Some of the wiser among the heathens had ex pressed their belief that a divinely inspired teacher was necessary to instruct mankind in their duty. The Jews had a firm persuasion that such an in structor would be sent; they viewed him, however, in a higher light than that of a mere teacher, and considered him as commissioned by God to redeem them from the power of all their enemies. This be lief was fostered by the particular circumstances in which they were placed. It is probable that had they preserved their power and importance among the nations, they would have paid too little atten tion to the prophetic declarations respecting the great deliverer wpo was promised to them. But they had been for several hundred years a humbled and depressed people. This made them scan, with the nicest attention, all the intimations of the pro phets respecting this remarkable personage; and they were so completely versant in all the records concerning him, that they had ascertained the very time when, in conformity with predictions whose inspiration was universally acknowledged, he ought to be expected.
This deliverer was known by the name of the Messiah, or the Christ, (both of which words sig nify anointed) long before the appearance of Jesus of Nazareth. lie had been designated by this title by the prophet Daniel, who pointed out, in very intelligible terms, both the time of his appearing and the end for which he lived and died. Dan. ix. 24, &c. Accordingly the Jews were living in anxious expectation of the advent of the promised Messiah. Nor were they the only people who en tertained such hopes; the Samaritans also had the same expectations, as appears from the words of the Samaritan wofnan in her conversation with our Lord. She does not appear to have been remark ably distinguished either by knowledge or virtue, yet she was perfectly acquainted with the expecta tions which generally prevailed respecting the Mes siah. " I know,." says she, " that Messias cometh, who is called Christ; when he is come he will teach us all things." John iv. 25. Suetonius farther in forms us, that an opinion was prevalent over all the east, that a person was to come out of Judea who should obtain the government of the world. This expectation he supposes to have been fulfilled in the case of Vespasian, who went from Judea to mount the throne of the Tacitus men tions the same circumstance.t This prevailing opinion accounts for the circum stance of the wise men coming from the cast to Jerusalem, to inquire for him who was born King of the Jews. They had seen some extraordinary meteor, or luminous appearance in the heavens, perhaps the same which shone round the shepherds in the plains of Bethlehem on the night of the Saviour's birth; and they concluded that it was a signal to announce the birth of the expected Mes siah. When they reached Jerusalem, the same luminous appearance directed them to the house where Jesus was, and they offered him the gifts and homage which were due to a king.
We can be at no loss to ascertain the origin of these opinions and expectations. A continued chain of prophecies and supernatural communica tions, extending from the time of Adam to the last of the prophets, had prepared the minds of the Jews for the manifestation of the Messiah. The
time marked out for the completion of these pre dictions falling in with the period of our Lord's birth, we read in Scripture of two impostors who availed themselves of the prevailing expectation, and collected a number of partizans to support their pretensions to the character and honours of the Messiah. Acts v. When John the Baptist ap peared, he publicly assumed the character of a pro phet; and his pretensions were instantly and uni versally acknowledged. No prophet had appeared in Israel since the days of Malachi, till the appear ance of John the Baptist; a dreary interval of about four hundred years. John was therefore joyfully hailed as a prophet, and " all men mused in their hearts of John, whether he were the Christ or not." Luke iii. 15. • In these circumstances, and in the midst of these expectations, Jesus was born at Bethlehem, in con formity with the intimations of prophecy, though to appearance he was born there from the acciden tal circumstance of Joseph and Mary being called up to be enrolled at Bethlehem, the principal city of their tribe.
Though descended from the family of David, he was born in humble circumstances, and had no at tractions of wealth or dignity to recommend him in the eyes of his countrymen. This proved a great obstacle to the reception of his doctrine among the Jews; and, indeed, more than they have been inclined to think, that it would have been more consistent with the character of a heaven commissioned teacher, to have had more weight and authority, in order to give more extensive in fluence to his doctrine. But if the plan is from God, we may rest assured that the circumstances in which it was developed were the most proper, and most conducive to promote the end in view. This, indeed, seems to be a point that may easily be demonstrated. For, in the first place, his hum ble condition gave mankind the most favourable opportunity of examining his pretensions. Their imaginations were not seduced by the imposing circumstances of high reputation, of high rank, and of powerful family connexions. The prejudices of his countrymen were all on the other side; they received his doctrines with distrust, and forti fied their unbelief by such observations as these, " Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? and his sisters, are they not with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?" Is it not obvious that all these circumstances, which excited, at first, such strong prejudices against the person and the doctrines of our Lord, contribute most powerfully to strengthen that evi dence by which his religion was ultimately estab lished? Had he been received with immediate ac clamations as the promised Messiah, his success would have been ascribed to popular delusion, and to the want of a coal and dispassionate scrutiny of his pretensions. But it is clear that every inch of ground was disputed, and the world did not yield till it was absolutely subdued by evidence which it could no longer resist.