Imatges de pàgina
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A

NEW AND FULL

METHOD .

OF SETTLING

THE CANONICAL AUTHORITY

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

TO WHICH IS SUBJOINED

A VINDICATION OF THE FORMER PART

OF

ST. MATTHEW'S GOSPEL,

FROM MR. WHISTON'S CHARGE OF DISLOCATIONS.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

BY

THE REV. JEREMIAH JONES.

VOL. II.

OXFORD,

AT THE CLARENDON PRESS.

MDCCCXXVII.

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A

METHOD

FOR

SETTLING THE CANON

OF THE

NEW TESTAMENT.

PART III.

CHAP. I.

The letter of Abgarus to Christ, with Christ's answer to Abgarus in Greek and English. The accounts of the ancients, viz. Eusebius, Ephraem Syrus, &c. relating to them. The sentiments of modern writers concerning them. They have been rejected by most, but esteemed as genuine by several learned men in England.

No. I. The Epistle of Jesus Christ to Abgarus, king of Edessa.

THAT there were formerly several writings ascribed to our Saviour, as well as his apostles, I have observed in the preceding volume, (viz. Part II. Chap. XIV. XV.) Those are all lost, but were undoubtedly spurious and supposititious pieces, as I have there largely endeavoured to prove. But besides these, there is now extant a letter under the name of Christ to an Arabian king, which, translated out of Syriac into Greek, is preserved in the writings of Eusebius a. It has been esteemed by many learned men after Eusebius to be truly genuine, and consequently must be one of the most valuable and 'ancient monuments of the Christian religion. It deserves a Hist. Eccl. l. 1. c. 13.

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therefore a very strict inquiry, which I shall attempt with all the brevity and clearness I can; and in order to that, first produce the letter itself, with that of Abgarus to our Saviour, which occasioned it, or to which it is an answer. Both indeed have appeared before now in English, viz. in the English edition of Eusebius, and the present archbishop of Canterbury's prefatory discourse to his Translation of the Apostolic Fathers, (Chap. 9. p. 137.), and elsewhere b; but I judged it notwithstanding needful to insert a translation of them, for the sake of those, who neither having seen these books, nor understanding the Greek language, may have the curiosity of desiring to see any thing which is by so many learned men supposed to be written by Christ himself.

Αντίγραφον Επιστολῆς γραφείσης ὑπὸ ̓Αβγάρου τοπάρχου τῷ Ἰησοῦ, καὶ πεμφθείσης αὐτῷ δι' Ανανία ταχυδρόμου εἰς ̔Ιεροσόλυμα.

*ΑΒΓΑΡΟΣ τοπάρχης Εδέσσης Ἰησοῦ Σωτῆρι ἀγαθῷ ἀναφανέντι ἐν τόπῳ Ἱεροσολύμων, χαίρειν. Ἤκουσταί μοι τὰ περὶ σοῦ καὶ τῶν σῶν ἰαμάτων, ὡς ἄνευ φαρμάκων καὶ βοτανῶν ὑπὸ σοῦ γινομένων· ὡς γὰρ λόγος, τυφλοὺς ἀναβλέπειν ποιεῖς, χωλοὺς περιπατεῖν, καὶ λεπρούς καθαρίζεις, καὶ ἀκάθαρτα πνεύματα καὶ δαίμονας ἐκβάλλεις, καὶ τοὺς ἐν μακρονοσίᾳ βασανιζομένους θεραπεύεις, καὶ νεκροὺς ἐγείρεις. Καὶ ταῦτα πάντα ἀκούσας περὶ σοῦ κατὰ νοῦν ἐθέμην τὸ ἕτερον τῶν δύο ἢ ὅτι σὺ εἶ ὁ Θεὸς καὶ και ταβὰς ἀπὸ τοῦ οὐρανοῦ ποιεῖς ταῦ

b The common people in England have it in their houses, in many places, fixed in a frame with our Saviour's picture before it; and they generally

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ABGARUS, king of Edessa, to Jesus the good Saviour, who appears at Jerusalem, greeting. I have been informed concerning you and your cures, which are performed without the use of medicines and herbs. For it is reported, that you cause the blind to see, the lame to walk, do both cleanse lepers, and cast out unclean spirits and devils, and restore them to health who have

been long diseased, and raisest up the dead all which when I heard, I was persuaded of one of these two, viz, either that you are God himself descended from heaven, who do these things, or

with much honesty and devotion regard it as the word of God, and the genuine Epistle of Christ.

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Τὰ ἀντιγραφέντα ὑπ ̓ Ἰησοῦ δι ̓ Ανανία ταχυδρόμου τοπάρχη ̓Αβγάρῳ.

ΑΒΓΑΡΕ, μακάριος εἶ, πιστεύσας ἐν ἐμοὶ μὴ ἑωρακώς με. Γέγραπται γὰρ περὶ ἐμοῦ, τοὺς ἐωρακοτας με μὴ πιστεύσειν μοι, ἵνα οἱ μὴ ἑωρακότες αὐτοὶ πιστεύσωσι καὶ ζήσωνται. Περὶ δὲ οὗ ἔγραψάς μοι ἐλθεῖν πρὸς σὲ, δέον ἐστὶ πάντα δι ̓ ἃ ἀπεστάλην, ἐνταῦθα πληρῶσαί με, καὶ μετὰ τὸ πληρῶ σαι, οὕτως ἀναληφθῆναι πρὸς τὸν ἀποστείλαντά με. Καὶ ἐπειδὰν ἀναληφθῶ, ἀποστελῶ σοι τινὰ τῶν μαθητῶν μου, ἵνα ἰάσηται σου τὸ πάθος, καὶ ζωὴν σοὶ, καὶ τοῖς σὺν σοὶ παράσχηται.

the Son of God. On this account therefore I have wrote to

you, earnestly to desire you would take the trouble of a journey hither, and cure a disease which I am under. For I hear the Jews

ridicule you, and intend you mischief. My city is indeed small, but neat, and large enough for us both.

The answer of Jesus by Ananias the footman to Abgarus the king.

ABGARUS, you are happy, forasmuch as you have believed on me, whom you have not seen. For it is written concerning me, that those who have seen me

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In discussing the question concerning the genuineness of these epistles, I shall proceed in my usual method, viz. shew

ing,

I. What account we have from the ancients.

II. The opinion of the moderns.

III. That which seems most probable upon the whole.

I. As to the accounts we have from the ancients, I observe that these epistles are first mentioned,

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