order to decide between these wc examine whether prior lo tlie death of and of that event ideas of the age included the characteristics of and death if already in the lifetime of it was the opinion that the must die a violent then it is highly probable that this idea as a part of his convictions and it to his who in that case could so much the less have remained on this point and overwhelmed by the actual result iu the degree alleged und s t t i t of relating to death by the if on the contrary th it idea was not diffused among his before the death of it still remains possible that might arrive at that idea by his private it is a prior possibility that were the to adopt the characteristics of suffering and death into their conception of the after they had l een taught by the issue the question whether the i of a suffering and dying i c was already diffused among the jews in tiie time of is one of the most points of discussion among and one concerning which they are the least agreed and the of the question does not lie in the interests of party so that it might be hoped that with the rise of impartial investigation subject would cease to be for as has shown both the and the interest may alternately tend in each direction and we in fact find of both on both t the lies in the deficiency of information and in the uncertainty of that we do possess li the old testament contained the doctrine of a suffering and dying it might certainly thence be inferred with more than mere probability that this doctrine existed among the jews in the time of as however according to the most recent the old testament while it does indeed contain the doctrine of an of the sins of the i to take place at the era xiii dan ix has no trace of tliis being by the suffering and of the there is no decision of the question before us to be expected from this quarter the books of the old testament lie nearer to the time of but as these are altogether silent concerning the in al � there can be no discussion as to their containing that special feature again if we turn to and the two who wrote after the in question we find tiie latter silent as to the e of his nation j and though the former does j l of times and a hero he says nothing of sufferings on his part if thus there remain as sources of information on this the new testament and the later writings in the new testament almost is calculated to give the impression that a suffering and dying was among the jews who were with tu the majority of the jews we are told the doctrine of a u l er den un l die n � tt to in the it t s� he t in ue u u s ti ff h for tlie existence of the idea iu in lime of by in the ve i r if ami l v e t t a ir it tm t for o i it o l y da ut p i it ue l il l i f i � lit ut iso � � ii ut h� i a the ufe op was a and ihe were at a loss to understand in his repeated and explicit of death this not look as if the doctrine of a liad current among the jews of that period on the contrary these circumstances accord fully with the declaration which the puts into the mouth of the � s xii namely that they had heard in the law vo that for ever on indeed for a general of the of a suffering among tlie jews of that period even those who take affirmative side in this argument do not contend but admitting that the hope of a worldly reign was to endure for ever was tlie one they only maintain and with t that a less numerous party � according to the according to tlie letter and more part of the in � held the belief that the would appear in a humble guise and only enter into through suffering and death in support of they appeal especially to two passages one out of the third and one out of the fourth gospel when is presented as an infant in the temple at the aged among other particularly concerning the ion which her son would to encounter to mary yea a sword shall pierce throw h thine own ii words which seem to her maternal sorrow at the death of her son and consequently to represent the opinion that a death awaited the as one already current before christ still more is the idea of a contained in the words which the fourth makes the utter on seeing be ihe of god which away ihe sin of the i i this viewed in its relation to would in the mouth of the likewise tend to prove that the idea of suffering on tlie part of the was in existence before the time of but both these passages have been above shown to be and from the fact that primitive christian legend was led a considerable lime after the issue to attribute to persons whom it held inspired a of the di ine decree with respect to the death of it can by no means be concluded that this insight really existed prior to the death of in conclusion it is urged that at the c and refer to the idea of a suffering and dying in the old testament whence it is thought to conclude that this ion of the old testament passages connected with our present subject was not 