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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Untitled Article
the usual sense , of that word in Scripture ) , Gentiles ^ who had not conformed to Jewish ordinances , an , d who , therefore , could not enter into the part of the temple where Jesus-was , an attention to these circumstances wiH explain the formalities observed in delivering their message .
We may well suppose them to have been amongst the number of those who had witnessed the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem the same morning ; from which their curiosity would be much excited to learn something further of so extraordinary a person ; and if ( as some think ) his
driving the money-changers out of the temple , . was meant in vindication of the right of the Gentiles to worship in their court , free from such interruptions , this circumstance , which had just occurred , ( see Matth . xxi . 12 , ) might farther interest them in the inquiry , and make them still more desirous to see Jesus .
JLightfoot supposes them to have been Syro-Grecians , of Decapolis , or some of the places bordering upon Galilee ; both because they appear to have had some acquaintance with Philip , of Bethsaida , and " because
those Greeks that bordered upon Galilee , and the places where Christ wrought his miracles , might seem more prone , both to embrace the Jewish religion , aud also to see Jesus , than those that lived farther off . "
These person ? , then , meeting with Philip , either in the city or as he passed through the court of the Gentiles , respectfully apply to him , saving , " Sir , we desire to see Jesus j" Philip , not knowing what to make of this application , or considering it , perhaps , 'as no less than-an overture made to his
master in the name of the Gentile world , upon entering the temple where Jesus and the other disciples were , consults with Andrew his brother , and they conjointly mention it to Jesus . That he would be forcibly impressed by receiving such an application , we can easily , conceive , especially when
we consider that it was only a few days previous to-his . being crucified j and that the time was therefore rapidly approaching when he should have all things given unto him by his Father , and should send his apostles with power to make disciples of all nations . JThe . message of these Gentiles , re-
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ceived at such a time and in such a place , naturally led him to reflect how large a portion of his church would consist of this despised class of men , whom the Jews , by the heaviest penalties , forbade to step beyond the
threshold of their worship . He began to contemplate the glory of that new and better dispensation of the Divine will , by which the middle wall of partition would be thrown down , and the Gentiles admitted to the covenant
of promise , and made citizens in the commonwealth of Israel ; being fellow-citizens with the saints and of the household of God . And in anticipation of this event , of which he had received so lively an impression from the application above-mentioned , he exclaimed , ( see 23 d : ver . ) 4 t The hour is come that the Son of Man should
be glorified . '' That is , let this incident be acknowledged to be a manifest token of the approach of that hour , when the Son of Man , though rejected by his own , shall be glorified in the faith of the Gentiles , and when those impediments shall be removed , which have hitherto prevented the distinct ayowal of his character and the diffusion of his doctrines .
Then , calling to mind what death he must die , according to the will of God , as the only means by which these glorious results can be obtained , he proceeds to declare his submission to the will of God in this instance , and his persuasion of the glorious
ends which would thereby be accomplished . " Verily , verily , I say unto you , except a corn of whearbfall into the ground and die , it abideth alone , but if it die , it bringeth forth much fruit . He that loveth his life shall lose it , but he that hateth hi * life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal . " <* If any man serve me , let him follow me , and where I am , there shall- also my servant be ; if any man-serve ' me him will my Father honour . " We may evidently perceive in these sentiments of our . Lord , a reference to his own case and duty : and the passage becomes much . more interesting when
we regard it as expressing the principles from which he himself derived fortitude to carry him through his extraordinary sufferings , than if we considered it only as intended for the admonition of his disciples . And it is in such instances as this * that the tJni-
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Biblical Critiei $ m . -- * Qbs * rva&i 4 ns oriJohn xii . ? 23 —~ 32 . 4 S&
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Aug. 2, 1817, page 485, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2467/page/37/
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