annexed to the crime of which they accused him, namely, blasphemy ; and because they had repeatedly attempted to stone him before. As for the Jews delivering him up to the Romans, particularly after the Roman Governor had given them leave to " take and judge him according to their law," it was highly improbable, considering how jealous the Jews were of the Roman power, and how much they hated it. But supposing him delivered up to the Romans, what reason was there to think that he should be insulted by them, and in the precise manner which he described? But why should they " scourge" him ? or, if he must be scourged, why must he be put to death, and that too the death of a slave ? No other persons were scourged and crucified too: and the fact is, that Pilate ordered him to be scourged in order to prevent his crucifixion : he hoped, that the Jews, when they saw how severely he had been scourged, would have been satisfied to let him go : and it was nothing but a most singular concurrence of most implacable enmity on their part, and most shameful cowardice on his, that produced the accomplishment of the whole prophecy. I ask then again, Could any impostor foresee such events? or rather, must not he who did foresee them be endued with a divine prescience, that proved him incontestably to have been sent from God?
But supposing for argument sake that an impostor might guess at these things, and venture to predict them ; would any impostor rest his pretensions on the accomplishment of such events as these ? Though he might foretell many indignities to be offered him, would he predict his death, and so cruel a death as that of the cross, when he would thereby be precluded from reaping any benefit from his imposture, and be hurried into the eternal world to answer for his deceit at the tribunal of his God ? Would any man in his senses act such a part as this? But if we could suppose it possible that a man should be so under the influence of vanity, as to sacrifice his present and eternal welfare for the purpose of leaving a name behind him, and being followed by survivors as a founder of a sect, would he be mad enough to give out, as our Lord did, that he " would rise again the third day ?" Would he fix on a test which in so short a time should prove his imposture, and expose him to the scorn and derision of the whole world ? They who can believe that any impostor would do this, have no cause to complain of any thing incredible in the sacred oracles ; for all the difficulties that can be found in the whole scheme of Christianity, are nothing in comparison of this, no, not worthy of a thought.
Besides, our blessed Lord speaks of " all these things as written by the prophets concerning the Son of Man ;" so that they also, living at the distance of many hundred years from