Five hundred years before the birth of Christ, the prophecies about the Messiah ceased. The reason for this is that the Jews were given time to comprehend these prophecies themselves, to discuss them, to compare them with each other, and thus to prepare themselves morally for the reception of the Messiah, to which they were later urged by John the Baptist.

Thus, the first preparation of the Jews consisted in prophecy. This series of prophets, appearing through the ages, may be likened to the series of predecessors announcing the coming of kings; each of them proclaimed the same thing that John the Baptist finally exclaimed: "He who is coming... Fortify me... repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand" (Matt. 4:11:2). This preparation had its effects, but it had more perverse effects, that is, the Jews rejected the Messiah, and the greater part of them based this on prophecies, on the concept of the sensual Messiah drawn from them. Does not the fault of such a misunderstanding of the Jews fall on the prophecies? Was it not necessary, as a result of the prophecies, to represent the Messiah sensually, as the Jews do to this day? The question is very important, because its misinterpretation resulted in terrible phenomena: the death of the God-Man and the fact that the whole nation remains in disastrous hardness to this day. But is there anything true in the Jews' reproaches against prophecy? Is not the Messiah depicted in the prophets as an earthly king? And this image, if it exists, is it such that the Jews could still expect such a king?

It is true that the Messiah in some places of prophecy is presented in sensual features, for example, as a king and victor (Psalm 2; 3-8. 44; 18. 71; 8-11. Mich. 5; 7-8; especially Isa. 60; 6. 61; 5), a benefactor of one of the Jewish people (Isa, ch. 60). But should the Jews confine themselves to these prophecies? No! they are indecisive. There are places in which the Messiah is presented, first, to the suffering (Isaiah 53; 2-5); secondly, those who reject the majority of the Jews and bring prosperity only to a certain pious remnant of the sons of Judah (Isaiah 61; 1-7), a king of peace (Psalm 2; 6, 2, 4, 5), a priest of Jehovah (Isaiah 45; 23. 56; 7). Although there are fewer of these features, they are clear and decisive.

The rejection of the Jews is clearly spoken of especially by the last prophets: Malachi predicts that the Messiah will make an analysis and then pour out blessings on the worthy.

They felt it themselves, but they did not reconcile it as they should; for their agreement they admitted two Messiahs: the humiliated and the glorious. But they would reconcile them in the best way if they recognized in one and the same Person two states: the humiliated and the glorified. The particularism (from the Latin "partial", "private" - disunity, fragmentation - ed.) of the Jews with the universalism (the belief in posthumous liberation from sin, the salvation of all people - ed.) of the entire human race can also be reconciled by the fact that those of the Jews who accepted the Messiah really received an advantage over other peoples, for Jesus Christ appeared among the Jews; of them the Apostles, of whom the first Church, is a very important advantage! From the sensual side, the Messiah was depicted more often and more clearly, because the condition of the Jewish people demanded it; moreover, sensual benefits were among the blessings He bestowed upon the human race. This followed in Christianity, although not soon.

Now we see clearly that the Christian peoples have become dominant and rule almost the whole world. If there are now powerful peoples outside of Christianity and remain unsubjugated to Christians, it is only because of the latter's condescension towards them. In this way, the sensual side of the prophecies about the Messiah came to pass. Of course, the Christian powers owe their power and prosperity to other causes; but even this cannot be denied, it is impossible not to prove with a minister of France, that the power of states is largely owed to Christianity. It is true that this duality of the Messiah gave rise to sensual conceptions of Him, but it is inevitable for the reasons we have given above, and does not give the Jews any right to excuse themselves and justify themselves for not accepting the Messiah, nor to complain about the prophets or Jehovah. It does not give them the right to the latter, because, judging by their mental and moral condition, they could not understand (could not understand - ed.) the image of the Messiah as the King of the moral and spiritual kingdom, and that therefore a prophecy of this kind would not have a beneficial effect on them; does not give the right to the former, because they were not supposed to accept the Messiah according to prophecies alone. His life and deeds were supposed to arouse faith in them, for the prophets prophesied that the Messiah would work miracles. In the present state it is even impossible for the Jews to judge the Messiah by prophecies, for where is the second temple at which He is to appear? The tribe of Judah, from which He was to come, was mingled with the rest; the scepter and the lawgiver have already been taken away; There are no traces of Bethlehem anymore. And even before it was difficult to judge by prophecies alone. For example, it was said that the Messiah would come from the tribe of David, but the tribe of David was numerous; how can the Jew recognize the Messiah according to this prophecy? The Messiah would come from Bethlehem, but there were many people in Bethlehem; will come from Virgo, but from which one? Again, the Jews could not recognize the Messiah from this prophecy. Thus, it was in vain that the Jews rejected the Messiah, acknowledging His miracles as the work of Beelzebub; in vain do they continue to cherish political dreams about Him. If only these dreams had taken place when the Jews had not been rejected. For it would be quite different if they accepted Jesus, and it was not impossible to receive Him. Then, at least partially, the sensual expectations of the Jews would have been realized. Jesus Christ, entering Jerusalem for the last time, wept: "Oh, if thou, O Jerusalem, knew the day of thy visitation," He said, "how many blessings thou wouldst receive!" Without a doubt, sensual misfortunes, for they are opposed to sensual misfortunes: not one stone will be left upon another, said the Saviour; the enemies will go around you and besiege you, and so on. Consequently, the first good would have been that Titus and Vespasian would not have approached Jerusalem, and the Jews would have been free from Roman slavery; and this would give everything a different and better look. So here is the first preparation consisting of prophecies! These are his actions on the Jews and the consequences!

The second preparation consisted of transformations. Providence decreed that all the almost famous Old Testament persons foreshadowed the Messiah and made a series of preparations. Were there really transforming persons in the Old Testament? There were and are many doubts about this question. But the basis for this kind of preparation lies in the very nature of things. Jesus Christ is the ideal of all mankind; in Him was expressed in a small form all that was and is the best in mankind; as a result, kings, prophets and other Old Testament men bore on themselves in parts those features which should all be concentrated together in the future Messiah. Thus, the suffering David represented the suffering Christ, and so on. This series of transformations, these events and circumstances of the persons on whom the fate of the Jewish people depended, Providence arranged in such a way that there was an exact harmony between them and the future Messiah. Thus, the prophet Jonah was swallowed up by a whale miraculously, or in whatever way; he could have been there for one day, three or more, but Providence decreed that he should be there for three days. From this came the transformation of Christ's three-day stay in the tomb. A similar feature is found in the institution of the Passover lamb, which was the center of all Old Testament rites. In one way or another, to cook it, to boil it or to bake it was a completely accidental matter. But Providence decreed that this lamb clearly expressed the great Lamb – Jesus Christ. The command not to break the bone is clearly a deliberate feature, for it departs from the usual way of eating meat. Thus, this is the basis of the prophecies! This is the way in which Providence arranged everything on this basis. In fact, he is assured by Jesus Christ Himself and the Apostles, who often reveal the features of the Messiah in many Old Testament men.

This preparation, of course, did not have such effects as the one that preceded it, and the one of which we will immediately speak, that is, such as the prophecies of religion itself, or the Covenant of the Jews itself. However, his actions were not small. If those persons who prefigured Christ knew their purpose by revelation, then how many motives could arise from this to lead a life consistent with and worthy of the Prototype! The holy books do not tell us that these persons know this, nor do they say that they do not know. But since these persons in the Old Testament knew a lot of things that are not in the books, they knew this too.

The third and most important preparation of the Jews was the religion given to them, or the law itself. This law was divided into moral, ceremonial and civil, all of which were given by God. Therefore the religion of the Jews was closely connected with politics. God Himself was their Ruler and Lawgiver; hence the government under which the Jews were was feocratic. How did such a religion prepare the Jews to accept the Messiah? And, first, how did the feocracy itself serve as a preparation for them for this? Theocracy brought the Jews closer to God; through such a closeness, it disposed them to receive from Him a greater revelation and promise, and, thus, served as an instrument for their preparation. It would be unseemly for another people, who did not have such special rights as the Jews, to communicate such information as God had communicated to them, for they would not have expected them, and therefore would not have been disposed to receive them. The prophets presented the Messiah to the Jews in the form of the Vicar of Jehovah, who was invisible even in the tabernacle. And therefore the Jews, having familiarized themselves with this Vicar beforehand, could easily recognize Him afterwards. This is how the feocracy and its composition prepared the Jews to receive the Messiah!

Как приготовлял их самый закон? Например, как приготовлял их закон нравственный? Он был весьма строг и за неисполнение грозил смертью: апостол Павел часто говорит об этом в своих посланиях. Но исполнить его человек сам по себе не мог. И потому, сознавая свое бессилие, располагался искать внешней помощи. Закон сей служил человеку как бы зеркалом, в котором он видел свое безобразие, свои недостатки и, таким образом, располагался к поиску средства, вознаграждающего недостатки. Но средство сие - в одном Боге. Правда, он находил сие средство в другом законе, в законе обрядовом, который служил поэтому дополнением к закону нравственному. Он, за неисполнение закона нравственного, требовал жертвы и по видимому изглаждал преступление. Следовательно, закон обрядовый мешал нравственному? Нет! Он только несколько успокаивал иудеев и облегчал тот путь, по которому они шествовали. Мессия был далеко, а закон нравственный гремел наказаниями и проклятиями; для уменьшения происходящего отсюда страха позволено Иудеям за некоторые преступления приносить удовлетворительные жертвы, а некоторые преступления наказываемы были смертью. Следовательно, виновность оставалась и при сем законе. И он не мог вполне успокаивать грешника, а потому должен был вести к тому же, к чему вел и закон нравственный: жертвы его должны были напоминать великую жертву - Иисуса Христа. В каждом сколько-нибудь размышляющем человеке он пробуждал мысль: "Каким образом наш Иегова - Существо духовное, чистейшее - отпускает грехи и за козла или же овцу? Невероятно, чтобы животные имели такую силу". Эта мысль пробуждала другие и тотчас вела к следующему заключению: "Верно, сила приносимых людьми жертв в чем-то высшем - в пророческих обетованиях о Мессии".

Таким образом, обрядовый закон, с одной стороны, как будто ослаблял поиск высшей помощи, а, с другой стороны, препровождал людей ко Христу и был, как говорит апостол Павел, пестуном к Нему. Кроме того, поскольку закон сей был весьма подробен и узорчат, и поскольку в сей узорчатой ткани были стороны, имеющие знаменование иероглифическое, то мыслящий человек видел в сих иероглифах особенные намерения Божий, а потому возбуждался искать развития и изъяснения оных в чем-то высшем.

Самая главная мысль, или же идея, закона обрядового олицетворена в христианстве. В основании обрядового закона Моисеева - идея примирения человека с Богом посредством чужих заслуг. На этой идее основано и все христианство, и оно есть примирение человечества с Божеством - через средство внешнее, заслугой Иисуса Христа. Сколько же поэтому сия мысль располагала Иудеев к принятию Мессии Христа! Отсюда-то, для убеждения тех из Иудеев, кои хотя мало рассуждали, мало требовалось. Апостол Павел для достижения этой цели почел нужным (в Послании к Евреям) сделать не более, как только (провести - ред.) параллель между обрядовым законом и Иисусом Христом. Итак, не столько, может быть, приготовлял Иудеев закон нравственный и феократия, или же закон политический, сколько приготовлял их закон обрядовый. Если бы посредством жертв его не распространилась мысль о том, что род человеческий будет искуплен жертвой, то как бы тогда странно было видеть Искупителя, жертвующего Самим Собой! Вот каким образом приготовляемы были Иудеи!

Скажут: но не приготовились, и потому воспитание было несовершенное, недостаточное. Что сказать против сего? Нет! воспитание было достаточное, ибо цель его достигнута. Цель особенного воспитания Иудеев, главным образом, заключалась во всем роде человеческом - в том, чтобы через Иудеев сохранить религию в таком виде, какой нужен был ей для того, чтобы естественно могла из нее выродиться религия христианская. Цель сия достигнута: христианство естественно выродилось из иудейства, подобно плоду, который созрел, отпал и отдан в употребление. Иудеи отслужили свою чреду как нельзя лучше, и, таким образом, славная цель иудейского воспитания достигнута. Но и по отношению к Иудеям цель воспитания также достигнута. Ибо лучшая часть нации иудейской последовала Христу. Что другая часть осталась в упорстве, этого виной они сами; притом, здесь осталась самая худая часть: каиафы, анны, саддукеи остались при своем заблуждении, но из них некоторые обратились в христианство. Посему-то апостол Павел в Послании к Римлянам заметил, что "не все Иудеи суть Иудеи" (Рим. 2; 29). Таким образом, главная цель сего воспитания в роде человеческом совершенно достигнута, и вторичная цель по отношению к Иудеям с лучших своих сторон также достигнута, ибо не язычники первые приняли Христа, а Иудеи. Если даже назовем его неудачным в последнем отношении, то неудача эта неизбежна, как условие к совершенству. Худшая часть Иудеев палестинских не приняла Мессии, ослепившись чувственным о Нем понятием. Вот недостаток, но он служил источником совершенства. Пусть бы пророки не представляли Мессии со стороны чувственной, тогда Иудеи стали ли бы ожидать Его с таким нетерпением? Нет! Народ чувственный не стал бы гоняться за духовным, между тем как чувственное представление Мессии было сильным побуждением ожидать Его и желать. Таким образом, погибель Иудеев была, как говорит апостол Павел, спасением для язычников и для них самих.

Обратимся к язычникам: что с ними было? Как они воспитывались? У них сохранились, но в некоторых частях обезобразились все средства всеобщего воспитания рода человеческого, бывшего в употреблении до Авраама. Например, у язычников сохранились жертвы и сделались средоточием их религии и богослужения. В их жертвах заключена была мысль о Мессии. Теперь, если предположим, что жертвы сии перешли к язычникам от тех, которые соединяли с ними эту высокую мысль, то с переходом жертв должно было перейти к ним и некоторое, хотя темное, понятие о Мессии, о высшей цели жертв, как это и выразилось у греков в их Дионисиевских жертвах.