LETTER IX.

TO DR. ADAM CLARKE.

SIR,

Notwithstanding the many appeals that I have made to your Christian charity, entreating you to point out, in the spirit of meekness, any error which I might have unfortunately made, in this my inquiry into the life of Jesus, you have never once condescended to favour me with your opinion. I therefore, not being willing to ascribe or impute your silence to a contempt of men of low estate, nor yet to your incapacity of appreciating my conclusions, have reasonably concluded it to be a mark of your approbation; not doubting, but that if there were any error or misrepresentation contained in my letters to you, beside those which may be ungrammatical or typographical, (as wheat seldom grows without tares,) you would, before this, have readily and cheerfully embraced the opportunity of correcting me. This persuasion encourages and stimulates me to proceed in the further investigation of the life of this Jesus, called the Christ. And though some persons may imagine that I am scheming to obtain a bishopric, or some other ecclesiastical benefice, I assure you Sir, that nothing is further from my views: my only object, unlike the generality of theologians, being the salvation of mankind and their eternal happiness. I therefore earnestly entreat your serious attention to the following observations.

Previous to the driving the buyers and sellers out of the temple, Matthew, Mark, and Luke say, that Jesus rode into Jerusalem upon an ass; which circumstance should have been noticed before, had not John placed

this triumphant ride a long time after the temple story.i And as there is something marvellous in the tale, it will not, I trust, be taken amiss, if we inquire into the particulars.

me.

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Matthew says, that when they drew nigh unto Jerusalem, Jesus sent two of his disciples into a village, where he told them they should find an ass tied, and a colt with her; loose them, he says, and bring them unto But Mark and Luke, considering that the ass and colt were not both required for one man to ride upon, leave out the story of the ass, by saying that it was only the colt that was brought to him. While John, who wrote his narrative some time after the rest, having discovered that the tendency of this robbery would invalidate the credit of Jesus, shrewdly omits it, by saying that it was a young ass which Jesus found! 4

In the first place, whose ass was this? Mark says that it was tied by the door; and Luke says that the owners of the ass inquired of the two disciples why they loosed him? which clearly proves that the ass or colt did not belong to Jesus or any of his disciples, but to some one or more persons unconnected with them. Then what legal claim had Jesus to this ass? It is evident that he did not ask permission, by his telling them, that should any man ask why they loosed him, to say that the Lord had need of him. So if they could have got the ass clear off, without any one perceiving them, they were to bring him; if not, they were to excuse themselves by this answer. But would this answer justify any person in the present day, if detected loosing an ass or colt, which the owner thereof had tied to his door? Our legislature punishes horse-stealing with death, but ass-stealing is only considered a minor offence, punishable with seven years transportation: though I cannot see any difference in the disposition of the man who steals an ass, and him who steals an horse. James says," that whosoever offends in one point of the whole law, is guilty of all. Therefore, if Jesus only broke the tenth commandment, by coveting his neighbour's ass, he was, according to James, equally guilty with the man who breaks them all; for

"by one sin is the law broken, as sure as one crack will break a pitcher, that can never be made whole again."

This story of running away with an ass or a colt, or a colt with the ass, for there is no method of knowing which account to believe, cannot, I think, add much to the honour and glory of Jesus; as we do not read that the ass was ever restored again to the owners; besides, it being a precedent for ass-stealing with impunity; as Shakspeare says,

"Thieves for their robbery, have authority,

When Judges steal themselves."

I would therefore advise our priests to expunge this story altogether; or say of it as John did, when he said, that Jesus found the ass. Even then, according to the Mosaic law, he would not be justified in detaining it, much less employing it to his own use, until he had made diligent inquiry after the owner. Instead of doing which, we find that he employed it in the most ostentatious manner possible, by riding upon it in triumph to Jerusalem; it being formerly as great an honour for a Jew to ride upon an ass, as it is in the present day to ride in a coach and six. Do we not read, and it is particularly remarked, that the thirty sons of Jair, who was one of the Judges in Israel, rode on thirty ass-colts, as an instance of their high rank and authority, they having thirty cities belonging to them? Another Judge in Israel, who had forty sons, and thirty nephews, are all likewise described as having ass-colts to ride upon. 8 Moreover, the 250 princes of Israel, who were famous in the congregation, and men of renown, had asses to ride upon; for what other purpose could they employ asses in a wilderness?? Even Balaam the prophet rode upon an ass along with the princes of Moab. (Numbers xxii. 22.)

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Matthew says, that all this was done, that it might be fulfilled, which was spoken by the prophet, saying, tell ye the daughter of Sion, behold, thy king cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting upon an ass, and a colt the foal of an ass. 0 But, as neither Mark nor Luke has taken any notice of this prophecy, it is most probable

that this, like the rest of Mr. Matthew's prophecies, is one of his own making. I shall therefore search the prophets, and see what they have said upon the subject.

The passage to which Matthew alludes, I find to be written by Zechariah, (ix. 9.) who lived in the reign of Darius, king of Persia; who, together with Haggai, prophecied or taught the people, while they were building the house of the Lord.11

This Zechariah, to encourage and stimulate the people in their work, relates many wonderful and curious things, which he told them he had seen in dreams and visions; with a view of comforting and cheering their dejected spirits; always endeavouring, by some whimsical or fanciful image, to prefigure their future happiness and dominion over the Gentile nations; such as horns without heads, women with wings, mountains of brass, flying rolls, red horses, and a strange variety of such like symbols and figures;12 by which he obtained a good report among the people as a prophet. While in those pleasant moods, he tells them that although the Lord had separated himself from them these many years, 13 (alluding to the captivity,) yet now he was returned unto Zion, where he would dwell in the midst of Jerusalem; they should be his people, and he would be their God. 14 He further tells them that the Lord had commanded him to take silver and gold, and make crowns, and set them upon the head of Joshua, the son of Josedech, the high priest, and say, thus saith the Lord, behold the man, whose name is the BRANCH, because he shall grow out of his place, and shall build the temple; he shall bear his glory, and sit and rule upon his throne; for he shall be a priest upon his throne. 15 Therefore, he says in the passage to which Matthew alludes, "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion, shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy king cometh unto thee; he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt, the foal of an ass."

The only thing in this passage, that has the least affinity to the case in question, is the ass. Joshua,

the son of Josedech, rode upon an ass, and Jesus, the son of Mary (for there is no knowing who was his father) rode also upon an ass. Have not many men and women rode upon asses besides Jesus, who never considered themselves as the subjects of prophecy? Then how can this prophecy apply exclusively to Jesus? Supposing that Jesus procured this ass, in order to apply this passage to himself, and so construe it into a prophecy, it being not so difficult to fulfil; and if, instead of stealing, he had borrowed, or even purchased it for the occasion; yet there is not so much similarity between the two asses, as to deserve the name of a prophecy. One ass carried the king of Jerusalem; the other carried Jesus the Carpenter, who was king of no place in this world, as he himself acknowledged to Pilate. 16 It is evident that Zechariah never intended his king's ass to apply to the ass of Jesus, by his saying to the people who were then dwelling at Jerusalem, "behold! thy king cometh unto thee." Jesus, instead of being king, was not even respected among them; or why should they be always moved, whenever they saw and heard him, to cast stones at him? Besides, Zechariah bids them to rejoice when his king cometh; but if all men are in danger of being damned through not believing in this Jesus, there is not much cause for rejoicing at his coming. But Zechariah does not inform us that the ass upon which his king rode was stolen; then how can the ass itself apply to the stolen ass of Jesus? If the ass of Jesus had spoken, like the ass of Balaam, and assured the people that he was the identical personage of whom Zechariah had spoken, it might have been worthy of recording; but as it did not please God to open his mouth, in order that he might convince the people of it, I cannot see any necessity for holy men of God to trouble themselves about such a contemptible animal as an ass, especially as the story is of so little credit to the life of Jesus, admitting that it was foretold.

Moreover, Zechariah said, that his king was just and lowly; but, surely, no one will presume to say thus much of Jesus, after having read so many of his violent