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Chapter Verfe eldest fon, (at leaft of Mary) the carpenter.

X.

3

This must have been his fecond attempt at

Nazareth, as it agrees not, in point of time or circumstance, with that recorded by Luke*. We I will now return to Matthew's hiftory- And 6 when he had called unto him his twelve difci

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ples, he gave them power against unclean fpirits, to caft them out. (Notwithstanding this 6 power, they were not able to do it. Vide ch. 'xvii. v. 19.) And to heal all manner of fick2 nefs, and all manner of difeafe. Now the names ' of the twelve apoftles are these the first Simon, who is called Peter,' &c. (Among these he names Lebbes whofe firname was Thaddeus. Mark mentions him under the name of Thaddeus. Luke neither in his gofpel or the Acts, mentions fuch a name.: but instead of it, he in both mentions Judas the brother of James; who, in course, must be the fon of Alpheus. That St. Matthew should not know, or remember, the names of his affociates, is improbable. That St. Luke fhould be misinformed in fo material a circumftance, reflects not only fome difgrace upon himself, (Vide the introduction to his gospel) but upon his authority. Who, he fays, • from 'the beginning, were eye-witneffes, and mini'fters of the word.') Thefe twelve Jefus fent 5 forth, and commanded them, faying-Go not into the way of the Gentiles: and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not; but go rather * Vide page 16, 17.

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to the loft fheep of the house of Ifrael. Thefe inftructions-are they not in the true spirit of Judaism? Why-go not into the way of the Gentiles? Why inftruct not those of whom he had (ch. viii. v. 11.) predicted falvation? And why not inftruct the Samaritans? They at least came under the denomination of the loft sheep of the house of Ifrael. They were perfuaded Mount Gerizim was the spot preferred by God; and had built a temple there. They admitted the Pentateuch, or five firft books of Mofes, where Chrift is fpoken of as a Prophet; but rejected the fubfequent books, where he is defcribed as a King. This latter belief and expectation, was so strongly impreffed on the minds of the Jews in general, that most of them held Jefus in contempt when he made his appearance: and even his disciples expected, to the very laft, that he would affume that character*. But as he did not intend to affume that character, or the power annexed to it, why withhold inftruction from the Samaritans who were moft likely to receive him as a prophet? Neither Mark or Luke mention these reftrictions with refpect to the Gentiles, or the Samaritans. John fays nothing of the twelve being inftructed, or fent out to teach; but he, and he only informs us that Jefus himself led his difciples into Samaria: he gives us a long converfation between Jefus and a woman, at the well of Jacob near the city of Sy

* Vide page

char.

char. (Vide ch. iii.)

Having fent his difciples to the city for bread, and being tired with his journey, he fat down at the well. A woman came to draw water, and Jefus requested her to give him fome: fhe expreffes her furprize that he, being a Jew, fhould afk it of her, who was a Samaritan. To which Jefus replies- If thou

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kneweft the gift of God, and who it is that 'faith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest

have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.' She, not understanding him, obferved-the well was deep, and he nothing to draw from thence; whence had he the water to give? He tells her, all who drank the water from that well, would thirst again: but whoever drank of the water he could give, would never thirst again. The woman requested to have it; but he orders her to bring her hufband to him: fhe replying that fhe had none; he tells her that he had answered truly; that she had had five husbands, but the man fhe then had, was not fo. The woman, furprised at this knowledge (which by the bye any common man might eafily have obtained) faid to him- Sir, 'I perceive that thou art a prophet.' Under this idea, the however very properly endeavours to obtain from him information upon a matter highly interesting to the Samaritans. Our fathers (faid fhe) worshipped in this mountain :

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and ye fay-that in Jerufalem is the place ' where

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where men ought to worship.' Jefus tells her, the hour approached when ye fhall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerufalem worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what : we know what we worship: for falvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, ' when the true worshippers fhall worship the Fa

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ther in spirit and in truth: for the Father feeketh fuch to worship him. God is a spirit, and they ' that worship him, must worship him in spirit and in truth.' The woman, upon this, makes an excellent obfervation- I know that Meffias cometh which is called Chrift; when he is come he will tell us all things. Jefus faith unto her, I that fpeak unto thee am he. The wo

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man then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and faith to the men, Come fee a man which told me all things that ever I did : (right woman! but a little exaggeration, we ' shall find, had its ufes) Is not this the Chrift?

(why afk them) Then they went out of the city, and came unto him.' Before they arrived at the well, his difciples had joined him and a long converfation had paffed. We are then told ' many of the Samaritans believed on

him, for the saying of the woman, which testified, He told me all that ever I did.' (These however were not hard of belief). So when the Samaritans were come unto him, they befought him that he would tarry with them, and he E

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abode there two days. And many more be lieved becaufe of his own word: and faid unto the woman, Now we believe, not because of thy faying, for we have heard him ourselves,

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and know that this is indeed the Chrift, the Sa'viour of the world. This ftory of John's requires particular attention: here we find a people (whom the Jews of Jerufalem called idolators) ready for converfion: they were easy of belief, even to fimplicity; a woman informs them that she had feen a man, who told her all things fhe had ever done, and that he was the Chrift. Many believed, upon this report only others, upon his own affertion only: they had seen no fick healed, no dead raised to life: no devils caft out, nor had they heard them proclaim their difpoffeffor to be the Chrift; and yet they believed it. And yet (according to St. Matthew) to these people, he orders his difciples (the twelve when he fent them out) not to go and why-because their ancestors were not originally of the house of Ifrael. And yet (according to St. John) he now leads them there himself: he freely and plainly tells the Samaritan woman that he is the Chrift, and leaves her at liberty to divulge it to her acquaintance; nay it feems almoft certain that he himself discovered it to them. Strange inconfiftency! In other places he filences the devils when they proclaim him as fuch: he charges his difciples they fhould tell no man that he was

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