The works of the Reverend and learned John Lightfoot D. D., late Master of Katherine Hall in Cambridge such as were, and such as never before were printed : in two volumes : with the authors life and large and useful tables to each volume : also three maps : one of the temple drawn by the author himself, the others of Jervsalem and the Holy Land drawn according to the author's chorography, with a description collected out of his writings.

Reason of the Order.

THE Evanglist John, of all the four, hath only given us an account of what passed from John the Baptist either in doctrine or action, from the time of Christs bapti∣zing, till Johns imprisonment; yea, (set the temptation aside) there is none of the four but he, that hath told us any passage concerning Christ himself in all that space. For the very next thing that Matthew and Mark relate, after they have done with the story of the temptation, is about Johns imprisoning, Matth. 4. 11, 12. Mark 1. 13, 14. And Luke, though he express not that particular thing in clear terms, yet doth he in the very next story after the temptation, speak of passages that were not done till after that time, as will be seen in their due place. There is therefore in all the three a general silence of any actions of our Saviours, for the space of above a whole twelve month together, namely from about the middle of our November when the temptation was ended, till about the latter end of November come twelve month, when Jesus upon the report of

Johns imprisonment, departs into Galilee, as we shall take up the time more particularly, when we come to Joh. 4. 35. Now why the three Evangelists should be so unanimously silent in so great a matter, for so long a time, needs not be questioned, since the Holy Ghost hath provided that by a fourth, that should be supplied what they had omitted. The Evangelist John therefore doth in this Section, and from hence forward to the end of the fourth Chapter, give us the story of John the Baptist, and of our Saviour from the time of our Saviours being baptized by him, till his arrival in Galilee after Johns im∣prisonment: And whereas the other three had only mentioned the actions of John, and his testimony of Christ before his baptism, this Evangelist doth in this Section give us ac∣count of more actions of, and more testimonies concerning Christ after. Therefore it needeth not to breed any scruple to any intelligent Reader, to see in this Chapter Peter and Andrew following Jesus before he call them, and that even while the Baptist is at li∣berty, and to see in Matth. 4. and Luke 4. Peter and Andrew called before they follow Jesus, and the Baptist then shut up in prison: I say, it needs not to breed any scruple, since these are relations of two several stories, done and acted at a great distance of time; that in this Chapter but a little while after Christ was baptized, and that in Matth. 4. a whole twelve month after.

Now this Section that is before us consisteth of several stories, and for the clearing and demonstrating of their proper order, it will be requisite to shew the subsequence of them one to another, and the subsequence of them all to the temptation of Christ, which was treated of in the Section before. For the evidencing of which, let it but be first obser∣ved, that all these passages here mentioned, came to pass after Christ was baptized, as was said before, and as it is apparent, Vers. 15. 32, 34. and then to cast the whole Secti∣on, or at least the beginning of it, into an Historical paraphrase, will best shew the order.

As soon therefore as Christ was baptized, and the Spirit was visibly come down upon him, immediately, (as Mark expresseth it) the same Spirit driveth him, or catcheth him away from Jordan in some visible rapture towards the wilderness; so that those that were present could see it, as it is most probable, and take notice of it at the very instant and moment of his taking away, though they had not observed or taken notice of him before, nor saw him again at that time any more. And such a sodain rapture, and invisible im∣pulsion of the Spirit, seemeth to have given occasion to John the Baptist, to cry out with vehemency, This was he of whom I spake: For it seemeth by those words, that Christ had been there with that company to whom John speaketh, but was not present at this time when he speaketh to them▪ For had he been present, it had been more proper to have said, This is he, than, this was: And had there not been some visible demonstration and pointing out of Christ, in the sight, and to the knowledge of the people, they had been never the wiser to understand, who it should be that John meant by the word this; But when all the people present had seen one of the company rapt and taken away suddenly by a visible catching of the Spirit from the midst of them, and then heard John to cry out, This was he of whom I spake, all their thoughts would readily fix upon the proper object whom John intended, and they would understand then that that was the Messias, though they had not known, nor minded him whilst he was amongst them. And this seemeth to me to be the proper reason why the Evangelist useth the preterimperfect tense, (which Beza could see no reason why he should) because he speaketh of Christ which had been with John at Jordan, and was but newly gone out of his sight. So that the first verse of this Section, according to this construction, doth properly come in its or∣der, in the time between Christs baptizing, and his getting into the wilderness; and ac∣cordingly it might have been laid after the very first verse of the last Section, and there have made this series of the Story, And immediately after the baptism of Jesus, the Spirit driveth him into the wilderness; and when he was rapt away, and but newly out of sight, John bare witness, and cried, saying, This was he of whom I spake; but I was unwilling to part that story which lieth so joined, and it is timely enough to give notice of the order in this place.

Now the next story in this Section, of the discourse betwixt the messengers of the Jews and John, they questioning who he was, and what he meant to baptize, it was just in the time while Christ was under the last temptation, or as he was returning from the high mountain, wheresoever it was, to Jordan again: for the Text telleth expresly, that on the next day after this dispute, Jesus appeareth at Jordan in the sight of John, ver. 29. and from thence forward the connexion of the stories following is so clear, ver. 35. & 43. that it needeth no further demonstration.