Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n

Word A	Word B	Word C	Word D	Occurrence	Frequency Band	MI	MI Band	Prominent
cause_n	king_n	see_v	time_n	3,253	5	3.4485	3	true

Text snippets containing the quad

ID	Title	Author	Corrected Date of Publication (TCP Date of Publication)	STC	Words	Pages
A48888	The reasonableness of Christianity as delivered in the Scriptures	Locke, John, 1632-1704.	1695 (1695)	Wing L2751; ESTC R22574	121,736	314

believe him to be the Messiah And though they with others expected a Temporal Kingdom on Earth might yet rest satisfied in the truth of their Master who had honoured them with being near his Person that it would come without being too inquisitive after the time manner or seat of his Kingdom As men of Letters more studied in their Rabbins or men of Business more versed in the World would have been forward to have been Men great or wise in Knowledge or ways of the World would hardly have been kept from prying more narrowly into his Design and Conduct Or from questioning him about the ways and measures he would take for ascending the Throne and what means were to be used towards it and when they should in earnest set about it Abler men of higher Births or Thoughts would hardly have been hindred from whispering at least to their Friends and Relations that their Master was the Messiah And that though he concealed himself to a fit Opportunity and till things were ripe for it yet they should ere long see him break out of his Obscurity cast off the Cloud and declare himself as he was King of Israel But the ignorance and lowness of these good poor men made them of another temper They went along in an implicite trust on him punctually keeping to his Commands and not exceeding his Commission When he sent them to Preach the Gospel He bid them Preach The Kingdom of God to be at hand And that they did without being more particular than he had ordered or mixing their own Prudence with his Commands to promote the Kingdom of the Messiah They preached it without giving or so much as intimating that their Master was he Which men of another Condition and an higher Education would scarce have forborn to have done When he asked them who they thought him to be And Peter answered The Messiah the Son of God Mat. XVI 16. He plainly shews by the following words that he himself had not told them so And at the same time v. 20. forbids them to tell this their Opinion of him to any body How obedient they were to him in this we may not only conclude from the silence of the Evangelists concerning any such thing published by them any where before his Death but from the exact Obedience three of them paid to a like Command of his He takes Peter Iames and Iohn into a Mountain And there Moses and Elias coming to him he is transfigured before them Mat. XVII 9. He charges them saying See that ye tell no man what you have seen till the Son of Man shall be risen from the dead And St. Luke tells us what punctual Observers they were of his Orders in this case Chap. IX 36. They kept it close and told no man in those days any of those things which they had seen Whether twelve other men of quicker Parts and of a Station or Breeding which might have given them any Opinion of themselves or their own Abilities would have been so easily kept from medling beyond just what was prescribed them in a matter they had so much Interest in and have said nothing of what they might in Humane Prudence have thought would have contributed to their Master's Reputation and made way for his advancement to his Kingdom I leave to be considered And it may suggest matter of Meditation whether St. Paul was not for this reason by his Learning Parts and warmer Temper better fitted for an Apostle after than during our Saviour's Ministry And therefore though a chosen Vessel was not by the Divine Wisdom called till after Christ's Resurrection I offer this only as a Subject of magnifying the Admirable Contrivance of the Divine Wisdom in the whole Work of our Redemption as far as we are able to trace it by the foot-steps which God hath made visible to Humane Reason For though it be as easie to Omnipotent Power to do all things by an immediate over-ruling Will and so to make any Instruments work even contrary to their Nature in subserviency to his ends Yet his Wisdom is not usually at the expence of Miracles if I may so say but only in cases that require them for the evidencing of some Revelation or Mission to be from him He does constantly unless where the confirmation of some Truth requires it otherwise bring about his Purposes by means operating according to their Natures If it were not so the course and evidence of things would be confounded Miracles would lose their name and force and there could be no distinction between Natural and Supernatural There had been no room left to see and admire the Wisdom as well as Innocence of our Saviour if he had rashly every where exposed himself to the Fury of the Jews and had always been preserved by a miraculous suspension of their Malice or a miraculous rescuing him out of their Hands It was enough for him once to escape from the men of Nazareth who were going to throw him down a Precipice for him never to Preach to them again Our Saviour had multitudes that followed him for the Loaves Who barely seeing the Miracles that he did would have made him King If to the Miracles he did he had openly added in express words that he was the Messiah and the King they expected to deliver them he would have had more Followers and warmer in the Cause and readier to set him up at the Head of a Tumult These indeed God by a miraculous Influence might have hundred from any such Attempt But then Posterity could not have believed that the Nation of the Iews did at that time expect the Messiah their King and Deliverer Or that Iesus who declared himself to be that King and Deliverer shewed any Miracles amongst them to convince them of it Or did any thing worthy to make him be credited or received If he had gone about Preaching to the multitude which he drew after him that he was the Messiah the King of Israel and this had been evidenced to Pilate God could indeed by a Supernatural Influence upon his mind have made Pilate pronounce him Innocent And not Condemn Him as a Malefactor Who had openly for three Years together preached Sedition to the People and endeavoured to perswade them that he was the Messiah their King of the Blood-Royal of David come to deliver them But then I ask whether Posterity would not either have suspected the Story or that some Art had been used to gain that Testimony from Pilate Because he could not for nothing have been so favourable to Iesus as to be willing to release so Turbulent and Seditious a Man to declare him Innocent and cast the blame and guilt of his Death as unjust upon the Envy of the Jews But now the Malice of the Chief Priests Scribes and Pharisees the Headiness of the Mob animated with hopes and raised with miracles Iudas's Treachery and Pilate's care of his Government and the Peace of his Province all working

large here by St. Luke it is plain that the Answer of our Saviour set down by St. Matthew Chap. XXVI 64. in these words Thou hast said And by St. Mark Chap. XIV 62. in these I am Is an Answer only to this Question Art thou then the Son of God And not to that other Art thou the Messiah Which preceded and he had answered to before Though Matthew and Mark contracting the story set them down together as if making but one Question omitting all the intervening Discourse Whereas 't is plain out of St. Luke that they were two distinct Questions to which Iesus gave two distinct Answers In the first whereof he according to his usual Caution declined saying in plain express words that he was the Messiah though in the latter he owned himself to be the Son of God Which though they being Iews understood to signifie the Messiah Yet he knew could be no Legal or Weighty Accusation against him before a Heathen and so it proved For upon his answering to their Question Art thou then the Son of God Ye say that I am They cry out Luke XXII 71. What need we any further witnesses For we our selves have heard out of his own mouth And so thinking they had enough against him they hurry him away to Pilate Pilate asking them Iohn XVIII 29-32 What Accusation bring you against this man They answered and said if he were not a Malefactor we would not have delivered him up unto thee Then said Pilate unto them Take ye him and Iudge him according to your Law But this would not serve their turn who aimed at his Life and would be satisfied with nothing else The Iews therefore said unto him It is not lawful for us to put any man to death And this was also That the saying of Iesus might be fulfilled which he spake signifying what Death he should dye Pursuing therefore their Design of making him appear to Pontius Pilate guilty of Treason against Caesar Luke XXIII 2. They began to accuse him saying We found this Fellow perverting the Nation and forbidding to give Tribute to Caesar saying that he himself is the Messiah the King All which were Inferences of theirs from his saying he was the Son of God Which Pontius Pilate finding for 't is consonant that he examined them to the precise words he had said their Accusation had no weight with him However the Name of King being suggested against Jesus he thought himself concerned to search it to the bottom Iohn XVIII 33-37 Then Pilate entred again into the Iudgment-Hall and called Iesus and said unto him Art thou the King of the Iews Iesus answered him Sayest thou this of thy self or did others tell it thee of me Pilate answered am I a Iew Thine own Nation and the Chief Priest have delivered thee unto me What hast thou done Iesus answered My Kingdom is not of this World If my Kingdom were of this World then would my servants fight that I should not be delivered to the Iews But my Kingdom is not from hence Pilate therefore said unto him Art thou a King then Iesus answered Thou sayest that I am a King For this end was I born and for this cause came I into the World that I should bear witness to the Truth Every one that is of the Truth heareth my voice In this Dialogue between our Saviour and Pilate we may Observe 1. That being asked whether he were the King of the Iews He answers so that though he deny it not yet he avoided giving the least Umbrage that he had any Design upon the Government For though he allows himself to be a King yet to obviate any suspicion he tells Pilate His Kingdom is not of this World And evidences it by this that if he had pretended to any Title to that Country his followers which were not a few and were forward enough to believe him their King would have fought for him if he had had a mind to set himself up by force or his Kingdom were so to be erected But my Kingdom says he is not from hence Is not of this fashion or of this place 2. Pilate being by his words and circumstances satisfied that he laid no Claim to his Province or meant any Disturbance of the Government was yet a little surprized to hear a Man in that poor Garb without Retinue or so much as a Servant or a Friend own himself to be a King And therefore asks him with some kind of wonder Art thou a King then 3. That our Saviour declares that his great business into the World was to testifie and make good this great Truth that he was a King i. e. in other words that he was the Messiah 4. That whoever were followers of Truth and got into the way of Truth and Happiness received this Doctrine concerning him viz. That he was the Messiah their King Pilate being thus satisfied that he neither meant nor could there arise any harm from his pretence whatever it was to be a King Tells the Jews v. 38. I find no fault in this man But the Jews were the more fierce Luke XXIII 5. saying He stirreth up the people to Sedition by his Preaching through all Jewry beginning from Galilee to this place And then Pilate learning that he was of Galilee Herod's Jurisdiction sent him to Herod to whom also the Chief Priest and Scribes v. 10. vehemently accused him Herod finding all their Accusations either false or frivolous thought our Saviour a bare Object of Contempt And so turning him only into Ridicule sent him back to Pilate Who calling unto him the Chief Priests and the Rulers and the People v. 14. Said unto them Ye have brought this man unto me as one that perverteth the People And behold I having examined him before you have found no fault in this man touching these things whereof ye accuse him No nor yet Herod for I sent you to him And so nothing worthy of Death is done by him And therefore he would have released him For he knew the Chief Priests had delivered him through envy Mark XV. 10. And when they demanded Barrabbas to be released but as for Jesus cryed Crucifie him Luke XXIII 22. Pilate said unto them the third time Why What evil hath he done I have found no cause of death in him I will therefore chastise him and let him go We may observe in all this whole Prosecution of the Jews that they would fain have got it out of Iesus's own mouth in express words that he was the Messiah Which not being able to do with all their Art and Endeavour All the rest that they could alledge against him not amounting to a Proof before Pilate that he claimed to be King of the Jews or that he had caused or done any thing towards a Mutiny or Insurrection among the People for upon these two as we see their whole Charge turned Pilate again and again pronounced him innocent For so he did a fourth and a fifth