That Jesus ought to have rais'd all that dy'd, where-ever he came, during the Time of his Ministry, none, I presume, can hold. Two or three Instances of his almighty and miraculous Power of this Kind will be allow'd to be sufficient: But then they must be wisely and judiciously made Choice of, out of a vast Number of Persons, that must needs die in that Time. Where then was his Wisdom and Prudence to chuse these three Persons above others to that Honour? Why were all of them, or indeed any one of them preferr'd to other Persons of a different Age and Condition in the World? Nay, if the Letter of their Stories is only to be regarded, were not all these three Persons almost the improperest and most unfit of any for Jesus to exercise that Power on?
Jairus's Daughter was an insignificant Girl of twelve Years old: And there could be no Reason for raising her, but to wipe sorrow from the Hearts, and Tears from the Eyes of her Parents, who ought to have been better Philosophers, than immoderately to grieve for her. And was here a good Reason for Jesus to interpose with his Almighty Power? No certainly; a Lecture of Patience and Resignation this Case had been enough. And tho' Jesus could raise her from the dead; yet for as much as that Favour was to be conferr'd but on a few; and his Miracles ought to be useful as well as conspicuous, she should have been pass'd by, as an improper Object of his Power, in Comparison of many others, presently to be named. If therefore a better Reason, than what's discernible in the Letter, is not to be fetch'd from the Mystery; I can't suppose that Jesus, the Wisdom of God would raise this Girl; but that the modern Belief of her Resuscitation, exclusive of the mystical Signification, is, as shall be by and by argued, altogether groundless.
The Widow of Naim's Son too was but a νεανισκος Youth, and whether any thing older than the Girl above is doubtful; but his Life certainly was of no more Importance to the World after, than before his Resurrection. And why was he then one of the three to be rais'd from the dead? Why had he this Honour done him, before others of greater Age, Worth, and Use to Mankind? Some will say, for the Comfort or his sorrowful Mother. And is this Reason sufficient? A Discourse on the Pleasures of Abraham's Bosom, where she would e'er long meet her Son, had been enough to chear her Heart. If therefore the Fathers don't help me to a solid mystical Reason, why the Son and only Son of a Widow was to be rais'd by Jesus, as they were carrying him to his Burial, I'll not believe, He would raise this dead Boy rather than many others, for the Manifestation of his Power; but that the Story of his Resurrection, as shall soon be reasonably proved, was all Sham and Cheat.
Lazarus indeed was Jesus's Friend, whom he Loved; and as I will not question but Jesus's Affection was wisely and deservedly placed on him; so here, to Appearance, was a better Reason for the raising of him, than of either of the other Two. But even this Reason, supposing Jesus was to raise but three Persons, is not sufficient against the Cases of many others, that may be put for the Manifestation of his Power, for the Illustration of his Wisdom and Goodness, and for the Conversion of Unbelievers: Consequently, if this Story of Lazarus be not parabolical, the litteral Fact is disputable, and obnoxious to such Exceptions presently to be observed against it, as will not be easily got over.
Jesus rais'd the dead, and wrought other Miracles, say our Divines often, not only to manifest his own Power and Glory, but his Love to Mankind, and his Inclination to do them good: For which Reason his Miracles are useful and beneficial as well as stupendous and supernatural Acts, on purpose to conciliate Men's Affections as well as their Faith to him. On this Topick our Divines are copious and rhetorical, when they write on Jesus's Miracles, as if no more useful and wonderful Works could be done, than what he did. And I do agree with them, that (what Reason bespeaks) the Miracles of a pretended Author of Religion ought to be both as useful and great as well as could be. But such were not Jesus's Miracles according to Letter, and least of all his Acts of raising the dead. For if we consider the Persons rais'd by him, we shall find, he could hardly have exerted his Power on any of less Importance to the World, both before and after their Resurrection. A young Girl indeed is fitter to be raised than a decripid old Woman, who by the Course of Nature was to return to Corruption again, as soon as restored to Life: And a Boy rather than an infirm old Man for the same Reason: And Lazarus the Friend of Jesus, perhaps, and but perhaps, rather than his profess'd Enemy. But what are these three Persons in Comparison of many others of other Circumstances? Instead of a Boy, and a Girl and even of Lazarus, who were all of no Consequence to the Publick, either before or since; I should think, Jesus ought to have rais'd an useful Magistrate, whose Life had been a common Blessing; an industrious Merchant, whose Death was a publick Loss; a Father of a numerous Family, which for a comfortable Subsistance depended on him. Such dead Objects of Jesus's Power and Compassion could not but offer themselves, during the Time of his Ministry, and if he meant to be as useful as he could, in his Miracles, he would have laid hold on them. If a few Persons only were to be rais'd from the dead, the foresaid were the properest, whose Resurrection and Return to Life would have begotten the Applause as well as the Wonder of the World; would most extensively have spread Jesus's Fame; and would have gain'd him the Love and Discipleship of all that heard of his being so great a Benefactor to Mankind. Such Instances of his Power would have demonstrated him to be a most benign as well as a mighty Agent; and none in Interest or Prejudice could have open'd their Mouths against him, especially if the Persons rais'd from the dead were selected upon the Recommendation of the People of this or that City. But that an insignificant Boy and a Girl, (forsooth!) and the obscure Lazarus, are preferr'd by Jesus, to such publick and more deserving Persons is unaccountable. Their Story therefore, upon this Argument, savours of Romance and Fraud; and unless the Mystery help us to, what the Letter can't, a good reason for Jesus's Conduct here, the Miracles may be hence justly question'd, and the Credibility of their Report disputed.
But now I am speaking of the Fitness and Unfitness of deceased Persons to have this grand Miracle wrought on them; it comes into my Head to ask, why Jesus rais'd not John the Baptist to Life again? A Person of greater Merits, and more Worthy of the Favour of Jesus and of this Miracle, could not be. If Jesus could raise any from the dead he would surely have raised him; and why did he not? This is a reasonable Question and an Answer should be thought on for it. Was it a Thing out of Jesus's Power? Not so; He was Omnipotent, and could by Force or Persuasion have rescued John's Head out of the Hands of his Enemies; and the tacking it again to his Body, and the infusing new Life into him was no more difficult to Jesus, than the Resuscitation of a stinking Carcass. If Jesus had here exerted his Power, and rais'd his dearest Friend and choicest Minister for the Preparation, if not Propagation of the Gospel, none could question his Ability to raise any others, tho' he had rais'd no more. But in as much as John the Baptist, one of his singular Merits and Services to Christ, was overlook'd and neglected by him; and three useless and insignificant Persons had this Honour done them, the Facts may reasonably be called into question, and, if the Mysteries don't solve the Difficulty, their litteral Stories may hence be accounted foolish, fictitious and fabulous; especially if we consider,
4. That none of these three rais'd Persons had been long enough dead to amputate all Doubt of Jesus's miraculous Power in their Resurrection. As to Jairus's Daughter, she was but newly expired, if at all dead, when Jesus brought her to Life again. Jesus himself says, she was but asleep. And according to Theophanes Cerameus[289], and Theophilact[290] there is Room to suspect that this Girl was only Κατοχος beside herself. And it is not impossible, but the passionate Skreams of the Feminine By-standers might fright her into Fits, that bore the Appearance of Death; otherwise why did Jesus turn there inordinate Weepers out of the House, before he could bring her to her Senses again? And why did he tell her Parents, that she was only in a sleep, but to Comfort them with the Possibility of his awakening her out of it? Is not this destructive of the Miracle, and making no more of it, than what another Man might do? And is there not some Probability, that here's all of this Story? But supposing she was really dead, yet for the sake of an indisputable Miracle in her Resurrection, it must be granted, that she ought to have been much longer, some Days if not Weeks, dead and buried.
As to the Widow of Naim's Son, there was somewhat more of the Appearance of Death in him, than in Jairus's Daughter. He was carried forth to his Burial, and so may be presumed to be really a dead Corpse. But might not here be Fraud or Mistake in the Case? History and common Fame affords Instances of the mistaken Deaths of Persons, who sometimes have been unfortunately buried alive, and at other Times happily, by one Means or other, restored to Life: And who knows but Jesus, upon some Information or other, might suspect this Youth to be in a lethargick State, and had a Mind to try, if by chafeing, &c. he could not do, what successfully he did, bring him to his Senses again: Or might not a Piece of Fraud be here concerted between Jesus, a subtil Youth, and his Mother and others; and all the Formalities of a Death and Burial contrived, that Jesus, whose Fame for a Worker of Miracles was to be rais'd, might here have an Opportunity to make a shew of a grand one. The Mourning of the Widow, who had her Tears at Command and Jesus's casual meeting of the Corpse upon the Road, looks like Contrivance to put the better Face upon the Matter. God forbid, that I should suspect, there was any Fraud of this Kind here; but of the Possibility of it, none can doubt. And where there is a Possibility of Fraud, it is Nonsense, and mere Credulity to talk of a real, certain and stupendous Miracle, especially where the Juggler and pretended Worker of Miracles has been detected in some of his other Tricks. All that I have to say here to this Matter, is, that if Jesus had a Mind to raise the Son of this Widow, in Testimony of his divine Power, he should have suffer'd him to have been buried two or three Weeks first; otherwise, if the Mystery don't account for Jesus's stopping the Bearers of the Corpse upon the Road, here is too much Room for suspicion of Cheat in the Letter of the Story.
Lazarus's Case seems to be the less exceptionable of the three. He had been buried four Days, and supposed to be putrified in the Opinion of his Sister Mary, and of modern Christians: And if so, his Resuscitation was a most grand and indisputable Miracle. And I could have wish'd, if I had not loved the Mystery rather than the Letter, that no Cavil and Exception could have been made to it. Whether Lazarus, who was Jesus's Friend and beloved Disciple, would not come into Measures with his Lord, for the Defence of his Honour, and Propagation of his Fame, Infidels, who take Christianity for an Imposture, will not question: And whether he would not consent to be interr'd alive, in a hollow Cave, where there was only a Stone laid at the Mouth of it, as long as a Man could fast, none of them will doubt. Four Days was almost too long for a Man to fast without danger of Health; but if those four Days are number'd according to the Arithmetick of Jesus's three Days in his Grave, they are reducible to two Days and three Nights, which Time, if no Victuals were secretly convey'd with him, a Man might fast in Lazarus's Cave. As to the stinking of Lazarus's Carcass: that, Infidels will say, was but the Assertion of his Sister beforehand, like a Prologue to a Farce. None of the Spectators at his Resurrection say one Word of his stinking. And as to the Weepings and Lamentations of Jesus and of Lazarus's Sisters, they will say that was all Sham and Counterfeit, the better to carry on the Juggle of a feign'd Resurrection. And what's worst of all, they will say, that tho' Jesus did call Lazarus forth with a loud Voice, as if he had been as deaf as a dead Man; yet his Face was bound about with a Napkin, so that the Spectators could not discern what was of the Essence of the Miracle, the Change of his Countenance from a dead to a live one, which is a plain Sign, that it was all Fraud and Imposture.