a figurate representacion of a more secrete doctrine The Apostles had prouision of viaundrie but it is suche as belongeth to Iesus This viaundrie lyke as it is of lyght pryce and course geare for poore folkes eatyng so is it but litle in quantitie For the doctrine of Moses is manyfolde and the philosophiers learnyng is of soondrie manier sortes of matiers and ful of plenteous stuffe but the worde of the ghospell is playne homely geare and short and yet suche as maie suffise for the soules of all nacions to be refreashed in case it be deliuered and receyued as it ought to bee To men of the apostles profession is the worde committed wherewith soules are made fatte but thesame woorde doe they not sette afore the people to fede on except it be firste consecrated and broken of Christe For than and neuer els is it the true fruite of preachyng the ghospell if the teacher dooe not presumpteouslye vsurpe to hymselfe the gift of learnyng whiche he hath as a thyng commytted to his credite ne vndiscretely or misaduisedly shewe foorth the same as thoughe it were of his owne but yelde it vnto Christe to bee made holy of him Otherwyse all in vain shall the teachers labour bee when he preacheth onlesse Iesus shall firste haue blissed the woorde onlesse he shall haue broken it onlesse he shal with his own handes deliuer it to be distributed to the people For piththye and effectuall it is whatsoeuer procedeth out of hys holy handes he only it is that fedeth that refresheth that maketh full bishops are nothing els but ministers and distributoures of an other mannes liberalitie The people all the while sitteth down in coumpanies vpon the ground nothyng stickyng or doubtyng nothyng murmuryng or repinyng whereby is signified that in the faithfull congregacion of Christes churche there oughte to be sobre humilitie and plain faithfull truste of the heart in god without any doublenesse and that all discorde and sedicious vproare ought to be away CoÌ„sider me ferthermore this mysterie too The Lorde Iesus firste of all thynges taught and healed the people and than fedde them afterward The woorde of God also is the heauenly meate of the soule But sum porcion hereof is not denayed to the vngodly and to the newely entered or instructed in the faythe For it is the medicine of mennes soules and the refeccion of the weake For holsome doctrine worketh the like effect in the soules of sinners that Iesus with his worde and his touchyng did in diseases of the body But there is a mistical bread whiche is not geuen but to persones now already wel taught and also throughly healed Thesame forsouth is that heauenly breade of the lordes body which is not geueÌ„ to those that are not yet through baptisme receyued into the body of the churche and congregacion ne vnto suche whose mynde and soule is holden with some grieuous cryme as it wer with a mortall sickenesse And that same meate of the priuie hidden wysedome of God which Paule the Apostle dyd not shewe foorth but emong the perfect is not to be vttered vnto all persones at auenture ¶ And it fortuned as he was alone praying his disciples were with hym and he asked them saying Who saye the people that I am They aunswered and sayed Iohn Baptyste some saye Helias and some saye that one of the olde Prophetes is aâ—iâ—eu He sayed vnto them But who saye ye that I am Simon Peter aunswered and sayed thou art the Christe of god and he warned and commaunded them that they should tell no man that thyng saying the sonne of man must suffre many thynges and be reproued of the elders and of the high priestes and Scribes and bee slayne and ryse agayn the thyrde daye Now because the lorde had so tempered all his sayinges and dooynges that some whiles he would shewe forth tokeÌ„s of his godly power and another tyme he would manifestely shew the veritie of his humayn nature the opinioÌ„s of men concernyng hym dyd muche varie But because it was requisite that emong them by whom he had appoynted to renewe the world there should bee one vniforme profession perfectly agreyng in it selfe concernyng hym at a time whan he was in his prayer solitarie with his disciples he demaunded of them what opinion the people had of hym or whom they sayed that he was The disciples aunswere some suppose thee to bee Iohn the Baptiste reuiued agayn some saye that thou arte Helias of whom the Iewes thynke that he shall come agayne before that Messias shall come and some others beleue the to be some one man of the olde Prophetes called to lyfe agayn Than sayed Iesus As for the people they are inconstaunt and waueryng as they are woont to be But ye that knowe me nerer and familiarly who dooeye saye that I am There Petur beeyng more ardent and fyerie then the residue made aunswere in the name of them al we know thee to be Messias whom God hath enoynted with all heauenly gyftes of grace And this theyr right profession Iesus in dede alloweth well but yet he geueth them a great charge that they shoulde make no woordes to no creature what opinion they were of For he sayed the tyme of openyng that misterie in the open face of all the worlde was not yet come and that the sacrifice of his death muste firste bee executed and accomplished and that he was appoynted to come to the glorie of that name by many kyndes of despite and reproche For the sonne of man sayeth he muste abyde muche woe and must bee reproued of thelders and of the Scribes and of the chiefe of the priestes yea and at length bee slaine too and aryse agayne from death to lyfe the third daie Ye muste therfore beware leste the glorye euen of this name if it should now at this present be preached should not fynd feyth to be credited because of the affliccion and death of the bodye and so might be a let to my death ¶ And he sayed vnto them all If any man wyll come after me leat hym denye hymselfe and take vp his crosse dayly and folow me For whosoeuer wyll saue his lyfe shall loose it But whosoeuer dooeth lose his life for my sake the same shall saue it For what auauntageth it a man if he winne the whole worlde and lose himselfe or runne in damage of himselfe For whoso is ashamed of me and of my woordes of him shall the soonne of manne be ashamed when he cometh in his maiestie and in the maiestie of his father and of the holye Aungels I tell you of a trueth There be some standing here which shall not â—ast of death till they see the kyngdome of God Than where Petur at the mencionyng of deathe trembled and quaked for veraye feare and aduised Christe to some other better waies then so whan Iesus had putte hym to silence he begoonne to exorte his other disciples also to the folowyng of his deathe saiyng Thus
But all those came of Goddes liberalitie and not of his owne nature that was geuen hym at the firste yet he was chosen and sente of God for this purpose that accordyng to the prophecie that was prophecied of hym before he myght beare witnes of that godly lyght whiche being couered with his manhed was conuersaunt in the worlde not as who say that he whiche was God and so declared before by the voice of the father shoulde nede mannes witnes but to thintent he might by all manier of meanes cause hymselfe to bee had in credit with the people he woulde that Iohn shoulde bee the goer before the lyghte as the day sterre appearing before sheweth the rysyng of the sunne to the woorlde And also that by his preachyng he shoulde prepare mennes mindes to receyue that lyght whiche shoulde immediatly come after And because synne is the lâ—t wherby the heauenly lyght is not admitted and receyued Iohn dyd allure and call all people to penaunce proclaming openly that the kyngdome of heauen was at hande for the firste degree or step to the lyghte is that men shoulde hate their owne darkenes And this Iohn was of so great auctoritie emonge the Iewes for the excellente holines of his liuinge that many toke him for Christe himselfe whereby Christ would the rather bee coÌ„mended to the Iewes by his witnes as that time required to thintente that litle by litle as men do commonly vse he might crepe into the mindes of the people for otherwise the meaner person is alwaye wount to bee commended by the witnes of the greater And Esay had promised that at Christes cuâ—ming there shoulde a certaine excellente lighte arise and springe vp to theym whiche did liue in darkenes and in the shadowe of deathe and for that cause before that Christe was notable by his miracles many suspected Iohn to haue been the light whiche was promised of the Prophete But Iohn was onelye the publisher before of the true lighte and not the light it selfe Therefore Christe as the oportunitie of that time serued did as ye woulde saye abuse both the errour of the Iewes and the auctoritie of Iohn to prepare the mindes of all men to the faithe of the gospell Truely Iohn was a certaine light that is to saye a burninge candle and geuinge lighte feruently burninge in godlines and geuing light by holynes of life neuertheles he was nor the lighte whiche should bring life to the whole worlde but the woord of God whereof wee doe speake at this presente was that true light euer proceding from God the father the fountaine of all light from whence what soeuer is lightsome in heauen and earth boroweth his lighte what sparke of witte what knowlage of trueth what light of faith soeuer there be either emong men or Angels all the same cummeth from this fountaine ¶ That lyght was the true light which lighteth euery man that cummeth into the world As this worlde is blind without the sunne so all thinges are darke without this light The worlde also was full of darkenes on euery syde because sinne and abhominable errours did reigne in euery place And in the tyme of this darkenes there did often tymes shine foorth men excellent in holynes of lyfe as a lytell sterre in the moste darkest nightes and gaue some lyght as it were thorow a cloud howbeit they dyd it but to the Iewes only or to the borderers of Iewry but this true light geueth lyght not onely to one nacion but to all men that come into the darkenes of this worlde The Iewes went about to challenge this lyght seuerally to themselues because they thought it to be promised to theim onely for asmuche as touchyng the fleshe it dyd spring of theim and emonge theim but that light came to geue lyght to the hertes of all nacions of the whole world thorow the faith of the gospel Neither Scithian Iewe Spaniard Gothian Englisheman kynges nor bondmen be excluded from this lyght The lyght came to geue light to al men asmuche as lay in it but if any continue in their darkenes the faute is not in the lyght but in hym that frowardely loueth darkenes and abhorreth the lyght For the lyght shineth to al meÌ„ because none might pretend any excuse when willingly wittingly he perisheth thorow his owne faute As if a man shoulde get a knocke at noone daies because he woulde not lyfte vp his iyes ¶ He was in the world and the world was made by hym and the world 〈◊〉 hym not This woord of God was alwaies in the worlde not as who say that he whiche is without measure can bee contayned in any circuite of place but he was so in the world as the deuise of the workeman is in his woorke and as the ruler is in that thing he ruleth Also at that tyme this lyght dyd shine in the worlde sumwhat opening the godly power wisedom and goodnes therof by these thinges which were wunderfully creat by it and by this meanes it did then after a sorte speake to mankinde But many putting their felicitie in the visible thinges of this worlde whome for that cause of good righte our lorde Iesus did accustome to cal by the name of the worlde when he taughte them eternall thinges they beinge blinded with earthly affeccions did not acknowleage their maker The darkenes of mindes was so greate that the worlde knewe not the maker thereof but did wurship serpentes oxen goates lekes oynions yea that whiche is more vile then all these stockes stones dispising him of whome they had receiued both that themselfes were and all that they had ¶ He came emong his owne and his owne receiued him not They being accustomed to darkenes did abhorre the light and being blinded with sinne did enbrace deathe in stede of life yea and whan he did shewe himselfe more familiarly to the worlde being conuersaunt liuing in his manhed emonges men he was not knowen of them whiche had dedicate themselfes wholy to this worlde Neither is it any meruail though the gentiles beeynge woorshippers of ydols measuring all thinges by the commodities of this life being also ignorant of the prophetes and the lawe did not acknowleage him whiles he liued here in the shape of a man This is more to be meruayled at â–ª that when he came specially to his owne people to whome Messias had ben promised by so many prophecies of the prophetes to whom he had bene shadowed with so many figures of whom he had ben loked for so many hundreth yeares before which saw him do miracles heard his teaching yet they wer so far from receiuing of him that with fierce mindes they wente about his destruccion whiche came specially to saue them And procured that innocentes death who frely brought life to his enemies They sawe did not see heard and did not heare hauing intelligence did not vnderstand whiche thorow a froward study of the lawe did rise against him whom the
they ought to thanke for theyr saluacion They knowe of whom to bee succoured and whome to leane to They doe depende vpon thee I praye for them I praye not for the worlde but for them whiche thou hast geuen me for they are thyne And all myne are thyne and thine are myne and I am glorifyed in them And nowe I am not in the worlde and they are in the worlde and I come to thee Holye father kepe thorowe thyne owne name them whiche thou hast geuen me that they also maye be one as we are Whyles I was with them in the worlde I kepte them in thy name Those that thou gauest me haue I kepte and none of them is loste but that loste chylde that the scripture might be fulfylled Therefore I praye for them whome beyng withdrawen out of the worlde thou wouldest shoulde be thine and my prayer is that thy goodnes would stablyshe and make the thyng perpetually theyr owne which thou haste begun in them I do not nowe praye for the worlde which being blynded in euyl desyres doeth stubbernly oppugne and reclayme agaynste my doctrine hauyng enuie at theyr owne saluacion when it is freely offred them I praye for them whom thou hast committed to my tuicion because thei be not of this worlde but thine and agaynst the malyce of the deuill they cannot be in sauetie but by thy continuall ayde I therefore o father commende them to thee that it maye please thee to let them be alwaye thyne lyke as I am perpetually thyne for euer And therfore are they myne because they bee thyne For betwene vs are all thynges common For whatsoeuer is myne thesame is also thyne And whatsoeuer is thine thesame is also myne And like as thou arte honoured and glorifyed by my doctryne among menne so am I glorifyed by the beliefe of these whiche sticke vnto me constauntly when as the Phariseis and the scribes stāde obstinately in the deniall therof For these shall after a sorte succede me in offyce and come into my roume and after that I be takē a way out of this world they shall make bothe thy name and myne to be of famouse memorye throughout all the worlde I haue played the preachers parte and dooen my funccion and office therein wherein these shall succede me and come to lyke offyce And nowe am I not in the worlde whiche I do furth with leaue and goe out of it but yet these abyde styll in the worlde in my steade to disperse abrode throughout all nacions of the worlde that whiche they haue learned of me But I leauyng them behynde me come whole to thee O holy father kepe and preserue them in preachyng of thy name whome thou gauest me to teache and so kepe them that they maye preache and teache those thynges which thou haste wylled me to preache and whiche thynges I haue taughte obeying thy wyll in all thynges And this do that as I neuer went from thy commaundementes but in all thynges haue agreed and consented to thy wyll so bothe the doctrine of these and also theyr lyfe do neuer dissent frō myne For so shall our name be truely glorifyed by them yf as we agreyng within ourselues do bothe the one and the other glorifie eche other so euen these neuer dissentyng from vs doe make our name famouse all the worlde thorowe For whatsoeuer they haue taught and doen ▪ because it shall be perceyued to haue come from vs it shall therfore redound and be referred to the prayse and glorie of our name As long as I lyued in theyr company familiarly as a man with men I was diligente to kepe them as thyne and as men that thou haste put me in truste withall euē with bodely seruice and doynges also and I haue reteyned and continued thē hitherto in league with vs. So manye as thou gauest me haue I faythfullye kepte safe and neuer one of this couente or felowship hath perished except one whiche though he lyued in my companye yet was he none of myne but borne to damnacion whiche hymselfe through his owne faulte willinglye called for and occasioned to fall vpon hym For I omitted nothyng that should haue reuoked him and haue brought him to better mynde And this thyng truely dyd not happē by casualtie but holy scripture dyd long tyme before shewe it should come to passe that a familiar and a companion of householde shoulde betraye to death his owne lorde and Maister Notwithstandyng throughe thy godlye deuise and diuine prouidence it is come to effecte and purpose that also this mannes death and damnacion shall be profitable and do good to the publique healthe and saluacion of the whole worlde synce that by hym is procured the thyng without whiche saluacion coulde not be had and sithe also an example is gotten thereby whiche ought to counsayle and admonishe euery man to abyde constantly and to perceyuer in the thyng that he hath once begunne and taken in hande leste he by his owne folie turne to his owne vtter destruccion and cause of his owne damnacion that thyng whiche by the mere bountie and free goodnes of God was geuen hym to obteyne thereby eternall health and saluacion Nowe come I to thee and these wordes speake I in the world that they might haue my ioye full in them I haue geuen them thy worde and the world hath hated them because they are not of the worlde euen as I also am not of the worlde I desyre not that thou shouldeste take them out of the worlde But that thou kepe them from euill They are not of the worlde as I also am not of the worlde Sanctifie them thorow thy trueth Thy worde is the trueth As thou dyddest sende me into the worlde euen so haue I also sent them into the worlde and for theyr sakes sanctifie I my selfe that they also might be sanctified thorowe the trueth But nowe lyke as these matters are dooen by thy eternall wisedome and iudgement euen accordyng as thou wouldest haue it so I now after I haue finished the thynges that thou commaundedst me do leaue the worlde and come to thee But I that shall go hence do in the meane while speake these thynges vnto thee not that I am any thyng doubtfull of thy wyll but that I maye by this prayer comforte and stablishe my disciples to the entent they maye vnderstand how that thou wilt care and prouide for them after that they shall wante the presence and sight of my body and that they maye also put awaye sorowfull pensiuenesse for that they knowe howe that I shall lyue agayne and so theyr ioye to be soone renued agayne when they haue sene me risen from death to life and in conclusion after they haue seene me taken vp into heauen and they to haue receiued that heauēly spirite the holy ghost one that shal be both in steade of thee and me they maye conceyue and receyue no temporall or vnperfite ioye whiche maye ryse by the sight of my body when it is
brought to them agayne but to haue a perpetuall and a perfite ioye whiche oure spirite shall alwaye infuse in them dwelling in theyr hartes to the entent that nowe they shoulde depende of nothyng els than of a good affiaunce in vs and in the vprightnes of conscience The worlde shall stire vp sore stormes of grieuous persecucion agaynste them because my doctrine agreeth not with the affeccions and carnall desyres of this worlde For men of trueth be desyrouse of and gape for earthlye and transitory thinges and I teache heauenly thinges This doctrine which I had of the I haue taught it them and these fewe haue well liked it and enbraced thesame the worlde setting nought by it And because these loue my doctrine the worlde hateth theÌ„ as forsakers of the worlde runnagates to vs the worlde hath none other grounde thus to doe but because they stick vnto vs renounce the worlde This worlde hath his baites enticementes that seme pleasaunt for a time it hath also his dreadfull thinges and threatninges wherwith it doth discourage weaken euen a right stronge and bold herte Herewith he mayntaineth and defendeth his faccion fighteth against our religion Therfore equitie would no lesse becummeth our bounteousnesse that those whiche hath forsaken the worlde to come to vs and haue coÌ„mit and credite themselfes wholy to vs and altogether depend vpon vs we should care and prouide for to th entent the worlde may knowe that they be in more safetie which betaketh themselfes to our succoure and mayntenauÌ„ce than those that leaneth to the ayde helpe of the worlde The simple playne true hart which they beare towardes vs and the trust that they haue in vs deserueth heaueÌ„ly fauour the hatred which the worlde beareth towardes them for our sake prouoketh out beneuolence and good will towardes theÌ„ For the worlde doth not therfore hate them because they be theues or murderers rauishers or deceyuers with false bying sellyng but because they be cleare and pure from the enormities of this worlde as ambicion couetousnes malice pharisaicall fraude from idolatrie from vnclenesse and other sinnes wherwith the worlde is euery where infect Furthermore as the worlde hateth me bicause I haue obeyed thy will so doeth it also hate them because they doe mislyke and contemne the doctrine of the Phariseis and set nought by the folishe wisedome of the worlde but in a simple and true meaning fayth obey my lawes and tradicions And the worlde doeth not onely hate me but also my name and is lothe to haue me spokeÌ„ of yea for my cause it hateth them whosoeuer they be that wyll neglecte mans doctryne and folowe the plaine pure doctrine of the gospel euen because it doeth muche disagre with the lustes and desires of them whiche withal affeccion and pleasure doe enbrace thinges of this worlde I nowe that haue diligently doen my duetie and office am separate from the felowship of the worlde for so it is mete to be But I would not as yet haue them cumpanions with me for the time is not yet that they also should be taken cleane out of the worlde vntill they likewise haue with diligence executed the office that is commit vnto them This I only pray for that they lining in the worlde be not polluted with the vices of the worlde and that they fall not away from vs and turne backewarde into the faccions and vnstable opinions of the worlde For they beyng so many wayes assauted cannot shunne and exchue that without thy helpe They stycke to me they be my brauÌ„ches and my membres Thus the matter staÌ„deth that as I am diuers and not agreable to the worlde because I stycke to the euen so these also are vnlike to the worlde misliked because they cleane and stycke to me As I haue kept me safe and pure from the filthy pollucioÌ„s of the worlde so kepe thou these cleane and impolluted from all contagious infeccions of the worlde That shall take effecte yf by thy ayde and helpe they perseuer in the trueth The wisedome of the worlde hath muche falsehood mixte withall Moses lawe is wrapped in shadowes of thinges but thy woorde whiche I haue taught is pure trueth it hath no disceite it is cleare and easie without smoke shadowes This trueth haue I taught purely sincerely that there nedeth not nowe so many interpretacions or translacions so many Pharisaical ordinauÌ„ces or so many laboured Philosophical sophemes and subtyll sentences Only my doctrine is playne and easie to be vnderstand of all folke if so be that fayth be had And than it shall be a sufficient doctrine to euerlastyng felicitie Lyke as I beyng thy Apostle and messenger and sente from thee into the worlde haue doen thy busines faithfully and haue not been corrupted with contagiousnes of the worlde but rather haue draweÌ„ the worlde to my purenesse euen so doe I send these into the worlde in my steade to teache purely sincerely that whiche they haue heard of me not studying their owne gaine and prayse but folowyng thy will to the intent that by their testimonie many maye be drawen to vs and be separate from the worlde whiche is altogether sinfull And because these may be pourged from synne and so perseuer pure in preachyng the trueth of the gospel I doe offer my selfe a sacrifice to thee For he cannot purely preache my doctrine to the worlde that is subiect to worldly affeccions Neuerthelesse I pray not for them alone but for them also whiche shall beleue on me thorowe theyr preachyng that they all may be one as thou father art in me and I in thee and that they also may be one in vs that the worâ—de may beleue that thou haste sent me And the glory whiche thou gauest me I haue geuen them that they may be one as we also are one I in them and thou in me that they may be made perfecte in one that the worlde may knowe that thou haste sente me and haste loued them as thou hast loued me Father I will that they whiche thou haste geuen me be with me where I am that they may see my glory which thou haste geuen me For thou louedst me before the makyng of the worlde Nor I doe not onely pray for these whiche are fewe in numbre but for all that shal through my doctrine preached of these renounce the worlde put their whole affiaunce in me For it shal so come to passe that as I sticking to thy woordes am not pulled away from thee like as these sticking to my preceptes shal not be pulled away from me but as brauÌ„ches shal liue in vs and as our membres shal be quickened and made liuely with the spirite euen so other which shall sticke to these mens woordes which beyng receyued at my handes they shall teache to the worlde beyng graffed in me maye be ioyned to thee by me so that the whole body maye cleane ioyntly together thou beyng
Maiestie and a common peace and tranquillitie And truly Pilate made this searche and enquirie not that he did take it to be true but to get some matter of him that was accused wherwith he might reproue the Iewes of falsehood Howbeit though Iesus knew wel inough the Iewes to haue falsely appeached hym that he should be desirous of a kyngdome to the Emperours losse or in despite of his highnesse yet to the entent he myght open and disclose the malice of the Iewes and commende the reasonablenesse equitie muche better in Pilate then in the Byshops and Phariseis though he were but a Gentyle and set naught by the Iewes religion for this skill I saye Iesus made hym aunswere saying Whether thinkest thou of thine owne coÌ„iecture that I am desyrouse of a kingdome or haue the Iewes accused me herof to thee Pilate both to declare his owne innoceÌ„cie the malice of the Iewes too sayeth I doe not coÌ„iecture this of mine owne head neyther doe I see in thee any thyng agreable thereunto It is a Iewes tale of a king to come Thinkest thou me to be a Iewe Thy quarelling couÌ„trey folkes and the Byshops committed thee into my handes seking all the meanes they can to haue thee put to death but because it is not the fashion of Rome to putte any vncondemned person to death if therfore thou haste not traÌ„sgressed in the trayterous desire of a kingdom then what faute beside haste thou made Because Pilate asked him of these thynges simply and meaning good fayth entending to deliuer the innocente Iesus did vouchesafe to aunswere hym by a rydle prouerbially teaching that it was an other maner of kingdom wherof the Prophetes had spoken a farre more excellent kingdom then is the kingdom of this worlde whiche consisteth in mans lawes in the ayde of meÌ„ which haue no power but vpoÌ„ bodies Howbeit he signified this kingdom to be an heaueÌ„ly kingdom which could not couet the kingdom of the worlde but contemne it and should not harme it but auaunce it into a better kinde My kingdom sayth Christ is no suche kingdom as the Emperours is his kingdom is terrestriall but mine is celestial And for the cause am I affeccionate to nothing that can harme the Emperours maiestie If my kingdom were of this world the world should not handle me as it doth vnreuenged For euen I be ye sure should haue as other kynges hath a garde of harnessed men I should haue squiers for the body suche as should onely attende vpon myne owne persone I should haue plentie of well appoynted men and lacke no ayde or succoure that would fight for me that it should not be in the Iewes power to doe the thyng they goe about against me vnrequired At this presente I haue fewe disciples and those that I haue bee vnapte to warre weake and poore I my selfe beyng vnarmed and no wartyer euen one that seketh to the helpe of other because my kyngdome is not of this worlde ¶ Pilate therfore sayed vnto hym Arte thou a kyng then Iesus aunswered thou sayest that I am a king For this cause was I borne and for this cause came I into the world that I should beare witnes vnto the trueth And all that are of the trueth heare my voyce Pilate sayde vnto hym What thyng is trueth And when he had sayed this he wente oute agayne vnto the Iewes and sayeth vnto them I fynde in hym no cause at all ye haue a custome that I should delyuer you one looce at â—aster wyll ye that I looce vnto you the king of the Iewes Then cryed they all agayne saying Not hym but Barrabas the same Barrabas was a murtherer Forasmuche as Pylate beyng a laye man and a Gentile did not fully vnderstande this mistye and darke saying albeit he heard that Iesus dyd not vtterly renâ—unce and denye the name of a kyng but dyd put a difference of kingdomes Pilate therfore sayed vnto hym Is it then true that thou arte somewhere a kyng whatsoeuer kynde of kyngdome it be and thou not perteynyng to vs Here now Iesus beyng earnestly asked of the iudge whether he were any waye a kyng or naye confesseth the trueth with great temperaunce and modestye with muche sobrietie and good aduisemente aunsweryng thus Thou sayest I am a kyng for whosoeuer asketh a question with lyke numbre of wordes the pronunciacion onely chaunged affirmeth the thyng And Iesus sayed further It is not my parte to denye any trueth namely consyderyng that for this cause I was borne and came into the worlde that I should deceyue no maÌ„ with any lye but that I shoulde beare witnes vnto the trueth He that hath a simple meke mynde not blynded with the lustes and desires of this worlde acknowlegeth lyketh well and heareth my voyce But Pilate hauyng no further intelligence of that whiche was spoken then that he supposed the thyng to be no matter for hym to know and as yet Christe had made Pilate no apte aunswere therewith either to sette the Iewes at a quiet or to dispatche them thence after he had asked of Iesus what was that trueth wherof he spake and was come into the worlde to beare witnes therof Pilate I saye wente oute agayne vnto the Iewes not tarrying for an aunswere of the thing that he questioned of What nedeth many woordes sayeth Pilate I haue examined the man and can fynde no faulte in hym worthy death Nor I am not here president and chiefe iustice vnder the Emperour because I shoulde with my sentence condemne the innocente but in case he be noysome to you and that ye thynke him fautye which I fynde not yet it standeth with equitie and good indifferencie that if ye wyl not spare and forbeare hym as an innocent at leastwaye in the honor of this holy feast and for religion sake pardon hym his life as an offender And in dede it is here a custome amonges you that in this feast of Phase whiche is of you moste highly solemnised and kept moste holye of all feastes I should at your request pardon and set at libertie some one offender Therfore ye shall haue free eleccion to chose the one of twayne eyther Barrabas that arrant these and notable robber a disturber of the publique peace or this Iesus a man in my iudgement fautlesse whome some folke sayeth is the kyng of Iewes It were beste surely that this man yea though he haue doen amysse should fele and enioye the graciouse fauour and priuiledge of youre solemne feast Wyll ye therfore that I forgeue this persone for your sakes for of trueth the president did not looke for so great outragiousnes in the Iewes that they woulde preferre a felowe openly knoweÌ„ full of mischiefe and a valiaunt ranke thefe before Iesus a man moste meke and innocent But the Iewes with a whole consenâ— and with a great lowde voyce cryed all of them We will not haue Iesus geuen vs but Barrabas The .xix. Chapter Then Pylate toke
the people and from the Gentiles vnto whome now I sende the to open their iyes that they maye be turned from darkenes to lyght and from the power of Sathan vnto God that they may receyue forgeuenesse of synnes and inheritaunce emong them which are sanctified by fayth that is towarde me And whan we all beyng amased by reason of the brightnesse of the lyght had fallen doune on the grounde I hearde a voyce speake vnto me that sayd in the Hebrue tong Saule Saule why doest thou persecute me It is hard for the to wynche againste the prycke Than aunswered I what arte thou lorde Than spake he againe and sayed I am Iesus of Nazareth whome thou persecutest But aryse and stande vp on thy feete Therefore haue I striken the downe beyng a persecutour that I may set the on thy feete againe a preacher of my name For I haue now appered vnto the to this ende that beeyng chosen by me thou mayest beare witnesse of me and execute suche thinges as thou hast sene and others that I hereafter by vision shall shewe vnto the. In all whiche thinges wyll I bee thy defendoure and deliuer the from the people and from the barbarous nacions of the heathen that be far of whither I wyl now sende the in legate that lyke as thou art by delyuerauÌ„ce of thyne errour made of a blinde man perfecte in sight so thou maiest by preachinge the true worde of my ghospell open theyr iyes that from synne ignoraunce whiche they haue been hitherto holden withall they lykewyse may bee conuerted to the lyght of my gospel and that suche as haue been heretofore geuen to ydolatrie and by reason therof haue become subiectes vnto Sathan maye be made the seruauntes of god who is lorde of all thinges and they that hitherto haue been defiled with al kinde of fylthinesse nowe through faith and credence geuing to my gospell may freely obtayne remission of all sinnes and suche as hytherto haue been called not an electe people but separated from God and deuyded from all the companye of good men may nowe haue parte amonge them that be sanctifyed not by circumcision or obseruing of the lawe but by beleuynge in me and because they geue credence to my gospell For there is nowe none other way remaynynge whereby man maye bee sanctifyed ¶ Wherefore o kynge Agrippa I was not disobedient vnto the heauenly vision but shewed first vnto them of Damasco and at Ierusalem and thorowe out all the coastes of Iewry and then to the GeÌ„tiles that they shoulde repente and turne to God and do suche workes as become them that repent For this cause the Iewes caught me in the temple and went about to kylle me Seyng therfore that I haue obtayned helpe of god vnto this day I continewe witnessyng both to small and to great saying none other thinges then those whiche Moyses and the Prophetes did say should come That Christ should suffer and that he should bee the first that should arise from death And should shewe light vnto the people and to the Gentiles These thinges kyng Agrippa were not doone eyther in the night tyme or in any dreame but whan it was brode daye many of vs sawe the clerenesse of the lyghte and heard the voyce distynctlye speakyng Wherfore I beyng assured that this was doen of god from heauen was not dysobediente to the heauenly vision but lettyng passe the businesse that I had than taken in hande by authoritie of the high priestes I tooke a cleane contrarye waye thynkyng it more expedient and necessarie to put in execucion that god commaunded me then that the hyghe priestes had wylled For forth with I preached the ghospell at Damasco and than at Hierusalem afterwardes throughout all the partes of Iewrye and to be shorte emong dyuerse nacions of countreyes beeyng farre a sunder wyllyng them to repent their lyfe paste and that they shoulde turne from dumme Idolles to the true and lyuyng God and that after they were once baptised they shoulde worke from thencefoorth suche workes as became suche persones as earnestly hath repented For this cause the Iewes whan they sawe me in the temple tooke me and woulde haue slayne me Neyther haue I hytherto defended me with weapon and yet by the ayde of God at whose commaundemente I dooe this that I dooe I am yet alyue testifying to bothe greate and smalle those thinges that I was commaunded to preache to all men without respect of any person feynynge no newe doctrine of myne owne head but preaching onely those thinges that Moyses and the Prophetes affirmed should cum to passe For the Iewes also had wont to dyspute in this wyse of Christe by the prophecies of the Prophetes whether that Messias shoulde cum as a man subiect to misery and death or whether he fyrste shoulde begynne to rayse the dead to lyfe and whether that he shoulde preache the true lyght fyrste to the Israelites and after to the Gentyles Whiche thinges eueryâ—hone forasmuche as they were spoken of before by the Prophetes and by Moyses hymselfe of Messias I preache that we muste looke for none other Messias for why â–ª All these thinges are fulfylled in Iesus of Nazareth and nothing nowe remayneth but that all menne through penaunce and puritie of lyfe prepare themselues againste his cummynge whan he shall cum to iudge all the whole worlde ¶ As he thus spake for himselfe Festus sayed with a loude voyce Paul thou art besyde thy selfe Muche learning both make the mad And Paule sayed I am not madde most dere Festus but speake forth the wordes of trueth and sobernesse For the kynge knoweth of these thinges before whome also I speake freely neyther thinke I that any of these thinges are hydden from him For this thinge was not doen in a corner Kyng Agrippa beleuest thou the Prophetes I wote wel that thou beleuest Agrippa sayed vnto Paul Sumwhat thou bringest me in mind for to beleue and becum christened And Paul sayed I would to God that not onely thou but all also that heare me to day wer not sumwhat onely but all together suche as I am excepte these handes Whan as Paule had spoken this and muche more in his owne defence Festus whiche coulde nothing skylle of the Iewes religion estemynge all as dotage that he had spoken of his visyon and of the arysynge agayne of the dead sayed with a loude voyce Thou dotest Paule It is so with the as it often chaunceth to other men Muche knowledge in learning hath taken thy ryght mynde clene from the. Paule answered I dote not moste noble Festus For dotynge is called whan a man through erroure of his mynde swerueth from reason But I am sober and speake as the truth is the whiche trueth to knowe is veraye witte in dede And that these thinges are so it is not vnknoweÌ„ to the kyng before whom I doe muche the more frankely talke of these matters because I suppose that he is ignorante in none of these poyntes that
paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the gospel that is to say a treasour in manier a ful library of all good diuinitie bookes For whatsoeuer thing any of the auncient doctours of the church left behind him whatsoeuer in any catholike writer is conteined whatsoeuer any notable good exposytoure hath sette foorthe for the sincere playne declaracion of the new testament the pith and substance therof hath this man with a clerkely iudgment compendiously and briefly as it were in a summe couched together in this one weorke Neither was there euer any weorke so easy to be vnderstaÌ„ded of the reader which hath more cunning shewed in it as by his owne annotacions vpon his traÌ„slacion of the new testament it may euidently appere in which annotacions he approueth declareth himselfe with such diligent obseruacion and marking to haue perused al libraries al writers al bookes as very few studentes dooe vse to reade and labour any one autour in any one particuler facultie or discipline Accepte this autour therfore deuout reader and with glad wil enbrace so profitable a meane instrumeÌ„t wherby thou maist without any ferther trauail then onely reading marking bearing it away so easily attain to the clere vnderstanding of the gospel Reade it with a pure a charitable hert with a single iye void of al maner parcialitie of affeccion or of enuy thou shalt espy therin such edifying as may be mete for thy state of knowlage aptitude or capacitie what euel it be For like as in the most holy blissed testameÌ„t there is both pappe for youÌ„gâ—inges in the feith in the knowlage of Gods worde and also sounde meate for such as are wel entred hable to broke higher thinges euen so in this auctour are al thinges aptly tempered to enduce traine the grosse the rude multitude aswel of Curates teachers â–ª as also of other priuate readers to fede the weake with such doctrine as they are hable to receiue to sharpen and make eagre such as are hungrie of ferther knowlage to minister vnto the learned or eloqueÌ„t teachers matier sufficieÌ„t wheron to grouÌ„d much profouÌ„d the same right ChristiaÌ„ doctrine Accept it willingly rendre thaÌ„kes first to God who of his infinite mercy grace hath in these our daies seÌ„t such a numbre of suche good writers and emong them Erasmus as one of the chiefe and principal not onely to geue clere light but also to open a way vnto the pure perfeict knowlage of Gods worde and than to your moste excellent Soueraine good king Edward the sixte who emong the other his most princely and most Christian actes doeth so soone and so effectually begyn first with the promoting of Gods worde and glory being the fountain and ground of al good successe welth and prosperitie and thirdly to Quene Katerine by whose good meanes and procurement this present weorke hath been by soondry mennes labours turned into our vulgare toung wherby the kinges Maiestie whose principal desire trauail is to doe all thinges possible wherby his most teÌ„drely beloued subiectes knowlage may be ferthered their conscience slaighed in a sincere doctrine of Christ with a perfeict framing confirming of the same in a good conuersacion of life might by hauing so notable a good matier in redinesse be the better occasioned to put forth so fruitful an exposicion of the gospel For a paraphrase is a plain setting forth of a text or sentence more at large with such circumstaunce of moe and other wordes as may make the sentence open cleare plaine familiar whiche otherwise should perchaunce seme bare vnfruitful harde straunge â—ough obscure derke to be vnderstanded of any that were either vnlearned or but meanly entred And what is this but a kinde of exposicioÌ„ yea and that of the most pâ—â—hthie and effectual sorte How muche therefore art thou bound deuout christian reader and especially ye priestes and Curates that either haue not ben brought vp in studie of letters of diuinitie or els haue not such store of bookes as may be sufficieÌ„t for mainteining of your studies how much are al ye bound I say vnto the kinges moste exellent Maiestie and his most honorable worthy Counsaillours who of a speciall regarde and coÌ„sideracion of the ignorauÌ„ce defaute of litterature which hath reigned in most part of the Clergie of England aswel to the great detriment harme and decay of religion in the christian flockes to their spiritual charge coÌ„mitted as also to their owne intolerable peril and daungier whan at the general day of accoumpt and audite to be made at the throne of God it shall bee required at their handes how and what they haue taught to the ignoraunt multitude for whose solles as touching their institucion in the feith in the lawes of God they must answer before a rightful iudge whome no maÌ„ shal be hable to corrupt beguile deceiue or escape haue by their most good policie founde a meanes howe both ye and all the people may with a great dele lesse time study labour yea also charges then were wonâ—e to be bestowed in playing at tables boules cardes other vnlawful games haue in a few leaues a whole library of good doctrine both for the priuate edifying of euery one particularely and also for the enstruccion teaching of eche other in common Whatsoeuer ignoraunt person is desirous of knowlage can be conteÌ„ted to learn whosoeuer is not of an hert so indurate but that he can abide such good bookes as may further Christes doctrine whosoeuer is not of an extreme malignaunt stomake against the due setting foorth of Gods worde whosoeuer is not such an enemie to the glory of God that he enuieth the benefit of Christes bloud vnto England whosoeuer is not eyther of such blindnesse that he cannot see the trueth or of such peruerse froward malice that he wil not or of such cancard obstinacie that he wil against the spirite and against his conscience wilfully withstand resist al good thinges which may induce men to the knowlage of God whosoeuer doth not hate the light of the gospel whosoeuer is in his herte a fauourer of the trueth and of the kinges Maiesties most godly procedinges hath no lesse cause but to enbrace Erasmus whose doctrine the most best parte of al ChristiaÌ„ Royalmes vniuersities hath euermore allowed iudged to be consonauÌ„t to the truth also is bouÌ„d with immortal thankes to pray for the kinges most excelleÌ„t Maiestie for this his most gracious setting forth publishing this present weorke to the vse of such as haue nede therof And where the sayd Erasmus fer otherwise then a great nuÌ„bre of the scholastical sorte other vnlettred expositours of these last blind seasons hath written these his paraphrases in as ornate a stile as he hath the most parte of hys other volumes is not as some barbarous bloundreers haue for safegard defence of
fountaine and quicke spryng of warres Agayne as much mischiefe dooe they in the worlde that minister vnto the same princes occasion and matter of wrathe bearyng them in hande that it is a thyng appertainyng vnto princely manhod or couragiousnes to be auenged by force of armes for some folyshe worde spoken whiche happely was vntruely reported or at the lestewyse made a great deale worse and more haynous then it was spoken in very dede But howe muche greater a pointe is it of a noble courage for consideracioÌ„ to haue the peace and tranquilitie of the common wealthe conserued nothyng to passe vpon a raylyng woorde For yf any hurte cumme thereof it is but a priuate hurte yea to say the truthe it hurteth not at all if it be neglected and not passed on And in other matters concerning worldly affaires kynges peraduenture maye take summe vacacion and nowe and then sequestre them selues from buisynesse at leste wyse if it be lawfull for them to be any where idle and without busynesse vnto whose office it specially belongeth to watche for the preseruacion and safegarde of so many But in takyng vpon them the daungerous enterprises and aduentures of warre forsomuche as the same bryngeth with it a whole floude of great euylles and mischiefes they ought with all the iyen in their heades to watche and to be as circumspect as is possible to be leste they decree and determine any thyng vnaduisedly Neither speake I these thynges moste christen Kyng of any entente to plucke the swearde out of the handes of princes For peraduenture it is the parte of a good kyng sumtymes to make warre but that muste be at suche tyme when all other thynges hauyng been assayed in vaine extreme necessitie compelleth him so to dooe The lorde Iesus tooke away the vse of the sweorde from Peter but not from princes Saincte Paule also confirmeth their authoritie commaunding suche as in the citie of Rome professed Christes religion in no wyse to contemne thautoritie of their soueraigne rulers although the same were Gentiles and miscreauntes in so muche that he woulde not haue taken from them being as the very ministres of God neyther theyr customes theyr taxes or talages nor theyr honoure Taketh he the sweorde from them who sayeth For he beareth not the swerde for naught The selfe same thyng doethe Peter also teache beyng one of the chiefe Apostles saying Submitte your selues therfore vnto all maner of ordinaunce of manne for the lordes sake whether it be vnto the kynge as vnto the chief heade eyther vnto rulers as vnto them that are sente of hym for the punishment of euil dooers but for the laude prayse of them that dooe well c. Christe woulde haue Peter to haue no weapon saue the sweorde of the ghospell whiche is the heauenly worde the whiche as saincte Paul teacheth in the epistle to the Hebrewes is quicke and mightye in operacion and sharper then any two edged sweord and entrethe through euen vnto the deuiding asoudre of the soule and the spiryte For he that commaundeth the sweorde to be put vp into the scaberte and taketh it not awaye doeth more then yf he toke it awaye For why doeth he commaunde it to be put vppe Truely because the uangelyke pastoure shoulde in no case make warre Why doeth he neither commaunde it to be layde asyde nor yet forbid it so to be Uerayly to dooe vs to vnderstande that we ought not so much as then to go aboute to be auenged when we are of power to reuenge the iniuties done vnto vs. Wherfore I conclude that the euangelyke pastoures haue the sweord of the ghospell deliuered them of Christ wherwith they sleagh vices and cutte awaye mans carnall lustes and desyres Kynges also and temporall princes haue theyr sweorde by his sufferaunce and permission to make euillmen afearde and to preferre good men accordingly The sweorde is not taken from them but the vse therof is prescribed They haue it for a defence and couseruacion of the publike tranquilitie and not to bolster and maynteyne therwith theyr owne ambiciousnes There are two manier of sweordes lykewyse two maner of kyngdomes The priestes and bishops haue theyr sweorde and also theyr kyngdome In stede of Diademes and helmettes they haue theyr Myters In stede of a scepter they haue a crosyers staffe they haue theyr brigandyne theyr souldiers girdle and to be shorte al that complete harnes whiche that valiaunt warriour Saincte Paule describeth vnto them in sondry places These euangelyke kynges are called pastours so lykewyse are temporall kynges named of the Poete Homer pastours of the people They bothe dooe one thyng and yet is theyr office and ministery diuers euen lyke as we see that in the same enterlude and play some play one parte and some an other But yf they both had eche of theym theyr owne sweord in a readines I meane yf eche of theim would vse the power geuen them aryght and as they ought to dooe I thynke veryly that we who are rather christen men by name then in dede would not so often times drawe out our wicked sweordes to thruste theim into the bellies of our christen brethren Nowe whiles they bothe nothing regardyng theyr owne duetie haue eche one a desyre to entermeddle with that whiche in no wyse appertayneth vnto theyr vocacion it cummeth to passe that neyther of them both do maintayne theyr owne dignitie accordyngly nor yet conserue the publike tranquillitie When hath a kyng more kyngly maiestie then at suche tyme as he sitteth in iudgement and ministreth iustice then when he represseth iniuries endeth centrouersies helpeth the oppressed or when he sitteth in counsayle studying how to aduaunce the common wealth On the other syde when hath a byshop more of hys dignitie then at suche tymes as he preacheth the doctrine of the gospel out of a pulpit For then is that euangelike king in his seate royall Loke howe vnsemyng a thyng it was for the Emperour Nero to contende with the maisters of Musyke and wyth harpers in the stage or to proue maisteries with wagoners in the lystes or turneying place called in latyne Circus so vnsemely a thyng it is for a kyng to meddle wyth lowe and peltrie matiers that perteine vnto his own priuate affeccioÌ„s and hurt the prosperous state of the common wealth Agayne loke how vncomely a thyng it were if a Philosophier would with his cloke long beard scip about the stage play a parte in an enterlude or els holde a bill a net in his hande in the place where the swordplayers are wonte to fyght at vtteraunce and syng theyr accustomed song I would not haue the I woulde haue a fyshe cocke why flyeâ—â— thou from me euen no lesse vnsemely a thyng it is for the euangelike kyng to playe the warryer to bye and sell I wyll not speake of other thynges more vnhonest and lesse agreable with his vocacion Howe chaunceth it that there is anye one byshop in our dayes that
of my kyngdom is attayned I will open you the waye and yf the same do lyke you then trust ye verely to haue the glory that you desyre saue alonely that it shall be a true glory and not suche a one as you dreame vpon and imagine it to be Can you drinke of the cuppe I now make my selfe ready to drynke of Can ye be baptysed with the baptisme that I shall ere it be long be baptised withall They of a gredy desyre to haue theyr peticion graunted as they folyshly desyred this preeminence euen so did they rashly promyse for theyr behalfe and saye they could notwithstanding as yet they knewe not themselues â—righte Neyther did the moste gracious Lord rebuke theÌ„ for this their great foly forasmuch as the tyme was not yet cum that they shoulde be receiuable of these mysteries As yet whatsoeuer they heard they heard it as it were in a dreame and yet did he with neuerthelesse diligence teache instruct them euer attempering his wordes to theyr weakenesse because they beyng afterwardes as a man would say wakened out of their slepe and manifestly perceyuing the truth by the holy ghoste shoulde with more entire affeccion loue theyr Lord who beyng suche a one as he was would so iently beare with suche maner of disciples also because they being once growen to more perfeccion should agayne folowe his ientlenes in bearyng with the weaknesse of theyr euen christen whom they should happen to instruct hauyng alwayes in theyr remembrauÌ„ce how ignoraunt howe forgetfull and how dull they also themselues sometime were This was an ambicious saying Let vs sit nexte the in thy kyngdome It was vnaduisedly spoken when they sayd we can doe it For it was spoken of theÌ„ who would soone after deny theyr Lord maister for feare But suche error as springeth not of malice or obstinate euylues but of symplicitie must either be rured or els borne withall for a season Therfore Iesus answered Truely ye shal drinke of my cuppe shall be baptised with the baptisme that I am baptised with but in tyme to cum For as yet ye are not able to do the thyng whiche ye beleue ye can do Therfore prepare your mindes hereunto but leaue all the iudgement of your rewarde to god the father Let your only endeuoyr be to counterfaite me folow my trace He hath for euery maÌ„ his peculier rewardes already prepared and will distribute thesame as it shal please him For this matter is not so ordred in the kingdome of heaueÌ„ as it is in princes courtes wheras he is not alwayes chief in dignitie whiche deserueth so to be but he whome the prince or kyng chiefly fauoureth Sumtimes he fauoureth the naughtyest person of all But with my father there is no regarde of person Neither is it your parte to regarde the measure or multitude of your merites and deseruinges sith you are able to do nothyng of your selues nor to considre how far ye passe other You must only do your endeuoyr accordinge to the power that God hath geuen you to folowe me Ye shall not be defeated of your reward although you thinke not theron at all For he that fighteth for the rewardes sake and would not els fight vnlesse he thought he should be rewarded for his labour cleane disapointeth himselfe of the reward Let no man be his owne iudge but do what he can and then remitte the whole iudgement vnto god ¶ And when the ten heard it they began to disdayne at Iames Iohn But Iesus wheâ— he had called them to him sayd vnto them ye knowe that they which are sene to beare rule among the people raygne as lordes ouer theÌ„ And they that be greate among them exercise auctoritie vpon them neuertheles so shall it not be among you But whosoeuer of you wyll be greate amoÌ„g you shall be your minister And whosoeuer of you will be chief shall be seruaunt of all For the sonne of man also â—ame not to be ministred vnto but to minister and to geue his life for the redempcion at many And loe howe one euill sprang of another The simplicitie of these two disciples bewrayed a greater rudenes and ignoraunce of the rest For after it was cum to the others knowledge what the two brethren althoughe theyr request was not graunted them had desyred of the Lorde they all in maner disdayning hereat were angry with them and in theyr toppe because not regarding theyr simplenes and meane estate they presumed to desyre the first or chief place which was rather due vnto them There was none of them all but hoped he should haue had that preferment himselfe accordyng as eche of them fauored his owne gyftes and desertes Doubtles these are the very affeccioÌ„s of suche persons as leade theyr lyues in princes courtes Euery man there highly estemeth hymselfe euery man warraunteth hymselfe the moste honorable aduauncementes and hath great heart burning and disdayne at others preferment saue that the ambiciâ—n of courtiers is spiced with malice where as the disciples ambicion was nothyng els but mere ignorance and symplicitie And whyles they straue thus for the preeminence and primacy they had cleane forgotten the wordes that Iesus had spoken of the least and greatest in the kingdom of heauen and of the imitacion and folowyng of the lytle one If any man aske the question why the Lord suffered so great ignoraunce so long while to continue in his disciples by whose ministerye he purposed to haue the doctrine of the gospell preached taught throughout all the whole worlde truely the chiefe cause was because he would by litle and lytle cleane weede out of theyr mindes this and suche other naughty affeccions and therfore doeth he suffre them so oft to fall againe into the same affeccion that is to say into ambicion or desyre of dominion prefermeÌ„t euen as if a maÌ„ be soone delyuered of an ague he soone forgetteth bothe his disease and also the benefite of the physician that cured him Agayne if he ofte tymes recidiuyng and fallyng into the same disease agayne be at the length with muche a doe rid healed therof theÌ„ doth he the more hate his disease and also the more knowledge the benefite of his healing and shall better knowe how to cure other that are lykewise diseased Therfore Iesus perceiuing that the fonde peticion of the two and the disdaynfull wrathe of the other yssued bothe out of one well called them all vnto him because he would ministre phisicke vnto them all with one medicine As oft sayth he as ye heare me speake of the kyngdome of heauen whiche verely is a spirituall kyngdome differeth no lesse from this worldly kyngdom then the yerthe differeth from heauen do not you by vayne and phantasticall ymaginacion fayne such a likenes an apparaunce of thinges as you see here in yearthlye kyngdomes For ye knowe that those whiche seme to be â—hiefe rulers among the heathen people of his world play
Phariseis and the Herodians whiche dissented in doctrine among themselfes but in hatyng of Iesus agreed all in on Oh folysh wysdome of this worlde They that haue been so oftymes put to the worse dooe ofte tymes cumme again and assayle hym to th entent it may appeare that they are at all sayes vanquished and in conclusion depart their waye as vnequal matches to cope or encounter with Goddes wysdom For nowe was it tyme that Satan who of late assayled the Lorde but went away with losse of victorie should by his garde and mynisters bring forth all his artyllary and engins against him Therfore they that are set vp to playe this parte goe vnto Iesus and propoune vnto him a capcious question because to seke some occasion of his wordes and answeres therevnto â–ª whereby they maye haue hym condemned before themperours deputie They begin with a very flatering proheme as thoughe he could be deceiued with faire wordes who so ofte times declareth howe there is nothyng that he knoweth not Maister say they we knowe right well that thou art a teller of trouthe and fearest no man but frankely speakest the truthe without regarde of persone Neyther art thou any whyt moued with the dignitie or hygh auctoritie of any manne as many other bâ— that flatter and coury fauoure with potentates and great menne but menne contemned thou trewly teachest what god hathe commaunded Therefore tell vs also we praie the Is it lawfull for vs to pay tribute vnto themperour or is it not lawfull The phariseis helde stifly that the Iewes beyng a people dedicated vnto god ought not to be tributories vnto Heathen Emperours and worshyppers of Idolles On the other syde the herodians defended themperous right This deceitfull proheme tended hereunto that yf he had geuen sentence for the pharyseis then should he haue been accused of the Herodians for an authour of rebellyon or insurreccion againste themperour Iesus vnto whom theyr craft and wylines was not vnknowen beyng not contented with them for that they came not to learne but to tempt him aunswered Why doe you tempte me bring me forthe a peny that I maye see it And byanby it was brought him Theyr seruice was not to seke in making of the traine whiche came purposely to take him in a trippe Then loked he on the peny and sayd whose is this Image and superscripcion They answered themperours What is this knewe not Iesus vnto whome nothyng is vnknowen the Image or title of themperoure and did the Phariseis and Herodians knowe it Yes verily he knew it well ynoughe and that before he loked thereon But he sought an occasion to make a conuenient answere vnto theyr deceitful question Here was an ensample geuen to declare howe they ought to knowe nothyng of princes affaires whose duetie it is for asmuche as they professe themselfes to be Christes vicars in earthe to preachâ— and teache heauenly matters Now heare an answer worthy to cum out of Christes mouthe Yelde ye saith he those thinges that pertaine to themperour to themperour and those thinges that belong to god vnto god He disaloweth not if suche as are dedicated vnto god giue vnto themperour be he neuer so vngodly and wicked a prince that whiche is due vnto hym for gouerning of the common weale or what he otherwise violently exacteth because that losse of money doth not make men vngodlye but he monisheth vs occasion seruing him of a thyng whiche is more to the purpose that is howe all ought to be yelden to god that is due vnto god A vile piece of coyne had grauen in it a title and ymage of themperoure If thou knowest this title and art content to geue vnto him his duetie howe muche more then oughtest thou to yelde vnto almighty god whose Image euery manne beareth what he ought of duetie to haue When thou receyuedst Baptysme Goddes image was printed and grauen in thy soule Why doest thou then geue it vnto the deuell Thou gloryest in the name and tytle of a Chrystian manne Why yeideste thou not vnto Christe that thou â—west hym by reason of thy profession All that were there present maruayled at this discrete and wyse aunswere Two sectes of the Iewes were nowe put to sylence with one saying ¶ There came also vnto hym the Saduceis whiche say that there is no resurreccion And they asked hym saying Mayster Moyses wrote vnto vs yf any mannes brother dye and leaue his wyfe behynde hym and leaue no chyldren that his brother shoulde take hys wyfe and rayse vp seed to his brother There were seuen brethren and the fyrst toke a wife and when he dyed left no seede behynde hym And the seconde toke her and dyed neyther lefte he any seede And the thirde in likewyse And seuen had her and lefte no seede behinde them Laste of 〈◊〉 the wife dyed also In the resurreccion therefore when they shall ryse againe whose wife shall she be of them for seuen had her to wife And Iesus answered and sayde vnto them Doe ye not therfore erre because ye vnderstande not the Scriptures neyther the power of God For when they shall ryse agayne from death they neither marrye nor are marryed but are as the aungels whiche are in heauen As touchyng the deade that they ryse agayne haue ye not rede in the booke of Moyses howe in the bushe God spake vnto hym saying I am the god of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Iacob he is no god of the dead but the god of liuing Ye are therfore greatly deceyued Then came the secte of Saduceis who denied the resurreccion of bodyes auouchyng manne wholy to peryshe after deathe Neyther beleued they that there was any spirite or Aungell wherein they dissented in opinion froÌ„ the Phariseis These grosse felowes had also a capcious question wherwith to tempte goddes wisdome Iesus did then take vpon him the person of an vnlearned and ignoraunte person but that thyng whiche in hym was loweste was hygher and of more excellencye then that whiche in menne is hygheste They assayled hym on this wife Mayster Moises in the booke entitled deuteronomium hath lefte vs this lawe that yf any maried manne dye without issue his next brother in age should marry the wydow and of her beget chyldren to beare the dead mans name And yf he deceasse without chyldreÌ„ to then the next vnto hym should succede in his place or roume It chaunced that of seuen brethren the eldest maried a wyfe he dyed without issue Then came the nexte brother in age according to the prescripcion of the lawe and maried the widow and he beyng lykewyse departed without children the thyrde brother succeded and after hym all the other by course vnto the seuenthe and last manne Eche of them one after another marryed her and eche of them deceassed without issue At the length the woman also dyed herself Therefore when the tyme of resurreccion shall cumme and the seuen brethren and the woman shall
do not for any suche purpose wryte paraphrases because I would shake or strike the gospell out of mennes handes but to thentente it maye be read the more commodiouslye to a mannes mynde and with the more fruite lyke as meates are sauced to the ende they maye be taken with the better will and the more delectacion Yea and of one ferther poynte also must I here warne a reader that is somewhat grosse of vnderstanding whiche is that it bee not myne owne woordes that I do any where speake in the paraphrase leste the thyng whiche vnder the persone of the Euangeliste is humbly and truely spoken maye seme to bee arrogauntlye spoken vnder myne owne persone The lord Iesus geue his spirite vnto you moste noble kyng to the ende that vnder your proteccion beeyng a true Christian Prince in dede the veritie of the gospell maye from daye to daye more and more reigne and flourishe Yeuen at Basill the .xxiii. daye of August in the yeare of our Lorde M.D.xxiii The life of saynt Luke written by S. Hierome LUke a phisicion and borne in Antioche was not ignoraunte of the Greke toungue as his wrytynges do shewe he was a folower and disciple of the Apostle Paule and a companion of all his peregrinacion He wrote a volume of the ghospell of whome the same Paule sayeth in this maner We haue sent with him a brother whose praise is in the ghospell throughout all the congregacions And agayne to the Colossians Moste dere Luke the phisicion greteth you And to Timothie Luke is with me alone Be sette foorth also anotheâ— speciall goodlye booke whiche is entitled the Actes of the Apostles the storie wherof came euen full to Paules tyme beeyng and tarying two yeares at Rome that is to saye vntill the fourth yeare of Nero the Emperour there Whereby we do well perceyue that the sayde booke was made in the same citie Therfore as for the circuites of Paule and of Tecla the virgin and all the tale of Leo by hym baptised we rekon emong the scriptures that are called Apocrypha For what manier a thyng is it that a companion whiche neuer went from his elbowe shoulde emong his other matâ—ers bee ignoraunt of this thyng alone Tertullian whiche was nere vnto that tyme reporteth that a certayne priest in 〈◊〉 beeyng an affeccionate fauourer of the Apostle Paule was coÌ„uicte before Iohn for beeyng authour of thesame booke and that the priest confessed him selfe to had 〈◊〉 the thyng for the loue that he bare to Paule and the booke by reason therof to had escaped hym Some wryters deme that as often as Paule in his Epistles saieth accordyng to my ghospell he signifyeth of the woorke of Luke and that Luke learned the ghospell not onely of the Apostle Paule who had not been conuersaunte with the Lorde in the fleshe â—ut also of the rest of the Apostles whiche thyng Luke himselfe also declareth in the begynnyng of his owne worke saying As they haue deliuered them vnto vs whiche from the beginning sawe themselues with their â—yes and were ministers of the thynges that they declared The gospell therfore he wrote as he had hearde but the Actes of the Apostles he composed as he had seen He liued .lxxxiiii. yeares not hauyng any wife Buried he was at Constantinople vnto whiche 〈◊〉 his bones were remoued and conueyed out of Achaia together with the bones of Andrewe the Apostle in the .ix. yere of Constantius the Emperour The Paraphrase of Erasmus vpon the Ghospell of S. Luke The prologue ¶ For asmuche as many haue taken in hand to sette foorth the declaracion of the actes that are come to passe emong vs lyke as they deliueâ—ed them vnto vs that first sawe them themselues and were ministers of the woorde I thought good also now that I had gotteÌ„ the knowlege of all thynges from the begynnyng to wryte theÌ„ diligentlye vnto the in ordre good Theophilus to the ende that thou mightest knowe the trueth of those woerdes of the whiche thou art enfourmed IN the histories of worldly affaires vpon consideracioÌ„ that not a lytle aswel delectacion as also profite is takeÌ„ of the knowlege of thynges there is customably required an vpright trueth of reporting thesame But muche more oughte this vpright trueth to be in makyng relacion of the Ghospell the whiche not onely doeth muche delite the mynde hauyng litle els to do or is very commodious and profitable vnto this transitory lyfe but also is necessary vnto true godlinesse without the which no man atchiueth eternal saluacion and the blisse that neuer shal decaye of the lyfe euerlastyng For it were no matier of daungier thoughe a manne did not knowe what man Hannibal was or Alexander what actes Epaminondas or Scipio hath doen what matâ—ers Solon Lycurgus or Draco haue writen what doctrine Socrates Plato or Aristotle taughte albeit the knowleage of these thynges also after the rate of mans state and case in this world hath their fruite But whatsoeuer person shall not knowe the father the sonne and the holy ghoste whosoeuer shall not learne what actes the soonne of God Iesus Christe hath dooen on yearth for the saluacion of mankynde what he hathe taught what he hath promised vnto suche as doe constauntely cleue to the doctrine of the ghospell what he hath threatned vnto suche persones as doe either litle regarde or els doe playnely despise thesame suche an one shall not possibly bee hable to auoyde but that beeyng excluded out of the coumpanye of Gods children and shut out from the ioyes of the heauenly lyfe he shal bee adiudged with the wicked to the tormentes of the diepe pitte of hell whiche neuer shall haue ende And in dede at the first by meane of thapostles beeyng therunto chosen of our Lorde hymselfe and by the residue of his disciples beyng enspired with the holy ghost the ghospell in dede by liuely voice and by mouth onely but yet with moost vpright certaintye and assured trueth is begonne to bee spred abrode throughout all coastes and countreyes of the worlde and dooeth daylye yet still ferther and ferther renne abrode Yet forasmuche as the synceritie of reportyng the whiche goyng from man to man by mouth onely issueth successiuelye to a great noumber is more lightlye corrupted then suche reporte as is sette out and left from one to another in writyng therefore Mathew the Apostle one of the twelue whom our Lorde Iesus beeyng yet coÌ„uersaunte on yearthe had specially appointed and chosen to this office and also Marke the disciple of Peter the Apostle were by inspiracion of the holy ghoste admonished to put the summe of the whole story of the ghospell in writyng not myndyng ne goyng about by preuencion to take awaye from others any libertie to write of the same matiers but rather leste any person beyng craftilye deceiued by false Apostles shoulde folowe the Iewes facions or fonde fables in stede of the gospell Notwithstandyng lyke as not euery manne did at that tyme with eguall synceritie and
falleth from the table of God than shall ye wishe that ye mighte haue but one droppe of water caste vpon your tongue to coole your mouthe whan ye shall lye in burning heate of fyer vnquencheable Then shall ye wyshe that ye had in this lyfe houngred the ryghteousenesse of God whan ye shal se the litle poore ones plenteously saciate with the aboundaunce of al felicitie and glory in heauen whome in this world ye accoumpted miserable and so muche the more despised because ye saw theÌ„ in penurie and houngre destitute of al reliefe and coumfort and lacking foode and susteynaunce necessarie for the bodye Woe vnto you that nowe laugh For ye shall waille and wepe Woe vnto you that doe now make much good mirth and laughing as folkes pleased euen to youre owne mindes with the prosperous luckinesse of thinges transitorie and as men made drounken with sweete fortune for within a litle shorte space all thinges turned contrarie ye shall wayle and wepe and youre plesaunce that lasted but a moment shal be turned into peyne and torment for euer to endure Doe vnto you when all men prayse you for so dyd theyr fathers to the false propheces Take ye no high conceyte ne pride in your selues whan the world vpon a counterfeicte likenesse of being happie and fortunate doe eyther in woordes or by any other tokens shewe themselues to reioyce on your behalfes as persons not knowing what true felicitie and blisfulnesse is whan they highly extolle and praâ—â—e tho thinges which are abominably and wickedly doeÌ„ of you geuyng vnto deiulishe persecutyng of the truethe of the ghospell the name of zâ—le towardes the lawe the affliccion also and slaughter of good men they call deuour seruice doen vnto god This same most false praise shal not deliuer you from the vengeaunce of god but shall make you worthie of double grieuous punishemente for that ye haue not onely not bene ashamed of dooyng manye wieked dedes of mischiefe but also haue sought laude and prayse for your eiuil doynges And they that shall prayse your wicked doynges the forefathers of the same persons did in lyke manier shewe muche tokens of hygh fauoure long agone to the false prophetes that rebelled agaynste the prophetes of the lorde and vtterly stiered vp aswel the princes as the people to the sleaghing of the same But the prophetes of the lorde did not seke to haue vengeauÌ„ce against theyr persecutours and yet neyther haue the godlye lacked theyr condigne rewarde nor the wieked shall lacke theyr punishmente according And ouerlate shall it than bee for suche to repent theyr extreme hainous offences as at this presente doe nothyng regarde the gener of better aduertisement But I say vnto you which heare loue your enemies doe good vnto them which hate you blisse them that curse you and pray you for them which wroâ—gfully trouble you And vnto him that smiteth thee on the one cheke offer also the other And hym that taketh away thy gowne forbid not to take thy coate also geue to euery man that asketh thee And of him that taketh away thy gooddes aske them not agayne And as ye woulde that men shoulde doe vnto you doe ye also vnto them likewise But choose them hardylye what they are woorthy to haue whiche for good dooen vnto them dooe rendre mischiefe But vnto you that geue eare to my sayinges I geue this new lesson rewle as muste of the mightie strong verdure of the ghospell Not onely requite ye not an eiuill turne dooen to you with an eiuil turne again but also loue ye your enemies doe ye good to theÌ„ that doe eiuill to you For rayling and reprochefull woordes rendre ye frendely woordes agayne and suche woordes as may be for the others welth and benefite Praye ye for them that surmnise false accusacions agaynste you that through youre prayers they maye bee reconciled to God and haue theyr true crymes clerely forgeuen whiche detecte you of false crimes afore men And be ye in any wise so ferre from all hertes desyre to doe a displeasure agayne for a displeasure doen to you that in case a bodie geue thee a blow on the one cheke thou rather offer foorth the other cheke to be strieken too then thou wouldest auenge the first And in case any shoulde attempte to take away thy cloke from thy backe suffer him rather to take awaye thy cote too then thou to come into contencion for the wrong dooen vnto thee The other in this case hath had the displeasure in very dede that did the displeasure and contrariewise he that to his owne damage and losse of the thing hath seene to the keping of peace and tranquilitie hath had aduauntage and gayne thereby and not damage Lette your earneste endeuour bee to doe good vnto all folkes and to hurte no body If any other bodie shall dooe you harme ye haue God to be a redressour and auenger therof If ye shall dooe any manne good in any behalfe ye are sure to this present time shal now do against you the selfesame thing haue their forefathers dooen in tymes paste agaynste the holy prophetes for none other respecte but because the same Prophetes accordyng to the will of God dyd not holde theyr tongues from speakyng the trueth which trueth hath to eiuil disposed persons bene euermore odiouse By example of the sayd prophetes shal ye comforte yourselues For whose names they attempted vtterly to abolish the memory of thesame is now high and holy with al creatures Yet neuerthelesse ye beyng in a assured coumforte through your innocencie and perfeict good liuing must haue no mynde ne thoughte to auenge your owne cause For they shal be assured not to escape without smarte in the ende for that they shall doe vnto you though for a season they seeme fortunate and flourishing rufflers in all pleasure and welth of thys worlde For suche are differred and reserued to tormentes whiche neuer shall haue ende But woe vnto you that are riche For ye haue your consolacion And therfore woe vnto you ryche cobbes the whiche while ye may dooe solace delite your mindes with the treasoures honoures delectable enticementes of this worlde and dooe not remember ne thynke that it will erelong come to passe that this vayne felicitie and pleasaunce shall be taken away from you and after thesame shall ensue woefulnesse and sorowe neuer to haue ende Woe vnto you that are full for ye shall houngre Woe vnto you whiche nowe in this worlde hauing mynde on nothing but your bealies plaie the gluttons and take excesse of all delicate meates and drinkes more to pampre vp the bodie in luste then for the necessitie of nature as though ye were borne to beastly feedyng onely and to nothyng els and as though ye rather mayntayned your lyfe of purpose to eate and drinke then eate and drinke to maynteyne lyfe and beeyng full paunched with gorge vpon gorge haue no mynde to relieue your poore brethren perishing for famyne
as though ye were borne to fede none but your own selues and were not bounde to relieue the necessitie of your neighbour Woe vnto you for whan both these corporal meates and drinkes wherwith ye so delicately and volupteously fede your selfes yea and the bealie too which gourmauÌ„deth shal be consumed than shall ye be houngrie and fynde no reliefe Than shall ye wishe that ye might be so happie as to haue but one of the lytle crummes that falleth from the table of God than shall ye wishe that ye mighte haue but one droppe of water caste vpon your tongue to coole your mouthe whan ye shall lye in burning heate of fyer vnquencheable Then shall ye wyshe that ye had in this lyfe houngred the ryghteousenesse of God whan ye shal se the litle poore ones plenteously saciate with the aboundaunce of al felicitie and glory in heauen whome in this world ye accoumpted miserable and so muche the more despised because ye saw theÌ„ in penurie and houngre destitute of al reliefe and coumfort and lacking foode and susteynaunce necessarie for the bodye Woe vnto you that nowe laugh For ye shall waille and wepe Woe vnto you that doe now make much good mirth and laughing as folkes pleased euen to youre owne mindes with the prosperous luckinesse of thinges transitorie and as men made drounken with sweete fortune for within a litle shorte space all thinges turned contrarie ye shall wayle and wepe and youre plesaunce that lasted but a moment shal be turned into peyne and torment for euer to endure Woe vnto you when all men prayse you for so dyd theyr fathers to the false prophetes Take ye no high conceyte ne pride in your selues whan the world vpon a counterfeicte likenesse of being happie and fortunate doe eyther in woordes or by any other tokens shewe themselues to reioyce â—n your behalfes as persons not knowing what true felicitie and blisfulnesse is whan they highly extolle and praise tho thinges which are abominably and wickedly doeÌ„ of you geuyng vnto deiulishe persecutyng of the truethe of the ghospell the name of zâ—le towardes the lawe the affliccion also and slaughter of good men they call deuout seruice doen vnto god This same most false praise shal not deliuer you from the vengeaunce of god but shall make you worthie of double grieuous punishemente for that ye haue not onely not bene ashamed of dooyng manye wicked dedes of mischiefe but also haue sought laude and prayse for your eiuil doynges And they that shall prayse your wicked doynges the forefathers of the same persons did in lyke manier shewe muche tokens of hygh fauoure long agone to the false prophetes that rebelled agaynste the prophetes of the lorde and vtterly stiered vp aswel the princes as the people to the sleaghing of the same But the prophetes of the lorde did not seke to haue vengeauÌ„ce against theyr persecutours and yet neyther haue the godlye lacked theyr condigne rewarde nor the wieked shall lacke theyr punishmente according And ouer late shall it than bee for suche to repent theyr extreme hainous offences as at this presente doe nothyng regarde the geuer of better aduertisement But I say vnto you which heare loue your enemies doe good vnto them which hate you blisse them that curse you and pray you for them which wrongfully trouble you And vnto him that smiteth thee on the one cheke offer also the other And hym that taketh away thy gownâ— forbid not to take thy coate also geue to euery man that asketh thee And of him that taketh away thy gooddes aske them not agayne And as ye woulde that men shoulde doe vnto you doe ye also vnto them likewise But choose them hardylye what they are woorthy to haue whiche for good dooen vnto them dooe rendre mischiefe But vnto you that geue eare to my sayinges I geue this new lesson rewle as muste of the mightie strong verdure of the ghospell Not onely requite ye not an eiuill turne dooen to you with an eiuil turne again but also loue ye your enemies doe ye good to theÌ„ that doe eiuill to you For rayling and reprochefull woordes rendre ye frendely woordes agayne and suche woordes as may be for the others welth and benefite Praye ye for them that surmuise false accusacions agaynste you that through youre prayers they maye bee reconciled to God and haue theyr true crymes clerely forgeuen whiche detecte you of false crimes afore men And be ye in any wise so ferre from all hertes desyre to doe a displeasure agayne for a displeasure doen to you that in case a bodie geue thee a blow on the one cheke thou rather offer foorth the other cheke to be strieken too then thou wouldest auenge the first And in case any shoulde attempte to take away thy cloke from thy backe suffer him rather to take awaye thy cote too then thou to come into contencion for the wrong dooen vnto thee The other in this case hath had the displeasure in very dede that did the displeasure and contrariewise he that to his owne damage and losse of the thing hath seene to the keping of peace and tranquilitie hath had aduauntage and gayne thereby and not damage Lette your earneste endeuour bee to doe good vnto all folkes and to hurte no body If any other bodie shall dooe you harme ye haue God to be a redressour and auenger therof If ye shall dooe any manne good in any behalfe ye are sure to haue GOD a rewarder of the same In hys handes leat the care of al bothe remayne Bee thou prompte and readye to geue if any body shall desyre any thyng of thee for by suche meanes is mutuall loue of one to an other purchaced and knitte together That if any persone take awaye from thee any thyng of thyne by fraude or by strong hande leatte hym rather haue it then thou to come to make strife or businesse for it Better it is for one to lese his money his house or any piece of his lande then for recoueryng of these thynges wilfully to forsake better And in any wise leat all false guile bee awaye from all youre lyfe but what euerye one woulde with hys good will haue dooen of others towardes himselfe if the case shoulde so require thesame leat him doe towardes his neyghboure and what he woulde not with his good will haue doen to himselfe the same leat him not labour to doe agaynst another For that is to loue the neighboure as one loueth himselfe ¶ And if ye loue them that loue you what thanke haue ye for sinners also loue their louers And yf ye dooe good for theim whiche dooe good for you what thanke haue ye for synners also do euen thesame And if ye lende to them of whome ye hope to receiue what thanke haue ye for sinners also lende to sinners to receiue such like agayn But loue your enemies and doe good lende loking for nothing again and your rewarde shal be greate
doeth light thee with his brightnesse Now although many there were emong the Iewes whose hertes by reason of their owne wilfull and stubburne maliciousnesse the light of the ghospel did make more blynde then they were afore yet the trueth ought not from hens foorth to bee suppressed forasmuche as the knowlage therof should bryng veraie many to eternall saluacion For the obstinate malice of vnbeleuers muste not be any lette or hindreaunce to the good Wherfore the trueth muste bee brought to open lighte to the more horrible grieuous damnacion of the eiuill persones and to the saluacion of the good sorte No body lighteth a caÌ„dle faith he and hideth it in apriuie derke corner or couereth it by whelmyng a busshell ouer it but setteth it in a candelsticke that it maye geue light to suche as are wyllyng to enter into the house Thesame that the house is without a candle thesame that the body is without iyes euen thesame is the soule without knowlage of the trueth which commeth by mere vnfayned feith If thyne iye be single and nothyng perished ne infected with any other inordinate desyres of this world it will receiue the light of euerlastyng trueth and al thy body shall haue the fruicion of this lyght in suche wyse as it shal no where stumble nor iutte agaynst any thyng But in case the iye of thy bodye be corrupted or bleamished then shal all the whole body be entrieked and ready to take harme in the derke For of feith commeth iudgement and statutes or ordeinaunces of good liuing This is the fountaine of all goodnesse whiche if it be putrified it cannot bee chosen but that all the other thynges must be corrupted also See therfore that this iye wherewith the trueth is seen maie be pure in thee and clere without any corrupcion leste that the selfe membre which onely is apte to receiue light and which onely must shewe light to al the whole bodye be encoumbred with derknesse For thesame thyng beyng infected which is the heade and the roote of all good workes euen those verai thynges whiche seme to bee good are not good And contrariwyse the thynges whiche seme vnto the Pharisees to bee eiuill shall not bee euill if the fountaine wherhence they do spryng foorth bee pure and clere from all infeccion What thyng a candle is to an iye well clarifyed euen the lyke thyng is the woorde of God to the soule beeyng well pourged through the singlenesse of feith from naughtie affeccions Whatsoeuer procedeth not of feith is synne That if the iye of thy bodye shall be syncere and pure as a thyng made all light with the candele of euangelicall trueth than shal it geue parte of his light vnto all the membres so that there shall not bee any derkenesse at all in any parte of the body by reason that the iye shal looke foorth to the behofe of all the membres thereof And so whatsoeuer thyng the hande shall doe it shall not bee in any daungier of harme in the derke but all the whole body shall bee lightsome euen as the whole house is lightsome whaÌ„ the brightnesse of the candle geueth his light all about ¶ And as he spake a certayne Pharisee besought hym to dyne with hym and Iesus wente in and fate downe to meate Whan the Pharisee sawe it he meruayled that he had not firste washed before dyuer And the Lorde sayed vnto hym Now do ye Pharisees make clene the outsyde of the cuppe and the platter but your inwarde parte is full of rauenyng and wickednesse Ye fooles did not he that made that whiche is without make that whiche is within also Neuerthelesse geue almes of that ye haue and beholde all thynges are cleane vnto you But woe vnto you Pharisees for ye tythe Mynte and â—ue and all manier herbes and passe ouer iudgemente and the loue of God These ought ye to haue doen and yet not to leaue the other vndoen And euen immediately herupon there folowed a matter whereby thesame that the Lorde had taught might as ye would saye bee playinly declared For the phariseis forasmuche as they had an iye foule blemished setting righteousnesse in ceremonies longyng to the body they did wilfully leat slippe those thynges whiche are not seen but with the pure clere iyes vnto whom the candle of euangelicall trueth sheweth light supposed the light to bee there where derknesse was and than did they stumble and renne agaynst thynges moste of all whan they thought theimselues to goe gaily well vpright and they iudged there to bee a grieuous enormitie where none at all was and contrariwise where a sore offense or transgression was there wened thei to bee none at all For they had theyr iyes sore bleamished with the supersticion of the lawe with ignoraunce with disdeineful pride with enuie with couetise with hypocrisie with other naughtie vices Than a certayne Pharisee prayed Iesus to come dyne with hym Iesus made no refusall as one that was euer readie to offre hymselfe vnto euery bodye to the entente he might drawe all creatures vnto hym And whan the lorde had sette him down at the table without washyng his handes afore and that contrary to the guyse of the Pharisees this saied Pharisee begoonne to meruail with hymselfe secretely in his mynde what the cause should bee why the Lorde had not washed before he satte down to his meate And euen by an by of a thyng which neither maketh a man good nor ill there spryngeth a thyng which is in veraye dede euermore yll And as for the Pharisaicall ceremonies whiche consiste in thynges perteyning to the bodye haue this propertie naturall to them cummyng euen of theyr veraye kynde that they brede slaunderous backebityng euill suspicions peruerse iudgementes variaunce hatred muche bralling Iesus therefore well knowyng thissame to be the chiefest corrupcion of euangelicall godlynesse did sharpely rebuke the Pharisaicall supersticion saying Moses did in olde tyme appoynt certain ordinarie constitucions customes of purifyng which neuerthelesse did conteyne a figure representacion of pourgeyng clensyng the soule For to this ende it serueth al that euer that same lawe did derkely set foorth in shadowes But as the tyme now is where in consideracion of the trueth clerely apperyng foorth it is mete for those shadowes of the olde lawe by litle and litle to vanish awaie ye Phariseis whiche professe the perfect knowlage of the lawe do enbrace thatsame parte of the lawe onely whiche is of least weyght of all towardes true godlynesse And ye do not onely offend in this behalfe that ye enbrace the carnalitie of the lawe not passyng on the spirite of the lawe but also by reason of carnall ceremonies added to the lawe and constitucions of your owne making ye wyll in any wyse be reputed to be of more holynesse then the veray coÌ„maundementes of God The puritie consisteth in the inculpablenesse and innocencie of the herte But as for ye do euery other whyle make muche
allowe the wicked actes of your forefathers whiche actes of theyrs ye doe not onely folowe but also earnestly labour to passe and to go beyond them So often hath the goodnesse of God called you backe to emendment and at all tymes haue ye wickedly shewed more extreme crueltie against them that layed the trueth euen in your lappes whiche trueth was vnto you for none other cause odious sauing that it contraried your naughtie lustes and desyres Wherfore the wysedome of God whiche ordreeth all thynges by suche prouidence as cannot in wordes be expressed before it wil punishe the obstinate malyce of this nacion hath determined to leaue nothyng vnassaied whereby they maye bee conuerted to better wayes But after that aswell the botomelesse goodnesse of God as also the peruersenesse of them not possible to be woonne to goodnesse shall once bee declared to all creatures so muche the more greuous tormentes shall they endure howe muche the longer space they haue been suffred and with how muche greater benefites they haue been prouoked and occasioned to repentaunce Wherfore thus spake the wysedome of God within it selfe what shall I doe more then I haue dooen to this vnrewly nacion I sent Moses vnto them I sent many prophetes of olde tyme. I sent Iohn the Baptiste Against Moses there was conspiracie wrought the prophetes euery one they either slewe orels plagued with affliccion no nor Ihō neither would thei not heare though he were more then a prophet neither did he escape scotfree for geuing good aduertisement The sonne of man is come and to hym do they woorke destruccion and death I shall hereafter sende vnto them the last prophets of all who shall ghostely expound the lawe vnto them I shall sende the apostles that shall haue great vertue in workyng miracles that shal freely doe good to all people that shall bryng vnto al folkes saluaciō with excedīg smal charge to be bought that is to wete with faith And yet will they not heare these neither but wil persecute them tormēt thē driue them awaie yea and sum of them wyll they slea so farre shal their malice excede the goodnes of god At laste whā their malice shal be so ferre growen that they shall not onely matche but also excede and passe the abominacions of all ages past than shall the vengeaunce of God fall sodaynely vpon them and than shall bee required at their handes the bloud of all the prophetes which hath been shed sens the first creaciō of the worlde that is to wete from the bloud of Abell who was firste of all men slaine by his brother Cain beyng enuious against him vnto the bloud of Zacharie the prieste sonne of Ioas who callyng backe the people to better aduised wayes was stoned to death by sedicion of the people betwene the temple and the aultare And the sayd zacharie euen at the momente whan he departed from this life bothe testifiyng his own innocencie and theyr wickednesse sayed The Lord see this and require it And euen now approcheth the tyme of this vengeaunce One nacion shall as ye would say bee punished for al the hainous dedes of their forefathers because it hath gone beyond all the malice that euer hath reigned in them all It shall cum to passe vndoubtedly that the wisdome of god hath sayd afore shall cum to passe The Iewes of these daies because they excede the rebellion the peruersenesse and the crueltie of all that in olde tyme haue been shall in suche greuous sorte bee punished as though they alone had accomplyshed and dooen all the yll partes that euer their auncestours haue in soondrie ages wickedly played Woe vnto you lawiers for ye haue taken away the key of knowlage ye entre not in your selues and them that came in ye forbad Whan he thus spake vnto them the lawiers and the phariseis began to were buisy about him and capciously to aske him many thinges laiyng wait for hym and sekyng to catche sum thyng out of his mouth wherby they might accuse hym Woe vnto you lawiers and woe again who openly professyng the knowelage of the lawe whiche is ghostly and takyng into your handes as due vnto you the keies of science and cūning whiche ought to haue opened a way into the kyngdome of heauen yet neither haue ye intred in thither your selfes but others that wer willing to haue gon in ye haue kept out For while ye peruersly expound the lawe ye do as one might say lay battrey against that whiche is the principall chefe foundacion of al the lawe At these maner woordes of Iesus beyng in dede halfe bitter by reason of so plain speakyng of the trueth but yet workers of hearth if suche as thei wer spoken to had been willing to receiue the medicine wer both the Phariseis and also the lawiers sore offēded but because they knew priuely in their owne consciences that the thinges whiche wer spoken wer euen very true they would make no countenaūce at it before the people but yet in the meane tyme they lay sure awayt to all the saiynges of Iesus huntyng and serchyng if any thyng might procede foorth of his mouthe wherupon they might grounde or make a foundacion of sum surmised matter against him to the end they might seme to persecute him not of a certain priuate hatred but of zele to religiō and of a loue towardes god For this propertie also hath pharisaical hypocrisie that it worketh ne attēpteth none so wicked an acte whereon it layeth not a fayre glose of loue and duetie towardes God The .xii. Chapter As there gathered together an innumerable multitude of people in so muche that they trode one an other he began to say vnto his disciples first of all beware of the leauen of the Phariseis whiche is hypocrisy For there is nothyng couered that shal not be vncouered neither hid that shall not be knowen For what thynges ye haue spoken in derkenes shall be hearde in the light And that whiche ye haue spoken in the eare euen in secrete places shal be preached on the top of the houses I say vnto you my frendes Be not afrayed of them that kyll the bodye and after that haue no more that they can do But I wyll shewe you whom you shall feare Feare him whiche after he hath kylled hath power to cast into hell Yea I say vnto you feare hym Are not fiue sparowes bought for two farthinges And not one of them is forgotten of god Also euen the very heares of your head are all noumbred Feare not therfore ye are more of value than many sparowes ANd because the Lorde Iesus knewe the malice of the Pharyseis the Scribes and the lawiers to be vncurable it was his pleasure openly to notifie and publishe theyr hypocrisye to the ende no creature mighte vnawares be deceiued by their cloked counterfaytyng and so many coumpanyes of people euen than standyng round about in so thicke presse that they trode one vpon an others heles he began to
pardone neyther in this preseÌ„t world nor in the worlde to come Lyke as to the wicked Aungels there is no waye leaft to come agayne vnto repentaunce because they resisted God not of any infirmitie or weakenesse but of an obstinate malice nor thesame wicked AuÌ„gels shall euer emende ne haue anye hope of forgeuenesse euen in thesame state shall men bee sure to bee if they folowe the peruerse facion of the others They see me a manne taking reste and slepe sufferyng houngre yea and they shall see me dying therefore it maye bee pardoned if they speake any thyng of me that may truely bee sayde of a mortall man But that beyng corrupted with enuie they impute those actes to the spirite of Beelzebub whiche they knowe to bee of the power of God forasmuche as on the one syde they defraude god of his glory and on the other syde they put ouer vnto wieked spirites that cometh of god and is due to him theyr so doyng verayly is of deiulishe malice whiche for thesame cause shall not obteine pardone of god though beeyng most singularely enclyned to shewe mercye because he can no skille to repente himselfe of his goodnesse Many wayes than shall there be murmouring agaynste youre preaching For some persones shall persecute you eyther strayghing out of the right way of mere simplicitie or els of a maliciousenesse miengled with theyr errour Othersome agaynst the conscience of theyr owne harte shall labour to destruie the veritie whiche they euidentlye see trie and knowe and that shal they doe for none other respect but because it contrarieth theyr naughtie affeccions By meanes of suche persones shall the eiuill spirite of Satan rebell against the good spirite of god by helpe of his garde the wicked men he shall inuade you with all kyndes of ingiens And although ye bee ignorauntes of the worlde poore men and of lowe degree there is no cause why for you to bee afearde of the vproare and sedicion of the world agaynste you The spirite of god being graciouse playne without any guile or deceite is sufficient againste all aswell fraude as violence of this worlde Therefore when ye shall bee haled into theyr synagogues appâ—ached of greate crymes when ye shall bee drawen to come beefore magistrates or rewlers and prynces doe not ye as the common sorte of people doe whan they are broughte afore a iudge to theyr aunswere who are muche carefull what aunswere they maye make or what they maye speake to ridde theyr handes of the mattyer Thus muche shall bee geuen to the puplique autoritie of a magistrate that beyng called ye shall appere But cause is there none why ye shoulde bee afearde of the sighte of them or why ye shoulde bee carefull howe to defende youre selues with an oracion prepared for afore The playne tale of the trueth shall continually from tyme to tyme bee ready and freshe in memory vnto you And suche kiende of wordes to speake the holye ghoste shall sufficientelye minister vnto you as often as nede shall require of suche sorte as your life is such shal your wordes also bee And nothing there is more pithie or effectuall then the playne trueth without any coloures ¶ One of the coumpany sayde vnto hym Maister speake to my brother that he deuyde the enheritaunce with me And he said vnto him Man who made me a iudge or a deuider ouer you And he sayde vnto them take hede and beware of couetousenesse For no mans life standeth in the aboundaunce of the thinges which he possesseth And he put furth a similitude vnto them saying The grounde of a certain riche man brought furth plentifull fruictes be thought within himselfe saying what shal I doe because I haue no roume where to bestow my fruictes And he â—aydeâ—â—â— his will I doe I will destroy my barnes builde greater therein wil I gather al my goddes that are growen vnto me and I wil say to my soule Soule thou hast much 〈◊〉 â—aied vp in store for manye yeres take thyne ease eate drinke and be mery But god saied vnto him Thou foole this nighte will they fetche away thy soule again from thee Than whose shal those thinges be which thou hast prouided So is it with him that gathereth richesse to himself is not riche toward god And as the feare of iudgemente maketh many goe a crosse way from the sinceritie of professing the gospel so doth the greedy desires of money corrupt a great mayny To the ende therfore that the Lorde might vtterly plucke that affeccion also out of his disciples hertes as a thyng basse or vyle and vnmeete for suche as haue entred the charge of heauenly affayres there was a matier euen there offered vnto him whereby the thing mighte bee doen. For where there was a very great multytude of people about Iesus and yet no manne that had before that daye beene so bolde to aske so lowe and so basse a mattyer of him one sayed vnto him Maister so it is that a brother of myne vsurpeth my parte of the enherytaunce whiche shoulde serue vs bothe and fyndyng manye euasyons and stertyng holes he delayeth from daye to daye to make particion therof here leat the autoritie of thy woorde bee a succoure and ayde vnto me Say vnto him and bidde him to deuide the enheritaunce with me Than Iesus as ye woulde saye taking skorne and indignacion so to bee interrupted from his heauenly busynesse of preaching vnto carnall and fylthye caâ—es in the meane while all vnder one geuing a lesson to his seruauÌ„tes that suche an one as beareth the office of an Apostle ought not to bee enwrapped in secular and filthie affayres of the world answered Thou felow with what face doest thou in the myddes of my preaching interrupt me agaynste thy brother in diuiding youre enheritaunce who hath made me a iudge betwene you two being at variaunce about a light tryflyng mattier and shortely to decaye Or who hath geuen me vnto you to bee a diuider of enheritaunces Hath not this worlde iudges enough to ende such lowe matiers of trauerse I haue no suche commission that this or that partie shall growe in richesse by cuÌ„ming to temporall goodes or landes by succession but that all creatures may come to the enheritaunce of the lyfe immortall in heauen And than turning to his disciples and to the rest that were there present he begoon euen by the exaumple of the partye that had interrupted hym afore in hys sermon to exhorte them from the earneste desyre of geatting worldely rychesse not that richesse are of themselues eiuil but because that to put the chiefe sâ—aygh of a mans life in theÌ„ and for the desyre of them to be called away from tho thinges whiche doe earnestly concerne euerlasting blisse is a veary folye Beware ye sayeth Iesus in any wise from all thinges belonging vnto auaryce For oftentimes vnder the colour of necessitie of making prouisyon aforehande for ones liuyng there cometh stealing
to be the head of all holinesse and religion All your glory shall be transposed from you and shal go from you vnto the Gentiles And your own selfes shal geue sentence and iudgement against your selfes And as for me in dede ye shall put me to death but this I playnly affirme vnto you ye shall not see me before that ye shall saye Blessed is he that cummeth in the name of the Lorde This shall be your open protestacion whiche the trueth shall enforce you to vtter but yet this notwithstandyng ye shortely returnyng at once to the naturall inclinacion of your forefathers shall put him to death whom ye magnified afore with suche high wordes The .xiiii. Chapter And it chaunced that he went into the house of one of the chiefe Phariseis to eate bread on the saboth day and they watched him And behold there was a certain man before him which had the dropsie And Iesus aunswered and spake vnto the lawiers and Phariseis saiyng Is it lawfull to heale on the sabboth day And they held their peace And he toke him and heale◠him ▪ and let him goe and aunswered them saiyng whiche of you shall haue an asse or an ore fallen into a pitte and wil not straight way pull him out on the Sabboth day And they could not aunswere him again to these thinges ANd so it befell afterwarde that beyng desyred to dyner by a certayne manne that was one of the chyefe among the Pharyseis he wente to the mannes house and there toke his repaste with hym And it was a sabboth daye And there sate at thesame table also many Phariseis who according to their accustomed woont watched Iesus yf he shoulde speake or dooe any thyng whiche thei might slaunderously reproue in him And loe euen ready for them an occasiō of a false accusacion againste hym For there was there in presence a certayne manne possessed with the dropsie a disease for the moste parte vncurable by any Physike talowe coloured and swollen all his body ouer But a blessed turne it was for this pieteous creature that he came in Iesus sight For vnfortunate is suche a sinner as withdraweth or hydeth himself frō the sight of him who would faine haue all people to be saued Nowe Iesus knowyng well enough what thought the phariseis and lawiers had in their myndes demaunded of them whether it were a thyng standyng with Gods pleasure to geue health on the sabboth daye vnto a man beyng otherwyse ready to perishe and dye Whan they held their peace and would make none aunswer Iesus calleth vnto him the partie whiche had the dropsye and by touchyng him with his handes he healed the man and bidde him goe his waies Immediatly the mannes coulour was chaunged and the swelling of his fleshe abated to the due course again And although this dede was woonderfull yet the solemnitie of the sabboth day beyng broken as they interpreted it did highly offende the Phariseis But Iesus shewyng their religion to be of a peruerse contrary sorte in that they would be offended in the preseruyng of a mannes life and in sauing of an asse were not offended made aunswer to their secrete thoughtes said If an oxe or an Asse of any of youres had fallen downe in a diepe pitte on the sabboth daye whether would the partie tarie vntil the sabboth day were al past orels makyng no tariaunce at all would he straight waye euen thesame daye geat out his beaste that it might not miscarry If the preseruyng of an oxe or an asse doeth weigh so muche with you that ye thinke not the sabboth daye to bee broken why is your herte offended for that I haue on the sabboth day geuen health to this man who was in ieoperdy to haue died out of hand of the disease of the dropsie In case it bee the bodily worke and laboure that is weighed there is more bodily labour in halyng an oxe or an asse oute of a great depe pit thē in makyng this man whole of his disease I haue no more but seen him touched hym and bidden hym goe his way If it be the persone that ye esteme then ought ye more to tendre the preseruyng of one sole māne then of a right great noumbre of oxen or asses At all these woordes the Phariseis plaied mum For their hertes were so corrupt so peruerse that whan thei had no aunswer to make against the plain and clere trueth yet could thei not mollifie thēselfes to allowe that they sawe doen of Iesus That in case thēselfes had been hable to haue doen any suche lyke thyng they would with al the trompettes in a countreye haue blowen abrode their own glory But because the lord Iesus would that the glory of all his doynges should redoūd to his father which was god of heauen he euerywhere discouered the peinted holynesse of the phariseis who had ouerlōg already mocked and seduced the plain simple people with their cloked hipocrisie For they hūted for their own glory among men and therfore they enuied at the glory of god And this was a true dropsie of the soule growing first of a corrupt iudgemēt of the mind as the dropsie cūmeth of the liuer being corrupted or perished For the said phariseis setting al their glory in such thīges wherin there was no gloriyng to be made were swollē with outforth and puffed vp in haultnes pride where al their entrailes withinforth wer miserably corrupted and putrified He put forth also a similitude vnto the geastes whan he marked how they pressed to the highest roumes and said vnto them whan thou art bidden of any man to a wedding sit not down in the highest roume leste a more honorable man than thou be bidden of him and he that bid him and thee come and say to thee geue this man roume and thou then begin with shame to take the lowest roume But rather whan thou arte bidden goe and sitte in the lowest roume that whan he that bidde thee cummeth he may say vnto thee ▪ frende sitte vp higher Then shalt thou haue wurship in the presence of them that sitte at meate with thee For whosoeuer exalteth himselfe shal bee brought lowe and he that humbleth himselfe shal bee exalted The Lorde therefore who had with onely touchyng healed the man that had the dropsie was very desyrous to cure these mens disease also with the medicine of holsome woordes and doctryne For whatsoeuer the Phariseis did they did it for pride and for vainglorious bosting For they woulde goe walkyng vp and downe in their philacteries they would stand praiyng in the open stretes where soondrie waies mete much people passe by thei would haue a trompet to blowe afore thē whan they gaue almes Whan they fasted thei had a feate to discolour their faces that thei might loke pale thei would goe hunting about to haue glorious salutacions and gretinges in the stretes and where they came to diner or supper they loked and sought to sit vppermoste at mens
chaunce at length befell the young man now set at his owne free libertie out of his fathers tuicion he speÌ„te and wastefully consumed among straungiers all the substaunce not of his owne for nothing it was that he had of his owne but of his fathers And he spent it out riottously at dyce on harlottes and in feastyng and banquettyng For plaineriotte it is whatsoeuer is spent about the inordinate lustes of the body without necessitie Verily the saied inordinate lustes and desires do corrupt and marre euen the right precious giftes of nature And whaÌ„ he had wasted all his substaunce folowyng in all behalfes his owne sensuall mynde pleasure there arose a great famine in the said countrey where the youÌ„g maÌ„ kept himself as a strauÌ„gier and pylgrime For this worlde hath nothyng in it that may fully satisfie the soule of man but onely that whiche is the chiefest and moste best thing of all whiche thyng is no where els but only in the fathers house Well what should the young man do beyng a straungier among suche as he knewe not beyng naked without clothyng and beeing in the daungyer of death through great houngre wheras before it was grieuous vnto hym to obey the commaundemente of his moste ientle father he was now of force constreyned to bee as a bonde seruaunte to a foreyne vncurteous citezen of a straunge toune Whan men refuse to receiue the swete yoke of the Lorde than are they compelled to beare the moste hard and heauye yoke of Satan Wilt thou heare how miserable a kynde of bondage it is to serue the desires of the world The citezen that was his maister sent hym to his mainour in the couÌ„trey there to kepe and fede his hogges FroÌ„ how great dignitie into how great reprochefulnesse was the miserable young man brought throughe hys owne folye Of a ryche inherytour of an excedyng ryche house he was nowe made a boude man and a swyne heard and yet notwithstanding dyd not thatsame his cruell maister so muche as geue hym meate to eate What needeth many woordes so greate was the famine and houngre of the trueth grace of god whiche trueth onely and none but it is hable to fede and satisfy the soul of man that he desyred to fill his bealye he cared not wherewithal no not yf it had been with the very huskes coddes wherwith the hogges wer feddeâ— and yet was there no man whiche would geue him thesame in so muche that he was in wurse case then the very swine to whome he rather was a bonde seruaunte then a rewler or a maister ouer them The verye gyftes of nature wer now defaced in him and had clene forsaken the young man and the freedome of his owne will as poore as it was yet lost and gon it was and yet the stomake and appetite of his soule beeyng extremely corrupt was eagre to haue sum meate to appeace his houÌ„gre Euery vayne voyd pleasure of the worlde which dooeth but for a short space pacifie neither satisfâ—yng the soule nor makyng it fatte be as huskes and coddes that the swyne feede of with these are the yl spirites delited and suche as are their sworne seruaâ—â—es they doe rather tolle and traine with those baites then fill them And yet haue they not alwaies plentie or aboundaunce of these readye at hand neyther or in ease they haue yet is it marred and disrealised with muche galle of griefes and sorowes Than he came to himself and said how many hyred seruauntes at my fathers haue breade enough and I perishe with houngre I will arise and goe to my father and I will saye vnto him father I haue sinned against heauen and before thee and am no more woorthy to be called thy sonne make me as one of thy hired seruauntes Well than he was now come to the poynte of extreme calamitye and dystresse But happy is that distresse whiche constrayneth a man to amende his ill liuyng For the first degree and steppe toward saluacion is this to call to remembraunce from whence a man is fallen and to acknowelage howe ferre he hath swerued and growen out of kynde And this was the fathers owne drawyng vnto him For he had gon away and leaft his father but the father is euery where present In tymes past he had been a young man past himself and out of his right mynd he was a maÌ„ distraughte with deceytefull snares of this worlde fleeyng all suche thynges as were onely to bee desyred and desiring those thinges whiche only were to bee eschewed and auoyded But the matter is than in good state whan the synner and mysdooer thorough the secrete inspiracion of his moste ientle father cuÌ„meth to his herte agayn The young man therefore beeyng at length cum well to himselfe agayne spake to himselfe in this maner from what degree to what condicion and state am I come wretched creature that I am Out of mine owne countrey into exile banishement out of a rich welthy house into a countrey of famine from libertie into seruitude from a moste louyng father to a moste cruell Mayster from the dignitie of beeyng a soonne in my fathers howse to the most vileste condicion of bondage that may bee and from the feloweshyp of my brethren and of the other seruauntes to lyuyng among swyne How many hyred seruauntes are there in my fathers house whiche through the bountie of my father haue plentiful stoore of breade at will as much as they will eate and I beyng the soonne of suche a good householder dye here for hungre Many of the Iewes are hirelingers whiche do after a sorte obserue the coÌ„mauÌ„demeÌ„tes of the law not of any godly affeccion but eyther of a seruile feare orels for the reward of thynges temporal and yet a matter of soÌ„what it is to lyue as a couenaunt seruaunt with so ryche and so bounteous an housholder and not to be disseuered or put asundre from so fortunate and happy a house For one shall of an hired seruaunt be made as his soonne if he haue thaffeccion that a soonne ought to haue And a godly kinde of enuie it is which prouoketh the young manne to the hope of forgeuenesse For after that he had with himselfe bewayled his estate of extreme myserye wherein he than laye altogether walowyng he begoonne somewhat to lift and set hymselfe vpright and to take some herte vnto him saiyng I will arise and I will go vnto my father And yet alas sayeth he to himself how darest thou be so bold hast thou any thyng whereby to make thine excuse or pourgacion vnto hym thou fouÌ„deste hym euermore a moste tendre louyng father to leat thee haue all thyne owne will thou diddest eagrely require thy childes part of his goodes he gaue it thee without once saiyng nay vnto thee and of thyne owne mocion dooyng it was that thou leaftest thy father beeyng to thee bothe louyng and fauourable thou hast shamefully wasted
of both partyes a bodye shall make a direct aunswere he shall renne on the sharpe poyncte of the horne that is to saye shall incurre inconuenyence and bee taken in hys aunswere If they had mynded to aunswere the veraye trueth of the mattier the woordes of the trueth was a playne and a ready tale to bee spoken but they smelle themselues to be layed for by the same policie and trayne wherewith they layed a bayte for hym Herupon goe they to a wyly counsayll together emong themselues For none there is a more busye piece of woorke then the framyng of a countrefaycte matyer and commonly one fraude halethan other at hys â—ayle and one guyle draweth an other after hym Therefore they laye theyr heades together thus conferryng emong themselues what aunswere shall we make to thys doubtfull questyon If we shall say that Iohns autoritye came immediately from heauen he will strayght way hitte vs in the forehead with it and will say Why than dyd ye not geue credyte to hym whan he testyfyed of me He playnely confessed hymselfe to be inferyour to me and vnwoorthye to beare my shoes after me He openly confessed hymselfe to be an earthly manne and to speake earthelye thynges and beeyng a basse slender persone to speake basse matiers and that I beeyng issued from heauen was aboue all creatures Howe doe ye receiue his autoritie as a thyng procedyng from God and doe openly in the face of the worlde fynde slaundreous cauillacyons at myne autoritie of whiche he gaue playne testimonie That if on the other syde we shall auouche that Iohn dyd nothyng by the autorytie of God but of an humayne spirite onely all the vnyuersall people will vpon vs with stones because it is a thyng rooted in the heartes of them all full and whole that Iohn was a Prophete and that he wroughte by the inspiracyon of God whateuer he wrought They had no care to aunswere trueth but to aunswere that might best serue to their purpose So doe false doctoures auÌ„swer not the thyng that scripture teacheth but takyng suche sence therout by their interpretacion as maketh to their affeccions In case they shoulde haue aunswered trueth theyr autoritie emong the people stode in great hasard if they had aunswered false they feared theyr lyues They stode in great feare of men wheras they cast of from theÌ„ the feare of God Wherupon they aunswered that they could not tel There was none other hole but thys alone left open for them to escape oute at but whan they had gotten suche an euasion they doe all vnder one seâ—blably deliuer the lorde from aunswering to their question For he saied vnto theÌ„ Because ye fynde such euasions and sterting holes and wil not aunswer that ye knowe well enoughe nor I neyther will not tell you by what autoritye I doe these thynges whiche ye see albeit ye are not ignoraunte of this thing neyther whiche ye nowe demaunde ¶ Than began he to put foorthe to the people this parable A certain man planted a vineyard and let it foorth to husbandmen and went himselfe into a straunge countrey for a greate season And whan the tyme was come he sente a seruaunte to the houseband men that they shoulde geue hym of the fruicte of the vineyard And they beate him sent him away emptie And agane he sent yet an other seruaunte and him they did beate entreacted him shamfully and sent him away emptie And a gayne he sent the third also hym they wounded and caste hym out Then sayed the Lorde of the vineyard What shal I dooe I will sende my dere sonne peraduenture they will stande in awe of hym whan they see hym But whan the housebandmen sawe him they thought within themselues saying this is the heyre come leat vs kill him that the enheritaunce maye bee ours And they cast him out of the vineyarde and killed him What shall the Lorde of the vineyard therefore doe vnto them he shall come and destroye these housebandemen and shall leat out his vineyarde to other The priestes the Phariseis the Scribes and the headmen of the laitie beyng thus confuted the Lorde by an by brought in a parable whiche might laye playnely before theyr iyes theyr vncurable malice woorthie of damnacioÌ„ who hauing bene so many wayes prouoked of god to amendement had â—tyll growen euermore to wurse and wurse rennyng in contempte of the lawe striekyng the Prophetes and puttyng them to deathe and entendyng no lesse then afterwardes to put to deathe the sonne of god also beeyng the extreme remedie of al eiuils yea and to put him afterward agayne to more affliccioÌ„ in the Apostles and martirs The tenour of the paraple is thys A certayne man ê™ Iesus planted a vineyard which he was singularly in loue withall doing all that mighte possibly bee doen that he might at length haue some fruict of the same For he hedged it diligently rounde about builded a towre within it for watching and kepyng of it he dygged out a gutter to receyue the wyne when it were pressed and he sette ferthermore a wyne presse in it And whan it was thus well furnished with all thynges apperteynyng he putte it foorthe to the handes of housebandemen that they shoulde dooe all requisite housebandry vnto it and gather the fruicte therof at tyme conueniente Thys doen he taketh a voyage into a ferre countrey continued a greate long season absent from home This same verayly is the vineyarde of the Lorde Sabaoth whiche the same lorde transposed remoued out of Egipt and set in the lande of beheaste he hedged it aboute with the precincte of the lawe he protected it with watching and keping of it his owne selfe in proper persone he beautified it with a goodly temple he added moreouer in it priestes iudges capitaynes and teachers he omitted nothing that to the ordreing or dressing therof might appertayne And thys vineyarde beeyng thus furnyshed to the poynte deuyse whaÌ„ it had bene a long season loked for that it should bring furth good grapes did yet neuerthelesse through the defaulte of the housebandemen bryng furth wylde grapes The lorde all this while who in dede is no where not present yet semed vnto them to bee absente ferre of because hys conuersacyon was in heauen Therfore whan it was a time due and seasonable for the people of Israel at last to bring furth fruicte according for such the bountiful goodnesse of God towardes them the maister of the vineyarde sent a seruaunt of hys that is to say one prophet or an other vnto the housebandmen that is to the princes to the priestes to the Scribes who wer the bearers of all the swaigh and stroke that they shoulde rendre and yelde vnto hym parte of suche fruicte as had growen vp in the vineyarde The housebandemenne who had tilled and vsed the vineyard to the behoufe of themselfes and not of the Lord firste pumbled the seruaunte aboute the eares and
it strong in iudgemēt and righteousnesse Whan ye heare a kyngdome and princely power set vpon his shoulder doe ye not manifestly heare the kyngdom of the crosse which crosse Christ did beare to vanquishe the powers of the aier whan ye heare the prince of peace forsoth ye vnderstande a kyng alluryng with benefites and not cōpelling with violence ne with feare whan ye heare the father of the worlde to come ye see one much vnlyke to the princes of this worlde Neither doeth he describe hym a man of any other sorte where he speaketh of hym in a certaine other place And he shal strike with the rodde of his mouth and with the spirite of his lippes shall he sleagh the wicked righteousnesse shal be the girdle of his loignes feith the belt of his reines The woulfe shal dwell with the lambe the leoparde shall lie downe hard by with the goate all the reste that foloweth much dessonaunt and contrarious from the armour and battayles of worldely princes Nowe herken ye what himselfe saieth of himselfe in the misticall psalme of Dauid As for I am constituted of him a king vpō Sion his holy hill preachyng the precepte of him did he not in these woordes manifestely expresse the kyngdome of the woorde euangelicall Certes this is the sweorde wherof an other psalme maketh mencion Bee thou girt with thy sweorde vpon thy thigh o thou moste mightiest with thy beatutie fairnesse entēde thou prosperously procede reigne thou for thy veritie mekenesse and righteousnesse And who hath heard that a king hath in the beautie of his body prosperously gon foreward or els to haue gotten himselfe a kingdome with mekenesse But this was the grace of the woorde of God by which ye haue seen Iesus allure and draw vnto him great multitudes of people this was the trueth against which the Phariseis did so many times in vaine attēpt to wrastle and striue This maner a sweorde it was whiche he at the tyme whan he should die aduertised his Apostles to gette them of whiche he had afore also spoken allegeing that he was not come into the yearth to send peace but the sweorde Suche lyke ones also are the arrowes of the mighty beyng sharp with which he goreth the inordinate lustes desires of men with the which he killeth the couetous mā and reiseth the beneficiall bounteous man with the which he sleagheth the idolatre reiseth vp the professour of euāgelicall godlinesse with which he killeth the fierce man and the man of vengeaunce and reiseth vp the meke and the merciful with which he ouerthroweth the proude man setteth vp the humble Will ye vnderstand the kyngdome what sorte and nature it is of See ye what maner ministers and enlargers of his dominion and iurisdicciō he chose out for the nons Poore felowes mē of lowe degree mē of no learnyng ne knowlage but euen of the bare mother witte and toungue ne with any treasour ne weapon nor victayles ne with any strength or maintenaunce of this worlde furnished or armed against the capcious malice of the Phariseis against the power of princes against the pryde of the Philosophiers that is to say of the great schole mē And by these captaines shall he outwarre and subdue all the vniuersall kyngdomes of the worlde with none other cōplete harnesse then with the helmes of saluacion which is the right vnderstanding of holy scripture with the buckler of feith by vertue wherof God beyng their protectour they shal be in perfeite safegard against al assaultes of the wicked people with the Iacke or haberion made of the righteousnesse of al the vertues euāgelicall with the belt of chastitie with shooes of the ghospels making which is an herte pure from all yearthly affeccions but moste specially aboue al thinges with the sweorde of the spirite which is the woorde of God So was it thought good vnto God that by meane of his sonnes weakenesse he would shewe his power by preaching which should be accoūpted worldly folishenes he would declare his wisedom through the worldly shame of the crosse he would renoume his glory In these thinges consisteth the kingdome euāgelicall in the meane whyle vntill the maiestie of Christ shall in the ende of the world shewe forth it selfe his low degree laied away the blissefull state of the godly sort shal also shewe it selfe not stained or defoiled with any affliccions And yet this outward bassenesse conteineth a ghostly strength of the spirite both effectuall apt to cast downe al buildinges that lift vp themselfes to stand against the glory of God Haue ye euer seen any thing more ientill or pacient then Christ was haue ye seen any thing more lowe or basse in worldly acceptacion any thing more poorer more meke more felowlike with the people more ferther remoued from all lykenesse of a kyngdome And yet what thyng coulde there be more regall or kinglike then with a worde to cast out wicked spirites with a woorde speaking to caulme the wyndes the sourges of the seas with touching to heale folkes that were infecte with lepry with mere bidding to put away al kindes of diseases How many times escaped he harmelesse through the thickest of the Iewes working death vnto him He suffred himselfe to be taken but at the voice of him the armed soldiers fell down flat on the ground He dyed on the crosse but what thing could be of more power then this death which made all the elementes of the worlde to shake whiche caused the sunne to lese his light and to be full of derkenesse which cutte stones in soondre which opened graues which reysed the dead bodyes out of thesame There could be nothing more lowe or basse to the worldeward thē was his natiuitie but yet euen in his natiuitie also there did streight way at the first houre appere tokens moe thē one of his high maiestie which he than did would not be acknowē of He is borne of a tendre young virgin but it is by the operaciō of Gods holy spirite He was laied downe in an oxe maūger but the Aungels syng glory to God in the highest He lieth crying being an infaunte in the cradle place but Herode being a kyng trembleth for feare and the Magians wurship him on their knees These thynges being as yet knowen not to veray many shall in time to come be preached throughout all the vniuersall worlde And with suche lyke sure fenses shall he appoynte and furnishe his Apostles also That if ye shal here after reade the scriptures and marke them well shall conferre them with the thynges which ye haue seen and heard ye cannot doubt but that he is thesame Christ which was promised the priest the king and the salueour of all the worlde after whom there is none other to be looked for Rekon I pray you and consider in your mindes all his whole age which ye haue partely with your owne iyes
his manhed bringing in stede of man a vain vision similitude of man Some contrariwise woulde take from him his godhed falsely saying that his beginning was but than whan he was borne of the virgin Mary because they being blinded with yerthly affeccions coulde not attain the mystery of Gods counsaill howe very God toke vpon hym to bee very man that one person shoulde bee both that in the meane while nothing should be withdrawen from the immutable nature of god and yet the perfectnesse of his manhed shoulde still remain I shall therfore set forth sum thinges more plainly in the ghospell so much as the spirit of Christ hath vouchsaued to open vnto me and asmuche as he had thoughte sufficiente to obtein saluacion by thorow the faith of the ghospell But as I began to say forasmuche as there is nothing any where emonges all the thinges that euer God made wherof we may make comparison whiche can throughly agree with the truth of the godhed I must though improprely vse the termes of thinges that our vnderstaÌ„ding is acquainted with to thintent that I may geue some knowlage to other of thinges whiche passeth all mens vnderstanding and vtteraunce Therfore as holy scripture calleth God that most excellent minde whiche mind is both greatter better then all thinges that can be imagined euen so it calleth his onely sonne the woord of that minde For although the sonne bee not the same that the father is yet he is so very lyke the father that a man may see the one in the other that is to say the father in the sonne and the sonne in the father But the resemblaunce of the father the sonne whiche in mans generacion is many waies vnperfit is moste perfit in God the father and his sonne And there is nothinge which dooeth more fully and euidently expresse the very secrecye of the minde then the true declarynge of it by woorde for that is the very loking glasse of the minde whiche cannot be sene with bodely iyes And if we couete to haue any man knowe the will of our minde that thinge is broughte to passe by no meanes more certainly or quickely then by speache whiche beinge fetched out of the inward priuiâ—ies of the minde conueiethe by a certaine secrete efficacie the minde of the speaker into the minde of the hearer through the eares of the hearer Neither is there any thynge amonges men more effectuall to stire vp euerye mocion of their mindes then to vttre it by speaking For if we haue auctoritie we maye shortly appoynte with our woorde what we will haue done Therfore he is called the sonne because being equal in al other thinges with his father he is distinctâ— and differeth in onely proprietie of person He is called the word because god whiche in his own proper nature can no waies be comprehended woulde be knowen to vs by him neither was his pleasure to be knowen for any other cause but to thintente we mighte attain euerlastinge felicitie by the knowlage of him This birthe is not teÌ„poral or during but for a time ne yet this woorde is like to mans woorde There is no corporall thing in God nothing that passeth with time or can be conteined in place neither is there in him any thynge at all subiect to beginninge proceding age or any mutabilitie he is alwaye one whole and altogether in himselfe and the sonne is continually begotten of him euen such an one as he is himselfe eternall of him that is eternall almightie of him that is almightie most good of him that is best in conclusion God of God neither later in time nor inferior to hys father the euerlastinge worde of the euerlasting mind by the which the father speaketh to himselfe al waies as it were by a secret thought yea before the world was made being knowen to no body but only to himselfe and his sonne He did euermore shall begette the sonne in himselfe and in like wise did euermore bringe foorthe his almighty woorde he had no nede of any thinge that is create to whose felicitie nothinge can be added but of his naturall goodnesse he hath made this whole ingine of the world and set therin euangelicall mindes and mankinde as in the meane betwene aungels beastes to thinthent he might gather of thinges wunderfully create and also of himselfe the power the loue and goodnes of the makir thereof And as if there were a greate mighty king whatsoeuer he commaunded to be doen shoulde be doen by and by euen so the veraye almightye father hath made all thinges by his sonne and woorde And firste by this way he shewed furth his woord by whom he woulde be knowen as though he had spoken vnto vs himselfe And beinge so knoweÌ„ by the wonderfulnes â—f his moste fayre workemanship might wind himselfe into our inward mocions Therefore they do erre and go very far froÌ„ the trueth whiche thinke the worde of god to be so after him in time from whom it procedeth as emonges vs the mind goethe before the speache And so they also whiche take the worde of God by the whiche God the father hath made all thinges to bee numbred emonges thinges create But their errour is more rude grosse whiche do suppose the sonne and woord of God than to haue begun and neuer before whan he was borne bodily of the virgin Mary What thinge soeuer is create hath his beginning in time but the sonne of God was twise borne once of his father before time or rather with out time very God of him that is verily God Again he was borne of the virgin Mary in time appointed thereto eternally of the euerlastynge father very man of mankynde For it hath pleased God after this sorte to bringe furthe agayne to vs hys woorde that is to saye his sonne to thintente he mighte be knowen after a more plaine waye or more familiarly That person therfore is wicked which maketh argumente that Iesus Christ was nothinge els but manne or that contendethe him to haue beene create emonges other creatures The father did be get him that was bothe his sonne and his woorde yet all one after soundry waies once in time as touchinge his manhed and alwaye without all time as touchinge his godhed For beefore there was this vniuersall creacion of thinges both yearthly and heauenly the eternall woorde was alredy with the euerlastinge father And this woorde did so procede from the father that yet it remained still with the father He was of suche an inseperable nature with the father that by proprietie of person he was with the father And yet he did not cleue to the father as the accidente doeth to the substaunce But he was god of god he was god in God and he was God with God by reason that they both had but one diuine nature common to both They twaine were so bothe one that nothing made difference betwene theim sauing onely the proprietie of person of the
their grosse iudgemente of him whereby they thought he did woorke his miracles to the intente to deserue therewith at the rashe peoples hand a worldly kyngdome whereas Christe in veraye deede accordyng as the tyme required didde shewe sum prouâ—e of his diuine power by certaine miracles for none other cause surelye but that throughe sensyble and bodilye thinges he myghte cause more credit to bee geuen vnto his doctrine whiche promysed those thynges that cannot bee perceiued with bodilye senses And by this waie also to bring vp those that were yet rude and weake by certaine degrees to the capacitie of more hye thynges Like as a trustie Maister would wishe that if it coulde be his scholer shoulde foorthwith take and vnderstande his whole science yet for a time he fourmeth and fashioneth the rude and vnframed wytte wyth certayne pryncyples vntyll he haue broughte hym vp to the perfecte knowlege of his facultie so that he shal after neede none of those introduccions And though the teacher dooe not teache the veraye letters and his fyrste rules without werines yet he doth beare that tediousnesse and weare it awaye with the hope of profityng his scholer labouryng all the wayes he can to get him soone out of those course principles Therefore Iesus to declare here also his godhead in that he knewe theyr thoughtes when he sawe the people hadde nowe agayne recourse vnto hym for the desire of suche myracles whiche shoulde rather fyll the bellye then instructe the mynde he tooke occasion of the meate that he hadde once geuen them to teache theym what foode they ought to haue moste desired The effecte of his saiyng was this Uerely this thing is true saieth he whiche I wyll tell you ye calle me maister not because ye bee muche desirous of my doctryne whiche is all spirituall but because ye seeke for worldelye pleasures and small commodities whiche are more estemed of you then thynges whiche dooe farre excelle them And at this presente ye dooe seeke me with great affeccion and yet â—wisse not so muche for to see myracles whiche ought in dede to allure you to mynde celestiall thynges but yesterdayes there dooeth more prouoke you then that ye bee enamoured of goddely power And ye coumpte it a great matter if a manne fede your bodye without your charge It is but a small matter to feede this bodie that otherwyse muste needes decaye and bee destroied neyther shal they that bee desirous of the doctrine of the ghospell lacke meate Therfore turne all youre care to gette that foode whiche where it is taken dooeth not perishe by disgestion nor dooeth prolong lyfe of the bodye for a shorte tyme as the common materiall susteinaunce dooeth and yet within a while hungre cummeth againe â–ª But gette suche foode I saye as tarrieth styll in man noryshing the soule with spirituall foode and geueth eternall lyfe thereunto The sonne of man wil geue you this excellent bread if he perceiue that you doe long and hungre for it For certainly God willyng to geue eternall lyfe to mankynde dydde speciallye appoynt this sonne of manne geuyng vnto hym power and with myracles bringing him to greate estimacion that he shoulde geue spirituall foode to all that desyre eternall life And also for this purpose he gaue vnto thesame power and auctoritie and with myracles brought hym to great estimacion For Iesus came not into the worlde to get vnto himselfe worldelye honour or to make menne blessed with worldly commodities but he came rather aboute this buisinesse that is to were to lift vp men from vyle filthy cares to care and studye for heauenly thynges ¶ Then said they vnto him what shal we do that we might worke the worke of God Iesus answered and said vnto them this is the worke of God that ye beleue on him whoÌ„ he hath sent They said therfore vnto him what signe shewest thou then that we maie see and beleue thee what doest thou worke our fathers did eat Manna in the deserte as it is written He gaue them bread from heauen to eate When as the rude and ignoraunt people minding altogether their belly vnderstoode not these thynges no nor once considered theim they aunswered Iesus on this wise For so muche as thou councelleste vs to woorke a certaine meate that shoulde still remayne in vs and bring with it euerlastyng life what shall we doe therefore that we maie woorke those thynges which are mete for God and that we maie deserue eternall lyfe for whiche causes you saye that you were sent into the worlde Iesus beeyng nothyng offended with this so grosse an aunswere procedeth by liâ—le and litle to call them from their fondnesse to more perfite thynges If ye aske saieth he what is the woorke whereby ye maie deserue to haue God whiche is a spirite and is pleased with spirituall thynges ye shall vnderstande that it is no sacrifisyng of beastes no keepyng of the Sabboth daye no outwarde washynges no choyse of meates no relygion of garmentes nor other thynges whiche dooeth consiste in corporall ceremonies but this is the woorke whiche God requireth of you to beleue his sonne whome he hath sent and by whome he speaketh vnto you leste he shoulde seme to graunt euerlasting life to you that be vnthankeful persones or rather vnworthy suche a benefite The people whiche chalenged a wondrefull religion throughe the obseruyng of Moses lawe made nowe aunswere vnto these thynges not onely grosly but also vnkyndelye and wickedlye and saye If you take vpon you a speciall auctoritie aboue our elders whose auctoritie we haue hitherto folowed shewe sum profe and lesson of thine auctoritie geuen ther of God that vpon syght therof we maye beleue not thy woordes but thy deedes For it is no reason that without sum woonderous signe we should beleue the whiche in wordes takest arrogantly vpon the this auctoritie Neyther woulde we rashelye haue geuen credence vnto our forefathers but that throughe a token whiche came from Heauen they dydde certifye vs of theyr goddelye authoritie Our auncetours dydde eate Manna in the wildernesse vnder Moses that was theyr guyde This was of truethe the breade of God an heauenly foode whiche dydde not putrifie as it is writen in the Psalme he gaue them celestiall breade to eate Therefore by reason of this woondrefull thyng the people then beyng moued obeyed Moses And in case thou canste doe the lyke or els summe greatter thyng we wyll also beleue the. Nor yet dyd this so grosse so vnkynde so wicked an aunswer of the people make the gentlenes of Iesus weary from alluryng them to the knowledge of spirituall thynges For fyrste of all they require sum straunge token as thoughe they had neuer seene anye myracle before neyther be they contente with euerye kynde of myracle but as men that woulde gooe before hym in all thynges they prescribe hym what kynde of myracle they would haue hym doe and to conclude amongest so many wonderful doinges that are red to be doen
of man remain still aliue And to thintente also that the whole man shoulde like throughe me my father wylâ—eth thys thyng too that in the last day I shal restore the dead body also to lyfe For this is my fathers wyll that sente me euen by his soonne to geue â—ternall lyfe vnto all men and that not through Moses lawe but by faythe of the ghospell The father dooeth nothyng but by his sonne And therfore he that dooeth not acknowlage the soonne dooeth not acknowlage the father and whoso resisteth the sonne he also resisteth the father The father is inuisible but yet he is seen in his sonne Therfore whoso seeth the sonne acknoweledgeth hym and beleueth his woordes the saide soonne will not suffre hym to perishe but althoughe he bee deade in bodye he wyll rayse hym agayne in the laste daye accordyng to his fathers wylle that he so maye liue wholly both in bodie and soule in the presence of the soonne whome he gaue credite vnto The father hath geuen this power vnto the soonne that he maye restore euen the dead vnto life The Iewes then murmured at hym because he said I am the bread of life which came downe from heauen And they said Is not this Iesus the sonne of Iosephe whose father and mother we â—news How is it then that he saieth I came down from heaâ—â— â–ª Iesus aunswered and saied vnto them Murmure not among youre selfes No man can cumme to me excepte the father whiche sente me drawe hym And I wil rayse hym vp at the laste daie When Iesus had spoken these thinges the people whiche hytherto thorough hope of meate coulde metely wel away with his communicacion now seyng that they sawe their hope of bodilye sustenaunce was taken awaye they fell to quarellyng with hym to maligne against him And also whome they beeing sufficed with eatyng woulde haue made king him doe they no we contemne as a vyle persone â–ª and laie arrogancie to his charge not openlye as yet but murmuring emong theimselues chieflye at that saiyng whiche of all others they oughte to embrace that is to weâ—e I am the liuelye breade whiche descended from heauen They moste coueted and gaped for bodilye foode and with this saiyng they thoughte theimselues deluded and mocked where as in dede a thyng farre more excellent was offred them then they loked for Certes the infirmitie of his manâ—ed offended theim whiche they onely looâ—â—â— vpon with bodily iyes when as they myght bothe of his dooynges and sayinges haue seene the power of god in hym yf they had had iyes of faythe Is not this man saye they Ioseph the carpenters sonne whose father and mother we knowe well enough by sight and to be but poore folkes and of a very meane estate Furthermore how can he for shame say that he came doun out of heauen when as but of late time he was borne here in earth emongest vs a very man of men as we bee Or what meaneth he by tellyng vs of an other father And whyles they wer talkyng secretly one to an other of these thynges Iesus declaring forthwith that meÌ„s very thoughtes wer not hid froÌ„ his knowlage did make more plain and also confirme that which he had spokeÌ„ before saiyng there is no cause why ye shoulde murmure among your selfes at these thynges which I haue spoken vnto you Your infidelitie is the cause why my woordes sticke not in your myndes Ye se and se not you heare and heare not and whyles ye be present yet are ye absent Of trueth whosoeuer cuÌ„meth to me shal obteine eternall life but by fayth muste men cum to me And faithe cummeth not at all auentures but it is hadde by the inspiracion of god the father who like as he draweth vnto him mens myndes by his sonne so by breathyng in fayth secretly into mens soules he draweth them to his sonne in suche wyse that through the operacion of both ioyntly together men cum to them both The father doth not geue this so great a gift but to them that be willing and desirouse to haue it And truely whoso doeth with a redy will and godly diligence deserue to bee drawen of my father he shall obteine euerlastyng life by me For I as I tolde you shall call to lyfe again euen him that is dead when the day shall cum wherin the felicitie of the godly and the destruccion of the wicked shal be finished and fully concluded He that beleueth me receiueth an excellent greate thyng but he ought to thanke the father for it without whom no maÌ„ can beleue and yet for al that they that in the meane season doe not beleue can not excuse theyr faute by saying that they were not drawen For the father so muche as lieth in hym coueteth to drawe all men He that is not drawen is in faute himselfe because he wythdraweth hymselfe from him that els would drawe hym ¶ It is written in the prophetes and they shal be al taught of god Euery man therefore that hath heard and hath learned of the father cummeth vnto me not that any man hath seen the father saue he whiche is of god the same hath seen the father Uerilye verilye I saie vnto you He that putteth his truste in me hath euerlasting life Thynges of thys worlde are learned by mannes endeuour and studye This celestiall philosophye is not vnderstande vnles the secrete inspiracion of the father make mannes hatte apte to bee taught Undoubtedlye thys is that whiche the prophetes long ago dyd saye shoulde be thus Propheciyng before haÌ„d And they shall be al taught of god But the lustes of this world maketh many one vntowardes to be taughte whiche worldelye desyres whyles they euen droune men in these earthlye thynges they suffre theym not to lifte vp theyr myndes to heauenlye thynges The gyfte is goddes but the endeuour is yours I man heareth my wordes with bodily eares in vayne excepte he heare before the secrete voyce of the father whiche must inspire the mynde with an insensyble grace of faythe Therefore whosoeuer fashyon theymselfes to bee apte to receiue this inspiracion the father dooeth thus drawe theym And he onely that is so drawen cummeth finally to me For god is a spirite and is neyther hearde nor seen but to them that bee spirituall And so to haue seene and haue hearde hym is saluacion Many shall see and heare the sonne to theyr peryl and daunger notwithstandyng that ye do glorye in that god was seene and heard to Moses and to the prophetes There was neuer mortall manne that sawe and hard god as he is in his own nature and substaunce that thing is geuen to the sonne of god alone whiche onely came from God with whom he was euermore before he came into this worlde Therfore put clearely out of your myndes the vyle cares of this corporall lyfe labouryng al that ye can that through earnest desyre of thynges that be spiritually good ye may attaine life euerlastyng I would ye should forget
came into the worlde and I was sent into the worlde from him to teache you to knowe him that throughe your belefe ye might be saued For I came not of mine owne head as other dooe sekyng their owne praise rather then Goddes honour teaching their owne commentes and fantasies and not the doctrine of God And he that sent me is true and for because I haue it of him whatsoeuer I speake therfore my sayinges be also true ¶ Then they sought to take him but no man layed handes on him because his houre was not yet cum Many of the people beleued on him and sayd Whan Christe cummeth will he do moe miracles then these that this man hath doen The seniors and rulers being stirred and sore heated with these woordes weaxed more wood and chafed more in their heartes because he toke vnto him suche authoritie before the people and openly rebuked theim of their peruerse wickednes They had muche a do to holde their handes of him for now their angre was turned into woodnesse they now passed nothing of that good aduisement and deliberacion wherwith they were purposed to make him awaie secretly But though their will was readye to do that mischieuous deede yet no mā at that time laide handes vpon him Christ willing so to haue it because the time was not yet cum whiche his father had appointed to worke therin by his death the saluacion of the worlde For as he willingly dyed so coulde not he against his will be taken It lay in him to stay mennes mindes were they neuer so fierce nor no mannes power could preuaile against him vnlesse it had pleased his exceding charitie towardes man to be crucified for the saluacion of the world but the priestes Scribes Phariseis and headmen of the people whom for their holy profession and knowlage of the lawe it had behoued first of all other to haue acknowlaged Christ perseuering in their wycked purpose euen of corrupte mindes many of the comminaltie and of the vnlearned in the lawe whiche as they were of the lesse auctoritie and learning so they had more good mindes and deuocion did so beleue our Lorde Iesus woordes and miracles but not yet of trueth fully persuaded that Iesus was Messias howbeit they were brought to this poinct that they semed apte to be persuaded If this man say they be not Christ as the Phariseis thinke he is not yet it is muche to be meruailed at how he hath so great power in workyng miracles For yf Messias himselfe shoulde cum shoulde he do greater thinges then whiche this man doeth ¶ The Phariseis hearde that the people murmured suche thinges concerning hym And the Phariseis and hie priestes sente ministers to take hym Than saied Iesus vnto them yet am I a litle while with you then goe I vnto him that sente me and ye shall not fynde me whither I goe thither can ye not cum But the Phariseis and the seniors whose part had been to haue allured and inticed the vnlearned multitude vnto Christe after that they perceiued there was many of the people inclined towardes hym fel to suche furious headines that they were determined euery way without any stoppe that he ought to dye whiche was thought would obscure their honour Suche a pestilence is ambicion when it is couloured with pretence of religion and doctrine But in the meane tyme feare of daungier and neither shame nor pitie stayed theim from manifest doing of that enormitie Therfore they did hyre priuely the common catche polles to take Iesus in the sight of the people and when they had taken hym to bring him to them as an euill doer But Iesus that knewe their priuie conspiracie conspired against him and could not be taken excepte he had liste himselfe sumwhat openeth vnto them by darke sayinges that the time should come when as he would voluntarily offre himselfe to death wheras then they sought his death in vain and in a maner also gaue them warning to be more glad of him and wel to vse him whiles they had hym For the tyme should be that all in vain they shoulde desire him being absent whom they did persecute beyng present specially when as they coulde not cum to the place whiche he shoulde conuey himselfe to For he went euen to death whereunto as yet they might not folowe him He returned again to heauen thither was no mortall bodye able to pursue after him Well Iesus spake vnto them in this manier I am yet a litle while with you then goe I vnto him that sent me Ye shall then seke me and not fynde me and where I shal goe to ye cannot cum The Lorde Iesus spake these thinges vnto them couertly as he was wont to dooe many mo thinges that they should not vnderstande them before they were put in vre and finished And the darkenes of speaking maketh a man diligent to seke the matier And whē the thinges be exibite and dooen the wordes are more surely beleued Finally the thing grue to this point that it was well knowen to all men that whatsoeuer our lorde suffered he suffered it aduisedly and vpon deliberacion not of casualtie he suffered it willingly and not of necessitie Though these wordes were spoken to all men in generall yet it did most specially pricke the Phariseis seruauntes whiche were sent to take Iesus against whom they perceiued that they coulde nothyng do except he were willyng And whiles he toucheth secretly their inwarde conscience he declareth that he knoweth what thyng soeuer is moste secretely hid in mennes heartes And therwithall he winneth those hertes vnto him through his gentilnes whose wicked enterprises he did not disclose vnto the people ¶ Then sayd the Iewes among themselues whither will he got that we shall not fynde him will he goe amonge the Gentiles whiche are scattered abrode and teache the Gentiles ▪ what maner of saying is this that he sayd ye shall seke me and shall not fynde me and where I am thither can ye not cum Therfore when as the multitude did not vnderstande this his saying they reasoned among themselues what meaneth this that he sayeth where I goe to thither can ye not cum will he priuely steale awaye and goe to sum farre countrey among the heathen people will he suffre himselfe to forsake this holy lande and holy people to go dwell among wicked prophane people whither he thinketh we will neuer folowe him or will he wander hither and thither like a vagabounde among the Gentiles dwellyng farre awaye that he cannot be found of vs In the last day that great day of the feast Iesus stode and cryed saying If any man thirst let him cum vnto me and drinke He that beleueth on me as sayeth the scripture out of his belly shall flowe riuers of water of lyfe But this spake he of the spirite which they that beleue on him should receiue for the holy ghoste was not yet there because Iesus was not yet glorified But when the
many tymes offend hym with their doynges I neuer dissent from that whiche is my fathers pleasure As he spake these wordes manye beleued on hym Then sayed Iesus to those Iewes whiche beleued on him If ye continue in my worde then aâ—â— ye my very disciplesâ— and ye shall knowe the trueth and the trueth shal make you free They aunswered hym We be Abrahams seed and were neuer bounde to any man sayeste thou than ye shall be made freeâ— Iesus aunswered them Uerely verely I saye vnto you that whosoeuer committeth sinne is the seruaunt of sinne And the seruaunt â—â—â—deth not in the house for euer but the sonne abideth euer If the sonne therfore shall make you free then are ye free in dede I know that ye are Abrahams sede but ye seke meanes to â—â—l me because my worde hath no place in you I speake that whiche I haue seen with my father and ye do that whiche ye haue seen with your father When as at that season none did fully vnderstaÌ„de these sayinges yet there was many among the people whiche thought them not vngodly And diuerse conceyuyng good hope of the thynges whiche Iesus promysed them beleued hym but yet not perfitly for they were still ignoraunte but as they wer then able to vnderstande the doctrine of the gospell There was in dede a certayne way prepared to fayth already although they wer not yet so far forwarde as they should be brought afterwarde The Lorde Iesus therfore doeth exhorte them to perseuer in the thynge wherin they were metely wel entred vntill they might atteyne the perfyte knowledge of him For faith of good men doeth eueÌ„ beleue those thynges whiche it vnderstaÌ„deth not The malice of the Phariseis waxed alwaye wurse and wurse He sayeth vnto them take you no exaumple at these which do wilfully perishe it is a good beginnyng for you some deale to beleue my sayinges from which if other mens infidelitie do not withdrawe you and if ye will firmely abide in that yeare entred vnto I which do professe heauenly trueth and no Pharisaicall doctrine will take you for my very owne proper disciples And you whiche hitherto haue embraced the shadowes of Moses lawe for truthes shall in processe of tyme knowe all trueth And the knowen trueth shall make you free But the Iewes not perceiuing that Christe mente of that libertie whiche the gospell teacheth whiche libertie doth not chaunge any worldly aduauncement as to deliuer the bodye from the intereste that the maister hath ouer it but setteth the mynde at libertie from sinne from leude and worldlye desyres from the tirannye of the deuil from feare of death from bondage of Pharisaicall ordinaunces from the yoke of carnall obseruyng of the lawe The Iewes I saye not vnderstandynge this makethe aunswere disdaynefully for they wer proude of the nobilitie of theyr carnal aunceters We say they by successioÌ„ come of Abraham the Patriarche and are naturally free men borne and not onely free but noble gentlemen also neither did we euer serue any man as boÌ„de men What libertie therfore doest thou promise vs as though we were bonde seruauntes nedefull of manumission This aunswere declared the Iewes to be grosse whiche put their affiaunce and glory in carnall thynges neglectynge spirituall thinges whiche commende vs to God They tooke purenes to consiste in wasshyng of the bodye of cuppes and of vessels though they had theyr soule polluted with sinfull vices They despised other in comparison of themselues because they were bodely circumcised wheÌ„ as they had an vncircumcised mynde They thought themselues holy because they caried about with them the lawe written in brode scrolles rounde aboute theyr heade when as they be holye to God whiche haue the lawe wrytten in theyr myndes and expresse the same not in scrolles but in theyr dedes So nowe they wer proude in herte because after the fleshe they came of Abraham as though it were a great matter to be borne of holyones when before God they be noble and famouse whiche of whosoeuer they be borne do expresse the condicions of holy men in their maners Therefore when Iesus had reproued them for two causes both because thei were ignoraunt in the trueth and also because they serued as bondemenne they dissembled the fyrste and stomaked the lesse weyghty matter for ignoraunce of the trueth is a fault of the mynde to be a seruaunte is no euyll thynge of the mynde but a lacke of worldlye fortune Nowe therefore oure Lorde Iesus teacheth plainlye what seruitude he ment You sayeth he disdayne that I promâ—â—e liberty because in your owne coÌ„ceyte ye be free that is to saye the naturall â—â—ee children of Abraham but there is an other kynde of seruitude muche more vyle and myserable from which no noblenes of aunceters be it neuer so greate can clayâ—ie fredome and make a man free Ye haue not a man to your lorde from whose bondage ye are to bee made fâ—e but hereof I do wellassure you whosoeuer sinneth maketh himself seruaunt to synne and looseth his fredome he is verily a naturall borne fremaÌ„ that is subiect to no dishonestie nor giltie of sinnefull vilanye This is the fredome whereof ye maye worthely reioyce before God But whosoeuer is addicte to sinne hath the deuill his lorde and is moued and drawen at his pleaâ—re and arbitremente although he maye dayme kâ—nne and can bryng his peâ—igrue to moste holy aunceters For an other mans holynes taketh not awaye the bondage of them that succede in bloude but euery man is taken and estemed after his owne dedes a seruaunt can not make his felowe seruaunt that is also sinfull as he is partaker of his fredome but he only maketh men free and sâ—tteth at libertie whiche onely is voyde of all sinne For albeit a seruaunte do for a tyme certain thinges in the house yet because he is a seruaunt and no heyre he hath no perpetuitie or enterest there for euer but is put out of the house when it pleaseth the maister but because the sonne is heyre and Lorde of the house he hath continuall right in the house nor he hymselfe onely is free in dede without all seruitude but he may also make other folke free If ye therfore desire this freedome there is no cause why ye should loke to haue it of Moses or from the Patriarkes or your priestes whose ministracion was for a while neyther was any of these vttrely voide of all sinne nor had autoritie to abolishe or put awaye sinnes ne yet did any of them knowe the trueth exactely and at full But if one cleaue fast to the sonne to whom is geuen the whole perpetual power of the house thesame of whatsoeuer stocke he be borne maye well hope to haue true fredome Therfore Abraham dyd not begette vs free Moses did it not the Priestes did not with their sacrifice make vs free If the sonne shall make you free from errour and sinne ye shall be truely and fully free You
stande muche in your owne conceyte because ye be the sonnes of Abraham I know that ye be borne of Abraham as touching the flesh but this honour is but smal vsual and coÌ„mon to al Iewes If ye wil algates be thought to be Abrahams posteritie and children of a moste holy father nothing degenerate in your dedes declare you to be his sonnes For it is the propertie of a very true naturall childe to resemble and expresse the fashion maners of his parentes Abraham did so muche beleue God that where as there was promised him of God a populouse succession and great in nuÌ„ber to come of his sonne Isaac he doubted not at one commaundement of God to â—lea his sonne Isaac But ye see now how farre ye be of from the maners of your father whiche do your endeuour to kill euen me for no cause els but that you being blinded with desyres of the flesh and the worlde do not vnderstande my communicacion and wordes whiche be spirituall Abraham not doubtyng of the promyses did in a thing against nature beleue the aungel by whome god spake vnto him To me whom ye se and by whom god speaketh to you promising greater thynges then in times paste he did to Abraham ye do not onelye not geue credence but also maliciously seke and deuise my death Do not therefore arrogantly chalenge Abraham to be your father Euery our is before God the sonne of hym whose acres and condicions he folowethe For as the children seeth theyr parentes do at home so will they do and growe to be of lyke affeccion maners I proue both by wordes and dedes that I am his sonne from whom I was sente for I speake that which I haue sene and heard of my father You lykewyse do the thynges whiche you haue seen your father do ¶ They aunswered and sayde vnto hym Abraham is our father Iesus sayeth vnto theÌ„ If ye were Abrahams children ye would do the dedes of Abraham but now ye go about to kill me a man that hath tolde you the trueth â–ª which I haue hearde of God this did not Abraham Ye do the dedes of your father Then sayed they vnto hym we were not borne of fornicacion we haue one father euen god Iesus saied vnto them If God wer your father trulye ye woulde loue me for I proceded forth and came from God neyther came I of my selfe but he sent me Why doe ye not knowe my speache Euen because ye cannot abide the hearyng of my woorde Ye are of your father the dâ—uill and the lustes of your father wyl ye serue He was a murtherer from the begynning and abode not in the trueth because here is no trueth in him when he speaketh a lye he speaketh of his owne for he is a lyar and the father of the same thing And because I tell you the trueth therefore ye beleue me not Forsomuche as the Iewes toke this saying of our Lorde Iesus in euill parte they frame their aunswere in suche sorte that they go aboute therein to picke out of Iesus wordes some thing spoken to AbrahaÌ„s rebuke which thing if it had been so in dede they woulde haue prouoked the people to haue stoned Christe for where as he had openly testified that their dedes were euill and added further that they did those thinges whiche they had sene theyr father do neyther did they knowledge any other father then Abraham they toke it as if by this saying of Iesus Abraham the Patriarche had been reproued who had hymselfe been suche one as were the children that came of him But Iesus spake nothing sore at all against Abraham but reasoned coÌ„trary to their saying prouing that therfore they were not the children of Abraham because they were moste farre from his wayes moste vnlike him If ye will sayeth he be taken for the true children of Abraham do as your father did beleue Goddes worde For he of trueth through notable affiaunce in God deserued the commeÌ„dacioÌ„ of righteousnes and was called righteouse Now although ye haue neuer doen boastyng Abraham to be your father neuertheles your studie and drifte is to kill me a maÌ„ that albeit I were none other but very man yet were I innocent and one that harme no man and you therefore woulde â—lea me because I tell you the trueth whiche I do not fayne of myne owne heade but that trueth whiche I haue hearde of God insomuche that whosoeuer distrusteth me thesame must nedes distruste God But Abraham will not acknowledge you for his sonnes whiche goe about a wicked matter and muche disagreable to his maners And if it be so that euery one is that mans sonne whose dedes he foloweth and that your dedes withall are farre vnlike to Abrahams you muste nedes haue some other father whosoeuer he be whose naturall disposicion you do resemble and shewe your selfe lyke in condicions The Iewes beeyng of trueth more prouoked by these sayinges nowe as it were geassing to what ende the processe of Iesus wordes tended and whom he noted to be their father aunswere whom els apointest thou for our father that takest awaye our father Abraham We be not base gotten we maye reioyce in that which is common to all the Iewes who are not onely the succession of Abraham but also the sonnes of God whiche calleth Israell his first begotten childe And we are Israelites And if thou take away our father Abraham from vs if thou geue vs another father then God the common father of all our nacion thou art not only iniuriouse and dispiteful to vs but to the whole nacion of the Iewes Wheras this was a wicked and shameles aunswere for what coulde be more shameful theÌ„ to boaste themselfes to be the children of God who knewe themselues giltye in such great faultes who also laied in wayt to bring the sonne of God to death Iesus replied sharpely to this answer and saied If God were your father that is to witte if ye were very true and naturall Israelites ye woulde I am sure loue me as a brother begotten of the common father of all and as one that doeth expressely folowe his fathers behaueour and maners euen as it becummeth a true naturall childe For I neyther shewe foorth any other thyng then God the father nor I do none other mens busynes then my fathers from whom I proceaded and came into this world For I neither speake nor do any thing of my selfe I do not apoint my selfe to this embassage but he sente me whom ye clayme to be comon father to you all And yf ye saye trueth why do ye not acknowledge his speache that is the same fathers sonne and his very true sonne who was also with his father before he came into the world neither speaketh he any thyng but at his fathers appoyntment Why can ye so very euill beare my wordes wheÌ„ as by me god speaketh vnto you If ye beleue God to be true beneficiall an health geuer frendely
to theÌ„ that be godly and enemy to the wicked when as ye see nothing in my sayinges or doinges vnlyke vnto these thinges why do you not acknowledge the manners and verye nature of youre father But if ye couet to heare your fathers name whome in witte and dedes ye do reseÌ„ble ye be neyther beegotten of Abraham nor of God but euen of the deuill ye be his very naturall children whose witte and disposicion ye breathe out and shewe likelyhoode of and whose will ye obey For ye haue bothe hated the trueth and go aboute to kyll an innocent This is an exaumple of the deuill your father For because he hath been the chiefe auctor of bothe lyes and murder who by his lying entised vnto deathe the firste parentes of mankinde being with none other thing prouoked then throughe enuie of other folkes felicitie And thesame sinfull disease doth pricke you forwarde to slea one that is innocent and a beneficiall person The deuill enuyed man that was of a blessed creacion ye enuie man to be restored vnto the felicitie from whence he fell He fell from the truethe by hys pryde And his fall was suche that there is no hope of his amendemente but persistyng in euill he heapeth sinne vpon sinne striuing againste Gods veritie by you at this presente and doyng thesame thyng that in the beginnyng of the worlde he firste practised when he drewe the first auctors of mankynde vnto death Whoso therfore hateth trueth and loueth lyes he declareth sufficiently who is his father Whosoeuer pronounceth a lye he speaketh of hym that is the fouÌ„taine of all lyes Whatsoeuer that auctor speaketh is a lye and he speaketh of hymself for he is not onely a lyar but the father and prince of lyes As of the contrary syde God is the fountayne of all truethe and whosoeuer speaketh the trueth to Gods glory he speaketh not of hymselfe but of God But if you be begotten rather of God the auctour of trueth then of the deuill the father of lyes wherfore then consideryng that I dooe speake vnto you heauenly trueth doe not you beeyng the chyldren of Abraham beleue God why do not ye the children of God acknowledge and loue Goddes trueth ¶ Whiche of you rebuketh me of sinne If I saye the trueth why do not ye beleue me he that is of God heareth goddes woordes Ye therfore heare them not because ye are not of God Then aunswered the Iewes and sayed vnto hym Saye we not well that thou art a Samaritane and hast the deuill Iesus aunswered I haue not the deuyll but I honoure my father and ye haue dishonored me I seke not mine owne prayse there is one that seketh and iudgeth If ye fynde any lye in my wordes or any faulte in my procedyng geue not credite to my wordes But which of ye all can burden me with any one faulte What maner of men ye be ye your selfes are priuie but if whatsoeuer be right and true thesame is of God and neither can ye proue in me any thyng that varieth from right and trueth why then in not beleuyng me do ye distruste god specially consideryng that ye boaste your selues to be the children of God But and if ye did extolle and aduaunce your selues truely ye would acknowledge the woorde of God but in case ye do it vntruelye ye declare your selues to haue a lying father Whosoeuer is begotten of god thesame doeth lyke a true naturall chylde geue eare to his fathers woordes And that thing well proueth you not to be begotten of God the father because ye cannot abyde to heare the truethe that cummethe from him The Iewes beeyng made through these woordes more wood fall to geuyng cursed woordes in theyr aunswere wherunto the malice of men beyng with reason concluded is woont to haue refuge and saieth Do not we saye right of thee that where thou wilte be taken for a Iewe and boastest god to be thy father thou art a Samaritane and haste the deuill whiche selfe thyng thou doest now declare in dede and approuest our iudgemente of thee But what aunswer made moste gentle Iesus vnto this peuishe mad reproche As touching the reproche in namyng hym a Samaritane althoughe it were commonly taken for a greate rebuke and slaunder yet because it was naught els but a fumishe checke spoken in a furye he made no aunswere at all therunto as though they had but called hym a mushrome or an oynion but yet to the bearing hym on hande that he had the deuill he aunswereth but in suche sorte that he gaue them no euill language againe whiche he mighte worthely haue doen and countermauÌ„ded backe againe theyr lewde saying to themselfes but auoydethe it courteouslye from hymselfe teachynge vs by the waye that as ofte as we haue to do concernyng goddes glory as ofte as the truethe of the ghospell is to be defended agaynst the wicked we should be earnest quicke and sharpe And as often as we oure selfes be rebuked that we should shew our selfes â—entle and meke In suche wise that we do not make auÌ„swere to all thynges but repell and auoyde those thinges onely from vs which we cannot concele without hinderaunce of the gospell To haue the people vnderstande that Christ did euery thyng in all his procedynges not by the deiuils auctoritie but God the father beyng aucthour made muche to the furtheraunce of the ghospell I haue sayeth Christ no familiaritie with any deiuill nor I doe not therfore boaste my selfe of God beeyng my father to thintent that I woulde with a lye obtayne myne owne prayse but that through me my father myght be glorifyed emongst men And albeit ye doe glorie that ye haue thesame god to your father yet doe ye me despite who seke nothyng els but his glory of whom ye woulde be thought true wurshippers I do not curiously seke myne owne prayse at mennes handes neyther doth your contumeliouse wordes hurt me but rather worketh your destruccion For there is one who as he is couetous to be glorified amonges men by me so he wisheth that I agayne should haue glorye by hym not that eyther he or I haue nede of this glorye but that so to haue it is expediente for you for the exchaunge of death and that ye maye attayn saluacion Of trueth lyke as I doe not muche couet myne owne glory howbeit in dede my glory is the glory of my father so am I no reuenger of myne owne rebuke or iniury But yet for all that thinke not that ye shall be without punishmente for that ye haue slaundered me For there is he that both seketh my prayse and glory and will reuenge my iniury and contempte except ye amende Uerely verely I say vnto you if a man â—epe my saying he shall neuer see death Then saied the Iewes vnto him Nowe knowe we that thou hast the deiuil Abraham is dead and the Prophetes and thou sayst If a man kepe my saying he shall neuer â—aste of death Arte thou greater than our
playne blasphemous because he beyng a mortall man semed to take vpon hym the eternalitie a thyng for God only cōuenient they coulde not withholde theyr handes but toke vp stones and wente in hande to ouerthrowe and presse hym with stones But Iesus professyng hymselfe to be God to declare hymselfe to be a very man also gaue place to their fury not because he feared theyr forcible violence whiche he had power to kepe of but to teache vs by the waye that when time requireth that the trueth of the ghospell should be preached valiantly and boldely and again that when we had once executed our duetie the fury of euill men should not causelesse and in vayne be prouoked and exasperate for our Lorde Iesus knewe that it coulde not haue been beate into the heades I will not say of the grosse and ignoraunte multitude but not of his disciples and they to be brought to belefe therof in case he had openly preached himselfe to be both God man and thesame to be all at once both mortall as touching his manhed and also immortall as touching his deitie and as perteyning to the fleshe to be a man borne of a virgin in time as touchyng diuine power to haue been alwaye before all time God of God Surely this so secrete a misterie was rather to be at time conueniente perswaded to the worlde by miracles death resurreccion ascendyng to heauen and by the inspiracion of the holy ghoste then before due tyme to be brought in and vttered in open playne woordes to them that would not belue it Therfore Iesus withdrewe hymselfe from them geuyng place to theyr fury and wente secretly forth of the temple by that acte declaryng beforehande that afterwarde the light of the ghospell beyng repelled of the wicked and voluntary blynde Iewes should be put ouer to the Gentiles their house left to them desolate which only thought themselfes the true seruauntes of God and obseruers of true religiō And so Iesus which is the author of true godlines wente to an other place The .ix. Chapter And as Iesus passed by he sawe a manne whiche was blynde from his byrth and his disciples asked him saying Master who did sinne this manne or his father or mother that he was borne blynde Iesus sayed neyther hath this manne sinned nor yet his father and mother but that the workes of God should be shewed THerfore our Lorde Iesus did now for a while geue place to the fury of them whom as yet he sawe incurable and falleth in hande with miracles to declare his Godly power whiche he coulde not all this while dryue into theyr headdes by any perswasion of woordes And loe there fel forthwith a matter in his waye not vnlike those thynges which were doen in the temple For of trueth much a doe was there with the blynde But suche as were blynde in soule not in body whiche is the moste vnhappy kynde of blyndnesse And so muche also the wurse as that although they were more then blynde yet they thought themselues quicke sighted so that they were not only miserable but also vnworthy to be cured For somuch as miser was not that blynde man whom Iesus sawe as he passed by whiche man lacked onely bodily sight and was borne blinde so that it was a maladie aboue the Phisicions cure but yet coulde Christe heale it This man had an inwarde sight sawe with iyes of the soule when Iesus therfore sawe the man and had compassion on him much pitying his misery the disciples which called to their remembraunce that Christe had sayd to the man that was healed of his palsey Go and hereafter sinne no more leste some wurse thing come vpon the supposing that euery blemishe of the body had come of some faulte of the soule axed Christe of the blinde man and sayed through whose sinne chaunced it that this man should be borne blinde for where as none coulde sinne or he were borne whosoeuer is borne with any sickenes or impediment of body is to be thought punished for some other mans faulte which thyng should yet seme against equitie the disciples therfore sayed Maister whēce came so great euill to this felowe that he should be borne blinde Whether came it of his owne or of the sinne of his parentes Iesus aunswered Neyther did this man through his owne sinne deserue to be borne blinde who coulde not sinne when as yet he was not nor his parentes For as the lawe teacheth God punysheth not the chyldren for the faultes of theyr parentes excepte the children folowe the sinnes of theyr parentes But blyndnesse chaunced to this man vpon a casualtie and not through any mans sinne as in the course of mans life many thinges chaūce to many folke This mans misery lacke of sight was not prohibit but suffered to chaunce vnto hym because that by hym the mightie power and goodnesse of God whom the blinde Iewes so obstinately cryeth out vpon should be declared to mē The more vncurable the disease is the more famous and commendable shall be the healing of thesame I must worke the worke of hym that sent me whyle it is daye The night cummeth when no manne can worke As long as I am in the worlde I am the light of the worlde Assoone as he had thus spoken he spatte on the grounde and made clay of the spettell and rubbed the clay on the iyes of the blynde layed vnto hym Goe washe the in the poole of Siloe which by interpretacion is asmuche to saye as sent He wente his waye therfore and washed and came agayne seeyng For this cause was I sent into the worlde euē to procure the glory of God with suche dedes as should cause the vnfaythfull to beleue my woordes to be true and to thintent also that those whiche will beleue should be cured of their blindnes I must doe this commaundement diligently while it is daye for yf menne haue any worke in hande they be wonte to doe it in the day The night perdy is vnhansome to worke in Therfore in the meane tyme whyle prensent day geueth vs leaue to worke we may not cease For the night shall come when as men all in vaine would worke and cannot As long as I am in the worlde I am the light of the worlde If men make spede to finishe the worke which they goe about for some commoditie of this life before night how muche more behoueth it euery man to labour that while they haue me with them they may go thorowe with the busines of the eternall saluacion In fauour wherof whatsoeuer in the meane season I doe in this worlde I doe it for that thing sake and to further saluacion For what other thing doe I then that all folke should through iyes of faith see and acknowlege God and his sonne whom he sent into the worlde I shall within a while departe hence than shall those that haue nowe had no will to worke desyre lyght in vaine The Lord
presente my selfe vnto you aliue for this kynde of deathe shall not alienate vs in sundre nor kepe me out of youre syghte for I shall liue agayne yea after that I bee deade and I shall not onelye liue but there withall bryng to you lyfe euerlastyng and notwithstandyng the tyme of myne absence I beeyng alyue shall fynde you aliue and I will so spende my life for you that you shall be in health and safegarde Then shall you vnderstande more fully that as nothyng can pull my father from me nor me from my father so am I bothe to you and you agayne to me ioyned by mutuall charitie together that death can not disioyne vs let your onely care be that by youre owne faulte ye bee not vncoupled and let lewse The obseruyng of my commaundementes shal try true charytie nor he loueth not in herte that neglecteth the preceptes of his Lorde It is not sufficiente to haue accepted my commaundementes vnlesse a manne retayne them in mynde Nor it is not inoughe to remembre theym excepte they bee kept he that doth accomplishe and kepe these is he that truelye loueth me For to bee tormented in mynde for my departure is no proufe of veraye trewe loue I that truely do loue my father do kepe all his commaundementes and will kepe theym vnto death of the crosse And there is no cause why my commaundementes of sufferyng iniurye pacientelye of beatyng the crosse quietely shoulde muche putte you in feare as seuere and grieuous commaundementes and why for charitie shall sweten and make them all easie and there shall not lacke coumforte at my hande for surely whoso loueth me he shal be bothe loued of my father and I also wyll loue hym and neuer leaue him succourlesse but will see hym againe and will openlye shewe my selfe vnto hym to bee looked vpon to make it more certain that I doe not vtterly perishe by suffryng deathe of the crosse Nowe I geue my selfe to bee seen of all folke but than no manne shall see me excepte he abyde constantly in frendeshyppe Of trueth our Lorde Iesus spake these thynges sumwhat darkelye not onely signifiyng that he beeyng reuiued agayne would often after his death come among his frendes to bee seen but that he would also by the holy ghoste his spirite secretely place and wynde himselfe into theyr myndes and that finally he woulde come in the glorye of his father in the open sight of all folke ¶ Iudas saieth vnto him not Iudas Iscarioth lorde what is done that thou will shewe thy selfe vnto vs and not vnto the worlde Iesus aunswered and said if a manne loue me he will kepe my saiynges and my father will loue him and we will come vnto hym and dwell with him He that loueth me not kepeth not my sayinges And the worde which ye heare is not mine but the fathers whiche sent me These thinges haue I spoken vnto you beyng yet present with you but the comforter whithe is the holy ghost whome my father will send in my name he shall teache you al thinges and bring all thinges to your remembraunce whatsoeuer I haue sayed vnto you Peace I leaue with you my peace I giue vnto you Not as the worlde geueth geue I vnto you Let not your hettes be greued neyther feare ye haue hearde how I sayd vnto you I goe and I come againe vnto you If ye â—haâ—â— me ye woulde verely reioyce because I sayd I goe vnto the father For the father is greater than I. Now than where as Iudas not he verely that is called Iscarioth which was absente at this sermon but the other Iudas whose surname was Lebbeus did not fully vnderstande our lordes saiyng but beyng throughe sorowe and feare very sore troubled dyd suppose that our Lorde shoulde in suche wyse appeare to his frendes as terrible spirites phantastical sightes shewe themselfes many tymes in the darkenesse of the nyght or as certain visions appeare in dreames rather to the feare of men then to mennes coumforte This Iudas therfore saith Lorde what hath chaunced that when now thou maieste be seen of all folke thou shalte not than appeare to the worlde but onely to vs And howe canste thou be one that may be seen of vs yf thou be such one as other cannot see But Iesus because he knewe that his disciples were not yet able to vnderstande the misterie howe that the same bodye whiche hadde been deade and buiried but nowe made spirituall and hable to dooe as it lyste shoulde ryse agayne Iesus I saye knowyng this dyd not playnely answere to the thyng that was asked but turned his saiyng to that thyng whiche was more necessarye to bee imprinted in theyr heartes whereby they shoulde nowe bee prepared spirituallye to haue his presence for as muche as that presence whiche shoulde bee exibited vnto theim after his resurreccion coulde not long endure with theim Therefore Iesus sayed I will not presente my selfe to the worlde because it loueth me not neyther dothe it kepe my commaundementes If one loue me truely he wyll not testifie his loue with sorowe but by kepyng my commaundementes and hym wyll I loue semblablye and whome I shall loue hym wyll my father loue and we shall neuer bee pulled awaye from hym nor I wyll not onelye see hym agayne that hath my commaundementes in remembraunce but there withall my father and I wyll by the spirite whiche is common to vs both come vnto hym and we will not only come forthwith to departe againe but we will dwell with him and neuer go away from him That which is doen after the spirite is both perpetuall and effectuall bodilye ioynyng together muste nedes haue an ende euen for because ye shoulde sette at naught transitorye thynges and inure your selfes to loue eternall thinges and where ye as yet cannot come to vs we will come to you inuisible but effectually to dwell in the temple of your hertes We be three in deede but so ioyned and conuerte together that he whiche loueth one muste loue all and he that hath one of vs lacketh none of vs. Only on your behalfe let charitie be presente and that couenaunte kepte whiche I made with you of late That shal so couple you and vs together that neyther life nor deathe can vncouple vs. If membres maie bee disseuered from the heade we maie be disseuered There bee many whiche boaste themselfes to loue God the father and seme to obserue the commaundementes of the lawe but none dooeth truelye loue God yf he hatâ— and contemne his soonne and he verelye contemneth the soonne whosoeuer kepeth not my commaundemente whosoeuer neglecteth my preceptes he neglecteth withall the preceptes of God for in good sooth the thyng that I haue taught you is not so my peculiar doctrine that the same is not my fathers but is rather my fathers than myne from whome cummeth whatsoeuer I can or doe teache doyng nothyng but by his autoritie from whome I was sente into the worlde to teache these matters whiche
a manne faultye and therfore he questioned with Iesus of his disciples what maner of men they were whence he had them and to what purpose he had gathered suche a cumpanye together yea and also what he secretly taught them Howbeit Iesus knowyng that he dyd not demaunde these questions of a ryght iudgelyke mynde to knowe the trueth but deceytfully to hunte out some thyng in hym woorthy blame and to gette occasion withall howe to harme his disciples whom he would yet should be in safegarde Iesus I say knowyng this made no answere to the Byshoppes wylie and traiterouse interrogacions but banyssheth the testimony of hymselfe and his and sendeth them to the common reporte and also to the recorde of his enemies a profe of moste certaintie for the innocent and sayth vnto the Byshop Why askest thou me what I haue taught my disciples secretly or in hugger mugger My doctryne hathe not been sediciouse nor secrete I haue spoken openly to the brode worlde That whiche I haue taught I haue alwaye taught it in your Synagogues I haue taught in the temple vpon the holy dayes in place and tyme moste notable and famouse whither Iewes on euery syde out of all partes of Syria resorte And I haue spoken nothyng in priuitie or corners whiche same thing I durst not teache openly Full ofteÌ„ hath the people and Phariseis too heard me Why then doest thou nowe aske me of suche maner of doctrine as should be taught by stelth and very priuely But rather aske them that haue heard me teache openly Theyr recorde shall be of more certaintye which hath with me no familiar acquaintaunce yea of whom some do hate me Let euen them that be mine enemies reporte what I haue taught for many knowe it and it shal be easie to fynde witnesses of my doctrine Whan Iesus had spokeÌ„ these thynges teachyng thereby that the trueth is to be answered for boldely in dede but without tauntes or rebukes one of the bishoppes ministers that by chaunce stoode nexte him a man not vnlyke his lord and maister willing to defende his bishops dignitie agaynst the franke and liberal speache of Iesus after suche lyke sorte as Peter would haue defended his maisters lyfe against the force of the souldiers not tarrying for any commaundement of his lorde gaue Iesus a blow vpon the cheke and suche a checkeful rebuke as was fit for suche a byshop and suche a felow his seruaunt saying Aunswerest thou the byshop so Our Lorde Iesus might bothe haue destroyed this wicked byshop and also haue letted this blowgeuer but that he would shewe by exaumple to his howe ferre out of course and how peruerse the iudgementes of the world be For our Lorde Iesus whiche behaued himselfe moost mekely agaynst all iniuries beyng no where so sharpe as against them that vnder the pretence of religion barke and worke againste true religion tooke not the blowe without replying in woordes whiche yet endured the crosse and made no wordes therat The bishoppes sate in auctoritie Iesus beyng bounde was examined here loe was a face of iudgement And of trueth before a temporall iudge beyng but an Heathen he that is accused shall be heard to saye for hymselfe Here now before a bishop a blow was geuen for makyng one aunswere and the blowe too was geuen hym that afterwarde should be iudge of the quicke and the dead And so in dede Iesus aunswered in dede frankely but yet mildly and coldely saying I speake before a iudge and I aunswere hym beyng required In this case before Gentiles also is the matter haÌ„dled with good reasons and not with strokes If I haue sayed any thyng amisse tell me howe but if I haue spoken nothing euill why doest thou beyng a iudges officer here in tyme of iudgemeÌ„t the iudge holdyng his peace beate me without consultyng the thyng that I saye And Annas sent hym bound vnto Caiphas the hie priest Symon Peter stoode and warmed hymselfe then sayed they vnto hym Art not thou also one of his disciples He denyed it and sayed I am not One of the seruauntes of the hye priestes his cosin whose â—are Peter smote of sayed vnto hym Did not I see them the garden with hym Peter therfore denied it againe and immediately the cocke crewe Then they led Iesus from Caiphas into the hall of iudgemente It was in the mornyng and they themselues wente not into the iudgement hal leste they shoulde be defiled but that they mighte eate the Passeouer Uerily Annas although vpon malice he reioysed that Iesus was vnder warde and had in hold neuertheles because he could trye out nothyng of him whereby he might by any colour be proued giltye he sendeth hym euen bound as he was to bishop Caiphas his sonne in lawe But in the meane time whilest these thynges were in handlyng Peter vewyng all thynges a farre of whiche as I begun to tell stoode in the throng of the ministers warmyng hym at the fyre syde and among these some there were which by certayn tokens somewhat knew Peter and sayed vnto hym Arte not thou one of this mannes disciples whome the byshop thus handleth Peter seeyng so cruell a syght whiche made hym also sore afrayed once agayne denyed that he was Iesus disciple For he nowe perceyued by the byshops interogatyues howe that they were in deuyse to attache Iesus disciples also Peter thought by this deniall to bee safe from daunger lyke as he had shifted hymselfe from her that kepte the doore but to make him know the better how he could nothing do of his owne propre streÌ„gth beyng disseuered from the felowshyp of his Lorde there stoode among other in that throng of the ministers a certayn kinsman of him that had a litle before in the garden first auentured to laye handes vpon Iesus and had his eare striken of by Peter This felow was by the iudgement of god brought in as an instrument vnder pretence to auenge his cosen Malchus harme but in very dede it was to correcte the rashe confidence that Peter had in hymselfe For the sayed felow beyng not content with Peters only one denial for his fighting though it were doen in the darke made him to be wel knoweÌ„ sayeth vnto Peter What sayeth he doest thou denye thy selfe to be one of his disciples Did not I euen right nowe see the with mine iyes in the garden with Iesus Peter beyng with this saying vtterly blancke and sore astonished wished himselfe accursed yf euer he knewe Iesus And anon the cocke crewe Neyther did Peter by this token whiche oure Lorde had tolde hym of before come to hymselfe agayne neyther woulde haue been well aduised except our Lorde had recouered hym and brought him to himselfe agayne by his effectuall lokyng vpon Peter and had also by inwarde inspiracion prouoked teares of penaunce in hym So many wayes was he that should be a speciall minister vnder Christ of the holy churche to be taught how in al thinges to mistrust his owne strength and to
read I saye this superscripcion and sum knewe well the name of Iesus of Nazareth And howe litle he desyred any worldly kyngdome many had truâ— knowledge whiche had seen hym hyde hymselfe when he shoulde haue been drawen by force to a kyngdome That very kyng whiche was promysed by the prophetes and whome the Iewes call Messias was of very truthe loked for among all the Iewes And althoughe Pilate was ouersene herein yet vnawares he gaue hym that tytle which dyd moste demonstrate notise to all folke who he was that hong vpon the crosse For of very trueth that selfe kynge of kynges honge there crucifyed whiche by his deathe dyd vanquishe the tirannye of the deuyll Thou oughtest to call it rather the token and banner of victorie than a crosse Thoughe all thynge semed full of shame and rebuke to the byshops scribes and to the Phariseis yet this intitleing and superscripcion did greue theyr myndes because it was more honorablye set out than they woulde haue had it So great was the desyre of the wycked to abolysh a name to the which onely all glory of the whole world ought to be geuen And therefore they treate and common with the president of chaungeing the title and that it should not be written the king of the Iewes but that he dyd vsurpe and vniustly take vpon hym that name But the presydent notwithstandyng that euen then vnawares he dyd pronosticate what should folow that is to were that the profession of that healthfull name whiche the Iewes falsely denyed should departe thence to the redy beleuyng Gentiles that is to saye to the true Iewes in dede yet I saye this notwithstanding and that also heretofore he did condescende and folowe theyr malyce the presydente woulde not alter and chaunge the title but sayeth that I haue wrytten I haue wrytten For because it was in verie deed to the commoditie and profit of all folke that Christe shoulde be put to death and agayne also it was for all mennes weale that his name should be of most fame and renoume thorowe the whole worlde by the profession whereof saluacion shoulde bee brought to all folke Than the souldiers when they had crucified Iesus they toke hys garmentes and made â—ower partes to euery souldier a parte and also his coate The coate was without seame wrought vpon throughout They sayed therfore among themselues let vs not diuide it but cast lottes for it who shall haue it That the scrypture myght be fulfylled saying They parted my rayment among them and for my coate dyd they calle lottes And the souldiers dyd suche thynges in dede There stoode by the crosse of Iesus his mother and his mothers sister Mary the wife of Cleophas and Mary Magdalene when Iesus therfore sawe his mother and the disciple standyng whome he loued he sayeth vnto his mother Woman beholde thy sonne Than sayed he to the disciple Beholde thy mother and from that houre the disciple toke her for his owne Nowe therefore when the Lorde Iesus was nayled as the maner was all naked vnto the crosse and the foresayed superscripcion aboue his heade the souldiers that crucified hym accordyng to the vsage parted among them Iesus garmentes For this thyng came to them as amendes and reward for theyr paynes taking And forasmuche as they were fower in noumbre they so deuided the resydue of his garmentes saue his coate by cause they were made of soundrye pieces and sowed together that euery manne had hys parte porcionately But than his coate or iacket a garmeÌ„t verely whiche was more inner and nere his bodye no sewed garment but so wouen from thouer hem to the lower that beyng leusyd or rypte it woulde haue been good for nothinge and nought wourth Therefore the souldiers thought good that it shoulde bee kept whole vncut and that sum one of them shoulde haue the whole iacket to whose lotte it should chaunce But not withstandynge that the souldiers dyd these thinges of a prophane mynde and of a worldlye purpose yet vnawares they fulfylled in their so doyng the prophecies of the Prophetes that hereby also he might haue bene knowen to bee he of whome the holy ghoste had spoken in the Psalmes thus they haue deuyded myne apparel amonge theÌ„ and caste lottes vpon my garmentes And these thinges perdye the souldiers did whiles yet the Lord honge vpon the crosse alyue But there stoode by the crosse of Iesus Mary his mother associate with her syster Marye the daughter of Cleophas and Marie Magdalene Therefore Iesus lokynge from the crosse vpon his mother and castynge his iye withall vpon the disciple whom he loued more familiarly than the reste to thentente that as his clothes beyng distributed he lefte no worldly substaunce behynde him so he woulde leaue vpoÌ„ earthe no worldly or mannes affeccion Iesus I saye turned towardes his mother and sayed Woman beholde that thy sonne poyntynge with a nod of his head and with a wincke of his iye to the disciple And turning furthwith to the disciple sayeth Beholde thy mother And verily from that tyme the sayd disciple bore a very soÌ„nes mynde and affectioÌ„ toward the mother of Iesus and toke the whole charge and care of her After these thinges Iesus knowyng that all thinges were now perfourmed that the scripture myght be fulfilled he sayeth I thirst So there stoode a vessell by ful of vinegre therfore they filled a sponge with vinegre and wounde it about with Isope putte it to his mouthe Assone as Iesus receyued of the vynegre he sayd it is finished bowed his heade and gaue vp the ghoste When these thinges were doen and Iesus knew that nothing wanted perteyning to a lawfull sacrifice yet to bryng therunto and to accomplyshe the Prophetes saying where he sayeth They gaue me gall to eate and when I was thirstye they gaue me vinegre to drinke he cried from the crosse I am athirst For a trueth suche as dye in this kynde of death are wonte to be sore greued with vehement thirst by reason that through the woundes of the body the bloude is exhaust and cleane draweÌ„ out And euen this now too did much proue and declare him to be a very man to be oute of doubte punyshed to his great payne Now thaÌ„ a vessel full of vinegre stoode there at haÌ„d which was wont to be reached vp geuen to theÌ„ that were athirste to make them the sooner dye The souldiers therfore fylled a sponge with vinegre wouÌ„de it about with ysope and helde it to his mouthe But as sone as Iesus had tasted the vinegre he saied It is finished signifying that the sacrifice was rightely doen and accomplyshed accordynge to his fathers wyll and byanby he bowed his héade and gaue vp the ghoste The Iewes therfore bicause it was the preparing of the Sabbothe that the bodies should not remayne on the crosse on the Sabboth day for the Sabboth day was an hye day besought By late that their legges might be brokeÌ„ and that they might
were borne All sortes therfore of people did greatly wondre therat reasoned how suche a thing might cum to passe that neuer the lyke had been hearde nor reade of Thus thei said beholde a straunge thing Are not al these that speake men of Galile howe than cummeth this aboute that we beeyng so many men of diuerse languages as ofte as we heare any of them speake do vnderstand hym as perfectly as if eche of vs hearde his owne cuntrey language where he was borne sens that this multitude of vs is gathered of so diuerse and sondrye regions there be of vs here Parthians Medes Elamites and suche also as doeth inhabite all abrode the coastes of Iewry and besydes that Capadocia Pontus and that cuntrey whiche peculiarly is called Asia Phrigia Pamphilia Egipte and those parties of Libia whiche reache to Ciren Yea and sum be here whose dwellyng is at Rome some of them Iewes borne and some Proselites that is to say suche as hath of their owne desyre professed the Iewishe religion Moreouer Cretes and Arabians All we that here be gathered of so many nacions of so sondry languages dooe heare and playnely vnderstaÌ„de them speakyng nothing of comen vsage or els thinges to the worldly man perteynyng but of high matters of weyghâ—y importaunce yea thinges conuenient mete for god After this maner reasoned as many as feared god wer abated in their courage at the strangenesse of the thing said what meaneth this wondre They found no fault with that thing whiche their reason could not attayne vnto as yâ— Phariseis were wont to do but they searched for diligently desired to learne yâ— whiche they perceyued not On the other parte suche as wer hedling nothing vpright in iudgement did say in scorne the meÌ„ be drunke with new wine these persons a man may call those phariseis disciples which reported of Iesus the deuil is within him And to saye alwayes the very trueth great dronkenes is not muche vnlike to fury for it chaunceth peraduenture that some in a fury shall speake diuerse wordes of sondyry languages which they neuer learned But no fury wil this vndertake that al meÌ„ shal vnderstaÌ„d that that thou doest speake But truly these wordes spake they for a mocke Albeit a man maye sometime tell the truth although he spake in a skoffyng wise For a suerty full wer they of the new wine which the lorde would not haue in any wyse put into olde bottels For the olde wine of Moyses lawe had lost his strength vertue when Christe was firste insured by mariage to his churche and the colde vnsauery sence of the lawe was turned by Christe into newe wyne Whatsoeuer is carnall â–ª is vnsauerye faynte in vertue all that spiritual is whatsoeuer it be is lyuely strengthfull and sauery Uery largely dyd they drynke of that celesticall cup whereof Dauid the wryter of psalmes speaketh howe excellent is my cup whiche maketh the drounke And yf it were lawfull to compare thynges together whiche are throughout all their kynde moste vnlyke thys vulgare and common drounkennesse doth engendre in maÌ„â—ower thynges chiefely it vttereth the secretes of the herte it causeth man to forget all his aduersitie that is past and maketh the minde to reioyce in continuall hope of prosperitie to come it enboldeth man to set nought yea by his owne life Last of all it maketh men whiche are of a rude barbarous tongue to bee well spoken men Nowe marke my sayinges whither that newe swete wyne whiche proceded of Goddes owne spirite â–ª engendre not suche a lyke thyng in thapostles for what they had hyd for feare durst not speake what they before had learned secretely and woulde not be acknowen that doe they nowe publishe accordyng to the lordes prophecie the same they preache vpon house toppes Their olde Iewish fashions they haue clene forgotten and lyke as infantes newly borne no more do they nowe remembre their life before past neither haue thei in mynde the troublous affliccions for feare whereof they had forsaken theyr maister And althoughe they were bare without all worldlye helpe and succoure yet they feared neyther gouernoures ne prynces presidentes ne kynges neyther counselles nor imprisonmentes no soondry tormentes no manier kynde of deathe enduryng lustie alwaye beyng of courage and cherefull throughe the promyses of Christes ghospell Fynally they whiche were before but poore fyshers and men vnlerned forthwith practised theyr celestiall eloquence in rebukyng the proude Phariseis confutyng the subtill and craftie Philosophers and in puttyng theloquent oratours to vttre scilence Nothyng there is of more perill or difficultie than to speake before a greate coumpanye whyche as it is lyke a monstreous beaste of soundrye headdes so it is moste of all tymes monstreous whan the multitude is collected of soondry languages and soondry nacions But Peter stepped forth with the eleuen and lyft vp his voice and sayd vnto theim Ye men of Iewry and all that dwel at Ierusalem be this knowen vnto you and with your eares heare ye my wordes For these men are not as ye suppose drouncken seeyng it is but the thirde houre of the day But this is that whiche was spoken by the prophet Iohelâ— And it shal be in the laste dayes sayeth god of my spirite I wyll power out vpon all â—leshe And your sonnes and your doughters shall prophecie and your young menne shall see visions and your olde menne shal dreame dreames And on my seruauntes and on my hande maydens I wyll power out of my spirite in those dayes and they shall prophecie And I wyl shew wonders in heauen aboue and tokens on the yearth beneath bloud and fyeâ— and the vapour of smoke The sonne shal be turned into darkenes and the mooue into bloud before that great and notable day of the Lorde come And it shal come to passe that whosoeuer shall call on the name of the lord shal be saued Now marke me here Symon Peter who sodaynly of a fysher was made an Orator The multitude stirred vp a clamorous rumour And as they dyd than the same lyke shall other dooe hereafter vnto the worldes ende Than was it the parte of a good shepeherd to step abrode valiauntlye amongest them not for that intent he shoulde by force appeare or make theym styll which murmured agaynst gods glory or els to rendre one check for an other but that he myght constauntly rather than fyercely put away by testimonies of holy scripture all false and craftye accusacion and stoutely defende the glorye of Christe Than Peter who had before rysenne vp in the parlour to see the noumbre of thapostles fulfylled nowe eftesoones stoode vp to the multitude of people of soondry nacions mengled together partely to enstruct theim that had sayde What meaneth this and partely to stoppe theyr monthes that had sayed these men be drounke wyth newe wyne Albeit it is not of necessitie requisite that a bishop should preache to the people alwayes
any thyng that his brothers necessitie requyred But the apostles which were as chiefe pieres of thys newe citie beeyng dispurueyed of worldely goodes but ryche in gyftes of the holy ghost augmented theyr company euery day more than other bearyng wytnes of our Lord Iesus Christes resurreccion with wonderfull great stedfastnesse of mynde and myghty power in workyng of miracles For his resurreccion was pryncipally to be perswaded by witnes of miracles For many one at his death had been present and not a fewe had been pryuy to his buriall And so lyued thys newe comminaltie vnder ryght valyaunte Capitaynes hauyng aboundaunce of all thinges for what they lacked in goodes was supplied and borne out with mutuall loue and concorde For although many one were poore yet was there none amongest them that lacked For as many as were possessioners eyther of landes or houses made sale of them and brought the pryce therof and laied it at the Apostles feete that they whom reuerently as fathers they regarded myght distribute the same goodes in common at theyr owne pleasure Fynally there was no lesse vpryghtnes amongest them that dealed the pryce of mennes possessions then was with those whiche brought it Trueth and vpryght dealyng is seldome founde among stewardes of housholde and layers out of money But here was that distribucion made among them accordyng to euery mannes necessitie without any choyse had of persons There was in this company one Ioseph whome the apostles by syrname called Barnabas whiche woorde in the Sirians toung betokeneth sonne of comforte by bloud and auncestry a Leuyte borne in Cipres This Ioseph bycause he dyd excell among other in great giftes and qualities of the mynde by reason wherof he was called Barnabas for the ioyfull comforte that the multitude had of his accesse was an example for many to folowe that lyberaliâ—ie whiche was semely for the ghospel For wheras he had lande in Cypres he solde it and brought the pryce therof and layed it at the Apostles feete as though it had been a vyle thyng and woorthy to be despised But yet were the Apostles of suche holynes that they would take nothyng therof for them selues aboue other The .v. Chapter ¶ A certayne man named â—nanias with Saphira his wyfe solde a possession and kepte awaye parte of the pryce his wyfe also being of counsell and brought a certayne part and layed it downe at the apostles feete But Peter said Ananias howe is it that Sathan hath fylled thyne herte that thou shouldest lye vnto the holy ghost and kepe awaie part of the pryce of the landes Pertayned it not vnto the onlyâ— after it was solde was it not in thyne owne power why hast thou conceiued this thing in thine herte thou hast lyed not vnto meÌ„ but vnto God Whan Ananias heard these wordes he fell downe and geue vp that ghost And great feare came on all them that hearde these thynges And the young men arose vp and put him aparte and carryed him out and buryed hym BUt lyke as Barnabas playne trueth without colourable deceite moued many to folowe his lyberalitie so was here an exaÌ„ple to put al people in feare that in matters of spiritual charge one should not deceyue an other For the holy ghost loueth playnes of hearte and hateth al deceite dissimulacion In like maner Iudas among the twelue Apostles was an example that no man shoulde put affiaunce in hymselfe but that eche manne should with all carefull diligence continewe in doyng his dutie There was of this companie a certayne man called Ananias one farre vnlyke vnto his owne name because he throughly not consented to the gracious fauour of God This Ananias had a wyfe called Saphira not vnlyke vnto the housbande Whan that Ananias more ambicious of honour theÌ„ desirous of perfite holynesse sawe dyuerse persons hyghly commended of all menne for their free sincere lyberalitie he solde his lande laied vp parte of the money his wyfe being pryuy therunto and allowing the same that of the two partes wherein his money was deuided the one shoulde purchase him prayse of the people with an estimation also or fame of holynesse the other woulde he kepe for himselfe yf any nede should happen distructing doubtlesse the holy ghoste and more caring or prouiding for himselfe then for the whole company of his brethren rekenyng thus with himselfe yf other dye for hunger I am sufficiently prouided for Suche forecasting was not besemyng a man that should put his whole affiance in Christe who promysed that they shoulde wante nothyng that seketh for the kyngdome of god and the rightwysenes therof neyther was this imaginacion mete for hym whiche shoulde bee of one will wyth other and of one mynde Whan he had brought to the apostles feete parte of the money that his liuelode was solde for Peter vnderstandyng by inspiracion of the holy ghoste whiche was in him aboundauntly the mannes vngodly dissimulacion sayed Ananias where as thou hast once dedicate thy selfe to the holy ghost and seen his power by so many tokens euidently declared why hast thou suffered the deuill nowe eftesones to put this in thy mynde to take by stelth awaye parte of that money whiche thou receyuedst for thy lyuelode as though thou couldest face downe the holy ghost with a lye who can in nowyse be deceyued and to bryng into this companie suche a presidente moste daungerouse If we had constrayned thee to sell thy liuelode against thy will some cause peraduenture it might haue been for to dissemble nowe sence thou diddest this of thyne owne free wyll whiche thou haste done to what purpose auayled it to deface that thyng with hypocryse whiche should haue bene to other an example of liberalitie Mightest not thou haue kept thy lande in thyne owne hand yf thou wouldest and moreouer after thou haddest solde it couldest not thou haue reserued the money wholy vnto thy selfe They for theyr trueth playne dealyng are well commended whiche of theyr owne free will bringeth forth all that they haue For we enforce no man thus to doe yf he be not willyng to thesame Upon what occasion than hast thou stablyshed in thy minde thus to disseÌ„ble in this matter It is not man that thou hast made this lye vnto but almightie god Yf thou thinkest that god may be deceyued thyne opinion of him is false and vngodly But yf thou beleue that he is pryuie to all thynges eyther thou despisest his righteousnesse or els thou thynkest that he fauoureth falsehood Ananias than perceyuing that thapostles knewe hys falsehood sodaynly fell downe as one that had be stricken to the herte with a sharpe rebuke and yelded vp the ghoste One for an example suffered death that many myght be therby preserued For after that this facte was bruted abrode it made many sore afrayed that none durste enterpryse any suche lyke offence against the holy ghost Young men remoued thence the dead corse and whan they had carryed it foorth buryed it
in came one the troubled more their myndes with heauy tydynges saying beholde the men that ye emprysoned yesterday nowe stand in the temple teachyng no smalle noumber of people Than the templerewlers bycause it perteyned peculiarlye to theyr office to see that nothynge shoulde be other wise doen in the temple then ought to be toke theyr waye according to the priestes commaundement vnto the temple with a company of seruing men for theyr garde agaynste all assaultes or violence of the people They founde them lyke as it was reported standyng in the temple and preachyng Iesus to a great sorte of people Albeit they laide no handes on them lyke as they had doen before For they sawe there present a great numbre of people were afrayed themselues lest they yf any commocion should haue rysen among the people should be stoned But neyther was that companye of suche a sorte that would make busines neither thapostles those persons that desyred ayde of any temporall powre They were in themselues very stedfaste and sobre in theyr doinges without any fearsenes at all They behelde thofficers which led them the day before to pryson And yet for al that they neyther feared themselues neyther fled away nor brake once of their preaching of the ghospel vntyll the offycer of the temple entreated them gently to goe vnto the counsell The Apostles obeyed lest they shoulde in any wise seme to despise the publike authoritie For theyr maister had not taught them that they shoulde whan they were called refuse to goe but that they should boldly speake nothyng at all afrayed In came these two fyshers to the counsell house presented they were before a company of hygh and great officers with no small trayne folowing them Than began Annas the high prieste with highe authoritie and no lesse statelines of mynde hys oracion in this maner did not we streightly commaund you at our last assembly by authority of the hygh powers that ye should nomore teache the people nor make mencion priuely nor appartly to any maÌ„ straungier or Iewe of this name Iesus whiche we wyll shal be abolyshed And nowe wyll ye see howe contemptuously agaynst the authoritie of the whole counsell â–ª ye haue not alonely kepte no sylence herein at all but the more vehemently haue ye also preached insomuche that ye haue fylled all Heirusalem wyth your doctryne and the rumoures of youre doynges are the meane whyle publyshed abrode yea to the cities that border about vs. Well ye goe about maliciously to bryng vs in hatred for the death of this man For openly ye do preache that we slewe him which thing cannot we deny Ye publyshe also that the selfesame persone was good and holy well with God approued and in his name ye worke miracles whiche is as it were to dishonour condemne vs before the multitude of crueltie that haue procured suche a mans death This was the hgyhe Byshoppes oracion whyche contayned no honest matters to defende it selfe only it made some afrayed with woordes of hyghe authoritie that the trueth in dede whiche ought to be for mans health publisshed to all men should be kepte in silence for the wicked mennes glory ¶ Peter and the other apostles aunswered and sayed we ought more to obey God then men The God of our fathers raysed vp Iesus whome ye slewe and hanged on tree him hath God lyfte vp with his ryght hand to be a ruler and salueour for to geue repentauÌ„ce to Israell and forgeuenes of synnes And we are recordes of these thynges whiche we saye and so is also the holy ghost whom God hath geuen to them that obey hym Whan they hearde this they claue a sundre and sought meanes to slay them Nowe let vs on the other parte heare a fisher the very Archebysshop of Christes ghospell howe boldly and soberly also maketh he an aunswere for all the apostles High and bountifull Bushop he sayeth and ye that are rewlers of great authoritie with other also the elders very wurshipfull men that sit here in counsell together we despyse not youre authoritie but we preferre the authoritie of God to mannes authoritie and so promysed we to do in that aunswere we made you whan ye forbode vs to speake any woorde at all of Iesus name And as I suppose there is not one in this assembly that thinketh it mete that we shoulde for mannes prohibicion take lyghte regarde to goddes commaundementes and whyles we feare youre wrathe renne into Goddes dyspleasure If your commaundementes stoode with the wyll of god we woulde with all our hertes satisfyâ— both you and hym Nowe sence youre prohibicions doe vtterly square wyth hys commaundementes and that we cannot satisfye both the one and â—ke the other we had lieffer obey God than manne And it is not our desyre to bryng any in hatred by preachyng of Iesus name but to procure saluation to euery manne And more it were for you expedient rather to submitte your authoritie to the will of God then to bryng vs hither refusyng vtterly to saye ought or els to doe contrary to goddes wil. The waye is open for eche manne to come by remyssion of his synnes yf he a mende his lyfe and louyngly doe embrace the trueth of the ghospel Euen thus shall ye fynde it as we haue shewed you heretofore the God of oure fathers whome ye and we and we with you doe wurshyppe hath reysed vp from death his sonne Iesus whome ye faste naylyng hym on a crosse haue sâ—ayne And veryly so was it decreed by the diuine counsell so it was heretofore spoken by the Prophetes that one shoulde dye to saue the worlde This selfe same persone euen lyke as he was but feble in bodye manne hath put to death but almyghtie God hath called him to lyfe agayne and of hys infinite power hath him exalted to suche renowne and glorye as to bee a guide for all menne and the chiefest worker of mannes saluacion but pryncipally for the children of Israell and that all maye redily come thorowe hym to remission of synne whiche bee contente to forsake theyr euell lyuyng and to professe his holy name And to these thynges that we rehearse to you beare we recorde that kepte in house wyth hym familiar companie before he died and after he was from death reuiued oftentymes heard hym sawe hym and handled hym vntill he ascended vp all vs beholdyng hym to heauen But if ye esteme our wytnes to be of small importaunce the holy ghoste beareth wytnes of the same whome he powreth vpon all that receyue his ghospell as ye see it in vs a ready You heare straunge languages you see woondrefull thynges wrought excedyng common reason There is nought here of our owne doynges it is Iesus holy spirite that putteth forth his power and vertue abrode by his ministers This oracion of Peters well besemyng for an apostle to make which ought eyther for dreade of punishment to feare them or els for the hope of saluacion
c. We speake as we doe knowe c. No manne asceÌ„deth vp to heauen As Moses lyfted vp the serpent He gaue his one â–ª ye begotten sonne He that beleueth on him is not condemned Because he hath not beleued Men loued darkenes more then lyght Because theyr woorkes were euill For euerye man yâ— euill doth hateth the light He taried with them and baptised and Iohn also baptised c. There was muche water c. And there arose a question c. And they came vnto Iohn All men come to him A man can receyue nothiÌ„g excepte it be c. Ye your selues are witnesses c. I am not Christ but am sent before hym He that hathe the bryde is the brydegrome What he hath seen heard that he testifieth The father loueth the sonne c. He that beleueth not the sonne shall not see lyfe For it was so that he must nedes go thorowe Samaria Than he came to a citie c. And it was about the sixt houre His disciples were goen awaie vnto the toun to bye meate â–ª The womaÌ„ saieth vnto hym c. Sir I perceyue that thou art a prophete our father 's wurshipped in this mouÌ„tayne And ye saye that in Ierusalem is the place where men oughte to wurship Ye wurship ye wâ—â— noâ— what we know what we wurshippe c. I knowe yâ— Messias shall come â–ª whiche is called Christe Iesus sayeth vnto her I that speake vnto the am he I haue meate to eate that ye know not c. Iesus saith vnto them my meate is to do the will of hym that hathe sent me Say not ye there are yet .iiii. monethes end than cummeth haruest And herein is the saying true that one soweth and an other reapeth And he abode there ii dayes The ruler sayeth vnto hym Iesus sayeth vnto hym goe thy waye thy sonne lyueth Then he enquired of them the houre whaÌ„ he began to amende So the father knewe c. And he beleued and al his houâ—holde This is the seconde miracle And there is at IerusaleÌ„ by the slaughter house apoole c. Whan Iesus sawe him lye c. He sayed vnto hym wylte thou bee made whole Sir I haue no man c. And thesame daye was the Sabboth c. Tha asked they hym what man is that c. The man departed tolde the Iewes that it was Iesus Because he doeth these thynges on the sabboth daye Therefore the Iewes soughte the more to kill hym The sonne can doe nothyng of himselfe c For the father loueth the soÌ„ne c Neyther iudgeth the father any man He that honoureth not the sonne c. The time shall come and nowe it is c. For as the father hath life in hymselfe c. Maruailâ— not at this c. I can of mine owne selfe do nothyng yf I should beaâ—e wytnesse of my selfe But I receyue not the recorde of man c. He was a burnyng a shynyng light But I haue greater witnes theÌ„ the witnesse of Iohn for the workes whiche my father hath geuen me to finishe c. Ye haue not hearde his voyce at anye tyme nor seen his shape Ye haue not the loue of god WheÌ„ce shal we by bread that these maye eate Iesê° saieth make the people sitte downe And Iesus toke the bread Labour not for the meate which perisheth This is the worke of God that ye beleue what signe shewest yâ— then I am the bread of life For I am cum downe from heaueÌ„ This is the wil of him that seÌ„t me And they shall bee al taughte of God I am the liuing bread Excepte ye eat the flesh of the sonne of manne This is the bread whiche came down from heauen c. What and yf ye shall see the soÌ„ne of man c. Will ye also go away c. Thou hast the woordes of eternal life c. We are sure that thou arte Christ. c. His brethren therfore sayed vnto hym There is no man that doeth any thyng in secrete c. For his brethreÌ„ beleued not in hym My time is not yet cum c. The worlde cannot hate you I will not go vp to this feast c Howbeit no maÌ„ spake â—penly of hym c. For feare of the Iewes How knoweth be the scripture If any man will be obedient vnto his will He that speaketh of himselfe seketh his owne praise The people aunswered and said thou hast a deuill Who goeth about to kil thee And ye on the Sabboth day circumcise a man Iudge noâ— after the vtter apperance c. Then cried Iesus in the temple c. And I am not cum of myselfe but he that sent me is true And him ye knowe not Ye shall seke me and shall not finde me c. Than sayd the Iewes among themselues whither wil he goe c. If any man thirst let him cumme vnto me and drinke Doeth any of the rulers or of the Phariseis beleue on hym Searche loke for out of Galile a riseth no prophete And the Scribes and Phariseis brought vnto hym a woman taken in aduoutrie Let hiÌ„ that is among you without sinne cast the firste stone at her He said vnto her woman where are thyne accusers Go synne no more I am the light of the world c Thou bearest recorde of thy selfe But ye can not tell whence I am I iudge no man and yf I iudge my iudgemente is true If ye beleue not that I am he ye shall dye in your sinnes Thei vnderstoode not that he spake of his father If ye coÌ„tinue in my woorde c. And the truâ—th shall make you free Whosoeuer committeth sinne c. But if theâ—â— sonne make you free c I speake that whiche I haue seeÌ„ c. Yf ye were Abrahams children c. If god wee your father He that is of god heereth Gods wordes I seke not myne owne prayse c. What makest thou thy selfe It is my father which honoureth me c. Than toke they vp stones to caste 〈◊〉 hym He sawe a man which was blind I am the lyght of the worlde Is this your sonne c. Geue God prayse We are Moses disciples I am come iniudgemeÌ„t c. If ye were blynde ye should haue no sinne I am the good shepehearde I geue my life for the shepe c. I put my life froÌ„ me that I might take it againe Yf thou bee Christ tel vs playnly My father c. is greater than al. c. Lazarus is dead and I am glad for your sakes c. Iesus wept Excepte the wheat corne faâ—l into the ground and dye Lord doest thou washe my feete If I washe yâ— not thou hast no part with me For I haue geueÌ„ you an example Now I tel you before it come One of you shall betray me That he shoulde geue some what to the poore A new commauÌ„dement geue I vnto you that ye loue together Before the cocke crow c. In my