into the fire. That he baptized them with water Chapter Ver to repentance; but a mightier was coming, who would baptize them with the Holy Ghoft, and with fire. (I cannot discover that Jefus ever baptized at all; and what is meant by baptizing with fire, I know not; unless it be the inquifitorial method practifed by the catholics upon the Jews at their Auto de Fe's.) He adds- Whose fan is iii. in his hand, and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner: ⚫ but he will burn up the chaff with unquench able fire.' Mark's record of John, is nearly the fame, but the exceptionable part of baptizing with fire, is omitted: it fays fimply-' And he ' fhall baptize you with the Holy Ghoft.' Luke's account of this matter is more copious; he tells us the time when John began to teach and baptize, ch. iii. v. 1. Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæfar, Pontius Pilate be'ing governor of Judea, and Herod being te'trarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip te trarch of Ituria and of the region of Trachonitis; and Lyfanias the tetrarch of Abilene; Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests; the word of God came unto John the fon of 'Zacharias in the wilderness. And he came ' into all the country about Jordan, preaching 'the baptifm of repentance for the remiffion of fins,' &c. Here is fome additional matter which we have neither in Matthew or Mark, the 12 Chapter Verfe the people, publicans, and foldiers, afk him queftions which he answers: they being doubtful if he was the Christ or not; he sets them right in that matter-faying- I indeed baptize you 'with water but one mightier than I cometh,' ' &c.-he fhall baptize you with the Holy Ghoft, and with fire,' &c. St. John gives us new matter ch. i. v. 19. And this is the record of John (the Baptift) when the Jews fent priests and Levites from Jerufalem, to afk him, Who art thou? He confeffed, and denied not, but 'confeffed, I am not the Chrift. And they asked him-What then? Art thou Elias? and he faith, I am not. Art thou that prophet? and he answered, No. Then faid they unto him Who art thou?' John, after fome other interrogatories, answers- I baptize with water: but there ftandeth one among you, whom ye know ' not; he it is who coming after me is preferred • before me,' &c. He fays nothing of baptizing, with the Holy Ghoft or with fire: nor doth it appear that they difcovered or even made any enquiry about Jefus at that time; but the next day John pointed him out to the people. We return now to Matthew, and proceed with his account of the baptifm of Jefus by John. Then cometh Jefus from Galilee to Jordan unto John to be baptized of him. But John forbad him, faying, I have need to be baptized of thee, and comeft thou to me? And Jefus anfwering, faid iii. 15 16 17 faid unto him, Suffer it to be fo now: for thus Chapter Verse ' it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness. Then he fuffered him. And Jefus, when he was bap'tized, went up ftraightway out of the water: and lo, the Heavens were opened unto him, and he faw the fpirit of God defcending like a dove, and lighting upon him. And lo, a voice from Heaven, faying, This is my beloved fon, in whom I am well pleafed.' Mark and Luke's account are, in fubftance, the fame: John is more explicit, ch. i. v. 29. The next day John feeth Jefus coming unto him, and faith, Behold the lamb of God which taketh away the fin of the world: this is he of whom I said, after me cometh a man which is preferred be⚫fore me; for he was before me and I knew him not; but that he should be made manifest to Ifrael; therefore I am come baptizing with < water. And John bare record, faying, I saw ⚫ the spirit descending from Heaven, like a dove, and it abode upon him: and I knew him not: but he that fent me to baptize with water, the fame faid unto me, upon whom thou shalt fee the Spirit defcending and remaining on him, the fame is he which baptizeth with the Holy Ghoft. And " I faw and bare record that this is the Son of 'God.' If John was fo well informed, and fo clear and explicit in his account of the matter as he here feems to be: how happened he, very foon after, to make the following enquiry of Je fus Chapter Verfe fus Art thou he that fhould come, or do we 'look for another?' Matt. ch. xi. v. 2, 3** We will now revert to Matthew's account of what followed the baptifm. Then was Jefus led up of the fpirit into the wilderness, to be tempted of the devil.' After fafting there forty days and forty nights, Satan endeavours, with various temptations, to feduce him: he takes him up into an exceeding high mountain, and 8fheweth him all the kingdoms of the world, " and the glory of them and faith unto himAll these things will I give thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me. unto him-Get thee hence, Ir. Then faith Jefus Satan: for it is written; Thou fhalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only fhalt thou ferve. Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and miniftered unto him.' This must have been a very ignorant devil: if there was any efficacy in baptifin, he chofe an improper time; and how he attained the power of taking the Son of God up to a pinnacle of the temple, &c. I cannot conceive. From facred hiftory we learn, that he fometimes threw the unfortunate fons of men * In the records of St. Matthew and St. John, we perceive a material difference. The former tells us that John the Baptist knew Jefus to be the Chrift, before he baptized him. But the latter tells us that he did not know Jefus till after he had baptized him that he faw the spirit defcending and remaining on him.? upon upon the ground, &c. but we never hear of his Chapter Veife taking them up into the air.-Mark fays- And • immediately (after the baptifm) the spirit driv⚫eth him into the wilderness: and he was there in the wilderness forty days tempted of Satan, and was with the wild beafts, and the angels • miniftered unto him.' Luke fays much the fame as Matthew relative to the fafting and temptations, but has this remarkable conclufion- And when the devil had ended all the ⚫ temptation, he departed from him (Jesus) for a feafon.' What Luke means by departing from him for a season, I know not. We hear of no more attacks made by the devil upon Jefus, unlefs that may be conftrued as fuch, which was made in the perfon of St. Peter. Vide Matthew, ch. xvi. v. 22, 23. John fays not a word of the wilderness, temptations, or the forty days fpent in it. On the contrary, he proceeds to the election of two difciples upon the day following his baptifm; two others upon the following day; the marriage in Cana upon the third day; and fo proceeds regularly with the hiftory of Jefus. We will now go on with St. Matthew's account. Now when Jefus had heard that John iv. was caft into prifon, he departed into Galilee.' (Luke, who feems moft converfant with John's history, tells us that he was caft into prison for having reproached Herod the tetrarch with feveral enormities, particularly that of keeping Herodias, 12 |