us a comfortable assurance, that when he pledge of which appears to have been given at our comes in glory, his saints will come with him: a Lord's resurrection.

The purpose of this temporary resuscitation (for such I conceive it was) seems to have been to convince the unbelieving Jews of the Messiahship of Jesus, since they themselves admitted that some of the dead should be resuscitated at the time of the Messiah.'-Bloomf.

54. The centurion. The Roman officer who superintended the execution.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

-we see that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God' but that in immortal blessedness it will be inherited by the many sons Christ is leading into glory. --And see margin.] Mt. xxvii. 52. Jesus hath by his death thrown open the gates of the grave, and prepared for the safe return of all who are willing to be disenthralled from the dominion of death, and given through Christ a blessed immortality. VOL. II.]

53 ver. A pledge of the resurrection of all the saints was given, not only in Christ rising from the dead, but by his giving the dead to hear his voice and live, come out of their graves, and enter into the holy city, and appear unto many. [May we be enabled to evidence the truth of our trust in Christ, by now rising from the death of sin, having our citizenship in heaven; and by our appear. ing unto many as the redeemed of the Lord.] THE NIGHT IS FAR SPENT, THE DAY IS AT HAND:-Rom. xiii. 12.

[471

WITH THE CLEARER LIGHT WHICH GOD HAS GRANTED US, LET OUR HOPE AND OUR AFFECTIONS BE PLACED UPON THINGS ABOVE.

IF YE BE REPROACHED FOR THE NAME OF CHRIST, HAPPY ARE YE; FOR THE SPIRIT OF GLORY AND OF GOD RESTETH UPON YOU, ETC.-1 Pet. iv. 14.

55

56

MATT. xxvii. 55, .6.

saying, Truly this was

the-Son of God."

And many women were there beholding afar off, which followed Jesus from Galilee,

ministering unto-him:

among which was

Mary Magdalene,
and Mary the mother of

James and Joses,
and

ithe mother of Zebedee's children.*

(Ver. 57, p. 474.)

41 (who also, when he-was in Galilee,
followed him, and ministered unto-him ;)
and many other-women which came-up-
with him unto Jerusalem. (Ver. 42, ib.)

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

Lu. xxiii. 48. smote, &c.—so the publican, ch. xviii. | 13, § 73, p. 217. Mt. xxvii. 55. ministering-Mk. xv. 41-Lu. viii. 3, § 30, p. 233, 'ministered unto him of their substance.'

Ph. iv. 3, 'I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel,' 56. James and Joses-In ch. xiii. 55, § 37, p. 287, they are called 'his brethren.'

NOTES.

Mk. xv. 39. Truly this man, &c. It is extremely probable the centurion was present at the trial of our Lord, and knew that he was delivered to death for maintaining that claim, though nominally condemned for sedition.

have exposed them, has in all ages affected to throw on that sex which, probably in the sight of God, constitute by far the better half of mankind; and to whose care and tenderness the wisest and best of men generally owe and ascribe much of the daily comfort and enjoyment of their lives.] [Lu. xxiii 47. Certainly this was a righteous man. Ministering unto him. Attending him, and proThe general sense is, "Truly this man was inno-viding for his bodily wants, out of their own worldly cent: and if innocent (nay, more, dixacos, just, truthful), he was the Son of God, for he had asserted it. means.-Comp. Lu. viii. 2, 3, § 30, p. 233.

Alford.]

48. Smote their breasts. In token of alarm, fear, and anguish. They saw the judgment of God; they saw the guilt of the rulers; and they feared the further displeasure of the Almighty.

[Mt. xxvii. 55. Many women. The frequent mention which is made in the evangelists of the generous and courageous zeal of some pious women in the service of Christ, and especially of the faithful and resolute constancy with which they attended him in these last scenes of his sufferings, might very possibly be intended to obviate that haughty and senseless contempt which the pride of men, often irritated by those vexations to which their own irregular passions

56. Mary Magdalene. See on Lu. vii. 37, § 29, p. 230; Jno. xii. 3, § 81, p. 253.

'Mary the mother of our Lord is not mentioned as being now present-she had probably been led away by the beloved apostle [disciple?] immediately on the speaking of the words," Behold thy mother! Alford. See on Jno. xix. 25-7, § 91, p. 465. Mary the mother of James and Joses. Mary the sister of our Lord's mother, and the wife of Cleophas.' Lonsdale. Mk. xv. 40. James the less. Called the son of Alphæus,' Mt. x. 3, [§ 27, p. 207].-Lonsdale. Mt. xxvii. 56. The mother of Zebedee's children. 'Salome,' Mk. xv. 40.-Lonsdale.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

[Mt. xxvii. 54; Lu. xxiii. 47. If by those signs the centurion was forced to confess that God had acknowledged the claims of Jesus, surely much more ought we, who have seen added to these signs eighteen centuries' fulfilment of his predictions with regard to Jerusalem and the Jews. Surely God would not during so many ages have attested the truth of the words of Jesus, to the utter and continued rejection of his long highly-favoured people, unless they had been in the wrong, and he truly a righteous man, the very Christ, whom God the Father hath sealed.]' Lu. xxiii. 48. Do we remain comparatively unim.

472]

pressed by that awful scene-the death of the Son of
God-which so deeply affected the beholders; or do
we only see in it the guilt and danger of the Jews,
who said, His blood be on us, and on our children'?
Let us remember that it was for us that he suffered
-that our sins were laid upon him; that he bare our
sins in his own body on the tree.'
[Mt. xxvii. 55. Even those who had previously
ministered to Jesus, stood afar off in the hour of his
death. Let us, while we may, minister to the servants
of God, so will we have the less cause for self-reproach
when we would alleviate suffering, but cannot.]

IF ANY MAN SUFFER AS A CHRISTIAN, LET HIM NOT BE ASHAMED; BUT LET HIM GLORIFY GOD ON THIS BEHALF.-1 Pet. iv. 16.

LET US DRAW NEAR WITH A TRUE HEART IN FULL ASSURANCE OF FAITH, HAVING OUR HEARTS SPRINKLED

Jesus is pierced.-John xix. 31-.7.

[Ver. 30, 91, p. 468.]

31 The Jews therefore, because it-was the-preparation, that the bodies should-notremain upon the cross on the sabbath-day, (for that sabbath-day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might-be-broken, and that they-might-be-taken-away.* 32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of-the first, and of-the other which-was33 crucified-with him. But when-they-came to Jesus, and saw that-he-was-dead already, 34 they-brake not his legs: but one of the soldiers with-a-spear pierced his side, and forth35 with came-thereout blood and water. And he that-saw it bare-record, and his record is 36 true and-he-knoweth that he-saith true, that ye might-believe. For these-things

SCRIPTURE ILLUSTRATIONS.

NOTES.

PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.

'Josephus will shew that, agreeably to the Divine mandate (B. Jud. iv. v. 2, De. xxi. 22, .3), this would have been done, under similar circumstances, before sunset even upon a common day; and much more before sunset on the eve of a high day.'-Greswell, Vol. III. Diss. xlii. p. 253.

FROM AN EVIL CONSCIENCE, AND OUR BODIES WASHED WITH PURE WATER.-Heb. x. 22.

WITHOUT SHEDDING OF BLOOD IS NO REMISSION.-Heb. ix. 22.