themselves. Much less did they equal the torments which good men have undergone, since men of the most exquisite malice and subtilty, in several ages, have improved persecution into a science, and devoted themselves to this work as their solemn business and profession; till at length they have completed this worst of all inventions, and with a dexterity truly diabolical, have at once increased the fatigue of the sufferer, and abated the horror and compassion of all heedless and inconsiderate spectators. These things perhaps may (but these only could) make us think the difficulties, dangers, and sufferings of the first christians small. But yet, after all, if we duly consider the vast sensibility of human nature to pain and disgrace; I believe it will be allowed, that the subsistence and growth of christianity, under the discouragements it met with in its very infancy, at a time when there had been but few examples of patience and constancy under sufferings, in any case that bears any near resemblance with this, are a strong argument in favour of its divine original; and a proof, that they who then enbraced it, and were steady in the profession of it, were, upon the best evidences, fully persuaded of the facts on which it depends; and were animated by the hopes of that great reward, which is one distinguished article of the christian doctrine. CHAP. IX. CONCERNING DIVERS OPINIONS AND PRACTICES I. The Jews, at the time of their great feasts, came up to Jerusalem in great numbers, from all parts. II. The Jews of Jerusalem frequented the temple at other times. III. Their hours of prayer. IV. Their zeal for the temple. V. For the law. VI. Of their synagogue worship. VII. They practised at this time the vow of the Nazarite, and shaved their heads. VIII. Of their inflicting forty stripes save one. IX. Of private zeal. X. The paying tribute to the Romans, a great grievance to the Jews. XI. Nevertheless there were publicans of the Jewish nation. THE Jews appear to have been, in the time of our Saviour and his apostles, very zealous for the temple, and devout and exact in the observation of the rituals of the Mosaic law. The New Testament abounds with proofs of this zeal. I shall take notice of some instances. 1. They came up to Jerusalem at the feasts, in great numbers, not only from those parts of Judea that lay near the city, but also from Galilee, and likewise from foreign countries, where they resided. John iv. 3, "He [Jesus] left Judea, and departed into Galilee. Ver. 45, Then when he was come into Galilee, the Galileans received him, having seen all the things that he did at Jerusalem at the feast, for they also went unto the feast.-Ch. vii. 1-4. After these things Jesus walked in Galilee.-Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest: For there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly if thou do these things, show thyself to the world." This reasoning of theirs is built upon the supposition, that there would be a general resort at Jerusalem," at the feast of tabernacles, which was then at hand." Ch. xi. 55, 56, " And the Jews' passover was nigh at hand, and many went out of the country, up to Jerusalem, before the passover, to purify themselves. Then sought they for Jesus, and spake among themselves, as they stood in the temple, what think ye, that he will not come unto the feast? Ch. xii. 12, 13, And on the next day much people that were come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took branches of palm-trees and went forth to meet him.-Ver. 23, And there were certain Greeks among them that came up to worship at the feast." See Acts. ii. 5. I shall set down from Josephus evidences of all these particulars. 6 At that time the feast was approaching, in which the 'Jews are wont to eat unleavened bread. The feast is 'called the passover, and is kept in remembrance of their departure out of Egypt: they observe it with great joy, and at this feast offer up more sacrifices than at any other, ' and an innumerable multitude of persons come up to 'worship God, not only out of Judea, but also from other 'parts.' 6 d 6 Again, When the feast which is called the passover was nigh, in which it is our custom to eat unleavened bread, and a great multitude was gathered together from all 'parts, Cumanus fearing some disturbance might happen among them, ordered a cohort of the soldiers to take 'their arms, and post themselves in the porticoes of the ' temple.'" 6 6 Again, From Antipatris Cestius marched to Lydda, but found no men in it, for all the people were gone up to Jerusalem, to the feast of tabernacles. However, meeting with fifty men, he slew them all, burnt the city, and went forwards, and pitched his camp at a place called Gabao, ' at the distance of fifty stadia from Jerusalem. The Jews perceiving the enemy to approach to their metropolis, neglecting the feast, betook themselves to their arms; and placing great confidence in their numbers, marched out to the fight with loud shouts, but very little order, not so much as minding the rest of the seventh day. For it happened to be the sabbath, which is respected and observed by them above all others.' This sabbath is the day spoken of, John vii. 37, where it is called, "the last day, that great day of the feast;" of which Moses says, "It is a solemn assembly, and ye shall do no servile work therein," Lev. xxiii. 36. a Year before Christ 3, or 4. It was the passover next after Herod's death. • Κατεισι δε πληθυς αναρίθμητος εκ της χώρας, ηδη δε και εκ της ύποριας ETI Iрηokią т Ore. Jos. Ant. lib. xvii. c. 9. sect. 3. A. D. 48. d Πανταχόθεν. e Ant. lib. xx. c. 4. sect. 3 De B. J. lib. ii. cap. 19. init. But the number of people that resorted to Jerusalem upon these occasions, will appear more particularly from a computation, which the priests made at the passover of this very same year.h 6 6 6 Cestius, just now mentioned, president of Syria, desired the priests to number the people, if they had any way of doing it. The feast of the passover was then at hand, in which they kill sacrifices from the ninth to the eleventh hour and there is concerned in each sacrifice, a sort of fraternity, of at the least ten in number, and sometimes twenty. The priests then endeavoured to gratify him, and they found the number of sacrifices amount to two hundred fifty-six thousand five hundred. And reckoning a company of ten to each sacrifice, the whole number of persons must have been two millions and seven hundred thousand, and these all clean and pure. For all leprous persons, and all who are under any kind of defilement, are excluded from this sacrifice, as are also the strangers that come up to worship.'k The concluding sentence of this passage is a proof, that some strangers, Greeks as St. John calls them, ch. xii. 20, did come up to the Jewish feasts. These are the persons, who are called devout men, and men that fear God. They are also termed proselytes of the gate. If they had been proselytes of righteousness, that is, circumcised, they would have had a right to eat of the passover. For so was the law : "This is the ordinance of the passover: there shall no stranger eat thereof. But every man's servant that is bought for money, when thou hast circumcised him, then shall he eat thereof," Exod. xii. 43, 44. In another place Josephus says, that when this Cestius Gallus came to Jerusalem, a little before this very same feast of the passover, he was surrounded by the people there, to the number of three millions, who made their complaints to him against their own procurator' Gessius Florus: and, as Dr. Hudson has observed, this number does mightily correspond with the above-mentioned computation; for if the number of those who were clean was 2,700,000, it is h 66. There is some error in one of these numbers in Josephus. For 256,500, which was the number of the sacrifices, multiplied by ten, make but 2,565,000. But Dr. Hudson says, that some are for reading the number of the sacrifices 270,000, which multiplied by ten makes the number of persons here mentioned. * Γίνονται δ' ανδρων, ἵν ̓ ἑκατε δέκα δαιτυμόνας θωμεν, μυριάδες ἑβδομηκοντα και διακοσίαι, καθαρων ἁπαντων, και ἁγιων.-Αλλ' εδε τους αλλοφύλοις όσοι κατα θρησκειαν παρησαν. De Bell. lib. vi. cap. 9. sect. 3. De Bell. lib. ii. p. 1078. 19. easy to conclude, that if the unclean be added to this sum, the number of all the people might be three millions. 11. As there was a great resort to Jerusalem, from all parts, at the feasts, so they who resided at Jerusalem, seem to have frequented the temple very much at other times also. This appears very plainly in the Acts of the Apostles, cb. ii. 46, “And they [all that believed] continued daily with one accord in the temple.-Acts iii. 1-9, Now Peter and John went up together into the temple, at the hour of prayer, being the ninth hour; and a certain man lame from his mother's womb was carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple, which is called Beautiful, to ask alms of them that entered into the temple.-And all the people saw him walking." See ch. v. 20-25. Josephus tells this story of Alexandra, mother of Herod's wife Mariamne. Herod laym sick at Samaria, and he was thought to be near his end. 'Alexandra was at that time at Jerusalem, and having constant intelligence brought to 'her of his case, she endeavoured to get the two forts, which are in the city, into her own hands; (one is properly a guard upon the city, as the other is upon the temple ;) for they who have these in their possession, have the whole 'nation in subjection to them; because that without these they cannot come to offer sacrifices. But it is impossible for any Jew to omit these. They can sooner cease to breathe, than neglect the worship they are wont to pay to 'God.'n III. We had just now mention made of the ninth hour as one of the Jews' hours of prayer. Another hour of prayer is referred to in another place. When the disciples had been filled with the Holy Ghost, after our Saviour's ascension, and spake with divers tongues, there was a reflection cast upon them, Acts ii. 13, " Others, mocking, said, These men are full of new wine." St. Peter confutes them in this manner, ver. 15, " For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day." The argument depends on the custom of the Jews, who used to attend their morning prayer fasting. Josephus says: Twice every day, in the morning and at the ninth hour, the priests perform their duty at the altar, ' and omit not the sacrifices, though in the greatest distress ' of a siege.'" These then were the two hours of perform m Year before Christ 28. vid. Basnage, Ann. P. E. - Το δε μη ταυτα συντελειν εδενι Ιεδαίων δυνατον, το ζην ἑτοιμότερον αν παραχωρησάντων η της θρησκείας, ήν εις τον Θεον ειώθασι συντελείν. Antiq. lib. xv. cap. 7. sect. 8. * Αλλα δις της ημερας, προϊ τε |