"•WpliflfifM r"' PRINCETON, N. J. 1 '/'A'- -^Aji^t^ ^u.-ui.'U^ ■i Divisw7i.. 1j.vJ2L3..^ 1 Section .,» L./.Q. i ■ S/ie//. ,. i Nuviber ... ;^'- NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY INTENDED AS A Companion to tfje l^ctD €e^tamcnt, AND EMBRACING AN INTRODUCTORY ACCOUNT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT ; A RESUMfi AND HARMONY OP GOSPEL HISTORY; TABLES OF WEIGHT, MEASURE, AND CHRONOLOGY; A DICTIONARY OF HARD WORDS AND PHRASES; AN EXPLANATION OF OBSOLETE AND ARCHAIC WORDS ; A BIOGRA- PHICAL AND GEOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY ; AND A TABLE OF OLD TESTAMENT QUOTATIONS : TOGETHER WITH MAPS AND PLANS, ETC.. WILLIAM EDENSOE^^LITTLEWOOD, M.A. VICAR OP ST. JAMES'S, BATH ; FORMERLY HEAD MASTER OF HIPPERIlOLME GRAMMAR SCHOOL, HALIFAX. A. D. F. RANDOLPH AND CO. NEW YORK. 1872. * As concerning all I have translated or otherwise written, I beseech all men to read it for that purpose I wrote it, even to bring them to the knowledge of the Scripture. And as far as the Scripture appriU'eth it, so far to allow it ; and if in any place the Word of God disallow it, there to refuse it.' William Tyndale, 153-4. CONTENTS. SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY. A. The Greek Text of the New Testament B. The English Authorised Version . C. The order of the Books of the Xew Testament D. The origin of the first three Gospels E. Introductions to each book of the New Testament St. Matthew and his writing's St. Mark St. Luke „ St. John St. Paul Epistle of St. James St. Peter and his writings Epistle of St. Jude . PAGE 1 4 5 6 12 17 27 43 44 52 SECTION IL SKETCH OF THE GOSPEL HISTORY. CHAPTER I. From the birth of Jesus Christ, b.c. 5, to his being found in the Temple, March, a.d. 9 54 II. From the Baptism to the imnamed feast at Jerusalem . . 61 III. The Galilean ministry, from the appearance of Jesus at Nazareth to the feeding of the 5,000 67 IV. The Galilfean ministry, from our Lord's departure to Syro- Phoenicia to his departure for the Feast of Tabernacles . . 80 V. From our Lord's departure for the Feast of Tabernacles to the end of the Feast of Dedication ^6 VI. From the commencement of the final journey to Jerusalem to Thursday, 14th Nisan, A.n. 30 92 VII. From the Last Supper to the Ascension of Jesu.< Christ . 98 Vlil CONTENTS. SECTION III. TABLES. PA(1E 1. Chronological Summary of (lospel History ]J8 2. Chronology of the Acts 127 3. Tables of Lf-ngth 128 „ Liquid Measure 128 ,, Dry Measure 129 ,,. Weight 129 „ Money 129 „ Greek and Roman Money 130 Other Measures 130 Table of Time 130 SECTION IV. DICTIONARY OF DIFFICULTIES. 1. Words and phrases requiring explanation, but not being proper names 132 2. Obsolete and Archaic Words used in the Authorised Yersion . 261 SECTION V. DICTIONARY OK BIOGRAPHY AND GEOGRAPHY .... 273 Appendix I. List of Passages from the Old Testament, quoted in the New Testament 515 Appendix II. On reading and writing Greek and Hebrew . . . 538 LIST OF MAPS AND PLANS. Palestine in the time of Christ to face 1 Map Illustrating the Travels of St. ]'.. ill .... „ 27 Ancient Jerusalem „ 376 The Sea of Galilee 79 The Kidron Valley 376 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. SECTION I. INTRODUCTORY. A. The Greek Text of the Xew Testament. 1. The Textus Receptus, oi' Received Text. — Our Authorised English Version of the New Testament was made from a Greek text prepared originally by Erasmus, and revised by Robert Stephens, a Parisian printer, and Theodore Beza, an eminent French Calvinist. Erasmus published his first edition in 1516, and his fifth edition, with which Stephens' is almost identical, in 1537. Theodore Beza's first edition was published in 1565. In his first edition Erasmus only used such MSS. as he found at Basle, where he was then residing. In his fourth edition he availed himself of what is known as the Comi^kdensian Polyglot (so called from Alcala, or Complutum, in Spain, where it was printed, under the direction of Cardinal Ximenes, in 1514, although not published until 1522). From what MSS. the Complutensian Polyglot was formed is not known. Theodore Beza used also a MS. known as the Codex Bezce, now in the Cambridge University Library. It contains the four Gospels and Acts in Greek and Latin, and is generally supposed to be of the fifth or sixth century. He also used the Codex Claromontanus, an uncial MS. of the sixth century, containing the Pauline Epistles in Greek and Latin. This MS. is now in the National Library at Paris. Our Received Text may, therefore, be regarded as principally B 2 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. lormed from the Codex Bez^e, the Codex Claromontanus, and the unknown MSS. used by Erasmus and the editors of the Com- plutensian Polyglot. The corrections which the possession of more trustworthy MSS. and the diligence of subsequent editors require to be made in the Textus Receptus are, as might be expected, very numerous. But it is only in comparatively few places that they really affect the sense of a passage, or the doctrine deducible therefrom. A few of the important passages thus needing correction are — John V. 4, should be . |;ro&a&^/ omitted. John viii. 3-11 „ . probably omitted. Acts viii. 37 „ . omitted. Acts XX. 28, may be . ' the church of the Lord/ and not ' the church of God,' but the pre- ponderance favours the latter. 1 Tim. iii. 16 ,, . ' of godliness, who was manifest,' and not ' of godliness : God was mani- fest' 1 John V. 7, 8, should be ' For there are three that bear record [in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one. And there are three that bear witness in earth,] the spirit and the water and the blood : and these three agree in one.' Omit the icoi'ds in brackets. The canonical character of the passage Mark xvi. 9-20, which has been much disputed, has been lately ably demonstrated by Mr. Burgon. Whether it was written by St. Mark is doubtful. Neither the Vatican nor Sinaitic MSS. contain it. 2. Principal Sxistingr Original mss. — Four MSS. may now be chiefly relied wn for the formation of an accurate text. (1) The Sinaitic Codex, indicated by (^sj), was discovered by Tischendorf at the Convent of St. Catherine, on Mount Sinai, in 1844, and was obtained for the Emperor of Russia in 1859. It is an uncial MS. (i.e. written in capital letters) in four columns to a page, and contains both Old and New Testaments, the latter per- fect, as well as the Epistle of Barnabas and part of ' The Shepherd ' of Hermas. Tischendorf considers that it is one of fifty copies of the Scriptures which the Emperor Constantine directed to be made THE GREEK TEXT OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. 3 in 331 for Byzantium. It has since been published, and the Au- thorised Enjilish Version, with corrections made by its assistance, has been published at a low rate by Tauchnitz of Leipsic. The MS. itself is at St. Petersburgh. (2) The Vatican Codex (B) contains the Old Testament (want- ing a large portion of Genesis and the Psalms), and the New Tes- tament (deficient by Heb. x. 14-end, Timothy, Titus, Philemon, and Rev.) with the Epistle cf Clement to the Coiinthians. It is uncial, written on vellum, three columns to a page, and is regarded as of about the same age as the Sinaitic Codex. An edition of it was published by Cardinal Mai in 1858, but this is considered un- reliable. This MS. is in the Vatican library at Eome. (3). The Alexandrine Codex (A) is now in the British Museum, having been sent as a present to Charles I. in 1628 by Cyrillus Lucaris, Patriarch of Constantinople. It contains the Old and New Testaments and the Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians. It is uncial, written on parchment, with two columns to a page. Matt. i. 1-xxv. 6, John vi. 50-vii. 52, and 2 Cor. iv. 13-xii. 6, are wanting in it. It is generally considered to have been written in Egypt about the middle of the fifth century. It has been published in facsimile, N. T. 1736, 0. T. 1819. (4) The Codex Ephrcemi (C) is preserved in the National Library at Paris. This MS. is what is called a palimpsest, i.e. a manuscript which has been used twice over ; the earlier writing having either faded or been removed so as to permit a second use of the vellum or parchment. The second writing in this case is in cursive or small letters, and contains the works of Ephrem the Syrian. Under- neath this cursive writing is found an uncial writing, containing about two-thirds of the Old and New Testaments. This MS. was probably written at Alexandria, in the fifth century, and is regarded as of very high critical value. It was published by Tischendorf in 1843. Besides these four principal MSS., others may be named, with the letters by which they are generally indicated. Probable Date. Codex Bezse (D) . . . . Latter end of the fifth century. Codex Dublinensis (Z) . . . A palimpsest, of the sixth century. Codex Purpureus or Cottonianus (I) . A fragment, of the sixth century. ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY, B. The English Attthokised Version. During the latter part of Queen Elizabeth's reign, two rival English bibles existed. The former of these, which Mr. Westcott describes as at that time ' the household bible of the English-speak- ing nations,' ^ is commonly known as the Genevan Bible. It ap- peared at Geneva in 1557, with an introductory epistle by Calvin, and was the work of the Protestant English exiles who resided there, amongst whom Calvin's son-in-law, W. Whittingham, was conspicuous. It was divided into verses'^ and sections, and was rendered more attractive by a marginal commentary. The bible read in the churches, however, was not the Genevan Bible, but a bible known as The Bishops' Bible. This version was com- menced in 1563, and concluded in 1568, under the guidance of Archbishop Parker. There is some uncertainty as to the persons by whom the revision was actually effected, but eight of the re- visers who can be identified were bishops, and from them the book derives its name. This bible was founded on the Great Bible, set forth by Archbishop Cranmer in 1540, which was the work of Miles Coverdale, afterwards Bishop of Exeter. Bishop Cover- dale's translation was originally made 'out of Dutch (German) and Latin,' but had been compared with the original languages. But previous to the work of Coverdale, William Tyndale had translated into English the New Testament, and portions of the Old Testament, and had published a revised edition of his New Testament (the first volume of Holy Scripture printed in England) in 1536, under the patronage of Anne Boleyn. John de Wyecliffe, also, so early as 1384, had issued an English Bible in MS., trans- lated from the Latin Vulgate. The superior popularity of the Genevan Bible over the Bishops' Bible was one important cause of our present Authorised Version. The mistakes and shortcomings of the Bishops' Bible were naturally much noticed, and accordingly the subject of a new translation was considered at the Hampton Court Conference, at the beginning of the reign of James I., in 1604. By July of the same year the king had matured his scheme for a revision, and had selected fifty- four persons to whom to entrust a new translation. But difficulties arose, and the work was not seriously undertaken until 1607. In ^ History of the English Bible, p. 121. ' Division into verses first appeared in Stephens' Greek Testament of 1551. The division into chapters was made by Cardinal Hngo in the thirteenth century. THE ENGLISH AUTHORISED VERSION. 5 that year forty-seven translators (divided into six companies, two of wliicli met at Westminster, two at Cambridge, and two at Oxford) commenced the revision. The Scriptures were thus divided among the companies : 1, Gen.-2 Kings. 2. 1 Chron.-Eccl. 3. Isaiah- Malachi. 4. The Apocrypha. 5. Four Gospels and Apocalypse. 6. Romans-Jude. A code of instructions was drawn up for their guidance, among the provisions of which the following may be noted : — 1. The Bishops' Bible to be followed, and as little altered as necessary. 3. The old ecclesiastical words to be kept — viz. the word church not to be translated congregation^ &c. 6. No marginal notes to be affixed, but only for the explanation of the Hebrew or Greek words. 9. Any book having been finished by one company, to be sent to the rest for consideration. The work, according to the preface, occupied ^ twice seven times seventy-two days and more ' (about two years and nine months), and appeared from the press of E,. Barker in 1611. It is the Bible now read as The Authorised Version (A. V.). While these words are being written, a new Revision of the English Bible is being undertaken by two companies of learned and pious men, appointed by the Convocation of Canterbury, but also approved of by the Convocation of York. C. The Order of the Books of the New Testament. The present order of the books is very ancient, but is not the order of the principal MSS. These are — Vatican, Alexandrine, and Uphrcemi. Shiaitic. 1. Gospels. 1. Gospels. 2. Acts. 2. Pauline Epistles with Heb. 3. Catholic Epistles. following 2 Thess. 4. Pauline Epistles with Heb. 3. Acts, between 2 Thess. and 4. Catholic Epistles. 1 Tim. 5. Apocalypse. 5. Apocalypse. The chronological order in which the books were written is more difficult to determine, and is treated of under each book. 6 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. I). The Origin of the First Three Gospels. The second chapter of Mr. Westcott's ^ Introduction to the Study of the Gospels' is devoted to showing that the three first Gospels arose from a common oral source. '■ This oral Gospel/ according to the same learned writer, ' as far as it can be traced in the Acts and Epistles, centered in the crowning facts of the Passion and the Resurrection, while the earlier ministry of the Lord was re- garded chiefly in relation to its final issue.' Dean Alford had already anticipated this view. He says (Prolegomena, i. 3), 'I believe that the Apostles, in virtue not merely of their having been eye and ear witnesses of the Evangelic history, but especially of their oifiee, gave to the various churches their testimony in a narrative of facts .... This common substratum of Apostolic teaching — never formally adopted by all, but subject to all the varieties of diction and arrangement, addition and omission, inci- dent to transmission through many individual minds, and into many different localities — I believe to have been the original source of the common part of our three Gospels.' jE". iNTRODrCTIONS TO EACH BoOK OF THE NeW TESTAMENT. ST. MATTHEW AND HIS WRITINGS. 1. St. Matthew's Iiife. — Of St. Matthew (?.Ta-0a7oc, but better M «f^.3ra(oc, Matthmts) himself very little is known. He was a publican, or collector of taxes, at Capernaum in Galilee, and was probably of good means, as he made a feast for our Lord, at whicb many persons were present. He was employed in the duties of his office when our Lord called him, and is recorded to have at once ' left all and followed him ' (Matt. ix. 9, 10 ; Mark ii. 14, 15 ; Luke v. 27-29). Up to the time of his call he was named Levi the son of Alphseus, and the name Matthew ( = Theodore = the gift of God ?) appears to have been a surname, as Peter was. From the name of his father, which was the same as that of James the Less, he has been regarded by some as the brother of James, but the names of James and Matthew nowhere appear in "uch conjunction as to lend any support to this supposition. When our Lord appointed an apostolate, Matthew became one of the Twelve, and his name appears regularly in the lists with that of Thomas. But nothing whatever is recorded of him as distin- guished from the other Apostles. Eusebius states that he preached fifteen years in .Tudsea, and then, having delivered his Gospel to ST. MATTHEW AND HIS WKITINGS. 7 his Jervish converts, went to other nations. Clemens of Alex- andria states that he was of the ascetic school ; and many other traditions are handed down respecting him, but nothing is cer- tainly known of his after history. 2. St. Matthew's Gospel. — Language. The universal tradi- tion of the early Church declares that Hebrew or Syro-Chaldaic (i.e. the vernacular of Palestine in our Lord's time) was the origi- nal language of this Gospel, but by whom or when it was trans- lated into Greek is entirely undetermined. Alford, who takes this view, supports it with the authority of eighteen eminent modern critics ; Archbishop Thomson, on the other hand, pro- duces as many for an opposite opinion, that the original language was Greek. His own arguments in the main amount to three : (1) That the quotations from the 0. T., which, when occurring in the narrative, are taken from the Hebrew text, and when occur- ring in the discourses or conversations are taken from the Septua- gint, are dealt with in too free a manner for a mere translator ; (2) That there was certainly a heretical ' Gospel of the Hebrews,' ^ which was probably mistaken for the original of St. Matthew's Gospel ; (3) That the original Hebrew Gospel has never been seen by anyone who speaks of it. Date and Place of Writing. From xxvii. 8 (' that field was called The field of Blood tmto this dag '), and xxviii. 15 (' this saying is commonly reported among the Jews unto this dag '), it appears that some time elapsed between the death of our Lord (a.d. 30) and the publication of this Gospel, On the other hand, the siege and capture of Jerusalem (a.d. 70) had not taken place. Early testimony varies. Irenaeus says that the Gospel was written while Peter and Paul were preaching at Rome (a.d. GI- GS ?) ; Eusebius (as above) and Nicephorus, fifteen years after the Ascension, i.e. A.D. 45 ; others in a.d. 38, and others at the time of the stoning of Stephen (a.d. 3G ?). But it is universally agreed that it was the earliest of the Gospels, and the absence of explanatory clauses as to Jewish usages indicates that it was com- posed for the use of Jews, if not actually in Palestine itself. Design. The primary design of St. Matthew is to exhibit Jesus as the Jewish Messiah. To this end he commences his Gospel, in Jewish fashion, by tracing the genealogy of our Lord through David to Abraham, continually points to the fulfilment of pro- ' In Westcott's Introduction to the Study of the Gospels, App. D, the remaining frag- ments of this Gospel, as found in Jerome's translation, are given at length. In the Bame place fragments of other apocrjrphal gospels are exhibited. 8 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY phecy, and uses the phrase ' kingdom of heaven ' — a phrase current amongst Rabbinical writers to designate the kingdom of Messiah. At the same time, St. Matthew is careful to show that the bless- ings of Messiah are to be extended to all the world (viii. 11, 12 ; xxi. 43 ; xxviii. 19). Principal Peculiarities. 1. Great fulness in relating our Lord's discourses. See especially v.-vii., x.-xiii., xxi.-xxv. 2. Reference to the prophets, generally with the phrase, ' That it might be fulfilled which was spoken of the Lord by the prophet.' 3. The phrase •' kingdom of heaven ' occurs thirty- one times, and is not used at all by the other evangelists. The expres- sion ^kingdom of God' is also found (vi. 33; xii. 28; xix. 24; xxi. 31). 4. Jerusalem called ' the holy city ' (iv. 5 ; xxvii. 63). o. auvTfXaa rov ciIojvoq (A. V. ' the end of the world '), five times ; in the rest of New Testament only once (Heb. ix. 26). 6. ' Father in heaven ' or ' heavenly Father,' twenty-two times. 7. Ta^oQ (A.V. ' sepulchre '), six times, but also found in Rom. iii. 13 (' their throat is an open sepulchre '). Other Evangel- ists use fiV7]iAt7ov, which is also foimd in Matthew. 8. The Greek equivalent for ' Jerusalem ' in Matt, and Mark is always 'IipoauXvfia, except in Matt, xxiii. 37 and Mark xi. 1. 9. Words or short phrases peculiar to Matthew are — diariliiv, to doubt, xiv. 31 ; xxviii. 17. KaTaTTovriZ^frOat, to he ovenvhelmed with the sea (A.V. ' to sink '), xiv. 30 ; xviii. 6. fiaXaicia, disease, iv. 23; ix. 35 ; x. 1. fieraipnv, to depart, xiii. 53 ; xix. 1. oiKiuKoc, of his own household, x. 25, 36. bvap, a dream, six times. TTot:!!' or ioavep, to do as, six times. pairiZeiv, to smite, v. 39 ; xxvi. 67. aeXrjvid^eaOaif to be lunatick, iv. 24 ; xvii. 15. av/jfSovXiov XcifJiSdvau', to take counsel, five times. Mark twice (iii. 6 ; xv. 1) uses ovij[3ouXiov -n-oieiv = to take counsel, and in Acts XXV. 12 the assessors of Festus are called avfx(3. avvaiptiv Xoyov, to take account, reckon, xviii. 23, 24 ; XXV. 19. •ppdX^uv, to declare, xiii. 36 ; xv. 15. ST. ]VL\TTHEW AND HIS WRITINGS. 9 10. Relations peculiar to Matthew are — The Wise Men from the East . . ii. 1-12 Healing ofTwo Blind Men and a Demoniac ix. 27—34 Parables of the Wheat and Tares . xiii. 24-30,36-43 „ the Treasure, Pearl, and Net . xiii. 44-52 ,, Labourers in the Vineyard . xx. 1-16 „ Two Sons .... xxi. 28-32 „ Ten Virgins .... xxv. 1-13 Miraculous Payment of Tribute . . xvii. 24-27 Death of Judas xxvii. 3-10 The guard at the sepulchre . xxvii. 62-66 ; xxviii. 11-15 On the mountain in Galilee . . xxviii. 16-20 Discourses . xi. 20-30- xviii. 15-35 ; xxv. 31-46 11. Omissions — The Circumcision. The Presentation in the Temple. The Ascension. ST. mare: and his writings. 1. St. Mark's liife. — St. Mark (Mapfcoc, Marcus) was 'sister's son ' {avfipioi:, which rather means Jii^st cousin) to Barnabas, and author, according to universal tradition, of the second Gospel. From Acts xii. 12, we find that his mother's name was Mary, and that she resided at Jerusalem, at a house frequented by the dis- ciples. The name ' Mark ' is also here explained to be merely a surname, the evangelist's Hebrew name being John. With Bar- nabas and Saul, he appears to have left Jerusalem for Antioch, and to have accompanied the two apostles as their '• minister ' i^vTnjpsTijg:), on their first missionary journey, as far as Perga in Pamphylia, where he left them, and returned to Jerusalem (Acts xii. 25- xiii. 13). During this journey he visited Seleucia and Salamis in Cyprus, and at Paphos witnessed the miraculous blind- ness inflicted upon Elymas the sorcerer, and the conversion of Sergius Paulus, the ' deputy ' or proconsul (dvOvTra-oc). He was again at Antioch when Barnabas and Paul pi-oposed a second mis- sionary journey, and was the cause of Barnabas relinquishing his intention of going with l^aul. Barnabas had determined to take Mark with him, but Paul objected to him as having left them at Perga; and the ' contention (-n-apoKva^ioc) was so sharp ' ^ that the ' John "Wesley, in one of his eermons, shows that this Trapolvtr/xb? iyevero simply 10 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. apostles parted, and Mark went with Barnabas to Cyprus. Not- withstanding this, Mark appears to have been with Paul at Borne, being commended by him (Col. iv. 10) from that place to the church at Colossfe, and being styled in Philem. 24 his 'fellow- worker.' In 2 Tim. iv. 11 the same apostle writes from Rome, and desires that Timothy would bring Mark, seeing that he was ' profitable for the ministry ' (cOYpz/oTcc tic 5iaicovlav = iQ,iher 'his services are profitable unto me'). Lastly, Mark appears with Peter at Babylon (1 Pet. v. 13), and is there called his ' son.' From this it is generally supposed that Mark's conversion was due to Peter (cf. 1 Tim. i. 2 ; 2 Tim. i. 2), and universal tradition makes Mark to have derived his knowledge of the Gospel history from Peter, and to have been that apostle's companion at Rome (?). It is further stated that he founded the church at Alexandria, and was there martyred. 2. St. 3Slark's G-ospel. — Language. Several Roman Catholic writers assert that St. Mark wrote his Gospel in Latin, but no support can be derived for such a statement either from ancient MSS. or from tradition, which universally declares the original language of this Gospel to have been Greek. Date and Place of Writing. Probably between a.d. 64 and 70, and out of Palestine, as the book abounds with explanations of Jewish rites and usages. Object. This is implied in i. 11 to be the setting forth of Jesus as tlie Son of God, and the writer is therefore led to dwell especi- ally on the events of our Lord's ofiicial life. Very few discourses are related ; and that Gentile Christians were expected to be the principal readers is evident from, (1) the omission of genealogies; (2) an absence of 0. T. quotations ; (3) appending of interpreta- tions to Hebrew terms (v. 41; vii. 11, 34), and explanations to the mention of Jewish customs (vii. 3, 4) ; (4) no mention of the Jewish law. Soitrcc. Papias says, on the authority of the elder John, ' Mark having become Peter's interpreter, wrote accurately all that he (Peter) mentioned ; though he did not [record] in order that which was either said or done by Christ. For he neither heard the Lord nor followed Him ; but subsequently, as I said, [attached himself to] Peter, who used to frame his teaching to meet the wants [of his hearers], but not as maldng a connected narrative of the Lord's means ' there was a coiitrovorsj%' and that althongh Barnabas may have been in the wrong, there is no necessity for supposing that St. Paul lost his temper, especially as the brethren afterwards ' commended bim to the grace of God.' ST. MARK AND HIS WETTINGS. 11 discourses (or, oracles ?). So Mark committed no error, as he wrote down some particulars as he narrated them ; for he took heed to one thing, to omit nothing of things he heard, or to make no false statement in [his account of] them.' ^ This statement is repeated by many other early writers, and the Gospel of St. Mark may therefore be virtually regarded as the Gospel of St. Peter. Trhwipal Pccndiarities. 1. Minute detail in relation of incidents, so that the Gospel has been called 'a series of perfect pictures.' These minute details extend to our Lord's look, feeling (iii. 5, 34 ; v. 32 ; tL 6; X. 21, 23; xi. 11), and words (Boanerges, iii. 17; Talitha ciimi, V. 41; Korban, vii. 11; Ephphatha, vii. 34; Abba, xiv. 36) ; to particulars of persons (i. 29, 36 ; ii. 23 ; iii. 6, 22 ; vii. 26 ; xi. 1, 21 ; xiii. 3 ; xiv. 65 ; xv. 7, 21 ; xvi. 7) ; number (v. 13 ; vi. 7, 40 ; xiv. 30) ; time (i. 35 ; ii. 1 ; iv. 35 ; vi. 2 ; xi. 1 1 ; xiv. 68 ; xv. 25) ; and place (ii. 13 ; V. 20 ; vii. 31 ; xii. 41 ; xiii. 3 : xiv. 68 ; xv. 39 ; xvi. 5). This Gospel also frequently adopts the present for the historic tenses. 2. Latin words abound, and St. Mark alone uses mracovXazMp = speculator, an executioner, or rather, one of the body-guard (vi, 27) ; KfvrvpiMv = centurio, a centurion (xv. 39, 44, 45) : and l'i(TTi]c = sextarius, a pot (vii. 4, 8). 3. Peculiar words are — oKctkoi;, du7nb, vii. 37 ; ix. 17, 25. UQa/xISfiaeai, to be greatly amazed, ix. 1 o ; xiv. 33 ; xvi. 5, 6. l^d-iva, suddenly, ix. 8. iinnvvTpkxnv, to come 7'mi7ting together, ix. 25. IvnXtiv, to wra/7, xv. 46. f.vayKa.\iZ,tnQai, to take up in the arms, ix. 36 ; x. 16. Hvpii^Hv, to anoint, xiv. 8. vovvtxi^e, discreetly, xii. 34. Trpofifpifivav, to take thought hefoi-ehand, xiii. 11. irpooKupakcxwv, a pillow, iv. 38. ■7rpo(nropivt9ev iraa-Lv aKpi^iog. A. Y. as aboTC ; but many think that the real meaning of this phrase is, that -t. Luke had ' carefully traced the progress of all things from the first.' - Given in Mr. Westcott's Introduction, note in chap. iii. 14 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Tertullian, Jerome, Origen, and others repeat the same tradition, and it has been supposed that the refertinces made by Paul to ' my gospel ' (Rom. ii. IG — cf. Luke viii. 17, xvii. 22-37; Kom. xvi. 25 — cf, Luke xxi. 18, 19 ; 2 Tim. ii. 8) are to this Gospel. The words of i. 1-3 are regarded by some as contradicting this supposition, but it does not appear that they exclude the notion that Luke, while availing himself of many previous relations and making diligent personal enquiry, wrote mainly under the influence of St. Paul, who was favoured with a special revelation from the Lord Himself (1 Cor. xi. 23 ; Gal. ii. 2 ; Eph. iii. 3). Design. The Gospel of St. Luke was written primarily for the instruction of one Theophilus, and for the confirmation of his faith in the doctrines and facts of the Gospel ; but the tracing of the genealogy of our Lord back to Adam, and the absence of any special reference ti) either Jewish feelings or Gentile ignorance of Jewish ways, seem to indicate that it was intended for universal use. This view of the universality of the Gospel seems also to accord with the offer of salvation to all, so clearly made in the ' later treatise ' of the same author. Peculiarities. 1. Strict chronological arrangement. It should be stated, how- ever, that while this view is taken of St. Luke's Gospel by very many commentators, it is by no means unchallenged. 2. Words peculiar to the Gospel — ounrpaynaTtveiv, to gain by trading, xix. 15, and many other words compounded with cid and tTri. iiTovwc, vehementlg, xxiii. 10, but others read euroi^LOf;, as in Acts xviii. 28. TTTotloOai, to be terrified, xxi. 9. (rvKot,avTuVf to accuse falsely ., iii. 14; xix. 8. Gvvii,ai, to be gathered together, viii. 4. avvTvyx"-vtiv, to come at, viii. 19. TtXt(y(popiiv, to bring fruit to perfection, viii. 14. rpavfiu, a ivound, x. 34, v-Koxui\)iivy to withdraw oneself, v. 16 ; ix. 10. (pCKovHicia, a strife, xxii. 24 Xptio(p£iXiTt]r, a debtor, vii. 41 ; xvi. 5. 3. Words peculiar to the Gospel and Acts — cia-opelv, to be ^;e;y/e.rei/; ix. 7; xxiv. 4; Acts ii. 12 j V. 24 : X. 17. ST. LUKE AND HIS WKITINGS. 15 ciiaTCLvai, to be parted from, xxii. 59 ; xxiv. 51 ; Acts xxvii. 28. ciiaxvpi^taOat, to confidently a^rm, xxii. 59 ; Acts xii. 15. cioctvuvf to go through, viii. 1 ; Acts xvii. 1, and many other words compounded with cia. ivf-Sptvuv, to lay wait, xi. 54; Acts xxiii. 21. »/ k^c, the day after, vii. 11 ; ix. 37 ; Acts xxi. 1 ; xxv. 17 ; xxvii. 18. i7ri(3i(3dZuv, to set on, x. 34- ; xix. 35 ; Acts xxiii. 24. tTTixnpeiu, to take in hand, i. 1 ; Acts ix. 29 ; xix. 13, and many other words compounded with k-n-i. ev\al3r](:, devout, ii. 25 ; Acts ii. 5 ; viii. 2. tcpopdv, to look upon, i. 25 ; Acts iv. 29. OanlSog, attiazetnent, iv. 36 ; v. 9 ; Acts iii. 10. 'iaaic;, a cure, xiii. 32 ; Acts iv. 22, 30. KuOfKi'ic, in order, i. 3 ; viii. 1 ; Acts iii. 24 ; xi. 4 ; xviii. 23. KaUoTi, because, i. 7 ; xix. 9 ; Acts ii. 24, 45 ; iv. 35. KaraKXeiHi^, to shut up, iii. 20 ; Acts xxvi. 10. KUTaKokovQCiv, to follow after, xxiii. 55; Acts xvi. 17. K\daiQ Tot) dprov, breaking of bread, xxiv. 35 ; Acts ii. 42. fieyaXua, great things, i. 49 ; Acts ii. 11. odwuG^ai, to be in sorroio, ii. 48 ; xvi. 24, 25 ; Acts xx. 38. vfiiXdv, to talk together, xxiv. 14, 15 ; Acts xx. 11 ; xxiv. 26. 6x>^t~i(T9ai, to be vexed (i.e. with evil spirits), vi. 18 ; Acts V. 16. TTpojSaXXitv, to shoot forth, xxi. 30; Acts xix. 33. r.poaooKia, looking after, xxi. 26 ; Acts xii. 11. avfilSuWtii^, to make war, ponder, ii. 19 ; xiv. 31 ; Acts iv. 15 ; xvii. 18 ; xviii. 27 ; xx. 14. cvfiirXrtpovv, to Jill, viii. 23 ; ix. 51 ; Acts ii, 1. avvapTrai;,uv, to catch, viii. 29 ; Acts vi. 12 ; xix. 29 ; xxvii. 15. GWiiBpoiliw, to gather together, xxiv. 33; Acts xii. 12; xix. 25. GvvHvai, to be with, ix. 18; Acts xxii. 11. Tpavixari'CtLv, to wound, XX. 12 ; Acts xix. 16. 4, Relations peculiar to St. Luke's Gospel are — Preface, Annunciations of the Baptist's birth, and of the Saviour's birth. Visit of Mary to Elizabeth, Birth of John the Baptist, i. 1-80. 16 ESSENTIALS OF NP.W TESTAMENT STUDY. The Shepherds, Circumcision, and Presentation, ii. 8-38. Jesus in the Temple at twelve Years old, ii. 40-52. Second Vi.-it to the Synagogue at Nazareth, iv. 16-30. Raising of the Widow's Son at Nain, vii. 11-17. Anointing by the Woman who was a Sinner, vii. 36-50. The Disciples ask for fire from Heaven, ix. 52-56. Mission of the Seventy, x. 1-24. Parables of the Good Samaritan, x. 25-37. „ the Lost Sheep, Piece of Money, Prodigal Son, Unjust Steward, Rich Man and Lazarus, XV, xvi. „ Unjust Judge and Pharisee and Publican, xviii. 1-14. The Ten Talents (?), xix. 11-28. Martha and Mary, x. 38-42. Discourses which may or may not be parallel with some related by Matthew and Mark, and including the second and third lots of the above parables, and the miracles of a woman healed on the Sabbath day, a man with a dropsy healed, and ten lepers healed, xi. 1- xviii. 14. Interview with Zacchaeus, xix. 1-10. Our Lord sent to Herod, xxiii. 4-11. The Penitent Thief, xxiii. 40-43. 3." Acts of tlie ikpostles. — Date and Place of Writing. As stated above, we learn from xxviii. 30 that this book could not have been published before Paul had been two years at Rome, or before he was brought before Nero. This fixes the date at a.d. 63 ; and the same circumstances, coupled with the fact that St. Luke was at the time a companion with St. Paul, who could not leave Rome, settles Rome as the place of writing. This of coarse presumes that, in accordance with universal tradition, and the arguments suggested from internal evidence (see Life of St. Luke), the author was St. Luke. The names of Timothy and Silas have been also suggested, and some endeavour to show that Luke and Silas were identical. An elaborate confutation of this opinion is found in Alford's Test. (Prolegomena to Acts i. 1). Sources. Luke being admitted to be the companion of Paul, at any rate from Paul's voyage to Philippi (but see xiv. 22), there can be no difficulty in perceiving that the latter portion of the history is narrated either from personal knowledge, or from the direct relations of those engaged. With regard to the earlier ST. LUKE AND HIS WRITINGS. 17 portions of the book, it has been suggested, (1) that much inforraa- tion about the choice and acts of the Seven, in vi., and the acts of Philip the Evangelist, in viii., may have been obtained from Phii'p himself, who dwelt at Ca3sarea (xxi. 8) ; (2) that the circum- stances attending Stephen's trial and the conversion of Saul may well have been derived directly from St. Paul himself; (3) that the careful detail of xii., descending even to the name of the door- keeper, could only have been obtained from persons actually pre- sent at the events narrated ; (4) that St. Luke had access to written documents (xv. 23-29 ; xxiii. 26-30), and to careful re- ports of speeches, possibly revised in some cases by the speakers themselves. Design. No further design appears to have animated the author of the Acts than to present a plain and unbiassed record of the facts which he narrates. But, being guided by the Spirit, the author has clearly been led to record — 1. The fulfilment of the promise of the Father in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit. 2. The offer of salvation to the Gentiles through faith in Jesus. 3. The establishment and discipline of the Christian Church. 4. The labours and perils undergone by the first evangelists, and especially by St. Paul. ST. JOHN" AKD HIS WEITrXGS. 1. Iiife of St. Jolan,— The apostle and evangelist St. John ('Iwavrjyc, Joannes) was the son of Zebedee (Matt. iv. 21) and Salome (Matt, xxvii. 56, compared with Mark xv. 40), and brother of James. Nothing is known of Zebedee, except that he made no objection to his sous following Jesus, that he was engaged in the fishing business upon the Sea of Galilee, and that he is supposed to have died during the first year of our Lord's ministry. Salome appears on several occasions (see Salome'). Some few circumstances are recorded which show that St. John's social rank was above the lowest. Thus, his father employed ' hired servants ' in his busi- ness (Mark i. 20) ; his mother is mentioned among the women who ministered to Jesus of their substance, and bought sweet spices for his anointing (Mark xvi. 1, compared with Luke viii. 3 ; xxiii. 55) ; and to him our Lord on the cross entrusted his own mother Mary, whom John forthwith took away to his own home {dq ra 'iha, John xix. 27). In his Gospel St. John never names himself : and hence, .conf^ider- c 18 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. ing tlie extreme particularity of the narrative in i. 35-42, which forbids the notion of the writer's ignorance of the name of the disciple whose name he suppresses, and considering also that Peter and John appear continually together, it has heen generally con- jectured that the unnamed one of the two disciples in i. 37 was John himself. If this was the case, John, as well as Andrew and Peter, was a disciple of John the Baptist, and references to him at the beginning of John's Gospel may naturally be expected. An intimacy with our Lord thus early acquired also explains iii.-iv., in which the interview with Nicodemus at Jerusalem and with the woman at Sychar are related. After this preliminary introduction to Jesus, the sons of Zebedee appear to have returned for awhile to their usual occupation of fishermen on the Sea of Galilee, in which they were partners with Simon Peter (Luke v. 10). Thus they were found by our Lord, mending their nets (Matt. iv. 21 ; Mark i. 29), and on this occa- sion received a call to follow Him. Further on, having had a miraculous draught of fishes vouchsafed them, they 'forsook all and followed' Jesus (Luke v. 1-11). Henceforward John appears as a constant companion of our Lord, and singled out by Him for such peculiar afiection, as to be entitled ' the disciple whom Jesus loved ' (oj/ jyy/Tra in xiii. 23 ; xix. 26 ; xxi. 7, 20; but ov icpiXsi in xx. 2). He became one of the Twelve, always appearing in the lists in company with James, and being surnamed together with him Boanerges, i.e. the Sons of Thunder, perhaps on account of the zeal and fervency of their dis- position (jMark iii. 17). In company with James and Peter, he witnessed the raising of Jairus' daughter (Mark v. 37), the Trans- figuration (Matt. xvii. 1), the Agony in the Garden (Matt. xxvi. 37 ; Mark xiv. 33). He leaned upon the bosom of our Lord at the Last Supper (John xiii. 23), and received information as to the betrayer ; and although he fied with the others when Jesus was arrested, he followed with Peter afar off, and by his personal acquaintance with the high-priest, both entered the high-priest's palace himself and obtained admission for Peter (John xviii. 15, 16). Here he was a witness of the insults inflicted on our Lord, in whose company he seems to have continued, as we find him at the cross, and there entrusted with the care of our Lord's mother (John xix. 26, 27). On the resurrection morning John again appears, in company with Peter and Mary Magdalen, going to the sepulchre. Outrunning Peter, he is first at the sepulchre, yet enters not in first (John xx. 2-8). Here we are told that the truth of our ST. JOHN AND HIS WRITINGS. 19 Lord's resurrection first revealed itself to him, as lie ' saw and be- lieved.' With the other disciples John, no doubt, witnessed the ' other signs ' which Jesus, after his resurrection, did in their presence ; and the relations of the two interviews with the Eleven, at the latter of which Thomas acknowledged Jesus as his '• Lord and God,' bear sin- gular impress of having been written by an eye-witness (xx. 19-29). Li John xxi., he again appears at the Sea of Galilee, having returned to his old employment with Peter, J ames his brother, and others. Here he is the first to recognise his master on the shore, and in the interview which followed, our Lord says to Peter of him, ' If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee ?' This passage has been variously interpreted, many regarding it as a prophecy that the life of John should endure until the capture of Jerusalem. The occasions on which John is especially mentioned after this are very few. We find him associated with Peter in the cure of the Lame Man at the Beautiful Gate of the Temple, and the sub- sequent persecution (Acts iii. 1-iv. 31), and as a deputation from the apostles at Jerusalem to Samaria, laying their hands on the disciples there who had believed through the preaching of Philip the Evangelist (Acts viii. 14-25). When St. Paul first visited Jerusalem after his conversion, John was not there, for St. Paul himself says of this visit, ' I abode with Peter fifteen days. But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother ' (Gal. i. 19). It does not appear from the Acts whether he was there or not on Paul's second visit (Acts xi. 29, 30 ; xii. 25), nor whether he was there on the third visit (Acts xv. 2-30) ; but if the visit mentioned in Gal. ii. be the same as that recorded in Acts xv. 2-30 (which seems highly probable), then he was there at that time (Gal. ii. 9). No further information respecting St. John is derivable from the New Testament, except that when the Eevelation was commenced, he was in Patmos. But the universal tradition is that he resided for many years at Ephesus, and there died at an advanced age, being carried, when very old, into the Christian assemblies, and there repeating his characteristic saying, ' Little children, love one another.' Other traditions also state that he was brought before Domitian at Eome, and thrown alive into a caldron of boiling oil, from which being miraculously preserved, he was exiled to Patmos until the accession of Nerva, when he returned to Ephesus. 2. The Gospel of St. Jobn.— Dai^e and Place of Writing The statement of Irena^us is, that this Gospel was written at c2 20 ESSE^'TIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Ephesus, whicli falls in witli the general tradition as to tlie apostle's later life. Patmos lias also been named by two early anonymous writers, but has no argument in its favour, and Rev. i. 2, •where the writer is stated to have borne ' record of the Word of God/ seems to point to a date for the Gospel earlier than the apostle's residence in that island. The internal evidence of date is very slight. Some have thought that the death of Peter must have taken place, or xxi. 19 could not have been written ; but this is plainly to deny our Saviour all prophetic power. The expres- sion in V. 2 f ' there is by the sheep market a pool ') is also con- sidered to indicate that the siege of Jerusalem had not taken place ; but the argument, if worth anything, may be balanced by xi. 18, where it is said that ' Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem.' But pre- suming that St. John did not come into Asia until the final de- parture of Paul, and that he lived to between eighty or ninety years of age, the date of his Gospel may be placed between 60 and 80 A.D. Object. This Gospel is evidently written for the fuller instruc- tion of Christian readers; hence the early life of our Loi-d is entirely passed over, and the history commences with the Baptism. Incidents of special interest as regards the teaching of our Lord, and to which the synoptics do not even allude, are introduced, and nearly one half of the Gospel is occupied with a report of the Passion. In this Gospel also appears the doctrine of the Eternal Logos or Word of God, and many passages occur, which are obviously directed against the early Gnostic and Corinthian heresies. The source of information is intimated in several places by the writer to be eye-witness (i. 14 : xiii. 23 ; xviii. 15 ; xix. 26, 35 ; XX. 2), and even where this is not expressly suggested, minute marks of such accuracy as is derived from eye-witness occur. It is a matter of discussion among modern critics whether the traditional statement that St. John's Gospel is to be regarded as supplementary to the other Gospels is a correct one. It cer- tainly appears that even if there were no very strict intention to fill up blanks in the other Gospels, some consideration has been paid to this point. How far a supplementary character may really be attributed to it may be seen from the next paragraph. Peeidiarities. — 1. Peculiarities of Diction. Mr. Westcott (Introd. to Stndy of Gospels, chap, v.) says, ' The amount of words peculiar to St. John is very large. In the Gospel I have counted sixty-five, and there are possibly more. In the main, ST. JOHN AND HIS WEITINGS. 21 these spring out of the peculiar details of his narrative : e.g. dvTXelVf dtroovvdycjyocj yXojonoKCfiovj KXijixa^ aickXoc, rirXoc, vcpia, ;|/w- fiiov. Some of these are characteristic : yLSv/ioc, 'R^pdiaTi, dpviov^ aKt}vovv. Many words occur with remarkable frequency in St. John, as ovv, 'iva, ixev-oi, iSt, ovttw, TrujTOTt, iyw, i/J-oc, and their usage is full of meaning. The absence of some words is equally worthy of notice, as, for instance, cvvafxtc, ^wdpaic, t-^ririiidv, evayysXiov (and derivatives), iropatSoXt), TrapayysXXiw, Triartc, aocpiu, cocpog.' Besides these, ]Mi'. Westcott calls attention to the words 6 Xoyog (the Word), /} ^w// (the Life), 6 icoaixog (the World), rb (pcZg (the Light), 6 (ncSrog (the Darkness), and says, * There are many other (words) which illustrate in a remarkable way the spirit of his Gospel. Among these may be mentioned, (1) in Gospel, Epistles, and Apoc, /uaprvpia, fjiapTvptlv, ovopa, -^ivioffKw, 6 7rarV/p j (2) in Gospel and Apoc, Kpiaig, tcpivnv, omiHov, Trid^tip ; (3) in Gospel and Epistles, ajxap-ia, dyaTrdv, dydirt], OtdffOui, tpoj-dv^ TrpoliaTa, TTKTrevw tig ; (4) Gospel only, ipyor, rd ipya, adpt, Trapoifiia, dfii/v dfii'ivj 2. Relations peculiar to SL John's Gospel. The Word i. 1-5 Andrew, Simon, Philip, and Nathanael . . i. 35-51 The Change of Water into Wine at Cana . . ii, 1-11 Passover at Jerusalem at First Cleansing of the Temple ii. 12-25 Nicodemus iii. 1-21 The Disciples of John inquire of him respecting Jesus iii. 22-36 The Woman of Samaria iv. 1-42 IJealing of a Nobleman's Son at Capernaum . iv. 46-54 Feast (of Purim ?) at Jerusalem . . . . v. 1 Miracle at the Pool of Bethesda . • . . y. 2-47 Discourse on the Bread of Life . . . . ^-i. 22-65 Feast of Tabernacles at Jerusalem . . . vii. 11-53 Woman taken in Adultery viii. 1-11 Discourses with the Pharisees .... viii. 12-59 Healing of a Man born blind . . . . ix. 1-41 The Good Shepherd x. 1-21 Feast of Dedication, and beyond Jordan . . x. 22-42 Raising of Lazarus ...... xi. 1-53 Jesus retires to Ephraim xi. 54-57 Greeks visit Jesus, a Voice from Heaven . . xii, 20-50 22 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Wasliing of the Disciples' feet .... xiii. 1-17 Last Discourses xiv. 1-xvii. 26 The Mother of Jesus delivered to John . . xix. 25-27 Our Lord's Side pierced xix. 31-37 Jesus at the Sea of Tiberias after his Resurrec- tion xxi. 1-23 Omissioyis — All incidents preceding the Baptism. Greater portion of Galilaean Ministry. The Institution of the Lord's Supper. The Ascension. 3. Tlie Epistles of St. Jobn. — Date and Place of Writdng. Nothing is certainly known of these, but from the expression, fre- quently repeated, 'little children,' it is conjectured that the epis- tles were written late in the apostle's life, and from their presump- tion of a knowledge of the Gospel facts, and the doctrine of the Eternal Logos (1, i. 1, 5 ; iv. 2), that they were written later than the Gospel. Ephesus is the traditional place of writing. The genuineness of the First Epistle has been acknowledged from the earliest antiquity, and Eusebius says of it, ' John's First Epistle and Gospel are acknowledged without question by those of the present day as well as by the ancients ' (H. E. 3. 24). And Origen speaks of the First Epistle as undoubtedly genuine, and ' probably the Second and Third, though all do not recognise the latter two.' The substitution of the term ' elder ' for the writer's name also agrees with the apostle's practice in his Gospel. To ivho7n addressed. — The First Epistle has no inscription, but Augustine says that it was addressed to the Parthian Christians. If by the Parthians were meant Christians living beyond the river Euphrates, then some key is afforded to the expression in 1 Pet. V. 13, ' The church at Babylon saluteth you.' The epistle in which this occurs being inscribed to the Christians in Asia Minor, some have regarded the Epistles of St. John as return epistles. The inscription of the Second Epistle is pressed into their service by the maintainers of this hypothesis. In their view the ' elect lady ' (icvpia, 2 John 1, 5) is considered to signify the Church. But it is only fair to observe that the Greek word icvpi.tK)) ( = church), upon the similarity between which and Kvpia the argument turns, is not used in this sense in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. xi. 20 ; Rev. i. 10, the only places where it occurs). 4. The Z^evelation or Apocalypse. — Authoi'sJiip and Authen- ST. JOHN AND HIS WRITINGS. 23 tidUj. The author calls himself John (i. 1, 4, 9; xxii. 8), a name which no doubt would be only assumed at such an early- date by one person — viz. the Apostle John. This John is further described as, (1) a servant of Christ (i. 1), (2) who bare record of the Word of God, and of the testimony of Jesus Christ, and of all things which he saw (i. 2, with which cf. John xix, 35 ; xxi. 24, and 1 John i. 2), (3) who was a companion in tribulation, and in the isle of Patmos (i. 9), to which tradition states that the apostle was banished, (4) and who authoritatively addresses seven prin- cipal churches of Asia, which in any one but an apostle might be considered a great presumption. The authenticity of the book is further testified to by Justin Martyr, who held a controversy with Trypho, a learned Jew, at Ephesus, about thirty-five or forty years after John's death, and who says that ^ the Eevelation had been given to John, one of the twelve apostles of Christ.' The Muratorian fragment, a.d. 170, attributes the Apocalypse to the Apostle John. Melito, bishop of Sardis about a.d. 171, wrote treatises on the book, and Theophilus of Antioch (about a.d. 180) and Apollonius (end of second century) are also declared by Euse- bius to quote testimonies from it. Irenaeus, a hearer of Polycarp, the disciple of John, also frequently quotes the book as the work of the Apostle John, and an unbroken catena of authors of later date fully endorses the ordinary opinion as to its authorship. Attempts have been made at various times to discredit the title of this book to be accounted a portion of the inspired Scriptures. The sixtieth canon of the Council of Laodicea (middle of fourth century) thus excluded it from public reading. But Bishop Wordsworth suggests that the rebukes addressed to the Laodicean Church were the true cause of this. The Alogi heretics, Caius the Roman presbyter, Eusebius, Cyril of Jerusalem, Dionysius of Alex- andria (a.d. 240), and others, also rejected it; but this is evidently on account of the millennial doctrines contained in it, which they conceived to be of a carnal nature, and akin to Cerinthian heresy. On the other hand, all primitive tradition is in favour of its scrip- tural nature : Papias, a hearer of John and associate of Polycarp, the Epistle of the Churches of Lyons and Vienne to the Churches of Asia and Phrygia, Cyprian, Athanasius, and others, admit its inspiration. Date and Place of Writing. There is no reason to doubt the statement of Irenaeus, who says, ' It (the Revelation) was seen not very long ago, but almost in our own generation, at the close of Domitiau's reign.' This would give the date of a.d. 90-97, and 24 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. accords with tlie tradition already mentioned, that after his exile at Patmos, the apostle returned to Ephesus, and there died at an advanced age. The place of writing was probably Ephesus itself. From certain passages (i. 1 \ ii. 9 ; iii. 9 ; vi. 12, 16 ; xi. 1) it has been inferred by some that this book was written before the fall of Jerusalem, and in the reign of Galba, the sixth Roman em- peror (a.d. 68, 69), the one that 'is' of the seven kings mentioned in xvii. 10. This identifies Nero, the fifth emperor, with the Beast, and the number of the Beast (666) is certainly discoverable in his name. But this opinion has met with few supporters, and entirely fails as an adequate interpretation of the prophecy. Language. The following coincidences between the language of the Apocalypse and the other writings of St. John have been pointed out by Dean Alford : — 1. The title, ' Word of God,' applied to our Lord (xix. 13, com- pared with John i. 1 j 1 John i. 1). 2. The phrase * he that overcometh ' (li. 7, 11, 17, 25 ; iii. 5, 12, 21 ; xii. 11 ; xv. 2 j xvii. 14 ; xxi. 7 j compare John xvi. 33 ; 1 Johnii. 13, 14 j iv. 4j v. 4, 5). 3. The use of the word a\^Qlvdq ( = true) as opposed to that which is shadowy or unreal. This word, found in St. Luke once, and in St. Paul four times, is found eight times in St. John's Gospel (i. 9; iv. 23, 37; vi. 32 j vii. 28; xv, 1 ; xvii. 3 ; xix. 35), four times in 1 John (ii. 8 ; v. 20, three times), and ten times in Rev. (iii. 7, 14; vi. 10; XV. 3 ; xvi. 7 ; xix. 2, 9, 11 ; xxi. 5 ; xxii. 6). 4. The word dpviov ( = a lamb, A. V., but lit. a lambkin) used only in Rev. (v. 6, 8, 12, 13 ; vi. 1, 16 ; vii. 9, 10, 14, 17 ; xii. 11 ; xiii. 8, 11 ; xiv. 1, 4 ; xv. 3 ; xvii. 14 ; xix. 7, 9 ; xxi. 9, 14, 22, 23 ; xxii. 1, 3), and in St. John's Gospel (xxi. 15). 5. The expression, ' the testimony ' (Rev. i. 2, 9 ; vi. 9 ; xi. 7 ; xii. 11, 17 ; xix. 10 ; compared with John i. 7, 19 ; iii. 11 ; viii. 13, 14, &c.). 6. The assertion of the same thing positively and negatively (ii. 2, 3, 8, 13; iii. 8, 17, 18; compared with John i. 3, 5, 7,20; 1 John ii. 27, 28). Contents and Interpretation. The first three chapters having been occupied with an introduction (i. 1-3), a salutation (i. 4-8), and messages from the Lord Jesus to the seven churches of the proconsular province of Asia, viz., Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamos, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea (fully described in V. VI.- -vn. viii. 1-5 viii. 6-13 ix. 1-12 ix. 13-xi. xi. 15-19 xii ST. JOHN AND HIS WEITINGS. 25 Sect. 5), the remainder of the book is occupied with the follow- ing prophetic visions : — The throne of God in heaven is seen, with twenty-four elders and four living creatures about it iv. A sealed scroll, having seven seals, is opened by a Lamb as it had been slain . The first six seals are opened .... The seventh seal is opened, to the sound of seven trumpets Sounding of the first four trumpets Sounding of the fifth trumpet Sounding of the sixth trumpet . . . ix. 13-xi. 14 Sounding of the seventh trumpet . A vision of a woman persecuted by a dragon Vision of two wild beasts, the dragon's agents, exercising great power and dominion. Tha second beast has the ' number of a man, and his number is 666 ' xiii. The Lamb, and 144,000 followers, are seen on Mount Zion xiv. 1-5 Three angels make prophetic announcements . xiv. 6-13 A harvest of ripe grain and the wine-press of God's wrath xiv. 14-iiO Seven last plagues, upon — the land — the sea — the rivers and fountains of waters — the sun — the throne of the beast — Euphrates — and into the air xv., xvi.- The mystical Babylon, attired as a harlot, and seated on a wild beast, carries on war against the Lamb and his followers, and is destroyed Songs in heaven Coming forth of the Word of God to victory, and destruction of the beast and the false prophet Binding of Satan for 1000 years Unbinding of Satan, his war against heaven, and destruction The Last Judgment Vision of the New Jerusalem and the hap- piness of its inhabitants .... Coucludino' admonitions and invitations . « XVll ., xviu. xix. 1-10 xix. 11-21 XX. 1-6. XX. 7-10 XX. 11-15 xxi, , 1-xxii. 5 xxii L. 6-21 26 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Four principal methods of interpretation of these visions pre- vail : 1. The CMUastic, which prevailed to the age of Constantine, when the visions were regarded as embodying general Christian truths with respect to the second coming, Antichrist, the Millen- nium, and the Day of Judgment, 2. The Preterist, which regards the visions as emblematic representations of events long since past. 3. The Futurist, which considers that events yet to come and no others are signified. 4. The Historical or Continuous, which regards the visions as descriptive of the entire history of Christ's Church. In this view, which is at present the popular one, and which is supported by Mr. Elliot, Bishop Wordsworth, Dean Alford, Hengstenberg, and other eminent expositors, the visions are re- garded as divisible into two grand series, parallel to each other, so that the events related under the seven seals correspond to those related under the seven trumpets. Various links also exist between the visions and^ (1) the discourse of our Lord on the Mount of Olives (Matt. xxiv. 4-31 ; Luke xxi. 8-28), (2) certain prophetic visions, recorded in Daniel, e.g. of the beast that blasphemes against God (Dan. vii. ; Eev. xiii.), the ten horns who are ten kings (Dan. vii. ; Rev. xvii.), the 1260 days (Rev. xii. 6 ; Dan. vii. 25, ' time, times, and the dividing of time ' = 3^ years of days = 42 months of 30 days = 1260 days). Mystical numbers frequently occur in this book, and some re- marks on these may be conveniently made in this place : — 1. Twelve, the number of the Church. Thus, twelve is the number of the Jewish tribes, and the Apostles ; the New Jerusalem has twelve gates, twelve angels, twelve foundations, and twelve times twelve cubits in its wall (xxi. 12, 14, 16, 17) ; the heavenly elders are twice twelve (iv. 4) ; of each of the twelve tribes are sealed twelve thousand (vii. 4-8); and twelve times twelve thousand is the number of the followers of the Lamb (xiv. 1, 3). 2. Ten, the number of the world. Thus, the persecution of Smyrna is to endure ten days (ii. 10), the red dragon, and the first beast, and the scarlet beast, have each ten horns (xii. 3 ; xiii. 1 ; xvii. 3, 7, 12, 16). 3. Seven, the number of completeness, and most frequently occurring in the book. Thus we find seven churches, represented by seven candlesticks, and their angels by seven stars (i. 4, 12, 16, 20) ; seven lamps of fire before the throne, representing the seven spirits of God (iv. 5) ; seven seals (v. 1), seven trumpets (viii. 2), seven thunders (x. 4), seven last plagues (xv. 1), seven heads of the beast (xii. 3 ; xiii. 1 ; xvii. 3), seven vials (xv., xvi). 4. Six, the number of preparation. See the sixth seal (vi. 12-1 7), the l.^i^\^,^ ST. PAUL AND HIS WEITINGS. 27 sixth trumpet (ix. 14-21), the sixth vial (xvi. 12-16). 5. Four, the number of world-wide extension. So we find four living crea- tures (iv. 6), four angels, standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth (vii. 1). 6. Three and a half, or ' a time and times and half a time' (xii. 14; cf. Dan. vii. 25). Some commentators regard this as designating opposition to the perfect number, seven. With regard to the number of the beast, 666 (xiii. 18), in- numerable conjectures have been made, amongst the most promi- nent of which are the explanation of Irenaeus, who considers this number to be contained in the Greek letters of.Lateinos (X = 30, a = l, T = 300, £ = 5, I = 10, V = 50, 0 = 70, (7 = 200), and the opinion which regards it as the incarnation of the world-power, represented usually by six. ST. PAUL AND HIS WRITTKGS. 1. liife of St. Paul. — An adequate biography of this great apostle is far beyond the purposes of this work, and already exists in the exhaustive and most valuable work of Conybeare and Howson. Here only a rapid enumeration of the chief particulars of St. Paul's life can be attempted. He himself informs us of his birth at Tarsus, a city of Cilicia, a province on the south coast of Asia Minor. The inhabitants of this city were entitled to the Roman citizenship. The date of his birth is conjectural, but may be assumed to be about B.C. 2. The vernacular of Tarsus was Greek, and this was, therefore, St. Paul's native language, but he appears to have been also familiarly acquainted with the Aramaic, or ordinary Hebrew of Palestine (Acts xxi. 40). Of his mother nothing is known ; but he declares himself to be ' a Hebrew of the Hebrews,' and that his father was a Pharisee (Acts xxiii. 6). His sister and sister's son are mentioned (Acts xxiii. 16), and his kinsmen, Andronicus, Julia, Herodion, Lucius, Sosipater, and Jason are refei-red to (Rom. xvi. 7, 11, 21). Circumcised the eighth day, he received the name of Saul, and as he increased in age, was brought up to the trade of tent-making, probably of that material of goats'-hair cloth, sold under the name of Cilicium. At about the age of thirteen, if the usual custom in the educa- tion of Scribes was followed, he was sent to Jerusalem, and there became a scholar of Gamaliel, a famous Hebrew doctor of the law, of the school of Hillel, the upholder of tradition. This Gamaliel was Hillel's grandson, and son of Simeon, who is supposed by some to have been that Simeon who took the infant Jesus into his arms. 2S ESSENTIALS OE NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. He was unquestionably the samo with the Gamaliel who pleaded in the Sanhedrim for Peter and the apostles (Acts v. 34-40) ; and his learning was so eminent that he is one of the seven who alone among- the Jewish doctors have been honoured with the title of Rabban (see Rabhi, in Section 4). He was a Pharisee, probably one of the best of his class, and died a Jew in A. D. 60. Saul was probably 25 or 26 years of age when our Lord's ministry commenced, and, as he exhibits no personal knowledge of it in his writings, it is inconceivable that he could have been in Palestine during its continuance. He may or may not have returned to Tarsus, but nothing can certainly be stated of his career until his appearance at the trial and martyrdom of Stephen (a.d. 36?). Previously to this, however, it is mentioned that persons belonging to foreign synagogues, amongst which the Cilician is enumerated, disputed with Stephen (Acts vi. 9, 10), and Saul may well have been of this number. At the trial of Stephen he was present, con- senting to his death (Acts viii. 1 ; xxii. 20), and kept the clothes of those who slew him (Acts vii. 58; xxii. 20). Whether the apostle was at this time a member of the San- hedrim or not is uncertain, but he speaks of himself as voting for the death of Christians (Acts xxvi. 10), as binding men and women and committing them to prison (Acts xxii. 4), as punishing them in every synagogue, and endeavouring to make them blas- pheme (Acts xxvi. 11). Having thus become a prominent per- secutor of the Christians, he was sent with letters from the high- priest to Damascus, to arrest any Christians who might be found there, and bring them to Jerusalem for punishment. But on the road near Damascus a sudden end was put to this expedition. A bright light shone from heaven around the cavalcade, and the Lord Jesus revealed Himself, speaking from heaven, and saying, ' Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me ?' As a further confirma- tion of the vision, Saul was struck blind, and directed to go into Damascus, where he should be told what to do. This promise was fulfilled by means of Ananias, a devout disciple, who, being directed of the Spirit, sought out the apostle, laid his hands upon him and healed him of his blindness, and then, commanding him to be baptized, declared unto him the will of God that he should be an apostle to the Gentiles. A full account of this is given in Acts ix. 1-19, and the circumstances are continually referred to by St. Paul himself (1 Cor. ix. 1 ; xv. 8 ; Gal. i. 1). Thus miraculously converted, Saul retired into Arabia, perhaps not far from Damascus. Thence he returned to Damascus, but being ST. PAUL AND HIS WEITINGS. 29 threatened with a conspiracy to kill him, escaped in a basket let down from the wall, and went to Jerusalem (Gal. i. 18). These events appear to have occupied three years; and not until this period had elapsed did he make the acquaintance of the Apostles at Jerusalem. The feeling of these last was at first one of gTeat doubt and distrust, but Barnabas came forward, ' took him,' in- troduced him to the Apostles, and having related to them the cir- cumstances of his conversion and subsequent conduct, gained for him their friendship and countenance (Acts ix. 26-28 ; Gal. ii. 9). But persecution again arose, excited by his zeal and success, and by the special direction of a vision of the Lord Himself, Saul left Jerusalem and returned home to Tarsus (Acts ix. 30). From Tarsus the apostle, after passing: through the ' regions of Syria and Cilicia ' (Gal. i. 21), went to Antioch, accompanied by Barnabas (Acts xi. 25, 26), and continued a year in communion with the Christian Church formed there. At the end of this period a famine arose in Judaea, and Saul and Barnabas, having been judged by the Church at Antioch fit persons for their pur- pose, were sent with a contribution for the relief of the poorer brethren at Jerusalem (Acts xi. 29). During Saul's stay at Jeru- salem, James the brother of John was slain, Peter imprisoned but miraculously delivered, and Herod Agrippa I. died. The last fact enables dates to be fixed for many of the events recorded in the Acts. It occurred in a.d. 44, and, reckoning backwards from this, the date of the conversion may be assumed as about a.d. 39 or 40. From Jerusalem Saul and Barnabas returned to Antioch, taking with them John Mark, the nephew of Barnabas ; and the entire remainder of the book of Acts, from xii. 25, in which this event is related, is occupied with a relation of his journeys and adven- tures. Subjoined is a short outline of these, but details may best be learned from the Book of Acts. \st Missionary Jmimey, in company with Barnabas and Mark, A.D. 48, 49. Acts xiii. 1-xiv. IS. Places visited. Events. Antioch . . . Starting-point. Seleucia, the port of Port of embarkation. Antioch Cyprus : Salamis . . Preaching in the synagogues. Paphos . . . The deputy Sergius Paulus converted, after which conversion Saul is alwavs ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Places visited. Perga in Pamphylig Antioch in Pisidia Iconium Lystra Derbe Lystra Iconium . Antioch in Pisidia Perga Attalia Antioch . Events. called Paul. Blindness miraculously in- flicted upon Barjesus, or Elymas, the sorcerer. John Mark returns to Jerusalem. Successful preaching in the synagogue, first to Jews, and then to Gentiles. Per- secution compels the departure of the apostles. Preaching and persecution. A cripple being healed, the people desire to worship Paul and Barnabas, who will not sufier it. By persuasion of Jews, the people stone Paul, and leave him for dead. Preaching. Confirmation and exhortation of disciples. Preaching. Port of embarkation. Returning-point. After this Paul visited Jerusalem for the third time, as a depu- tation on the subject of the circumcision and ceremonial obliga- tions of Gentile Christians, and took a share in the decision of the apostles, elders, and whole church, to lay upon such Christians only the necessity of abstaining from things offered to idols, blood, things strangled, and fornication (Act xv, ; Gal, ii. 9, ?). Barnabas accompanied Paul to Jerusalem, and Judas and Silas, together with Barnabas, returned Math him to Antioch. After a short space of time, accompanied by Barnabas, the apostle again set forth, but soon parted from his companions, as he desired to take with them Mark, to whom Paul objected, on the ground of his departing from Pamphylia (Acts xiii. 13). Barnabas therefore proceeded with Mark to Cyprus, while Paul, returning to Antioch, chose Silas, and then proceeded on his '2nd Missionary Journey, A.D. 51-54. Acts xv. 4I-xviii. 22. Places visited. Events. Syria and Cilicia . Confirming the churches. Derbe and Lystra . Timdtheus is circumcised, although a Greek, and becomes companion of Paul. ST. PAUL AND HIS WKITINGS. 31 Places visited. Phrygia and Galatia Troas Samothracia Neapolis Philippi . Amphipolis Apollonia Thessalonica Berea Events. Delivering the decrees of the apostles and elders at Jerusalem. A vision of a man of Macedonia. Lydia is converted ; a certain damsel pos- sessed with an evil spirit is healed. Paul and Silas are beaten and put into prison, but miraculously liberated, and their jailor converted. Preaching. Jason protects Paul and Silas. Persecution. Preaching. The Jews of this city search the Scriptures. Persecution arising, Silas and Timotheus remain, but Paul proceeds to Athens . . Paul addresses the court of Areopagus on the doctrine of the Resurrection. Corinth . . Aquila and Priscilla are encountered. 1 and 2 Thessalonians written here. Here Paul continues a year and six months (Acts xviii. 11), probably from autumn of a.d. 52 to spring of a.d. 54. Gallio the deputy refuses to take cog- nisance of the disputes between Jews and Christians. Paul shaves his head, and, taking with him Priscilla and Aquila, sails to Preaching in the synagogues. Saluting the Church. . Returning-point. spending ' some time ' in Antioch the apostle set forth Cenchrea, one of the ports of Corinth Ephesus . Csesarea Jerusalem Antioch . After on his Acts xviii. 2.3-xxi. Events. 16. '^rd Missionary Journey, a.d. 6^6^. Places visited. Antioch . . . Departure-point. Phrygia and Galatia Strengthening the disciples. Ephesus . . . Certain disciples, only baptized unto John's 32 ESSENTL\LS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Places visited. Macedonia Greece (Corinth) Philippi . Troas Assos Mitylene Chios Sam OS Trogylliiim Miletus . Coos Rhodes Patara Tyre Ptolemais Csesarea . Jerusalem Events. "baptism, are re-baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. Paul resides here, in- cluding a passing visit to Corinth, for three years, and has large success. At length the craftsmen of the city, fearful for their business of making idolatrous shrines, create an uproar, which is with difficulty appeased. This causes the retirement of Paul. 1 Corinthians written here. 2 Corinthians written here. Here Paul resides three months, and ivrites Galatians and Romans. Sopater of Berea, Aristarchus and Secun- dus. Gains of Derbe, Timotheus, Tychi- cus and Trophimus, are companions of Paul, and going before await him at Eutychus revived. The elders of Ephesus meet Paul, and are addressed by him. Disciples vainly endeavour to persuade Paul not to go up to Jerusalem. Brethren saluted. Philip the Evangelist entertains Paul. Agabus prophesies his imprisonment. Arrival-point. This journey was probably completed in the summer of a.d. 58. On his arrival the apostle found a Judaizing party arrayed against him, and, in order to satisfy their scruples, paid the cost of purify- ing four men who had a vow, and entered with them into the Temple. The result of this was that a great tumult was raised by certain Jews of Asia, on the false ground that the apostle had brought Greeks into the Temple. Paul's life being in danger, the ST. PAUL AND HIS WRITINGS. 33 Roman captain of the guard in Fort Antonia, named Claudius Lysias, interfered, rescued him, and permitted him to address the people. The apostle accordingly commenced a recital of the cir- cumstances attending his life and conversion ; but on his coming to that part of the history in which his being sent to the Gentiles was mentioned, so great a tumult was again raised, that Claudius Lysias withdrew him into the castle, and would have examined him by scourging, had he not discovered him to be a Eoman citizen, which conferred immunity from such punishment. Being further informed by Paul's sister's son of a plot to kill Paul on the following day, the captain then sent Paul for safety by night to Caesarea, sending with him a letter of explanation to the Go- vernor Felix, whose official residence was there. Here the apostle was kept for tive days in the prjetorium of Herod, and was then confronted before Felix with his .Jewish accusers from Jerusalem, who were represented by an advocate named Tertullus. The accusation against the apostle was that he was a seditious and profane person, whom they were about to pimish according to the Jewish law, when Claudius Lysias rescued him. Paul's answer to this charge was so clear that Felix ad- journed the trial, ostensibly until Lysias himself should come down, and gave Paul in charge to a centurion, with liberty to see his friends. After this, in company with his wife Drusilla, he often heard him concerning ' the faith in Christ,' and showed some signs of contrition and incipient faith; but, hoping for a heavy bribe, he kept him still mider arrest ; and at length, after two years, handed him over as a prisoner to his successor Porcius Festus, Porcius Festus most probably replaced Felix as procurator of Judaea in a.d. 60 (see an elaborate discussion in Conybeare and Howson, vol. ii. App. 2, note c), and had only arrived in Palestine thirteen days when he had Paul brought before him. The result of this appearance was, that the apostle, exercising his rights as a Roman citizen, appealed to Caesar — i.e., the Imperial Court at Ptome (Acts xxv. 11, 12). This act of the prisoner at once removed him from the authority of the procurator's court, and he was, therefore, recommitted to custody until some favourable oppor- tunity should occur for his transmission to Rome. During the interval of waiting, ' King Agrippa ' IL, King of Chalcis, and Bernice, his sister, came on a complimentary visit to Festus, to congratulate him on his appointment. This prince was familiarly accj^uaiuted with the Jewish law, and was, moreover, at this time superintendent of the Temple, with the power of appointing the D 34 ESSENTIALS OE NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. liigli-priest. Festus, therefore, took the opportunity of further consulting him about Paul, and he having expressed a wish to see the prisoner, a day was fixed for an audience. Accordingly Paul, being brought before the procurator and his visitors, was per- mitted to address them, and delivered the speech contained in Acts xxvi. With what power he spoke may be judged from the remark of Agrippa at the conclusion — ' Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.' ^ It was probably about August of a.d. 60 when Paul was finally sent to Rome. He embarked in a ship of Adramyttium, under the charge of Julius, a centurion of the Augustan cohort, and having touched at Sidon, passed by Cyprus, over the sea of Cilicia and Pamphylia, to Myra. Here they exchanged into a corn-ship, sailing from Alexandria into Italy, and passing to the south of Crete, encountered a fearful tempest, which drove them entirely out of their course, and at last wrecked them on the coasts of Melita. Some have identified this Melita with an island about half way up the Adriatic, but it is now generally conceded that the British island of Malta is intended. At Malta the winter had now to be passed, but the governor of the island, whose father had been healed by Paul, favoured the apostle, and the inhabitants generally showed much kindness both to him and to his companions. Three months thus passed away, the spring arrived, and in another ship of Alexandria, named ' Castor and Pollux,' the centurion was enabled to quit the island with his charge. After touching at Syracuse (where they stayed three days) and Rhegium, they came to Puteoli, then 'the Liverpool of Italy.' Between this town and Rome ran a road, which joined the Appian road at Capua, and after seven dsijs' stay with disciples whom the apostle found at Puteoli, the cavalcade again set forth for Rome. At Appii Forum, about forty-five miles from Rome, a first party of Christians met them ; at Three Taverns, ten miles nearer Rome, another party was encountered. At length arrived at Rome, the centurion handed over his charge to Burrus, the Praetorian Prefect, for safe custody until his cause should be heard. Possibly in- fluenced by Julius, Burrus permitted Paul to find his own quarters, under the charge of a soldier, and Conybeare and Howson suggest that Aquila and Priscilla, then probably at Rome, became his en- tertainers. Here, in a few days, the apostle invited a conference of the Jews of Rome, and to them explained both the causes of his ^ But some translate, ' Thou thinkest to make me a Christian with little persua- sion.' ST. PAUL AND HIS WEITINGS. 35 own arrest and the general truths of the Gospel. As a result, * some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not/ and Paul announced that ' the salvation of God is sent unto the Gentiles, and that they will hear it.' The direct history contained in the New Testament now closes, leaving the apostle with the statement that ' he dwelt two years in his own hired house, and received all that came unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and teaching the things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with all confidence, no man forbidding him ' (Acts xxviii. 31). His further history has to be gathered indirectly from the epistles. It being therefore under- stood that much is conjectural, we may assume that, if the arrival at Rome took place in August a.d. 61, the trial of the apostle was not completed until at least the beginning of 63. During this period, in all probability, the Epistles to Philemon, Culossians, Ephesians, and Philippians were written, and many converts made, among whom were even members of the Imperial household (Phil. iv. 22). In the spring of 63 it is generally believed that the trial was ended by a verdict of acquittal. This is testified to by Clement, Bishop of Rome (Phil. iv. 3), the Muratorian canon, Eusebius, Chrysostom, and Jerome, by whom it is declared that St. Paul afterwards preached in the West, subsequently came to Rome a second time, and was finally martyred under Nero. With this agree St. Paul's declared intentions of journeying to Spain (Rom. xv. 24), and the testimony of the Pastoral epistles, to the effect that, after his first imprisonment, he was travelling in Ephesus (1 Tim. i. 3), Crete (Tit. i. o), Macedonia (1 Tim. i. 3), Miletus (2 Tim. iv. 20), and Nicopolis (Tit. iii. 12), and after- wards was again imprisoned at Rome (2 Tim. i. 16, 17). The consideration of these and other facts lead to the conclusion that the martyrdom took place in the last year of Nero, and that the interval was thus employed : — A.D. 63. Spring . Acquittal. Journey to Macedonia (Phil. ii. 24) and Asia Minor (Philem. 22). 64 ; . .Tourney to Spain. 65 . . In Spain. 66 . . From Spain to Asia Minor (1 Tim. i. 3). { . 1 Timothy 2critten from Macedonia. Titiis 67 -j written from Ephesus. ( W nter . At Nicopolis. ^Q (Spring . In prison at Rome. 2 Timothy written. \ Summer . Martvi'dom. d2 36 ESSENTIALS OE NEW TESTAMENT STUDY, The traditional spot of tlie martyrdom is at Trefontane, on the Ostian road, some miles from Rome. As a Roman citizen, the apostle would suffer death by decapitation. 2. The Pauline Epistles. — Style and Order, The peculiar style of St. Paul's epistles is obvious at a glance. They are the arguments of a man who, taught by the Holy Spirit, ' reasons out of the Scriptures.' They are also eminently parenthetical, and in some cases the writer breaks off completely from the grammatical connection, and never resumes it. The ordinary arrangement, as has been already shown, is not chronological. Chronologically arranged, they may stand thus : — Name. Place whence Written. Probable Date. 1. a. 1 Thessalonians 2. /3. 2 Thessalonians . Corinth 52-53, during second missionary journey. 3. y. 1 Corinthians Ephesus \ 4. L 2 Corinthians . Macedonia 5. f. Galatians Corinth, or 57-58, during third Ephesus missionary journey. 6. ^. Romans . Corinth 7. T], Colossians ' 8. 9. Philemon 9. I. Ephesians (?) [•Rome 62, during first im- prisonment. 10. K, Philippians 11. X. 1 Timothy Macedonia (?) 67 12. fi. Titus Ephesus 67 13. V. 2 Timothy Rome . 68, during second im- prisonment, and just before martyrdom. 14. H' Hebrews . Uncertain Uilcertaiu a. (3. Epistles to the Thessalonians. For an account of Thessalonica, now Saloniki, a large and wealthy city of Macedonia, see Section 5. In his second mis- sionary journey, when driven from Philippi, the apostle preached both to the Jews and Gentiles there for three successive Sabbath days, but was compelled by a tumult raised by unbelieving Jews to retire to Berea (Acts xvii. 1-10), and thence to Athens. From Athens Paul sent messengers to fetch Silas and Timotheus (1 Thess. iii. 1, 2 ; Acts xvii. 15), and they appear to have joined him at Corinth (1 Thess. iii. 65 Acts xviii. 5). Finally, in the super- ST. PAUL AND HIS WEITIXGS. 37 scription to both epistles, Paul, Silvanus (Silas), and Timotbeus are united as saluting the Thessalonian Church. These facts being taken into account, and the further fact that Silas was Paul's companion on this journey only (Acts xv. 40 ; xvi. 19, 25, 29 ; xvii. 4, 10, 15 ; xviii. 6), it becomes plain that 1 Thessalonians was written from Corinth, soon after Paul's arri- val there, during his second mis&ionary journey. The second epistle contains fewer marks of identification, but has the same superscription, and is generally believed to have been written shortly after the first. With these marks of time and place the contents of the first epistle agree. The general tone is one of devout congratulation for spiritual success at Thessalonica, as evinced by the news of the obedience, faith, and love of the Thessalonian Church, brought by Timotheus (iii. 6). The second epistle treats of erroneous expectations of the Lord's immediate coming, and warns them that this must be pre- ceded by a great apostacy, and the coming of the Man of Sin. y. ^, Epistles to the Co?'inthia}is. A full account of Corinth itself is to be found in Section o. The date and place of writing of the first epistle are fixed by these considerations : (1) Apollos had been at Corinth and, with Priscilla and Aquila, was now at Ephesus (i. 12; iii. 4, 22; iv. 6 ; xvi. 12, 19). This coincides with Acts xviii. 26 ; xix. 1, de- scribing the second visit of Paul to Ephesus ; (2) the apostle hopes to go via Macedonia to Corinth, and thence to Jerusalem and Rome (xvi. 5 : Acts xix. 21 ; Rom. xv. 25-28). This agrees with Acts xix., descriptive of the Apostle's second visit to Ephesus : (3) Timothy was sent to Corinth (iv. 17; xvi. 10). In Acts xix. 22, Timotheus and Erastus (a Corinthian) are sent into Macedonia, on the road to Corinth, in anticipation of Paul's own joui'ney to Achaia. Hence it is reasonably inferred that the epistle was written from Ephesus, about the time of the g-reat tumult there. The contents of the first epistle refer to the importance of abolishing party divisions,, and reforming certain social abuses. The questions of marriage, idol sacrifices, spiritual gifts, and the resurrection are also touched upon. In V. 9 occur the words ^I wrote unto you in a letter to keep,' &c. This probably refers to a letter not preserved. That * letters ' had been written to the Corinthian Church appears from 2 Cor. X. 10 ; ' His letters, say they, are weighty and powerful.' 38 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. The second epistle appears to have been written from Macedonia, on the road from Ephesus to Corinth, and shortly after the first. This appears from (1) ix. 2, which shows he was in Macedonia at the time of writing ; (2) the apostle's reference to the recent troubles in Asia, of which Ephesus was the capital (i. 8) ; (3) his declaration that he was now on his way to them for the third time (xiii. 1) ; (4) the references to the collection for the poor saints as still going on (viii. 6 ; ix. 2. Cf. Acts xxiv. 17 ; Horn. xv. 26) ; (5) the references to the incestuous offender and the con- tinuance of the same party disputes. From ii. 12, 13 ; vii. 6 ; xii. 18, it appears that Titus had been sent to Corinth as well as Timotheus and the brother whose praise is in all the churches (Luke ?), and that the apostle, having got as far as Troas, on the road from Ephesus to Corinth, was bitterly disappointed at not meeting him on his return ; but that after- wards, going forward into Macedonia, he had encountered him, and been rejoiced at the good news of the Corinthian Church. The first letter had produced some good effects, notwithstanding the stubborn spirit of some, for whose admonition he now dwells on the sufficiency of his apostolic authority. 6. epistle to the Galatians. The Apostle Paul visited Galatia, a central district of Asia Minor, on two occasions (Acts xvi. 6 ; xviii. 23), but no particu- lars of these visits are recorded in the Acts. At the first visit, however, they had received the Gospel with joy (iv. 14), whereas on the second (if iv. 16 literally = ' Am I become your enemy by speaking truth among you ? ') he had not been well received. These indications of date are evidently very doubtful, nor does i. 6. (' I marvel that ye are so soon removed (or turning) from him that called you into the grace of Christ ') give much assistance, unless the date to which the removal was subsequent could be ascer- tained. But most critics believe, nevertheless, that the epistle was written from Corinth or Ephesus, soon after the second visit, and possibly about the same time as the Romans, its main line of argument being identical, and many expressions corresponding (compare Rom. viii. 15 and Gal. iv. 6; Rom. vii. 14-25 and Gal. V. 17 ; Rom. i. 17 and Gal. iii. 11 ; Rom. iv. and Gal. iii.). The object of the apostle in the epistle is plainly to recall to the memories of the Galatian Christians the great principles of the Gospel, in the free justification of the sinner by faith^ and in the non-essential character of Mosaic ordinances. ST. PAUL AND HIS WRITINGS. 39 ^. Epistle to the Romans. The date and place of writing- of this epistle are easily ascer- tained by comparison with the Acts of the Apostles and other epistles. Thus, the writer is about to be the bearer of a con- tribution of money from the Christians of Macedonia and Achaia to the poor Jews at Jerusalem (xv. 25, 26). Gaius, a resident at Corinth and baptised by him (1 Cor. i. 14), is his host (xvi. 23). Phoebe, the probable bearer of the letter (see subscription), is a deaconess of the church at Cenchrea, the eastern port of Corinth (xvi. 1). All these points coincide with the position of St. Paul when on his third missionary journey, and second residence in Corinth. Of the origin of the Roman Church nothing is known, although the apostle had often desired to visit it (i. 13). His object in writing an epistle appears to have been to compensate for his in- ability to pay a personal visit. The letter itself is a profound and lengthy argument on the great doctrine of justification by faith. The writer shows that this doctrine underlay the choice of Abra- ham, and that it fulfils rather than annuls the Mosaic law. T], 9. The Epistles to Cohssians and Philemon. Colossse, a city in the upper portion of the valley of the Mseander, had not been visited by St. Paul personally, but a church was founded there by Epaphras (Col. i. 7). Errors, involving (1) a combination of angel-worship and asceticism, (2) a self-styled philo- sophy, which depreciated Christ, and (3) an unnecessary adherence to Jewish festivals and sabbaths, had crept in, and the epistle is written to counteract these. From the expressions ' bonds ' (Col. iv. 3, 18 ; Philem. 13), ' fellow-prisoner ' (Col, iv. 10 ; Philem. 23), ' prisoner '(Philem. 9), it appears that the epistle was written in prison, and from Philem. 22 (which epistle was sent at the same time as that to the Colossians) it appears that the writer expected shortly to come into Phrygia. Further, Timotheus was with him (i. 1). These indications coincide with the position of the apostle at Rome during his first imprisonment, and the epistle is therefore generally attributed to that date and place. In iv. 16, the ' epistle from Laodicsea ' is directed to be read in the Colossian church. Four explanations are given of this : (1) that it was a letter from the Church of Laodic^a to Paul, forwarded by him to the Colossian Church j (2) that it was the 40 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. epistle ordinarily termed the Epistle to the Ephesians ; (3) that it was an epistle of Paul to Laodicsea, which the Colossians were to obtain from thence ; (4) that it was the epistle to Philemon. The bearers of the epistle to the Colossians were Tychicus and Onesimus. This Onesimus also carried another letter, the epistle to Philemon, a member of the Colossian Church, He had been the slave of Philemon, but Paul had encountered him in Rome, been made instrumental to his conversion, and now sent him back to his master, with tender entreaties for his pardon, I. The Epistle to the Ephesians. For what readers this epistle was intended has been the subject of very much controversy. The arguments for each side may be briefly stated. 1. That it was not intended for the Ephesians is assumed from the fact that the words ' in Ephesus ' are omitted in the Vatican and Sinaitic MSS, ; from the absence of any personal salutations, which in the case of a letter to so well-known a church as the Ephesian seems remarkable ; because the apostle could not describe the Ephesian Church as exclusively Gentiles (ii. 11 ; iii. 1 ; iv. 17), and recently converted (i. 13 ; ii. 13 ; v. 8) ; and because Marcion calls this the ' epistle to the Laodicaeans.' That the epistle should have obtained its present title is explicable on the supposition that it was an encyclical letter, written for the consolation and exhortation of various Churches, and that a copy in which the words *' in Ephesus ' had been inserted was the first to be published. 2, To this it is replied that the words ' in Ephesus ' occur in many good MSS, ; that personal salutations are no proof of Paul's acquaintance with a Church, and are wanting, except in a general form, in Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, Thessalonians, Titus, and 1 Timothy ; that the other internal objections arise from a misconception of the apostle's meaning; and that Marcion may have had reasons of his own for his nomenclature. Under these circumstances, it is obviously impossible to fix either the date or the place of writing of this epistle. Its con- tents are also general, three chapters dwelling on redemption and its results, and the remainder occupied with exhortations to practical piety. K. The Epistle to the Philippians. Philippi was the first town in Europe in which St. Paul preached the Gospel, and there Lydia and the jailor were converted. A full account of the town is given in Section 5. ST. PAUL AND HIS WRITINGS. 41 The occasion of the epistle appears to have been the receipt of a contribution to the apostle's necessities when undergoing his first imprisonment at Rome — i.e., about a.d. 62 (iv. 10-18 ; i. 13, 14,16). He was evidently expecting a speedy and favourable issue of his appeal (i. 19-25 ; ii. 23, 24), and had friends in the Imperial household (iv. 22). It has often been remarked that no epistle contains more of praise and less of censure. Its contents, in addition to the remembrance of the liberality of the Philippian Church, and the notices of his own condition, are of a general ' hortative character. A. /i. i: The Epistles to Timothy and Titus. The lives of Timothy and Titus are given at length in Section 5. The epistles to them appear to have been written during the second imprisonment of the apostle, and immediately preceding his martyrdom. The objections to this are, that Timothy is called a young man (1 Tim. iv. 12 : 2 Tim. ii. 22), and that St. Paul at Miletus declared to the Ephesian elders that they would see his face no more. But a man of thirty-five or forty years might well be regarded by St. Paul, especially with his Jewish ideas, as young, nor need we suppose that in addressing the Ephesian elders Paul was necessarily so divinely illuminated as to be kept from expressing his natural feeling at the time. The epistles to Timothy and Titus are exceedingly valuable as giving apostolic directions on several matters of Church order, such as {a) the proper times for prayer and the proper persons to engage in public prayer, (6) the position of women in the Church, (c) the choice and character of bishops and deacons, and their wives, and {d) the treatment of widows. All the epistles also abound in animating personal exhortations, and breathe a spirit of unflagging Christian constancy. I. The Epistle to the Hebrews. *The Epistle to the Hebrews was addressed to Jewish converts who were tempted to apostatise from Christianity, and return to Judaism. Its primary object was to check this apostacy, by show- ing them the true end and meaning of the Mosaic system, and its symbolical and transitory character. They are taught to look through the shadow to the substance, through the type to the antitype. But the treatise, though first called forth to meet the needs of Hebrew converts, was not designed for their instruction 42 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. only. The Spirit of God has chosen this occasion to enlighten the Universal Church concerning the design of the ancient covenant, and the interpretation of the Jewish Scriptures.' ^ The authorship of the epistle is still undecided. Jerome declares that even in his time the epistle was not certainly ascribed to St. Paul, because of the difference of style and language, and that Barnabas, Luke, and Clement had severally been named as the author. Luther has also regarded Apollos as the writer, and has been followed by some able critics. The advocates of a Pauline authorship urge that the general plan is similar to that of Paul's other writings, that the phraseology and diction are Paul's, and that the doctrinal statements of the epistle are identical with those of Paul. The opponents of a Pauline authorship, on the other hand, deny these statements ; adduce many differences of phraseology, especially pointing to a difference in the manner of making quotations ; and bring forward ii. 3, where the author saj-s that the word 'was confirmed unto us by those that heard him,' a sentiment which is declared to be in- compatible (?) with the position of Paul. The readers of this epistle are termed Jlebreivs, and regarding them several distinct statements are made. They are thoroughly acquainted with the Mosaic ritual and institutions. They had been persecuted (x. 32, 33), and shown kindness to other be- lievers (vi. 10) ; they had not yet resisted unto blood (xii. 4) ; their Church had existed long enough to be well instructed (v. 12). Some of their chief pastors were dead (xiii. 7). They were ac- quainted with the writer, and anxious for his restoration to them (xiii. 19). They took a personal interest in Timothy (xiii. 23). They were supposed to be acquainted with the Septuagint, or Greek, version of the Old Testament, for all the quotations are taken from that version. Hence some have thought it not improbable that the epistle was primarily intended for the Church at Alexandria. With regard to the date, nothing can be settled further than that the Temple at Jerusalem must have been standing at the time of writing. Although A. V. has not always observed the point, yet every reference to the Levitical ministrations is either in the present or present perfect forms ; as, ' taketh this honour,' 'who serve unto the example,' 'the way into the Holiest of all has not yet been made manifest,' &c. * Conybeare and Howson, chap, sxviii. EPISTLE OF ST. JAMES. 43 EPISTLE OF ST, JAMES. Author. "Who was the author of tlie Epistle of St. James is a question of some difficulty. The opening verse simply names him as ' James, the servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus Christ.' But the ordinary opinion has long been that James, the brother of the Lord, is the author. This James appears in Gal. i. 19 (' other of the apostles saw I none save James, the Lord's brother'), and in all probability in Gal. ii. 9 ; Acts xii. 17 ; xv. 13 ; xxi. 18, where he appears as a resident in Jerusalem, and as one of the chief disciples who, with Cephas and John, appeared ' to be pillars ' of the Church there. Further, in Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi. 3, we find a James enumerated among the brethren of the Lord. Whether this James is identical or not with James, the son of Alpheus, one of the apostles, is much disputed. The identity and history of the various persons entitled James in the New Testament being discussed under ' James ' in Section 5, it will only here be necessary to refer to that place, and to state as a general result that there can be no reasonable doubt that the author of the epistle is the same as that James who presided at the first council of Jerusalem. He formulated its decision respecting the obligation of the Mosaic law on Gentile converts, and was evidently a man of commanding influence in the early Church at Jerusalem. This James was also known as James the Just, He long resided at Jerusalem, and Hegesippus, in Eusebius, gives an account of his death there by stoning ; but Josephus (Antiq, 20, 9. 1) gives another account, in which it is only said that the high- priest Ananus, in the interregnum following the death of the pro- curator Festus, illegally 'delivered him to be stoned j' but whether the sentence was carried out does not appear. Some assert, there- fore, that Hegesippus is wrong, and that James did not die until long afterwards. Place and Date of Writing. This epistle was manifestly written from Jerusalem, where James resided, and is addressed ' to the twelve tribes who are scattered abroad ' {kv ry ciaajropa = in the dispersion, a technical term for Jews residing out of Palestine). The date is very doubtful, but the internal evidence leans to a late date. The doctrine of justification by faith, the doctrine peculiarly inculcated by the epistles of Paul, is referred to in ii. 14, 15, and in the phrase ' that worthy name by the which ye are called ' (ii, 7) there seems to be a reference to the name Christian, first 44 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. given about a.d. ftO. Some also see an allusion to the immediate destruction of Jerusalem in v, 1. AutJienticity . The Epistle of James is reckoned by Eusebius, together with 2 and 3 John, and Jude, STuongst the disputed books of the New Testament canon ; but he also bears witness that it was publicly read as authentic in most churches, and he himself recognises its authority. The ancient Syriac version also contains it, Clement of Kome, Hermas, and Irenseus appear to refer to it, and many Fathers of the fourth century quote it. In 397, the Council of Carthage declared it to be canonical, and since this time it has been generally received. Design. The design of the epistle is (1) to enforce Christian morality, and (2) to console Christians under the sufferings to which they were exposed. Being addressed to Jews, the writer especially combats their Judaizing tendencies to ceremonial re- ligion (i. 27), fatalism (i. 13), partizanship (iii. 14), improper re- spect of rich persons (ii. 2), &c. This design being clearly in view, no opposition need be supposed to exist between the doctrine of justification by faith and the doctrine inculcated by St. James. In ii. 14-26, a careful consideration will make it apparent that the argument is not directed against the efficacy of a living faith, but against the notion that a dead and fruitless faith is efficacious. In the examples of Abraham (ii. 23) and Rahab (ii. 25), the faith both of Abraham and Eahab is clearly taken into account as the reason why righteousness was imputed to them ; the point is, that their faith was a fruit-bearing, and not a workless {x^pk tCov tpyuji') faith. In V. 14, 15, some have wrongly seen a reference to extreme unction. But in the case here supposed, the anointing is intended for the healing of the sick, whereas extreme unction is applied as a viaticum for a person in articulo mortis. ST. PETER AND HIS WRITINGS. 1. Iiife of Peter. — Nothing is known of the early life of Peter, except that he was the son of Jonas (Matt. xvi. 17 ,* John i. 42 ; xxi. 16), and was a partner with James and John, the sons of Zebedee, in the ownership of fishing vessels and apparatus in the sea of Tiberias. He was brother to Andrew, also one of the apostles, and resided first at Bethsaida (probably on the north-west coast of the sea of Galilee) (John i. 44), and afterwards at Ca- pernaum, where his house was sufficiently capacious to receive both our Lord and his disciples and hearers. He was a married ST. PETER AND HIS WRITINGS. 45 man ; one of the earliest incidents related of his history being the healing by Jesus of his wife's mother, who was sick of a fever (Matt. viii. 14, 15 ; Mark i. 29-31 ; Luke iv. 38, 39), and his married condition is afterwards referred to by St. Paul as a proof of the apostles' right to marry (1 Cor. ix. 5). When Peter first appears in the Gospel history, he bears the name of Simon, and is afterwards called indiiferently by this name and by that of Simon Peter, Peter, and Cephas. The name of Peter was given by our Lord Himself on the first occasion of their meeting. This occurred when our Lord returned to John the Baptist after the temptation. Philip of Bethsaida, Andrew and Simon, and probably John, were at this time amongst the disciples of John the Baptist, and were in attendance upon him. When, therefore, John, beholding Jesus as He walked, declared Him to be the Lamb of God, Andrew and John, who heard him, followed Jesus, and remained with Him that day. Andrew then sought his brother Simon, and having found him, brought him to Jesus, with the in- timation that they had found the Christ. Jesus, on the approach of Simon, said, ' Thou art Simon, the son of Jona ; thou shalt be called Cephas, which is by interpretation Petrus' (Jlkrpoc,'^ A. V, ' a stone '). On this change of name Stier remarks : ^ The allusion which has been over-critically detected in the etymology of the old name and its allusion to the new, we mention and leave un- decided ; the hearer, disciple, heretofore the son of the timid dove, which flies among the rocks, shall become the sheltering rock of the dove.' We now lose sight of Peter for awhile, until he reappears in the company of his brother Andrew, and his partners James and John, with their father Zebedee, engaged in fishing upon the lake of Galilee. Here, ,as they are casting a net into the sea, Jesus passes by and calls them, and in obedience to the call they follow Him (Matt. iv. 18-22 ; Mark i. 16-20). Soon after this the healing of Simon's mother-in-law took place. But the final call was yet to come. Once more, as Simon and his partners were washing their nets, the Lord passed by, and begged them to permit Him to occupy their ship, from which to address the multitude on the shore. When the address was finished, the ship, by our Lord's command- ment, was taken out from the shore, and an incredible haul of fish secured. This decided the future occupation of Simon. We read that 'Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou ' n6'Tpos = a rock ; ■n-eTpa=a piece of rock, or a stone (See Liddell and Scott). On the name Cephas, see Section 5. 46 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. shalt catcli men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all and followed him ' (Luke v. 10, 11). Soon after this Simon Peter was enrolled amongst the twelve apostles, and not only so, but became one of the three who were chosen by our Lord to accompany him upon special occasions. Thus Peter, James, and John only were with our Lord at the raising of Jairus's daughter (Mark v. 37), at the Transfiguration (Matt. xvii. 1 ; Mark ix. 2 ; Luke ix. 28), at the Agony in the Garden (Matt. xxvi. 37 ; Mark xiv. 33). On several occasions he comes into special prominence. Thus, when after the discourse on the Bread of Life, which caused the secession of many dis- ciples, Jesus said unto the Twelve, * Will ye also go away ? ' it was Simon Peter who answered, ' Lord, to whom shall we go ? Thou hast the words of eternal life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God ' (John vi. 67-69). Again, at Caesarea Philippi, in answer to our Lord's in- quiry, ' Whom say ye that I am ? ' it was Simon Peter who said, ' Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God ' (Matt. xvi. 16 ', Mark viii. 29 ; Luke ix. 20). It was in reply to this declaration that our Lord made the memorable statement, ' Thou art Peter (nhpoc), and upon this rock (LttI rav-y ry TTirpa) I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven : and what- soever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven ' (Matt. xvi. 18, 19). Various explanations of this statement exist : 1. Peter is regarded as the Head of the Church, and as entrusted with authority over it. Whatever may be the worth of this sup- position, it is obvious that no power of delegating the authority is in any way conferred, and hence any Papal pretensions which are based upon this interpretation necessarily vanish. 2. That our Lord in the words ' this rock ' referred to Himself. The main- tainers of this view point to the distinction between petrus and petra, already adverted to ; but although the truth involved in the recognition of our Lord as the foundation-stone of his Church is a valuable and most important one, it does not seem to be naturally conveyed by the passage in question. 3. That Peter represents the Church at large, as the principal disciple. This is the general patristic view. 4. That the ' rock ' upon which Christ builds his Church is the confession of faith in his person and Messiahship. 5. That Peter in some senses may be considered the foundation of the Church, which is expressly said elsewhere to be built ' upon ST. PETEE AND HIS WEITINGS. 47 tlie foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ being the chief corner-s^o? (ppovilg) the things which be of God, but those that be of men ' (Matt. xvi. 23 ; Mark viii. 33). Other circumstances specially recorded of Peter are, his walking on the water to meet Jesus (Matt. xiv. 28-31), his catching the fish in whose mouth the tribute-money was found (Matt. xvii. 24- 27), his asking questions concerning forgiveness of injuries (Matt. xviii, 21, 22), and as to the reward which those should receive who, like himself, had left all to follow Jesus (Matt. xix. 27-30 ; Mark x. 28-31 ; Luke xviii. 28-30). To him also, in company with Andrew, and James and John, was privately addressed the discourse on the last days delivered on the Mount of Olives (Matt. xxiv. 3 ; Mark xiii. 3 ; Luke xxi. 7). At the Last Supper, Peter was several times conspicuous. With John he was sent to prepare the supper (Luke xxii. 8). When our Lord, in the course of the supper, made preparations for wash- ing the disciples' feet, Peter at first objected; and when the object of our Lord's action became more apparent, he exclaimed, with that rapid and earnest change of intention by which he was characterised, * Not my feet only, but also my hands and my head ' (John xiii. 6-11). Again, Simon Peter requested John, who was leaning on Jesus' bosom, to ask the name of the be- trayer (John xiii. 24). Lastly, when our Lord predicted the defec- tion of his disciples, Peter answered and said, ' Though all men should be offended, yet will 1 never be offended,' and as a rebuke for his presumption, was at once warned that before 'the cock should crow ' (Mark adds ' twice '), he should thrice deny his Master (Matt. xxvi. 33-35 ; Mark xiv. 28-30). As already stated, Peter, James, and John were especially singled out for companionship with Jesus in the Garden of Geth- semane, and there fell asleep for awhile, during the agony of our Lord in prayer. Afterwards, on the arrest of Jesus, he drew a sword, and cut off the ear of Malchus, one of the servants of the 48 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. high-priest, and was rebuked for so doing (Matt. xxvi. 51, 52 ; Mark xiv. 47 ; Luke xxii. 49, 51 ; John xviii. 10, 11). Then, with the rest, he forsook Jesus and fled, but following ' afar off to see the end/ was admitted by the influence of John, who knew the high-priest, into the court-yard of the palace to which Jesus was conveyed. There, in accordance with the prediction of our Lord, he thrice denied Him, but on the third occasion our Saviour 'turned and looked on him.' The glance produced instantaneous conviction and repentance in the disciple's heart : * he went out and wept bitterly' (Matt. xxvi. 69-75 j Mark xiv. 66-72; Luke xxii. 56-62 ; John xviii. 17, 18, 25-27). On the morning of the Resurrection Peter was specially named as one to whom the women who saw the angels were to tell the news of Christ's coming, and Peter, with John, were the flrst of the apostles to visit the sepulchre. Peter was also the first to enter and discover the absence of the Lord's body (Luke xxiv. 12 ; John XX. 3-7). It also appears from Luke xxiv. 34 and 1 Cor. XV. 5, that a special appearance to Simon took place, but no details are given. After this, and the other appearances of the risen Lord which he must have witnessed in company with the other disciples, Peter seemed to have gone back to the Sea of Galilee, and for a while to have resumed his original occupation of fishing. While thus employed with Thomas, Nathauael, and the sons of Zebedee, our Lord once more appeared to him, and although John was first in recognising his Master, Peter first reached Him by casting him- self into the sea and wading to land. Similarly, again, he showed his zeal in being the first to seize the net and drag it to land, when our Lord said, 'Bring of the fish.' Then followed the well- known conversation in which our Lord thrice asked the same question, 'only slightly varied by the exact word used — ' Lovest thou Me ? ' and having been thrice answered aflirmatively, con- ferred on his repentant disciple the oftice of pasturing our Lord's sheep and lambs, and predicted his martyrdom by crucifixion (John xxi. 1-19). Encouraged by this, Peter questioned our Lord respecting John, but received no distinct answer. In the early part of the Acts of the Apostles Peter undoubtedly appears as the chief and foremost of the apostolic company. He seems to preside at the election of a successor to Judas (i. 15), and is the spokesman on the day of Pentecost (ii. 14, 38). With John, he works a notable miracle upon a lame man at the Beauti- ful Gate of the Temple, addressing the people on the power and ST. PETER AND HIS WEITINGS. 49 character of Jesus, is consequently confronted with the Sanhedrim, and in their presence boldly preaches the Gospel (iii. 1 — iv. 22). It is Peter, again, who denounces punishment on Ananias and Sapphira (v. 3, 8, 9), and whose shadow as he passes by is supposed by the people to have healing virtues (v. 15). When the apostles are put in prison, and thence brought before the Sanhedrim again, Peter once more becomes spokesman (v. 29), But it is evident from viii. 14, that he acted in subordination to the general authority ; for here we read that, ' when the apostles which were at Jerusalem heard that Samaria had received the word of God, they sent unto them Peter and John.' On this occasion Peter denounced Simon Magus, and thence returning to Jerusalem, preached in many Samaritan villages (viii. 25). After this, the apostle became the host of Saul, newly arrived from Damascus, for fifteen days (ix, 26 ; Gal. i. 18) ; then, leaving Jerusalem on a general tour of visitation, he went to Lydda, where he healed ^neas of a palsy, and thence being sent for to Joppa, on the occasion of the death of Dorcas, he raised her from the dead (ix. 32-43). Next, he took up his residence in Joppa, at the house of Simon a tanner, and was privileged to behold a vision, by which he was prepared to receive the application of Cornelius, a Roman centurion of Csesarea, for instruction in Christian doctrine (x. 1-23). The details of his visit to Cornelius, of Cornelius's subsequent conversion, and of the discussion which followed at Jerusalem as to the outpouring of the Spirit on the Gentiles, are given in Acts x. 24- xi. 18. In Acts xii. Peter is imprisoned by Herod, but miraculously delivered by an angel ; and here the continuous history of this apostle ends, the remaining notices of his name in New Testament history being only two. Thus, we find Peter again a spokesman, and recounting the history of the conversion of Cornelius, at the council held at Jerusalem to determine the obligation of the Mosaic law on Gentile Christians ; but it is noticeable that he is not the presi- dent, and does not appear to exercise any official authority (Acts XV. 7 ; Gal. ii. 7, 8, 9). Again, a meeting at Antioch between Peter and Paul, probably soon after the meeting at Jerusalem, is recorded in Gal. ii. 11 ; but it should be carefully noticed that the point in which Paul says that Peter was ' to be blamed (Ka-eyvoja- fiki'oc) ' was not any Judaizing doctrine, but a tendency to incon- sistency. That no breach of brotherly feeling was the result is obvious from 2 Pet. iii. 15, where Peter calls Paul his ' beloved brother.' In 1 Cor. i. 12 we read, ' one of you saith, I am of Paul ; and I 50 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. of Apollos ; and I of Cephas.'' From this it has been inferred by some, that Peter visited Corinth, and this is suggested by Clement of Rome, and stated as a fact by Dionysius, bishop of Corinth about A.D. 180. Origen further states, that Peter seems to have preached the Gospel in the countries of Asia, mentioned in his first epistle ; and, in 1 Pet. v. 13, the apostle writes from Babylon. Whether this Babylon is the ancient city of that name (where a numerous and prosperous colony of Jews then resided), or a mystic name for Rome, cannot be determined. It is beyond the scope of this work to discuss the question as to whether Peter ever was at Rome or not. No trace of such a cir- cumstance (except the doubtful reference to Babylon) is found in the New Testament. That he ever visited this city at all has been vehemently denied by many modern writers, and considerable un- certainty must be allowed to hang over the subject. If ever there, he could not have been there before the last year of his life, and certainly never occupied the post of bishop of the church there. Any primacy of Peter is altogether out of the question ; and it has been demonstrated, that when the fathers of the fourth and fifth centuries speak of ' The Apostle,' they mean St. Paul. Tra- dition, however, relates that St. Peter was put to death at Rome about the same time as St. Paul, and was crucified with his head downwards, by his own request, thinking himself unworthy to die in the same posture as his master. Another curious tradition re- lates that, having been forewarned of the intention to arrest him, he was escaping, but met our Lord at the gate. To the question, ' Whither goest thou. Lord ? ' our Lord replied, ' I go to Rome to be once more crucified.' Peter then returned, gave himself up, and suffered death accordingly. The only unquestioned writing of St. Peter is his first epistle. The authenticity of the second epistle has been strongly contested. But the Gospel of St. Mark (as has been already stated) was in all probability written imder his direction ; and it has been long ob- served that in that Gospel, with characteristic Christian humility, the shortcomings of Peter are more clearly stated, and less said in his favour, than in the remaining Gospels. 2. THe Spistles of St. Peter. — FiRST Epistle. — Authenticity. The First Epistle of Peter was unanimously received by the ancient church as the work of the apostle whose name it bears. It is referred to in the second epistle (iii. 1), and Polycarp, Papias, Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, and Origen, all quote ST. PETER AND HIS WRITINGS. 51 it frequently. It is also found in the ancient Syriac version, which contains only three of the Catholic epistles. Date and Place of Writiiig. The place from which this epistle was written is clearly described in v. 13 as ' Babylon/ and it has been already stated that much doubt exists as to whether this place was really Babylon in Mesopotamia, or Rome described under a mystic appellation. There is no valid reason why the true Babylon should not have been the place. A large and flourishing community of Jews resided there, and the provinces mentioned in the salutation are mentioned in the order in which they would occur to a person ti-avelling westward from Mesopotamia. Further, Silvanus or Silas is the bearer of the epistle, whom we know to have been the companion of Paul -, and it has been suggested that Silvanus may have been sent on a mission by St. Paul to the East, and have been entrusted with this letter on his return. The date must remain entirely undetermined. A fiery persecution appears to have commenced (i. 6, 7 ; ii. 12, 19, 20; iii. 14, 16, 17; iv. 1, 12-19 ; V. 9, 10), and this may possibly have been that occurring in the latter years of Nero, who died in a.d. 68. Design. The epistle itself states that the Christian Jews of the dispersion, and resident in certain provinces of Asia Minor, were the intended readers of the epistle. Its design was to comfort them under their tribulations, and to exhort them to practical piety. Second Epistle, — Authenticity. ' If it were a question now to be decided for the first time upon the external or internal evidences still accessible, it may be admitted that it would be far more dif- ficult to maintain this than any other document in the New Tes- tament. But the judgment of the early church is not to be re- versed without far stronger arguments than have been adduced, more especially as the epistle is entirely free from objections which might be brought, with more show of reason, against others now all but universally received : inculcating no new doctrine, bearing on no controversies of post-apostolical origin, supporting no hier- archical innovations, but simple, earnest, devout, and eminently practical, full of the characteristic graces of the apostle, who, as we believe, bequeathed this last proof of faith and love to the church.' With these words Canon Cook closes a careful discussion of the evidence for and against the authenticity of this epistle in Smith's ' Bible Dictionary.' There can be no question that there are few references in the early Fathers to this epistle, and that its style e2 52 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. (especially in chap, ii.) differs from that of the first epistle. But it was formally received into the Canon in 393, and passages in Clement of Rome, Hermas, Justin Martyr, Theophilus of Antioch, and Irenaeus, suggest an acquaintance with its contents. In Origen, but only in the Latin translation by Rufinus, also occurs a remarkable passage, so peculiar, that we cannot hesitate to consider it to have emanated from Origen himself. Alluding to the pro- cession of priests round Jericho, the writer compares the writers of the New Testament to so many sacerdotal trumpeters, and says, ' First Matthew, in his gospel, gave a blast with his sacerdotal trumpet ; Mark also, Luke, and John, sounded with their single sacerdotal trumpets. Peter also sounds aloud luith the two trumpets of his epistles ; James also, and Jude. But John adds yet again to blow with the trumpet through his epistles and Apocalypse ; Luke also, narrating the Acts of the Apostles. But last of all that man came who said : " I think that God has set forth us apostles last ;" and thundering with the fourteen trumpets of his epistles overthrew to their foundations the walls of Jericho, and all the engines of idolatry and dogmas of philosophy.' Eusebius mentions the epistle as amongst the disputed, but Jerome, who makes the same statement, notwithstanding this received the epistle, and explains the difi"erence of style and language by the sup- position that Peter, who, according to tradition, generally employed an interpreter, employed different interpreters as amanuenses of his two epistles. Design. The object of the epistle is to warn believers against gross errors and false teachers, and the apostle appeals continually to his own knowledge of our Lord and personal acquaintance with his doctrines. The similarity between chap. ii. and Jude may be explained on two suppositions. Either the apostle desired to give additional force to sentiments already published by Jude, or Jude may be describing actually that which the Epistle of Peter de- scribes prophetically. Date and Place of Writing. Of the latter nothing is known. The apostle evidently writes in the expectation of speedy departure (i. 13-15); and if he were martyred about a.d. Q7, in accordance with tradition, this would fix the date of the epistle to some extent. ST. jude's epistle. The Author. The writer of this epistle styles himself Jude ^the brother of James/ and is generally considered to be the same ST. PETER AND HIS WRITINGS. 53 as the apostle Judas, Lebbseus or Tbaddeus, who, in Luke vi. 16, is styled Jude the brother of James, where the words ' the brother ' are not in the original, and many suppose that they should be replaced by the words ' the son.' Others, however, think that he was one of the Lord's brethren, and that he calls himself the brother of James out of humility. Neither of Judas, Lebbseus, nor of Jude the Lord's * brother,' do we know much. Lebbteus is , only referred to in John xiv. 22 as asking, ^ Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world ? ' Of the other Jude, beyond his early rejection of our Lord in common with the other brethren, nothing whatever is known. Authenticity. Clement of Alexandria is the first father by whom this epistle is recognised ; but this need occasion little surprise, and it has since been received without dispute in the church. The Muratorian fragment recognises it, and Origen, Tertullian, and Jerome quote it as canonical. No time or place of writing can be defined. It is probable that the delay in recognising it arose, not merely from the nature of its contents, but from the fact that the apocryphal book of Enoch is quoted in it, and that a tradition about Moses and the archangel is referred to. It does not appear, however, that the apostle necessarily quoted the book now bearing the name of Enoch. It may well have been that this book in- corporates the ancient prophecy also mentioned by Jude. The reference to the tradition about Moses also does not necessarily imply that the tradition was untrue. This epistle is strikingly similar to the Second Epistle of Peter, chap, ii, This similarity may be satisfactorily explained on either of the suppositions mentioned in the above notice of 2 Peter. 54 SECTION II. SKETCH OF THE GOSPEL HISTOBY. %* For a sketch of the times immediately preceding the birth of our Lord, see under Herod, in Section 5. CHAPTER I. FROM THE BIRTH OF JESTJS CHRIST, B.C. 5, TO HIS BEIIS'G FOUND IN THE TEMPLE, MARCH, A.D. 9. 1. Bate of tHe Birtb of Jesus Cbrist. — The exact date of our Lord's birth has been a matter for much controversy. But there are certain considerations which narrow the limits within which it must have taken place. The earlier of these limits is determined by a calculation of the date at which Zacharias was oiFering incense in the Temple, when the angel Gabriel appeared to him, and announced that he should have a son. Zacharias was of the course of Abia, the eighth of the twenty-four courses into which David divided the priests (1 Chr. xxiv. 1, 10). Now each of these courses officiated for seven days, and we know that at the taking of the Temple at Jerusalem, which happened on August 5, a.d. 70 =A.ir.c. 823, the first ^ course, named the course of Jehoiarib, had just entered office. This furnishes a means of calculating the date of the ministry of Zacharias, and Whence the birth-date of our Ijord. For from August 5, 823, to August 5, 748, there are seventy-five Julian years, or 27,393 days, or 163 complete cycles of the whole twenty-four courses, and nine days over. Hence, the course of Jehoiarib was entering on its ministry on August 14, 748.^ Following this calculation we find, that the course of Abia entered office on October 8, B.C. 6, and left on October 15. The earliest period, therefore, at which the assertion of the angel to ' Josephus, B. J. vi. 4, 1 and 2. * The same calculation, of course, makes the cycle to commence also on Febru- ary 27, B.C. 6, and various dates preceding this by multiples of 168 days. But the substitution of February 27 for Aug. 14 in the above calculation has not been hitherto made by harmonists, as it throws events too far back. DATE OF THE BIETH OF JESUS CHRIST. 00 the Virgin Mary, in Luke i. 36, could be made is about the middle of March, B.C. 5, and reckoning forty weeks from this date, our Lord could not have been born 2Jrevious to December 21, B.C. 5. Again, we have a later limit fixed by the death of Herod the Great. This took place shqrtly before the Passover, B.C. 4, and in all probability about April 7. Before this event, we have to place the flight into Egypt, the visit of the Magi, and the Presentation in the Temple, which could not have taken place until the infant Saviour was forty days old. It is therefore unlikely that the birth of our Lord took place later than January^ B.C. 4. In short, although no certain day can be laid down as the true day of the Nativity, we can have little doubt as to its having taken place at, or about the end of B.C. 5, or the beginning of B.C. 4. 2. Annunciation of the Birtb of John the Baptist and of our Ziord's Birth. — The birth of our Lord was announced before- hand to the Virgin destined to become his mother Matt. i. I8-2.5. according to the flesh. She was named Mary, and ^^^ ^- ^~^*'- was possibly the daughter of Jacob, ^ a resident at Nazareth, in Galilee. She was betrothed to Joseph, her cousin, when the angel Gabriel conveyed the heavenly tidings to her. Enter- ing the house with the salutation, * Hail, highly favoured, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among imnien^'^ the heavenly messenger announced that, by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, Mary should conceive and bear a son. This son should be called Jesus (i.e. Saviour), and the Son of the Highest, and to him should be given the throne of his father David. Six months before this, another announcement had been made by the same angel Gabriel, with regard to him who was to be the forerunner of Jesus. As the aged Zacharias, a priest of the house of Abia, and the husband of a childless wife, named Elisabeth (who was a cousin to Mary), was burning incense in the Temple at Jerusalem, the angel had appeared to him, and announced that he should have a son, whose name should be called John, and who should go before the Lord in the spirit and power of Elias. Zacharias, however, disbelieved this, and as a punishment was struck with dumbness until the promised child was bom. That the promise of the angel would be kept was soon evident, and when the annunciation to Mary took place, the condition of Elisa- beth was referred to as a sign of Almighty power, and it was stated that it was ' now the sixth month with her who was called barren.' ' See Grcnealogy of Jesns Christ in Section 4. ' Italics omitted by {<. 56 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Immediately after the Annunciation Mary visited her cousin,* who resided in the 'hill country of Judaea,' which lies about fifteen miles south of Jerusalem. This was formerly a very popu- lous district, and is still covered with the ruins of cities,^ amongst which it is now impossible to identify any particular one as the residence of Zacharias and Elisabeth. Here Mary remained about three months, in all probability until immediately before the birth of Elisabeth's child, and then returned home to Nazareth. At the meeting of the cousins, Mary gave utterance to the song now known as the Magnificat, from its commencement, ' My soul doth magnify the Lord.' This song may be compared with the song of Hannah (I Sam. ii. 1-10) uttered under somewhat similar cir- cumstances. It became evident, after Mary's return to Nazareth, that she was about to give birth to a child ; but her betrothed husband Joseph, not willing to make her a public example, determined to put her away privately. From this he was hindered by a vision, in which an angel directed him to espouse Mary, since that which was conceived in her was of the Holy Ghost. Being raised from sleep, therefore, Joseph formally espoused Mary, but kept himself from her until the birth of the child. 3. Birtb of Jolm tbe Baptist. — Meanwhile, the child of Za- charias and Elisabeth was born. The relatives of the child wished ^^ . „ him to be called Zacharias, but the father, by means ^ ' of a writing-tablet, gave Mm the name of John, and being then miraculously restored to the use of speech, he uttered the hymn of praise known as the Be7iedictus, from its com- mencement, ' Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, in which the ca- reer of the child, as a forerunner of the Lord, was shadowed forth. 4. Birtli of Jesus Christ. — The Roman province, of which Pa- lestine at this time formed a part, was called Syria. The President of Syria was Cy renins, or Quirinus, for the first time ; and Herod the Great was King of Judaea under him.^ * oT;v7evTj?=relatioi]. The exact relationship is not determined by this expression. - Tristram's Land of Israel, p. 384. Ain Karim pretends to be the true residence of Zacharias and Elisabeth, but on no trustworthy grounds. See Thompson's Land and the Book, p. 663. =■ It has been recently shown by Dr. Zumpt, that the succession of Presidents of Syria about this time was as follows : — B.C. 9—6 Sextius Saturninus A.D. 4—6 Lucius Volsius Satnminus 6—4 Quintilius Varus 6—12 Puhlius Sulpicius Quiri- 4 — 1 Publius Sulpicius Quiri- nus nus 12—17 Q. C. M. Creticus Silanus B.C. 1— A.D. 2 Marcus Lollius 17—19 Cn. Piso. 2— 3 Caius Marcus Censorinus BIRTH OF JESUS CHEIST. 57 The Emperor of Rome was Augustus Caesar, under -^liom, Cassio- dorus says, ' August! siquidem temporibus orbis Romanus agris divisus censuque descriptus est.' ^ Suidas also says : ' This Au- gustus Csesar, having become sole ruler, selected twenty men . . . and sent them throughout the provinces (rj)v yijv toiv uttz/kowv), and by their means made a sequestration {dTroypafdg^ iTroiiiffaro) both of men and goods, so that he might accurately determine what portion of these should be converted to the public ser- vice.'^ Besides this, we have a short autobiography of the Emperor Augustus, directed by his will to be engraved on brazen tablets, and set up before his mausoleum. This is known as the Monumentum Ancyi-anum, and from it we learn that three censuses were held by this emperor."* Whichever of these three the census mentioned in Luke ii. 2 may have been, it appears to have been carried out on the Jewish system of families, and Joseph, the betrothed husband of Mary, went up with her to Bethlehem, he being of the family of David. Our Authorised Version says they went ' to be taxed,' but the true meaning is that they went ' to be registered ' (d7roypd(ptrT9ai). At Bethlehem the crowd of strangers was great, and the inn or khan ^ was full, so that Joseph and Mary had to take refuge in a stable, and in this lowly apartment our blessed Lord was born. He was wrapped in swaddling-clothes, according to the custom of the country, and the manger of the cattle became his cradle. '^ But his birth was not unnoticed. On the hills about Bethlehem, shepherds were This table satisfactorily explains the diflBcult passage in Luke ii. 2, where the census which brought Joseph to Bethlehem is stated to have happened when ' Cyrenius was governor of Syria.' This census took place during Quirinus's first, and not second, term of office. ^ Var. iii. 52. * Another reading is anoypa^riv. ' Suidas, under anoypa^rt. Suidas has also, under Auyovo-tos, a doubtful reference to this census. * Second table, left hand. Wieseler tries to show that two of the censuses were lustra only, and that none of them were the census of Luke ii. 2. But Reynolds, followed by Greswell and Huschke, has almost demonstrated that the second census is Luke's census. * Mr. Hepworth Dixon, in his Holy Land, endeavours to show that this khan is stm to be identified. See Bethlehem, in Section 5. * The suitability of the manger may be illustrated from The Land of Israel. In a house to which Dr. Tristram went, the accommodation consisted of a large and lofty barn, the lower half of which was half-granary, half-stable, the granaiy open to the top, and a few steps leading up to the dwelling portion, these steps forming in part the manger and hay-rack of the camel and two cows. This reminded the traveller of the position of our Lord's parents at Bethlehem. Kot received, either by reason of their poverty or humble appearance, on the upper plat- form, but left below— the infant, when born, was naturally laid in the long earthen trough which serves for manger, and into which the fodder is pushed from the floor.— p. 72. 58 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. watching over their flocks by night. Suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to them, saying : ' Fear not : for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.' Instructed by this angel, and encouraged by others who joined him, the shepherds visited the birthplace of the child, and having seen it, returned, glorifying God. 5. Tbe Circumcision and Presentation in the Temple. — Eight days later the child was circumcised, and named Jesus ; •• 91 ^q and forty days after his birth, his mother was brought to the Temple,^ in accordance with the custom of the law (Lev. xii.),^ and the child was at the same time presented to the Lord. At this ceremony Joseph was present, and Simeon, an aged and pious Israelite, together with Anna, a prophetess, came into the Temple and blessed Him. It is quite possible that the exact account given by St. Luke of the occurrences in the Temple may have proceeded from Anna. 6. Visit of tbe "Wise Men to Betblebem and Retreat of Josepb to Bgrypt. — The birth of Jesus also attracted notice in other countries. Wise men from the East (by which Matt. ii. 1-18. "^ the present British India is probably intended) having seen a star in the east (or, ' at its rising,' as some interpret), came to seek and to worship the King of the Jews. Much learning has been bestowed on the attempt to determine the exact nature of this star. The famous astronomer Keppler, struck by a conjunction of Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn which occurred in 1604, and by the appearance of a temporary star at the same time,^ made calcula- tions as to whether such a phenomenon might not have occurred about the time of our Lord's birth, and found that a conjunction of these planets did occur iu B.C. 7. It is also stated hj Wieseler, on the authority of Bishop Munter, that there is evidence in the Chinese annals of the appearance of a temporary star shortly before the Christian era. But whatever may have been the exact nature of the celestial appearance, it is sufficient for us to know that by its guidance certain wise men found their way to Judaea. Here they applied to King Herod the Great for information as to ' The distance from Bethlehem to Jerusalem is only about one and a half hours. See The Land and Book, p. 664. ^ t<. B. A. read ' the days of their purification being accomplished,' and Bengel, who denies that either our Lord or his mother needed purification, refers the pro- noun their to the Jews. ^ An account of this star and similar stars in 1670 and 1848 is given in Arago's Popular Astronomy, ii. 266. VISIT OF THE WISE ilEN TO BETHLEHE^kl. 59 where the King wliom they sought might be found. He being himself in ignorance on the subject, and yet having his anxiety aroused by the statement of the wise men, consulted the chief priests and scribes, and learned that Bethlehem was the place where (according to the prophecy of Micah, v. 2) a governor, who should rule Israel, might be expected to be born. The wise men accordingly were sent to Bethlehem, with instructions to inform Herod of the result of their search. Guided by the star, they came to the house where Jesus was, and there worshipped Him and presented Him with gold, frankincense, and myrrh. ^ Having thus seen the child, and being warned of God in a dream not to return to Herod, they departed into their own country by another way. Shortly afterwards Joseph, the husband of Mary, being similarly warned in a dream, retired from Palestine, and dwelt for a short period in Egypt. Here vast numbers of Jews dwelt, and in the neighbourhood of Memphis an extensive Jewish temple had been built, in accordance with the prophecy of Isaiah, xix. 19.^ Tradition places the retreat of Joseph in the vicinity of this temple, but no reliance can be placed upon this supposition. 7. nsassacre of Infants at Betblebem, Death of Herod, and Return of Joseph. — The reason for Joseph's removal from Bethlehem soon became apparent. Herod, finding 1.- ir J ' j-u ^-L ■ J .1- . 1^ Matt. u. 19-23. himseli deceived by the wise men, gave orders that all children under two years old in and about Bethlehem (probably not exceeding ten or twelve in number) should be destroyed. Soon afterwards Herod himself died of a dreadful disease at Jericho, being succeeded in his government of Idumasa, Judaea, and Samaria by his son Archelaus, and in the government of Galilee by his son Antipas. Under these altered circumstances Joseph, who appears to have intended to reside in Judaea on his return from Egypt, went again to Nazareth, and dwelt there.^ Besides a natural preference for his own native town, he acted in these movements under the direct guidance of a dream. 8. Jesus is broug:ht up at XTazareth, and when Twelve ' These gifts are variously explained. A reasonable interpretation is that the gold indicated the royal nature of Jesus, the frank incense Ms divine nature, and the ?rtyrrA (much used in burials) his mortal nature. " For an account of the building of this temple see Josephus B. J., vii, 10, 3. ' There is no pretence for saying that Matthew represents Bethlehem as the resi- sidence of Joseph and Mary. He caUs Nazareth ' his own country,' xiii. 51, and in Matt. ii. 22, where Joseph is said on his return from Egypt to have 'turned aside' into the parts of Galilee, the Greek word is ai/exoipTjo-et', which more accurately means ' returned.' See Matt. ii. 12, where dra^wpew is so translated. 60 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. ■years old visits Jerusalem. — It is not expressly stated that our Lord was employed as a cMld in the business of his reputed father Joseph, but as He is called (Mark vi. 3) the ^ carpenter (rf/crwiO,^ ' there can be no doubt that He was taught his trade in the usual manner. His personal character as a child was that ^ he grew in favour with God and man/ and ' the grace of God was upon him.' One incident of our Lord's childhood is alone recorded. Joseph and Mary were accustomed, in conformity witb the Jewish law (Deut. xvi. 16), to visit Jerusalem at the feast of the passover. When Jesus was twelve years old, He also was taken to Jerusalem, but, when his parents returned, remained behind unknown to them. Supposing Him to have been amongst the company of pilgrims, they did not at first regard his absence with, anxiety, but after a day's j ourney and an unsuccessful search amongst their friends, they turned back and sought Him. After three days they found Him in the Temple, questioning and being questioned by the rabbis, and to their remonstrance He replied, ' Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business {or, in my Father's house) ? ' Then He returned with them to Nazareth, and was subject unto them. On the meaning of the word Nazarene, see Section 4, under the word. And it may here be noted that, as Joseph is never mentioned after this, whereas the brothers and sisters of our Lord (whoever they were) and His mother are mentioned, he is sup- posed to have died before the commencement of our Lord's public ministry. » According to Liddell and Scott, TeKT(oi' = a worlcer in wood, but it is also (but not so commonly) used to describe any craftsman. It has been recently argued that the re'/cToi'es of Palestine were rather masons than carpenters, stone being a much more commonly used material than wood. JOHN THE BAPTIST BAPTISES JESUS CHRIST. 6^ CHAPTER II. FROM THE BAPTISM OF JESTJS CHRIST TO HIS RETURN TO GALILEE AFTER THE FEAST (OF PURIM ?) AT JERUSALEM. WINTER OF A.D. 27-28 TO MARCH A.D. 29 (ONE TEAR AND A QUARTER). 9. John the Baptist Baptises Jesus Christ. — Not until eighteen years after the appearance of our Lord as a child in the Temple did He commence his mission as the Messiah, and of the occupations of the intervening period we ^^*^ f\-u ' ' know absolutely nothing. At the end of eighteen Luke iii. 1-23. years his cousin, John Baptist, had become an im- portant public character, preaching in the deserts east of Jerusalem and near the lower fords of Jordan (nearly opposite Jericho) the coming of the Lord, and the necessity of repentance and baptism. At this time Pontius Pilate was procurator of Judsea;^ Tiberius was emperor of Rome, in the thirteenth year of his sole govern- ment and in the fifteenth year of his government united with his uncle Augustus ; Herod Antipas, a son of Herod the Great, was tetrarch,^ or ruler of Galilee ; Herod Philip, another son of Herod the Great, tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis (the regions occupy- ing the northern portion of the transjordanic Palestine) ; and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene, or the country in the neighbourhood of Damascus. The fifteenth year of Tiberius, reckoning from his union in authority with Augustus, was a.d. 26, Augustus Caesar hadng died in August a.d. 14. As, therefore, we have already seen that the birth of our Lord must have taken place about December B.C. 5, it follows that in December a.d. 26 he would be ^ After the death of Herod the Great, B.C. 4, his kingdoms were divided by Augustus amongst his sons, so that Judaea fell to the lot of Archelaus, -nith the title of Eihnarch, Persea to Herod Philip, and Gahlee to Herod Antipas. But after reigning nine years, Archelaus was removed for tyrannical conduct by the Emperor, his kingdom was attached to the province of SjTia, and Coponius appointed procu- rator. His successors were M. Ambivius, Annius Rufus, Valerius Gratus, and Pon- tius Pilatus, who was appointed a.d. 25-26. = Tetrarch literally means ' a ruler of the fourth part of a dominion.' Thus Galatia and Thessaly were anciently divided into four ' tetrarchies.' The four te- trarchies of Palestine arose fi-om the division of Herod the Great's dominions into three parts, to which Abilene being added, constituted a fourth. 62 ESSENTIAJ.S OF, NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. just thirty years old. Now St. Luke states that at tbe time of the commencement of his ministry, Jesus was of this age (iii. 23).^ It was, therefore, towards the close of a.d. 26, or the beginning of A.D. 27, when our Lord left Nazareth, and sought the fords of Bethabara, where his forerunner was baptising. Vast crowds were flocking to his baptism, and amongst them Jesus himself came. John at first refused to baptise Him, saying, ' I have need to be baptised of thee,' but, being pressed by the Saviour, at length administered the rite. As they came out of the water, the heavens were opened, the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus under the form of a dove, and a voice was heard saying, ^ This is my beloved son, in whom I am well pleased.' ^ 10. Jesus is Tempted by the Devil. — Having thus been baptised both of water and of the Holy Spirit, our Lord was led bv the Spirit into a wilderness, the exact locality of Matt. iv. 1-11. \.. ^ , . • J rr jv 1 •* Marki. 12, 13. which remains unascertained, iradition places it Luke IV. 1-13. jjg^j, jgj^iciio, and has given it the name of Quaran- taria, but many authors identify it with the Wilderness of the Wandering. Here, after forty days of fasting, our Lord was tempted of the Devil, (1) by an invitation to display, prematurely and unbelievingly, his Sonship to God in converting stones to bread ; (2) by the advice to expose Himself unnecessarily to danger in leaping down from the pinnacle of the Temple ; and (3) by an offer to give Him all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them on condition of worshipping the Evil One.^ All these temptations our Lord successfully repelled, and in repelling them used no other weapon than the Word of God, quoting Deut. viii. 3 ; vi. 16 5 and vi. 13. The tempter then retired, and angels ministered to the victorious Saviour, 11. Jesus revisits Jordan, and is recog-nised by Jobn as the Iiamb of God. — Thus refreshed, and having now Johni. 19-51. , , . . •,, . . .• proved his capacity to overcome all temptations, • It is now almost universally agreed upon that the true reading of Luke iii. 23 is avTos y\v 6 'lr}(Tov^ apx6fJievo<; cbo-el ercii' TpiaKovra, and that its meaning is, ' Jesiis was about thirty years of age when he began (.i.e. his ministry).' Wieseler lays stress on the point that he was rather over than under thirty years of age, and many commentators point out that the reason for our Lord having waited until this age was that thirty years was originally the time for commencing the Levitical minis- try, and that our Lord desired to show that He was ' under the law,' and to ' fulfil all righteousness.* See Numb. iv. 8, 23, 30, 47. * Matthew says oiros ianv 6 vlo^ ixov, Mark and Luke say Iv el. 6 vl. Probably both these expressions are only translations of the language used by the Divine Voice. o5Tos=(ri( (See LiddeU and Scott, ad verb. V.). ' Luke inverts the order of these last two temptations, but does not connect the relations by particles of time, as Matthew does. JESUS REVISITS JOED AN. 63 Jesus returned to Bethany,^ beyond Jordan, where John -was still baptising. There, beholding Him as He returned, John declared Him to be ^ The Lamb of God,'^ which taketh away the sin of the world (r?)j/ cij^iapriav rov Konfiov).^ On the following day, behold- ing Jesus as He walked, John repeated the same expression, and, hearing the words, two of John's disciples (Andrew, Simon Peter's brother, and probably the apostle John) followed Jesus, and having remained with Him for that night, recognised Him as the Messiah. By the introduction of Andrew, Simon was on the following day brought to Jesus, and received the surname of Cqjhas, or a stone. The next day Philip of Bethsaida was called, and by his means Nathanael was also brought to Jesus, being con- vinced of his Messianic character by the supernatural knowledge of his private actions which the Saviour exhibited. 12. Jesus goes into Galilee. — From Jericho to the hill country of Galilee was about three days' journey (or from sixty to seventy miles), and on the third day after the events recorded , ^ .. , ,. . , -^\ , -r n • -1 • 1 1 . Jo'™, ii. 1-12. in the last paragraph, our Lord arrived with his new disciples at Cana,^ a small village about five miles N.E. of Nazareth. To this festival Mary, the mother of Jesus, had been called, and Jesus himself attended, accompanied by his new disciples. The quantity of wine proving deficient, Jesus now exerted for the first time his divine power of working miracles, converted into wine the water contained in ' six waterpots, containing two or three firkins {uerpifTag) apiece.' If the iueTpt]T>)t; contained 8-6696 gallons, and the average contents of the waterpot be taken at 2^ ntTpi)rai, then the quantity converted = 6 x 2^ x 8*6696 gallons = rather more than 130 gallons, and the extensive character of the miracle, as well as the particularity with which the circumstances are related, may be regarded as strong testimonies to its reality. Some, however, suppose that only that portion of the water was converted into wine which was actually drawn from the jars. ^ After this exhibition of his power, by which the belief of his disciples was confirmed, Jesus went down to Capernaum, an im- portant town on the western shore of the Lake of Tiberias, and * A. V. ' Bethabara,' but most good MSS., including }>?> ' Bethany.' ^ Probably referring to Is. liii. 4, 7, and not to the Paschal Lamb. ^ Now Cefr Kana. ' There is not now a habitable house in the humble village where our blessed Lord sanctioned by his presence and miraculous assistance the all-important and world- ^\•ide institution of marriage.' — Land and Book, p. 427. * See an able article in Temperance Bible Commentai-y, 2nd ed., pp. 301-308, where the questions both of the amoiint of wine produced and the character of the wine are exhaustively discussed. 64 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. there continued a short time with his disciples, his brethren, and his mother. 13. Jesus goes up to Jerusalem for tbe first Passover of Iiis Ministry. Xficodezuus visits Kim, and Jobn Baptist again John ii. 13 bears witness to Him, — The Passover was now at -iii. 36. band (March 30, a.d. 28), ^ and Jesus accordingly- left Capernaum for Jerusalem. Here he commenced his public mission with an act similar to that by which He closed it, driving out from the Temple the sellers ^ of animals for sacrifice, and the money-changers. Here also he performed many miracles, and gathered many disciples. Amongst inquirers was Nicodemus, a ruler (dpx(^v) of the Jews, who came to Him by night. To this man He opened with great freedom the scheme of salvation by a crucified Saviour, likening the uplifting of the Son of Man to the uplifting of the serpent in the wilderness (Num. xxi. 8), and giving as the reason of this uplifting that ' whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but ^ have eternal life.' From Jerusalem Jesus went to ' ^Enon, near to Salim ' on the Jordan, * where his disciples baptised, and the jealousy of the Pharisees was aroused by their success. But John himself, being consulted, bore testimony to the Messiahship of Jesus, and said of Him, ^ He must increase, but 1 must decrease.' 14. Jesus again journeys into Galilee, and tbere Heals a N'obleman's Son. — Our Lord now left Judaea, and again visited Galilee. On his way thither He passed by Sychar, Mark rilS^' '^ ^^^3" °^ Samaria,'^ where was the 'well of Lukeiv. 14, 15. Jacob.' Here He met a woman from the neighbour- ly, -o . .^^ town, and during the absence of his disciples (who had gone to buy victuals) conversed with her, declaring Him- ' G-resweU makes this passover the passover of a.d. 27. ^ The text is, ndvTa^ e^e^akev en tov iepov, to. re npo^ara Koi TOii? /36as, which some translate, ' He drove aU out of the temple, both the sheep and the oxen,' thus eliminating that personal violence to the persons engaged in traffic which distin- guished the second cleansing. The nature of the scourge which Jesus used, and which would be unsuitable except for driving out the animals, increases the Ukeh- hood of the above translation. ^ Itahcs omitted by fi} and B. * Not identified, but probably near Sheikh Salim, about twenty miles S. of the Lake of Tiberias. = Sychar is said to be a name of contempt invented by the Jews as a nickname for Shechem (now Nablous) after it had passed into the hands of tho Samaritans. In a similar way they called Shiloh by the nickname of Gaggoth Tseriphim. But Dr. Thomson points out that there are the ruins of a village nearer the well than Shechem, and going by the name of Aschar. — Land and Book; p. 472. Mr. Tristram makes a similar remark in his Land of Israel, p. 146. The 'well 'is now about seventy-five feet deep. JESUS AGAIN JOUENEYS INTO GALILEE. 65 self, both by word and by tlie exhibition of supernatural knowledge of her family affairs, to be the Messiah. As a result of this con- versation, and of the woman's statement, many of the Samaritans believed; but after two days Jesus continued his journey north- wards, and arrived in Galilee. The fame of his doings at Jerusalem had preceded Him hither, and many of the Galileans received Him. Amongst others, a certain nobleman (fSamXiKOi;^), whose son was sick at Capernaum, came to Cana, where our Lord was, and besought Him to come and heal his son, then lying at the point of death. Jesus assured him that his son was living. The nobleman, believ- ing Him, returned home, to find his child not only recovered, but having begun to amend at the hour at which Jesus spoke. 15. Jesus goes up to a Feast at Jerusalem. — Up to this point the sequence of the events in our Lord's life is generally ao-reed upon ; but at this point a serious disao^ree- , , ° r 7 , , 1 . -X John V. 1^7. ment appears among the sacred harmonists. From John V. 1, it appears that our Lord went up about this period of his ministry to ' a feast of the Jews' ^ at Jerusalem, and the important contention arises as to what feast this was. A very few commentators, among whom Ebrard is the chief, regard it as the Feast of Tabernacles ; but this opinion, as well as the notion that it was Pentecost, may be dismissed as in all probability untenable. The great body of harmonists are divided upon the question as to whether it was Passover or Purim. Without denying that there are difficulties in the assumption, the latter supposition will here be made. It has at least the authority of Neander, Olshausen, Wieseler, Tischendorf, Stier, and Bishop Ellicott, The effect of this supposition is to reduce the length of our Lord's ministry from three and a half years to two and a half; but, on the other hand, it has the advantage of enabling us to use the Gospels of St. Luke and St. Mark as very nearly chronological,^ and to form an exceed- ingly clear idea of the movements and work of our Lord's latter ministry. ' Probably a courtier attached to the court of Herod Antipas. * The reading of X is ' the feast of the Jews.' ^ The chronological character of St. Luke's Gospel is vehemently asserted by Wieseler, Tischendorf, and others, on the ground that he himself declares it to be chronological in i. 3 (eSo^e kol/jlol, naprjKoKovOriKOTi. avojOei/ naa-iv^ aKpi^co?, KaOe^rjg 3-35-^^® towns of Galilee, preaching in the synagogues viii. 2-4. and casting out evil spirits; and at the termination of Lake iv .^42-44 ; ^his journey, Greswell supposes the discourse con- V, 12-16. tained in Matt, v.-viii., known as tbe Sermon on the Mount, to have been delivered. Others, however, defer the delivery of the sermon until after the appointment of the twelve Apostles ; and this arrangement will accordingly be adopted here. During this circuit the first instance of a miraculous cure of leprosy occurred. Lepers were then deemed incurable, were restricted by the Mosaic law from intercourse with other men, and regarded as the objects of Divine wrath. But one of this unhappy class, confiding in the power of Jesus, came saying, ^ Lord, if thou art willing, thou canst (ovvacai) make me clean.' Jesus at once put forth his hand, touched and healed him ; and in consequence ' great multitudes came together to hear, and to be healed of their infirmities.' 19. £L miraculous Brau^lit of Fishes is granted to Simon Peter and his Partners. They follow Jesus. — Here, if the circumstance be not the same as that recorded in Lu ev.l-ll. ^^^^^^ .^^ ^g_^2^ ^j.^^^ ^ ^g_2^^ ^^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^^^ ^ second and final call of Simon, James and John, accompanied by a miracle, by which their ships were filled with a miraculous draught of fishes. Wieseler, followed by Hannah and French, regards the two calls as identical, but Greswell and Alford take the contrary view. There are, in fact, many circumstances dis- tinguishing the two calls. In the first, (1) Andrew appears, (2) the fishermen are fishing, (3) no miracle is recorded. In the second, Simon, James, and John have toiled all night and caught nothing. In the morning, when their boats are drawn up on the beach, and they are washing their nets, they are accosted by Jesus. He first uses their vessel as a pulpit, then invites them to make another eifort to repair their bad fortune. They accede, and are rewarded with a vast multitude of fishes. Then, overwhelmed by the power of their Master, they finally determine to give them- selves to his service, and ' having brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed Him.' * Tlie term SiajSoAos is ouly applied in N. T. to the chief of the evil spirits. JESUS HEALS A PARALYTIC, AND CALLS MATTHEW. 69 20. Jesus heals a Paralytic, and calls Matthew, — Heturn- ing to Capernaum, our Lord cured a paralytic, brought into his presence by the singular zeal of his four bearers, who, ,, ^, . „ ,„ f • 1 • 1 1 1 ^ , „ , . T Matt. IX. 2-17. being hindered b}' the crowd from approaching J esus, Mark ii. 1-22. * uncovered the roof where he was,' and so let down ^^^^6"^- 1'-39- the sick man before Him. At first Jesus only said ' Thy sins be' forgiven thee ;' but when the bystanders murmured at this apparent presumption, He vindicated his authority to forgive sins >by healing the paralytic. Going forth from the performance of this miracle, he saw Matthew or Levi, a tax-gatherer, occupied in his business near the Sea of Galilee, and called him with the words ' Follow me.' Levi at once arose, followed Him, and, not content with doing this, made Him a feast in his own house. 21. Jesus defends his ISisciples from the Charg-e of violating: the Sabbath by plucking^ Corn as they walk. — Thenext day was the Sabbath,known as SevrfpoTrpoj-ov. .. This expression only occurs here, and has had many Mark ii. 23-28. interpretations,^ according to the varying views of ^^^^ ^^" ^~^' harmonists and commentators as to this difficult period. On this Sabbath, whatever it might be, the disciples, passing through a cornfield, plucked the ears of corn.^ The Pharisees, beholding this, declared such an act to be unlawful on the Sabbath day. In reply, Jesus referred to the example of David (1 Sam. xxi. 1-6), who, under pressure of physical necessity, partook of the sacred shewbread; and to the common practice of the priests, who habitually ^profane the Sabbath, and are blameless.' ' Therefore,' said Christ, probably referring to Himself as the typical head of all human nature, ' the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.' 22. Jesus heals a nSan with a withered Hand on the Sabbath Day. — On ' another Sabbath,' asserted by Wieseler to have been in reality not a true Sabbath, but the day following the Sabbath, which in the case of the first Mark iii.'i-^i2.* Sabbath in Nisan was also regarded as holy, Jesus was ^^'^^^ "^^^ ^"^^• teaching in the synagogue (probably still at Capernaum), where was a man having his right hand withered. It would appear that many ' The principal are : (a) The first Sabbath after the second day of unleavened bread. (b> The first Sabbath of the ecclesiastical year (i.e. the first Sabbath in Nisan), so called to distinguish it from the first Sabbath of the civil year (i.e. the first Sabbath in Tisri). (c) The first Sabbath of the second year of the week of years, a.d. 28 was a sabbatical year, and therefore a.d. 29 would be the second year of a week of years, (d) A Sabbath, the day before which had been a feast day — (c) is the view of Wieseler, approved of by ALford. But many good MSS., in- cluding {<, omit SevTeponpa}T(v altogether. ^ Permitted by Deut. xxiii. 25. 70 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Scribes and Pharisees had now come down from Jerusalem, and were present to watch our Lord. Tempting Him, they enquired whether it was lawful to heal on the Sabbath day. To this He replied, ' Is it lawful to do good or to do e^il on the Sabbath ?' The questioners were silent. Jesus then adduced the case of an ox or an ass fallen into a pit, and legally extricated on the Sabbath day ; and having thus established the lawfulness of the act, called the diseased man into the midst, healed him, and let him go. 23. Twelve Apostles are appointed. — The next important event in New Testament history is the selection of the twelve Mark iii. 13-19. Apostles. A sketch of the history of each individual Luke vi. 13-19. apostle, SO far as known, is given in Section 5, but some circumstances relating to them as a body remain to be recorded. Matthew does not give an account of the selection, but names the Apostles afterwards incidentally (x. 2-4). By Mark and Luke the place of selection is described as ' a mountain (-6 opoc),^ but no means of identifying the place exist. Their lists are given, and here subjoined, together with that found in Acts. These lists correspond except in the tenth and eleventh names. In all cases Simon Peter holds the first place, and Judas the last ; and there is a certain pairing of names which is easily observable, and in two cases easy to explain. James and John were brothers. Bartholomew (if — as many suppose — he is identical with Nathanael) was brought to Jesus by Philip (John i. 45, &c.). A review of this otherwise complete accordance at once suggests that Thad- daeus and Judas the brother (?) of James (whose existence among the Apostles John also notes in xiv. 22) were identical, and although no valid reason for this double name can be offered, no argument from conflicting passages can be brought against it. 24. Jesus performs various ^Miracles, and delivers the Sermon on the IVSount. — Having thus selected his Apostles, our Lord in their company performed many miracles. Matt xn.__:J2-45 ; ^^^ ^^g -^ consequence again charged by the Scribes Mark iii. 20-30. and Pharisees with casting out devils and performing miracles by Satanic agency. Vast multitudes also gathered themselves ; and seeing them, our Lord withdrew with his disciples into a mountain, probably the ^ horned hill ' of Hat- tin, which lies west of the Sea of Galilee, about five miles from the sea. Dean Stanley (who supports the tradition which sup- poses this mountain to have been the scene of the Sermon on the Mount) says, ' Its situation is central, both to the pea- sants of the Galilean hills, and the fishermen of the Galilean THE TWELVE APOSTLES. 71 CO i s 1' < _Ch 1 2 o c3 a c 2 S ^< - II (S 5 C3 C3 g rt 1 s i-i c c3 ^-»s IT •-, ci -2 ^ ^ s" J 1 1 "« 2 m i-s '- 1 o vh .2 c i o o )4 1 5 o < Is -4-r a 2 ^ '^ 1 s o a 15 1 .2 1 c 1 £3 o o -^ o CI § '3 ^ 2 C3 g S t«5 2 o '-6 ij p '5 g 'S •'^ ^ rt X- c '— -^ ^ rt 5 5 £! ^ c CS CS rt n « .^ ^ 5 § 3 a; rt2>'5 r-~t j- 4n i 3 c k> 1 ^11 [H, % ^ "« g •2 N 1^2 C3 "^ a O |I5 m1^ tf^ S o ^" a 1 1 1 "o c: s s 'o ? oT 2 c HH 1 s •-5 <1 .S^ C3 C3 1 1 o S zn. ci _s n3 r- r^ •o t3 'Ci rs r— f— ■r Ic rt i^ o^ e rt J3 c j^ ca C3 ci flH C3 e3 c3 C3 rt c; 5 ^ ~"77~ .- o cc 'B 'i 3 f ;; i 1 s^ "^ ^ o l^ P o r' •-^ 'H- - r^ .-^ -"- ^ ^ ^ 2 pT N o a 1 .2 J3 s O 1 Sic o a §"2 5 ir cS 1 1 o 1 2 _& 1 1 1 8 11 2 o c -^ fi ■13 rs r2 o ■1^ o3 B ^ 2 1— ^ X 5 1-6 s C3 c3 H 1 ea c^ 2 "^ CJ -^* (N CO '^ lO O t> 00* C3 o ^ — ' % 72 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. lake, between whicli it stands, and would therefore be a natural resort both to ^^ Jesus and his disciples " when they retired for solitude from the shores of the sea, and also to the crowds who assembled ^' from Galilee, from Decapolis, from Judiiea, and from beyond Jordan." None of the other mountains in the neighbour- hood could answer equally well to this description, inasmuch as they are merged into the uniform barrier of hills round the lake ; whereas this stands separate — "the mountain" which alone could lay claim to a distinct name. ^ ' On this mountain, then, to the Apostles, before selected, as well as to other assembled disciples and a surrounding multitude, our Lord now delivered either the Sermon on the Mount for the first time, or else a fragmentary re- capitulation of its principal parts. Considering the importance of this discourse, and the proverbial nature of many of its dicta, it is not difficult to suppose that on a solemn occasion, such as was this ordination of an apostolate, a re-statement of the moral doctrines of the Gospel would be introduced with the greatest propriety. 25, Healingr of a Centurion's Servant, and Raising^ of a Voungr Man at ITain. — Having ended his sayings, our Lord now Matt vm.5-13. I'^tumed to Capernaum, and there raised from the Luke vii. 1-17. point of death, by the mere power of his word, the servant of a Roman centurion. The faith of this centurion, who requested Jesus not to come under his unworthy roof, but simply to utter a word of power, elicited the high commendation, ' I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.' This was followed by a yet more remarkable miracle. The corpse of a young man, the only son of a widowed mother, was being carried out for burial from the small town of Nain,^ when our Lord met the funeral pro- cession, and, touched with compassion, raised the young man to life. 26. John the Baptist sends IVIessengers to Jesus. Death of John the Baptist. — The fame of Jesus had now spread through Matt. xi. 2-30 • ^1^ Judaea, and had reached the ears of John the xiv. 1-12^ ' Baptist, now shut up, by order of Herod Antipas, in L?k?^V. 18-35'; the fortress of Machterus (Machaur), on the eastern is. 7-9. g]^Qj.g Qf the Dead Sea. The reports which reached John no doubt confirmed him in his previously expressed opinion about Jesus; and whether from a wish to satisfy himself by direct enquiry, or in order to bring about a transference of his own * Sinai and Palestine, chap. x. ^ The present and ancient gi-aveyard of Nain is to the east, and about ten minutes' walk from the town. Although now a miserable village, its remains show that Nain was once a walled city. DEATH OF JOHN THE BAPTIST. 73 disciples to Jesus, he sent two of his disciples to ask the question, ' Art thou he that should come (6 fpxofievoc^), or look we for another ? ' Our Lord replied by pointing to the miracles wrought by Him ; and when the messengers had departed, took occasion to address the people in favour of John, whom He declared to be the greatest of all prophets born of women, and yet less than the least in the kingdom of heaven, who are born ^not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the Word of God' (1 Peter i. 23). Then, having thus spoken of the work of John, our Lord proceeded to upbraid the cities of Galilee and Gennesareth, for their unbelief in Himself, and to threaten them with complete destruction. The fate of John may here be stated. Herod Autipas had now married Herodias, the wife of a brother named Philip,- having put away his lawful wife, the daughter of Aretas, king of Petraea. John the Baptist, whom Herod feared and listened to, remon- strated with him strongly as to his conduct in this incestuous marriage. In consequence of this, Herodias conceived a feeling of intense hatred against the prophet, and watched her opportunity to be revenged. This presented itself at a banquet given by Herod to his principal state officers, on the occasion of the anni- versary of his birthday.^ At this feast the daughter of Herodias danced, and so pleased Herod that he promised to give her, as a reward for her skill, anything she might desire, even to the half of his kingdom. Instructed by her mother, the damsel demanded the head of John the Baptist, and ' for his oath's sake ' the king consented to give it to her. One of the king's body-guard (TTreKovXccTiop = speculator = executioner, A. V.) was immediately sent, John was beheaded in the prison, his head brought in a great dish to Herodias, and his body given for burial to his disciples. The execution of John long continued to excite the remorse of Herod, and when he afterwards heard of Jesus, he imagined at once that the new prophet was John risen from the dead. 27. Simon the Pharisee makes a Feast to Jesus, and a IVoman anoints his Feet. — At the conclusion of his discourse regarding John, our Lord entered into the house of a Pharisee named Simon, who desired that He would " ^ ^"" " ~ ' eat with him. Daring the meal, a woman 'which was a sinner' ' Compare tov? o-co^ojueVov?, ' such as should be saved,' Acts ii. 47. = Not Philip, the tetrarch of Galilee, but a Philip resident at Rome. See Jo- sephus, Ant. 18. 5. 1. * Td yevicrta. Wieseler and Tischendorf assert that this day was commemorative of Herod's accession, and not of his birth. But no evidence is adduced to show that such may be the meaning of the term. 74 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. came behind Him as He reclined, and began to wash his feet with tears, to wipe them with the hairs of her head, and to anoint them with ointment from an alabaster box which she had brought with her.^ At the familiarity thus tacitly allowed by our Lord to such a woman his host was secretly scandalised, although he refrained from expressing his thought. But Jesus, reading it in his heart, first suggested to him, by means of the parable of The Tioo Debtors (Luke vii. 41-43), the difference between his own affection and that of the woman ; and then, turning to the woman, said, ' Thy sins are forgiven ; thy faith hath saved thee. Go in peace.' 28. Various Parables. Our Ziord's Brethren visit Him. — During this circuit among the towns of Galilee, our Lord uttered Matt. xii. 47- various parables, viz. : — The Soever (Matt. xiii. 1-23 ; xiii. 52. INIark iv. 1-20 ; Luke viii. 4-15), The Candle on a iv. 34!" ~ Candlestick (Mark iv. 21-25 ; Luke viii. 16-18), The Luke viii. 1-21. j.^^^^ ^^j^^^_ ^-^ 24-30, 36-43), The Seed growing secretly (Mark iv. 26-29), The Mustard Seed (Matt. xiii. 31, 32 ; Mark iv. 30-34), The Leaven (Matt. xiii. 33-35), The Treasure hid in a Field (Matt. xiii. 44), The Merchantman seeking Pearls (Matt. xiii. 45, 46), The Draivnet (Matt. xiii. 47-50), The In- structed Scribe (Matt. xiii. 51, 52). At this time also our Lord was visited by his relations.^ This incident evoked the memor- able saying, ' Whosoever shall do the will of my Fatlier which is in heaven, the same is my brother and sister and mother.' 29. Jesus calms a Storm on tlie Sea of Galilee, and heals a Demoniac. — To this period belongs a wonderful exhibition of Matt viii 18- our Lord's power over material nature. Overwhelmed ix. 1. by the multitudes who thronged to hear Him on the v^. 20. ' ~ western shore of the Sea of Galilee, He determined to Luke vui. 22-39. q^^q^^ ^he sea, and for that purpose embarked along with his disciples in the ship (jb ttXoIov) which appears to have been ordinarily placed at his disposal. During the voyage He fell asleep. A sudden and violent storm arose. The disciples in terror awoke Him, saying, ' Master, Master (^t^acrmXf, Mark ; iirioTara, Luke; Kvpif, Matt.), we perish.' 'Then he arose and rebuked the winds and the sea, and there was a great calm.' ' Some commentators have imagined that this incident is identical with another of the same sort mentioned in Matt, xxvi., Mark xiv., and John xii.; but there is a probabiUty that such an act, once commended, would be repeated. Besides which, many of the details of the two events are entirely dissimilar, and there is no ground for supposing that the woman mentioned in the latter passages was ' a siimer.' ^ Greswell distinguishes two visits, uniting Matt. xii. 46-50 and Mark iii. 31-35 into one, and regarding Luke viii. 19-21 as the record of another. JESUS CALMS A STORM ON THE SEA OF GALILEE. 75 Arrived safely at the other side, our Lord was met by a de- moniac (or, according to Matthew, by two^ demoniacs), who lived in the tombs.^ On the approach of Jesus, he cried out, 'What have I to do with thee, Jesus, Son of the Most High G-od ? ' Jesus demanded his name. To this the demoniac re- pliel, ' Legion (A«y6wr), for we are many,' and besought Him that, if the evil spirits went out, it might be permitted them to go away into a numerous herd of swine which was feeding on the moun- tains near. The Lord assenting, the devils went out of the man and entered into the swine, which immediately ran down a steep place into the neighbouring lake and perished in the waters. The traditional spot where this took place is still pointed out ; ^ and the occurrence, probably reminding them of the unlawful nature of their occupation, struck terror into the keepers of the swine, who fled to the neighbouring city. The people then came and besought Jesus to depart out of their coasts. As for the healed demoniac, he besought that he might be permitted to accompany his benefactor. But Jesus said, ' Go home to thy friends (rovg aoiq), and tell them how great things the Lord hath done for thee.' 30. Jesus performs otber ZVIiracles, and revisits Iffaza- retli. — Having returned to Capernaum, and being there seated at table, He was surrounded by tax-gatherers (jEKibvai = jj^^^. ^^^ jq_o- . publicans, A. V.) and persons of bad reputation, with ^^!|!"^^^f* whom He freely conversed, justifying his conduct vi. 6.* against the accusations of the Pharisees by the say- 1^"^^ viu.40-56. ing, ^ They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick.' While thus engaged in teaching, He was requested by a certain ruler of the synagogue {apxiowaywyujv), Jairus by name, to come and heal his daughter, then at the point of death. The ' Various solutions of the difficulty hare been suggested ; e.g. that one demoniac was fiercer than the other (Maldonatus), or that one was more notorious than the other (Augustine). But it is not necessary to suppose that, because Mark and Luke mention only one, therefore no second demoniac was present. The name ' Legion ' suggests the contrary. ^ ' I have often met in the outskirts of CaifFa a maniac who dwells in similar tomh?,'— Land of Israel, p. 461. ' In the district of Gadara, vast numbers of empty tombs were visited by Dr. Tristram, many of which are used as dwelling-places.' —Ibid. pp. 458-461. ^ Some diflBculty arises from the various readings of the MSS. as to the name of the locality. Matt, places it in the ' counti-y of the Gergesenes ' (but J< Gaza7-enes, and B. Gadarenes). Mark says "■ Gadarenes' (but }«5 Gergesenes, and B. Gerasenes). Luke says ' Gadarenes' (but 5^ Gergesenes, and B. Gerasenes). Hence there are four readings; viz. Gergesenes, Gazarenes, Gadarenes, and Gerasenes. Captain Wilson, in the Exploration of Jertisalem, vol. ii., suggests that the real locality was Khersa, which was in the district of Gadara, so that the place belonged both to Gergesenes and Gadarenes. See also Rob Roy on the Jordan, p. 423. 76 ESSENTIALS OE NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. Lord consented to come witli Mm, and, finding the damsel already- deceased, brought her back to life. His passage to the house of Jairus was also signalised by a subsidiary miracle — that of a woman who had been diseased with an issue of blood for twelve years. Coming behind Him in the crowd, she touched the hem of his garment, and was perfectly healed. In connection with these miracles, Matthew relates two others — the cure of two blind men, and of a dumb man possessed with an evil spirit. Both Mark and Matthew also inform us that He revisited Nazareth, where his reception was somewhat less scornful than before ; but although many of his wonderful works were done in his own country, yet the people, remembering his former trade, and that his relatives were still amongst them, were offended at Him. 31. The Twelve Apostles are sent out. — The twelve dis- ciples were now sent out, by two and two. Power was given them to cast out evil spirits, to heal the sick, and to raise Matt.^ix. 36- ^j^^ dead. They were commanded to be without fear Mark vi. 7-13. of man, and "^dthout thought either for their daily maintenance, or as to what they might answer when brought before judges or kings, to avoid an excess of clothing, and to preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand. During their absence,^ Jesus Himself continued to teach and preach in other directions, and appears to have met them again at Gennesareth. 32. iVEiraculous Feeding of 5,000 IVZen. — On the return of the disciples to their Master, the whole company crossed the Sea of Galilee, with the view of seeking retirement in M^rk ¥1^30-44' ®^^^® desert place. This purposed retirement, how- Liike ix. 10-17, ever, was rendered impossible by the gathering of a vast multitude, who followed Jesus to hear his word and avail themselves of his miraculous power of healing. At length, when evening was coming on, and the impossibility of providing food by ordinary means for such a multitude became apparent, Jesus put forth his power on behalf of their bodily necessity. The disciples had with them five small ba-rley loaves and two fishes, and these were multiplied so as not only to pro- vide food for all (in number above 5,000), but also to furnish twelve basketfuls '^ of fragments. The locality of this miracle has occasioned some discussion. The local notes in the evangelists are — ' Wieseler considers this mission to have occupied only a couple of days. ° AU four eyangelists use the same word, viz. k6^lvo<;, which seems to have desig- nated a local sort of basket. Compare, 'Judaeis cophinus foenumque supellex,' Juv. iii. 13. MIEACULOUS I'EEDING OF 5,000 MEN. 77 Matthew Jesus . . . departed thence ' (no place distinctly mention- ed previously) 'by ship into a desert place.' . . . Then, after the miracle, 'Jesus constrained his disciples to get into a ship, and to go before him unto the other side (et? TO -nipav).' And ' when they were gone over, they came info the land of Gennesareth."^ Mark Jesus and his disci- ples ' departed into a desert place by ship privately. And the people saw them departing and ran afoot thither.' Then, after the mi- racle, ' he con- strained his disci- ples to get into the ship, and to go to the other side be/ore unto Bethsaida . . . And when they had passed over they came into ihe land of Gennesa- reth. LtTKJE Jesus and his disciples ' de- parted into a desert place be- longing to the city called Beth- saida.' ^ Of the local- ity to which the disciples went after the miracle Luke says nothmg. Jesus went over the Sea of Galilee.' Then, after the mi- racle, ' his disciples went down unto the sea, and enter- ed into a ship, and went over the sea to- ward Capernaum.' And 'the day fol- lo%ving, when the people which stood on the other side of the sea saw that there was none other boat (ttAoioi- piov ^) there save that one wherein his disciples were entered, and that Jesus went not with his disciples into the boat . . . ( howbeit there came other boats from Tiberias, nigh unto the place where they did eat bread) . . . they also took shipping, and came to Capernaum, seek- ing for Jesus.' * From a comparison of these parallel local indications, it is evident that — 1. Jesus and his disciples crossed the sen hefore the miracle. 2. The miracle took place near Bethsaida. 3. After the miracle the sea was crossed ' unto Bethsaida ' and 'toward Capernaum.' All these points are met by the supposition that there were two Bethsaidas,^ the one Bethsaida Julias, and the other at a point between Tell Hum and the plain of Gennesareth. We may then suppose that our Lord and his disciples crossed to the north- eastern shore of the lake, near Bethsaida Julias, and the miracle ' }^ ' They came to land unto Gennesareth.' - J? omits 'belonging to the city called Bethsaida,' but these words have been cor- rected by a later hand to ' into the city called Bethsaida.' ^ Mr. Macgregor distinguishes between 7rA.oiap4oi'( = boat) and 77X0^01' ( = ship). His theory is that the disciples, after the miracle, came down to the sea, went on board ' the ship ' by means of a small ' boat,' and after vainly waiting for their Master until late in the evening, sailed across the lake, leaving the • boat ' behind.— i2o6 Roy on the Jordan, p. 355. * ts however reads, ' Tiberias, which was nigh unto the place.' * On the arguments for two Bethsaidas, see Rob Roy on the Jordan, p. 375. 78 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. having been there performed, recrossed the lake to Bethsaida on the north-west shore. 33. Jesus walks upon the Sea. — After the performance of this miracle, our Lord dismissed his disciples, directing them to recross the sea, while He remained behind, intending Matt. xiv. 22-36. . . , m, -jr. Mark vi. 45-56. to engage in private prayer. Ihe wind, however, John vi. 15-21. ^^g contrary, and the boat made little progress, only reaching twenty or thirty stadia (between three or four miles) from the land by three o'clock in the morning. At this hour they saw Jesus coming to them, walking on the sea. At first sight they supposed the appearance to be that of a spirit, and cried out in terror, but were reassured by the voice of the Lord answering them and declaring his identity. Peter, half in zeal and half in doubt, replied, ' If it be thou. Lord, bid me come to thee on the water,' and receiving the answer, ' Come,' went out to meet Jesus. For some distance he walked in safety, but at length, becoming terrified, he began to sink. The Lord then put forth his hand, rescued him, and brought him safely to the ship, which the winds now ceased to toss, and which at once reached the land. 34. Jesus discourses on the Bread of life. — On the follow- ing day, the multitude which had been fed by the Lord's bounty followed Him across the sea to Capernaum, and, in a lengthened discourse in the synagogue of that place, Jesus explained to them the need of spiritual as w^ell as material food, declared Himself to be the 'bread which came down from heaven,' and warned them that except they should eat the flesh and drink the blood of the Son of Man, they had no life in them. At this saying, which doubtless looked forward to a similar declaration at the Last Supper, many of his disciples left Him. The Twelve, however, remained stedfast, and Peter, in particular, speaking both for himself and his brother apostles, declared his belief in Jesus as ' the Christ, the son of the living God.' According to Wieseler, this discourse was delivered on the eve of the Passover, and accordingly acquired additional force. 35. Various Discourses.— At this time also, and probably during the Passover (which our Lord apparently spent this year Matt XV 1-20. i^ Capernaum), various discussions were held with Mark vii. 1-23. Scribes and Pharisees, who had come down to Galilee from Jerusalem, and questioned Him as to the ceremonial uncleanness which He permitted to his disciples. In answer to their questions, our Lord uttered a discourse upon the futility of Eabbinical tradi- tion. According to this, a man might evade the duty of supporting VAKIOUS DISCOUESES. /y his father and mother in poverty, by a pretended dedication of his property to the service of God. (See Corhan in Section 4.) But the true law of evangelical purity was now defined to be, ' not that which goeth into the mouth defileth {kolvoi) a man, but that which cometh out of the mouth.' 80 ESSENTIALS OF NEW TESTAMENT STUDY. CHAPTER IV. THE GALTLAEAN MIISTISTRT, PROM OUR LORD's DEPARTTJRE TO STRO- PHCENICIA, TO HIS DEPARTURE FOR THE FEAST OF TABERNACLES AT JERUSALEM. APRIL-OCTOBER A.D. 29. (siX MONTHS.) 86. Jesus journeys into the Bistricts of Tyre and Sidon. — Our Lord now departed for awhile from the districts of Galilee, Matt. xv. 21-31. ^°^ journeyed northward towards Tyre and Sidon, Mark vii. 24-37. or even into the latter city,^ and thence through Decapolis hack to the Sea of Galilee. Two miracles are recorded as having taken place during this journey. A woman of Canaan, or Syro-Phcenicia,^ a Greek by birth, obtained a cure for her daughter by an exhibition of strong faith. Jesus had at first refused her petition, declaring that He was not sent but to the house of Israel, and that it was ^ not meet to take the children's bread and cast it to the dogs.' To this she replied, ' Yea, Lord, but the dogs eat of the crumbs which fall from their masters' table,' and by her strong faith gained her request. The second miracle was the cure of a deaf man with an impediment in his speech, remarkable as one of the few miracles in which our Lord used means of healing, and in which his actual words ^ are recorded. We read of this miracle that ' he took him aside from the multitude, and put his fingers into his ears, and he spit and touched his tongue, and looking up to heaven, he sighed and said EiiJqyhatha, i.e. be opened.' ' In Mark vii. 31, {< reads 'Departing from the coasts of Tyre he came through Sidon, unto the sea.' - The LXX ti-anslate ' land of Canaan,' in Ex. xvi. 35 and Josh. v. 12, by x: ^ • 7 .-SCO c -^ <-z P3 « co'fcb lO - ■i3 >>fl C 03 "- •8^ 2Q ^2 2-3, _g c c o^ ■* >> -r! _. eS •- OJ CO >*• H r- , I 5 S w o 2 54- s a O g-- Q',S'^2 1^ ::2 ==^ m r-l g ^ g s s-al^ ^ |-H o „ ;:: 1 J'-^ll S O CB '^ o -G O c -2 cS O 1-1 OJ 86 ESSENTIALS OE NEW TESTAMENT STUDY, CHAPTER V. FKOM THE DEPARTTJR'E OF JESUS FOE THE EEAST OP TABERNACLES AT JERUSALEM, TO THE END OE THE FEAST OE DEDICATION, OCTOBER-DECEMBER, A.D. 29 (TWO MONTHS). 40. Commencement of the Final Six IMEontlis of our Iiord's ministry. — The Feast of Tabernacles (celebrated October 12 to October 19) was now near at hand, and in view of this festival our Lord's unbelieving brethren, coming to Him, taunted Him with a disinclination to work miracles openly, and exhorted Him to go up to Jerusalem and there exhibit his mighty works. In reply our Lord declared his intention to delay his going up, nor did He set forth until his brethren themselves had gone up. Even then He went ^ not openly, but as it were in secret,' i.e. in all probability, not with the usual caravan company, and not by the usual way. 41. Tlie Seventy Disciples are sent out. Other In- cidents of the Journey. — Although the fact that our Lord left Luke ix. 51- Galilee finally at this conjuncture, and never returned X. 24. there (except perhaps for a brief period), is now generally conceded, yet the exact direction of the journeys between the departure from Galilee and the final arrival at Jerusalem, shortly before his passion, still continue to be subjects of keen controversy. The points of difficulty may be gathered from a comparison of the accounts given by the evangelists of this journey, which are tabulated on pp. 84 and 85. A careful inspection of the foregoing table will show that the chief difficulty arises from the relation by St. John (in full accord- ance with the usual manner of his Gospel) of various incidents entirely unnoticed by the three former evangelists. But it is also evident that an interval of two months is unaccounted for by St. John, between x. 21 and x. 22, i.e. between the appearances of Jesus at the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication. Where was our Saviour during this interval ? Did He go back to Galilee, and thence commence the progress to Jerusalem related in Luke ix. 51-xviii. 14, or is the progress whose commencement is THE SEVENTY DISCIPLES ARE SEXT OUT. 87 related in Luke ix, ol the original journey to the Feast of Taber- nacles? Without positive assertions on the subject, the latter supposition will here be made. It solves many difficulties, if not all, and the chief objections to it (viz. that the going up to the Feast of Tabernacles must have been more rapid and more secret than such a journey as is described by St. Luke) do not appear insurmountable.^ According to this scheme, our Lord now travelled towards Jerusalem through Samaria, at first with the usual concourse of his disciples, but afterwards with only his apostles, having sent messengers and chosen out seventy other disciples also to go before Him to 'every city and place whither he himself would come," and there preach the approach of the kingdom of God. At the outset of this journey, a Samaritan village refused to receive Him, because his face was towards Jerusalem ; but Jesus, although re- minded by James and John of the doings of Elijah, refused to visit this with punishment, and merely departed to another village. 42. Jesus Preacbes at the Feast of Tabernacles, Porgrives a 'Woman taken in Adultery, Keals a Blind IVZan, and irtters several Parables. — The Feast of Taber- j^^,^ ^-j^ ^-^^ nacles lasted eight days. In the midst of it our ^- -i- Lord appeared at Jerusalem, and entering into the Temple, openly taught there daily until the close of the feast. On the eighth day a more striking declaration of his mission was made. Each day it was the custom for a priest to bring forth in a golden vessel water from the streams of Siloah and pour it solemnly on the altar. This act was accompanied with the blast of trumpets, and the sinofing of the Hallel (Ps. cxiii.-cxviii.), and the hymn from Isaiah xii. 3 : 'With joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.' This ceremony however was omitted on the eighth day, and taking advantage of its absence, and possibly at the hour when it usually took place, the Lord stood and cried, ' If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.' This bold declaration, coupled with his previous words and works, naturally excited great atten- * This journey is described by St. John as ' ov