II. SERM. to prepare us for a worthy Celebration of the approaching Feast of his Nativity; it may be no Unfuitable Entertainment to your Thoughts, to fuggeft to you fome Reflections on this Paffage of Scripture, and those others which introduce, accompany, and explain it. When John had heard in Prison (says the Evangelift) the Works of Chrift, he fent Two of his Difciples, and faid unto bim, Art Thou He that should come? or do we look for another? That is, Art Thou the Meffiah, the great Redeemer of Ifrael, whose Coming was foretold by the Prophets, and is now expected with great Impatience by the whole Body of the Jews, and before whom I am sent, as his Forerunner and Harbinger. Jefus anfwered, and faid unto them, Go, and shew John again those things which ye do hear and fee. The Blind receive their Sight; the Lame walk, the Lepers are cleanfed, and the Deaf hear, the Dead are raifed up, and the Poor have the Gospel preached unto them. And Blessed is He, whosoever hall not be offended in Me! As if he had faid, Judge Ye yourselves, by the SERM. "Works which I now perform, whe- II. "ther I am the Meffiah or not, or what "Reason there can be to doubt of my "Divine Miffion and Authority.” This Tranfaction is extremely remarkable, and will afford much useful Matter to our Reflections, in relation both to the Enquiry made by the Baptift, and the Answer returned by our Lord to that Enquiry. And first, as to the Enquiry itself, it may be matter of juft Surprize to us, that the Baptift should, so long after he had continued discharging the Office of Christ's Harbinger, put such a Question as this to our Saviour, Art Thou He that Should come? or do we look for Another? For could John be Ignorant of our Saviour's Character? Could he entertain the leaft Doubt of it? He, who had formerly Baptized Chrift, had feen the Spirit descend on him in the Form of a Dove, and heard the Voice from Heaven thus testifying concerning him, This is my well-beloved Son, in whom I am well D 3 pleased? II. SERM. pleased? He, who had borne Record of our Lord more than once, that he was the Son of God, the Lamb of God, that Ver. 29. taketh away the Sins of the World! Could He poffibly afterwards be under any De Joh. i. 34. gree 1. Because they saw their Mafter imprisoned, and now likely to be put to Death, for preaching up the Kingdom of God, and the Coming of the Meffiah, and could not apprehend, that, had Jefus been that Meffiah, he fhould have wanted Power, or Will to employ that Power, for the Baptift's Deliverance. And yet fo far was this from being the Cafe, Cafe, that our Saviour doth not appear SERM. once to have made an honourable Men- II. tion of John, till after the Disciples, who came upon this Errand, had left him. Then indeed, and not before, the Evangelift tells us, Jesus began to say unto the Matt. xi. Multitudes, What went ye out into the Wil-" derness to fee? and to take that Occasion of enlarging on the Baptift's Character, and the Dignity of his Office. 2. They might have obferved, that our Saviour had not himself hitherto afferted his Right to that Title, but declined all Occafions that had been given him, of directly and openly owning himself to be the Meffiah; which Conduct, though necessary, in order to carry on, and complete his Miniftry, without Interruption from the Roman Powers, was yet what the Disciples of John, who had heard their Mafter preaching up the Kingdom of the Meffiah without any Disguise, could not understand; nor account for any otherwife, than by fuppofing that Jefus arrogated not that Honour to himself, as being conscious, that it did D 4 not SERM. not belong to him. And these Suspicions might be raised, by their observing, 10. II. 3. The Manner of our Saviour's Life and Converfation, which was fo very different from that of their Master's, and had fo much lefs an outward ApMatt. xi. pearance of Sanctity in it. The One came neither Eating nor Drinking, delighted in Solitude, and lived in the Practice of the highest Rigours and Austerities. The Other came Eating and Drinking, lived in the World, and according to all the innocent Customs of it; converfing freely and promifcuoufly with all Sorts of Men, even with Publicans and Sinners. And therefore they were tempted to think, that He, who was fo far beneath their Master, in what they called Perfection and Holiness, could not be fo far above him in his Character and Office, as, if he were the Meffiah, he must have been. These Doubts, it is probable, that John had very often endeavoured to remove: But finding that they still stuck with his Followers, he took the last and beft |