But from that sort of spiritual invisible creatures he suffered in the attempts of the devil.
Christ looked on him at a distance, in his approach to set upon him. " The prince of this world," saith he, " cometh," John xiv. SO, He saw him coming, with all his malice, fury, and violence, to set upon him, to ruin him if it were possible. And that he had a close combat with him on the cross is evident from the conquest that Christ there made of him. Col. ii. 15, which was not done without wounds and blood; when he brake the serpent's head, the serpent bruised his heel. Gen. iii, 15.
2dly. As for men, the second rank of intellectual creatures, they had their influence into this punishment of Christ, in all their dis- tributions that on any account they were cast into: —
{\st.) In respect of country or nation, and the privileges thereon attending. The whole world on this account is divided into Jews and Gentiles; and both these had their efficiency in this business:
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Ps. ii. 1, " Why do the heathen rage, and the people imagine a vain thing?" Heathen and people, Gentiles and Jews, are all in it, as the place is interpreted by the aj)ostles, Acts iv. 25, 26. And to make this the more eminent, the great representatives of the two people conspired in it, the sanhedrim of the Jews and the body of the people in the metropolitical city on the one hand, and the Romans for the Gentiles, who then were " rerum domini," and governed ci}(,ou,'jAyr,v, as Luke tells us, chap. ii. 1. The whole on both hands is expressed Matt. xx. 18, 19.
(2dly.) As to order, men are distinguished into riders and those under authority, and both sorts herein concurred.
Itulers are either civil or ecclesiastical; both which (notwithstand- ing all their divisions) conspired in the death of Christ.
As for civil rulers, as it was foretold, Ps. ii. 2, xxii. 12, so it was accomplished. Acts iv. 25, 26. The story is known of the concur- rence of Herod and Pilate in the thing; — the one, ruler of the place where he lived and conversed ; the other, of the place where he was taken and crucified.
As for ecclesiastical rulers, what was done by the priests and all the council of the elders is known ; the matter of fact need not be insisted on. Indeed, they were the great contrivers and malicious plotters of his death, using all ways and means for the accomplish- ing of it, Acts iii. 17; in particular, Annas, the usurper of the priest- hood, seems to have had a great hand in the business, and therefore to him was he first carried.
As for those under authority, besides what we have in the story, Peter tells the body of the people. Acts ii. 23, that " they took him, and with wicked hands crucified and slew him;" and chap, iii. 15, that they " killed the Prince of life." So Zech. xii. 10, not only the "house of David," the rulers, but the "inhabitants of Jerusalem," the people, are said to " pierce him ;" and thence " they wdiich pierced him" is a periphrasis of the Jews. Pev. i. 7, after "Every eye shall see him," there is a distribution into "They which pierced him," that is, the Jews, and " All kindreds of the earth," that is, the Gentiles. The very rabble were stirred up to cry, " Crucify him, crucify him," and did it accordingly. Matt, xxvii. 20; and they all consented as one man in the cry, verse 22, and that with violence and clamour, verse 23. Abjects made mouths at him, Ps. xxxv. 15, xxii. 7.
(Sdly.) Distinguish man in relation to himself, either upon a natu- ral or moral account, as his kindred and relations, or strangers, and they will appear to be all engaged; but this is so comprised in the former distinction of Jews and Gentiles that it need not be insisted on.
On a moral account, as they were either his friends or his enemies, he .suffered from both.
His friends, all his disciples, forsook him and fled. Matt. xxvi. 56.
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The worst of tliem betrayed him, verses 14, 15, and the best of them denied him, verse 70; and so " there was none to help," Ps, xxii. 11,
And if it were thus with him in the house of his friends, wliat may be expected from his enemies? Their mahce and conspiracy, their irnplacableness and cruelty, their plotting and accomplishment of their designs, take up so great a part of the histoiy of his crucifying that I shall not need insist on particular instances.
Yea, mankind was engaged as distinguished into sexes. Of men of all sorts you have heard already; and the tempting, ensnaring, captious question of the maid to Peter manifests that amongst his persecutors there were of that sex also. Matt. xxvi. 69.
Of men's distinction by their employments, of soldiers, lawyers, citizens, divines, all concurring to this work, I shall not add any thing to what hath been spoken.
Thus the first order of creatures, those that are intellectual, were universally, at least with a distributive universality, engaged in the suffering of the- Lord Jesus; and the reason of this general engage- ment was, because the curse that was come upon them for sin had filled them all with enmity one against another: — First, Fallen men and angels were engaged into an everlasting enmity on the first en- trance of sin, Gen. iii. 15. Secondly, Men one towards another were filled with malice, and envy, and hatred, Tit. iii. 3.