To the extent possible under law, the Text Creation Partnership has waived all copyright and related or neighboring rights to this keyboarded and encoded edition of the work described above, according to the terms of the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Dedication (http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/). This waiver does not extend to any page images or other supplementary files associated with this work, which may be protected by copyright or other license restrictions. Please go to http://www.textcreationpartnership.org/ for more information.
〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉〈 in non-Latin alphabet 〉
Destroy this Temple.
I. CHrist sheweth them no sign, that was meer sign, Mat. XII. 39. The turning of Mo∣ses his Rod into a Serpent, and returning the Serpent into a Rod again; the hand becoming leprous, and restor'd to its proper temperament again, these were meer signs;
those wonders which Moses afterward wrought in Egypt were not meer signs, but miraculous judgments; and those stupendous things which our Saviour wrought were not meer signs, but beneficent miracles, and whoever would not believe upon those infi∣nite miracles which he wrought, would much less have believ'd upon meer signs. And in∣deed it was unbecoming our Blessed Lord so far to indulge to their obstinate incredulity, to be shewing new signs still at every beck of theirs, who would not believe upon those infinite numbers he put forth upon every proper occasion.
II. Mat. XII. 39, 40. when they had requir'd a sign, Christ remits them to the sign of the Prophet Jonah; and he points at the very same sense in these words, Destroy this Temple, &c. That is, my Resurrection from the dead will be a sign beyond all denial, proving and affirming that what I do I act upon Divine authority, and that I am he who is to come. (Rom. I. 4.) further than this, you must expect no other sign from me. If you be∣lieve me not while I do such works, at least believe me when I arise from the dead.
He acted here whiles he is purging the Temple under that notion, as he was the autho∣riz'd Messiah, Mal. III. 1, 3. and expresly calls it his fathers house, v. 16. Shew us therefore some sign (say the Jews) by which it may appear that thou art the Messiah the Son of God, at least that thou art a Prophet. I will shew you a sufficient sign, saith Christ: Destroy this Temple, viz. of my body, and I will raise it from the dead again, a thing which was never yet done, nor could be done by any of the Prophets.