pride by hinting at the destruction of the temple; He gave much offence
by holding intercourse with the odious publicans; and with many, He
forfeited all credit, as a patriot, by refusing to affirm the
unlawfulness of paying tribute to the Roman emperor. The greatest human
characters have been occasionally swayed by personal predilections or
antipathies, but, in the life of Christ, we can discover no memorial of
any such infirmity. Like a sage among children, He did not permit
Himself to be influenced by the petty partialities, whims, or
superstitions of His countrymen. He inculcated a theological system for
which He could not expect the support of any of the existing classes of
religionists. He differed from the Essenes, as He did not adopt their
ascetic habits; He displeased the Sadducees, by asserting the doctrine
of the resurrection; He provoked the Pharisees, by declaring that they
worshipped God in vain, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men;
and He incurred the hostility of the whole tribe of Jewish zealots, by
maintaining His right to supersede the arrangements of the Mosaic
economy. By pursuing this independent course He vindicated His title to
the character of a Divine lawgiver, but at the same time He forfeited a
vast amount of sympathy and aid upon which He might otherwise have
calculated.

There has been considerable diversity of opinion regarding the length of
our Saviour's ministry. [26:1] We could approximate very closely to a
correct estimate could we tell the number of passovers from its
commencement to its close, but this point cannot be determined with
absolute certainty. Four are apparently mentioned [26:2] by the
evangelist John; and if, as is probable, they amounted to no more, it
would seem that our Lord's career, as a public teacher, was of about
three years' duration. [26:3] The greater part of this period was spent
in Galilee; and the sacred writers intimate that He made several