of the Lord." It is remarkable, that this passage, as recorded by St.
Matthew and St. Luke, twice over, is determined, by the circumstances,
to refer to the near approach of his own death, and the extreme hatred
of the Jews to him: and therefore those words, Ye shall not see me
henceforth, are to be
dated from the time of his death, and manifestly point out the end of
his particular mission to them. From the making this declaration, as
it stands in St. Matthew, his discourses are to his disciples, and they
chiefly relate to the miserable and wretched condition of the Jews,
which was now decreed, and soon to be accomplished. Let me now ask,
Whether, in this state of things, any farther credentials of Christ's
commission to the Jews could be demanded or expected? He was
rejected, his commission was determined,
and with it the fate of the nation was determined also: what use then
of more credentials? As to appearing to them after his resurrection,
he could not do it consistently with his own prediction, Ye shall see
me no more, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of
the Lord. The Jews were not in this disposition after the resurrection,
nor are they in it yet.
The resurrection was the foundation of Christ's new
commission, which
extended to all the world. Then it was he declared, that all power was
given unto him in heaven and in earth. Then he gave a new commission
to his disciples, not restrained to the house of Israel, but to go and
teach all nations. This prerogative the Jews had under this
commission, that the gospel was every-where first offered to them; but
in no other terms than it was offered to the rest of the world. Since
then this commission, of which the resurrection was the foundation,
extended to all the world alike; what ground is there to demand special
and particular evidence to the Jews? The Emperor and the Senate of