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HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
VOL. II.-CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
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HEBREW AND CHRISTIAN
RECORDS;
AN HISTORICAL ENQUIRY CONCERNING THE
AGE AND AUTHORSHIP OF THE OLD
AND NEW TESTAMENTS;
BY THE
John Allen
REV. DR GILES,
RECTOR OF SUTTON, SURREY, AND FORMERLY FELLOW OF CORPUS
CHRISTI COLLEGE, OXFORD.
NOW FIRST PUBLISHED COMPLETE.
VOL. II.-CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
LONDON:
TRÜBNER & CO., LUDGATE HILL.
1877.
[All Rights Reserved.]
ELZEVIR PRESS:—PRINTED BY JOHN C. WILKINS AND VERNON,
9, CASTLE STREET, CHANCERY LANE.
1
11-2-37 JIA,
10-19-37
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
I. Introduction.
II. Canon of the New Testament-Reputed Authors,
Places, and Dates of the several Books
III. The New Testament considered as a whole-Inter-
polations and Variations in the Text
•
IV. The Three Principal Manuscripts of the Greek Tes-
tament their Various Readings
v. Apocryphal Gospels, Acts, Epistles, and Revelations
VI. The New Testament wholly written in Greek-The
Greeks unknown to the Hebrews until Alexander
the Great-Syria and Antioch-Egypt and Alex-
andria-Hebrew still spoken, not Greek-Jose-
phus learnt Greek with difficulty-Evidence of
coins
·
VII. Hebraisms few or none in the New Testament-No
connection between its writers and the Jews who
remained in Judæa-Its Style and Language
closely copied from the Septuagint
VIII. Latinisms in the New Testament
IX. Christianity not mentioned by Josephus or Philo-
Notice of the other Hebrew Writings-Targums
-Mishna and Gemara-Talmud.
x. Testimony of the early Greek and Latin Writers,
Suetonius, Tacitus, Pliny the younger, Seneca,
Epictetus, Marcus Aurelius, Lucian, Story of
Peregrinus-Letter of Hadrian-Character of the
Egyptians in the Second Century
XI. The Testimony of the Apostolical Fathers, Barna-
bas, Clement, Hermas, Ignatius, and Polycarp
1. Barnabas, 90-2. Clement of Rome, 93-3. Her-
mas, 96-4. Ignatius, 97-5. Polycarp, 103.
VOL. II.
b
PAGE
1
4
11
14
18
34
48
53
60
68
88
•
vi
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER
XII. Papias quoted by Irenæus and Eusebius
PAGE
113
XIII. Justin Martyr-Irenæus-Clemens Alexandrinus 117
XIV. Minor Writers of the Second Century
138
xv. Internal Evidence concerning the Four Canonical
Gospels-§1. Matthew-§ 2. Mark-§ 3. Luke
-§4. John.
151
XVI. Genealogies of Christ, in the Gospels according to
St Matthew and St Luke
166
XVII. The Two Accounts of the Annunciation
XVIII. Different Views entertained by the Four Evange-
lists concerning the Duration of Christ's
Ministry.
174
177
XIX. Uncertainty about the Place of Christ's Birth
XX. Uncertainty about the Time of Christ's Birth-
Anachronism of the Census-Christ born before
A.D. 1
XXI. Flight into Egypt-Murder of the Innocents, &c.
XXII. Relation of John the Baptist's Ministry to that of
Christ
1. John's preaching and doctrines, 207-2. First
meeting of Jesus and the Baptist, 209-3. Imprison-
ment of the Baptist, 211-4. John's doubts about the
Messiahship of Jesus, 212.
XXIII. The Temptation in the Wilderness
XXIV. The Twelve Apostles-Variation, 1. In their
Names; 2. In the Time, Place, and Manner of
their being called to the Apostleship-The
Seventy
•
183
189
198
203
. 213
218
XXV. Sermon on the Mount
228
XXVI. The Lord's Prayer
241
XXVII. Jesus always accompanied by a Multitude of
Followers
245
XXVIII. Purification of the Temple
249
XXIX. Healing of the Centurion's Servant
253
xxx. Healing of Two Blind Men near Jericho
Other such cases.
255
XXXI. The Miracle of the Loaves and Fishes
259
XXXII. The Demoniac among the Tombs and the Swine.
XXXIII. Instructions and Conduct of Jesus towards the
266
Samaritans .
270
XXXIV. Christ anointed by a woman at a feast
273
CONTENTS.
vii
CHAPTER
xxxv. Jesus raises Jaïrus's daughter-Heals the Wo-
man who had an Issue of Blood .
PAGE
277
XXXVI. Christ's last Journey and Triumphal Entry
into Jerusalem
281
XXXVII. The Barren Fig-Tree
286
XXXVIII. The Last Supper
XL. Christ's Arrest and Examination before the
High-Priest
289
XXXIX. Christ's Agony in the Garden of Gethsemane.
296
299
XLI. The Trial of Jesus before Pontius Pilate, the
Roman Procurator
307
XLII. The Crucifixion
316
XLIII. The Resurrection of Christ and the Witnesses
thereof
331
340
1
346
348
XLIV. Christ's Appearances after the Resurrection
XLV. The Death of Judas, and Purchase of the
Potter's Field
XLVI. Development of Later Ideas
XLVII. Summary of the Acts of the Apostles, &c.
1. Paul otherwise called Saul, 364-2. The Ascen-
sion, 364-3. Simeon and Simon, 365-4. Theudas
and Judas, 366-5. The conversion of St Paul, 368—
6. Use of the word Christians, 373-7. Seeming anti-
cipation of regular Christian worship, 374-8. Varia-
tion in the names of the disciples and brethren of
Christ, James, Judas, &c., 375.
XLVIII. St Paul and his Epistles
Thessalonians, 385-Galatians, 387-Corinthians,
390-Romans, 391-Ephesians, 392-Philippians,
393—Colossians, 393-Philemon, 393-Timothy, 394
-Titus, 395.-Hebrews, 396.
XLIX. General Epistles of St James, St Peter, St John,
and St Jude The Revelation of John the
Divine
L. Uncertainty in identifying various names,
James, Judas, Simon, Mary, and others in
our canonical books
I. St James, 409-11. Judas, 412-г. Barnabas and
Barsabas, 412-v. Mary, 414-[1. Witnesses of the
Crucifixion, 415-2. Those who visit the Tomb, 415-
3. The sisters Martha and Mary, 416-4. Other Maries,
416]-v. Simon, Peter, Cephas, and Symeon, 416.
LI. The Canon generally—The Greek Language-
Antioch-Conclusion
Index
359
377
399
406
417
429
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER I.
INTRODUCTION.
TH
The reco case, bear a
HE early records of the Christian religion, from the
nature of the case, bear a strong likeness to those of
Judaism: they are, indeed, regarded by all orthodox Chris-
tians as a supplement to the more early writings, founded
upon the same facts, and developing a scheme of religion
which had been rather shadowed out than fully revealed to
the Jews in the first ages of the world. This connection
between the books of the Old Testament and those of the New
is distinct from any connection, real or supposed, between the
two creeds of which these writings give us the history; for
it is possible to conceive that two modes of faith and
worship may have been entirely distinct in their origin,
and were afterwards assimilated the one to the other from
causes operating extensively among the first followers of
those religions in a variety of ways, according to the
peculiar circumstances of the case. As regards Christianity
and Judaism, it is evident that, though the Jews have
mostly disclaimed all connection with Christians, yet the
Christians will not consent to give up their connection with
the Jews. On the contrary, they maintain that their own
faith is derived from Judaism, of which it is a sort of
fulfilment ; and they point out to the incredulous unbelievers
numerous passages in the Jewish Scriptures foretelling the
more enlarged system into which their narrow ritual would
be developed. It is this circumstance which makes it so
important to examine, carefully and critically, both Christian
and Jewish writings, to ascertain their historical character,
and to test their authorship, their authenticity, the age in
which they were written, and every other point which may
VOL. II.
2
2
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
serve to throw light on the momentous questions which they
involve. If we reflect that the religion of the ancient Jews
is known only from the accounts which have come down to
us in the Old Testament, and that almost the only witness
of primitive Christianity is the picture of it which the New
Testament unfolds, it is clear that all the questions which
can arise upon the subject must be settled almost wholly-
for tradition and contemporary history lend little or no
additional help-according to the evidence which those
two ancient volumes furnish. This course of inquiry may,
it is evident, interfere greatly with our preconceived notions
of the affinity between the Christian and the Jewish religions.
For, even if we admit that their historical records bear a
striking resemblance, the one to the other, leading to the
inference that the religions themselves were analogous, and
were from the first intended to be so, yet the conclusion to
which this might lead would be greatly shaken if it could
be shown that those respective records were not compiled
until many ages after the beginning of the religious systems
which they describe, and it might fairly be asked whether
the religions themselves may not have been changed or
modified in the course of so long a time. These observa-
tions point out the importance of our present work, which
is to examine the books of the New Testament, with
reference to the age when they were written, the sources
from which they were derived, and the authority which
they consequently possess, either as descriptive of Chris-
tianity in its first stages, or as a rule of conduct which it
behoves us to follow in the actual condition of the world.
Such an inquiry, in the case of the Old Testament, has led
to the conviction that its compilation is to be ascribed to a
date later than the Babylonish captivity, and consequently
that it is not to be considered as a contemporary narrative
of the events which happened in the times of Moses, Joshua,
Samuel, David, and others, by whom it is generally sup-
posed to have been written. In the same way, if it were
shown that the several books of the New Testament were
not written until a hundred years later than the events
which they record, it would in like manner follow that their
contemporary character would be lost. But here a caution
seems necessary, lest men, with that precipitancy which
unhappily attends too many of our inquiries after truth,
when they find that an extreme opinion cannot be main-
tained, run into its opposite, like the crew of an ill-ballasted
ship, who rush from side to side, as their vessel rolls, until
1
1.]
3
INTRODUCTION.
all are overwhelmed in the storm, which with prudence
they might have ridden out in safety. To calm the fears
of such imprudent inquirers, it may be stated in the outset
that the inquiry here to be instituted concerning the New
Testament, lies within narrow limits; its authorship can
in no way be referred to a date much later than one
hundred and fifty years after the birth of Christ; and this
circumstance exempts it from unfavourable comparison
with the Scriptures of the Old Dispensation of the Jews.
We read the acts of Moses, his miracles and his legislation,
in a book compiled a thousand years after Moses was dead;
but we read the acts and miracles of Jesus Christ in a book
which some say is contemporary with its subject-matter, but
which all admit to have been written very near to the time
of which it treats.
There is another point of difference between the two
books of which we are speaking. The Old Testament was
written whilst literature was still rising even in the most
polite nations of the world: little or nothing had been
written among the Greeks, if we except the ancient writings
of Homer, Hesiod, and other heroic poets, when the
Pentateuch appeared among the Israelites; but literature
had risen to its highest point, and even begun to decay,
before the books of the New Testament were written. This
fact, although a point of difference, is at the same time a
point of likeness between the two: for whilst, on the one
hand, those who have descended from an eminence are not
more distant from its top than those who have not yet
mounted, yet, on the other hand, the models of a literature
once flourishing were still, we may believe, open to the age
which saw the birth of the evangelic narratives, and could
hardly fail to give a colouring to those narratives not to be
found in the first and ruder, however sublime, essays of
the old Hebrew writers. This difference is, indeed, plainly
to be observed in the comparison of the Old and New
Testaments. Though the several parts of both are in many
cases ill joined together and show their separate origin,
yet these breaks in their style of composition are less
apparent in the New Testament than in the Old. This
circumstance is of course to be ascribed to the different
circumstances under which each was written. The
compilers of the Old Testament, from the age of Ezra
downwards, had to deal with old documents of different
ages, extending over many hundred years; but those
to whose diligence we owe the preservation of the Christian
4
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Scriptures, compiled from records which ascended not more
than a hundred years, or thereabouts, earlier than their
own time; and, it may be remarked, all that they have
left us is of a singularly uniform character, evidently
the work of one age, and presenting no such varieties
of thought and style as strike us so forcibly in various
passages of the Old Testament, where ancient documents,
however short, have plainly been inserted. But, that we
may not anticipate what must hereafter be brought before
our notice in a regular form, let us proceed first to
enumerate the several books of which the New Testament
is composed, and then, having stated the opinions which
generally prevail on the subject of their authorship and
various other points concerning them, to examine on what
grounds, either of internal or of external contemporary
evidence, such opinions may be maintained.

CHAPTER II.
CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT-REPUTED AUTHORS, PLACES,
AND DATES OF THE SEVERAL BOOKS.
THE canon of the New Testament, as we are told by the
Commentators, consists of twenty-seven books, which are
said to have been written by eight different authors, all of
whom were contemporary with our Saviour. These books
were written at different times, and at places remote from
each other; so that when the latest of them was published,
the Gospel had been preached, and churches founded, in
many parts of Asia, Europe, and Africa. Different churches
at first received different books, according to their situation
and circumstances; their canons were gradually enlarged,
and it was not long, though the precise time is not known,
before the same, or very nearly the same, books were
acknowledged by the Christians of all countries. These
books may be divided into four parts; namely, the Gospels,
the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles, and the Revelation.
The idea, which this account presents, concerning the
assemblage of writings that passes under the name of the
New Testament, is that which generally prevails among the
II.]
5
CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
people of Christian countries, and can be traced back to the
second or third century of our era. An opinion so long
prevalent should be treated with the utmost caution and
respect; though it must be remarked at once, that the
proposition as above stated is of a complex nature, involving
several questions, each of which is really distinct, and can
only for the purpose of an abstract be presented to the
thoughts in one general assertion, with others that are of a
wholly different nature.
1. The first question which we should have to decide is whether
the several books of the New Testament, as we have them at
present, are really the works of separate authors-either those
commonly said to have written them, or possibly others—or
whether they are the work of some compiler who put them into
their present form to be read in the religious assemblies of the
Christians.
2. In the next place it is a fair subject of inquiry whether
the authors of the separate books, or the compiler who collected
them, were contemporary with our Saviour, or lived in a later
age.
3. Whether the several books or divisions of the New Testa-
ment were written at different times, and irrespective of one
another, or whether they were written at the same time, with a
co-operative design.
4. Whether the separate books passed current, in early times,
among various classes of Christians, who knew of no other
writings than those which they severally possessed.
5. Whether the canon which we have was gradually enlarged;
and if so, what was the process, until it reached its final state.
6. How long was it after the occurrence of the events that the
final canon of their history was formed.
It is manifest that all these questions are perfectly dis-
tinct, and consequently, that the blending of so many
subjects into one proposition can only be admitted in a
summary or popular view of the whole subject. It is my
present purpose to bring together, from various sources,
all the original authorities, which may enable the reader to
answer these questions for himself. And though those who
follow us into the depths of so dark an age as the two
first centuries of the Christian era will have frequent cause
to lament the fewness of our original documents, on the
other hand they must not be surprised if our inquiry should
lead us to modify, very considerably, the summary which
the Christian world at large is content to receive respecting
the various questions here enumerated.
6
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
The names under which the several books of the New
Testament are commonly received, are these:
1. Gospel according to St Matthew,
2. Gospel according to St Mark,
3. Gospel according to St Luke,
4. Gospel according to St John,
5. The Acts of the Apostles,
6. St Paul's Epistle to the Romans,
7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
First Epistle to the Corinthians,
Second Epistle to the Corinthians,
Epistle to the Galatians,
Ephesians,
Philippians,
Colossians,
First Epistle to the Thessalonians,
Second Epistle to the Thessalonians,
First Epistle to Timothy,
Second Epistle to Timothy,
Epistle to Titus,
Epistle to Philemon,
Epistle to the Hebrews,
20. The General Epistle of St James,
21. The First General Epistle of St Peter,
22. The Second General Epistle of St Peter,
23. The First General Epistle of St John,
24. The Second General Epistle of St John,
25. The Third General Epistle of St John,
26. The General Epistle of St Jude,
27. The Revelation of St John the Divine.
It is generally believed that these twenty-seven books
were written by eight different writers, all of whom must
have been contemporary with the events which they relate.
The following table will show the chronological order in
which these books are popularly thought to have been
written, together with the names of the places in which
those eight writers are supposed to have been resident when
they wrote them. I say "supposed," because there is not a
particle of evidence for the space of a hundred and fifty
years which bears upon the subject; and I use the words
popularly thought to have been written," because, with one
only exception (II Peter, iii, 15), there is no indication in any
of the books by which it is possible to infer that either
of them was written at an earlier or later date than the
others.
66
11.]
7
CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
A.D.
52. St Paul supposed to have written the First Epistle to the
Thessalonians, at Corinth.
52. St Paul's Second Epistle to the Thessalonians, at Corinth.
52 or 53. St Paul's Epistle to the Galatians, at Corinth.
56 or 57.
First Epistle to the Corinthians, at Ephesus.
57 or 58. St Paul's Epistle to the Romans, at Corinth.
58. St Paul's Second Epistle to the Corinthians, in Macedonia.
61. St Matthew is supposed to have written his Greek Gospel,
somewhere in Judea; but it has been suggested by others
that the Greek text which now remains is a translation of
an earlier Hebrew work.
61. St Paul supposed to have written the Epistle to the
Ephesians, at Rome.
61. St James supposed to have written his General Epistle, at
Jerusalem, of which city he is said to have been the first
bishop.
62 or 63. St Paul; his Epistle to the Philippians, at Rome.
63 or 64.
63 or 64.
(?)
his Epistle to the Colossians, at Rome.
his Epistle to Philemon, at Rome.
the Epistle to the Hebrews, in Italy.
St Mark; his Gospel, at Rome.
St Luke; his Gospel, in Greece.
the Acts of the Apostles.
(?)
64. St Paul; his First Epistle to Timothy, in Macedonia.
his Epistle to Titus in Macedonia.
St Peter; his First General Epistle, at Rome.
64 or 65. St Jude; his General Epistle (where?).
65. St Paul; his Second Epistle to Timothy, at Rome.
St Peter; his Second General Epistle, at Rome.
|
68 or 69. St John; his three General Epistles, at Ephesus.
96 or 97.
his Revelation, at Ephesus.
97 or 98.
his Gospel, at Ephesus.
*
In this table the names of SS. Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John are given as showing that those apostles are supposed
to have written the Gospels and Acts which pass under
their names, at the times and places above mentioned, just
as SS. Paul, Peter, James, and John are given as the writers
of the other works; but there is this difference between the
two classes, that, whereas the Epistles bear the names of
their writers embodied in their composition, the Gospels have
only the superscription, "according to St Matthew," "accord-
ing to St Mark," &c., a fact which has not been overlooked
by critics, but which has not been allowed its due weight, nor
has, on the other hand, been explained away by any of the
commentators.
The ascription of the twenty-seven books to these writers
8
20
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
is supported, in the case of sixteen of them, upon a declara-
tion which they bear upon their face, that they were written
by those authors. Thus, thirteen of the Epistles bear the
name of St Paul as their writer, "Paul, an apostle of Jesus
Christ," one is ascribed to James, "a servant of God and
of the Lord Jesus Christ," two bear the name of Peter, with
a slight but not unimportant difference, which may be here
noticed. The first Epistle is headed "Peter, an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus,
Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia;" whereas the
second begins "Simon Peter, a servant and an apostle of
Jesus Christ, to them that have obtained like precious
faith with us," &c. The General Epistle of St Jude also
bears the name of its writer in the manner usually found in
the epistolary correspondence of the ancients. Sixteen
therefore of the Epistles profess to be the works of St Paul,
St James, and St Peter, but four others, namely, the Epistle
to the Hebrews, and the three ascribed to St John, are
anonymous, and only bear the names of those by whom
later writers and the majority of the Early Christian
Church have supposed them to have been written. The
Epistle to the Hebrews, usually ascribed to St Paul, and
that which is called the First Epistle of St John, cannot
indeed with certainty be called Epistles at all, but have
more the appearance of being short tracts, perhaps sermons,
addressed to Christian congregations or to be read in the
closet, and treating of various points of the Christian faith.
The last two Epistles ascribed to St John are addressed-
the Second by "the Elder unto the Elect lady," and the
Third "unto the well-beloved Gaius, whom I love in the
truth." The Revelation declares expressly, in the first
chapter, that its author bore the name of John, but whether
the same who wrote the Gospel and the Epistles, was the
subject of debate and doubt in the very earliest age of the
Church. The title which it bears in the manuscripts,
ascribes it to John the Divine' or Theologian,' but these
titles are admitted to have no authority to determine either
the age or the authorship of the works to which they are
prefixed. The Preface to the Revelation is as follows:-
6
The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to
show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass;
and he sent it and signified it by his angel unto his servant John,
&c. . . . John to the seven churches which are in Asia, &c.
It appears then that the four Gospels, as well as the Acts
II.]
9
CANON OF THE NEW TESTAMENT.
of the Apostles, and four of the Epistles, are really anony-
mous-they give no direct intimation of their writers, and
there is no other foundation for the ascription of them to
their received authors than the voice of tradition handed
down through several hundred years. This tradition is not
strong enough to put the matter wholly out of doubt; for
although it ascends far into the early ages of Christianity,
it does not go far enough to support a conclusive inference.
We can trace the books of the New Testament, with their
attendant traditions, up to a certain point-the_second
century after Christ; but we cannot trace them farther;
there is no evidence that either the Gospels, the Acts of the
Apostles or the other writings, as we have them, existed
within a hundred and twenty years after the Crucifixion,
much less that they were from the first known to be the
productions of the writers to whom tradition generally
assigns them, and whose names they bear.
This is the true issue between the two parties who
have written on this subject,-not. whether we can trace a
long chain of Christian evidence up to a period very near
to the times of the Apostles, but whether this chain does
not fail us at the very point where all depends upon
its strength; for whilst, in judging of a history written
many ages after the event, we should pass lightly over many
exaggerations, erroneous views, and other defects, as the
accumulation of a later age, or the result of defective me-
mory about former times, yet in examining a history which
professes to be contemporaneous or almost contemporaneous
with the event, our requirements become necessarily more
strict and searching, and if at this early stage of the matter
tradition alone is found to supply the only argument of
authorship, it becomes a grave question whether the
contemporary character of such a history is not to be
pronounced doubtful, perhaps to be rejected altogether.
In saying this, I do not imply that the facts which such
a book relates are to be rejected, but that the book in
which these are found is no longer to be received as written
by the eye-witnesses of those facts. The facts still remain
for consideration, though the book is not in itself a conclu-
sive guarantee for their truth, because the evidence which it
affords is proved to be anonymous evidence: we no longer
regard it as the writing of one who had witnessed with his
own eyes the truth of what he has written. It cannot be
denied that such a doubt about the authorship of any book
that enters into the momentous question of religion, is at
10
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
once a great difficulty in the way of fully testing the
doctrines of that particular form of religion, and the truth
of the facts on which those doctrines rest. The truth of a
fact may indeed be established, even by a writing whose
author is unknown; but in such a case, the fact must bear
probability upon its surface, or the arguments which are
brought to support it must be proportionably stronger-at
all events, the world at large will examine them the more
rigidly, according as they lead to substantiate facts divergent
from the general experience of mankind. With those doc-
trines and opinions we have nothing to do at present; they
have stood their ground against more forcible discussions
than they are ever again likely to encounter, and the bene-
ficial teaching of their Founder, although sadly neglected
in practice, is still followed by all those who wish to main-
tain the standard of a pure faith amid the conflicting ele-
ments of human speculation.
If, therefore, any one of the separate books of the New
Testament comes before us anonymously, we are bound
to examine it with the most scrupulous accuracy, that, if
possible, we may discover who wrote it, as well as when
it was written, and what sources of information its writer
may have had for knowing that he wrote nothing but the
truth. Neither are we debarred or excused from fulfilling
this duty by the silent consent of so many centuries, which
would seem to infer that the question here agitated has long
ago been set at rest. For this notion of its having been set
at rest is erroneous. There is positive proof, in writings of
the first ages of Christianity, that the same question as to
the age and authorship of the books of the New Testament
was even then agitated, and if it was then set at rest, this
was done, not by a deliberate sentence of the judge, but by
burning all the evidence on which one side of the contro-
versy was supported. From that time, almost down to
the present day, the process has been continued, and often,
not only the writings which raised a doubt, but those who
produced such writings, have been burned also. Such then
having been the state of things, it is no wonder if a question
involving such consequences has generally slumbered, or
been roused to life only when that love of sifting the truth
which is so natural to our species, has prompted some
bolder spirit to renew a controversy that seemed never to
have been fully settled. It is, happily, unnecessary in the
present day to abstain from following wherever truth may
lead us.
On the contrary, it is thought good service to the
III.] THE NEW TESTAMENT AS A WHOLE.
11
world to illustrate and define, in every possible way, all the
moral and political obligations which are thought to be
incumbent on mankind: and it is hardly denied by any one
that good service is done by those also who endeavour to test
the history of the past as being the chief foundation upon
which those duties rest.
CHAPTER III.
THE NEW TESTAMENT CONSIDERED AS A WHOLE-INTERPOLATIONS
AND VARIATIONS IN THE TEXT.
NOTWITHSTANDING the observation, so often repeated by
biblical critics and commentators, that the books of the New
Testament have a separate origin and consequently a sepa-
rate authority, it must not be forgotten that this view
of them is not the primary one, as regards ourselves.
It may have applied to the first two centuries, before the
canon was complete; but at present, we know these
books, not in their individual, but in their aggregate form,
and according to this view must all our arguments be con-
ducted. It is evident that the New Testament, besides
having separately had eight different writers, must also have
had a compiler, an editor or body of editors, to whom we
owe the form in which the books now appear. Possibly,
the editor, or editors, were content to copy the twenty-seven
books into one volume, without altering in the slightest
degree the text of them. But the same conditions allow us
also to suppose that a further editorial process took place,
extending to changes more or less extensive, in order to
mould separate writings into one harmonious body. It will
be replied perhaps to this, that no variation of reading, of
any consequence, has been discovered in all the manuscripts
of the Sacred Text that have come down to us. Such a
reply has often been made, but it is not true; for many
important variations are found between the various manu-
scripts of the New Testament; and even if it were true it
would be of little weight; for it is not to be expected that
important differences of reading would be found in manu-
scripts so modern as the greater part of those which now
remain. With the exception of three or four ancient copies
which will be noticed in the next chapter, no others can be
traced higher than the seventh and eighth centuries after
12
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
1
Christ, and we know for certain that in the time of Eusebius,
about A.D. 320, the canon of the New Testament was more
or less complete. It is not in the fifteen centuries since
Eusebius, but in the three before his time, that we must
search for all our evidence as to the text and authenticity
of the New Testament canon and the books that it contains.
It was manifestly a very early step for the founders of our
ecclesiastical system to reduce to uniformity all the copies
of those books which they selected to form their canon;
this necessity, together with the general tendency of the
Christian community to have accurate copies of books which
were held in such general estimation, are quite sufficient
to account for the trivial variations of reading which are
found in the greater part of the MSS of the New Testa-
ment now existing. Notwithstanding all this, however, it
is well known that the text of our books has been tampered
with and interpolations have been made in certain passages,
which shows the necessity of our relaxing none of that
vigilant criticism by which the whole truth may be ascer-
tained on all these and other corresponding subjects of
inquiry. It would add greatly to the proposed extent of
this work, if we were here to enter minutely into the con-
sideration of the various words and passages which have
been proved to be interpolations, and not from the first
genuine portions of the original text. The most impor-
tant of them is the verse, I JOHN, v, 7.
There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Ghost; and these three are one.
The authenticity of this passage has long been disputed
in the Church, and has at last been thoroughly sifted by
the learned and justly celebrated Professor Porson, who, in
his able work, "Letters to Archdeacon Travis," has set the
question at rest, and clearly shown this much canvassed
passage to have been interpolated in the text, perhaps with
no dishonest intention, by a later copyist.
To the foregoing instance may be added also the doubtful
passage with which St Mark's Gospel now ends, from the
ninth to the twentieth verses of the last chapter, which,
Jerome tells us, in his numerous critical works Ad Hered.
Qu. iii, 4, were wanting in every Greek copy that he had
seen. Gregory, bishop of Nyssa, a contemporary of Jerome,
confirms this statement, and those verses may therefore be
considered to be the unauthorized addition of a later age.
Similar criticism has been applied to the last chapter of
III.]
13
THE NEW TESTAMENT AS A WHOLE.
St John's Gospel and also to that passage in St Matthew,
xvii, 27, where it is related that St Peter was told by Jesus
to pay the tribute with money that he should find in the
belly of the first fish which, in his capacity of fisherman, he
should catch.
Moreover, the allusion to the descent of an angel in St
John's Gospel, v, 3, 4, and to the woman taken in adultery,
in the same Gospel, vii, 53—viii, 11, have long been aban-
doned as unauthentic additions to the text; whilst another
appearance of an angel, found only in the Gospel of St Luke,
xxii, 43, 44, “whose complete vindication (according to a
recent critic) ranks among the happiest fruits of modern
research," is still thought by many to be among the least
defensible passages in our Sacred Books.
"It may be hoped," is the observation of Gibbon on this
subject, in his fifteenth chapter, "that none except
the heretics gave occasion to the complaint of Celsus
(Origen, ii) that the Christians were perpetually cor-
recting and altering their Gospels;" but the term heretic
has been in all ages freely given to all who have differed
in the smallest degree from the opinions which at any time.
have had the mastery; and it is not safe to infer that all
those to whom Eusebius gave that name were the only
classes among the early Christians against whom the charge
of corrupting the Scriptures might be brought. He is
speaking principally of the heresy cf Artemon, when he
quotes, in the fifth book of his Ecclesiastical History
(ch. xxviii,) from an anonymous writer, as follows:-
The Sacred Scriptures have been boldly perverted by them;
the rule of the Ancient Faith they have set aside, Christ they
have renounced.
They fearlessly lay their hands upon
the Holy Scriptures, saying that they have corrected them. And
that I do not say this against them without foundation, whoever
wishes may learn, for should any one collect and compare their
copies one with another, he would find them greatly at variance
among themselves. For the copies of Asclepiodotus will be found
to differ from those of Theodotus. Copies of many you may
find
in abundance, altered by the eagerness of their disciples to insert
each one his own corrections, as they call them, that is, their cor-
ruptions. Again, the copies of Hermophilus do not agree with
these, and those of Apollonius are not consistent with themselves.
For one may compare those which were prepared before by them,
with those which they afterwards perverted for their own objects,
and you will find them widely different.
Such points as the foregoing, though they may bear with
*
14
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
great weight upon doctrinal investigations, have little
interest for those who pursue an historical investigation
like the present. For though it should be proved that the
verse where the "Three Heavenly Witnesses " are named,
the last chapter of St John, and the last twelve verses of
St Mark were not to be found in the New Testament in the
time of Eusebius, about A.D. 320, yet if all the rest of the
New Testament was then what it now is, we are not in the
least degree nearer to the discovery when the book was first
written; its general identity has never been disputed,
though in a few places the reading has certainly been
altered, not always, it may be hoped, from dishonesty, nor
always in such a way as to introduce into the text a passage
that has touched so closely upon doctrine, and led to such
bitter discussions as the verse which contains the Three
Heavenly Witnesses.
CHAPTER IV.
THE THREE PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPTS OF THE GREEK
TESTAMENT-THEIR VARIOUS READINGS.
It is well known to students of biblical literature, that as
late as the beginning of the fifteenth century, copies of the
Greek Testament, as well as of all other books, were pro-
duced only by the slow process of the pen. Probably
more than a thousand manuscripts of the Bible, written
before the year 1500, still remain in the various public
libraries and monasteries of Europe and Asia. A compara-
tively small number contain, besides the New Testament,
the Greek version of the Old Testament, commonly known
by the name of the Septuagint. But all of them, with
few or no exceptions, were intended by the copyists to
represent either the whole of the New Testament, or the
historical books collectively, or the Epistles in like manner
bodily, and not any separate Gospel or Epistle by itself
alone. Thus the evidence of these manuscripts confirms
the view here taken, that we know the Christian
Scriptures only in their collective shape, and not as a
miscellaneous assemblage of separate works, each having
an independent origin, and possessing independent autho-
rity on all questions that might concern the Christian
community. We, as well as all Christians from the second
Iv.]
15
THE THREE PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPTS.
century to the present time, know the New Testament only
as one book, and we find from the evidence of manuscripts
still remaining, that other works, besides those which we
call canonical, were added to the collection as possessing
equal authority with those which are still retained. Of the
thousand manuscripts which remain, there are three which
are thought to have been written not later, and possibly
earlier, than the fifth century of the Christian era.
The first which became known to scholars is called the
Vatican MS, because it is preserved in the Vatican Library
at Rome, where it has been at least since the year A.D. 1475,
as appears from a catalogue of the library made in that
year. It contains both the Greek Septuagint and the New
Testament: but the Epistles to Timothy, Titus, and Phile-
mon, the Revelation, and part of the Epistle to the Hebrews,
from Chapter ix, 14, to the end, are missing. A fac-simile
of this volume was printed in the year 1868.
The second, called the Alexandrian MS, from Alexandria,
whence it came, was presented by Cyril Lucar, Patriarch
of Constantinople, in 1628, to King Charles the First,
and is preserved in the British Museum. This also con-
tains both the Greek Septuagint and the New Testament,
but all the beginning of St Matthew's Gospel up to xxv, 6,
is wanting; as well as John vi, 50, to viii, 52; and II
Corinthians, iv, 13, to xii, 6. But, besides the Old and New
Testaments, this book contains the only remaining manu-
script copy of Clemens Romanus, a Treatise of Eusebius on
the Psalms, and a letter of Athanasius. That part of the
MS which contains the New Testament was printed in
1768 by Woide, in fac-simile as to the size of the volume,
the page, and the spelling of the words, but not as to the
shape of the letters. The volume has since been re-edited
by B. H. Cowper, in a smaller and more convenient size.
The third MS, which we shall here notice, is the Sinaitic,
so called from Mount Sinai, where it was discovered in 1844
by Professor Tischendorf, and brought by him in 1859 to
Russia for the Emperor Alexander the Second. Besides
the Greek Septuagint and the whole of the New Testament,
it contains the Epistle of Barnabas, and part of the
Shepherd of Hermas: "two books," says Tischendorf,
"which down to the beginning of the fourth century,
were looked upon by many as Scripture.
All the con-
siderations which tend to fix the date of manuscripts
lead to the conclusion that the Sinaitic Codex belongs
to the middle of the fourth century. Indeed, the evidence
16
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
is clearer in this case than in that of the Vatican Codex
and it is not improbable (which cannot be the case with
the Vatican MS,) that it is one of the fifty copies of the
Scriptures which the Emperor Constantine, in the year
331, directed to be made for Byzantium, under the care
of Eusebius of Cæsarea. In this case it is a natural
inference that it was sent from Byzantium to the monks
of St Catharine by the Emperor Justinian, the founder
of the convent. The entire Codex was published by its
discoverer, under the orders of the Emperor of Russia, in
1862, with the most scrupulous exactness, and in a truly
magnificent shape; and the New Testament portion was
issued in a portable form in 1863 and 1865.”
•
The evidence of these early copies has been brought
to bear with great force upon some of the doubtful and
disputed passages of Scripture which have been named
in the last chapter; and, whilst that evidence has been
almost conclusive against the authenticity of some of
the passages, yet the authority of these MSS has been
of no weight to disturb the general tenor of the Gospel
narratives. "The notion," says one of the most zealous
defenders of our Vulgate Greek text, " of a literal identity
between the present copies of the inspired text, and
the original edition which was published by the sacred
writers, is a vulgar error which finds as little foundation
in reason as justification in fact. It would require no
labour of deduction to prove that notion unreasonable
which presupposes that every person who undertakes to
copy the sacred writings should be withheld from wilful
or inadvertent error by preternatural power, were it not
demonstrably refuted by the publication of one hundred
and fifty thousand various readings, which have been
collected against the authorized text." These are the
words of Dr Nolan, in the Preface to his Inquiry into the
Integrity of the Greek Vulgate.
Notwithstanding this reasonable view of the matter, a brief
notice of the principal variations which lie between these
three manuscripts may not be out of place. Designating the
Alexandrian MS by A, the Sinaitic by S, and the Vatican
by V, we find the following differences between them :-
ST MATTHEW'S GOSPEL. In x, 2, S and V omit the words
Lebbæus, whose surname was-xii, 47, S and V omit this verse
For Joses, in xiii, 55, S has John, and V Joseph-For Magdala,
in xv, 39, S and V have Magadan. In xx, 22 and 23, S and V
omit and to be baptized with the baptism that I am baptized with—
Iv.]
17
THE THREE PRINCIPAL MANUSCRIPTS.
xxiii, 35, S omits son of Barachias-xxvii, 46, S and V read
Eloi, Eloi, lema. A has lima-xxvii, 49, after this verse, S and
V insert But another took a spear and pierced his side, and there
came out blood and water. In xxvii, 56, S omits the word mother,
and reads Joseph altered in a less ancient hand to Joses.
ST. MARK'S GOSPEL. In i, 1, S omits the Son of God—i, 2,
S and V read Esaias the prophet.—v, 1, S reads Gerasenes, altered
in a less ancient hand to Gergesenes; V reads Gerasenes-vi, 3,
S reads James and Joseph-ix, 44, S omits this verse-ix, 45,
S and V omit into the fire that never shall be quenched-ix, 49,
S and V omit and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt-xi,
26, S and V omit this verse-xv, 28, A, S, and V omit this verse
-xv, 34, A has lima sabacthani, S has lema sabactani, and V
has zabaphthani. In xvi, S and V omit the last twelve verses,
from 9 to 20.
ST LUKE'S GOSPEL. In iii, 23, S and V read was, when he
began, about thirty years of age-iii, 23 to 38, A, S and V differ
very much not only in spelling these names, but in the names
themselves and in the number of the generations-viii, 26, S
has Gergesenes, V Gerasenes-xiv, 5, for an ass A and V read
a son—xxii, 43, 44, A, S, and V omit these two verses.
ST JOHN'S GOSPEL. In i, 28, for Bethabara A, S, and V
read Bethany-iii, 8, S reads of water and of the Spirit-v, 2,
S reads Bethzatha, V Bethsaida-v, 4, S and V omit this verse
-vii, 53 to viii, 11, S and Vomit all these verses-ix, 38, S
omits this verse- -xx, 16, S and V have saith unto him in Hebrew
−xx, 15, 16, 17, for Jonas S and V read John-xx, 25, S omits
this verse.
ACTS. In i, 19, A and S read Acheldamach, V Aceldamach
-vii, 43, A has Rephan, S Romphan, V Rompha-xviii, 24, S
has Apelles-xxvii, 8, A reads Alassa-xxvii, 14, A, S, and V
read Euraquilon-xxviii, 19, A, S, and V omit this verse.
EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS. i, 16, V omits first-xi, 12, A
omits this verse-xv, 31, for service V reads ministration of alms
-xvi, 3, for Priscilla A, S, and V read Prisca-xvi, 5, for
Achaia A, S, and V read Asia—xvi, 8, for Amplias A and S
have Ampliatus—xvi, 24, A, S, and V omit this verse.
FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. In i, 1, V omits called
to be—ix, 2, A omits this verse-xvi, 19, A omits this verse; S
and V read Prisca.
EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS. In ii, 9, A omits Cephas-ii, 11
and 14, for Peter A, S, and V have Cephas.
EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS. In vii, 21, S and V omit after the
order of Melchisedec.
FIRST EPISTLE OF ST JOHN. In v, 7, 8, A, S and V omit the
Three Heavenly Witnesses.
REVELATION. In v, 4, A omits this verse.
VOL. II.
3
18
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER V.
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS, ACTS, EPISTLES, AND
REVELATIONS.
OUR investigation into the time when the volume of the
New Testament collectively, or its several parts, may be
supposed to have been written, would be very incomplete, if
it were thought that these books alone remain from the
earliest ages of Christianity. So far, however, is this from
being the case, that a much larger number of other Gospels,
Acts, Epistles, and Revelations still exist, besides many
kindred works professing to be equally ancient and to be
equally authentic with those which now form part of the
canon. It is true that these audacious pretensions have
long been repudiated, and the books themselves would have
long ago perished were it not that truth itself derives most
of its brightness from the existence of error, and the world
would hardly form so safe a judgment of genuine and
authentic documents unless they were aided in forming a
conclusion by the juxtaposition of what is spurious. It will,
therefore, not be a superfluous task to take notice of many
works which at one time or other competed with the books
of our canon for acceptance among Christians, and this
notice will lose none of its importance from the fact that
some of these books have been quoted by early Christian
writers as of equal authority with those which are accounted
canonical and authentic.
The second century of our era has been fixed on as the
period when those numerous uncanonical or Apocryphal
Gospels and other writings, many of which still exist, first
made their appearance and seem to have had much influence
among the Christians of those days. But it is the object of
this work to show that the books which are still deemed
canonical owe their existence to that same period, and were
compiled in part out of the same original documents which
were the ground-work of the less authentic Christian his-
tories. Nor will this imply any charge of spuriousness or
want of authenticity in our canon; for the existence of
what is false infers also the existence of that which is true,
and although many writings on the life and teaching of our
Lord, besides those which are canonical, still remain and, in
v.]
19
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
fact, were received by some of the early Churches; yet
their evident inferiority, both as regards their origin, their
statements, and other points, caused them, within a compa-
ratively short space of time, to be eliminated from the
catalogue of Christian writings, and to owe their present
existence to no other cause than to the curiosity of literary
men, the general neglect of the old volumes in which they
were written, or the death-like repose of the libraries on the
shelves of which they have slumbered.
But a graver accusation than that of inaccuracy or defi-
cient authority lies against the writings which have come
down to us from the second century. There can be no
doubt that great numbers of books were then written with
no other view than to deceive the simple-minded multitude
who at that time formed the great bulk of the Christian
community.
"It greatly affects me (says the learned Casaubon) to see
how many there were in the earliest times of the Church,
who considered it a holy task to lend to heavenly truth the
help of their own inventions, in order that the new Revela-
tion might be more readily admitted by the wise among the
Gentiles. These officious lies, they declared, were devised
for a good end. From this source sprang up innumerable
books published under the name of the Lord Jesus Christ."
The celebrated Eusebius, bishop of Cæsarea, and friend
of Constantine the Great, is our chief guide for the early
history of the Church; and we learn from his own confes-
sion that he was by no means scrupulous to record the
whole truth concerning the early Christians in the various
works which he has left behind him. The historian
Gibbon, whose researches into the history of those ages are
only equalled by the language in which he has recorded
them, has given his judgment on this subject in the follow-
ing passage*:-
The gravest of the ecclesiastical historians, Eusebius himself,
indirectly confesses, that he has related whatever might redound
to the glory, and that he has suppressed all that could tend to
the disgrace, of religion. Such an acknowledgment will naturally
excite a suspicion that a writer, who has so openly violated one
of the fundamental laws of history, has not paid a very strict
regard to the observance of the other; and the suspicion will
derive additional credit from the character of Eusebius, which
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, chapter xvi: Eusebius, His-
toria Ecclesiastica, viii, 21: and De Martyribus Palæstinæ, xii.
20
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
was less tinctured with credulity, and more practised in the arts
of courts than that of almost any of his contemporaries.
But Eusebius wrote at the beginning of the fourth
century, and it is evident from his Ecclesiastical History,
which remains still perfect, that the task of writing the
annals of the Early Church had become by no means easy.
Notwithstanding all the disingenuousness of which he was
capable, and which has been the safer from detection in
consequence of the destruction that has befallen the chief
works written by the enemies of Christianity, we neverthe-
less observe that he was constrained to mention, in his
Ecclesiastical History, the names of numerous Gospels,
Epistles, and other treatises of which some members of the
Church still even then thought highly; but which have
since sunk into merited oblivion. In his review of the
Scriptures, both those which are genuine and those which
are not, in the twenty-fifth chapter of his third book, he
writes as follows:--
Among the first we must range the holy quaternion of the
Gospels, which are followed by the treatise of the Acts of the
Apostles. But after these we must reckon the Epistles of Paul;
after which, in order, we must confirm the first which is in
circulation of John, and also the Epistle of Peter. After these
we must range, if it should seem fit, the Apocalypse of John,
about which we shall at the proper time set forth the various
opinions. And these are among the acknowledged [books]; but
of those which are disputed, but yet however are known to most
men, is circulated that which is called of James, and that of Jude,
and the Second Epistle of Peter, and that which is named the
Second and the Third of John, whether being of the Evangelist
or even of another having the same name with him. Among the
spurious let there be reckoned also the treatise of the Acts of
Paul, and that called the Shepherd, and the Apocalypse of Peter,
and in addition to these that which passes as the Epistle
of Barnabas, and what we call the Doctrines of the Apostles:
and further, as I said, if it seem fit, the Apocalypse of John,
which some reject, as I said, and others rank among the
acknowledged. But now some reckon among these also the
Gospel according to the Hebrews, in which those who have
received Christ take pleasure, the most of all- the Hebrews.
All these may be of the number of those which are disputed.
But we have, however, necessarily made the list of these also,
distinguishing both the writings which are true, and genuine and
acknowledged, and the others besides these, not indeed canonical,
but also disputed, but yet known among most of our ecclesiastical
v.]
21
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
writers, so that we may be able to know both these very ones and
those which are put forth by the heretics in the name of the
Apostles, as containing, that is, the Gospels of Peter and Thomas
and Matthias or even of some others besides these, as the Acts of
Andrew and John, and of the other Apostles, which no one of the
ecclesiastical writers in succession has at all thought fit to bring
to our memory in any history.
I shall here subjoin a list of the various apocryphal works
which have been ascribed to the Apostles, to their contem-
poraries or immediate followers, and even to Christ himself.
1. Historia Josephi fabri lignarii, Arabice. The history
of Joseph the Carpenter, in Arabic. This work has come
down to us from the fourth century, if we may believe
Wallin, who first published it at Leipsic in the year A.D.
1722. It is the opinion of Professor Tischendorf that the
Arabic text is a translation from a Coptic original, and if
this supposition be true, the conjecture of Thilo, that it
is much later than the fourth century, is proportionally
weakened; for the Coptic language was the vehicle of
Christian legends at a very early date of our era.
2. Evangelium de Nativitate Mariæ, Latine. Gospel of
the birth of Mary, in Latin. A short tract, similar in
some of its legends to the former, and towards the end
closely copying the language of the canonical Gospel con-
cerning the birth of Jesus. It is thought to have first
seen the light in the sixth century, as translated from a
Hebrew original by the Evangelist St Matthew. It is
found among the spurious works in the editions of Jerome,
to whom it was once ascribed.
3. Epistolæ Ignatii et Beatæ Virginis Maria, Latine.
Epistles of Ignatius and the Blessed Virgin Mary, in Latin.
Eight letters first printed in 1495 at the end of the Quadri-
partite life of Becket, commonly called the Quadrilogus.

The
4. Apocalypsis Mariæ, Græce. The Revelation of Mary.
A tract written in very late Greek, and, if possible, of less
than no value, although found in very many manuscripts.
5. Johannis Liber de Dormitione Mariæ, Grace.
Book of John concerning the falling to sleep of Mary.
6. Transitus Maria, Latine, A. The Transition of Mary,
in Latin, No. 1.
7. Transitus Mariæ, Latine, B. The Transition of Mary,
in Latin, No. 2.
These three tracts, concerning the miraculous incident
said to have accompanied the decease of the Virgin Mary,
are perhaps not all of equal antiquity, although they most
22
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
probably owe their origin to the same traditional source.
The manuscripts of them vary very much: in one of them
there is prefixed to the second Latin work an epistolary
preface bearing the name of Melito, a bishop of the second
century, to whom have been ascribed a large number of
writings published within the last thirty years, but all
equally apocryphal, if not spurious.
8. Evangelium Infantia Arabicum. The Arabic Gospel
of the Infancy. A tract full of the agency of Satan, devils,
and necromancers; it also abounds with historical inaccu-
racies and anachronisms, which show it to have been written
at a late date, and possibly is a compilation from various
earlier tracts.
9. Abgari Regis Edessa Epistola ad Christum, Græce.
Letter from Abgarus, king of Edessa, to Christ.
10. Christi Epistola Responsoria ad Abgarum, Græce.
Letter from Christ in answer to King Abgarus.
These two letters were first made known to the world by
Eusebius, who tells us in his Ecclesiastical History (i, 13)
that he found them in the Archives of Edessa, in the Syriac
language, from which he translated them into Greek.
11. Fragmenta Hymni quem Christus in monte Olivarum
dixit, Latine. Fragments of an Hymn which Christ spake
on the Mount of Olives. This fragment was copied by St
Augustine (Epist. ad Ceretium) out of a book belonging to
the sect of the Priscillianists.
12. Epistola Salvatoris quæ de cœlo lapsa est, Latine.
Letter from our Saviour which fell from heaven. A monkish
forgery to enforce the observance of the Sabbath: printed
for the first time by Baluzius in Appendix ad Acta Vetera
Capitularium Regum Francorum, ii, 1396.
12.* Fragmentum Epistolæ alius Christi, Latine. Frag-
ment of another Epistle from Christ. It occurs in the
Chronicle of Sigebertus Gemblacensis ad An. Ch. 1032.
Several other similar worthless compositions occur in manu-
scripts and printed books which occupy the shelves of the
various public libraries of Europe.
13. Abdiæ Historia Apostolica, Latine. Abdias's History
of the Apostles. Prefixed to this work is a preface bearing
the name of Julius Africanus, as the translator from the
original Hebrew, of which Abdias or Obadiah is said to
have been the writer. We learn from the sixth book of
the work that Abdias or Obadiah was bishop of Babylon,
that he had come, with the Apostles, from Judæa, and had
himself seen the Lord Jesus. The facts related in the work
v.]
23
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
coincide in many instances very closely with those found in
earlier writings, and this shows that these are either copied
from them or are derived from the same source as those,
but otherwise the work is altogether spurious, of no authority
whatever, and was written, in Latin, about the end of the
ninth century.
14. Doctrinæ Apostolorum, Græce. The Doctrines (or
Teachings) of the Apostles. Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical
History, iii, 25, 4, mentions a work bearing this title, and
Hilgenfeld has collected the few fragments which remain.
He adds also a short notice of a similar work, entitled
Didascalia Apostolorum Ægyptiaca, which is not quoted by
any ancient author.
15. Evangelium secundum Ægyptios. Gospel according
to the Egyptians. Mentioned by Clement of Rome, Origen,
and others. If we could be certain that the Epistles of
Clement were genuine, this Gospel would compete for anti-
quity of date with the canonical Gospels of the New Testa-
ment. Hilgenfeld has collected two pages of fragments.
16. Evangelium Ebionæorum, Hebraice. Gospel of the
Ebionites. This Gospel is thought to have been the same
as that of the Hebrews in a more advanced stage of deve-
lopment, in the same way as the canonical Gospel of St.
John is thought to be a further development of Christianity,
concerning the Divinity of our Saviour, beyond the three
Synoptical Gospels. A few fragments of a Greek transla-
tion of it are given in the work of Hilgenfeld, but it is
thought to have been written originally in Hebrew.
17. Evangelium Hebræorum vel Nazaræorum. The Gospel
of the Hebrews or of the Nazarenes. There was a Gospel
under this name, as Eusebius tells us, (III, Xxxix, 11,) men-
tioned by Papias, and other later Fathers of the Church.
Different opinions have been given concerning its age,
authorship, and contents. If written in Hebrew, as is most
probable, it may have been in use among the Jews even at
an earlier date than the canonical Gospels; but all the dis-
sertations that have been written on the subject have only
shown that we know nothing whatever about it, and only a
few supposed fragments of it in Greek and Latin have been
as yet found and published by Professors Tischendorf and
Hilgenfeld.
18. Acta Andreæ, Græce. The Acts of Andrew. These
Acts occur in manuscripts of the eleventh century, but they
certainly, either wholly or in part, are earlier than that
date. Certain facts mentioned or alluded to by some of the
24
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
early Fathers of the Church are still found in this book, but
how far the original text of the work has been altered or
even wholly recast by intermediate copyists and editors,
cannot now be ascertained.
19. Acta Andreæ et Matthiæ in urbe Anthropophagorum,
Grace. The Acts of Andrew and Matthias in the city of
the Cannibals. This tract occurs in manuscripts of the
eleventh and the eighth centuries, and is thought to derive
its origin from those earlier writings of Leucius, to whom
so many apocryphal and heretical narratives are due. The
nature of this work may be seen from the first paragraph or
chapter, and will perhaps be of interest to the reader as
showing the method which the authors of these forgeries
endeavoured to introduce into the proceedings of the first
Christian missionaries, so different from what might be
expected from the disciples who, when Jesus was arrested in
the garden, all forsook him and fled.
At that time all the apostles were gathered together, and
divided out among themselves the countries, casting lots, how
each should go to the lot which fell to him. By lot then it
happened that Matthias went into the country of the cannibals.
Now the men of that city neither ate bread nor drank wine, but
were eating the flesh of men and drinking their blood. Every
man therefore who went into their city, they seized him, gouged
and dug out his eyes, and made him drink poison prepared from
pharmacy and magic; and by their making him drink poison,
his heart was alienated and his mind underwent a change. When
therefore Matthias came into the city, the people of that city
laid hold of him and forced out his eyes, and after carrying him
out they gave him to drink the poison which caused the magical
aberration of mind, and led him away in custody, and put before
him fodder to eat, and he would not eat it.
20. Evangelium Barnabæ, Italice. Gospel of Barnabas.
From a manuscript belonging to Prince Eugene, and said
to be a translation from an Arabic original.
A
21. Revelationes Bartholomæi, Sahidice. The Revelations
of Bartholomew. A fragment perhaps of a larger work,
and found in the National Library of Paris, in a volume
containing other fragments in the Sahidic tongue.
French translation of it was published with the original
text, and is given by Professor Tischendorf in his collection
of Apocalypses Apocrypha.
22. Martyrium Bartholomæi, Græce. The Martyrdom of
Bartholomew. Similar in subject to the notice of Bartho-
lomew found in the Apostolical History of Abdias, who
v.]
25
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
either must have copied his facts from this book, or from
an earlier book, which also was the ground-work of this
Martyrdom.
23. Apocalypsis Danielis, Græce.
The Revelation of
Daniel. A short tract found in several Venetian and
Parisian manuscripts.
24. Apocalypsis Esdræ. The Revelation of Esdras. This
book is similar in subject to the Second Book of Esdras
found in the Apocrypha of the English Version. The
monks of the middle ages seem to have been fond of the
various mystical traditions attached to the name of Esdras
or Ezra, as is shown by the large number of manuscripts
in which such subjects are contained. The names of
angels, Michael, Gabriel, Uriel, &c., which occur in this
book, might seem to throw it back to the ante-Christian age,
but, as the names of Paul, Peter, and Christians generally
occur therein, we must refer it to a later and perhaps very
late age.
25. Protevangelium Jacobi Minoris, Græce. The Primitive
Gospel of James [the Less]. This is one of the most ancient
of the Apocryphal writings of the New Testament. It was
first published in a Latin translation, Basil. 1552; and
the Greek text in Neander's Apocrypha, twelve years
afterwards. The existing work is supposed to be the same
which Clement of Alexandria quotes under the name of
Book of James, and some think that Justin Martyr (Dial.
Tryp. 78) relates, on the authority of this book, fifty years
earlier than Clement, how Joseph and Mary placed the child
Jesus in a cave near Bethlehem, because there was no room
for them in the village. This work is found in a large
number of manuscripts, and under a different name
almost every one of them. An ancient Syriac version of
it has been published by Dr W. Wright, in his "Contribu-
tions to the Apocryphal Literature of the New Testament,
8vo, London, 1865."
in
This
26. Acta Johannis, Grace. The Acts of John.
work is one of the best known of the Apocryphal writings,
and is mentioned by Eusebius and other Fathers of the
Church. Some parts of it correspond with passages in the
Liber de Passione S.J., by Mellitus, and others have their
counterpart in the Apostolical History of Abdias.
27. Liber Sancti Johannis Apocryphus, Latine. The Apo-
cryphal Book of St. John. This tract was first printed in
Benedict's Histoire des Albigeois, &c., tom. i, page 283.
Its origin is as obscure as its contents are worthless. These
26
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
were most probably copied by the author out of various
writings by Leucius Charinus, of whom mention is made by
so many ecclesiastical writers, and who occurs in so many
manuscripts as a heretic and author of works which either
as he wrote them, or in an altered shape, still exist as expo-
nents of the Gnostic and Manichæan doctrines.
28. Epistola Sancti Johannis et Hydropici, Latine.
Epistles of Saint John and the man who had the dropsy.
Fragments of five lines only.
29. Melliti Liber de Passione Sancti Johannis, Latine
Mellitus, his book on the Passion of St John. The author
says that he had before him as an authority the Acts of
John, written by Leucius. A doubt seems also to exist
about the real name of the writer, whether Mellitus or
Miletus is the true reading. It has also been suggested
whether Melito, a well-known bishop of Sardis, may not be
its author, but this doubt was suggested only to be as
speedily dismissed, for the contents of the work are much
later than the date of Bishop Melito.
30. Apocalypsis Johannis. The Revelation of John.
This is simply one out of many patent forgeries of the
middle or even earlier ages. It has been two or three times
printed, but no manuscript of it now extant is earlier than
the fifteenth century.
31. Narratio Josephi Arimathiensis, Græce. Narrative of
Joseph of Arimathaa. The History of the two thieves is
contained in this short tract, of which the earliest manu-
script is of the twelfth century.
32. Evangelium Marcionis. The Gospel of Marcion.
There is no such work now in existence, and it is doubtful
whether such a work ever existed. Irenæus, Origen, and
others thought that the Gospel ascribed to this early heretic
was only a corrupted copy of St Luke, and on this supposi-
tion Professor Thilo compiled out of our present third
canonical book that which he thought might represent the
Gospel of Marcion. Such a task is interesting and even
useful to its author, but has very little weight to commend
itself to the judgment of the public.
33. Acta et Martyrium Matthæi, Grace. The Acts and
Martyrdom of St Matthew. This tract, closely connected
with the preceding both in style and subject, if not even a
portion with it of some larger original work, was unknown
to the learned until it was published by Professor Tischen-
dorf from a manuscript of the eleventh century.
34. Pseudo-Matthæi Evangelium. The spurious Gospel
v.]
27
APOCRYPHAL GOSPEels.
of Matthew. This tract is probably a Latin imitation of the
Pseudo-Matthæi Evangelium, which certainly was in ex-
istence about the year A.D. 200, and no doubt would become
known to the Christians in Western Europe. It occurs also
under the title Historia de Nativitate Mariæ et de Infantia
Salvatoris, and twenty-four chapters of it are so printed in
the first Leipsic edition of 1832, but the text differs much
in various passages. Its value arises from the fact that,
although perhaps not earlier than the fourth or fifth
century, it contains legends of a much earlier date.
35. Matthiæ traditiones. The traditions of Matthias.
Origen writes in his Philosophumena, vii, 20: "Basileides
and Isidore the legitimate son and disciple of Basileides, say
that Matthias told them secret sayings which he heard from
our Saviour, having been taught by him privately." Clement
of Alexandria also speaks of the Traditions of Matthias.
36. Apocalypsis Mosis. The Revelation of Moses. The
age of this tract is unknown, but from the fact of its being
quoted by the writer of the Protevangelium Jacobi, Pro-
fessor Tischendorf ascribes it to a very early date. It seems
also to be quoted by the author of the Descent of Christ into
Hell; and the character of the legends which it contains
places it not much below the Apocryphal Book of Tobit
either in point of time or of historical accuracy. The general
subject of the work is a legendary narrative of events in the
lives of Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Seth, and concludes with
the burial of Eve, by the Archangel Michael and three
attendant angels.
37. Evangelium Nicodemi. The Gospel of Nicodemus.
Two works had been published under this title, one in Greek
and one in Latin, neither of these being a translation nor
yet an exact paraphrase of the other. The number of
manuscripts in which it is found is considerable, and they
all vary widely in language, although they describe the
same facts and mostly in the same order. The latest editor,
Professor Tischendorf, has separated these two works into
their component parts, having, as he believes, detected that
they have been formed by blending into one several works.
which are mentioned by other writings under the following
titles.
i. Gesta [or Acta] Pilati Græce A.
Greek, No. 1.
ii. Gesta [or Acta] Pilati Græce B.
Greek, No. 2.
Acts of Pilate in
Acts of Pilate in
iii. Gesta [or Acta] Pilati Latine. Acts of Pilate in Latin.
28
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
iv. Descensus Christi ad Inferos Græce. Descent of Christ
into Hell, in Greek.
v. Descensus Christi ad Inferos Latine, A.
Christ into Hell, in Latin, No. 1.
vi. Descensus Christi ad Inferos Latine, B.
Christ into Hell, in Latin, No. 2.
Descent of
Descent of
Both Justin Martyr and Tertullian mention a work called
the Acts of Pilate, and it is not improbable that it coincided
generally in substance, if not in language, with some of the
documents here enumerated.
38. Pauli Epistola ad Corinthios Tertia, Latine. Third
Epistle of St Paul to the Corinthians, in Latin.
39. Epistola Corinthiorum ad Paulum, Latine. Epistle of
the Corinthians to Paul.
These spurious epistles were written in Armenian and
published in a Latin translation by Wilkins and afterwards
by La Croze. The latter refers their origin to some Arme-
nian "impostor" who wrote about the beginning of the
eleventh century.
40. Pauli Epistola ad Laodicenses, Latine. Epistle of Paul
to the Laodicensians. Philastrius is the first Father of the
Church who mentions such an epistle. Jerome also refers
to it, but as he says "It is exploded by all," we need not
inquire whether the epistle now remaining is the same as
the one of which Jerome disposes so summarily.
41. Pauli et Seneca Epistolæ, Latine. Epistles of Paul and
Seneca. Fourteen letters under this title were at one time
supposed to be genuine. But the fact that Paul and Seneca
were contemporary, so far from favouring the authenticity,
is a strong reason for condemning them. If Seneca was
acquainted with St Paul, we can hardly doubt that the
result would have been an important historical record of it,
whereas the short letters which have come down to us are
worthless scraps, the first of which indicates great intimacy
between the two and ends in nothing. They all show very
low intellectual powers in the writers between whom they
are said to have passed. There is, indeed, a notice in the
works of St Augustin, St Jerome, and others, of such letters
having existed in their times, but whether they are the same
which we now have, must be well established before any
credit whatever can be given to their authenticity.
42. Acta Pauli et Thecla, Græce. The Acts of Paul and
Thecla. These Acts are probably the oldest of all the un-
canonical writings now remaining. They are mentioned by
Tertullian and afterwards from him by Jerome, and there-
v.]
29
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
fore may be considered to owe their origin to the second
century, although some modern writers have suggested a
doubt whether the work which we have now is identical
with that which they had in those early times. However
this may be, the subject of the book does not commend
itself to the approbation of reasonable judges; the safety of
the denuded virgin in the presence of the wild beasts, her
defence by the lioness, and the subsequent baptism reduce
the work to the class of shameless fictions, by which the second
and following centuries of our era are strongly marked.
43. Acta Barnabæ, auctore Marco, Grace. The Acts of
Barnabas, written by Mark. This work is found in one of
the same early manuscripts (written about A.D. 890) in
which the Acts of Peter and Paul occur. Its subject is in
some respects similar to that of the Apostolic History by
Abdias, but the fictitious character of its contents is evident
from the very commencement, where the change of its
author's name from John to Mark is mentioned.
44. Evangelium secundum Petrum. The Gospel according
to St Peter. Mentioned by Jerome, De Viris illustribus, cap.i.
45. Marcelli de Actibus Petri et Pauli Apostolorum, Latine.
Marcellus on the Acts of the Apostles Peter and Paul.
This tract, similar in part of its contents to the foregoing
Acts of Peter and Paul, was first printed in the Martyro-
logium Hieronymianum of Florentinius, but is a very late
work, and of no more authority than the great mass of these
apocryphal writings. The writer in the course of his work
speaks of himself as "Marcellus, an illustrious man,” and
concludes with stating that he was a disciple of Peter, and
wrote what himself had seen.
•
46. Acta Petri et Pauli. The Acts of Peter and Paul.
Three of the manuscripts in which this tract is found appear
to have been written as early as the ninth and perhaps even
the eighth century of our era. At what time the work was
itself composed is wholly uncertain, and it has been thought
worth notice principally from the well-known but equally
uncertain tradition that St Peter and St Paul were at Rome
at the same time, and there established the episcopate which
is the origin of the papacy.
47. Apocalypsis Pauli. The Revelation of Paul. In
Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History (vii, 25) is a passage
quoted from Dionysius respecting the Revelation of St.
John, the authenticity of which he says is doubtful, because
no mention is made of it either in the Gospel or the Epistles
of St John, whereas St Paul "in his Epistles gives some
30
CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
intimation of his Revelations, although he never wrote these
in a separate work." Whether it is meant that St Paul
ever embodied them in a larger work, is doubtful; but it is
tolerably certain from those words that the Revelation pub-
lished by Professor Tischendorf was not extant in the time
of Eusebius and cannot be earlier than the end of the fourth
century.
48. Acta Petri. Acts of Peter. Named by Jerome, De
Viris illustribus, cap. i, as forming one of the five apocryphal
books ascribed to that Apostle; it was perhaps a distinct
work.
49. Epistola Petri ad Jacobum, Græce. Epistle of Peter
to James. Such an Epistle is named first by Photius, and
demands no further notice.
50. Prædicatio Petri. The Preaching of Peter. Named
by Jerome, De Viris illustribus, cap. i, as forming one of the
five books ascribed to St Peter, but accounted apocryphal
by the Church.
51. Petri et Pauli Prædicatio. The Preaching of Peter
and Paul. How far this is connected with the preceding
work, ascribed to Peter alone, cannot be known for certain.
Hilgenfeld has collected a few fragments and quotations.
52. Duæ Viæ vel Judicium Petri. The Two Ways, or
the Judgement of Peter. It is the opinion of Hilgenfeld
that this is no other than a short Greek tract published by
Bickel in 1843, containing some ecclesiastical canons of the
holy Apostles, and he has accordingly added these to his
collection under the above-named title, which connects them
with St Peter.
53. Apocalypsis Petri, Arabice. The Revelation of Peter,
in Arabic. This work is found in manuscript in the Bod-
leian library at Oxford, also in the Vatican at Rome, and
elsewhere. It has never been published, but Professor Tis-
chendorf has given the headings of its eighty-eight chapters,
from which it would appear that no great gain to either
history or religion would result from its publication.
The Apocalypsis Petri named by Jerome, De Viris illus-
tribus, cap. i, was probably a different work altogether and
of earlier date.
54. Acta Philippi, A, Græce. The Acts of Philip, No 1.
55. Acta Philippi, B, Grace. The Acts of Philip, No 2.
These two works have been published from manuscripts
not earlier than the eleventh century. They probably have
come down through divergent channels from some common
original, as there is a singular community of ideas exempli-
v.]
31
APOCRYPHAL GOSPELS.
fied in passages which occur in the two works. In the
former of these Philip is said to have "begun to curse them,
calling out and crying in the Hebrew tongue, Abalo, are-
moun, idouthael, tharsaleon, nachoth, aidounaph, teleteloï!
In the latter work the High Priest says to Philip, "I know
that thou art a magician and a disciple of Jesus, thou dost
not enchant me;" and the Apostle said to Jesus, Sabarthan,
sabathabt, bramanouch, come quickly!
56. Acta Pilati. The Acts of Pilate. See Evangelium
Nicodemi.
57. Epistola Pilati A Græce. Letter from Pontius Pilate
to the Emperor Claudius, No 1-Printed in the Acta Petri
et Pauli, of which it forms the fortieth section.
Epistola Pilati B Latine. Letter from Pontius Pilate,
No 2-A Latin version of the preceding, and forming chap-
ter xiii of the Descensus Christi ad Inferos, A.
58. Anaphora Pilati A Græce. The Report of Pilate,
No 1.
Anaphora Pilati B Græce. The Report of Pilate, No 2.
Two Epistles, Reports from Pontius Pilate to the Roman
emperor concerning the marvellous events which had hap-
pened at Jerusalem.
59. Paradosis Pilati, Grace. The delivering up of Pilate.
The first paragraph of this tract states that "when the
letters reached the city of Rome and were read to the em-
peror before a large number of persons, they were astounded
at hearing that Pilate's lawless conduct had caused darkness
and an earthquake over the whole world, and Cæsar in anger
sent soldiers to bring Pilate bound to Rome."
60. Mors Pilati, qui Jesum condemnavit. The Death of
Pilate, who condemned Jesus. This tract might be supposed
to relate the natural result of Pilate's offence as related in
the foregoing report; but the writer of this present had no
knowledge of the former narrative. He ascribes the anger
of Cæsar to a different cause. The emperor, he says, was
afflicted with a severe disease, and being informed, on the
testimony of Veronica, who bore about her the handkerchief
impressed with the image of Christ's face, that there was
a great prophet in Judæa who cured all kinds of disease, he
ordered him to be sent for to Rome, and when he learned
that Pontius Pilate had put him to death, he ordered him to
be brought prisoner to Rome. The series of events which
followed led to Pilate's committing suicide.
61. Acta Thaddai Græce. The Acts of Thaddeus. This
tract contains little more than a short account of the corre-

32
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
spondence between Christ and Abgarus. It is printed from
a manuscript of the eleventh century.
62. Evangelium Thomæ Græcum.-No 1. First Greek
Gospel of Thomas.
63. Evangelium Thomæ Græcum.-No 2. Second Greek
Gospel of Thomas.
64. Evangelium Thomæ Latinum. Latin Gospel of Thomas.
These three tracts have been printed from numerous manu-
scripts found in various European and Eastern libraries, but
it is uncertain to what period of the Christian era they may
be assigned. It is true that a Gospel written by the Apostle
Thomas is quoted by Irenæus, Origen, Hippolytus and
Eusebius, but no proof can be given that either of the three
here named is the one, which existed at so early a date, and
the omission of the name Apostle from the designation of
the writer seems to imply that the three works are of a
later and spurious origin. The author is named Thomas
the Israelite, in the first sentence of both the Greek texts.
Acta Sancti Thomæ, Latine. The Acts of St Thomas.
This was the first Apocryphal Book published by Thilo,
at Leipsic, 1823. Its age cannot be ascertained, but it is as
early as any of the uncanonical scriptures now remaining.
66. Consummatio Sancti Thoma, Grace. The end of St
Thomas-A short account of his death and miracles. It was
printed from a Paris manuscript of the eleventh century.
67. Vindicta Salvatoris, Latine. Vindication of our
Saviour. Another legend in which Titus, Vespasian,
Joseph of Arimathæa, and Veronica appear as actors, and
the power of Christ to heal diseases again is made the
subject of the story.
68. Epistola Judæorum ad fratres transmarinos tempore
Jesu crucifixi missa, Latine. Epistle from the Jews sent to
their brethren beyond the sea at the time of Christ's cruci-
fixion. Twelve lines only, printed by Martin Crusius, and
again by Fabricius, from an unknown source.
69. Fragmenta Apostolorum, Latine. Fragments of the
Apostles, in Latin-Worthless scraps, first published by St
Prætorius in 1595, copied from Abdias and other sources.
70. Libellus a muliere hæmorrhousa Herodi oblatus. Peti-
tion presented to Herod by the woman who had the issue of
blood-John Malalas has this tract in his Chronographia;
he relates that, King Herod being in Paneas a town of
Judæa, Veronica, the woman in question, presented the
petition to him, asking permission to erect a statue to
Christ in gratitude for the cure which he had wrought
in her.
v.]
33
APOCRYPHAL BOOKS.
Such being the list *—and that probably not complete,
for many remain still unexamined in various foreign libraries
-of the spurious works bearing on early Christianity, it is
obvious to ask why they were ever recognized as of any
authority at all, and why, after the lapse of so many hundred
years, they have occupied the attention of so many learned
men. A bishopt of the English Church has given, in a single
sentence, an answer to this question.
"Our vital interest in Him of whom they pretend to tell us
more than the canonical Scriptures have recorded, is the real,
though it may be the hidden reason, why these poor figments are
read with interest even whilst they are despised."-Essay, p. 156.
But the Bishop adds in the next page, "We know before we
read them, that they are weak, silly, and profitless-that
they are despicable monuments even of religious fiction,
&c."-a dangerous principle to admit, this judgment of
books before they have been read, and only to be main-
tained, when others have read them, whose ability to
discover and honesty to declare the truth, are acknowledged
to be beyond a doubt.
* A serviceable edition, it is believed, of the uncanonical writings was
published by the author of this work in 1852, containing the substance of
all that had then appeared, under the following title :-
Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti. The uncanonical gospels and other
writings referring to the first ages of Christianity; in the original lan-
guages: collected together from the editions of Fabricius, Thilo, and others.
By the Rev. Dr. Giles, late fellow of C.C.C. Oxford, 2 vols, 8vo, London,
D. Nutt, 270, Strand, 1852.
Those, however, who wish to have the latest critical editions of these
writings, will choose the following, edited by the two able theological
critics, Tischendorf and Hilgenfeld.
Evangelia Apocrypha, &c. edidit Constantinus Tischendorf, &c., Lipsiæ,
8vo, 1863.
Acta Apostolorum Apocrypha, &c., edidit Constantinus Tischendorf, &c.,
Lipsiæ, 8vo, 1851.
No edition of Epistolæ Apocrypha has yet appeared.
Apocalypses Apocrypha, &c., additis Evangeliorum et Actuum Apocry-
phorum Supplementis, &c., edidit Constantinus Tischendorf, &c. Lipsiæ,
8vo, 1866.
To these volumes of Tischendorf must be added the following, containing
all that remains of other uncanonical writings.
Evangeliorum secundum Hebræos, secundum Petrum, secundum Ægyp-
tios, Matthiæ Traditionum, Petri et Pauli Prædicationis et Actuum, Petri
Apocalypseos, Didascaliæ Apostolorum Antiquioris quæ supersunt, Addito
libro qui appellatus est: "Duæ Viæ vel Judicium Petri," &c., edidit Adol-
phus Hilgenfeld, Lipsiæ, 8vo, 1866, forming the fourth part of his "Novum
Testamentum extra Canonem Receptum."
A translation of several of these writings was published by W. Howe,
8vo, London, 1820, and a Mr Cooper has since published another version
of some of them.
+ The present Bishop of Winchester, Dr Harold Browne.
VOL. II.
4
34
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN Records.
CHAPTER VI.
THE NEW TESTAMENT WHOLLY WRITTEN IN GREEK-THE GREEKS
UNKNOWN TO THE HEBREWS UNTIL ALEXANDER THE GREAT-
SYRIA AND ANTIOCH-EGYPT AND ALEXANDRIA-HEBREW STILL
SPOKEN, NOT GREEK-JOSEPHUS LEARNT GREEK WITH DIFFI-
CULTY EVIDENCE OF COINS.
FROM what has been advanced in the first of these
volumes, the reader will probably have concluded that the
Old Testament consists of literary remains which the lead-
ing men of the Jewish nation collected together to form the
basis of their religion and their legislation. Nor does this
view differ from the received opinion about those early
records; for all admit that the sources of these writings
must be assigned to very different dates during the long
period of fifteen hundred years between the age of Moses
and that of Christ. We have now to examine the books of
the New Testament, taking for our starting-point the equally
acknowledged fact that these books too, although all pro-
duced within a much shorter period of time, have the
character at present of being separate writings, collected
together to form a similar groundwork for the Christian
religion, if not also for that national legislation in which
they have since borne a part. For the latter purpose, it is
true, their authority has been weakened by time, but their
sanction is still valued in practice even by those who in
theory reject their authority.
In comparing the two volumes which form our Bible, we
discover a remarkable diversity in the fact that the older
volume written for the Jewish people, relating to the Jewish
history, and having Jewish writers for its authors, has been
handed down to us, as we might expect, in the Hebrew or
Jewish language, whereas the later volume, written (so it is
said) by Jewish authors and relating events which passed
among the Jewish people, has come down to us in a lan-
guage wholly foreign to the Jews, and as far as we know as
unintelligible to the mass of that people as any of the con-
tinental languages of modern Europe would be in the
streets of London. In this particular it must be admitted
there is a great divergency between the two volumes which
now are united and form the Christian canon.
But there is another particular in which these two
volumes appear more in harmony, and their agreement
vi.]
35
NEW TESTAMENT LIKE THE OLD.
under this head seems to owe its origin to the wish on the
part of those who compiled the later volume, to produce a
canon similar, as far as was possible, to the earlier volume
of the Jews. If the venerable Pentateuch describes the
earliest and almost prehistoric narrative of the Hebrew
origin, so do the Gospels give us the first accounts of the
source from which Christianity is derived. As Joshua,
Judges, and the other historical books give us a narrative
of what was done to extend and confirm the Jewish nation
in their settlement of the promised land, so may the Acts of
the Apostles be looked upon as confirming the Christian
faith and extending it to the various nations of the world
that lay within a reasonable distance from its source. The
same view suggests a comparison of the Psalms and other
moral or devotional writings under the Old Dispensation,
with the Epistles which appear in the New Testament
as addressed to various nations with whom the writers are
supposed to have been in communication. And lastly, the
Revelation of St John the Divine seems to bear a similar
relation to those prophetical works which complete the
canon of the Hebrews. This comparison, if intentional on
the part of those who put together the Christian books, can-
not fail to have some bearing on our present subject, for it
is not the practice of those who are propagating a new
doctrine in the midst of adversaries to form a canon or code
of laws for the regulation of life, but rather to be active in
recommending by precept and example the theory and the
doctrines which they teach. And yet, even if we admit the
later origin to which the symmetrical arrangement of the
books would lead us, we may well hesitate before we admit
that the process of imitation has been carried to the length
which the most eminent of German critics has advocated in
his comparison of the Old Testament with the New. If, as
he argues, the facts of the Gospel history are myths framed
out of the imagination of the first Christian Church, so as
to form parallelisms throughout with the various miraculous
and other facts recorded in the older Testament, the Chris-
tian doctrines, however good in themselves, lose the autho-
rity which they now possess from the fact that those doctrines
were actually exhibited in practice to the world in the
beautiful life and character of their first teacher. We
therefore need go no further in our speculations on this
subject, however interesting in itself, than to admit that the
later volume of our religion seems to have been compiled in
form somewhat to imitate its Jewish precursor, and so we
36
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
.
may proceed to the more weighty observation that the
language in which the New Testament has come down to us
seems to present a strong objection to the theory that it was
written by Jewish authors, or for the use either wholly or
partly of the Jewish people. That it is not a contemporary
record of the events which it relates would follow as a
natural corollary to this argument, if it were shown that the
language in which it is written could not have been used by
its presumed authors, nor understood generally by those
for whose edification it was written.
This then is the point to which our attention must first be
directed, to inquire why the early records of Christianity
have come down to us in Greek, a language which, as far as
we know, none of their writers were either able to speak as
their native tongue or likely to have learnt in the course of
their early education; and this is a difficulty which cannot
be explained and has not yet met with a satisfactory solu-
tion, on the supposition that those who appear as actors in
the history found in the Christian books, were also the
writers of those books in which their own history is recorded.
In the previous volume of this work it has been shown that
Hebrew was still spoken at Jerusalem in the time of Christ,
and the reader who refers to that volume (p. 341) will see
that the arguments there brought forward tell strongly in
favour of the conclusion that Hebrew was then the language
of the Jewish nation, of Palestine generally, of our Lord
himself and of his Apostles. It may then be asked how it is
that this inference, drawn not only from the facts which
have been cited in its favour, but also from its antecedent
probability, and also from the jealous nationality of the
Jews, who cherished with the utmost care all their old tra-
ditions, is wholly incompatible with the assertion that the
Christian Scriptures were given forth to the world in Greek,
a foreign language, within a few years after the events.
therein recorded had taken place, or were written pro-
fessedly by Jews. And it is still less likely that the books
which have come down to us could have been written by
those Jews to whom they have been ascribed. For the first
Christians, and especially the twelve Apostles, were taken
from the lowest classes of the people, who by no possibility
can be supposed to have been acquainted with literary com-
position even in their own language, but much less so in
Greek, which they could have heard spoken only by those
who were in the civil or military service of the empire.
But it has been said in explanation of the remarkable
vi.]
37
GREEKS UNKNOWN TO THE ISRAELITES.
fact now under consideration that the language of all the
East was at that time Greek, or that at all events Greek
was spoken by every one who had the least claim to a posi-
tion in society removed above the level of the lowest classes.
If this were true, the ancient world might indeed justly
claim that superiority over the moderns, which the fancy of
some writers, perhaps more in the spirit of amusement than
of truth, has sometimes been pleased to assign to it. But
the supposition is as much negatived by facts, and by the
tenour of all those passages which have been quoted from
the New Testament, as it is by the improbability that, when
the means of spreading knowledge among the people were
infinitely less than now, the difficult knowledge of a foreign
tongue should have made so great a progress as that which
is suggested in the case now before us. It may not be
foreign to the purpose if we trace the connection which
history records as having existed between the Hebrews and
the western nations at various times from the Exode to the
time of Christ.
From the whole tenour of Biblical history it is evident
that the Hebrews had little or no intercourse with the
nations of Europe or indeed with any other people than the
Syrians in the north, the Babylonians or Assyrians on the
east, and the Egyptians on their south-western border.
They were indeed almost wholly shut out from the sea-coast
by the intervention of the Tyrians, the Sidonians, and the
Philistines, who still were in existence down to the latest
period of the Jewish commonwealth, until all of them were
included in the larger monarchies of Cyrus and of Alexander
the Great, by whom the numerous little communities of
Asia and Palestine were swallowed up. It is not then to be
wondered at that we read nothing certain of the Greeks by
name in all the Old Testament; for the word Javan, sup-
posed by some to designate Greece and the Greeks, and to
be the Hebrew equivalent for the Ionians, one of the four
races into which the Greeks were divided, occurs in six
places* only of the Hebrew text, and in passages so short
and vague of meaning that conjecture alone and the doubtful
testimony of Josephus have identified it with the name of
Greece.
Rejecting then the consideration of this word Javan, to
which nothing but the imagination of different writers has
* Genesis, x, 2: Isaiah, lxvi, 19: Ezekiel, xxvii, 13: Daniel, viii, 21:
Joel, iii, 6: and Zechariah, ix, 13.
38
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
given a meaning that bears upon our present investigation,
we must not omit to mention certain words, which the Bible
presents to us in a Hebrew form, but which bear so remark-
able a likeness to corresponding Greek words that it is diffi-
cult to ascribe their introduction into the Hebrew language
to any other than a Grecian source.
1. The first of these is the proper name Lamech, which
occurs in Genesis, iv, 18: and v, 25. The original Hebrew
consists of three letters which may be represented in English
by Lm ch; the vowels of course are to be supplied from
the knowledge of the language which those who spoke it by
birth could hardly fail to possess, and the word bears a re-
markable likeness to the Greek word Aάuaxos; the origin of
which is in harmony with Grecian, but by no means what-
ever can be referred to, Hebrew etymology.
2. The second instance occurs in the word Ada the wife
of Lamech; and it is remarkable, as Professor Ewald points
out, that both these names occur in the inscriptions which
have been found in Pisidia and the neighbouring district,
and they are found in no other passage of the Hebrew Bible,
nor in any correlative form which would lead to the conclu-
sion that they were of native origin.
3. We proceed to the forty-ninth chapter of Genesis,
verse 5, where we have a word which may be represented
in English letters m ch r th i (or y) he m. In this word, it is
said, may be detected the Greek Máxapa a sword: and,
4. The same combination of letters occurs in the First
Book of Chronicles (xi, 36), where introducing the proper
vowels we read Chepher ha Mecherati, which our version,
following the Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate,
renders "Hepher the Mecherathite;" but which others in-
terpret" Hepher the Swordsman "--armed with the mach-
æra, a Grecian weapon.
Whatever may be the truth about these words, so little
is known on the subject, that we may limit ourselves here
to the remark that, according to Schlegel (Ramayana, i, 2,
p. 169), and Gorresio (vol. vi, p. 443), quoted by Dr.
Donaldson in his Christian Orthodoxy (p. 235), the word
Javan was not adopted by the eastern nations as the name
of Greece until after the time of Alexander the Great.
is also believed by those who have been more curious about
these points than is needful for us to be at present, that
David, at the end of his reign, employed mercenaries from
Crete; and this is entirely in harmony with the fact that
Cretans, according to Herodotus (i, 173), colonized Lycia in
VI.]
39
EFFECT OF MACEDONIAN CONQUEST.
Asia Minor, where also there was a tribe called Solymi;
and both Carians and Cretans seem to have been disposed
to migrate and found colonies or serve abroad as mercena-
ries even more readily than the other tribes of Greece, all
of whose inhabitants, increasing beyond the means of sub-
sistence which their narrow territory furnished, were always
ready to leave their homes and settle wherever sufficient
inducements could be found.
•
The
"The Greek idiom," says Deutsch in his Literary Re-
mains (p. 299), “is generally supposed to have added next
to nothing to the Shemitic before the time of Alexander."
But the conquests of that great Macedonian king had the
effect of breaking through the barrier which until then had
kept the Jews from intercourse with the Greeks. The
account indeed which Josephus gives of the interview
between the victorious Macedonian and Jaddua the high
priest, has been regarded by most critics as highly coloured
by the Jewish historian, and by others is rejected altogether
as a fiction; but it is certain that the isolation of the Jewish
nation ceased from that time, and that they were soon after-
wards brought into subjection first under Ptolemy King of
Egypt and afterwards by Antiochus King of Syria.
persecutions, to which they were exposed under the latter
monarch, are too well known from the Maccabean history
found in the Apocrypha attached to the authorized version
of our Bibles, to require that we should dwell on them at
present; but the existence of those books shows that the
Greek language now began to be used in the composition
of writings which have Jewish transactions for their subject.
It has too hastily been inferred from this that Hebrew, their
native tongue, was now less an object of care and attention
than in previous periods of their history; but this inference
may be easily refuted, if our theory is correct that the later
portions of the Jewish Scriptures are not earlier than the
time when the Macedonian conquests were completed. It
was certainly during the last period of the Jewish history
that the greatest respect was shown to those books which
were written in their native tongue, and it is well known
that the Jews from the first, like Protestant Christians in
modern times, have excluded from their canon every book
which was written in Greek or Latin or any other language
than their own.
But the solution of this question lies upon the surface:
the empire of Alexander was dissolved into its naturally
component parts. The kingdom of Egypt, which had been
40
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
powerful under Amasis, was revived under the Ptolemies,
and Syria, including Babylonia and other provinces which
being inland were naturally liable to disruption such as so
often happens to countries away from the sea, became again
a powerful kingdom under the dynasty of Antiochus. Thus
Judæa, lying between the two, resumed its neutral character
with even greater eventual success than when it vacillated
formerly between the Pharaohs and the Babylonian or
Assyrian kings. This position however had much influence
on the literature and religion of the Jews; and fully
accounts for their separation from this time into two distinct
and possibly rival classes. The kings of Syria for a time
reduced the Hebrew nation into subjection to their sceptre,
but those kings had also to contend with the two growing
empires of Rome and Parthia. About a hundred and forty
years after the death of Alexander, the Jews again free,
entered into a treaty with the Romans against the Syrian
king Demetrius Soter, and indeed there was hardly a
moment in which they had repose from the aggressions of
their Syrian neighbours. On the other hand Egypt, more
favourably situated and having the sea, the desert, and the
strong fortress of Jerusalem to separate them from the large
rival empires which were contending for mastery, seems on
the whole eventually to have shown much favour to the
Jews, and to have encouraged that extensive settlement of
them in the Grecian city of Alexandria which is so promi-
nent at the time of the Christian era. It is to the dynasty
of the Ptolemies that the Septuagint translation of the Old
Testament is ascribed, and probably is due, whilst the
Apocryphal books, attached to it as an appendix, probably
owe their origin to the same source.
Most of them are
indeed thought by Jerome and others to have been written
originally in Hebrew, in which case the Greek translation
only of those books may still be regarded as due to the
reigns of the Ptolemies, under whom Grecian literature in
general was so highly favoured. At all events the testi-
mony of Josephus excludes those books from the Jewish
canon, and the whole history of the Jews who dwelt in
Jerusalem itself forbids us to believe that anything alien to
their native language and native customs would be tolerated
among them.
But the proximity of Greek neighbours would not wholly
exclude words of Greek origin from entering into their
language and becoming naturalized among them. Such
were those names of musical instruments occurring in the
vi.]
41
GREEK WORDS IN HEBREW.
third chapter of Daniel, which coincide so remarkably with
Greek names, that it is difficult to maintain for them a
separate origin. Thus 'harp,' nilapis in Greek, is repre-
sented in the Hebrew text of Daniel by the letters
KITHRS; 'dulcimer,' in Greek symphonia, becomes in
Hebrew SUMPHNIA; 'sackbut' is sambuke in Greek,
and in Hebrew SB KA; 'psaltery,' in Greek psanterion
(Macedonian dialect for psalterion), is PSNTRIN in
Hebrew. If one of these words alone were found in the
Hebrew text, it might be thought one of those casual coin-
cidences of which so many examples may be adduced in the
comparison of languages; but the four words above cited,
if we bear in mind the Hebrew vowels which must be sup-
plied, show so great a similarity and almost identity both in
speech and writing, and they all flow so etymologically
from Greek roots, that it is difficult to impugn the conclu-
sion at which we have arrived.
If then there was a Greek as well as a Hebrew element
in the Jewish nation and its literature from the time of
Alexander or somewhat later to that of Christ, it seems
to follow that the Greek element prevailed chiefly at
Alexandria.
A rival of this Egyptian city however was the Syrian
city of Antioch, situated in the most delicious climate and
most fertile plain of Asia. We are informed by Josephus
(Antiq. XII, iii, 1) that the Jews in this city were at first
admitted to the same privileges as the Greeks, and in the
time of Chrysostom, the Christians, including Jews no doubt,
numbered a hundred thousand, or nearly half the inhabi-
tants of the city. But in the interval of so many hundred
years that intervene between King Seleucus who favoured
the Jews, and the time of Chrysostom, when the Christian
community was so firmly established, the Greeks in Antioch
were on terms far from friendly with the brave people who
so strenuously maintained their independence against all
It is an
the attempts of the Syrians to subdue them.
established fact that no Greek writings have come down to
us that can be ascribed to Jewish authors, and were com-
posed in the city of Antioch, unless the Christian books
beginning with our Canonical New Testament, and followed
by at least some of the numerous Apocryphal writings still
extant, can be shown to have had their origin in the beau-
tiful city of Seleucus.* That this probably was the case is
* "
Christianity found its way at a very early period into Syria, and its
42
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
mostly the subject of this work, but our object now is to
prove that Jerusalem or Judæa at all events was not the
place where these books were written, and that the authors
to whom they are commonly ascribed could not possibly
have been Jews.
Reverting however to the theory that Greek had super-
seded Hebrew in Palestine generally and even in Jerusalem
its capital, or at all events that it was well understood by
men of every class, we cannot wisely pass over the evidence
which Josephus, "the learned and warlike Jew," furnishes
on this subject. In the last chapter of his work on the
Antiquities of the Jews" occurs the following passage,
as rendered from the original Greek in Whiston's English
translation.
66
I am so bold as to say, now I have so completely perfected the
work I proposed to myself to do, that no other person, whether he
were a Jew or a foreigner, had he ever so great an inclination to
it, could so accurately deliver these accounts to the Greeks as is
done in these books. For those of my own nation freely acknow-
ledge that I far exceed them in the learning belonging to the
Jews; I have also taken a great deal of pains to obtain the learn-
ing of the Greeks, and understand the elements of the Greek
language, although I have so long accustomed myself to speak
our own tongue, that I cannot pronounce Greek with sufficient
exactness: for our nation does not encourage those that learn the
languages of many nations, and so adorn their discourses with the
smoothness of their periods; because they look upon this sort of
accomplishment as common, not only to all sorts of freemen, but
to as many of the servants as please to learn them.
The same writer gives further supplementary evidence to
the same effect in his "Treatise against Apion ” (i, 9) and
not only to the same effect, but also proving that the Jews
generally knew nothing of any language but their own, and
that Josephus was the only man in the Roman camp before
Jerusalem during the siege who understood the numerous
Jews who deserted out of the city. This passage also is
too interesting to be omitted, and is here given in full.
capital Antioch became naturally a centre for missions into countries
still remaining heathen. Greek undoubtedly was the dominant language
at Antioch, but Syriac continued to be that of the people in the country
districts-certainly across the Euphrates in Mesopotamia, where Chris-
tianity had found an entrance for some time; for there are evident signs
of the existence of a Christian literature there so early as the second
century. The necessity for a version of the Gospels in the vernacular
would soon be felt, and to this we are indebted for the earliest Syriac
version."-Tischendorf translating from Bleek.
vi.]
43
NO ISRAELITISH COINS KNOWN.
As for myself I have composed a true history of that whole
war, and all the particulars that occurred therein, as having been
concerned in all its transactions; for I acted as general of those
amongst us who are named Galilæans,* as long as it was possible
for us to make any opposition. I was then seized on by the
Romans and became a captive. Vespasian also and Titus had
me kept under a guard, and forced me to attend them continually.
At the first I was put into bonds; but was set at liberty after-
ward, and sent to accompany Titus when he came from Alexan-
dria to the siege of Jerusalem; during which time there was
nothing done which escaped my knowledge; for what happened
in the Roman camp I saw and wrote down carefully; and what
information the deserters brought [out of the city] I was the only
man that understood them. Afterward I got leisure at Rome;
and, when all my materials were prepared for that work, I made
use of some persons to assist me in learning the Greek tongue, and
by these means I composed the history of those transactions.
Josephus elsewhere tells us more than once that he was
employed to act as interpreter between the Romans and the
rebellious Jews. It would seem impossible to draw any
other inference from these extracts than that which has been
so often repeated-that Hebrew and not Greek was the
language of the Jews in the time of Christ, and that the
books of the New Testament, at whatever period of our era
they may have been written, being written in Greek, a
language unknown to the Jews, were written probably by
Greeks.
It remains only to add to what has been here said the
evidence of certain monuments the most lasting and con-
vincing that human workmanship ever yet has produced-
the almost imperishable testimony of coins and medals.
That coined money was unknown to the Israelites is
admitted by all who have examined or written upon the
subject, nor is this inference weakened by any of the pas-
sages in the Old Testament, in which the words, money,
gold, and silver, repeatedly occur. We read in Genesis,
xiii, 12, that Abraham was "rich in cattle, in silver and in
gold:" but in a later chapter of the same book (xxiii, 16)
we read that he weighed the silver with which he bought
the cave of Machpelah from Ephron the son of Zoar. In
the reign of David the same use of bullion, estimated by
* The inhabitants of Galilee must be here meant: it would be hazard-
ous to suggest that Josephus was at the head of a Christian band, although
the Christians are called Galilæans by more than one heathen writer.
44
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
weight, is still existing, and though the two passages, in
which the transaction alluded to is related, are hopelessly
conflicting one with the other, yet they may be cited as fur-
nishing the same conclusion that coined money was not then
in use among the Hebrews.
II Samuel, xxiv, 24. And the king said unto Araunah, Nay,
but I will surely buy it of thee at a price: neither will I offer
burnt offerings unto the Lord my God of that which doth cost me
nothing. So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen for
fifty pieces of silver.
Compare with this the account given in the First Book of
Chronicles, xxi, 24.
And King David said unto Ornan, Nay, but I will buy it for
the full price: for I will not take that which is thine for the
Lord, nor offer burnt offerings without cost. So David gave to
Ornan for the place six hundred shekels of gold.
These two accounts, handed down separately by divergent
tradition, combine only to prove that, whilst gold and silver
were used and valued as a medium of commerce among the
Hebrews as among almost all other nations, they derived
their value from their weight, and not from any emblem or
inscription impressed upon them.
We may pass over the ring-money, thought to be meant
by the Hebrew term which our version translates "ear-ring
of gold," but which the Septuagint renders by "tetradrachm
of unstamped gold," thereby giving the idea that such rings
could be used as money, and state shortly that no Jewish
coins have ever been found bearing an earlier date than
that of Simon the Maccabee son of Mattathias who first
successfully withstood the armies of Antiochus and paved
the way for the last period of independence which the
Jewish nation enjoyed.
It must not however be supposed that no coined money
was circulated until they had their own national mint in the
middle of the second century before the Christian era.
During the captivity, and afterwards whilst they formed
part of the Persian empire, the Jews used the Persian
money, mostly Darics, so called from Darius the King of
Persia, whilst in the time of Alexander the Great Grecian
money would naturally be introduced. It is true that we
read of talents in the time of Ezra (viii, 25), but that name
in all countries, where it was used, denoted money the
value of which was ascertained by weight and not by the
VI.]
45
JEWISH COINS VERY LATE.
number of coined pieces. Nor is there any impropriety in
the inference that, as no earlier Jewish coins have been
found, none ever were in existence; for we have never
failed to find numerous pieces of money lost and buried in
the earth wherever such pieces have been used as the
medium of commerce in any nation of the ancient world. It
was about the year B.C. 139 that Antiochus VII, surnamed
Sidetes, sent letters to Simon High Priest and Prince of the
Jews, in which the following sentence is found, as we read
it in the First Book of Maccabees (xv, 6), "I give thee
leave also to coin money for thy country with thine own
stamp." This permission of Antiochus, hardly needed by
those to whom it was given-for the power of Syria was
declining, whilst that of Judæa was growing-explains
the appearance for the first time of coins marked with
inscriptions in the Hebrew language and in a character
different from that in which Hebrew words are now written,
but without doubt that which, as we find from all the
inscriptions, Jewish, Phoenician, and Carthaginian, that have
come down to us, prevailed among the Jews during the
later period of their nationality.
A few of the legends and emblems occurring on these
coins, on the authority of Madden's able History of the
Jewish Coinage, may here with propriety be introduced.
1. A copper coin: OBVERSE Shkl Ishral (Shekel of Israel),
round a cup with the a over it, denoting the first year of Simon's
reign or coinage. REVERSE Jrushlm kdshh (Jerusalem the Holy)
round a triple flower.
2. A copper coin: OBVERSE Chzi hshkl (Half-shekel) round a
cup with A over it. REVERSE Jrushlm kdshh (Jerusalem the Holy)
round a triple flower.
3. A third copper shekel, struck in the second year of Simon,
has the same emblems and inscription but exhibits a slight varia-
tion by spelling Jerusalem on the Reverse Jrushlim instead of omit-
ting the yod before the final m.
These examples from so late a period before our era seem
to refute most thoroughly the theory that the Hebrew nation
had forgotten their original language. No ancient people
are known to have struck coins in any other than their
native tongue, and, though we need not wonder that a
national mint was unknown to such semi-barbarous races as
those which inhabited Palestine in the earlier ages, yet that,
when freed from Persian, Macedonian, and Syrian rulers in
an age which had advanced in every kind of knowledge,
they should have issued national money of their own in the
46
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Hebrew tongue, can only be explained by the inference
that Hebrew was the language both of their public business
and of their social life.
But it cannot be ignored and need not be a matter of
surprise, that some among the Jews looked with favour
towards the Greeks who were their neighbours and enjoyed
a higher system of civilized life than themselves. Judas
Aristobulus, who ruled among the Jews in the year B.C.
106, was called Philhellen from his love of the Grecian
people, and in the time of Alexander Jannæus appear coins
with bilingual inscriptions, Hebrew and Greek, some of
which, preserved in the British Museum, bear traces of
Greek letters under the more recent Hebrew writing.
But we may hasten on to more conclusive evidence that
the Jews, whenever an opportunity occurred of asserting
their national independence, asserted also the nationality of
their language. Although coins struck in Greek or Latin
under the dominion of the Roman emperors were the circu-
lating medium in Judæa down to the reign of Nero, yet in
the four years from A.D. 66 to A.D. 70, when the revolted
Jews held possession of Jerusalem until it was taken by
Titus, Hebrew coins again appear, some with the inscription
Eleazar Hakkohen "Eleazar the High Priest," and others
inscribed Shenath Achath Ligullath Israel "First year of
the redemption of Israel."
Nor does the revolt of the Jews, in the reign of Trajan
under Simon Bar-cochab, furnish other evidence than what
has already been brought forward. The leader of the
rebellious Jews circulated Roman coins, with Hebrew in-
scriptions stamped over the original Latin, of which speci-
mens are still preserved, and others bearing the words in
Hebrew characters Lacheruth Jerusalem "The deliverance
of Jerusalem" connected with the name Simon, i.e. Simon
Barcochebas, to whom that momentary deliverance was
ascribed.
It would seem needless to prolong this argument; for the
evidence already produced seems to prove conclusively that
Hebrew and no other language was spoken and written not
only in the time of Christ, but also in the first half of the
second century after Christ, when Hadrian, taught by the
revolt of Barcochebas that half measures would never quell
the rebellious spirit of the Jews, built upon the ruins of
Jerusalem another city named Elia Capitolina, from which
all Jews were excluded, and where only Christians or Pagans
were allowed to dwell.
VI.] SHAPE OF THE LETTER YOD QUITE MODErn. 47
But the character, and not only the language, in which
these coins were struck, is also of much importance to our
present purpose. The difference between the form of
Hebrew letters found in these inscriptions and the square
letter which prevails in all the manuscripts now remain-
ing has caught the notice of all those who have taken any
interest in this subject. The Phoenician inscriptions, which
have been published and illustrated in the learned work of
Gesenius (Scripturæ Linguæque Phæniciæ monumenta, Lip-
siæ, 4to, 1837) confirms the opinion that the present square
letter of the Hebrew manuscripts has been introduced, per-
haps gradually, and brought to its present state of perfec-
tion at a much later period, in the same way as the set and
regular form of Greek and Latin letters has been developed
out of the straggling characters of a more early date.
There is however one letter in the Hebrew alphabet
which apparently has changed its shape since the books of
the New Testament were written. In the Gospel according
to St Matthew (v, 18) we read:
For verily I say unto you: Till heaven and earth pass, one jot
or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be ful-
filled.
Now the word here rendered jot is iota, the Greek name of
the letter i, which, as it is now written, is the smallest letter
in the alphabet; and the word rendered tittle is the Greek
keraia, which denotes the apex, point, or extremity of any
thing. Both these words are here used to denote the
smallest particle of a thing. But in the time of Christ, as
before, and for more than one hundred years later the letter
yod, of which iota is the Greek equivalent both in sound
and sense, was one of the largest letters of the Hebrew; it
consisted of three strokes instead of one, like the Greek
iota, and would not certainly have been selected by a
Hebrew in the first century, although it might have been by
a Greek writer nearly 200 years after Christ, to denote the
smallest particle of the law that was not to pass away, till
all things spoken by our Lord had been fulfilled.
I conclude this chapter by two extracts from the able
work on the Hebrew coins, which has been already quoted,
and from which much assistance has been derived to my
present subject, and which will show that the Jews still
adhered in more recent times, as they had formerly, when-
ever a favourable time allowed them, to their ancient
language.
48
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
In September, 1853, some Jewish catacombs were discovered
at Venusa, upon some of the niches of which some inscriptions in
Hebrew, Latin, and Greek are either roughly painted or scratched.
Twenty-four of the inscriptions as yet found are in Hebrew. The
Latin and Greek inscriptions are mis-spelt, but the Hebrew ones
are more correct. It has also been noticed that at Lavello there
were also found some Hebrew Inscriptions in the last century, and
other Hebrew catacombs were discovered in 1854 at Oria (p. 319).
The author of the same work speaks in a note of some
other Hebrew inscriptions, found at Rome, and thought by
M. de Vogüé, who has described them in the Revue Archéo-
logique for March 1864 (p. 200), to belong to A.D. 70, on the
ground that Hebrew ceased to be spoken after the capture
of Jerusalem by Titus. But, according to Mr. Madden,
This assumption is evidently of little weight, for it is certain
that the Hebrew language and alphabet were employed by the
Jews in sepulchral and other inscriptions from the earliest period
at which they are found through successive centuries downwards,
as evidenced by the inscriptions at Rome (assigned by M. de
Vogüé himself to the second century), the bowls from Babylon,
and the monuments from Aden.
CHAPTER VII.
HEBRAISMS FEW OR NONE IN THE NEW TESTAMENT-NO CON-
NECTION BETWEEN ITS WRITERS AND THE JEWS WHO REMAINED
IN JUDEA-ITS STYLE AND LANGUAGE CLOSELY COPIED FROM
THE SEPTUAGINT.
any
THE exclusive character of the religion and the polity of
the Jews resulted mainly from the circumscribed nature of
their country and the isolation in which they were placed.
Their language also partook of this isolation, and in fact
almost disappeared from their literature from the time when
the Greek kingdoms of Egypt and Syria interfered either
as allies or as enemies in the affairs of Palestine. If
other Hebrew works were ever written during the century
and a half which immediately precedes the Christian era, none
of them now remain ; nor is it certain that those works which
now are extant in the Arabic, Syriac, Coptic, and Ethiopic
dialects were ever represented by a Hebrew original,
although it has been a favourite object of some modern
theological critics to supply the place of missing Hebrew
documents by Syriac and other works, stated without
VII.] SYRIAN DOCUMENTS-HADRIAN-ELIA.
49
authority to have been probably translated from the He-
brew.
A volume of such writings has been edited by Drs Cure-
ton and Wright, and furnishes some curious information
respecting the times at which they were written, but they
supply nothing which enables us to connect them with the
older Hebrew literature, and the remarks which Dr West-
cott has made on the subject seem sufficiently appropriate to
sanction the following extract.
The Ancient Syrian Documents, edited by Dr Cureton and Dr
W. Wright (London, 1864), do not throw any new light upon the
Syrian canon. The writings themselves cannot maintain the
claim to Apostolic antiquity which has been set up for some of
them. In their present form they contain numerous anonymous
references to the substance of the Gospels.
The strange
(C
•
passage (p. 56) :-" One of the Doctors of the Church hath said:
The scars, indeed, of my body—that I may come to the resurrec-
tion from the dead:" appears to be derived from Gal. vi, 17;
Phil. iii, 11. Some Evangelic passages are given in what may
be a traditional form. Thus we read (p. 20) that the Lord said:
Accept not any thing from any man, and possess not any thing
in this world." (Cf. Matt. x, 7-10.) A general review is
given of the writings of the Apostles, with the exception of St
Paul.
The omission of St Paul is made the more remark-
able by the fact that in the distribution of the various countries
among the Apostles no land is assigned to St Paul, (Rome, Spain,
and Britain, are given to St Peter,) though he is afterwards men-
tioned casually in the same paragraph (p. 35). WESTCOTT, Canon
of the N. T. 3rd edition, Lond. 1870, p. 223.
The partial destruction of Jerusalem by the arms of the
Roman Titus occurred early enough after the Crucifixion
to remind the followers of our Lord that the abomination of
desolation spoken of by Daniel the Prophet had really stood
in the Holy Place, and that it was now the time to verify
their faith in the words of their Master by fleeing to the
mountains and taking such other modes of escape as chance
or opportunity might offer. But the desolation which the
arms of Titus brought upon the Holy City, was not final.
A Jewish community was still found in Jerusalem-for the
city still sheltered a large number of inhabitants sixty years
later, and it was only the persistence in rebellion, for which
they were so famous, that brought on them, from the ven-
geance of Hadrian, a still more severe extermination than
from his predecessor Titus. But the city then received the
Roman name of Ælia, and its church probably was rather
VOL. II.
5
50
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORrds.
C
of the Latin than the Greek character. The desolation to
which the Holy Land had for many years been subject,
rendered it difficult to find inhabitants for Hadrian's new
city, and the plan of forming there a Roman colony was the
result, as it had been the usual practice in such cases.
Latin coins still remain struck in the reign of Commodus
bearing the inscription COL. EL. CAP. COMM. P. F. and
the Latin language was no doubt spoken and well under-
stood there, as it was even at Constantinople in the reign of
Constantine the Great, until the Greek resumed its natural
influence and became, with great tendency to corruption,
again the prevalent dialect of the Eastern Empire. Among
these changes the Jews retained much of their national
character, and the opinion that there was from the first a
Jewish element of Christianity kept up at Jerusalem, some-
what distinct from that which St Paul preached in Asia
Minor, derives strong confirmation not only from what we
read in the Acts of the Apostles, and from the accounts of
the Apostle James found in Eusebius and Josephus, but
also from the fact that fifteen bishops, all circumcised Jews,
are said to have presided over the church of Jerusalem down
to the reign of Hadrian. Thus the Hebrew tongue still
continued in the same isolated position which it had occu-
pied from the times of remote antiquity, and no evidence
whatever can be adduced to connect the books of the New
Testament in any way with either Hebrew writers or with
the Hebrew tongue. They are entirely of Greek origin,
and as such contain few Hebraisms either of idiom or of
single words.
It has however been customary to quote certain words as
used in a sense somewhat different from their original mean-
ing, and pointing to a Hebrew origin. A few instances of
such words will show the nature of the case. It is said that
the words debts and debtors used in the Lord's Prayer and
elsewhere can only by Hebrew usage be understood as
synonymous with sin and sinners; bride was used to de-
note a daughter in law; tongue denotes a nation; lip repre-
sents speech; to drink a cup to the dregs means to go through
suffering to the end; the word bowels stands for the feeling
of compassion; and many other examples are given of the
same kind, as occurring in numerous passages throughout
the whole of the New Testament. But those who compare
these books with the Septuagint translation of the Hebrew
Bible must acknowledge that the language of the Gospels,
Acts, Epistles, and Revelations finds the most exact counter-
VII.] STYLE OF SEPTUAGINT COPIED IN gospels.
51
part in the older volume. It has always been allowed by
scholars that the quotations from the Old Testament which
occur in the New, are taken almost verbatim in every case
from the Septuagint translation, and the labours of Mr
Grinfield, the result of which is set forth in his Hellenistic
edition of the Greek Testament (4 vols Lon. 1843), have
made it clear that not only the quotations but almost every
phrase and every idiom found in the later volume has its
counterpart, as if written by the same hand and dictated by
the same thought, in the Greek volume of the Septuagint.
Neither is there the slightest indication in the various books
of the New Testament, that its writers were aware of there
being any Hebrew Bible at all. We read in the Gospel
the words of our Lord "Search the Scriptures," but every
word which He quoted from the Scriptures is found in the
Greek Septuagint, and the only marks of there being any
Hebrew language in existence are those which have already
been given in our previous volume (p. 342). In all those
places the writer uses language which shows that his readers
were unacquainted with Hebrew, and indeed the way in
which the various writers spell the Hebrew words which
they quote shows that they used each his own system of
Greek equivalents, and that the language from which they
quoted was only beginning to decline rather than that it had
been superseded by the Greek in which they wrote. That
the expression Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani, quoted in the
Gospel according to St Matthew, and rendered in our ver-
sion My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me,'
may be considered as identical with the Hebrew original in
the Twenty-second Psalm, cannot be impugned by the
various modes of spelling, Eloi &c. seen in the Gospel
according to St Mark, as indicating a different dialect; for
the recent collation of the three most ancient MSS, given in
page 16 of this volume, shows that in two of these MSS the
Sinaitic and the Vatican texts of St Matthew agree with
St Mark in reading Eloi, instead of Eli, whilst all the three
MSS, in the Gospel of St Mark, differ from one another in
the mode of spelling, and one of them spells the last of the
words with z instead of s, thereby refuting the theory of
those who regard z as indicative of the pure Hebrew and s
of a Syro-Chaldaic origin.
6
That the style of the New Testament is wholly modelled
on that of the Septuagint has not escaped the notice of those
who have devoted their attention exclusively to the subject,
but the inference that the books of one canon were addressed
52
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
to Greeks including of course Jews who had become Greeks
since the subversion of the Jewish state, and were written
by Greek authors, has either not suggested itself to the
minds of those students, or at all events has not been
expressed in the works which they have written on the sub-
ject. On the contrary, instead of bringing the copy to the
level of the Septuagint its prototype, they have endeavoured
to raise the prototype to the level occupied by its copy;
and some of them have not hesitated to ascribe to this Greek
version that inspiration which few critics in modern times.
are willing to allow even to its Hebrew original. Thus the
author of the Apology for the Septuagint (p. 80) writes:
The version of the Seventy is not to be regarded merely as the
first and most important of all versions of the Old Testament,
whether ancient or modern; but as constituting a great historical
fact or epoch in the plan of the Christian dispensation.
And the author of New Testament Quotations, before
mentioned, copies these words, and adds:
It was made in the wonderful providence of God, in order to
prepare the way for the calling of the Gentiles. The whole New
Testament is founded on it; most, if not all, of the doctrinal terms
of the Gospel are derived from it; and, had not such a translation
been published and received a proper time before our Saviour's
advent, the composition of the New Testament would, humanly
speaking, have been impossible. An idea of the vast extent to
which Septuagintal phraseology is employed in the New Testa-
ment may be gained from the immense mass of citations, allu-
sions, and parallels of thought and expression-"thousands and
tens of thousands of incidental resemblances "-collected in the
learned and most valuable works of the Rev. E. W. Grinfield.
From these passages, combined with the arguments pre-
viously adduced and others hereafter to be brought forward,
it is my opinion that the New Testament was compiled out
of documents, after the total dispersal of the Jews in the
reign of Hadrian, at a time when Hebrew no longer desig-
nated a nation, when the dialect of those who lived dispersed
in the different countries of the Roman empire was cor-
rupted by mixing with the speech of the countries where
they dwelt, and the Targums or paraphrases furnished
greater facilities than the original text for understanding
the ancient Scriptures, to exiles, who living among Greeks,
adopted for the business of their daily lives the language of
those among whom they sojourned.
viii.]
53
LATINISMS.
CHAPTER VIII.
LATINISMS IN THE NEW TESTAMENT.
WE have seen in the last chapter that a strong argument
against the contemporary character of the New Testament
is derived from the fact that the writings which pass under
that name have come down to us in Greek-a language not
spoken by its supposed writers, if those writers were Jews,
the disciples of our Lord, who were the only contemporaries
able from their knowledge of the events to record His his-
tory. A similar argument may be derived from the various
Latin words which are found in all the books of the New
Testament. It is well known that at the time of Christ's
birth the nation of the Jews was still to a certain extent in-
dependent.
The Gospel history informs us that Herod the Great, in
whose reign Christ is said to have been born, was succeeded
on the throne by his son Archelaus. This king reigned
only a few years, when he was deposed for mal-administra-
tion, and his dominions reduced to the form of a Roman pro-
vince. The Crucifixion of Jesus Christ took place about
twenty years after the abolition of the Jewish monarchy,
and it may be admitted that numerous officials speaking the
Latin language would be found residing not only in Judæa
but throughout all Asia, and discharging various duties
belonging to the offices which they held under the Roman
governor. We fail to see in the narratives of the New Tes-
tament any signs of amalgamation between the two peoples.
On the contrary the nationality of the Jews was never more
rampant than during the last fifty years of its existence,
before it was on the point of perishing for ever.
It is un-
likely that a nation so stubborn should have prided itself
less in its ancient language than in the various institutions,
some of them trivial enough, which, as we see in our books,
met with all the care and attention of which they were
capable. If it is improbable that the Jews adopted the
Greek as their vernacular language, according to an absurd
theory which some professing to be critics have maintained,
it is still less probable that their writers should have been
very studious of the Latin, which was the language of their
conquerors, or that they would have interspersed their
writings with so many Latinisms both of single words and
of complete sentences. A catalogue of many such Latin
•
54
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
+
LATIN.
GREEK.
Assarium
Assarion,
Census
Kensos,
Centurio
Kenturion,
words will no doubt interest the reader, and, as it illustrates
the present argument, it is here subjoined with the Greek
words, which correspond to the Latin, showing the closest
likeness and almost an identity with one another.
REFERENCE.
Matthew, x, 29: Luke, xii, 6.
Matthew, xvii, 25.
Mark, xiv, 39, 44, 45.
Charta
Chartes,
II John, 12.
Colonia
Kolonia,
Acts, xvi, 12.
Crypta
Krupte,
Luke, xi, 33.
Custodia
Kustodia,
Denarius
Denarion,
Euroaquilo Eurukulon,
Acts, xxvii, 14.
Exitus
Exodos,
Matthew, xxvii, 65.
Matthew, xxii, 19.
Luke, ix, 31; II Peter, i, 15.
.
Flagellans
Fragellosas,
Matthew, xxvi, 26.
Flagellum
Fraggêlion
John, ii, 15.
Forum
Foron,
Acts, xxviii, 15.
Grabatus
Krabbatos,
Mark, ii, 4.
Legio
Legeon,
Mark, v, 19.
Libertinus
Libertinoi,
Acts, vi, 9.
Linteum
Lention,
John, xiii, 4.
Litra
Litra,
Macellum
Makellon,
Membrana
Membrana,
Miliare
Milion,
Modius
Modios,
Pænulum
Phailonen,
Prætorium
Praitorion,
Quadrantes Kodrantes,
Rheda
Rheda,
Satum
Saton,
John, xii, 3.
I Cor. x, 25.
11 Tim. iv, 13.
Matthew, v, 41.
Matthew, v, 15.
II Tim. iv, 13.
Matthew, xxvii, 27.
Mark, xii, 42.
Apoc. xviii, 13.
Matthew, xiii, 33.
Semicinctium Semikinthion,
Acts, xix, 12.
Sicarius
Sikarios,
Acts, xxi, 38.
Spiculator
Spekoulator, Mark, vi, 27.
Sudarium
Soudarion,
Luke, xix, 20.
Taberna
Taberne,
Acts, xxviii, 15.
Titulus
Titlos,
John, xix, 19, 20.
Almost all these words are found in Latin authors, and
manifestly took their origin among the Latins: few of them
occur in any other Greek books than the New Testament,
where however they abound,-in perfect conformity with
the theory that the Latin language was well known in the
*
VIII.]
THEORY OF A LATIN ORIGINAL.
55
second century, and furnished numerous words and phrases
which would enter largely into the writings of the tributary
nations, among whom it penetrated.
But a more startling theory was suggested by the author
of Palæoromaica, a man whose learning was of the highest
order, even if the result of his labours is less convincing.
According to the suggestion thrown out in his erudite and
modest work, our existing New Testament betrays marks of
having been translated from a Latin original, and that too
in many passages by an ignorant translator, who in render-
ing certain passages has suffered his ear to mislead him by
a similarity of sound suggesting meanings wholly different
from those which the original Latin words would convey.
This, he remarks, would account for many expressions,
either barbarous and of unknown etymology, or else tending
to draw away the understanding of the reader to alien and
often erroneous interpretations. A few examples of his line
of argument will suffice as a mark of respect to a work
which cannot be altogether ignored, although the judgment
of the world has not hitherto been influenced by a theory so
improbable and unexpected.
1. In the First Epistle of St Peter, v, 5, we meet with
the words τὴν ταπεινοφροσύνην ἐγκομβώσασθε, the last of which
occurs in no other Greek book now existing. Our autho-
rized version renders this, "Be clothed with humility:" but
the writer of Palæoromaica thinks that the barbarous word
éynoμßwσaσbe is no other than the Latin word incumbite, and
that the Latin text from which it was taken, was in humili-
tatem incumbite, "Be earnest for humility."
2. A second example is given from Mark, xii, 4, where
the English text wounded him in the head' is represented
in Greek by the single word inɛpanaśwσav, which is derived
from the noun kefale 'head,' and might be rendered in
English by the corresponding preterite tense headed,'—not
'beheaded,' for it is added that they sent him away shame-
fully handled.' But the Greek word occurs in no other
book, and the suggestion is that it was brought to the mind
of the Greek translator by some kind of rhyming likeness—
very slight at all events in this case-to the Latin word
expulerunt they cast him out.'
6
3. A much stronger example in support of the theory of a
translation from the Latin is furnished by the words nardou
pistikes in the account which is given in the Gospel of the
anointing of our Lord. I shall quote the criticism on this
in the words of its author.
56
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
In Mark, xiv, 3, we are told that the woman who anointed
Our Lord brought a box vápdoυ πIOτns, which in the same
passage of the Vulgate is rightly given Nardi spicati [spicatæ].
This word pistikes is quite unknown; and many critics, who
had not the slightest notion that the Gospels were composed in
Latin, (or at least that our present Greek text is a version from
that language,) have yet been of opinion that pistikes is a mere
corruption from the Latin. "Critics (says Dr Campbell) have
been divided about the exact import of this term. Some have
thought that it has arisen from the Latin name Nardus spicatus,
the latter part of which denoting the species of the plant has by
some accident been corrupted into pistikes." This accident, of a
conversion of Latin words into Greek ones, is very common in
our Greek Vulgate, and has happened once more to this very word
in John, xii, 3, where the phrase Nardou pistikes again occurs.
The [Latin] Vulgate, which in Mark, xiv, 3, rightly reads Nardi
spicati, is in John, xii, 3, Nardi pistici.
This latter word is
still more barbarous and unmeaning than pistikes is in Greek.
Nothing seems to be more probable than that the Nardi
pistici [John, xii, 3] of the Latin Vulgate is merely a transcript of
the Nardou pistikes of the Greek, and that this latter was derived
from the Nardi spicatæ of a more ancient exemplar. Palæoro-
maica, p. 191.
6
•
4. In Mark xii, 38, we read 'Beware of the Scribes,' and
this in the Greek text is Blepete apo ton grammateon, which
may be literally rendered, 'Look ye from the Scribes,' more
fully 'Look ye to it,' i.e. See that ye get no evil from the
Scribes.' Here our critic thinks that the Latin original
was Devitate, that the prefix de was rendered by the Greek
apo, and that vitate, mistaken for videte, gave rise to the
Greek BAETETE which now appears in the verse we are con-
sidering.
To save the reader's time and yet to give a fair illustra-
tion of the theory which the author of this learned work
(p. 229) propounds, I subjoin a list of Greek words, written
as before in Italic letters, with the corresponding Latin
words from which he supposes them to have been bungled.
Akmen, in Matthew, xv, 16, from acumen.
Di hemeran, in Mark, ii, 1, from demorari.
Ektromati, in 1 Cor. xv, 8, from extremitate.
Enotisasthe, in Acts, ii, 14, from annotate.
Exoutheneo, in 1 Thessal. v, 20, from extenuo.
Epainos, in Rom. ii, 29, from penis.
Epifosco, in Luke, xxiii, 54, from offusco.
Efie, in Mark, i, 34, and xi, 16, from sivit.
VIII.]
57
LATIN ORIGIN NOT TENABLE.
Hairetizo, in Matthew, xii, 18, from arrideo.
Haploteti, in II Cor. ix, 13, from amplitudine.
Hodegeo, in Rev. vii, 17, from adduco.
Klesis, in 1 Cor. vii, 20, from classis.
Koinon, in Heb. x, 29, from cœnum.
Koite, in Heb. xiii, 4, from coitus.
I
Loidorian, in 1 Peter, iii, 9, from ludibrium.
Metanoian, in Heb. vi, 1, from mutationem.
Meteorizo, in Luke, xii, 29, from metuor.
Parektos, in II Cor. xi, 20, from peractus.
Perpereuomai, in 1 Cor. xiii, 4, from perperam.
Pterugion, in Matt. iv, 5, and Luke, iv, 9, from porticum.
It can scarcely be expected that the reader will from
these examples hastily accede to the suggestion that the
books of the New Testament were originally written in
Latin-ignoring in fact the difficulties which lie in the way
of this inference from the distance between Rome and the
country of Palestine to which the first elements of Chris-
tianity must be traced. But the abundance of Latin words
and phrases found in the Gospels and other books indicate,
not obscurely, the influence which the Latin language in
the second century of our era exercised over the Oriental
and even over the Hellenic race. This influence was felt
more in the new communities and colonies which the Romans
had founded or conquered in Asia and Africa, than in
Greece itself. The schools of Athens and other Grecian
cities had maintained their independence and literary fame
for many centuries: their language surpassed that of the
Romans beneath whom they had bent, even in the estimation
of the Romans themselves, and we do not find that their idiom
or their phraseology was corrupted by the mixture of Latin
except where technical and official terms were required to
express things which had no counterpart in their own social
or political systems. Latinisms do not abound in the
writings of Plutarch and others who lived and wrote in the
second century of our era. But in the Asiatic provinces
of the Roman empire, where men of so many and dissimilar
tongues came together and where the Romans would see the
necessity of supporting their authority by every means
which prudence could suggest, there would naturally be a
strong body of Latin or Roman officials, mixed no doubt
with Greeks, and also a military force, capable of checking
those sudden outbreaks of revolution within or attacks from
without, to which Eastern peoples have in all ages of the
world been liable. These remarks apply to Antioch still

58
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
more than to Alexandria; for in Egypt the Roman power
surrounded by deserts was less likely to be disturbed by
foreign invasion, but Antioch lay on the high road to the
East, and more than once in its history suffered from the
contests for empire which took place between Rome and the
great Asiatic monarchies. If, as we know to have happened,
the Apostles and other Jews, besides foreigners perhaps who
had learnt Christianity at Jerusalem, at a very early period
of our era introduced the new religion into the Greek metro-
polis of Syria, and made it the centre from which the mis-
sions of St Paul and others radiated among the various
tribes and nations of Asia Minor, it is not unreasonable to
suppose that Christian writings might emanate from such
a centre and that the phraseology might embody many
words and expressions taken from the language of the ruling
dynasty intermixed with the Greek which was spoken uni-
versally among the upper classes of the people.
In support of our assertion might be cited the inscription
placed over the cross on which our Lord was crucified.
That there were many Grecian soldiers, merchants, and
others, for whom their language might be necessary to
understanding the accusation for which Jesus was crucified,
may without difficulty be conceded, even if we assert that
the native Hebrew was amply sufficient for the mass of the
population. But the addition of Latin to the inscription
would hardly have been needful, unless that language also
had gained such a footing in the East that it was thought
proper to supply those who spoke it with the same informa-
tion about the great events which had lately taken place.
Notwithstanding however that this fact coincides with
probability to establish the assertion that Latin was well
known at all the centres of government throughout the
Roman empire, a remarkable and most improbable state-
ment has been put forward by the learned Cambridge Pro-
fessor of Divinity, which would imply that, whilst the Latin
tongue had reached to every country of the known world, it
had ceased almost to exist at Rome, like a stream which
by over-expansiveness has been dried up at its source. The
important bearing which this view if true would have upon
ancient history, demands that the passage be extracted in
full.
At first [says Dr Westcott] it seems natural to look to Italy as
the centre of the Latin literature of Christianity, and the original
source of that Latin Version of the Holy Scriptures which in a
later form has become identified with the Church of Rome. Yet
VIII.] FIRST CHRISTIANS ALL GREEKS.
59
however plausible such a belief may be, it finds no support in his-
tory. Rome itself under the emperors was well described as a
'Greek city;' and Greek was its second language.*
As far as
we can learn, the mass of the poorer population-to which the
great bulk of the early Christians everywhere belonged-was
Greek either in descent or in speech. Among the names of the
fifteen bishops of Rome up to the close of the second century, four
only are Latin,† though in the next century the proportion is
nearly reversed. When St Paul wrote to the Roman Church he
wrote in Greek; and in the long list of salutations to its members
with which the epistle is concluded, only four genuine Latin
names occur. Shortly afterwards Clement wrote to the Corinthians
in Greek in the name of the Church of Rome; and at a later date
we find the bishop of Corinth writing in Greek to Soter the ninth
in succession from Clement. Justin, Hermas, and according to
the common opinion Tatian, ‡ published their Greek treatises at
Rome. The Apologies to the Roman emperors were in Greek.
Modestus, Caius, and Asterius Urbanus, bear Latin names, and
yet their writings were Greek. Even further west Greek was the
common language of Christians. The churches of Vienne and
Lyons used it in writing the history of their persecutions; and
Irenæus, though he lived among the Gauls,' and confessed that
he had grown unfamiliar with his native idiom, made it the vehicle
of his Treatise against Heresies. § WESTCOTT, Canon, &c., p. 224.
In describing Rome as a Greek city at the time of the
Christian era, it would have been as well if Dr Westcott
had given some authority from ancient authors for so bold
an assertion. The names and works of Virgil, Horace,
Ovid, Livy, Juvenal, Tacitus, Pliny, and many more, rise
up in condemnation of such an assertion. The early Chris-
tians everywhere belonged to the lowest classes, and eleven
out of those fifteen obscure persons, who have been dignified
with the name of Roman bishops, may have been Greeks,
for the Christian religion, as it is presented to us, has its
root in the Greek tongue, and was propagated by Greek
missionaries. None of the early Christian writers were
Jews; none were Latins. Ignatius, Hermas, Polycarp,
Justin Martyr, Irenæus, Origen, and almost every minor
writer quoted in our numerous ecclesiastical catalogues,
were Greeks by country, by birth, or by native tongue, and
* Cf. Wiseman, 1, p. 366 f. Bunsen's Hippolytus, 11, 123, S 99.
† Bunsen, l. c. says "two, Clement and Victor: " but probably Sixtus
(Xystus, Euseb. H. E. IV, 4; cf. vII, 5) and certainly Pius should be in-
cluded in the number.
Otto, Prolegg. xxxv. Lumper, Hist. Patrum, 11, p. 321.
§ Contra Hær. 1, Pref. 3.
60
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
all their writings have come down to us in no other language
than the Greek. The churches of Vienne and Lyons may
have written the short tract which Dr Westcott calls the
history of their persecutions, because it was a document
destined to be sent to Eastern countries, nor is it remark-
able that Irenæus a Greek should become a bishop in Gaul;
but it would be remarkable if Greek were in such general
use in Gaul, as is stated in the extract which has been
cited, and yet that Irenæus should complain that, owing to
his having lived so long among the Gauls, he had become
unfamiliar with his native tongue. I cannot resist the
belief that the first missionaries of Christianity were
actuated by the same motives which still influence those
who preach the Gospel among the heathen. "The labourer
is worthy of his hire," says our Lord, and already in the
Gospel history, his discourses tend to show that his followers
were to draw their subsistence from the heathen to whom
they preached. The Greek race has always been remark-
able for the readiness with which they throw themselves
into any foreign enterprise. The early Christians, Greeks
for the greater part, would find a rich harvest of converts in
those barbarous regions to which they are said to have car-
ried the Gospel, and they would be endowed with abundant
reward from the ignorant natives among whom they settled.
In the sixth century Sanctus Ægidius migrated from
Athens to the same country as Irenæus four centuries
before, and was so largely endowed that Raymond Count of
Toulouse and his descendants were satisfied to bear the
equivalent title of Raymond Count of St Giles.
CHAPTER IX.
CHRISTIANITY NOT MENTIONED BY JOSEPHUS OR PHILO-NOTICE
OF THE OTHER HEBREW WRITINGS-TARGUMS-MISHNA AND
GEMARA-TALMUD.
THE seventh year after the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ is
remarkable for the birth of Josephus, who is often spoken
of by historians as the learned and warlike Jew. A short
sketch of his life has been given in the first volume of this
work; and nothing more needs to be said on the eventful
character of his career. About the same time, whilst
Josephus was still a boy, flourished Philo Judæus, a philo-
sopher of Alexandria, half Jew half Greek, and author of
Ix.]
61
PHILO-JOSEPHUS.
numerous writings still extant, mostly treatises on the
Jewish law, and imbued with the spirit of the Platonic
philosophy, which for nearly two centuries had flourished in
the Egyptian capital. The history of Philo has little con-
nection with our present subject. He was probably be-
tween 20 and 30 years old when Christ was crucified, and
he went on a public embassy to Rome in the reign of
Claudius Cæsar, but was refused admittance into the
Emperor's presence. He has left upwards of thirty treatises
on various subjects connected with the Bible, and it is clear
that he looked upon the books of Moses as allegories and
not as real histories. The chief of his works, indeed, were
written to prove this, and it is reasonable to believe that he
wished, like Josephus, to smooth away the miracles con-
tained in those books, and so to commend them the more
successfully to the enlightened judgment of the Greeks.
That two voluminous writers, whose collected works fill
several volumes, should have lived so near the time of the
Christian history, one of them being actually contemporary
with Christ, and probably about the same age, is a fact
fraught with much interest to our subject, as likely to fur-
nish some test by which the accuracy of the sacred narra-
tive might be tried. Great therefore is our disappointment
at finding nothing in the works of Philo about the Chris-
tians, their doctrines or their sacred books. About the
books indeed we need not expect any notice in these works,
but about the Christians and their doctrines his silence is
the more remarkable, seeing that he was about sixty years
old at the time of the Crucifixion, and living mostly in
Alexandria, so closely connected, as we are told, with
Judæa and the Jews, could hardly have failed to know
something of the wonderful events that had taken place in
the city of Jerusalem, unless, as is probable, the explanation
of this lies in the comparative obscurity which enveloped
the first years of the Christian era, but which ecclesiastical
writers have never been ready to admit.
The works of Josephus furnish three extracts which re-
quire to be more carefully noticed, as they have in all ages
of the Christian era been the subject of discussion among
the learned, and even in the present day are supported by a
few who are unwilling to give up the testimony which they
are thought to furnish in favour of the early history of our
religion.
About this time was Jesus, a wise man, if at least it be right
to call him a man: for he was the doer of wonderful works, a
62
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
3
teacher of men who receive with pleasure the things which are
true, and he gained over to himself many Jews and many of
the Grecian [race]. He was the Christ [ò XplorOS OUTOS v]. And
when Pilate, on the information of the first men among us, had
punished him on the cross, those who loved him from the first did
not cease to love him. For he appeared to them again the third
day alive; the divine prophets having spoken both these and
numberless other wonders about him. The tribe of Christians, so
named from him, have not ceased to exist until the present time.
JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, XVIII, iii, 3.
Those who are best acquainted with the character of
Josephus and the style of his writings, have no hesitation
in condemning this passage as a forgery interpolated in the
text during the third century by some pious Christian, who
was scandalized that so famous a writer as Josephus should
have taken no notice of the Gospels or of Christ their sub-
ject. But the zeal of the interpolator has outrun his dis-
cretion, for we could scarcely hope to find this notice of
Christ among the Judaizing writings of Josephus. It is
well known that this author was a zealous Jew, devoted to
the laws of Moses and to the traditions of his countrymen.
How then could he have written that Jesus was the Christ?
Such an admission would have proved him to be a Christian
himself, in which case the passage under consideration, too
long for a Jew, would have been far too short for a believer
in the new religion, and thus the passage stands forth con-
trasting inharmoniously with everything around it. If it
had been genuine, we might be sure that Justin Martyr,
Tertullian, and Chrysostom would have quoted it in their
controversies with the Jews, and that Origen or Photius
would have mentioned it. But Eusebius, in his Eccle-
siastical History, i, 11, is the first who quotes it, and our
reliance on the judgment or even the honesty of this writer
is not so great as to allow of our considering everything
found in his works as undoubtedly genuine.
But the writer, who first placed this narrative in the text
of Josephus, like all interpolators, did not see that its con-
cluding sentence destroys its authenticity altogether. The
sect of Christians, he says, was still in existence when he
wrote. There can be no doubt of that fact. They abounded
still in Jerusalem and at Rome, where they were regarded
somewhat as a sect of the Jews. But not many years after
the death of Josephus they were found in almost every part
of the Roman empire, so that his cool assertion that the sect
still existed about the year 60 A.D. must be taken as wholly
Ix.]
63
NOTICE OF CHRIST IN JOSEPHUS.
inapplicable to the age in which Josephus wrote, and can-
not possibly have formed part of his work. Nor is it with-
out weight that a writer so ambitious of obtaining honour
among the Greeks and Romans, would have hesitated to
speak with such pointed and pithy commendation of a sect
which was almost universally despised, and which gained its
ultimate position in the world solely by its rapid growth-
so wholly irreconcilable with the sublime indifference with
which he despatches his notice of the sect to whose founder
he nevertheless has ascribed miraculous deeds and the power
of having risen from the dead.
Besides this extract there is another short notice of
Christ, which, in the words of Paley, is " allowed by many,
though not without considerable question being moved
about it." The main point of the narrative is very brief;
but it is best to give the context from the beginning of the
chapter.
Cæsar sends Albinus as eparch [governor] into Judæa, when he
learnt that Festus was dead. But the emperor took away the
high-priesthood from Joseph, and gave to the son of Ananus,
who was also called Ananus, the succession to the office. The
elder Ananus is said to have been a most lucky man: for he had
five sons, and it happened that they all were God's high-priests,
whilst himself also had before enjoyed that dignity for a very long
time, which never was the case with any other of our high-priests.
But the younger Ananus, whom we just named as having been
appointed to the high-priesthood, was of a very bold and enter-
prising character: he followed the sect of the Sadducees, who are
severe in their judgments beyond all the other Jews, as we have
already shown. Ananus, then, being such a man as I have
described, thinking that he had met with a fitting opportunity,
seeing that Festus was dead, and Albinus was still on his journey,
appoints a sanhedrim [meeting]
of judges, and bringing before
it [the brother of Jesus who is
called Christ, named James]
and some others, accused them
of having broken the law, and
gave them over to be stoned.-
JOSEPHUS, Antiquities, xx, ix, 1.
καθίζει συνέδριον κριτῶν, καὶ παρα-
γάγων εἰς αὐτὸ [τὸν ἀδελφὸν Ἰησοῦ
τοῦ λεγομένου Χριστοῦ, Ιάκωβος
ὄνομα αὐτῷ] καί τινας ἑτέρους, ὡς
παρανομησάντων κατηγορίαν ποιησά-
μενος, παρέδωκε λευσθησομένους.
The words enclosed in brackets, the brother of Jesus, &c.,
are probably an interpolation* in the text, introduced, like
* Mr Hartwell Horne, in his "Introduction &c." says of this passage,
"the authenticity of which has NEVER been disputed or suspected," which
64
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the preceding, by some dishonest copyist in order to set
aside the unfavourable consequences deduced from the
silence of Josephus. Many reasons may be given for look-
ing upon the words in question as an interpolation. I shall,
however, be content, at present, to rest the case upon
internal evidence; reserving until a future chapter the
consideration of the relationship between Christ and James
—for there is a remarkable obscurity on this point, in all
the texts of the New Testament, where it is noticed. The
internal evidence of the words before us is against their
authenticity. For if the longer passage quoted from
Josephus be rejected as spurious, the few words now before
us are incomplete: they clearly refer to a more full account
of Jesus which had preceded. If, however, we admit the
former extract as genuine, the latter is inconsistent with it;
for, in the former, Jesus is called the Christ,' as if well
known and equivalent to the Messiah': but in the latter
he is simply called Christ,' a name having no spiritual
signification, and importing nothing more than an ordinary
surname. It is extremely improbable that Josephus would
use the term the Christ, without further explaining its sig-
nification; it is equally improbable that he would have used
the surname Christ,† without showing that it originally had
a spiritual derivation: but it is doubly improbable that he
would have used both expressions, for the same individual,
without stating that it indicated the Messiah whose coming
the Jewish people were daily expecting. It would be very
possible, also, to raise a question about the name Christ
itself, if such inquiries were the main subject of this work;
for its etymology though evident, does not denote its origin.
Suetonius and Lucian have Xpnotos CHRESTUS good, which
is a different word from XpOTOS CHRISTUS anointed, the
Greek term for MESSIAH, the Hebrew name by which the
expected prophet of the Jews was pointed out. These in-
quiries would be interesting, but must not detain us from
our purpose, which is,―not to examine the evidences on
which the history of Christianity is founded, but to ascertain
at what stage of its progress this history was written. The
authenticity of the passages quoted from Josephus does but
slightly affect this question. If it be admitted that his
is hardly consistent with Paley's remark, quoted in a former note, "not
without considerable question being moved about it."
†The theory of Dr Middleton about the Greek article cannot be allowed
as applicable to a subject which required such a clear specification of
meaning.
Ix.]
65
JOSEPHUS NAMES THE BAPTIST.
notice of Christ is genuine, it is certain that we find
nowhere in his works any mention of the Christian books.
In contrast with this notice of Christ is another passage
found in Josephus respecting John the Baptist, about which
I am not aware that any suspicion of spuriousness has ever
been entertained.
It seemed to some of the Jews that Herod's army was destroyed
by God, thus taking deserved vengeance for the death of John
surnamed the Baptist. For Herod slew him, though he was a
good man and exhorted the Jews to cherish virtue, and whilst
practising uprightness towards one another, and piety towards
God, to have recourse to baptism: for that their baptism would
be acceptable to him, not if they made use of it for the setting
aside of their sins, but for purity of body, that is if the soul also
had been previously purified by righteousness. And when the
rest of the people gathered themselves together for they were
excited to a great degree by hearing his words-Herod, fearing
his great power of persuading men, lest it might lead to a revolt
-for they seemed likely to do every thing by his counsel-deemed
it much better, before any new thing should proceed from him, to
seize him and put him to death, than, after some change had been
wrought, to repent when he had fallen into trouble. And so he
[John], on account of Herod's suspicion, was sent in bonds to the
before-mentioned castle of Macharus, and there put to death.*
But the Jews thought that Herod's army was destroyed in
vengeance for his death arising from God's anger being kindled
against Herod.-JOSEPHUS, Antiqq. XVIII, v, 2.
Here would have been a good opportunity for the writer
to allude to the connection between John the Baptist and
Christ-if, at least, he was acquainted with the life and
mission of both those teachers. But a good reason is sup-
plied by Josephus himself, in the memoir of his own life,
why he should have been acquainted with the teaching of
John the Baptist, but not with that of Christ. For, in his
search after truth, Josephus joined for a time the sect of the
Essenes, to which John the Baptist, from the remarkable
similarity of their doctrines, seems to have belonged, and so
had an opportunity of learning the nature of their teaching:
whilst on the other hand, as he afterwards left them and
* It is almost needless to point out-were it not that readers in general
do not pay much attention to the minute details of what they read-that
the Gospel account of John's imprisonment can hardly be reconciled with
the account here given from Josephus.
6
VOL. II.
66
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
joined the Pharisees, the enemies of Christ, it is not likely
that he ever knew of the Christian doctrines, or, certainly,
that he would mention Christ as the Messiah that was to
come.
The paragraphs here quoted are the only ones in the
works of Josephus which bear upon the history found in the
four Gospels, and the silence of Josephus leads to the
inference that Christianity had not begun to attract the
notice of the world during his life; that is, prior to about
the 90th year of the Christian era.
But besides the rather voluminous works of Philo and
Josephus, there are other writings which have come down
to us, it is said, from a very early age of Christianity.
These pass under the names of Targums, Mishna, Gemara,
and Talmud. The Targums have already been named in
the first volume of this work, as furnishing no evidence to
the date when the book of the Old Testament was compiled.
They are indeed free translations or paraphrases of the
Hebrew Scriptures into the more modern dialect which
began to be spoken not after the Babylonish but after the
Roman captivity, later than the time of Christ. But
neither does any one of the Targums allude in the slightest
degree to the Christian books, to the Christian religion, or
to its founder, although the earliest of these is reasonably
thought to have been written 150 years after the Crucifixion.
They no doubt owe their existence to the pious labours of
the Jews who took refuge and founded a national school at
Babylon, or who even remained at Jerusalem amid all the
vicissitudes which befell their country and its capital during
the first two centuries since the birth of Christ. Nor is
this out of harmony with the equally established fact that
there was even from the first a rival school of Hellenistic
or Græcizing Jews both at Alexandria and at Antioch, and
traces of their rivalry are found even in the New Testament
itself, as far at least as Antioch is concerned, for whilst the
capital of Syria is often named as the centre of Christian
missions and other doings, Alexandria is named only as the
native country of certain foreigners whose business lay more
in the path of commerce than of religion.
The Mishna is a work of a very different kind from the
foregoing. It contains the civil and canonical law of the
Jews, as compiled in the second century of our era; and
may be considered to represent the traditions and practices
of the Pharisees in the time of our Saviour. Modern com-
mentators have made much use of it to illustrate and
•
Ix.]
MISHNA-GEMARA-TALMUD.
67
explain the narratives and allusions of the New Testament.*
It has been pretended by the Jews that the traditions con-
tained in the Mishna were given to Moses on the Mount,
and handed down through Aaron and the prophets to the
time of Rabbi Judah who died about the year A.D. 139, but
it is not needful to show the weak basis upon which such a
tradition rests.
The Mishna is not the only work dating from the earliest
half of the Christian era, and containing Jewish customs,
opinions, and traditions. There are two commentaries on
its text, called Gemara, one of which was compiled at Jeru-
salem, of unknown date, perhaps soon after the Mishna, but
certainly before the fifth century, and the other at Babylon
compiled a hundred or more years later, and full of fables.
When the text found in the Mishna and the commentary of
the Gemara accompany one another, the whole work is
called the Talmud, distinguished further as the Babylonian
or the Jerusalem Talmud according as the Mishna or text
is accompanied by the particular Gemara or commentary
which had its origin in either of those Eastern cities. The
extent of these relics of a decaying people is somewhat
alarming to those who propose to study them. The Mishna
alone occupies six folio volumes, the Gemara twelve, and
the two editions of the Talmud, wherein both the former are
combined, extend each to several folio volumes, and conse-
quently present great difficulties in the way of the general
student. Neither of these works has the slightest allusion
to our present subject the origin and authorship of the
Christian Scriptures, although the Mishna has one of its
chapters headed De cultu peregrino, “Of foreign worship."
The omission is thought by Dr Paley to prove nothing, for,
says he, "It cannot be disputed but that Christianity was
perfectly well known to the world at this time." This must
depend upon the date at which the Mishna was written. If
before the appearance of the Christian books, we cannot
expect a mention of those books in the pages of the Mishna:
if after the Gospels were published to the world, we should
expect that a volume of so high a character which has
attracted the admiration of the world would not have
escaped notice by the editor of the work now under consi-
deration. Strange however beyond measure, and highly
suggestive to the thoughtful, where no data exist on which
* The German commentator Koppe, in his edition of the New Testa-
ment, gave an abridgment of all former writers on this subject.
$
68
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
to build conclusions, are the parallels between maxims found
in the Talmud and those which occur in our Gospels. The
reader is referred to the Literary Remains of Emmanuel
Deutsch for further information on the subject, and he will
no doubt be surprised at the note with which the learned
author concludes his article on this obscure but interesting
subject.
With regard to the striking paral' ls exhibited by them [the
sentences quoted in the text] to some of the most sublime dicta of
the Gospels, we disclaim any intention of having purposely selected
them. It is utterly impossible to read a page of the Talmud and
of the New Testament without coming upon innumerable instances
of this kind, as indeed they constantly seem to supplement each
other. We need not urge the priority of the Talmud to the New
Testament, although the former was redacted at a later period.
To assume that the Talmud has borrowed from the New Testa-
ment* would be like assuming that Sanskrit sprang from Latin,
or that French was developed from the Norman words found in
English.-DEUTSCH, Lit. Remains, p. 54.
CHAPTER X.
TESTIMONY OF THE EARLY GREEK AND LATIN WRITERS, SUETONIUS,
TACITUS, PLINY THE YOUNGER, SENECA, EPICTETUS, MARCUS
AURELIUS, LUCIAN-STORY OF PEREGRINUS-LETTER OF HA-
DRIAN CHARACTER OF THE EGYPTIANS IN THE SECOND CEN-
TURY.
FROM Josephus and Philo, who are the only Jewish writers
contemporary with Christ and his Apostles, we turn to the
Gentiles, by which name are meant the Grecian and Roman
authors who lived during the first two centuries of the
Christian era. We have seen that perhaps not even the
existence of the Christian faith, much less that of its written
records, was known to either of the two only literary Jews
of that period. But the case of the classical writers of
Greece and Rome is different: these were certainly aware
that there was a sect of men calling themselves Christians,
but they were ignorant that the Christians had any religious
books among them. To extract from all the classical
* The reader who is unwilling to believe that the writers of the Gospels
have copied from the Talmud, are at liberty to suppose that the maxims
found in both were copied from the "Sayings of the Lord," which certainly
must have been earlier than either the Gospels or the Talmud.
x.]
69
SUETONIUS.
writers, who lived between A.D. 30 and A.D. 200, would be
the most satisfactory mode of making the reader acquainted
with the history of our religion as far as the Greeks and
Romans are concerned, after the termination of the apostolic
age: but, for our present purpose and with one exception,
such a minute examination of these writers is superfluous.
For though the remains of Grecian and Latin profane
literature, which belong to the first and second centuries of
our era, are enough to form a library of themselves, they
contain no allusion to the New Testament, and consequently
the testimony which they render is of little moment to the
question concerning that book, though it fully proves that
the Christians were very numerous even at that early
period.
But we may not dismiss these authors altogether without
consideration: for a negative testimony may be derived,
even from those descriptions which are adduced from them
to prove the early existence and rapid spread of the Christian
religion.
The Latin writers, who lived between the time of Christ's
crucifixion and the year A.D. 200, are Seneca, Lucan, Sue-
tonius, Tacitus, Persius, Juvenal, Martial, Pliny the Elder,
Silius Italicus, Statius, Quintilian, and Pliny the Younger,
besides numerous others of inferior note.
The greater
number of these make mention of the Jews but not of the
Christians. In fact, Suetonius, Tacitus, and the younger
Pliny appear to be the only Roman writers who mention
the Christian religion or its founder. Their testimony is
decided as to the great increase of Christianity at the end of
the first century.
Suetonius, speaking of the transactions of Nero's reign,
says:
Affecti suppliciis Christiani
genus hominum superstitionis
novæ et maleficæ.-Nero, 16.
The Christians, a set of men
of a new and mischievous su-
perstition, were visited with
punishment.
These words seem to imply that the Christians were
punished as magicians-an opinion confirmed by several
passages in authors of the early ages. Suidas, a much
later writer, tells us that one of the Christian martyrs cried
out in his dungeon, “You have loaded me with fetters as if
I were a profane man and a sorcerer!" Pliny the Elder
also (xxx, 1) seems to consider the Jews, wholly or in part,
magicians.
70
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
In the lives of Tiberius and Domitian by Suetonius occur
the extracts which here follow:-
Externas
gyptios Judaicosque ritus com-
pescuit, coactis qui supersti-
tione ea tenebantur, religiosas
vestes cum instrumento omni
comburere. Judæorum juven-
tutem per speciem sacramenti
in provincias gravioris cœli dis-
tribuit: reliquos ejusdem gen-
tis, vel similia sectantes, urbe
submovit sub poena perpetuæ
servitutis nisi obtemperassent.
-Tib. 36.
ceremonias Æ-
Præter cæteros Judaicus fiscus
acerbissime actus est: ad quem
deferebantur, qui vel improfessi
Judaicam viverent vitam, vel
dissimulata origine imposita
genti tributa non pependissent.
-Dom. 12.
He[Tiberius] checked foreign
ceremonies Egyptian and Jew-
ish rites, compelling those who
were held by that superstition
to burn their religious vest-
ments with all their gear. The
Jewish youth he dispersed
under the appearance of mili-
tary service in provinces where
the climate was severest: others
of the same nation or who held
the same observances he re-
moved from the city under pain
of being made slaves for life if
they disobeyed.
The tax on the Jews was
rigorously exacted beyond the
others: it included those who
in their lives resembled the
Jews though not professedly,
or who dissembling their na-
tionality had not paid the tri-
bute imposed on their nation.
In these passages it is suggested, seemingly on good
grounds, that by similia sectantes and improfessi Judaicam
vitam are meant the Christians, who were always confounded
with the Jews by the profane writers, from inability to see
the subtle differences which existed between them.
In another passage, also, the same author briefly alludes
to Christ—at least it would appear so; though the ideas of
the writer are very confused, and his knowledge of the sub-
ject very scanty. He seems to have supposed that Christ,
or Chrest as we read in the Latin manuscripts of his work,
had placed himself at the head of a seditious movement, not
in Jerusalem, but in Rome.
Judæos impulsore Chresto
assidue tumultuantes Roma ex-
pulit. Claud. 25.
He expelled from Rome the
Jews who were continually
making disturbances at the in-
stigation of Chrestus.
That Christ is here meant, it is most obvious to con-
jecture, but it would not be right to conceal the fact that
Chrestus was the name of a Roman citizen at that time, as
x.]
71
JUVENAL-TACITUS.
•
will appear from two of the most indecent epigrams that
ever were penned (vii, 55; and ix, 27) by the poet Martial.
The poets Lucan and Juvenal mention the Jews but not
the Christians. The latter indeed, in Sat. i, 155, alludes to
the manner in which certain victims were tied to a stake and
burnt to death, but there is nothing to indicate who those
victims were.
The other poets of this age, Statius, Silius Italicus, and
Persius, do not name the Christians at all, and Quintilian
(III, vii, 21) speaking of the "author of the Jewish super-
stition," evidently speaks of Moses, and not, as some have
thought, of Christ.
The next writer is Tacitus, who was contemporary with
Suetonius: they both wrote about the year 100. The ac-
count which Tacitus gives of the Christians is as follows:
Ergo abolendo rumori Nero
subdidit reos, et quæsitissimis
pœnis affecit, quos, per flagitia
invisos, vulgus CHRISTIANOS ap-
pellabat. Auctor nominis ejus
Christus, Tiberio imperitante,
per procuratorem Pontium Pi-
latum supplicio affectus erat.
Repressaque in præsens exitia-
bilis superstitio rursus erumpe-
bat, non modo per Judæam,
originem ejus mali, sed per
urbem etiam, quo cuncta un-
dique atrocia aut pudenda con-
fluunt celebranturque. Igitur
primo correpti, qui fatebantur,
deinde indicio eorum, multitudo
ingens, haud perinde in crimine
incendii, quam odio humani
generis, convicti sunt. Et
pereuntibus addita ludibria, ut
ferarum tergis contecti laniatu
canum interirent, aut crucibus
adfixi, aut flammandi, atque,
ubi defecisset dies, in usum
Nero, therefore, to put an end
to the report, laid the blame,
and inflicted the most exqui-
site punishments, upon those,
whom, being hated for their
crimes, the vulgar called Chris-
tians. The author of that name
was Christ, who, in the reign
of Tiberius, had been punished
by Pontius Pilate the pro-
curator. This deadly supersti-
tion, having been checked for
the present, broke out again,
not only throughout Judæa,
the origin of that evil, but also
throughout the city [of Rome]
whither all atrocious and
shameful things flow together
from all quarters and are put
in practice. Those, therefore,
who confessed, were first seized,
and then, by their information,
a great multitude were con-
victed, not so much on the
charge of arson, as for hatred
of mankind. Their deaths
also were aggravated by insult;
for they were wrapped in the
skins of wild beasts, and torn
to pieces by dogs, or else were
crucified, or destined to be
burnt, and so, when the day
72
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
nocturni luminis urerentur.
Hortos suos ei spectaculo Nero
obtulerat, et circense ludicrum
edebat, habitu auriga permix-
tus plebi vel curriculo insistens.
Unde quanquam adversus
sontes et novissima exempla
meritos, miseratio oriebatur,
tanquam non utilitate publica,
sed in sævitiam unius, absume-
rentur.-Ann. xv, 44.
was over, they served as a light
to enlighten the night. Nero
had offered his gardens for that
spectacle, and exhibited the
circensian games, mingling
with the people in the dress of
a charioteer, or standing in a
chariot. Wherefore, though
they were guilty, and had de-
served the worst punishments,
yet pity was felt towards them,
as if they were put to death,
not for the public good, but to
gratify the cruelty of one man.
The most important testimony, however, concerning the
early Christians is that of Pliny the Younger, who was
some years younger than Tacitus and Suetonius. He was
proconsul of Pontus and Bithynia, and found the number of
Christians in those provinces increase so rapidly, that he was
puzzled how to act towards them, and consulted the em-
peror Trajan on the subject. The letters which passed
between them have been preserved.
CAIUS PLINIUS TRAJANO IM-
PERATORI Salutem. Solemne
est mihi, domine, omnia, de
quibus dubito, ad te referre.
Quis enim potest melius vel
cunctationem meam regere, vel
ignorantiam instruere? Cog-
nitionibus de Christianis inter-
fui nunquam : ideo nescio, quid
et quatenus aut puniri soleat,
aut quæri. Nec mediocriter
hæsitavi, sitne aliquod discri-
men ætatum an quamlibet
teneri nihil a robustioribus dif-
ferant ;
deturne pœnitentiæ
venia, an ei, qui omnino Chris-
tianus fuit, desîsse non prosit;
C. PLINY TO THE EMPEROR
TRAJAN, HEALTH.—It is custom-
ary with me to refer to you, my
lord, all matters about which I
entertain a doubt. For who is
better able either to rule my
hesitation or to instruct my
ignorance? I have never been
present at the inquiries about
the Christians: and therefore
cannot say for what crime or to
what extent they are usually
punished, or what is the nature
of the inquiry about them.
Nor have I been free from
great doubts whether there
should not be a distinction be-
tween ages, or how far those
of a tender frame should be
treated differently from the
robust: whether those who
repent should not be pardoned,
so that one who has been a
Christian, should not derive
advantage from having ceased
x.]
PLINY THE YOUNGER.
73
nomen ipsum, etiamsi flagitiis
careat, an flagitia cohærentia
nomini, puniantur.
Interim
in iis, qui ad me tanquam
Christiani deferebantur, hunc
sum sequutus modum. Interro-
gavi ipsos, an essent Christiani:
confitentes iterum ac tertio in-
terrogavi, supplicium minatus:
perseverantes duci jussi. Neque
enim dubitabam, qualecunque
esset, quod faterentur, pervi-
caciam certe, et inflexibilem
obstinationem debere puniri.
Fuerunt alii similis amentiæ :
quos, quia cives Romani erant,
adnotavi in urbem remittendos.
Mox ipso tractatu, ut fieri
solet, diffundente se crimine,
plures species inciderunt. Pro-
positus est libellus sine auctore,
multorum nomina continens,
qui negarent se esse Chris-
tianos, aut fuisse, quum, præ-
eunte me, deos appellarent, et
imagini tuæ, quam propter hoc
jusseram cum simulacris numi-
num adferri, thure ac vino
supplicarent, præterea maledi-
cerent Christo: quorum nihil
cogi posse dicuntur, qui sunt
revera Christiani. Ergo di-
mittendos putavi. Alii ab
indice nominati, esse se Chris-
to be one: whether the name
itself, of being a Christian,
should
should be punished, or only
attendant upon the
crimes
name.
:
In the mean time, I have laid
down this rule in dealing with
those who were brought before
me for being Christians. I
asked whether they were Chris-
tians if they confessed, I
asked them a second and a
third time, threatening them
with punishment: if they per-
severed, I ordered them to be
led off. For I had no doubt in
my mind, that whatever it
might be which they acknow-
ledged, obduracy and inflexible
obstinacy at all events should
be punished. There were others
guilty of like folly, whom I set
aside to be sent to Rome, be-
cause they were Roman citi-
zens.
In the next place, when
this crime began, as usual,
gradually to spread, it showed
itself in a variety of ways. An
indictment was set forth with-
out any author, containing the
names of many, who denied
that they were Christians or
ever had been; and, when I set
the example, they called on the
gods, and made offerings of
frankincense and wine to your
image, which I, for this pur-
pose, had ordered to be brought
out together with the images of
the gods; moreover they cursed
Christ: none of which acts can
be extorted from those who
are really Christians. I conse-
quently gave orders that they
should be discharged. Again :
others, who had been informed
against, said that they were
Christians, and afterwards de-
•
74
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
tianos dixerunt, et mox ne-
gaverunt fuisse quidem, sed
desîsse; quidam ante trien-
nium, quidam ante plures
annos, non nemo etiam ante
viginti quoque. Omnes et
imaginem tuam, deorumque
simulacra venerati sunt: ii et
Christo maledixerunt. Ad-
firmabant autem, hanc fuisse
summam vel culpæ suæ, vel
erroris, quod essent soliti stato
die ante lucem convenire:
carmenque Christo, quasi Deo,
dicere secum invicem: seque
sacramento non in scelus ali-
quod obstringere, sed ne furta,
ne latrocinia, ne adulteria com-
mitterent, ne fidem fallerent,
ne depositum appellati abne-
garent: quibus peractis morem
sibi discedendi fuisse, rursus-
que coeundi ad capiendum
cibum, promiscuum tamen, et
innoxium: quod ipsum facere
desîsse post edictum meum,
quo secundum mandata tua he-
tærias esse vetueram. Quo
magis necessarium credidi, ex
duabus ancillis, quæ ministræ
dicebantur, quid esset veri, et
per tormenta quærere. Sed
nihil aliud inveni, quam super-
stitionem pravam et immodi-
cam, ideoque, dilata cognitione,
ad consulendum te decurri.
Visa est enim mihi res digna
consultatione, maxime propter
nied it: that they had been so
once but had ceased to be so;
some three years ago, some
longer than that, and some
even twenty years before: all
of them worshipped your
image and the statues of the
gods; they also cursed Christ.
But they asserted that this was
the sum total of their crime or
error, whichever it may be
called, that they were used to
come together on a stated day
before it was light, and to sing
in turn, among themselves, a
hymn to Christ, as to a god,
and to bind themselves by an
oath, not to any thing wicked,
but that they would not com-
mit theft, robbery or adultery,
nor break their word, nor deny
that any thing had been en-
trusted to them when called
upon to restore it. After this
they said that it was their cus-
tom to separate, and again to
meet together to take their
meals, which were of a common
and of a harmless nature: but
that they had ceased even to do
this since the proclamation
which I issued according to
your commands, forbidding
such meetings to be held.
therefore deemed it the more
necessary to inquire of two
servant-maids, who were said
to be attendants [deaconesses?]
what was the real truth, and to
apply the torture. But I found
that it was nothing but a bad
and excessive superstition, and
I consequently adjourned the
inquiry, and consulted you
upon the subject. For it
seemed to me to be a matter on
which it was desirable to take
advice, in consequence of the
I
x.]
75
PLINY THE YOUNGER.
*
periclitantium numerum. Multi
enim omnis ætatis, omnis or-
dinis, utriusque sexus etiam,
vocantur in periculum, et vo-
cabuntur. Neque enim civi-
tates tantum, sed vicos etiam
atque agros superstitionis istius
contagio pervagata est: quæ
videtur sisti et corrigi posse.
Certe satis constat, prope iam
desolata templa coepisse cele-
brari, et sacra solemnia diu in-
termissa repeti, passimque ve-
nire victimas, quarum adhuc
rarissimus emtor inveniebatur.
Ex quo facile est opinari, quæ
turba hominum emendari pos-
sit, si fiat pœnitentiæ locus.-
PLIN. Ep. 97.
TRAJANUS PLINIO SALUTEM.
Actum quem debuisti, mi Se-
cunde, in excutiendis caussis
eorum, qui Christiani ad te de-
lati fuerant, sequutus es. Neque
enim in universum aliquid,
quod quasi certam formam ha-
beat, constitui potest.
Con-
quirendinon sunt: si deferantur
et arguantur, puniendi sunt :
ita tamen, ut, qui negaverit se
Christianum esse, idque re ipsa
manifestum fecerit, id est, sup-
plicando diis nostris, quamvis
suspectus in præteritum fuerit,
veniam ex pœnitentia impetret.
Sine auctore vero propositi
libelli, nullo crimine locum ha-
number of those who are in
danger. For there are many
of every age, of every rank, and
even of both sexes, who are in-
vited to incur the danger, and
will still be invited. For the
infection of this superstition
has spread through, not only
cities, but also villages and the
country; though it seems pos-
sible to check and remedy it.
At all events it is evident that
the temples, which had been
almost deserted, have begun to
be frequented, and the sacred
solemnities which had been
intermitted are revived, and
victims are sold everywhere,
though formerly it was difficult
to find a buyer. It is therefore
easy to believe, what a number
of persons may be corrected, if
the door of repentance be left
open.
TRAJAN TO PLINY, HEALTH.-
You have acted very properly,
my Secundus, in inquiring into
the case of those, who were
brought before you for being
Christians. For it is impos-
sible to lay down any universal
rule bearing a set form. The
Christians are not to be sought
out: but if they are brought
up and convicted, they must be
punished: yet in such a way
that, if any one denies he is a
Christian, and proves what he
says by some deed, such as
making offerings to our deities,
though he may be open to sus-
picion about the past, yet he
should be pardoned in conse-
quence of his repentance. But
indictments put forth anony-
mously cannot be admitted in
the case of any crime. For
76
CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
.
bere debent. Nam et pessimi
exempli, nec nostri seculi est.-
PLIN. Ep. 98.
this would be a most dangerous
precedent, and wholly incom-
patible with the age in which
we live.
The philosopher Seneca lived in the latter half of the first
century after Christ. His writings, which are tolerably
numerous, do not allude to the Christians: though, from
more than one passage we may gather that he was
acquainted with the Jewish nation. In his 95th epistle,
§ 47, we read,
Accendere aliquem lucernam
sabbathis prohibeamus: quo-
niam nec lumine dii egent, et
ne homines quidem delectantur
fuligine.
Let us forbid a man from
lighting a candle on the sab-
bath day; for the gods do
not want a light, and neither
do men take pleasure in smoke.
In Epistle 108, § 22, we read as follows:
In Tiberii Cæsaris principa-
tum juventæ tempus inciderat:
alienigena tum sacra moveban-
tur: sed inter argumenta su-
perstitionis ponebatur quorun-
dam animalium abstinentia.
My youth was cast in the
reign of Tiberius Cæsar: foreign
religious rites were at that time
much talked of: among their
different kinds of superstition
was abstinence from the flesh
of certain animals.
In this extract Seneca may be thought to allude to both
Jewish and Christian ceremonies, especially by what he
says of abstaining from the flesh of certain animals. And
it has also been thought that Seneca was personally ac-
quainted with St Paul; for they both lived at the same
time; and we learn from the Acts of the Apostles that Paul
dwelt two whole years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God,
and teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus
Christ, no man forbidding him. The possibility of such an
acquaintance between the philosopher and the preacher led
to the fabrication of thirteen letters, said to have passed
between them: but these letters, which are still extant,*
are too dull to have been written by St Paul and Seneca, and
have been justly set aside as neither authentic nor valuable.
The foregoing extracts furnish all the evidence which can
be gained from the Latin writers on the subject of Chris-
* They are found in Codex Apocryphus Novi Testamenti, 2 vols 8vo,
Lond. apud D. Nutt, 1852.
1
x.]
77
EPICTETUS-M. AURELIUS.
tianity down to the latter half of the second century of our
era.
The Greek classic writers, who lived between the time of
Christ's crucifixion and the year 200, are those which fol-
low; Epictetus, Plutarch, Ælian, Arrian, Galen, Lucian, Dio-
nysius of Halicarnassus, Ptolemy, Marcus Aurelius, (who
though a Roman emperor wrote in Greek,) Pausanias, and
many others of less note. The allusions to Christianity
found in most of their works are singularly short, and lead
to the belief that the religion was still confined to the poor,
of whom, we have our Lord's assurance, the kingdom of
Heaven was mostly to consist. Yet we must bestow a few
remarks upon the Greek authors whose names have been
enumerated; for they throw a certain light over the early
progress of Christianity, and one of them, I believe, fur-
nishes valuable information towards discovering the time,
the place, and the writers, to whom the volume of the New
Testament is mostly due.
Epictetus, the Stoic philosopher, speaks of the Christians
under the name of Galilæans, and ascribes to them an intre-
pidity of character which he sets down as madness.
Is it possible that a man may arrive at this temper, and be-
come indifferent to these things from madness or from habit as
THE GALILEANS?
Fifty years later than Epictetus lived Marcus Aurelius,
the well-known emperor, who, amid the cares of royalty,
found time to indulge in the delights of learning. In his
philosophic treatise Concerning himself, we find the follow-
ing words, not very complimentary to the Christians, but
clearly indicating their existence and the position they
occupied in the reign of the younger Antonine.
Such is that soul which, if it must be separated from the body,
is at once ready, either indeed to be extinguished, or be dissipated
or remain whole: but so that this readiness must come from one's
own judgment, not by mere determination [v napáτaživ] as
the Christians, but after having deliberated, and with dignity,
and so as also to persuade another man, but not in a tragic man-
(xi, 3.)
ner.
But the most remarkable notices of the Christians occur
in the works of Lucian of Samosata, the author of numerous
dialogues and discourses, still extant, and written in a style
not unworthy of the best age of Grecian literature. The
character of their author has been unjustly assailed by
78
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
modern bigots, who have ascribed to him a violent hatred
against the Christians. This charge is wholly unsupported
by the notices of Christianity that occur in his writings.
He certainly speaks of the Christians in a slighting and
perhaps disdainful manner, but that is no more than we
should expect.
Tacitus, Suetonius, and other ancient
writers did the same. The doctrines of the early Christians
were neither understood nor even known by the Greeks and
Romans generally, whilst their opposition to all the esta-
blished institutions and their denunciation of all the pre-
vailing worship and of all the deities then held in honour,
was thought to savour not only of intolerance, which the
Romans so much disapproved, but of a rebellious and revo-
lutionary spirit which the magistrates were determined to
repress.
It is not to be wondered that the writers of those days,
giving no credit to any of the existing forms of worship, but
maintaining all alike as means of securing public tranquil-
lity, should have treated with contempt a new religion
which sought to subvert all the others, whilst its adherents
belonged mostly to the lowest classes of society, and were
thought to be introducing a communistic system tending to
revolutionize and bring to a level every class of society.
Lucian therefore speaks of them with contempt but not with
hatred, and as far as we know of him, although aware of
their existence, yet he never sought to make himself ac-
quainted with their doctrines or social habits. It is true
that we
we know very little of his life; no more indeed than
what he says of himself in the seventy-six dialogues of which
he appears as the author.
He was born at Samosata, a city lying on the western
bank of the Euphrates in Commagene a district of Syria,
which at one time was a separate kingdom and at another
formed part of the Roman empire. The date of Lucian's
birth cannot be fixed with accuracy, but it was probably in
the reign of Hadrian, about the year A. D. 120, which date
is in tolerable harmony with all the notices he gives of him-
self in various parts of his works. He followed the profes-
sion of rhetoric until he was forty years old, and during
the early part of his life travelled about a good deal in
Ionia. As a rhetorician he practised at Antioch, as we are
informed by Suidas, and it is this fact, from which we infer
that he was well acquainted with that city, its inhabitants
and its literature, that makes his testimony so important on
the subject of early Christianity, seeing that the disciples are

x.]
79
LUCIAN.
said in the Acts of the Apostles to have been called Chris-
tians first in Antioch,
After Lucian had given up rhetoric, he probably re-
turned to his native country, and no doubt had by that time
acquired the knowledge of the Greek tongue which enabled
him to write in so elegant a style those works which have
come down to our own times. His account of the life of
Peregrinus furnishes some interesting particulars about that
impostor's connection with the Christians, and it is not the
least interesting fact in the life of Lucian that he was pre-
sent, about the year A. D. 165, at the Olympic games, when
that notorious man sought by burning himself to obtain the
fame which he had not been able thoroughly to secure by
any other means.
The first extract from Lucian applicable to our present
subject is taken from his Philopatris. The dialogue here
lies between Triephon and Critias: the former says to his
friend,
Why so downcast, Critias? &c.
CRITIAS. O Triephon, I have been hearing a great and inex-
plicable discourse, involved in many ways, and I am still thinking
of the nonsense, and I am stopping my ears, lest perchance I
hear it still.
TRIEPHON. I see that you are revolving [in your mind] a sub-
ject which is neither trifling nor easily to be made light of; but
certainly one of those which cannot be talked about.
But
get rid of the trouble, and discharge the trash, lest you suffer
from it..
•
TRIEPHON. Let us go, Critias. I fear lest what you have heard
is witchcraft.
•
CRITIAS. I swear by the heavenly Jupiter, this shall not be
used towards you.
TRIEPHON. You frighten me still more, now that you swear by
Jupiter for how will he be able to defend
you, if you break your
:
oath? I am sure you know all about this Jupiter of yours.
CRITIAS. Then we should perhaps swear by Apollo..
Triephon objects to Apollo also, and in succession to
Mercury, Mars, Venus, and Minerva. Here they turn off
from the subject, and speak of the Gorgon's head, which
Perseus cut off and fixed on the shield of Minerva.
By the Unknown God at Athens, [says Critias] she was a
virgin until her head was cut off.
80
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CRITIAS. What think you then of Juno, the wife and sister
of Jupiter?
TRIEPHON. Speak not of her for her most abominable adultery
-her who was suspended by her feet and hands from heaven.
CRITIAS. And by whom shall I swear?
TRIEPHON. The god who rules aloft, great, immortal, heavenly,
Son of the Father, Spirit proceeding from the Father: One out
of Three, and Three out of One: These consider as Jove; look on
him as God.
CRITIAS. You are teaching me arithmetic; and the oath is
arithmetical. You are arithmeticizing, like Nicomachus the
Gerasenian. For I know not what you say, one-three, and three-
Do you allude to the tetrad of Pythagoras, or the ogdoad,
one.
or the triakad?
TRIEPHON. Say nothing of those earthly matters, that should
be for ever buried in silence: we have not now to follow the
traces of spiders. I will teach you all, and who was the earliest
of all, and what is the system of the universe. For I was once
what you are now: but when the Galilæan [St Paul] lighted
upon me, that bald-headed, long-nosed man, who trod the air into
the third heaven, and became acquainted with such beautiful
things, and renewed us with water, he guided me into the foot-
steps of the blessed, and rescued us from the wicked places, and
I will make you also a man in reality, if you will only listen
to me.
CRITIAS. Tell me then, most learned Triephon, for I am quite
alarmed.
TRIEPHON. You have read the poems of Aristophanes the
dramatist, [called] the "Birds"?
CRITIAS. Certainly.
TRIEPHON. Something of this kind was written by him,
"There was at first Chaos, and Night and black Erebus, and wide
Tartarus: but earth, nor air, nor heaven existed.”
CRITIAS. You say well: what was there then?
TRIEPHON. There was light imperishable, invisible, incompre-
hensible, which dispels the darkness and which did away with
this [chaotic] deformity, by the word alone spoken by him, as he
who was slow of tongue has left it in writing. He fixed the earth
on the waters, spread out the heaven, formed the fixed stars, and
arranged their course; which stars you worship as gods. He
adorned the earth with flowers, and brought mankind into being
out of things which were not. And he is now in heaven looking
on the just and the unjust, and writes in a book their deeds, and
will recompense all men on the day which he has appointed.
CRITIAS. And what has been spun by the Fates for all men, do
they write that also?
Say no more about the Fates even though you may have been
x.]
81
LUCIAN-ALEXANder.
taken up with your
teries.
master and been taught the ineffable mys-
But tell me: Do they write down the deeds of the Scythians also
in heaven?
TRIEPHON. All, if at least there be a Chrestos [good man]
among the nations.
CRITIAS. From what you say, there are many scribes in heaven
to write out all this.
TRIEPHON. Speak respectfully; say nothing in ridicule of the
good God, but becoming a catechumen, be persuaded by me if
you wish to live for ever.
Your gods have become a
mere game to all sensible men.
CRITIAS. I will take your god then-no harm shall happen to
you.
TRIEPHON. Come then tell me about that wonderful thing.
CRITIAS. By the son [proceeding] from the father, that shall
not happen to you.
Critias now relates to his friend what he had heard from
the assembly at which he had been present, and which un-
doubtedly was an assembly of Christians as held in those
early times.
•
Say no more, says Triephon, do not prolong such trash
Leave these people alone, beginning with the prayer from the
Father and adding at the end the song of many names.
Concerning the dialogue from which these extracts are
taken, it is but right to say that some modern critics have
doubted whether it is a genuine work of Lucian. It was
the opinion of Gesner that a later Lucian wrote it in the
time of Julian, when the apostasy of that emperor made it
less dangerous than at any preceding time to turn into
ridicule the practices and tenets of a new religion, that
was rapidly taking possession of the great majority of man-
kind.
A second extract is from the dialogue entitled Alexander,
wherein the author treats with just severity the character
and adventures of a magician bearing that name. He
makes the pretender say to his deluded followers:
Pontus was full of atheists and Christians, who tried to spread
the basest calumnies about him; and he bade his followers stone
them, if they wished to have the favour of God.—Alex. 35.
A third extract from the "Death of Peregrinus," gives
us all that can be gained out of the works of Lucian on our
present subject. The author relates the previous history
VOL. II.
7
82
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
}
and crimes of this talented but wicked man, how he killed
his father and was saved by flight from the punishment due
to his misdeeds.
Consigning himself to exile, he took to flight, and wandered
about from one country to another. At this time it was that he
learnt the wonderful philosophy of the Chrestians, having kept
company with their priests and scribes* in Palestine. And what
was the end of it? In a short time he showed them to be mere
children, for he became a prophet, a leader of their processions,
the marshaller of their meetings, and every thing in himself
alone.
Και τῶν βίβλων τὰς μὲν ἐξηγεῖτο
καὶ διεσάφει πολλὰς δὲ αὐτὸς και
συνέγραψε, καὶ ὡς θεὸν αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνοι
ἡγοῦντο, καὶ νομοθέτῃ ἐχρῶντο, καὶ
προστάτην ἐπέγραφον.
And of their books he ex-
plained and cleared up some,
and wrote many himself: and
they deemed him a god, made
use of him as a legislator, and
enrolled him as their patron.
They still worship that great man who was crucified in Pales-
tine, because he introduced this new worship into life. For this,
then, Proteus was seized and thrown into prison, which circum-
stance also gave him no little importance from that moment, both
in the working of wonders, and in thirst for popularity, of which
he was very fond. When he was put in prison, the Christians,
looking upon it as a misfortune, moved every thing in their
endeavours to rescue him. But when this was impossible, every
other kind of attention was shown to him, not leisurely but with
all their zeal. At early dawn might be seen waiting about the
prison old women, certain widows, and orphan children. But those
of them who were in authority, also, corrupting the guards, slept in
the prison with him. Then elegant suppers were carried in for
him, and they held there their sacred conversations, and the good
Peregrinus (for he was still so called) was named by them a new
Socrates. Moreover there came to him persons from some of the
cities of Asia, sent by the Christians, out of their common stock
to assist him, to join in advising him, and to comfort the man.
But it is wonderful what alacrity they show, whenever such a
thing happens, in the common cause. For in a very short time
they are lavish of every thing they have: and Peregrinus, on the
plea of his imprisonment, then received so many things from them,
that he made no small revenue from this source. For those un-
lucky people have brought themselves to the belief, that they
shall be wholly immortal, and live for ever; for which reason also
the most part of them despise life, and willingly give themselves
up.
In the next place, their first lawgiver has persuaded them
that they are all brethren one of another, when, having once
* Lucian here perhaps confounds the Christians with the Jews.
..
1
x.]
83
LUCIAN-PEREGRINUS.
transgressed the law, they have denied the gods of the Greeks,
and worship that sophist of theirs who was crucified, and live
according to his laws. They therefore despise all things alike,
and look upon all things as common, having received such doc-
trines without any very exact belief. If then any man, who is a
magician, or good artist, and knows how to manage matters, goes
among them, he immediately becomes rich in a short time, and
laughs at those foolish people.
The governor of Syria, being a man who took pleasure in phi-
losophy, treated Peregrinus with mildness; for perceiving his
madness, and that he would even die to leave behind him a repu-
tation on that account, he set him free, not thinking him worthy
of punishment. But he, returning to his own country, found the
ferment about his father's murder still alive, and many persons
ready to accuse him. The greatest part of his possessions had
been plundered through his absence, and nothing remained but the
land, to the value of fifteen talents: for the whole of the property,
which the old man left, was in value about thirty talents, not five
thousand, as the ridiculous Theagenes stated. For this is a sum
which all the city of the Parianians, with five other neighbouring
cities, including their men and cattle, and all their goods, would
not fetch. But the accusation and the charge against him was still
hot, and it was probable that before long some one would stand
forward against him. The people at large were most excited
against him, from sorrow that a good old man, according to those
who had seen him, should have been so impiously murdered.
But only see the contrivance which this cunning Proteus adopted
to meet all this, and how he escaped the danger. His hair was
now long, and he had on a rough cloak: a staff was in his hand,
and he had altogether a very tragic appearance. In this guise,
then, he went before the people, and said that he would give up
to them as public property, all that his good father had left him.
The people, being mostly poor men, and eager to receive distri-
butions, no sooner heard this than they shouted out he was a phi-
losopher and a patriot, equal to Diogenes and Crates: but his
enemies held their peace. If any one attempted to recall to mind
the murder he had committed, he was immediately stoned.
16. Peregrinus then went out a second time on his wanderings,
having plenty of provision for his journeys from the Christians,
by whom he was escorted as if by guards, and had every thing in
great plenty and in this way he supported himself for some
time. But afterwards he gave some offence to them also,—he
was seen, I believe, eating some of the meats which are forbidden
among them—and being at a loss what to do when they no longer
visited him, he thought it best to recant, &c.
:
The writer of the dialogues from which these passages
are taken lived till the end of the second century; and
A
84
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
1
Peregrinus the subject of the last extract lived some years
earlier. He threw himself into the fire at the Olympic
games in the year A.D. 165, and Lucian tells us that he
witnessed this remarkable deed. Peregrinus must then
have joined the Christians some years previously, and in all
probability, the books of the New Testament were, about
the year 150, being compiled out of documents and tradi-
tions, which had come down from the time of the first dis-
ciples. It might be dangerous, and yet possible, to suppose
that some of our canonical scriptures were included among
the writings which are here indicated as owing their origin
to the Christians at Antioch, although we have some reason
to doubt that any of them were among the "many" which
Peregrinus wrote himself. The expressions used by Lucian
give us the idea of a process of writing books as being then
practised, perhaps on an extensive scale. We know from
other sources that the second century was most productive
in Gospels, Acts of apostles, Epistles, and Revelations.
large number of such works still remain, as appears by the
catalogue of seventy given in a former chapter, and some of
them, for aught we know, may have been written by Pere-
grinus, during the time that he frequented the Christian
meetings, and made himself famous for his versatile acquire-
ments.
The account given of Peregrinus and the "books," for-
bids us to limit the term to the apostolical writings which
now form the canon of the New Testament. If those books
had been then in existence, and received for canonical, we
can hardly believe that Peregrinus could have gained credit
for writing others, which, like the brazen shields of Numa,
would in after ages make it difficult to distinguish between
the genuine and the false.
Yet although it is probable that, at this very time, or
about the middle of the second century, the books of the
New Testament were written, it is not necessary to suppose
that they possessed the authority of the Church, but shared
with other writings, some of which are still in existence, the
attention of Christians, according as each was believed to
contain facts of Christ's history worthy to be read by
believers. It is tolerably well ascertained that those now
included in our canon were to a great extent selected from
the others which are now called apocryphal, and that these
last were set aside as comparatively worthless.
But besides the more classic writers here quoted, there
are several passages in the biographies of the Roman
x.]
85
HADRIAN-ANTIOCH-ALEXANDRIA.
emperors, by Julius Capitolinus, Lampridius, and others,
writers of what is termed the Augustan History. Both
Jews and Christians are mentioned in these biographies,
which extend from the beginning of the second to the latter
part of the third century after Christ. None of these works
however contain the slightest allusion to the Christian Scrip-
tures, or to any of those apocryphal books which certainly
before the end of that period were in circulation together
with the books of our present canon. And yet we find it
recorded in those works that more than one Roman emperor
paid great respect to the name of Christ, and more than one
meditated to enroll him among the public recognized deities
of the empire. It is not necessary to quote all these books
of the Augustan History, yet some of them require to be
here noticed. Spartianus tells us in his life of Hadrian
that
This emperor so hated the people of Antioch, that he wished
to separate Syria from Phoenicia, that Antioch might not be called
the capital of so many states. The Jews also at that time com-
menced war, because they were forbidden to practise circum-
cision. Had. xiv.
Let us now change the scene from Antioch to Alexandria,
in the reign of the same emperor and about the year A.D.
130-from Antioch the city of luxury, of elegance, and of
literary repose, to Alexandria, the turbulent and commercial
capital of Egypt; of which the emperor Hadrian seems to
think rather meanly if we may trust the report of Vopiscus
who wrote the life of Saturninus, and quotes a letter from
Hadrian to his friend Servianus as illustrating the state of
Egypt at that time. The preliminary remarks of Vopiscus
are not more flattering than the letter itself.
Sunt enim Ægyptii, ut satis
nosti, viri ventosi, furibundi,
jactantes, injuriosi, atque adeo
vani, liberi, novarum rerum
usque ad cantilenas publicas
cupientes, versificatores, epi-
grammatarii, mathematici, ha-
ruspices, medici. Nam sunt
Christiani, Samaritæ, et quibus
presentia semper tempora cum
enormi libertate displiceant. Ac
For the Egyptians are, as you
know well enough, windy fel-
lows, furious, boastful, unjust,
and moreover vain, without
restraint, and eager to make
a revolution even to sing-
ing songs in public, versi-
fiers, epigrammatists, astrolo-
gers, soothsayers, and medical
men.
For they are Christians,
Samaritans, and men, who,
giving themselves immense
liberty, are always dissatisfied
with the present times. And,
86
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
ne quis mihi Ægyptiorum iras-
catur, et meum esse credat quod
in literas retuli, Hadriani epis-
tolam ponam ex illis Phlegontis
liberti ejus proditam, ex qua
penitus Ægyptiorum vita de-
tegitur.
[HADRIANUS AUGUSTUS SERVIANO
CONSULI SALUTEM !]
Ægyptum, quam mihi laudabas,
Serviane carissime, totam didici
levem, pendulam, et ad omnia
famæ momenta volitantem. Il-
lic qui Serapem colunt Chris-
tiani sunt et devoti sunt Serapi
qui se Christi episcopos dicunt,
nemo illic archisynagogus Ju-
dæorum, nemo Samarites, nemo
Christianorum presbyter, non
mathematicus, non aruspex, non
aliptes. Ipse ille patriarcha
quum Ægyptum venerit, ab
aliis Serapidem adorare, ab
aliis cogitur Christum. Genus
hominum seditiosum, vanissi-
mum, injuriosissimum; civitas
opulenta, dives, fæcunda, in qua
nemo vivat otiosus. Alii vitrum
conflant, aliis charta conficitur,
alii linifiones, omnes certe cujus-
cunque artis et videntur et
habentur. Podagrosi quod
agant habent, habent [cesi
quod agant habent] cæci quod
faciant, ne chiragrici quidem
aput eos otiosi vivunt. Unus
illis deus nummus est: hunc
Christiani, hunc Judæi, hunc
omnes venerantur et gentes.
lest any of the Egyptians
should be angry with me and
think that what I have reduced
to writing is my own, I will
give the letter of Hadrian taken
out of the books of Phlegon
his freedman, from which the
life of the Ægyptians is tho-
roughly laid open.
[HADRIAN AUGUSTUS TO SER-
VIANUS THE CONSUL, HEALTH!]
Egypt, which you used to
praise to me, my dear Ser-
vianus, I have found to be
wholly trifling, inconstant, and
ready to move at every impulse
of public talk. There are there
Christians who worship Serapis,
and devoted to Serapis are
those who call themselves
bishops of Christ. There is in
that country no chief of a Jew-
ish synagogue, no Samaritan
or Christian presbyter, who is
not also an astrologer, an
augur, or a trainer of athletes.
The very patriarch himself,
when he has come to Egypt, is
compelled by some to worship
Serapis, by others Christ.
They are a race of men most
seditious, vain, and given to
wrong-doing: the city is well-
to-do, rich, and prolific; no one
there lives idle. Some blow
glass; others make paper;
others are linen-cloth weavers:
at any rate they all have both
the appearance and the repute
of belonging to some craft or
other. Men with gouty feet
have something to do; the
blind have some occupation,
and even men with gouty hands
do not live idle amongst them.
Money is their only god; Chris-
tians, Jews and all, both indi-
}
x.]
87
HADRIAN-ANTIOCH-ALEXANDRIA.
Et utinam melius esset morata
civitas, digna profecto quæ pro
sui fæcunditate, quæ pro sui
magnitudine totius Ægypti
teneat principatum. Huic ego
cuncta concessi, vetera privi-
legia reddidi, nova sic addidi
ut præsenti gratias agerent. De-
nique ut primum inde discessi,
et in filium meum Verum multa
dixerunt, et de Antinoo quæ
dixerint comperisse te credo.
Nihil illis opto, nisi ut suis
pullis alantur, quos quemad-
modum fæcundant, pudet di-
cere. Calices tibi allassontes
versicolores transmisi, quos
mihi sacerdos templi obtulit,
tibi et sorori meæ specialiter
dedicatos; quos tu velim festis
diebus conviviis adhibeas. Ca-
veas tamen ne his Africanus
noster indulgenter utatur.-
VOPISCUS, Saturn. vii, viii.
viduals and tribes, worship that.
I wish their state had better
morals, worthy to take the lead
of all Egypt according to its
prolificness and its greatness.
I have conceded everything to
this city, I have restored its
ancient privileges, and added
new ones, so that they thanked
me when I was among them.
Lastly, as soon as I had gone
away, they both said many
things against my son Verus,
and what they have said about
Antinous, I think you have
found out. I wish them nothing
more than to feed on their own
chicken, which they make pro-
lific in a way that I am ashamed
to tell you. I have sent you
some shifting cups that change
colours, which the priest of the
temple gave me, meant especi-
ally for you and my sister. I
wish you to bring these out on
holidays at your feasts. Take
care however that our friend
Africanus does not use them
too freely.
These extracts furnish no argument in favour of Alexan-
dria, as the place where the books of the New Testament
first came into existence, and the date at which the letter of
Hadrian was written is nearly the same at which Antioch
was the scene of Christian writers compiling and revising
their sacred books. It is believed that the arguments
which every phase of this subject presents, will confirm the
theory that the volume of the New Testament is of Grecian
and not-of Jewish origin, and was put together mostly at
Antioch in or about the middle of the second century of our
era.
88
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER XI.
THE TESTIMONY OF THE APOSTOLICAL FATHERS, BARNABAS,
CLEMENT, HERMAS, IGNATIUS, AND POLYCARP.
THOSE modern theologians, who have written on the evi-
dences of the Christian religion, lay much stress upon the
testimony of five writers, Barnabas, Clement, Ignatius,
Polycarp and Hermas, who are said to have been contem-
porary with the twelve Apostles, and under whose names are
still extant certain short compositions, mostly epistles, and
these are said to furnish the strongest evidence to the exist-
ence and identity of the Gospels in the first century of the
Christian era, and of the history in them contained. If any
such writings still exist and have really come down to us
from so early a date, they must naturally be of the utmost
importance and interest to every member of the Christian
community. Unfortunately the authentic remains of those
early times are few in number, of doubtful origin, and often
obscure in meaning. It was to be expected that those, who
were busy in the active task of preaching and teaching a
doctrine of such benevolent and universal import, would
have little time for writing, in an age too when reading and
writing must have been luxuries confined to the few, when
writing materials were scarce and dear, when the nation, to
which the new faith was first offered, lay beyond the pale of
Grecian and Roman literature, and when the rapid success
which it met with entailed upon the preacher the necessity
of fresh exertion by widening the field over which his
labours were extended. It is not then surprising that the
Christian books, supposed to have been written before the
year 100 of our era, should have been largely criticised, or
that doubts have been entertained whether parts or even the
whole of certain writings have not been improperly ascribed
to those early times.
It is chiefly against the letters of Ignatius that these
doubts have been entertained. Some of them have been
described as forged and spurious; but such terms seem too
harsh to be without hesitation applied to these writings.
It is charitable to believe that the Christians as a body
did not make it a system to fabricate and pass off under the
name of Ignatius or of any other apostolic teacher writings
which might lead to falsehood and other lamentable results
XI.]
89
APOSTOLICAL FATHERS.
in a church which has pre-eminently truth for its ground-
work, and it is charitable to believe, even if it is not quite
possible to prove, that if none of these treatises were written
have
within the period assigned to them, yet that they may
been compiled out of earlier remains, however loosely so, by
some Christians of a later but still early age, and assigned
at first conjecturally, and then directly, although errone-
ously, to the authors whose names they bear.
The works which have been written on this question are
almost as numerous as those which concern the age, author-
ship, and authenticity of the Gospels themselves, but the
general issue of the inquiries which have been instituted,
has been unfavourable to the antiquity of these works as
remains of writers who were contemporary with the Apostles,
but favourable to the theory that they are productions of
the latter half of the second century. That was the time
when so many Christian writings came into existence, and
all the records of our religion were sedulously sought out,
because tradition was then becoming faint, original and even
secondary witnesses had gone off the stage, and the great
increase of the Christian community gave birth to extended
curiosity about its early history, whilst it furnished greater
safety to those who employed themselves in its service.
It will follow as a necessary inference from these remarks
that we must examine with great minuteness the treatises
now under our notice, because they are the only writings
now remaining that have been ascribed to the first century
of the Christian era; and, as their authors are said to have
had familiar intercourse with the Apostles themselves, we
might expect to find in them explicit mention of every thing
which the Apostles themselves had written. The point at
which I am here aiming, must not be misunderstood. If
the four Gospels and other books were written by those who
had been eye-witnesses of Christ's miracles, and the five
apostolical fathers had conversed with the Apostles, it is not
to be conceived that they would have omitted to name the
actual books themselves which possessed so high authority
and would be looked up to with so much respect by all the
Christians. This is the only way in which their evidence
could be of use to support the authenticity of the New
Testament as being the work of the Apostles; but this is a
testimony which the five apostolical fathers fail to supply.
There is not a single sentence, in all their remaining works,
in which a clear allusion to the New Testament is to be
found. It is in vain that their evidence to the facts of
薯
​90
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Christianity has been cited by Archdeacon Paley and other
advocates of their contemporary character. This is not the
point at issue. Few persons will be found to dispute the
main facts of Christ's history, but many contend, and with
truth, that the accounts of them, which have come down to
us in the New Testament, were not put together as we now
have them, until many years had elapsed a sufficient time,
in short, to explain the vagueness with which some of the
facts are recorded, and even the contradictions which lie
between the narratives of the same event as given by the
four evangelic histories.
A short account of the apostolical fathers, the opinions
of various modern writers about them, and notices of the
form in which they have been published to the world, will
not be thought out of place by those who reflect that besides
the canonical books, these are thought by some to be the
earliest documents of our religion.
I. Barnabas,
The first work to be here mentioned, is a "Catholic
Epistle" ascribed to Barnabas, who is named in the Acts of
the Apostles as the companion of St Paul. The candid
reader will, I think, agree with me, that its chief value is
derived not from any merit it possesses but from this
supposed authorship. A summary of the life of Barnabas,
gathered from the New Testament, will throw some light
on the subject of the epistle ascribed to him.
Acts iv, 36, 37.--" And Joses, who by the apostles was
surnamed Barnabas, (which is, being interpreted, The son
of consolation,) a Levite, and of the country of Cyprus,
having land, sold it, and brought the money, and laid it at
the apostles' feet."
- ix, 26, 27.-Barnabas introduces Saul, after his recent
conversion, to the Apostles at Jerusalem, A.D. 37.
- xi, 22-30.—Barnabas, having been sent by the brethren
to Antioch, fetches Paul thither from Tarsus, and with him
conveys contributions to the famishing Christians in Judæa,
A.D. 44.
xiii, 1-14, 28.-Paul and Barnabas make a tour through
Asia, and return to Antioch, A.D. 46.
xv, 2, &c.—Barnabas and Paul are sent to Jerusalem,
and are present at the council of the Apostles, A.D. 51. See
also Galat. ii, 1-9.
xv, 22-39.-Barnabas sets out with Paul on a second
XI.]
91
BARNABAS.
tour through Asia, but they quarrel and part from one
another, A.D. 53.
After A.D. 53 Barnabas is not again named in the New
Testament, but from the First Epistle to the Corinthians,
ix, 6, it is inferred that he worked with his hands and was
not married, whilst in Galat. ii, 13, he seems to have imitated
Peter in dissembling for fear of the Jews. Again, Marcus,
his sister's son, appears in company with St Paul in A.D.
62, see Coloss. iv, 10; from which it has been inferred that
Barnabas himself was then dead. See also I Pet. v, 13;
and 11 Tim. iii, 11. Alexander, a monk of Cyprus, of the
8th or 9th century, assigns his death to A.D. 53-57, for which
assertion he may have had the authority of some older
writing now no longer extant. A doubt has been raised
with respect to the identity of Barnabas with Barsabas, both
named in the Acts (i, 23): and critics have differed on this
subject, but our data are so slight, that it is impossible to
arrive at a satisfactory conclusion. Those who reflect on
the obscurity which always attends the first operations of
missionaries and religious teachers in our own times, will
not wonder that the operations of the first Christians mostly
were discussed in their own private meetings and scarcely
formed a topic for the great historians and public writers of
the age.
The first ancient author who names Barnabas is Clement
of Alexandria (A.D. 200), who seven times quotes passages
which seem to have been taken from the existing epistle
(Strom. II, 6, 7, 15, 18, 20, v, 8, 10.) Origen, who was the
pupil of Clement, also names Barnabas as being the author
of an epistle, and the passages which he quotes are still
found in that which passes under the name of Barnabas.
We may therefore conclude that this tract was written be-
fore the time of Clement or Origen, without determining the
question whether it really was the work of the apostolic
Barnabas or not.
Neither is it important to dwell upon the notices found of
Barnabas or of his epistle in the works of Eusebius and
Jerome: for the whole subject was already patent and
public in their times, and, though succeeding ages have
overlaid primitive Christianity with numberless fictions and
falsehoods which create a great impediment to the cause of
truth, yet no act of commission or of omission occurring since
the time of Jerome has caused half so much difficulty to the
ecclesiastical students as the obscurity in which the Chris-
tian history is involved previous to the time of Eusebius.
92
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
The history of Peregrinus, related by the heathen writer
Lucian, gives us a vivid picture of the state of things at
Antioch about the year 150. Christian books were then
revised, and new ones written.* Can we doubt that many´
books of uncertain character were then introduced, if not by
fraud, yet by the ignorance and errors of well-meaning but
uneducated persons, members of the Christian community?
Of the epistle which remains under the name of Barna-
bas, different opinions have been held by different writers.
Its authenticity has been maintained by Dupin, "Bibl. des
Auteurs, &c." 1, 6, &c.; Nourry, "Appar. ad Bibl. M. Patt."
1, dissert. 3; Galland, "Bibl. vet. Patt." I, Proleg. p. 29,
&c.; Henke, "De Epist. q. Barn. tribuitur, Authentia,'
Jen. 1827; Roerdam, "De Authentia Ep. Barn." Hafn.
1828; and Franke, "Guerike et Rudelbach Zeitschrift für
luth Theol." 1840, fasc. 2. It has been deemed spurious by
Menard, "Edit. of Barnabas; " Tentzelius, "Fabric. Bibl.
Eccl." p. 42, sec. 10; Natalis Alexander, "Hist. Eccl." sec. I,
c. 12, art. 8; Remi Ceillier, "Hist. Gener. des Auteurs," &c.
I, p. 498, &c.; Ittigius, "Select. Cap. Hist. Eccl." sec. I,
tom. 1, p. 20; Mosheim, "Comment. de Rebus Christ. ante
Const. Mag.," p. 161; Lumper, "Hist. Theol. Crit." 1, p.
150; Hugius, "Zeitschrift für das Erzbisthum Freiburg,
Fasc. 2, p. 132, Fasc. 3, p. 208, &c.; Ullmann, "Studien u.
Kritiken," t. 1, p. 381; Neander, “Kirchengesch." t. 1, 3, p.
733; "Mynster, "Studien u. Kritiken," II, 323; Winer,
"Bibl. Realwoerterbuch s. v. Barnabas," and Hefele,
"Das Sendschreiben des Apostels Barnabas," &c. Tub. 1840,
cap. 3, pp. 147-195, and in his edit. of Barnabas.
Those who defend the genuineness of this epistle, plead
especially the notices of it which occur in such early writers
as Origen and Clement of Alexandria, but the arguments
which may be adduced on the other side of the question
seem too strong to be refuted, and they lead to the con-
clusion that the work was written about the year 140, in
that obscure interval between the apostolic age and the
appearance of those great writers, Justin Martyr, Tatian,
Clement and Origen, with whom ecclesiastical literature
may be said to have begun.
The epistle of Barnabas is not mentioned by any later
author from the time of Nicephorus, Patriarch of Constanti-
nople in A.D. 828, down to the seventeenth century. The
* See p. 82, &c. of this volume, and also my Heathen Records to the
Jewish Scripture History, London, 1856.
XI.]
93
CLEMENS ROMANUS.
first modern writer who noticed it was Sirmond, who found
a copy of it in an ancient MS [Codex Turrianus], soon after
which, three other MS copies were discovered, belonging
to the Vatican library, Cardinal Colonna, and Andrew
Schott. Hugh Menard then found a Latin version of it in
a Corbey MS earlier than the ninth century. A transcript
of this Latin version and of the MS of Schott passed from
Salmasius to Isaac Vossius, and from Vossius to Archbishop
Usher, who had it printed at Oxford, A.D. 1643; but the
whole impression was consumed by a fire which burnt
several houses in that city.
In 1645 Luke D'Achery published an edition of it, which
had been prepared by Menard, but was broken off by his
death in 1644.
Vossius published it again in 1646 at Amsterdam, having
collated a Florence, a Vatican, and other manuscripts.
Since that time have appeared the editions of Cotelerius,
Galland, Russell, Jacobson and Hefele, all comprising more
or less completely the whole of the five apostolical writers,
Barnabas, Clement, Hermas, Ignatius and Polycarp.
In all the Greek texts of this epistle the first four chapters
and part of the fifth are wanting: these portions are found
in the Latin version only.
II. Clement of Rome.
The second of the apostolical fathers, Clement, surnamed
"of Rome," to distinguish him from Clement of Alexandria,
who lived an hundred years later, is supposed by Origen,
"In Joan." i, 29; Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl." iii, 15; Epipha-
nius, "Hæres." 27, n. 6; Jerome, "De Viris Ill." c. 15, and
others, to be the same Clement who is named in St
Paul's Epistle to the Philippians, iv, 3. Others however
have held a different opinion, and their doubts derive great
support from the fact that Irenæus, who has said much in
praise of Clement, seems not to have clearly indicated that
these two were one and the same.
It is the opinion of Hefele, that Clement was a citizen of
Philippi, who was converted by St Paul, and remained
at home to teach his countrymen, when St Paul left that
city. In support of this opinion it may be observed that
St Paul had no other companions in his journey to
Philippi than Silas, Timotheus, and Luke [Acts xvi], that
the Scriptures mention Clement in one passage only, as
living at Philippi, and he is mentioned in terms precisely
94
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
similar to those in which other persons are named, who cer-
tainly were inhabitants of that town.
In the Homilies and Recognitions falsely ascribed to
Clement, his father is said to have been one Faustinus,
descended from the family of the Roman Cæsars, and this
absurd fable is copied in the "Liber Pontificalis" or Book
of the Roman Pontiffs, in the Roman Breviary, and in the
works of Eucherius bishop of Lyons.
It is agreed by all that Clement was bishop of Rome, or
rather of the Christian congregation in Rome; but it is
doubtful in what order he succeeded after Peter. Some
say, with Jerome, "De Viris Ill." c. 15, that he was the
fourth bishop, having been preceded by Linus and Anacle-
tus; whilst others make him to have been the immediate
successor of St Peter. When we reflect on the scanti-
ness of our information about the most important facts con-
nected with Christianity in times so early, I think we may
fairly be sceptical as to even the names of such humble per-
sons as those who preached the Christian doctrines in the
first century at Rome. The office of bishop was not then
accompanied with that splendour which now makes it so
brilliant: nor is it likely that those who were bent on teach-
ing and practising humble-mindedness, should feel the
least care about the order of precedence in which they stood
one to another (a point so important among their successors)
or about handing down their names to future ages. All
they did was done, we cannot doubt, in secret, and their
heavenly Father, as he had promised, and as they no doubt
believed, would reward them not by the praise or memory
of men, but in that kingdom of heaven to which they had
aspired. As a matter of historical minutiæ, it may be
observed that Augustine, "Ep. 53 ad Generos." Optatus,
"Lib. ii," and the author of the Apostolical Constitutions,
vii, 46, place Clement as the successor to Linus, whereas
Irenæus, "Adv. Hæres." iii, 3, apud Euseb. "H. E." v, 6;
Eusebius, "Hist. Eccl." iii, 13, 15, 34; and Jerome, “De
Viris Ill." 15, place Cletus, otherwise called Anacletus,
between the two. Both views of the question have been
held by the later fathers of the Church, and discussed in
various modes, but the subject is too unimportant to occupy
our time at present.
The First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians is said by
Eusebius to have been written for the purpose of introducing
peace and concord among them, after they had quarrelled
among themselves; but no traces of it occur in any writer
XI.]
95
CLEMENS ROMANus.
}
until the year 1628, when Cyril Lucar, Patriarch of Con-
stantinople, sent as a present to King Charles I, the mag-
nificent Alexandrian manuscript, now deposited in the
British Museum, and containing the Greek Septuagint Old
Testament, the Greek New Testament, and Clement's
Epistle to the Corinthians, together with a portion of
another, described in the table of contents prefixed to the
manuscript, as a Second Epistle to the Corinthians by the
same writer. From the text furnished by this unique
manuscript, both of these epistles were published by Patrick
Young the king's librarian at Oxford, 1633, again at Cam-
bridge 1718 by Wotton, and by Cotelerius, Jacobson and
Hefele in their respective editions of the Apostolical Fathers.
It remains to review the arguments by which some have
endeavoured to impugn, whilst others have defended the
authenticity of these writings.
The First Epistle is thought to have been known to Poly-
carp, in whose epistle occur some passages thought to have
been copied from it.
Irenæus also, “ Adv. Hær.” iii, 3, 3, gives a description of
the Epistle which agrees with what is now found in the
Alexandrian manuscript.
Clement of Alexandria quotes many sentences which are
still found in the present text. See "Strom.” i, 7: iv, 17:
v, 12: vi, 8.
""
The same may be observed of Origen, "De Princ." ii, 3,
n. 6: “In Ezec." c. 8: "In Joan." i, 29; Eusebius, iii, 16,
38; Cyril of Alexandria, "Catech." 18, c. 8; Epiphanius,
27, n. 6; and Jerome, "De Viris Ill." c. 15: "Comm. in Is.'
xiv, 52, 13: "In Ep. ad Eph." i, 2, 2: ii, 4, 1. It is true
also, on the other hand, that some ancient writers, as for
instance Basil, "De Spir. S." 29, no. 72, have quoted pas-
sages which are not found in our present epistle; but as the
Alexandrian manuscript has lost a leaf after chapter 57, it
is possible that those passages were taken from that part of
the work which was written on the missing leaf.
It has been held by some that, however the Epistle gener-
ally may be authentic, yet certain passages, about the
Phoenix in c. 25, the word layman in c. 40, and the antiquity
of the Church at Corinth in c. 47, together with the abun-
dance of epithets scattered over parts of the work, prove it
to have been interpolated at a later date. These objections
have been replied to by others with more or less success;
and some modern writers have come to the conclusion that
at least the First Epistle of Clement is a genuine relic of
96
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
ད
the apostolic age, and even that it was written to the
Corinthians about one or two years before the destruction of
Jerusalem.
Very different however is the case of the second epistle
ascribed to Clement. The first who mentions such a docu-
ment is Eusebius, iii, 38, who acknowledges that its authen-
ticity is doubtful. Jerome and Photius also, among the
ancients, denied its authenticity, whilst, among the moderns,
Wotton, Simon, Grabe, and others have found in the tract
itself sufficient internal evidence to justify the conclusion
that it is a composition of a later age, though, from its being
found in the Alexandrian manuscript, we must infer that it
was thought to be genuine in the fifth century of our era,
when that manuscript is supposed to have been written.
Resuming the whole question of Clement's Epistles, we
may observe that their insertion in the Alexandrian manu
script cannot be accepted as a proof that one is genuine, if
the other, also found there, is an acknowledged forgery;
and secondly that whereas Origen, Irenæus, and Clement of
Alexandria, at the end of the second or the beginning of the
third century, first mention and quote either of these
epistles, it is within that period of 200 years from the birth
of Christ that we must look for proofs, whether writings are
genuine or spurious. We may readily admit that even both
of Clement's Epistles were in existence before the time of
Origen, Irenæus or Clement of Alexandria, and still be far
from proving that either of them was the work of the imme-
diate follower of the Apostles. We know from the dia-
logues of Lucian, that, in the first half of the second century,
the Christians were occupied in collecting written records,
and we may believe the report of that satirical writer, that
their well-meaning exertions were sometimes baffled by their
own simplicity and the knavery of pretended converts.
III. Hermas.
The "Shepherd" of Hermas stands on a different basis
from the other writings of the apostolical fathers, in that
it exists only in a Latin text. This is generally understood
to be a translation from a Greek original. The work is
found in the Sinaitic MS of the New Testament together
with the Epistle of Barnabas.
The most remarkable fact about it would be that it was
read publicly in the churches, as divinely inspired and
scarcely inferior to the books that were accounted canonical:
XI.]
97
HERMAS-IGNATIUS.
were it not that this is no more than has been said of other
books, having, if possible, still less pretension.
It has been by some ascribed to the Hermas who is named
in St Paul's Epistle to the Romans, xiv, 14. The canon of
Muratori ascribes it to another Hermas, brother of Pius II
bishop of Rome.
There are still fragments of the "Shepherd" in Greek,
which is said to have been the original language, and to
have been circulated from Rome in the second century.
The few passages of the Greek which remain were collected
by Fabricius in his "Codex Novi Testamenti,” iii, 738, and
have also been printed by Grabe in the first volume of his
Spicilegium. The Latin text was first edited by Faber,
Paris, 1513. It appears in almost all the editions of the
Fathers, and was also printed with the Epistle of Barnabas
at Oxford, 12mo, 1685.
66
""
This work is of no more value, perhaps of less, than any
of the other remains of the Apostolical Fathers, although
according to Jerome ("De Script. Eccles." 10) it was once
held in great esteem in those countries where Greek was the
vernacular language.
IV. Ignatius.
Of Ignatius surnamed Theophorus, a Greek word implying
that he had God always with him, or in his thoughts, we have
no authentic records in any early writer. Eusebius relates
(iii, 22) that he succeeded Evodius, who had been appointed
by the Apostles themselves, in the government of the Church
of Antioch. In a tract called Acts of the Martyrdom of
Ignatius, it is related that Ignatius was condemned to be
cast to the wild beasts by Trajan, whilst he was stopping at
Antioch on his march against the Parthians, and that he was
consequently conveyed to Rome, where the sentence was put
in execution. The venerable man-for he was then perhaps
eighty years old-after a tedious voyage, arrived at Smyrna,
where he conversed with Polycarp, and wrote four epistles,
to the Ephesians, the Magnesians, the Trallians, and the
Romans. He next stopped in the Troad, where he is said to
have written three other epistles, to the Philadelphians, the
Smyrnæans, and Polycarp. On his arrival at Rome, he
was cast to the lions, and his bones, gathered from the area
of the amphitheatre, were carried back to Antioch and pre-
served with great care by the Christians of that city. These
facts and others are found in the Acts of his Martyrdom,
before mentioned.
VOL. II.
8
98
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
.
Doubts have however been raised concerning this story,
from the difficulty of making the visit of Trajan to Antioch
coincide with the condemnation of Ignatius. The Acts of
his Martyrdom fix it expressly to the ninth year of Trajan,
that is from Jan. 26, A.D. 106 to Jan. 26, A.D. 107: and
his execution to the tenth year of the same emperor. But
Lloyd, Pearson, Grabe, and several other writers have
shown that Trajan did not visit Antioch until the year 114;
and to remove this difficulty Tillemont, in his "History of
the Emperors," endeavoured to show that Trajan twice
visited Antioch, once in 106 and again in 114. On the other
hand it has been suggested that it was not the emperor him-
self, but the proconsul, who condemned Ignatius to the
lions, because the words of Eusebius, the Paschal Chronicle,
Jerome, and others, do not allow us to put off the martyr-
dom so late as the year 114 of the Christian era.
In this conflict of opinion, without expressing at the
moment any doubt on the general tenour of the history, we
may reasonably call in question the accuracy of its details,
when we find such difficulty in reconciling the alleged cir-
cumstances of his life with the acknowledged history of those
times. Those who reflect on the known clemency and mild
government of Trajan will hesitate to believe that he person-
ally sentenced an old man to so cruel a death for no other
crime than being a Christian; those who have read his
rescript to Pliny on the very subject of dealing with Chris-
tians, will be startled at such ruthless practice as detailed in
the Acts of Ignatius's Martyrdom, so wholly at variance
with the precepts which Trajan had laid down; and thirdly,
those who duly appreciate the exaggerations to which all
such personal narratives are liable, and in which ecclesi-
astical history abounds, will not be disinclined to believe that
the history of Ignatius and his sufferings has been highly
coloured by those through whose hands the narrative has
passed. That exaggeration has been rife in the record of
his martyrdom, I do not doubt; for what can be more
dramatic and unreal, than that the old man, a prisoner,
should be allowed to break his journey into stages for the
purpose of writing seven epistles advocating the very doc-
trines for which he was to suffer, addressed to persons of
whom he knew little or nothing, and above all, to the
Romans, among whom he was going? Criminals con-
demned to death are not generally allowed to convert their
conveyance to the place of execution into a triumphal entry,
nor would the cruelty of his judge have so utterly stultified
;
XI.]
99
EPISTLES OF IGNATIUSs.
itself as to allow such apparently unrestrained communica-
tion with his friends, or, in a word, have treated with such
honour and respect one whom he must either have despised
as a contemptible fanatic or have constrained as a dangerous
revolutionist. These considerations create in the mind a
difficulty in receiving all the details of Ignatius's history;
and they are in harmony with an opinion long since ex-
pressed by others that the number of Christian martyrs in
the early ages, instead of being large, was remarkably small,
and that, though the rigid Roman may have punished re-
bellion against the laws, yet he magnanimously overlooked,
whenever it was possible, all such questions as seemed to
concern religion only, for which the Roman constitution
allowed freer scope than any code of laws either before or
since.
Of the fifteen letters ascribed to Ignatius, eight have long
since been rejected as of no authority whatever-I hesitate
to say as forgeries: for truth never gains by ascribing dis-
honest motives or dishonest action, where a more lenient
judgment may, even with the slightest reason to support it,
be pronounced. The remaining seven epistles were accounted
genuine by most critics, although disputed by some, previous
to the discoveries of Mr Cureton, which have shaken and
indeed almost wholly destroyed the credit and authenticity
of all alike.
Of the seven, then, still for a time admitted as perhaps
genuine, there are two copies in circulation. The text of
one of these is longer than the other, and contains passages
which have apparently been expanded by the addition of
words which tend to support certain ecclesiastical tenets, and
in consequence of this, the longer text has been almost
universally rejected, though Schmidt and Netzius have
endeavoured to show that the longer copies have been
expanded, and the shorter ones abbreviated, with no evil
intent, from a common prototype. Meier also has even
attempted to show that the longer text is the most ancient,
in spite of such expressions as "the rest of the clergy" found
in the longer copy of the Epistle to the Philadelphians,
ch. 4; for it is notorious that in the time of Ignatius and
even for
many years after, the orders of the Church inferior
to deacons, and which still exist in the Roman communion,
were not yet introduced.
Three of these letters occur only in a Latin version, and
were printed at Paris at the end of the Quadrilogus, 4to,
1495. In 1498, Jacobus Faber Stapulensis published
100
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
eleven others at Paris. In 1536 Symphorianus Cham-
perius Lugdunensis published as many as fifteen in Latin
after which the Greek text of twelve appeared, Dillinge,
1557, and again, Tiguri, 1559, edited by Gesner with a
Latin version.
;
All the foregoing were from manuscripts containing the
longer text of the epistles, but in 1646 Isaac Vossius pub-
lished the shorter, usually considered the more genuine
text, at Amsterdam, from a Medicean manuscript of the
eleventh century, whilst Usher, archbishop of Armagh,
published an edition of the same at Oxford, 1644, from a
Cambridge MS, and another belonging to the bishop of
Norwich, and corresponding in text most closely with the
edition of Vossius. In 1689, Ruinart published at Paris, in
his "Acta Sincera Martyrum," the Epistle to the Romans
which was wanting in the Medicean MS, and consequently
in the edition of Vossius. In 1709 appeared the excellent
Oxford edition of Smith, and, since then, the various edi-
tions of the apostolical fathers, Cotelerius's folio edition
containing all, both the genuine, the interpolated, and the
spurious, whilst the 8vo volumes of Jacobson and Hefele
give the text of those seven only which were accounted
genuine.
The first writer who impugned the genuineness of all
Ignatius's epistles alike was Daillé, who, in 1666, published
"De scriptis quæ sub Dionysii Areopagitæ et Ignatii Antio-
cheni nominibus circumferuntur," in which he asserts that
these letters were forged many years after and falsely
ascribed to Ignatius. Soon after the publication of this
work appeared the elaborate work of Bishop Pearson,
"Vindiciae Ignatianæ," &c. Cantab. 1672; a new edition
has been published at Oxford in two vols, 8vo, 1852. In
opposition to Pearson arose Larroquan, Basnage, Oudin,
and others, who were principally led to impugn the authenti-
city of the epistles by the frequent allusion to bishops and
hierarchical ordinances, which were probably introduced at
a later period into the Church. But the authenticity found
defenders in Nourry, Ceillier, and Lumper: whilst again, in
more recent times, Baur, Schwegler, and Hilgenfeld have
published their opinion that all the epistles now remaining
were written about the middle of the second century, and
attributed to Ignatius by some dishonest zealot, to forward
the cause of episcopacy and the ecclesiastical system.
The opinion of Hefele is in favour of the authenticity of
the seven, and in his fourth edition of "Patres Apostolici,"
XI.]
101
CURETON'S IGNATIUS.
he replies to Mr Cureton, who, in the interval had made an
important discovery of a very ancient manuscript containing
three only of the Ignatian epistles, and these omitting cer-
tain passages, hitherto found in even the shortest text of
every Greek manuscript.
The first volume which Mr Cureton published on this
subject, bears this title:
The ancient Syriac version of the epistles of Saint Ignatius to
Saint Polycarp, the Ephesians, and the Romans: together with
extracts from his epistles, collected from the writings of Severus
of Antioch, Timotheus of Alexandria, and others, edited with an
English translation and notes. Also the Greek text of these
three epistles, corrected according to the authority of the Syriac
version. By William Cureton, M.A. London: Rivingtons. Ber-
lin: Asher and Comp. MDCCCXLV.
The editor of this book, not without some appearance of
reason, concludes that, as his manuscript dates from a very
early period of the Christian era, the three letters of Igna-
tius, of which it contains a Syriac translation, did not at
that time contain those passages which do not appear in the
translation, and inclines further to the belief that these
three epistles are the only genuine ones of the whole collec-
tion that before passed under the name of Ignatius. This
conclusion had been already impugned in the "English
Review" and elsewhere, on the supposition that the Syriac
version was an epitome as well as a translation, when Čure-
ton published a reply in a complete edition of all the
epistles, with this title:
Corpus Ignatianum: a complete collection of the Ignatian
epistles, genuine, interpolated, and spurious; together with
numerous extracts from them, as quoted by ecclesiastical writers
down to the tenth century; in Syriac, Greek, and Latin: an
English translation of the Syriac text, copious notes and intro-
duction, by William Cureton, M.A.F.R.S. chaplain in ordinary to
her majesty the queen. London 1849.
In preparing this volume for the press the editor made
use of a third manuscript agreeing in its contents with the
other two from which he had published his former volume.
In consequence of this agreement between the manuscripts
Mr Cureton adheres to his former opinion that the text of
Ignatius has been interpolated, rejecting the explanation
that the Syriac version had been abridged from the original
Greek for the private use of some pious or ascetic monk.
·
102
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
His words, from page ix of the work, are quoted by
Hefele:
Is there, therefore, any thing in the three epistles themselves
which would tend to show that, in their present form, [that is in
the Syriac version] they are an epitome, of monkish and ascetic
origin? The Epistle to the Romans consists almost entirely of
arguments, which Ignatius urges upon those to whom he was
writing, in order to induce them to refrain from making any
effort to reverse the decree of Trajan, and to save him from the
death to which he was condemned. Now it is a well-known fact
that monasticism and asceticism, in their simplest and purest
form, chiefly derived their origin from the desire which some
converts to Christianity felt to avoid persecution, and consequent
martyrdom, for the profession of their faith, by retiring to those
wild and sequestered spots, where they might escape the observa-
tion of their Pagan persecutors. Moreover, I am not aware that
in any subsequent ages such an earnest desire for the crown of
martyrdom, as that evinced by Ignatius in the Epistle to the
Romans, has ever been considered so peculiarly appropriate to the
aspirations of monkish asceticism, that we should reasonably expect
a Syrian monk to retain this epistle for his own "pious use," in
preference to any of the others which he has rejected.
Another extract from the same volume may suffice:
The Epistle to the Ephesians contains an acknowledgment on
the part of Ignatius for the kind attentions which they had shown
to him, an exhortation to them to imitate the good example of
their bishop, and advice how they should comport themselves
toward their opposers, in returning kindness for injuries and
meekness for railing. The Epistle to Polycarp also gives further
advice as to relative duties in common life; and likewise adds
some instructions respecting matrimony, with an admonition to
wives to love their husbands, and to husbands to cherish their
wives. These surely could not have been peculiarly appropriate
to the "pious use" of a monk, whose very name indicates that
he has quitted the busy world, renounced the holy tie of matri-
mony, and, consequently, could not stand in need of any of those
instructions which relate peculiarly to a state with which he has
no concern.
The remainder of this subject may be got rid of in few
words. The opinion of Cureton has been supported by
Chevalier Bunsen in two publications, both issued at Ham-
burg, 1847: whilst Dr Petermann, in a new edition of the
Epistles of Ignatius, Lips. 1849, has endeavoured to show
that there is an earlier Syriac version, not mutilated, as are
the MSS of Cureton, but agreeing accurately with the full
XI.]
103
POLYCARP.
text of the Greek MSS. The views of Bunsen have been
espoused by Dr Ritschl, Weiss, and others, but this phase
of the controversy has on the whole tended to throw doubt
on all the epistles alike. Baur and Hilgenfeld-for the
Germans have this subject of controversy almost wholly to
themselves-deny the authenticity of all alike, which on
the other hand has been as vehemently maintained by Den-
zinger and Uhlhorn.
It is needless to observe that in this variance of opinion,
some have tried to steer a middle course by holding that the
epistles are genuine in the groundwork, but have been
interpolated. A wiser course will probably be to accept
them as compositions of the early part of the second century,
and therefore as useful in adding light, however little, to a
period that is generally so dark.
V. Polycarp.
Of Polycarp, the fifth Apostolical Father, we have no
information earlier than the time of Irenæus, who tells us,
"Adv. Hæres." iii, 3, that he had been "taught by the
Apostles, and associated with many who had seen Christ."
Eusebius, "Eccl. Hist." iii, 36, says that he was bishop of
Smyrna, to which Tertullian, "De Præs." 32, and Jerome,
"De Viris Ill." 17, add that he was successor in that see to
St John the Apostle.
We learn the sequel of his history from the Acts of his
Martyrdom, combined with what Irenæus says of him. He
went to Rome, where, we are told, various opinions were
already entertained concerning the celebration of Easter,
and Polycarp, it appears, advocated the opposite view of
the question to that which Pope Anicetus held. The dis-
cussion which ensued between them ended like many other
similar argumentations: neither party could convince the
other, and they separated in a manner becoming the dis-
ciples of Christ, without breaking the bond of love that
united them. It is however to be regretted that Polycarp
did not maintain the same forbearance towards others who
differed from him; for, if we may believe Irenæus, when
Marcion requested Polycarp to look upon him, the vener-
able bishop, forgetting that charity and love are the very
groundwork of the Christian religion, said to him in reply,
"I look on thee as the first-born of Satan!"
The year in which Polycarp suffered martyrdom, cannot
be ascertained: some fix it at 147, others 161, 167, and even
so late as 178.
104
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
We learn from Irenæus that Polycarp left behind him
several epistles: one only however now bears his name,
inscribed to the Philippians. Its authenticity has been
questioned by Daillé, Semler, Röster, Schwegler, Hilgen-
feld, the centuriators of Magdeburg, and others, and
defended by Nourry, Pearson, Mosheim, Tillemont, Ittig,
Lücke, Möhler, Uhlhorn, and Hefele.
It was first published in Latin, Paris, 1498, by Jac. Faber
Stapulensis, and at Douay, 1633, in Greek and Latin by P.
Halloiscius. Later editions are those of Usher, Lond.
1647, and Smith, 1709: and in the collections of Patres
Apostolici by Cotelerius, Jacobson, and Hefele.
Having thus then traced the history of the writings
which appear under the name of the Apostolical Fathers,
we may resume the thread of our argument, first pointing
out more fully the difference between the external character
of a book and the truth of the facts which it relates, and
here may be cited the author of the "Evidences of Christi-
anity," whose remarks are important in reference, still more
to the age immediately following in close connection with
the age of Christ than to any other later period.
That the original story, the story delivered by the first preachers
of the institution, should have died away so entirely as to have
left no record or memorial of its existence, although so many
records and memorials of the time and transaction remain; and
that another story should have stepped into its place, and gained
exclusive possession of the belief of all who professed themselves
disciples of the institution, is beyond any example of the corrup-
tion of even oral tradition, and still less consistent with the expe-
rience of written history: and this improbability, which is very
great, is rendered still greater by the reflection, that no such
change as the oblivion of one story, and the substitution of
another, took place in any future period of the Christian era.
Christianity hath travelled through dark and turbulent ages;
nevertheless it came out of the cloud and the storm, such, in sub-
stance, as it entered in. Many additions were made to the
primitive history, and these entitled to different degrees of credit,
many doctrinal errors also were from time to time grafted into
the public creed; but still the original story remained, and re-
mained the same. In all its principal parts, it has been fixed
from the beginning.
That the treatises ascribed to Barnabas, Clement, Igna-
tius, Polycarp and Hermas are based upon the same story
as the books of the New Testament, is not to be denied.
The events related in the history of Christ passed current in
1
4
Z
XI.]
CHRIST'S SAYINGS QUOTED.
105
tradition among the Christians long before they were set
down in writing: and the sayings of Christ were no doubt
treasured up like household jewels by his disciples and fol-
lowers. Why, then, may we not refer the quotations of
Christ's words, occurring in the Apostolical Fathers, to an
origin of this kind?
It is evident, from authorities which we shall soon
have to produce, that these were Memorials, or Memoranda
('Aпoµmμoveúμaтa) of the Apostles, widely circulated at a very
early period, and that there was also a collection of the
Sayings* of the Lord (Aóya Tou Kupiov) equally well known.
If then these five fathers have quoted facts of our Lord's
history or any of his sayings, but have not mentioned any
book in which they are contained, it is reasonable to believe
that they quote from those writings which are known to have
existed, and not from others of which no trace can be found
until after the period at which those fathers lived. If we
examine two or three of these quotations the supposition
just stated will expand into reality. In the epistle ascribed
to Barnabas, we read:
Lest, as is written, we be found "Many called, but few
chosen." Chapter iv.
But when he [Christ] chose his own apostles, who were about
to preach his gospel, and who were lawless beyond every kind of
sin,—that he might show how he came not "to call the righteous
but sinners to repentance," he then displayed himself to be the
son of God. Chapter vii.
Here are not necessarily allusions to either of the four
Gospels which we now have, but only to remarkable apoph-
thegms of our Lord, which may have been current univer-
sally among the Christians, long before they were perpetuated
in the Gospels. The same may be said of every sentence
found in any of the Apostolical Fathers, which on first
sight might be thought to be a decided quotation from one
of the Gospels according to Matthew, Mark, Luke or John.
It is impossible to deny the truth of this observation; for we
see it confirmed by the fact that the Apostolical Fathers do
actually quote Moses, and other Old Testament writers by
name, “Moses hath said," ""Moses says," &c. in numerous
passages; but we nowhere meet with the words "Matthew
"The Sayings ascribed to our Lord by the Fathers and primitive
writers, and incidents in his life narrated by them otherwise than found
in Scripture by J. T. Dodd, B.A. late junior student of Christ Church,
Ox. and Lond. Sm. 8vo, 1874."
106
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
hath said in his Gospel," "John hath said," &c. They
always quote, not the words of the evangelists, but the
words of Christ himself directly, which furnishes the strong-
est presumption, that, though the sayings of Christ were in
general vogue, yet the evangelical histories, into which they
were afterwards embodied, were not then in being.
To recur to Barnabas, there are other peculiarities found
in the existing epistle, which are hardly reconcilable with
what is related of him in the Acts of the Apostles. Such
are the notice of the Sabbath in Chapter 15, circumcision
in Chapter 9, and the abolition of the Jewish law in Chap-
ters 4 and 14. And lastly: the whole of the epistle is so
thoroughly beneath mediocrity, both for sentiments and
style, that its authenticity as a production of a contem-
porary and that so celebrated an apostle would have rather
a sinister than a beneficial influence on the subject of primi-
tive Christianity. Its genuineness as a production of the
second century gives it the value of an historical document,
but as a relic of the first century it cannot exercise any use-
ful influence on the cause with which it is connected.
But this subject will be hardly complete without similar
extracts from the other Apostolical Fathers; and first of
Clemens Romanus. In Chapter xii of his Epistle, we read:
Pity that ye may be pitied.
Forgive that it may be forgiven to you.
As ye do, so it shall be done to you.
As ye give, so shall it be given to you.
As ye judge, so shall it be judged to you.
As ye are good, so shall good be done to you.
With what measure ye mete, in the same it shall be meted to
you. Chap. xii.
These sentences form only one in the Epistle of Clement,
and do not occur in any one place of the four Gospels, where
their equivalent is to be found only by combining together
parts of the following texts: Matt. v, 7: vi, 14: vii, 2, 12;
Luke vi, 31, 36, 37, 38; and neither of the fragments thus
united into one, employs the same words to express the same
thought, as those words which occur in St Clement's Epistle.
Woe to that man;
It were better for him if he had not been born,
Than to offend one of my elect :
It were better that a mill-stone should be put on him, and he
should be drowned in the sea,
Than to offend one of my
little ones.
XI.]
107
QUOTATIONS FROM TRADITION.
To make up this apparent quotation (in Chapter xlvi) it
is necessary to combine, or at all events to compare Mat-
thew xviii, 6: xxvi, 24: and Luke xvii, 1-2.
In the Shepherd of Hermas are no quotations from the
New Testament, nor any words which might be thought to
refer to it. Neither has it any quotations from the Old
Testament: although there is a reference to an apocryphal
work of which nothing otherwise is known.
The Lord is nigh to those who turn to him, as is written in
Eldad and Modat who prophesied in the wilderness to the
people. Shepherd, Vis. ii, 3.
In the Book of Numbers, xi, 26, it is true, Eldad and
Modat are named as prophets, who prophesied to the people.
From Ignatius the following extracts will be sufficient.
Be thou wise as a serpent in all things and harmless as the
dove." Ep. to Polycarp," ii.
For if the prayer of one and of a second has such strength,
how much more so both that of the bishop and of all the church?
"Ep. to Ephesians," v.
For every one whom the master of the house sends to his own
household, we ought to receive him as him that sent.-"Ep. to
Ephesians," vi.
These men are not my father's planting.-" Ep. to Tral-
lians," xi.
He who receiveth let him receive." Ep. to Smyrnæans," vi.
With these extracts may be compared the following texts
from the Gospel according to St Matthew, and it will be
seen how little they can be considered as verbal quotations,
and how much they look like mere references to maxims and
sayings which at that time were current, by tradition, and
perhaps in various memoranda also, among the early Chris-
tians: MATT. x, 16: xviii, 19; x, 40: xv, 13: xix, 12.
And the following from Polycarp tend in the same direc-
tion and support the same inference.
Judge not that ye be not judged.
Forgive and it shall be forgiven to you.
Pity that ye may be pitied.
In what measure ye mete, it shall be meted to you again.
Blessed are the poor and they which are persecuted for
righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.—
'Epistle," ii.
These five maxims form only one sentence in Polycarp's
Epistle; but they occur, partly in the same, and partly in
108
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
different words, in Matthew's Gospel, v, 3, 7: vi, 14: vii,
1, 2. They are all found, with variations both of word and
thought, in the Sermon on the Mount, but do not help us
in determining whether that sermon was delivered at one
time, as we now have it in the Gospel of St Matthew, or
whether it was compiled out of discourses delivered at dif-
ferent times, and afterwards condensed for convenience of
use into one continued address.
But there is another fact connected with this subject which
leads to the same conclusion. The Apostolical Fathers, like
several other Christian writers, quote sayings of Christ and
facts of his history which are not found in our Gospels. If
we suppose Barnabas to have quoted, as above, from our
Gospel according to St Matthew, from what source did he
take the following, which also appears in the seventeenth
chapter of his treatise?
Those who wish to see me, and to touch my kingdom, must be
contrite and suffering and so take hold of me.
Clement also, in Chapter xlvi of his Epistle, quotes what
follows:
It is written: Cleave to holy men; for those who cleave to
them shall be made holy.
Now these words do not occur in any part of the New
Testament, and many other instances of uncanonical quota-
tions are found in all the Apostolical Fathers. Aware of the
importance of this fact, some have endeavoured to explain it
by alleging that passages of similar meaning are to be found
in the New Testament. This explanation however is not
satisfactory: for if Barnabas had the New Testament before
him, why did he not make use of it by wording his quota-
tions with accuracy? We must not lower our religion or its
early teachers by ascribing to them a mode of acting which,
on all other subjects, would expose them to contempt. Nor
is it necessary to do so; for there is no proof that our New
Testament was in existence during the lives of the Apos-
tolical Fathers, who therefore could not make citations out
of books which they had never seen.
The foregoing remarks have been made more or less on
the supposition that the writings which remain under the
names of Barnabas, Clement, Hermas, Ignatius, and Poly-
carp, were really written by persons who bore those names,
and that those persons not only lived in the first century,
but were intimate with the Apostles and their companions.
•
XI.]
DIONYSIUS THE AREOPAGITE.
109
But such admission is, unhappily, more than the cause
of truth will warrant. The writings of the Apostolical
Fathers labour under a more heavy load of doubt and sus-
picion than any other ancient compositions either sacred or
profane. In former times, when the art of criticism was in
its infancy, these writings were ten times as extensive as they
are now, and they were circulated without the slightest
doubt of their authenticity. But, as the spirit of inquiry
grew, and the records of past times were investigated, the
mists which obscured the subject were gradually dispersed,
and the light of truth began to shine where there had pre-
viously been nothing but darkness. Things which had
chained and enslaved the mind for ages, dissolved and faded
into nothing at the dawn of day, and objects that once held
the most unbounded sway over the belief, proved to be
unreal beings, creatures of superstition, if not of fraud,
placed like the lions in the path of the pilgrim, to deter
him from proceeding on the way that leads to the heavenly
city of truth.
I have said that the writings of the Apostolical Fathers
were once ten times as bulky as at present. The assertion
does not pass due bounds: for under that title were once
included the works of Dionysius the Areopagite, mentioned
in the Acts of the Apostles, and occupying two large folio
volumes. When these works, consisting of religious disser-
tations, had for many hundred years passed as authentic
throughout all Christendom, and had even been painfully
translated into Latin by Rufinus the celebrated presbyter
of Aquileia, a sudden shock was given to the feelings of
those who believed in these mysterious volumes. Truth
laid its wand upon them and they disappeared from the
sight, leaving to their author the narrow limits of fame
which he occupies in the Acts of the Apostles—limits
beyond which he should never have been compelled to go:
for, as an enlightened man and one of the first to recognize
the truth of Christianity, his reputation has more brilliancy
than all the theological treatises in the world, even if
authentic, could bestow. The works of Dionysius the Areo-
pagite were found out to be forgeries, put together, perhaps,
by some pious but ill-principled devotee, who thought that
the paucity of writings in the first century of the Christian
era was a defect, which might better be supplied by fraud than
the void be suffered to remain. With the works of Dionysius
nine-tenths of primitive Christian writings lost all claim to
authenticity: and about 250 pages, as given in the edition
7
110
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
of Hefele, were now all that remained of what had once
been ascribed to the pens of the contemporaries of the
Apostles. But the process of exhaustion was not yet ended.
The Shepherd of Hermas, a weak and spiritless train of
allegories, and all that remained of their supposed author,
soon followed the forged writings of the Areopagite. The
Shepherd also was declared to be a forgery, or at all events
to have been written by another Hermas who lived many
years later, and not the contemporary of the Apostles. This
fact is now no more disputed than in the case of Dionysius:
no one ventures to say that the work of Hermas is genuine,
-unless, perhaps, some solitary and credulous critic rebuilds
upon a blind faith the edifice which the free use of reason
had demolished.
With Hermas, 130 more pages of testimony disappeared,
and the enemies of the authenticity rejoiced in the destruc-
tion made in the ranks of their opponents.
But the defenders of the early Christian writers were not
dismayed by the process which had thinned their ranks.
There were four Apostolical Fathers remaining of the six;
and the credit of these could not be shaken. The victory
was still theirs, with the compact body of evidence which
these four undoubted witnesses supplied. Let us notice the
issue, which awaits an examination of the four remaining
Apostolical Fathers. It is hard to find words in which to
relate the sentence that has already been passed on the
Epistle of Barnabas. Hefele, the enlightened and orthodox
editor of these writings, has passed the following judgment
upon it.
No one will deny that the testimonies are in favour of its
authenticity. Nevertheless, we are induced for grave reasons to
deny that it is the production of the Apostolic Father.
1. If it had been considered authentic by the ancients, it would
have been read in the churches, as Augustine said of the apocry-
phal writings ascribed to Andrew and John: "If written by
them, they would have been received by the church."
2. The epistle was written after the destruction of Jerusalem,
as may be conjectured from Chapter 16. But, as we have shown
above (Lit. 1), there is no doubt that Barnabas was then dead.
3. In Chapter 5, the Apostles are called "lawless beyond every
kind of sin;" which I think Barnabas, who had been the com-
panion of the Apostles, would hardly have uttered. Such hyper-
bolical expressions rather suit a rhetorician of the second cen-
tury.
4. The marvels related in Chapter 10 about the hare, the
XI.]
111
APOSTOLICAL FATHERS NOT GENUINE.
hyena, &c. savour of some allegorizing trifler rather than of
an apostle.
5. Barnabas, who had travelled over all Asia Minor, and lived
many years at Antioch in Syria, ought to have known the false-
hood of that which is stated in Chapter 9, that the priests of the
idols, and all the Syrians were circumcised.
6. There are numerous allegorical trifles, particularly in Chap-
ters 5-11, which could not have been written by him, who, for
the vivacity of his eloquence, was called by the Apostles Bar-
Nabas, THE SON OF CONSOLATION.
7. There are some errors in Chapters 7 and 8, respecting the
Jewish sacred rites, which could not have been committed by
Barnabas, who was a Levite, and had dwelt long at Jerusalem.
8. Numerous other inconsistencies are found in the same
epistle, &c.
A similar train of reasoning has led Hefele to ascribe the
epistle of Barnabas to some writer who lived in the early
part of the second century. We need not repeat those
reasons, but it is important to remark that, if the work be
correctly ascribed to that later period, its making no mention
of the four Gospels would equally show that the canon of the
New Testament was not even then formed; nor indeed is
this inconsistent with our view of those histories. There is
no evidence that they existed earlier than the middle of the
second century, for they are not named by any writer who
lived before that time.
The sentence pronounced upon Barnabas leaves little
more than a hundred pages for all that remains of the works
of Polycarp, Clement of Rome, and Ignatius. But the work
of elimination is not yet ended. Hefele passes the following
judgment upon them also.
The authenticity of Polycarp's Epistle has been called in ques-
tion by the Centuriators of Magdeburg, by Dallæus and others,
and defended by Nicolas de Nourry, &c.
We agree to the opinion of Grabius, and Möhler, that the so-
called second epistle of Clement was one of the homilies falsely
ascribed to him, &c. Wocher thinks it was written by Dionysius
bishop of Corinth. But Grabius considers it a spurious work of
the middle of the third century.
Fifteen epistles pass under the name of Ignatius
•
Of these, eight, by the unanimous decision of the learned, are
pronounced to be spurious!
Thus not one of these primitive writers has escaped sus-
picion. The three survivors, Polycarp, Clement and Igna-
tius, present a feeble phalanx, quite incompetent to maintain
112
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the communication between A.D. 60, the date of Paul, and
A.D. 150, when Justin Martyr and others are said to con-
tinue the process of tradition: and, as we have seen, not one
of these has been allowed to pass unquestioned. A heavy
blow has, within the last few years and since the judgment
of his editor above mentioned, been dealt on Ignatius the
most important even of these. His works, long disputed
because they contained passages supporting certain ecclesi-
astical ordinances, and in the opinion of many pointing to a
more recent date when those ordinances were better estab-
lished, had given much labour to Pearson and others to
defend their authenticity. We have seen that in the ancient
MSS brought to Europe from the east, and published by
the Rev. W. Cureton, many of the disputed passages are not
found!
In this way the testimony of the Apostolical Fathers is
reduced within a very small compass. Humbled from the
high office of speaking in the cause of truth, they have to
fight for their own existence. From two folios, they have
dwindled to about the quantity of matter which would fill
fifty pages of the present volume, and still, in this form, they
give no indication that, in their day, the books of the New
Testament were in being. What conclusion may we then
draw from these reasonings? That the four Gospels, in their
present form, were not compiled before the beginning or the
middle of the second century; that consequently they are
not strictly contemporary, however early, records of the
Christian history; that we do wrong in abiding by the
letter when it is quite evident that we have nothing to do
but with their spirit: that adventitious authority adduced in
their support is unnecessary and prejudicial: that they are
to be judged by their own doctrines alone; and that they
derive no more support or illustration from the writings of
the Apostolical Fathers than the sun can receive additional
brilliancy from a wax-taper or a farthing rushlight.
XII.]
113
+ !
CHAPTER XII.
PAPIAS QUOTED BY IRENEUS AND EUSEBIUS.
BEFORE we proceed to examine the remains of Justin
Martyr, and Irenæus, and numerous minor writers who
lived in the second century, it will be convenient to name
one of these, of whom undue use has been made to establish
what the few fragments which are still extant, seem rather
to refute and cancel. I am speaking of Papias, who is
quoted by Eusebius in Book iii, chapters 36 and 39, of his
"Ecclesiastical History;" and we learn from his authority that
Papias was bishop of Hierapolis about the year 100 A.D. and
was well skilled in all manner of learning, and well acquainted
with the Scriptures-i.e. of the Old Testament.
""
Archdeacon Paley, in his "Evidences of Christianity,'
brings forward Papias to prove that the books of the New
Testament, which we now have, were in existence and pub-
licly known to the world at the time when Papias lived.
These are the words of Paley:
Papias, a hearer of John, and companion of Polycarp, as
Irenæus attests, and of that age, as all agree, in a passage quoted
by Eusebius, from a work now lost, expressly ascribes the
respective Gospels to Matthew and Mark; and in a manner which
proves that these Gospels must have publicly borne the names of
these authors at that time, and probably long before; for Papias
does not say that one Gospel was written by Matthew and another
by Mark; but, assuming this as perfectly well known, he tells
us from what materials Mark collected his account, namely
from Peter's preaching, and in what language Matthew wrote,
namely in Hebrew. Whether Papias was well informed in this
statement, or not; to the point for which I produce this testi-
mony, namely, that these books bore these names at this time, his
authority is complete.
Before we proceed to comment upon these words, let us
examine the whole chapter, in Eusebius's "Ecclesiastical
History," where almost all that we know of Papias is found.
OF THE WRITINGS OF PAPIAS.
""
The writings of Papias are said to have been five in number,
which are also entitled "Description of our Lord's Oracles.'
Irenæus also mentions these as the only things written by him:
his words are something thus (de πws XÉуWV):
VOL. II.
9
114
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
"Papias also, who was the hearer of John and a companion of
Polycarp, an ancient man, witnesses these things in writing in
"the fourth book of his works. For there are five books compiled
by him."
""
These are the words of Irenæus. Papias himself, however, in
the preface of his works, shows that he was by no means a hearer
and witness of the holy Apostles, but teaches us that he received
the things of the faith from those who were known to them [the
Apostles]. He says:
“But I will not hesitate to combine with my interpretations
"to you whatever things I formerly well learnt from the elders and
“well remembered, maintaining the truth about them. For I did
"not take pleasure like most men in those who spoke the most,
"but in those who taught the truth; not in those who quoted the
“commands of others but those who [delivered] the commands
given by our Lord in the faith and the truths that came from it.
"But if by chance any one came who had followed the elders,
“I examined the words of the elders, what said Andrew, or Peter,
or Philip, or Thomas, or James, or John, or Matthew, or any
"other of the Lord's disciples ? and what Aristion and the elder
John, our Lord's disciples, say. For I did not consider that what
came out of books would benefit me so much as what came from
"the living and abiding voice."
("
((
In this passage we may dwell one moment on the fact that the
name of John is there twice mentioned. The former of them he
classes with Peter and James, and Matthew and the other apostles,
plainly indicating the evangelist. But the other John, diverting
his narrative, he includes among those others who were over and
above the number of the Apostles, placing him after Aristion.
He also plainly names him as elder. So that by these words is
shown to be true the statement of those who have said that there
were two who bore the same name in Asia, and that there were
two monuments in Ephesus, each of which is still said to be that
of John. These things are worthy of consideration. For it is
probable that the second, if one is not disposed to allow that it
was the first, saw the revelation which passes under the name of
John. But Papias, of whom we are now speaking, acknowledges
that he received the words of the Apostles from those who fol-
lowed them: and he says that himself was a hearer of Aristion
and of the elder John. He at least mentions them often by
name, and in his writings gives their traditions. So far then may
what I have said be not said fruitlessly. But it is worth while
to add to the sayings of Papias which have been related, other
sentences of his, in which he records some other marvellous
things, as having come to him by tradition. The story of Philip
the Apostle having stopped with his daughters at Hierapolis, has
་
XII.]
115
PAPIAS.
already been related. But how Papias tells us that he was in
their company and heard a wonderful narrative from Philip's
daughters, I will now particularize. He relates the resurrection
of a dead man that took place where he was; and again another
miracle that happened to Justus surnamed Barsabas, how he
drank a rank poison and by the grace of the Lord suffered no
harm. This was the Justus, whom, after the resurrection of our
Lord, the holy Apostles set up with Matthias and prayed over
them, for the drawing of lots to fill up their number in the stead
of the traitor Judas; as the book of the Acts thus describes it:
"And they appointed two, Joseph called Barsabas, who was
surnamed Justus, and Matthias: and they prayed and said.'
""
Other things also hath the same [Papias] set forth as having
come to him by unwritten tradition, both some strange parables
of our Saviour, and teachings of his, and some other mythical
things. Among which also he says that there will be a thousand
years [MILLENNIUM] after the resurrection from the dead, when
Christ will reign bodily upon this earth. This idea I suppose he
formed, from having received the apostolical descriptions, not
understanding the things which were said by them mystically by
way of examples. For he appears to have been a very little-
minded man, if we may conjecture from his works; except in
the judgment of the greatest part of ecclesiastical writers who
came after him, to whom he was in part the cause of their having
the same opinion as himself, and who sheltered themselves under
the antiquity of the man, such as Irenæus, and others if there be
any, who showed that they held the same opinions. But in his
own writings he delivers also other descriptions of our Lord's
sayings which he got from Aristion already mentioned, and tra-
ditions of the elder John: to which we refer those who are
desirous of knowing more about them: at present we find it
necessary to add to those sayings of his which have been already
explained, a tradition respecting Mark who wrote the Gospel,
which is thus worded:
"And this the elder said. Mark became the interpreter of
"Peter, and wrote accurately as many as he remembered, not
"indeed in a regular order, of the things which were said or
"done by Christ. For he was neither a hearer nor a follower of
"Christ. But afterwards, as I said, he followed Peter, who
"delivered his teachings as necessity served, but did not make a
regular arrangement of our Lord's words: so that Mark made
no error, thus writing some things as he delivered them from
memory. For he took forethought of one thing, not to leave
"out anything of what he heard, or to make a mistake about
"anything therein."
(6
66
116
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
These things are related by Papias about Mark. But about
Matthew these are his words:
'Matthew, then, in the Hebrew dialect wrote the oracles: and
"each person interpreted them as he was able."
The same man uses testimonies from the former epistle of
John and likewise from that of Peter. He sets forth, also,
another history, concerning the woman, who was charged with
many sins before our Lord, and which is contained in the Gospel
according to the Hebrews.
It is clear from this account of Papias given by Eusebius,
who lived about A.D. 320, that not one of Paley's assertions
about him is correct. The evidence, indeed, which we have
is mostly at second-hand: Eusebius and Irenæus differ in
their accounts: the latter says that Papias was a hearer of
John; Eusebius denies this, and proves by the testimony of
Papias himself that he was not contemporary with the
Apostles but received the rudiments of the faith from an
intermediate generation. Neither does Papias "expressly
ascribe the respective Gospels to Matthew and Mark." On
the contrary, he tells us that Matthew wrote a gospel in the
Hebrew language; and there is no proof that the Greek
Gospel, now extant, is a translation from a Hebrew original.
This explanation rests purely upon conjecture, and cannot
be supported by any argument whatever. In the absence
of positive proof, we may be allowed to indulge in a harm-
less conjecture, but not to use that conjecture as a certainty,
or to build an inference and a theory upon so weak a founda-
tion.
The notice of St Mark bears a sense still more opposed to
that which Paley has attributed to it. Papias tells us that
Mark gathered up the various stories which dropped from
the mouth and memory of St Peter, and did not make a
regular arrangement of our Lord's words, but "writing some
things as he [Peter] delivered them." This shows that the
Gospel according to St Mark, which we now have, is not the
work which was compiled by St Mark: for ours is a
regular arrangement of our Lord's words," written in a
regular order, and not a collection of anecdotes, written down
promiscuously, as they fell from the mouth of Peter. It is
highly probable that all the four Gospels now in existence
were compiled out of such fragments and short narratives as
had been gathered from the first Apostles, and handed down
by tradition: but there is no evidence to show that the four
Gospels were, any of them, written by the Apostles themselves.
66
XIII.]
117
JUSTIN MARTYR.
Little more needs to be said about Papias. Granting,
for the moment, that he alludes pointedly, in the extracts
quoted from Eusebius, to those very Gospels which we still
have, bearing the names of Matthew and of John: why has
Paley passed over in silence the Gospel of the Hebrews,
which Papias mentions with quite as much respect as those
of Matthew and Mark? The argument proves too much
for, if the words of Papias show the early existence of the
canonical Gospels, they also show that the uncanonical ones
were equally ancient; and if Papias alone were our
authority, would leave us in a great state of embarrassment
how to distinguish the true ones from the false.
;
CHAPTER XIII.
JUSTIN MARTYR—IRENÆUS-CLEMENS ALEXANDRINUS.
THE second century of our era opens with a generation of
men, who had, in all probability, never conversed with
the disciples and first followers of our Lord, from whom they
were separated by an interval of seventy years. It is not to
be denied that an intermediate race, who had associated with
St Paul, may have connected the Apostles with the age of
which we are about to speak. But this has no bearing upon
the question of the Gospel histories. If, during the seventy
years which passed between the Crucifixion, A.D. 30, and the
year 100, it cannot be shown that these identical works were
actually in existence, but merely that the doctrines and the
sayings of Christ, which they contain, were current in tradi-
tion only, it is a moral certainty that such deviations as we
actually find between one Gospel and another, in relating the
same fact, would assuredly take place. The total absence of
all allusion to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, in the
Apostolical Fathers, who alone are said to have been prior
to A.D. 100, justifies us in saying that those Fathers were
not aware of there being such books as the four evangelical
histories: but the fact of their existence is inseparable from
that of their being well known to those fathers; we cannot
for an instant suppose that those men could have been
ignorant of writings so vitally important to their religion, in
comparison with which everything else was as nothing in
their sight.
Neither would the recent occurrence of the Christian
118
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
miracles, and their currency in tradition, call off the atten-
tion of the public, much less of their teachers, from the
writings in which all those miracles were related by eye-
witnesses. We find, on the contrary, by our own experience,
that the freshness of an event gives vogue to the most trivial
history in which it is related, so much so that the general
estimate of it derives a colouring from the mode in which it
is first published to the world in writing, and loses many of
the traits by which it was marked in the reality. It is,
therefore, from the most weighty reasons which the case will
admit of, that we come to the conclusion already stated, that
the Gospels were not yet reduced to the form which they
now bear, at the beginning of the second century of our era.
If we pursue the investigation further than this date, the
same striking peculiarity, which is so evident in the writers
of the first century, forces itself on our notice at the begin-
ning of the second. Reference is still made, not to any book
in which Christ's doctrines are to be found, but to the
doctrines as floating on the wings of tradition, or perhaps
even found in short narratives of a fragmentary character.
In the second century we have a large number of writers
whose names with a few fragments only remain, and these
will recur to our notice in the next chapter. At the end of
the same period lived Irenæus and Clement of Alexandria,
from whose writings it appears that our present Gospels had
been published to the world and were already, with few
deviations from our present canon, well known and exten-
sively circulated.
It is much to be regretted that the indiscreet zeal of the
early Christians, or the cupidity of copyists-for the true
origin of the evil has not been clearly ascertained-should
have led to the fabrication of so many writings, ascribed to
men of talents and piety, that difficulties spring up before us
at almost every step, and envelope the works of the early
fathers in a cloud of doubt and mystery almost impene-
trable. This evil, which in the case of the Apostolical
Fathers led to its own remedy by the ill-judged length to
which its authors carried their audacity, becomes, in the
second century, more limited in its dimensions and therefore
the more uncertain and dangerous in its results.
The process of elimination, which gradually reduced the
so-called writings of the first century from two folio volumes
to fifty slender pages, would, in the case of profane works,
have prepared the inquirer for casting from him the small
remnant, even if not fully proved to be spurious-for there
XIII.]
119
WORKS OF JUSTIN.
is no other case in record of so wide a disproportion between
what is genuine and what is not. When nine-tenths of a
book has been set aside as worthless, it has seldom been
thought worth while to deal with equal delicacy towards the
remainder. Like the Esopic fable, which tells us that the
innocent often suffers for his companionship with the guilty,
so, also, human tribunals are less charitable about those
whose character is doubtful when found in company with
notorious and convicted offenders.
The evil, we have observed, follows us into the very
middle of the second century; for of the writings ascribed
to Justin Martyr and to Irenæus more than half are
acknowledged either forgeries, or at all events not authentic.
This will be evident from the following list of them.
The latest and best edition of Justin Martyr's works is by
Otto, 3 vols, 8vo, Jenæ, 1848. The first volume contains
the Opera Indubitata or Undoubted Works of Justin, which
are these:
1. Apologia Major, ad Antoninum Pium-Greater Apology,
addressed to Antoninus Pius.
2. Apologia Minor, ad Senatum Romanum-Lesser Apology,
addressed to the Roman Senate.
3. Dialogus cum Tryphone Judæo-Dialogue with Trypho the
Jew.
Volume II contains the Opera Addubitata or Doubtful
Works:
1. Oratio ad Gentiles-Address to the Gentiles.
2. Cohortatio ad Gentiles-Exhortation to the Gentiles.
3. De Monarchia-On Monarchy.
4. Epistola ad Diognetum-Epistle to Diognetus.
Volume III contains the Opera Subditicia or Spurious
Works:
1. Expositio Recta Fidei-Exposition of the True Faith.
2. Epistola ad Zenam et Serenum-Epistle to Zena and Serenus.
3. Confutatio dogmatum quorundam Aristotelis-Refutation
of certain dogmas of Aristotle.
4. Quæstiones et Responsiones ad Orthodoxos-Questions and
Answers, addressed to the Orthodox.
5. Quæstiones Christianorum ad Gentiles-Questions from
Christians to the Gentiles.
6. Quæstiones Gentilium ad Christianos-Questions from the
Gentiles to Christians.
7. About twenty or thirty from other books, which have been
lost.
120
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
This list shows that more than half of the works once
ascribed to Justin Martyr are either doubtful or actually
spurious. These must, then, be set aside altogether; for
they were no doubt written long after the time of Justin,
when his authority as an ancient father of the Church was
great, and the pious but fraudulent wish to support its
dogmas by the weight of his name may have tempted dis-
honest men to forge such writings-or, perhaps, the pecuniary
value of his works allured the avarice of copyists to multiply
works and to pass them off upon the world as his; or, by a
more charitable judgment, these writings which are called
doubtful, may have been written at a later date, and by
similarity of name or from some other cause, have been
ascribed to him whose name they now bear.
Let us then confine our remarks to those parts of Justin
Martyr which are held to be genuine, and turn our atten-
tion to the mode in which these remains have been used to
support the alleged authenticity of the Gospels, and their
contemporaneousness with the facts which they contain.
In the "Evidences of Christianity," chapter IX, § i, 7, we
find the following use made of Justin Martyr's works:
Although the nature of his two principal writings, one of
which was addressed to heathens, and the other was a conference
with a Jew, did not lead him to such frequent appeals to
Christian books, as would have appeared in a discourse intended
for Christian readers; we nevertheless reckon up in them be-
tween twenty and thirty quotations of the Gospels and Acts of
the Apostles, certain, distinct, and copious: if each verse be
counted separately, a much greater number, if each expression, a
very great one.
We meet with quotations of three of the Gospels within the
compass of half-a-page.—“ And in other words he says, Depart
from me into outer darkness, which the Father hath prepared.
for Satan and his angels," (which is from Matthew xxv, 41).
"And again he said in other words, I give unto you power to
tread upon serpents, and scorpions, and venomous beasts, and
upon all the power of the enemy.' (This from Luke x, 19.)
"And before he was crucified, he said, The Son of Man must
suffer many things, and be rejected of the Scribes and Pharisees,
and be crucified, and rise again the third day." (This from
Mark viii, 31.)
""
In another place, Justin quotes a passage in the history of
Christ's birth, as delivered by Matthew and John, and fortifies
his quotation by this remarkable testimony: "As they have
taught, who have written the history of all things concerning
XIII.]
121
EXTRACT FROM PALEY.
our Saviour Jesus Christ; and we believe them." Quotations
are also found from the Gospel of St John.
What, moreover, seems extremely material to be observed is,
that in all Justin's works, from which might be extracted almost
a complete life of Christ, there are but two instances in which
he refers to any thing as said or done by Christ, which is not
related concerning him in our present Gospels: which shows,
that these Gospels, and these, we may say, alone, were the
authorities from which the Christians of that day drew the infor-
mation upon which they depended. One of these instances is of
a saying of Christ, not met with in any book now extant.* The
other, of a circumstance in Christ's baptism, namely, a fiery or
luminous appearance upon the water, which, according to Epi-
phanius, is noticed in the Gospel of the Hebrews: and which
might be true: but which, whether true or false, is mentioned
by Justin, with a plain mark of diminution when compared with
what he quotes as resting upon Scripture authority. The reader
will advert to this distinction: "And then, when Jesus came to
the river Jordan, where John was baptizing, as Jesus descended
into the water, a fire also was kindled in Jordan; and when he
came up out of the water, the Apostles of this our Christ have
written, that the Holy Ghost lighted upon him as a dove."
All the references in Justin are made without mentioning the
author, which proves that these books were perfectly notorious,
and that there were no other accounts of Christ then extant, or
at least, no others so received and credited as to make it neces-
sary to distinguish these from the rest.
But, although Justin mentions not the author's name, he calls
the books, "Memoirs composed by the Apostles and their Com-
panions;" which descriptions, the latter especially, exactly suit
with the titles which the Gospels and Acts of the Apostles now
bear.
From this notice of Justin Martyr, the hasty reader
might be led to infer that the books of the New Testament
* To which Paley adds the following note:-"Wherefore also our
Lord Jesus Christ has said, In whatsoever I shall find you, in the same I
will also judge you." Possibly Justin intended not to quote any text, but to
represent the sense of many of our Lord's sayings. Fabricius has ob-
served, that this saying has been quoted by many writers, and that Justin
is the only one who ascribes it to our Lord, and that perhaps by a slip of
his memory.
Words resembling these are read repeatedly in Ezekiel: "I will judge
them according to their ways" (chap. vii, 3; xxxiii, 20). It is remarkable
that Justin had just before expressly quoted Ezekiel. Mr Jones upon this
circumstance founded a conjecture, that Justin wrote only "the Lord hath
said," intending to quote the words of God, or rather the sense of those
words in Ezekiel; and that some transcriber, imagining these to be the
words of Christ, inserted in his copy the addition "Jesus Christ." Vol.
i, p. 539.
поверто
ક્
+
.
122
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
were, at all events in Justin's time, perfectly well known
and formed into a canon, as we now have them, to the exclu-
sion of all other unrecognized gospels, of which a great
number were even then or within a few years known to be
in being. Here then at last, he would infer, must a limit be
placed to those speculations which ascribed to them a later
origin than the age of the Apostles themselves. The testi-
mony of Justin Martyr who wrote his "Apology for the
Christians" in A.D. 151, must remove all doubt that the four
evangelic histories were already in his time the basis of
Christian teaching and the exclusive record of Christ's life
and miracles. Such also is the common opinion respecting
the origin of the Gospels: taking for granted the report
made by Lardner, and from him copied into the "Evidences
of Christianity," few persons have ever compared the report
with the original witnesses; and never felt a misgiving that
statements could, even unintentionally, be so perverted.
Justin does not name a single writer of the eight, who are
said to have written the books of the New Testament. The
very names of the evangelists Matthew, Mark, Luke and
John, are never mentioned by him-do not occur once in all
his works. It is therefore not true that he has quoted from
our existing Gospels, and so proves their existence, as they
now are, in his own time. It is possible that they were then
in being; but, if so, they did not pass under the names by
which they are now known, nor were they held in the same
estimation as now: or they would certainly have been
quoted, not vaguely, but specifically, by Justin Martyr.
That they were "perfectly notorious," and Justin therefore
has not named their authors, is a rhetorical flourish on the
part of Paley: for Justin has not even named the books
themselves, much less their writers. He has nowhere
remarked, like those fathers of the Church who lived several
ages after him, that there are four Gospels, of higher import-
ance and estimation than any others, forming the Christian
canon, and he probably would have been astonished to hear
the arguments of some later fathers to prove, by the most
irrelevant analogies, that four Gospels, and only four were
necessary to maintain the Christian faith. All this was the
growth of a later age, but is wanting in Justin Martyr, and
we are thus led to the conclusion that our four Gospels had
not then emerged from obscurity, but were still, if in being,
confounded with a larger mass of Christian traditions which
about this very time were beginning to be set down in writing.
The age of Justin Martyr, we must remember, was the very
XIII.]
123
GOSPELS NOT NAMED BY HIM.
age, in which the unscrupulous Peregrinus, whose history
we have given from Lucian, professed himself a Christian,
and beat the Christians at their own weapons,-expounded
their books for them-wrote others himself, and ended by
deserting their brotherhood as hastily as he had entered it.
The age of Justin Martyr was the age when books would
naturally begin to be written; for the obscurity of the first
generation of Christians had given way to a more flourishing
condition. The sect was emerging into importance, and as
tradition would no longer preserve the truths of Christianity
and the miraculous history of its founder, it behoved them
to collect together these traditions and to store them up for
the use of future times. A multitude of Gospels, Acts of
different Apostles, Epistles, and Revelations then swarmed
into life. Many of these have come down either wholly or
in substance to our times; and Justin Martyr has actually
mentioned facts and sayings of Christ which are found in
such uncanonical gospels only. These assertions must now
be substantiated by a more close examination of the works
which are believed to be his genuine productions.
1. Justin Martyr never once mentions by name the evan-
gelists Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John-This circum-
stance is of great importance; for those who assert that our
four eanonical Gospels are contemporary records of our Sa-
viour's ministry, ascribe them to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, and to no other writers. But Justin Martyr, it must
be remembered, wrote about A.D. 150, and neither he, nor
any writer before him, has alluded, in the most remote de-
gree, to four specific Gospels bearing the names of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John; nor does any other writer until the
end of the century bear any certain or even probable testi-
mony to the authorship which is generally ascribed to our
books.
2. Justin Martyr never, if we except an interpolated
passage, mentions even any book called a gospel.-The four
histories, which contain the life of Christ, have for sixteen
centuries borne the name of Gospels—a word compounded of
two old English words good and spell, and these literally re-
present in our tongue the Greek word euangelion, which
during the same long period has been used to express the same
idea in the original language. But the word itself is not of
Christian origin, although its use has long been limited to the
books which now bear that name. It occurs twice in Homer's
Odyssey" (xiv, 152. 166), where it is generally trans-
lated a "reward for good news," but it is doubtful whether
66
124
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
.
+
in these passages the word for reward is not to be understood,
in which case euangelion would be an adjective, but in either
case the word in the Greek and Roman writers implies an
abstract quality and not a material thing. In this sense too
it is to be understood in the early ages of Christianity, and
in no other sense does Justin Martyr use this term. The
truth of this observation may be shown by citing two passages
in which the word occurs. The first of these is in the tenth
chapter of his "Dialogue with Trypho the Jew," who used
these words:
I know that those precepts of yours in that which is called the
Gospel (ἐν τῷ λεγομένῳ Εὐαγγελίῳ) are so wonderful and great, that
we suspect it is not possible for any one to observe them: for I
have made it my business to obtain a sight of them.
In the 100th chapter of the same Dialogue Justin says:
But he is described in the Gospel also as saying: "All things
have been given to me by my Father, and no one knows the
Father except the Son, nor the Son except the Father and those
to whom the Son shall reveal him." He hath then revealed
(aπenάuev) to us all things as many as we have understood
νε
vevonnaμev)* through his grace from the Scriptures.
εν
Here we have no mention of a book but only of the Chris-
tian Dispensation "called the Gospel," and in the last extract
this interpretation is confirmed by the mention of the Scrip-
tures: for not only in the time of Justin, but long afterwards
this term was used to denote the Old Testament, and in
almost all such cases the names of those who wrote those
ancient Scriptures are expressly given, contrasting strongly
with the quotations from the Gospel, which was long in cir-
culation before the various records were collected into the
four books which we now have, bearing the names of those
Apostles, under whose authority these records were first
circulated.
But there is a third passage in Justin Martyr which must
not be passed over.
The apostles, in the Memorials made by them which are called
* The classical scholar will observe the difference of tense, which con-
firms the interpretation given in the text. Jesus" has lately been reveal-
ing" to us things which we had previously understood from the Scrip-
tures of the Old Testament. The past tense in Greek denotes some pre-
vious definite time: the aorist represents the action as continuing during
an indefinite period, even down to the present time.
XIII.]
125
EVANGELION-EVANGELIA.
Gospels (ἐν τοῖς γενομένοις ὑπ' αὐτῶν ἀπομνημονεύμασιν, ἃ καλεῖται Εὐαγ
yέxx), have handed down that Jesus instructed them thus: that
having taken bread and given thanks, he said "Do this in re-
membrance of me.
Here for the first time we meet with the word evangelia in
the plural number-a word until then restricted to the doc-
trines of Christianity, and therefore not admitting a plural
number. The absence of any other similar passage in which
our Gospels are so indicated, may have been the chief reason
why Schleiermacher long ago pointed out that this is an in-
stance of a gloss or side-note, which had crept into the text.
But the use of the word Evangel to denote the Christian
Dispensation is illustrated by the use of a kindred term
Evangelist to denote the person who preached or propagated
that Dispensation: and here again we find that for a very
long time this name was used to denote not those who wrote
histories of Christ and of Christianity, but those who went
about in the earliest ages of our religion to evangelize and
preach its doctrines. Thus Philip is surnamed the Evange-
list in Acts xxi, 8, and it is well known that he went about
to preach the Gospel. The same no doubt is the meaning
of the term in Ephesians iv, 11, where St Paul classifies the
various ministers as Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors,
and Teachers. Nor is there any reason why the same inter-
pretation does not apply to the Second Epistle to Timothy,
iv, 5: "Do the work of an evangelist." It is clear, also,
not only from these passages, but also from other later
writings, that the term Evangelist was not restricted or even
applied especially to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Any
one, whatever his position in the early Church, might become
an evangelist by going about to preach the Gospel. Nor
does the term seem to have been restricted to the four in
much later times. Theodoret and Chrysostom define the
term as applicable to travelling preachers, and Eusebius,
speaking of Pantanus the philosopher, who, about the year
180 A.D. in the course of his ministry went as far as India,
continues his narrative as follows:
For there were even up to that time many Evangelists of the
Word purposing to introduce a divine zeal of apostolic imitation
for the increase and building up of the Divine Word.-H. E.
v, 10.
The same historian tells us elsewhere that eighty years
or more before Pantænus, the same process of evangelizing
was carried on.
126
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Setting out on foreign journeys, they fulfilled the work of
evangelists, being ambitious to preach Christ to those who had
still never heard at all of the faith and to deliver the writing of
the divine Gospels.-37.
But it is impossible
for us to enumerate by name all who formerly according to the
first succession of the Apostles became shepherds or even evan-
gelists in the Churches throughout the world.-H. E. iii, 36.
3. Justin Martyr several times alludes to Memorials of
the Apostles, 'Añoμvnμoveúμaтa’Añoστóλwv, in general terms, with-
out the slightest indication of their number, nature, or ex-
tent.-Six passages are here given in an English translation.
(C
An angel of God brought to her the glad tidings, saying,
Behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb by the Holy Spirit,
and bring forth a son, and He shall be called Son of the Highest,
and thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people
from their sins, as those have taught, who have recorded all things
concerning our Saviour Jesus Christ."—Vol. i, p. 86, ed. Otto.
Compare with this Matthew i, 21, and Luke i, 31.
On the day called the day of the Sun a meeting in one place is
held, of all who dwell in the cities or the country; and the me-
morials of the Apostles or the writings of the prophets are read,
as long as there is time. Then when the reader has done, the pre-
sident, in a speech, makes an admonition and exhortation to imi-
tate these good men. Then we stand up all of us together and
send forth prayers.
And, when we have ended the prayer, as we
said before, bread, and wine, and water are brought, and the pre-
sident utters at the same time prayers and thanksgivings, as well
as he is able, and the people give assent saying Amen, and the
distribution and partaking of the things blessed is made to each,
and is sent to those who are absent, by means of the attendants
[DEACONS]. Those who are well off and willing give each at his
own option what he chooses, and what is collected is placed before
the president, who gives assistance to both.orphans and widows,
and to those who are left from illness or any other cause, and to
those who are in bonds, and to strangers resident among them,
and, generally, he becomes a guardian to all who are in need.
We all in common come to the meeting on the day of the Sun,
since it is the first day, on which God, having changed darkness
and matter, made the world, and Jesus Christ our Saviour rose
from the dead on the same day: for they crucified Him on the
day before Saturn's day, and on the day after Saturn's day,
which is the day of the Sun, appearing to His Apostles and dis-
ciples He taught these things which we have given out to you
also for consideration.-Vol. i, p. 158.
For also when giving up His breath on the cross, He said,
"Father, into Thy hands I commend my spirit," as also I learnt
XIII.]
127
THE MEMORIALS.
this also from the Memorials. For it is written in the Memorials
that when urging His disciples to surpass the system of the Pha-
risees, or, if not, to be assured that they would not be saved, He said
to them these words: " Except your righteousness shall exceed
the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no
case enter into the kingdom of heaven.”—Vol. i, p. 358.
Being with them he sang a hymn to God, as also is shown to
have been done in the Memorials of the Apostles, &c.
and that he changed the name of one of his disciples to Peter,
this also is written in his Memorials, together with his also
changing the names of two other brethren, sons of Zebedee,
calling them Boanerges, that is, Sons of Thunder. Vol. i, p. 361.
This last extract is peculiar for having not avτwv their
memorials, i. e. the memorials of the Apostles, but autou his
memorials; and it is doubtful whether the memorials of
Peter or of Christ are meant. The learned editor Otto says
that, if six hundred manuscripts were in favour of the com-
mon reading autou, he would alter it to autov. This bold
style of criticism is certainly convenient for those who adjust
facts to theories, but not for those who adapt their theories
to facts. As autou and not aurav is the actual reading, we
must infer that either Peter's memorials or Christ's me-
morials are here spoken of. If Peter's, no such book is now
known to exist: if Christ's, the expression is too vague to
designate the four canonical Gospels, and may refer to the
uncanonical writings or to any other traditionary accounts.
The star then having appeared in the heaven at the time of
his birth, as is written in the Memorials of his Apostles, the magi
of Arabia, knowing him from this, came and worshipped him.-
Vol. i, p. 362.
And because he was to rise from the dead on the third day
after his crucifixion, it is written in the Memorials, that those of
your nation questioning him, said, Show us a sign. And he an-
swered to them, An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after
a sign; and there shall no sign be given to them, but the sign
of Jonas.—Vol. i, p. 362.
4. Justin Martyr has nowhere mentioned any of the
Epistles, nor even once named Paul or any other of the
Apostles, except John and the remark that Christ changed
Simon's name to Peter, &c. This is a fact not to be over-
looked: not even the Epistles, which bear the names of
Paul, Peter, James, John, and Jude, nor any of their
writers, are ever once mentioned by Justin Martyr. Is not
this a sign that the distinctness, into which these works,
with the names of their writers, have since then been
128
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
brought, is the result of a development which had hardly
begun in the time of Justin Martyr? Even the change of
Simon's name to Peter, so briefly noticed in the extract
quoted in page 127, confirms this view of the gradual growth
of our Gospels out of original memoranda and no doubt also
of primitive traditions; for by describing Peter as one of
the Apostles, Justin seems to suppose that without this
explanation his readers would not know who Peter was.
5. Justin Martyr has, in a remarkable passage, named
one John, to whom a revelation was made by God, in terms
showing plainly that Justin Martyr knew no more about the
canon of the New Testament than we do. As this is an
important extract, the Greek is here given with the English
in parallel columns.
Καὶ ἔπειτα καὶ παρ' ἡμῖν ἀνήρ
τις, ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωάννης, εἷς τῶν ἀποστ
τόλων τοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἐν ἀποκαλύψει
év
γενομένῃ αὐτῷ χίλια ἔτη ποιήσειν ἐν
Ἱερουσαλὴμ τοὺς τῷ ἡμετέρῳ Χριστῷ
πιστεύσαντας προεφήτευσε, καὶ μετὰ
ταῦτα τὴν καθολικὴν καὶ, συνελόντι
φάναι, αἰωνίαν ὁμοθυμαδὸν ἅμα πάν
των ἀνάστασιν γενήσεσθαι καὶ κρίσιν.
Ὅπερ καὶ ὁ Κύριος ἡμῶν εἶπεν, ὅτι
Οὔτε γαμήσουσιν οὔτε γαμηθήσονται,
ἀλλ᾿ ἰσάγγελοι ἔσονται, τέκνα του
Θεοῦ τῆς ἀναστάσεως ὄντες. (vol. 1,
p. 282.)
66
And then among us also, a
certain man, whose name was
John, one of the Apostles of
Christ, in a revelation made to
him, prophesied that those who
believed on our Christ would
spend a thousand years in
Jerusalem, and after this would
be the general, and to speak
briefly, the eternal resurrection
and judgment of all men ;
which also our Lord has said,
They shall neither marry nor
be given in marriage, but shall
be equal to the angels, being
the children of the God of the
resurrection.
"the
Is this the language of a writer who regarded
Revelation not a revelation of St John the Divine" as a
portion of the holy word of God, distinct from all other
revelations whatever? Does Justin Martyr speak of the
favourite Apostle John in these unseemly terms as a certain
man, one John" as we might render it? The zeal of the
commentators has here greatly damaged the books of the
New Testament by asserting that the early fathers quoted
them, especially in such disparaging terms as these! If our
books of the New Testament were at that time in circula-
tion, and known to the world as verbally inspired, their
writers, especially one, whose name is so prominent as that
of John, would hardly have been quoted in such words
as Justin Martyr uses to describe the writer of the Revela-
1
XIII.]
129
CHRIST'S SAYINGS.
1
1
tion; for his language, instead of manifesting his respect for
the writer and his book, only tends to show in what little
esteem he held both the one and the other. But it is fair to
add that even in the early days of Christianity it was
doubted by many whether the Revelation which has been
admitted into the canon was really the work of John the
Evangelist or not.
6. Justin Martyr has in six instances-not two only, as
Paley erroneously states-quoted sayings of Christ, or events
of Christ's life, which do not occur in our Gospels, but were
found in other uncanonical writings.
The six instances here follow:
1. For an ass's foal was standing at a certain entrance to a
village, tied to a vine.-Vol. i, p. 82, ed. Otto.
That the foal was tied, is apparent from the canonical
Gospel, but that it was tied to a vine nowhere appears in
our books: Justin Martyr obtained this additional fact from
some other source, perhaps from tradition.
2. For also, as said the prophet, mocking him, they placed him
on a tribunal, and said, "Give judgment for us."—Vol. i, p. 90.
Our Gospels relate that the soldiers plaited a crown of
thorns for Jesus, and placed a reed by way of sceptre in his
hand: but they are silent about his being placed on a
tribunal or judgement seat. Yet this additional act of
mockery perhaps was related in some other of the numerous
gospels not admitted into the canon.
· 3. Wherefore also our Lord Jesus Christ said, "In whatsoever
things I shall apprehend you, in those also will I judge you."-
Vol. i, p. 156.
This saying of Christ occurs nowhere in our Gospels, but
was no doubt to be found somewhere or other, in Justin
Martyr's time, or he would not have quoted it. Grotius and
others think that it is taken from the Gospel according to the
Hebrews.
4. The child then being born in Bethlehem, when Joseph had
no place to put up at in that village, he put up in a cave near the
village, and then, whilst they were there, Mary brought forth
Christ, and placed him in a manger, where those who came from
Arabia found him.—Vol. 1, pt ii, p. 268.
In this extract we recognize a particular of Christ's his-
tory, related not by either of the canonical Gospels, but by
VOL. II.
10
130
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
C
the Protevangelium Jacobi, Historia Josephi, Evangelium
Infantiæ, and Historia de Nativitate Mariæ, all apocryphal
works,* not received by the Church.
5. And then when Jesus had gone to the river Jordan, where
John was baptizing, Jesus having gone down into the water,
both a fire was kindled in the Jordan, and when he came up from
the water, the apostles of this same our Christ have written that
the holy spirit lighted upon him like a dove.-Vol. 1, pt ii,
p. 306.
This kindling of a fire in Jordan is evidently a fact not to
be gathered from the canonical Gospels: Justin Martyr read
it in one of the numerous uncanonical works with which the
early ages of Christianity abounded. It was found among
others, in Prædicatio Pauli, "The Preaching of Paul," a work
now lost; in the Gospel of the Ebionites, mentioned by
Epiphanius, Hæres. 30, § 13; and in the Sibylline Oracles,
a work still extant, Lib. vii, 81-83.
6. To whom also he [John the Baptist] cried out, "I am not
the Christ, but the voice of one crying: for there shall come he
who is stronger than I, whose shoes I am not able to carry.”
And Jesus having come to the Jordan, and being thought to
be the son of Joseph the carpenter, and appearing uncomely,
as the scriptures foretold, and being thought to be a carpenter
(for whilst he was among men he made these works of a car-
penter, ploughs and yokes, teaching by means of them tokens of
justice and an active life), the holy spirit also, for man's sake, as
I said before, lighted on him in the shape of a dove, and a voice
came at the same time from heaven, which also was spoken by
David, as saying in his person what was about to be addressed to
him by the Father, "Thou art my son; this day have I begotten
thee," meaning that he was then born to men, when their know-
ledge of him first began.-Vol. 1, pt ii, p. 308.
That our Saviour was the son of a carpenter is known
from our canonical Gospels, but that he himself worked at
that trade is related in two of the uncanonical writings,
namely the "Gospel of our Saviour's Infancy," and the
"Gospel of St Thomas." In the latter, ploughs and yokes
are especially named as the articles which he was occupied
in making; and it is possible that Justin Martyr quoted the
fact from this very uncanonical gospel of St Thomas.
The quotations, which we have thus minutely examined,
* All these are to be found in the editions of Apocryphal writers named
in page 32 of this volume.
XIII.]
131
QUOTATIONS BY JUSTIN.
lead us to believe that Justin Martyr draws from many
sources, some of which are now no longer in being, and not
from the four Gospels only. Indeed he appears not to have
known that there were four and four only authentic records
of our Saviour's teaching. This view will be confirmed if
we find that the sayings of Christ which he quotes are not
in exactly the same words as we read in our existing four
Gospels. This is actually the case. In hardly a single
instance does he quote the exact words which we find in
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, but rather the same in
substance; and in some cases we cannot find any single
sentence in our four Gospels corresponding even in sense
with the words of Justin Martyr, but are obliged to form a
compound of words brought together from two or more of
the canonical Gospels.
This seems to prove that Justin quotes the sayings from
the current traditions of the day, and from a variety of
memorials relating the deeds of Christ and his apostles.
Nor is it to be wondered at that Christ's expressions should
be remarkably similar in these different traditions and narra-
tives, for they were peculiarly adapted for being remem-
bered.
In the First Apology, said to have been addressed to the
Roman emperor Antoninus Pius, Justin himself notices their
short and pithy character:
Βραχεῖς δὲ καὶ σύντομοι παρ᾽
αὐτοῦ λόγοι γεγόνασιν· οὐ γὰρ σοφιστ
τῆς ὑπῆρχεν· ἀλλὰ δύναμις θεοῦ ὁ
λóyos aŭtoũ йv. APOL. I, § 14.
The sayings that came from
him were short and concise:
for he was not a sophist, but
his word was the power of a
god.
This peculiarity, it must be observed, rendered it easy for
Christ's sayings to be preserved and handed down to pos-
terity, as we find they were, with very little verbal disagree-
ment, and yet disagreeing slightly, as we, in fact, read them,
in the four Gospels, in Justin Martyr, and elsewhere.
I shall now copy word for word the first ten sentences of
Justin Martyr, which seem to be taken from our four
Gospels, and place in parallel columns the passages of
similar import, from Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
which Justin Martyr is said to have quoted. The object of
this comparison will be to show that Justin Martyr gives us
Christ's sayings in their traditionary forms and not in the
words which are found in our four Gospels: it is evident that
this argument addresses itself to the learned reader alone:
132
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
as the identity of quotation can be proved or disproved, not
in a translation, but in the original language only.
1.
[Περὶ μὲν οὖν σωφροσύνης τοσοῦτον εἶπεν· ] Ὃς ἂν ἐμβλέψῃ γυναικὶ πρὸς
τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτῆς ἤδη ἔμοίχευσε τῇ καρδίᾳ παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ.
~
The same sentiment is found in Matthew, v, 28, but the
words are different:
Πᾶς ὁ βλέπων γυναῖκα πρὸς τὸ ἐπιθυμῆσαι αὐτῆς, ἤδη ἐμοίχευσεν αὐτὴν
ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτοῦ.
او
Why did Justin Martyr write Ὃς ἂν ἐμβλέψῃ, when, if he
had St Matthew's Gospel before him, he might with more
ease and accuracy have written Πᾶς ὁ βλέπων ? Why also has
he omitted αὐτὴν and added παρὰ τῷ Θεῷ, if he might have
cited the passage more correctly from St Matthew's Gospel,
then lying before him? The solution is that he cites a
well-known saying, current in tradition, and perhaps also in
numberless brief documents handed down as records of what
Christ had said and taught.
2.
Εἰ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ὁ δεξιὸς σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκκοψον αὐτόν· συμφέρει γάρ
σοι μονόφθαλμον εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, ἢ μετὰ τῶν δύο
πεμφθῆναι εἰς τὸ αἰώνιον πῦρ.
This passage is very like to Matthew, v, 29:
Εἰ [δὲ] ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου ὁ δεξιὸς σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔξελε αὐτὸν, καὶ βάλε
ἀπὸ σοῦ· συμφέρει γάρ σοι, ἵνα ἀπόληται ἓν τῶν μελῶν σου, καὶ μὴ ὅλον τὸ
σῶμά σου βληθῆ εἰς γέενναν.
But it is also like Matthew, xviii, 9:
Εἰ ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔξελε αὐτὸν, καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ· καλόν
σοι ἐστὶ μονόφθαλμον εἰς τὴν ζωὴν εἰσελθεῖν, ἢ δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντα βληθῆναι
εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός.
ท
And it bears an equal likeness to Mark, ix, 47:
Ἐὰν ὁ ὀφθαλμός σου σκανδαλίζει σε, ἔκβαλε αὐτόν· καλόν σοι ἐστὶ
μονόφθαλμον εἰσελθεῖν εἰς τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, ἢ δύο ὀφθαλμοὺς ἔχοντα
βληθῆναι εἰς τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός.
Yet, strange to say, it is not identical in words with either
of the three.
XIII.]
133
QUOTATIONS BY JUSTIN.
1
3.
Ὃς γαμεῖ ἀπολελυμένην ἀφ' ἑτέρου ἀνδρὸς μοιχᾶται.
Matthew and Luke may be compared, but only to detect
a difference:
Matt. v, 32. Ὃς ἐαν ἀπολε
λυμένην γαμήση, μοιχάται.
Ο
Luke xvi, 18. Πᾶς ὁ ἀπο-
λελυμένην ἀπὸ ἀνδρὸς γαμῶν, μοι
χεύει.
4.
Εἰσί τινες οἵτινες εὐνουχίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, εἰσὶ δ᾽ οἱ ἐγεννήθησαν
εὐνοῦχοι, εἰσὶ δὲ οἱ εὐνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς δία τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν·
πλὴν οὐ πάντες τοῦτο χωροῦσιν.
ΟΙ
This is a paraphrase rather than a quotation of the follow-
ing in St Matthew's Gospel.
Matt. xix, 12. Εἰσὶ γὰρ εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες ἐκ κοιλίας μητρὸς ἐγεννήθησαν
οὕτω καὶ εἰσὶν εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες εὐνουχίσθησαν ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων· καί εἰσιν
εὐνοῦχοι, οἵτινες ευνούχισαν ἑαυτοὺς διὰ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν.
δυνάμενος χωρεῖν, χωρείτω.
5.
[Εἶπε δὲ οὕτως ] Οὐκ ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς
μετάνοιαν.
These words are found in three of the canonical Gospels:
Mark ii, 19. Οὐκ
Matt. ix, 13. Οὐκ
ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους ἦλθον καλέσαι δικαίους,
ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλοὺς εἰς
μετάνοιαν.
μετάνοιαν.
Luke v. 32. Οὐκ
ἐλήλυθα καλέσαι δικαί
ους, ἀλλ᾽ ἁμαρτωλοὺς
εἰς μετάνοιαν.
In this only instance is there a perfect agreement between
the words of Justin and the Gospels, two of which, Matthew
and Mark-not Luke exactly-give the same saying of
Christ in the same words. A variety of thoughts here rush
upon the mind. Are these three Gospels based upon a com-
mon document? If so, is not Justin Martyr's citation drawn
from the same anonymous document, rather than from the
three Gospels, seeing that he does not name them? If, on
the other hand, Justin has cited them accurately in this
instance, why has he failed to do so in the others? For no
other reason than that traditionary sayings are generally
thus irregularly exact or inexact, and Justin, citing from
them, has been as irregularly exact as they were.
134
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
6.
καὶ γὰρ οἱ πόρνοι τοῦτο ποιοῦσιν.
[Περὶ δὲ τοῦ στέργειν ἅπαντας ταῦτα ἐδίδαξεν.] Εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς
ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τί καινὸν ποιεῖτε ;
Matt. v, 46. Ἐὰν γὰρ ἀγαπή
σητε τοὺς ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, τίνα
μισθὸν ἔχετε ; οὐχὶ καὶ οἱ τελῶναι
τὸ αὐτὸ ποιοῦσι ;
7.
Luke vi, 32. Εἰ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς
ἀγαπῶντας ὑμᾶς, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις
ἐστί ; καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ τοὺς
ἀγαπῶντας αὐτοὺς ἀγαπῶσι.
Ἐγὼ δὲ ὑμῖν λέγω· Εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐχθρῶν ὑμῶν καὶ ἀγαπᾶτε τοὺς
μισοῦντας ὑμᾶς, καὶ εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμῖν καὶ εὔχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν
ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς.
Matt. v, 44. Ἐγὼ δὲ λέγω
ὑμῖν, ᾿Αγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχθροὺς ὑμῶν,
εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμένους ὑμᾶς,
καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦσιν ὑμᾶς, καὶ
προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν ἐπηρεαζόντων
ὑμᾶς καὶ διωκόντων ὑμᾶς.
8.
Luke vi, 27. Αλλ' ὑμῖν λέγω
τοῖς ἀκούουσιν, ᾿Αγαπᾶτε τοὺς ἐχ
θροὺς ὑμῶν· καλῶς ποιεῖτε τοῖς μισοῦ
σιν ὑμᾶς εὐλογεῖτε τοὺς καταρωμέ
νους ὑμῖν προσεύχεσθε ὑπὲρ τῶν
ἐπηρεαζόντων ὑμᾶς.
[Εἰς δὲ τὸ κοινωνεῖν τοῖς δεομένοις καὶ μηδὲν πρὸς δόξαν ποιεῖν ταῦτα ἔφη.]
Παντὶ τῷ αἰτοῦντι δίδοτε καὶ τὸν βουλόμενον δανείσασθαι μὴ ἀποστραφῆτε.
Εἰ γὰρ δανείζετε παρ ὧν ἐλπίζετε λαβεῖν, τί καινὸν ποιεῖτε ; τοῦτο καὶ οἱ
τελῶναι ποιοῦσιν.
Matt. v, 42. Τῷ αἰτοῦντί σε
δίδου καὶ τὸν θέλοντα ἀπὸ σοῦ δανεί-
σασθαι, μὴ ἀποστραφῇς.
9.
Luke vi, 30-34. Παντὶ δὲ τῷ
αἰτοῦντί σε δίδου, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴρον-
τος τὰ σὰ μὴ ἀπαίτει. . . (ν. 34.)
Καὶ ἐὰν δανείζητε παρ ὧν ἐλπίζετε
ἀπολαβεῖν, ποία ὑμῖν χάρις ἐστί ;
καὶ γὰρ οἱ ἁμαρτωλοὶ ἁμαρτωλοῖς
δανείζουσιν, ἵνα ἀπολάβωσι τὰ ἴσα.
Ὑμεῖς δὲ μὴ θησαυρίζητε ἑαυτοῖς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς καὶ βρῶσις
ἀφανίζει καὶ λησταὶ διορύσσουσι· θησαυρίζετε δὲ ἑαυτοῖς· ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς,
ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει.
Matt. vi, 19-20. Μὴ θησαυρίζετε ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐπὶ τῆς γῆς, ὅπου σὴς
καὶ βρωσῖς ἀφανίζει, καὶ ὅπου κλέπται διορύσσουσι καὶ κλέπτουσι Θησαυ
ρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ, ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει.
10.
Τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖται ἄνθρωπος, ἂν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν
αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσῃ ; ἢ τί δώσει αὐτῆς ἀντάλλαγμα ; Θησαυρίζετε οὖν ἐν τοῖς
οὐρανοῖς, ὁποῦ οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει.
Matt. xvi, 26. Τί γὰρ ὠφελεῖται ἄνθρωπος, ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερ
δήσῃ, τὴν δὲ ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ ; ἢ τί δώσει ἄνθρωπος ἀντάλλαγμα τῆς
XIII.]
135
QUOTATIONS BY JUSTIN.
ψυχῆς αὐτοῦ; Matt. vi, 20. Θησαυρίζετε δὲ ὑμῖν θησαυροὺς ἐν οὐρανῷ,
ὅπου οὔτε σὴς οὔτε βρῶσις ἀφανίζει.
11.
Γίνεσθε δὲ χρηστοὶ καὶ οἰκτίρμονες, ὡς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν χρηστός ἐστι
καὶ οἰκτίρμων, καὶ τὸν ἥλιον αὐτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ ἁμαρτωλοὺς καὶ δικαίους
καὶ πονηρούς.
Matt. v, 45. Ὅτι τὸν ἥλιον
αὑτοῦ ἀνατέλλει ἐπὶ πονηροὺς καὶ
ἀγαθοὺς καὶ βρέχει ἐπὶ δικαίους καὶ
ἀδίκους.
ท
12.
Luke vi, 35. Γίνεσθε οὖν οἰκτίρ
μονες, καθὼς καὶ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν οἰκ-
τίρμων ἐστί.
Μὴ μεριμνᾶτε δὲ τί φάγητε ἢ τί ἐνδύσησθε. Οὐχ ὑμεῖς τῶν πετεινῶν
καὶ τῶν θηρίων διαφέρετε ; Καὶ ὁ Θεὸς τρέφει αὐτά. Μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε
τί φάγητε ἢ τί ἐνδύσησθε· οἶδε γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι τούτων
χρείαν ἔχετε. Ζητεῖτε δὲ τὴν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν, καὶ ταῦτα πάντα
προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν. Ὅπου γὰρ ὁ θησαυρός ἐστιν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ὁ νοῦς τοῦ
άνθρωπου.
To make up this passage in Justin Martyr, we are
obliged to join together several from the Gospels of St
Matthew and St Luke.
Matt. vi, 25. . . . Mǹ
μεριμ
νᾶτε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν, τί φάγητε καὶ
τί πίητε· μηδὲ τῷ σώματι ὑμῶν, τί
ἐνδύσησθε.
(31.) Μὴ οὖν μεριμνήσητε, λέ-
γοντες Τί φάγωμεν, ἢ τί πίωμεν,
ἢ τί περιβαλώμεθα.
8
ท
(32.) . . . Οἶδε γὰρ ὁ πατὴρ
ὑμῶν ὁ οὐράνιος ὅτι χρήζετε τούτων
ἁπάντων. Ζητεῖτε δὲ πρῶτον τὴν
βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ καὶ τὴν δικαιο
σύνην αὐτοῦ καὶ ταῦτα πάντα
προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.
(21.) Ὅπου γὰρ ἔστιν ὁ θησαυ-
ρὸς ὑμῶν, ἐκεῖ ἔσται καὶ ἡ καρδία
ὑμῶν.
13.
Μή μεριμ
Luke xii, 22. . .
νατε τῇ ψυχῇ ὑμῶν, τί φάγητε
μηδὲ τῷ σώματι, τί ἐνδύσησθε.
(24.) . . . Πόσῳ μᾶλλον ὑμεῖς
διαφέρετε τῶν πετεινῶν ;
(29.) Καὶ ὑμεῖς μὴ ζητεῖτε τι
φάγητε, ἢ τί πίητε, καὶ μὴ μετεωρί
ζεσθε.
ท
(30.)
οἶδεν, ὅτι χρήζετε τούτων. Πλήν
ζητεῖτε τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, καὶ
ταῦτα πάντα προστεθήσεται ὑμῖν.
Ὑμῶν δὲ ὁ πατὴρ
(34.) Οπου γάρ ἐστιν ὁ θησαυ-
ρὸς ὑμῶν, ἐκεῖ καὶ ἡ καρδία ὑμῶν
ἔσται.
Μὴ ποιῆτε ταῦτα πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι ὑπὸ τῶν ἀνθρώπων, εἰ δὲ μή γε,
μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τοῦ Πατρὸς ὑμῶν τοῦ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
Matt. vi, 1. Προσέχετε την δικαιοσύνην ὑμῶν μὴ ποιεῖν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν
ἀνθρώπων, πρὸς τὸ θεαθῆναι αὐτοῖς· εἰ δὲ μήγε, μισθὸν οὐκ ἔχετε παρὰ τῷ
πατρὶ ὑμῶν τῷ ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
}
!
136
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
14.
[Περὶ δὲ τοῦ ἀνεξικάκους εἶναι καὶ ὑπηρετικοὺς πᾶσι καὶ ἀοργήτους ἃ
ἔφη ταῦτά εστι.] Τῷ τύπτοντί σοῦ τὴν σιαγόνα πάρεχε καὶ τὴν ἄλλην,
καὶ τὸν αἴροντά σου τὸν χίτωνα ἢ τὸ ἱμάτιον μὴ κωλύσης.
Ὅστις
Matt. v, 39-40.
σε ῥαπίσει ἐπὶ τὴν δεξιάν σου σια-
γόνα, στρέψον αὐτῷ καὶ τὴν ἄλλην
καὶ τῷ θέλοντί σοι κριθῆναι, καὶ τὸν
χιτῶνα σου λαβεῖν, ἀφες αὐτῷ καὶ
τὸ ἱμάτιον.
αν
15.
Luke vi, 29. Τῷ τύπτοντί σε
ἐπὶ τὴν σιάγονα, πάρεχε καὶ τὴν
ἄλλην· καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἴροντός σου τὸ
ἱμάτιον, καὶ τὸν χιτῶνα μὴ κωλύσης.
Ὃς δ᾽ ἂν ὀργισθῇ, ἔνοχός ἐστιν εἰς τὸ πῦρ. Παντὶ δὲ ἀγγαρεύοντί
μίλιον ἀκολούθησαν δύο.
σε
Λαμψάτω δὲ ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα ἔμπροσθεν τῶν ἀνθρώπων, ἵνα βλέποντες
θαυμάζωσι τον πατέρα ὑμῶν τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
Matt. v, 22. .
τοῦ πυρός
•
ὃς δ᾽ ἂν εἴπη, μωρέ, ἔνοχος ἔσται εἰς τὴν γέενναν
(41.) Καὶ ὅστις σε ἀγγαρεύσει μίλιον ἓν, ὕπαγε μετ'
(16.) Οὕτω λαμψάτω τὸ φῶς ὑμῶν ἔμπροσθεν τῶν
ἀνθρώπων, ὅπως ἴδωσιν ὑμῶν τὰ καλὰ ἔργα, καὶ δοξάσωσι τὸν πατέρα ὑμῶν
τὸν ἐν τοῖς οὐρανοῖς.
αὐτοῦ δύο.
•
16.
[Περὶ δὲ τοῦ μὴ ὀμνύναι ὅλως, τἀληθῆ δὲ λέγειν ἀεὶ, οὕτω παρεκελεύ
σατο] Μὴ ὀμόσητε ὅλως· ἔστω δὲ ὑμῶν τὸ ναὶ ναὶ καὶ τὸ οὔ οὔ· τὸ δὲ
περισσὸν τούτων ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ.
Matt. v, 34. Μὴ ὀμόσαι ὅλως.
•
(37.) Ἔστω δὲ ὁ λόγος ὑμῶν,
ναὶ ναὶ, οἳ οὐ· τὸ δὲ περισσὸν τούτων, ἐκ τοῦ πονηροῦ ἐστιν.
17.
[Ὡς δὲ καὶ τὸν Θεὸν μόνον δεῖ προσκυνεῖν, οὕτως ἔπεισεν εἰπών· ]
Μεγίστη ἐντολή ἐστι· Κύριον τὸν Θεόν σου προσκυνήσεις καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ
λατρεύσεις ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας σου καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς ἰσχύος σου, Κύριον τὸν
Θεὸν τὸν ποιήσαντα σε.
Matt. iv, 10. Γέγ
ραπται γάρ Κύριον
τὸν Θεόν σου προσκυνή-
σεις, καὶ αὐτῷ μόνῳ
λατρεύσεις.
Mark xii, 30. Kai
ἀγαπήσεις Κύριον τὸν
Θεόν σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς
καρδίας σου, καὶ ἐξ
ὅλης τῆς ψυχῆς σου,
καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς διανοίας
σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς
ἰσχύος σου· αὕτη πρώτ
τη ἐντολή.
Luke x, 27. 'Aya-
πήσεις Κύριον τὸν Θεόν
σου ἐξ ὅλης τῆς καρδίας
σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης τῆς
ψυχῆς σου, καὶ ἐξ ὅλης
τῆς διανοίας σου.
Justin quotes nearly two hundred of these sayings, but
makes hardly a single clear allusion to all those circum-
stances of time or place, which give so much interest to
XIII.]
137
MEMORIALS-SAYINGS-IRENÆUS.
Christ's teaching, as recorded in the four Gospels. The in-
ference is that he quotes Christ's sayings as delivered by
tradition or taken down in writing before the four Gospels
were compiled into their present form out of those primitive
materials.
And this inference is strengthened by the fact that he cites
no less than one hundred and ninety-seven times the authors
of the Old Testament with the names either of themselves or
of their books, and that he cites little more than half that
number anonymously; but to have quoted two hundred say-
ings and maxims from the New Testament, without either
name of the books where they occur or of the books them-
selves, only in such general terms as "Sayings of our Lord"
(Aóyia toũ Kupiov), and "Memorials of the Apostles" (άπoμ-
(ἀπομνη
Moveúμata Twν aπoσтóλwv), and that he quotes by name, as of
equal authority, other books not included in our canon,
suggests the natural inference that there was in his time
current among Christians a Collection of our Saviour's
Teachings and Sayings, together with a large number of
Memorials, more or less accurate and complete, and that
from these materials our present Scriptures of the New
Testament were formed into a Canon by the early Church.
At the end of the second century lived Irenæus, of whom
we know but little. He is supposed by Dodwell to have
been born as early as A.D. 97, but Dr Lardner more reason-
ably places him about A.D. 178. He is said to have been
Bishop of Lyons in Gaul about this time, and his principal
work being a treatise against heresies seems to be a reason
why the time at which he lived should be fixed as late as
possible; for otherwise we are led to receive an unfavour-
able impression from the fact that heresies were already in
existence so soon after the teaching of Christianity. The
only work of Irenæus Against heresies, has come down to us in
Latin and very mutilated, and, as it was written many years
after the Apologies of Justin Martyr, there was ample time
in the interval for the compilation of our Gospels, out of the
authentic "Memorials of the Apostles," and the "Sayings
of our Lord." Irenæus quotes all our four Gospels with
the names of their writers, and states, from mystic reasons,
why there could be four only. But it is worthy of remark
that he speaks of other writings also: thus he mentions, as
we learn from Eusebius, iii, 8, the "Memorials " of a certain
apostolical presbyter, whose name however he does not give.
And we may infer from certain passages in his work, that
the text even of the four Gospels was not in his time as

138
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
firmly settled in every particular as it is at present. Thus
he says, in Book iv, chapter 6 of his work, that, notwith-
standing the agreement of Matthew (iv, 27), Mark, and
Luke, respecting the knowledge of God the Father through
the Son, and of the Son through the Father, some who
wished to be more learned than the Apostles (" qui peritiores
apostolis volunt esse") had inverted the order of those words,
in order to establish their own peculiar doctrines. Lastly,
this author in the nineteenth chapter of his first book writes
thus:
But in addition to these things they introduce an unspeakable
number of apocryphal and spurious writings, which themselves
have forged to the consternation of those who are foolish and
who do not know the writings of the truth.
We have already seen that numerous writings were fabri-
cated a little before the age of Irenæus, but as it is evident
that the four Gospels were in his time distinguished from
other writings, at all events by those who are generally
accounted orthodox as opposed to others who were called
heretics, it will not be necessary to dwell longer upon the
writings of Irenæus.
The same also may be said of Clemens Alexandrinus who
lived at the beginning of the third century. The canonical
books, not differing much from what are now received, were
well known in his time, although his writings, however
otherwise interesting, do not add much practical utility in
supporting the benevolent doctrines of the New Testament.
CHAPTER XIV.
MINOR WRITERS OF THE SECOND CENTURY.
THE course of this inquiry has now brought us down to the
early part of the second century, about eighty years later
than the crucifixion of our Lord. Up to that date we find
no mention made of the Gospels, of the Acts of the Apostles,
or of the Epistles, which now enter into the canon of the
Christian Scriptures. The works of Justin Martyr, as we
have seen, fail to indicate that their author was acquainted
with the books of which we are speaking. At the end of the
second century, it is true, we have the works of Irenæus,
XIV.]
139
MINOR WRITERS.
Origen, Tertullian, and a few others, and there can be no
doubt that in their time the books of the New Testament had
begun to be publicly known, and the greater part of them to
be quoted under the names of the several writers to whom
they are still commonly ascribed. But we may rightly
infer, from an incidental remark made by Lucian in his
"Life of Peregrinus" that about the middle of the second
century, the Christians at Antioch were occupied in gather-
ing together the records of their founder, of the Apostles,
and of others who had assisted in establishing the new
religion which they professed. The unscrupulous Pere-
grinus, as we are informed by Lucian,
are informed by Lucian, "explained and
cleared up or interpreted some of their books, and wrote
many himself." This was done in the city of Antioch, where
Lucian the elegant writer of "Dialogues" still remaining
then lived, and where also, it must be remembered, the
disciples, as we read in the Acts of the Apostles, were first
called* Christians. In the last century indeed we find that
some of our ecclesiastical writers endeavoured to disparage
the authority of Lucian as being an enemy, and a malicious
enemy, to the Christian religion, but this accusation seems
to be in every respect unfounded; we find in his writings
nothing more than a certain superciliousness and contempt
for the doctrines which the Christians held, and the low
social position which they occupied.
We may now proceed to review the minor writers, who
lived in the second century, and to see whether in the frag-
ments of their writings which remain we can find any indica-
tion that they quoted from the existing text of our Scrip-
tures, or that they were acquainted with any such books as
being then in general circulation or as held to be authorized
exponents of the Christian religion. Between twenty and
thirty such writers are now to be noticed, besides two or three
anonymous documents, and among so many we should expect
to find some mention of those who wrote the books of the
New Testament, or at all events some mention of the books
themselves. The names of these writers here follow in
alphabetical order.
1. AGRIPPA CASTOR† is quoted by Jerome, in his work
* It may be doubted how far the Greek word chrematisai is correctly
rendered " were called" in this passage. It is a verb in the active voice,
and its literal meaning is "to act, carry on business, &c.": it would be diffi-
cult in the English language to find a strict equivalent for the word.
†The remains of these minor writers, translated into English, are
contained in a volume entitled "Writings of the Early Christians of the
140
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
De viris illustribus (xxi), as having written against Basileides,
and also by Eusebius (iv, 7), as having written on the Gos-
pel. This expression does not sanction the inference that
he alludes to our four canonical writings; but the English
translator of Eusebius's Ecclesiastical History, either igno-
rant that "the Gospel" means only the dispensation so
called, or wishing to convey an erroneous idea to the minds
of his readers, has, by the addition of an s, turned the Gospel
into the Gospels, as now found in the volume of the New
Testament. The name of this writer indicates a Greek or
Latin origin, and I fail to see how Dr Westcott, in his
Canon (p. 85), infers his Hebrew descent "from the fact
that he charged Basileides with teaching indifference in eat-
ing meats offered to idols," as if Jews only were forbidden
and Greeks allowed to eat those meats.
2. APOLLINARIS. See Claudius.
3. APOLLONIUS, a Phrygian, is known to us only by the
fragments of his works against heresies preserved by Euse-
bius. In one of these passages we read, "Our Lord says,
Possess not gold nor silver, nor two coats," no doubt quoted
from the Sayings of Jesus then (A.D. 180) still in general
circulation.
4. ARISTIDES. Jerome tells us that he was an eloquent
philosopher of Athens, who dedicated an apology for Chris-
tianity to the Emperor Hadrian. Nothing but a fragmental
quotation remains of his writings.
5. ARISTON, of Pella, wrote a disputation between Jason
and Papiscus, quoted by Eusebius, Jerome, Origen contra
Celsum, and Maximus in his commentary on Dionysius the
Areopagite, but not a line of his own writing has survived.
6. ATHENAGORAS. All we know of him from ancient
writers is from Methodius, who quotes a single sentence, and
from Philippus Sideta. The latter, as quoted by Dodwell,
says, in his twenty-fourth sermon :-
Athenagoras was the first master of the Alexandrian schools in
the reigns of Hadrian and Antoninus, to whom also he inscribed
his "Oration" on behalf of the Christians: he professed the
Christian religion, even whilst he wore the cloak of philosophy
and was master of the academic school. Whilst he was medi-
tating to write against the Christians, as Celsus did after him, and
Second Century, namely, Athenagoras, Tatian, &c." collected together
and first translated complete by the Rev. Dr Giles, late fellow of Corpus
Christi College, Oxford, 8vo, London, J. R. Smith, 36, Soho Square,
MDCCCLVII.
XIV.]
141
ATHENAGORAS, ETC.
was reading the Holy Scriptures in order to attack them more
thoroughly, he was seized by the Holy Spirit, and, like the great
Paul, instead of persecuting that doctrine which he was attack-
ing, he became a teacher of it.
The only works of Athenagoras now remaining are: 1.
Apology for Christianity, and 2. Treatise on the Resurrection.
The time when he wrote, namely, about the year 180 after
Christ, is learnt from the inscription of the former work to
the Emperors Marcus Antoninus and Lucius Aurelius
Commodus.
Athenagoras speaks of the Trinity in these terms:-
Who then would not wonder at hearing the name of atheists
applied to us, who believe in God the Father, God the Son, and
God the Holy Ghost, who show their power in unity and their
distinctiveness in their practice ?
He quotes two other passages which may have been taken
from our Gospels, if then extant, but more probably and
consistently with other evidence, taken from the "Sayings
of our Lord."
1. What are the doctrines in which we are brought up? "I
say unto you, Love your enemies; bless them that curse you,
pray for them that persecute you: that ye may be the children of
your Father, which is in heaven; for he maketh his sun to rise on
the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the
unjust."-Compare Matt. v, 44.
2. For, says our Lord, "Whoever looketh on a woman to lust
after her, hath committed adultery with her already in his heart."
-Matt. v, 28.
7. CANON OF MURATORI. This is a short fragment,
often quoted by those who have written on either side of
our present subject, which I shall here briefly notice. It is
called the Canon of Muratori, from the name of the learned
Italian scholar who discovered it, about the year 1740, in
the Ambrosian Library at Milan. Muratori thought that
the MS in which it occurred was written in the seventh or
eighth century of our era, but some critics have ascribed
the original document to the third, or even the second cen-
tury. The text is exceedingly corrupt, and has evidently
been copied by a scribe who knew nothing of the Latin
language. Some, indeed, have said that it betrays marks
of having been translated from a Greek original; but the
fragment is too short to allow a judgment, which can be
only conjectural, on such a point as that. The "Canon," as
142
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
it has been termed, was first published in Muratori's " An-
tiquitates Italicæ Medii Ævi," iii, p. 851, and has been
often copied into other works. It has lately been published
at Oxford (1867), with notes by Dr Tregelles. It is not
absolutely necessary to ignore this fragment, and if it has
been copied from an authentic original, it would prove what
no one can deny that, about the year 180 A.D., the canon
of the New Testament was generally acknowledged. Some
indeed of the books therein contained were still disputed
some hundreds of years later, but the Gospels, at all events,
were without dispute canonical at the end of the second
century. The zeal of Dr Westcott and others who defend
the authenticity of this fragment, and also of those who,
like the author of "Supernatural Religion," labour to de-
stroy it, has probably led them into arguments which those
who weigh them dispassionately may view as incomplete. I
acknowledge my inability to decide on this question, nor is
it important to arrive at any decision on such a point. It
is against a conclusive judgment in its favour that we have
it only in a Latin form, and in a Latin MS of the seventh
or eighth century, and that it contains an improbable legend
about St John. A corresponding argument in its favour is
that no motive can be assigned for its fabrication, at so late
a period, to prove what was already proved by the notices
of our canon in Irenæus and Clement of Alexandria, namely,
that in the last quarter of the second century our canonical
books were known and acknowledged.
Those who are curious to inquire farther into the history
and character of this document, are referred to the works on
that subject which have been already mentioned. A few
lines taken from its commencement, line for line with the
original, will suffice to show its subject matter and the cor-
rupt Latinity of its style.
quibus tamen interfuit et ita posuit
tertio euangelii librum secand lucan
lucas iste medicus post ascensum xpi
cum eo paulus quasi ut juris studiosum
secundum adsumsisset numeni suo
ex opinione concriset dnm tamen nec ipse
duidit in carne.
8. CELSUS. Concerning this opponent of Christianity we
know nothing more than the fact that he wrote against the
authenticity of the Gospel history, and that Origen wrote
five books, which still survive, in refutation of him. In this
1
£
XIV.]
CANON OF MURATORI-APOLLINARIS.
143
work Origen says that Jesus is nowhere called a carpenter
in any of the Gospels received by the Church, and as this is
evidently a mistake on the part of Origen, for Jesus is
called a carpenter in Mark vi, 3, it has been inferred by Dr
Lardner that Celsus had certainly used that Gospel as his
authority for stating such a fact. But this is, as the author
of "Palæoromaica " well describes it, a "most lame and im-
potent conclusion;" for "Origen, in stating that Jesus is
nowhere called a carpenter in any of the Gospels received of
the Church, had plainly hinted that he was so called in
apocryphal gospels, and that there Celsus had found it.”
It is not improbable that the Celsus, against whom
Origen wrote, is the same whose name occurs in some of
Lucian's dialogues, and even there we find nothing about
his life or his philosophical opinions. The nature of these
is a subject of uncertainty with learned men to this present
moment, and even the simplest circumstances of his history
were unknown even to his inquisitive opponent. "What-
ever may have been his character and his tenets, it is
evident," says Dr Waddington, "even from the fragments
of his work which are cited by his adversary, that he pos-
sessed great general powers of expression, especially of
sarcasm and of rhetoric; that he was skilful in the selection
of points for attack; and that he possessed too that wicked
talent of perverting truth and insinuating falsehood, of sup-
pressing largely and inventing discreetly, and confounding
established facts with rumoured calumnies-which so com-
monly marks the distinguished controversialist." The work
of Celsus has perished-it would indeed have been wonder-
ful, if it had survived so many centuries of intolerance, when
everything that opposed the prevailing belief was carefully
destroyed, and all men were bent not so much upon the
pursuit of truth as upon the maintenance, at all sacrifices, of
their own opinions and of the existing order of things.
9. CLAUDIUS APOLLINARIS of Hierapolis inscribed a
work in defence of Christianity to the Emperor Marcus
Aurelius, and also wrote about Easter. Three short frag-
ments of this work remain; one given by Eusebius, and two
others in the Paschal Chronicle. The first of these concerns
the absurd story of the Thundering Legion. The other two
concern the dispute about the due celebration of Easter, and
are found only in the Paschal Chronicle. But Eusebius, who
treats very fully of this dispute, would certainly have quoted
Apollinaris as having written on that subject, and no other
writer until the seventh century, when the Paschal
144
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Chronicle was compiled, has made the slightest reference to
such a work. In that fragment Apollinaris says that some
who have written on the subject of Easter quote Matthew
in support of their doctrine.
We admit that the Gospel according to St Matthew may
have been compiled before the year A.D. 180, but the
Hebrew work of Matthew also may have survived up to
that time, and the words of Apollinaris are vague as to the
book referred to, even if the author of the Paschal
Chronicle, 500 years later, has been accurate in his quotation,
or even if, as we know has happened in other cases, he has
not mixed his own words with those which he may have
quoted vaguely in the third person from Apollinaris.
10. DIONYSIUS bishop of Corinth. Eusebius has pre-
served four fragments from eight epistles, of which he was
the author. He briefly names St Paul, St Peter, and the
Epistle of Clement, but not any of the books of the New
Testament, nor does he leave us to infer that St Peter and
St Paul ever wrote anything. His words are found in a
letter addressed to the Romans, as follows:
Thus you also by such admonition have mingled together the
planting of Romans and Corinthians, which originated from
Peter and Paul. For both also having also planted us into our
own Corinth, taught us alike, and alike also having carried their
teaching into Italy, became martyrs about the same time.—
EUSEB. V, 25.
11. HEGESIPPUS. This is one of the most important of
the minor writers of the second century. He compiled
in the reign of the Antonines a history, in five books, of
Christianity from the time of Christ to his own time. The
fragments which remain, as quoted by Eusebius, contain
some interesting notices of the Apostles, especially of James
the Just, and of his violent death in the Temple. He also
speaks of the numerous heresies which distracted the Chris-
tian community, but does not make the slightest reference
to written canonical books, or their authors.
•
12. HERMIAS is the author of a short work called "Deri-
sion of the Gentile Philosophers." It is not known when or
where he lived. Cave places him in the second century,
but the Benedictine editor of his work thinks he may with
as great probability be ascribed to the third. He does not
name the Gospels but quotes St Paul's Epistle to the
Corinthians, which no doubt was well known in his time,
but he shows remarkable ignorance where Corinth was.
xiv.]
145
APOLLINARIS-POLYCRATES.
Paul the blessed Apostle, my beloved brethren, writing to the
Corinthians who inhabit Laconian Greece, spake saying, “The
wisdom of this world is folly in the sight of God."
13. MELITO, bishop of Sardis, wrote, 1. On the Passover;
2. An Apology for Christianity addressed to Marcus Anto-
ninus Verus; 3. Selections on the Old Testament; 4. On
Christ's Incarnation, against Marcion; 5. Sermon on Christ's
Passion; 6. Clavis, a Key to Scripture, in which almost
every word is interpreted allegorically: besides other works
from which a few extracts remain. None of these writings
are now extant; for the Clavis published in Don Pitra's
Spicilegium Solesmense, Paris, 1855, and occupying two
large volumes of that collection, has not the slightest preten-
sion to be the genuine work.
But in a letter preserved by Eusebius (iv, 26), the authen-
ticity of which there is no reason to doubt, Melito gives a
list of the books of the "Old Covenant," and it has been
strangely contended by some that this expression implies the
existence of a new Covenant. It certainly implies that the
old state of things had passed away and was obsolete, and
that a new state of things had succeeded, but not that a new
book had been composed in distinction from the old book of
which Melito enumerates the contents.
14. Pantænus was a Stoic philosopher in the time of
Severus and Caracalla. He is named by Eusebius, Clement
of Alexandria, Maximus, and Jerome: but only two short
unimportant fragments of his works remain.
15. PAPIAS. In a former chapter of this volume the few
fragments which remain of Papias bishop of Hierapolis, as
being earlier in time than Justin Martyr, have been ex-
tracted from the work of Eusebius in which they have been
handed down to us. These fragments will recur to our
notice in connection with the Gospels in a future chapter.
16. PINYTUS bishop of Gnossus. He is known only for
his letter to Dionysius, of which Eusebius has preserved a
fragment, but it contains nothing to our present purpose.
17. POLYCRATES, bishop of Ephesus, was the principal
advocate of the Asiatic mode of celebrating Easter. He
wrote to Victor bishop of Rome a synodical letter of which
a long fragment has been preserved by Eusebius (v, 24).
In this fragment he names "Philip one of the twelve apostles
who sleeps in Hierapolis, and his two daughters, aged
virgins and his other daughter whose conversation was in
the Holy Spirit [and who] sleeps in Ephesus.
VOL. II.
11
146
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
John who leaned on the breast of our Lord, who became a
priest bearing the plate and martyr and teacher, and sleeps
in Ephesus. Melito the eunuch, whose conversation
was wholly on the Holy Spirit.
""
18. QUADRATUS bishop of Athens is quoted by Eusebius,
and wrote an apology for the Christians addressed to
Hadrian when he was sojourning for a time at Athens. The
only fragment of his work is the following preserved by
Eusebius (iv, 3):
The works of our Saviour were always present; for they were
real. Those who were healed, those who rose from the dead, who
were not only seen when healed and when rising from the dead,
but also being always present; and not only whilst our Saviour
sojourned [among men], but also when he was gone, they re-
mained for a long time, so that some of them have reached to our
own times.
If any
who had witnessed our Lord's miracles were alive
about 120 A.D. (the date of Quadratus), this reference to
the "living voice," which Papias preferred to what was
written, furnishes an indirect testimony against the existence
of a better and collective body of evidence such as our
present New Testament would supply.
19. RHODON was of Asiatic origin, and a disciple of
Tatian at Rome under Commodus and Severus. Some
fragments of his work against Marcion remain, but they do
not notice any of our canonical books or writers.
20. SERAPION was made bishop of Antioch in the
eleventh year of Commodus, and wrote against the Monta-
nists, the Gospel of Peter, &c. He speaks of the work
ascribed to this Apostle as follows:
We, brethren,, receive both Peter and the other Apostles like
as we do Christ, but the writings falsely inscribed with their
names we as experienced men disclaim, knowing that we have not
acknowledged such. For I, when I was among you, thought that
you all adhered to the true faith; and when I had not gone
through the Gospel put forth by them in the name of Peter,
I said, “If this is all that seems to cause you discouragement, let
it be read." But now that I have learnt that their mind finds a
covering for itself in a certain heresy from the words spoken by
me, I will hasten again to go to you. EUSEB. vi, 12.
•
21. SIBYLLINE ORACLES. Among the legendary cha-
racters known to the Greeks and Romans, were ten women,
supposed to be prophetesses, and designated by the name of
XIV.]
147
POLYCRATES-ORACLES.
Sibyls. No mention is made of them by any purely Hebrew
writer, although their legends were certainly current in the
East before the later Hebrew books were written.
Nor are
they, indeed, named in any of the Greek and Latin un-
canonical books which were written whilst the Jews were
still independent. Josephus is the first writer who mentions
them, and in such terms that he would seem to admit their
authority.
""
Speaking of this tower [Babel] and of the varied language of
mankind, the Sibyl speaks thus. "When all men were of the
same tongue, some of them built a very high tower, as if they
"would by means of it get up to heaven. But the gods sent
"winds and upset the tower, and gave to each his own language,
"and it happened on account of this that the city was called
Babylon."
These lines are still found in the Sibylline Oracles which
remain, and it is a natural inference that they were found in
some such work in the time of Josephus. But it is only of
late years that a full collection of these oracles has been
given to the world, and it appears that no complete manu-
script copy has yet been discovered. They exist, it seems,
piecemeal, as if additions had been made to them at different
times and in different parts of the world. This fact is a
strong argument in favour of their having been interpolated,
and it is rendered conclusive by the nature of certain pas-
sages which evidently have been introduced since the Chris-
tian era, and which assume the character of prophecies
intended to prepare mankind for the introduction of Chris-
tianity. It is indeed probable that the whole body of these
oracles was re-written in the first century of our era, or at
all events about the middle of the second century, for they
are quoted as books of authority by some of the writers
whose names have been passed in review before us in these
pages.
Thus Justin Martyr, about the year 150 A.D. names the
Sybil, and Theophilus, thirty years later, does not hesitate
to style her a prophetess, and quotes her as an authority in
his work addressed to Autolycus.
The Sibyl among the Greeks, who was a prophetess among
other nations also, inveighs against mankind at the beginning of
her prophesy, in these words:
"Ye mortal fleshly men, who nothing are,
"How quick ye swell, seeing no end of life!
148
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
"Nor fear nor care for God who looks down on you,
"Most highest, who knows, sees, witnesses all things,
"Nurturer and Creator, who in all
"His spirit placed, making it guide for all men,
"One God who reigns alone, great, unbegotten,
Omnipotent, unseen, alone sees all,
"(
"But is not seen by any human flesh.'
Athenagoras also, in his Apology for Christianity (§ 30),
quotes a few lines from the Sibyl, adding that she is men-
tioned by Plato ; but he does not assign to her the name of
a prophetess, nor is it needful to copy what he quotes. But
great has been the audacity of those who have either made
insertions in the original copy of the Sibylline Oracles, or
have forged the whole collection, as will be seen from the
following lines, which refer to the miracles of our Saviour
and his co-operation with God the Father in creating the
human race :—
The Almighty spake; "My son, let us two make
"A mortal race impress'd from our own likeness.
"I now by hand, and thou by word hereafter
"A common work produce in our own form.'
He mindful of these words shall come to judgment,
His counterpart join to a virgin mother,
Illume with water through the hands of priests,
Do all things by his word, heal all disease,
Calm the winds by his word, the raging sea
Quell 'neath his feet, treading in peace with faith ;
And from five loaves with one fish of the sea
Shall in the desert feed five thousand men,
And taking up the fragments which remain,
Twelve baskets fill to be the people's hope.
Orac. Sibyl. Paris, 1841, vol. i, p. 278.
It is the opinion of an able commentator on the Old
Testament, De Wette (ii, 491), that in the later period of
the Jewish independence there was a great tendency of
literature towards apocalyptic visions, and that from this
cause prophecies were forged and made to apply to the
events of real history, and dated back to ancient times and
attributed to ancient authors. The same commentator, sup-
ported by the judgment of his English translator, likens the
Sibylline Oracles to the book of Daniel, and the fourth book
of Ezra, which is our apocryphal second book of Esdras,
and he places the later portion of Isaiah in the same class,
as bearing a striking resemblance to the third book of the
xiv.]
149
ORACLES-THEOPHILUS.
Oracles (156-271, and 319-746), for that both "announce
the destruction of all the kingdoms of the world, especially
the Egyptian and the Roman; they threaten Antiochus
Epiphanes with destruction; the order of nature is to be
changed; and the people of God, under the guidance of
kings sent by him, are to extend his dominion over the whole
world."
Whatever may have been the origin or the development
of these bold fictions, there is no doubt that the authenticity
of many valuable works, not excepting the Scriptures either
of the Old or New Testament, would be reasonably suspected
by the heathen world, when mixed up with the forgeries
which were published in their defence, and when such works
as the Sibylline Oracles were obtruded on them as of equal
authority with the "genuine inspirations of heaven."
One brief remark, however, may suffice to complete our
account of these forged Sibylline works. They do not name
either the New Testament or any one of its writers, and it
would appear from two words which occur in the First Book,
line 382, Evayyanins diánua, the "dispensation of the Gospel,"
where Evayyexiou diathanv would equally have satisfied the metre,
that even the dispensation at that time was not limited to
the exact descriptive words which a few years later would
have been deemed essential.
22. TATIAN was an Assyrian by birth, became a convert
to the new religion, and was a disciple of Justin Martyr.
What we know of him is derived mostly from Eusebius,
who also quotes additional particulars from Irenæus. We
learn from these two authors that Tatian was a sophist, and
taught various branches of literature among the Greeks,
comparing it with that of the Hebrews. Eusebius says that
he belonged to the class of Encratites, and that he founded
a sect called Severians from one of their number whose
name was Severus. His only remaining work is an Oration
against the Greeks, in which he says nothing about our
canonical Scriptures; but he is quoted by Irenæus (III,
xxiii, 8), as referring to the words of St Paul, “In Adam
all die.'
""
Jerome, in the preface to his Commentary on the Epistle
to Titus, says that Tatian rejected some of St Paul's
Epistles, but thought the one addressed to Titus to be un-
doubtedly genuine.
23. THEOPHILUS. The only remaining work of this
writer is his "Three books addressed to Autolycus." He is
named by Eusebius as the sixth bishop of Antioch, and is
150
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
thought by some to be the Theophilus to whom the Gospel of
St Luke and the Acts of the Apostles were inscribed. The
time when he lived is fixed, to a certain extent, by his bring-
ing down his chronology at the end of his treatise to the
death of Aurelius Verus, A.D. 169.
Theophilus quotes the Sibylline books, the Stoics, Epi-
curus, and other heathen writers, besides Moses, Solomon,
and the books of the Old Testament, but does not name the
Gospels. He does however quote from St John, without
naming the work from which he quotes, the passage with
which our present Gospel according to St John begins.
His words are these-
The Holy Scriptures teach us, and all those who received the
Spirit, of whom John says, "In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”—Ad
Autolycum, ii, 22.
Here there is no mention of a gospel, and the words Holy
Scriptures mean the Old Testament, and this testimony of
Theophilus is given about 180 years after the Christian era.
Is it not clear that the words are quoted from the Me-
morials of St John, notwithstanding that about this time
we all admit that those "Memorials," together with the "Say-
ings of our Lord," were being brought together and compiled,
or even had already been compiled into the present Gospel
according to St John? And lastly, it is worthy of remark
that Theophilus at this time was bishop of Antioch, where
I conceive the consolidation of the Gospel histories to have
been made.
24. To this list of writers may be added certain presbyters
or elders, whether so called from their age or from their
office in the Church, who are quoted by Irenæus, Clement
of Alexandria, and Eusebius. Nothing more is known
about them, and in the few lines which remain of their
writings, nothing occurs bearing on our present subject.
25. The Church and Council of Cæsarea. A short frag-
ment remains in Eusebius (v, 25) of a synodical letter ad-
dressed by this council, through Irenæus, to Victor, bishop
of Rome, about the celebration of Easter.
26. From the Council of Lyons, from the Churches of
Lyons and Vienne, and from the Martyrs of Lyons, letters
have been preserved by Eusebius (v, 1-4, 24) as having
been written either wholly or in part by Irenæus, and
addressed to the bishop of Rome; but no notice of our
canonical books is found in them. Only the synodical letter
1
xv.]
INTERNAL EVIDence.
151
from the Council of Lyons names Polycarp as having asso-
ciated "with John the disciple of our Lord and the other
disciples.'
""
From these notices, brief in proportion to the little which
remains of these writers, no evidence can be derived to re-
verse the opinion which has already been formed on our
present subject.
CHAPTER XV.
INTERNAL EVIDENCE CONCERNING THE FOUR CANONICAL GOSPELS
-§ 1. MATTHEW-§ 2. MARK-§ 3. LUKE-§ 4. JOHN.
HAVING, in the preceding chapters, examined the historical
evidence derived from without, bearing upon the authorship
and date of the books of the New Testament, we must now
turn to the books themselves, if perchance they may supply
from within any indication of the age when they were
written. This mode of proceeding is sanctioned by the
authority of all critics: for, in all ages, there have been in-
stances of books that have been proved genuine or spurious
by the application of this test only. It is even admitted
among all men, that there is no other test so sure, to distin-
guish the true from the false: for truth must be harmonious
and consistent with itself, but error-not to say intentional
error or forgery-will betray itself by inconsistencies, contra-
dictions, and a general want of harmony between its various
parts. It cannot be too often repeated, that our concern is
not, mainly, with the facts which are related by the four
evangelists, but simply with the mode in which those facts
are related not to prove that the Gospel histories are
untrue, but that many matters of detail are not in such strict
harmony as to allow us to suppose that they were written by
eye-witnesses, guided in every word and about every fact by
divine inspiration. A work which truly possessed such a
claim would, by the necessity of the case, be free from
blemish and defy criticism. It would compel the faith alike
of friends and of foes. But this is not a picture of the evan-
gelical histories, even in the judgement of their most partial
commentators. The notes and explanations with which the
simplicity of the Gospels has often been overwhelmed, are
unworthy of the text which they are intended to illustrate.
个
​152
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
:
They vacillate from one point to another, that they may re-
concile things which do not allow of being reconciled: they
apply to the interpretation of the Bible a mode of criticism
that would be rejected if applied to the profane histories of
Greece and Rome. And they do this to support a theory
which cannot be maintained, which has been the cause of all
the opposition that the Christian writings have ever had to
encounter. Let it be maintained that those books are the
writings of the disciples of Christ, acting under verbal in-.
spiration, and we are at a loss to explain the imperfect
accounts, discrepancies of statement, and other peculiarities
in which those books abound. But admit that they are the
works of pious men living more than 100 years after the time
when the events which they relate happened, let it be
granted that the Gospels were compiled when tradition, be-
coming faint, could no longer transmit those events, and it
is clear that inaccuracies in modes of speech, discrepancies
in dates and details, and such other difficulties,* many of
which occur in the four Gospels, will dwindle into nothing:
we admit with reverence the divinely-inspired and benevo-
lent doctrines taught by our great Master, and recorded in
these books by those who worthily succeeded to the office
of the first teachers, and who have left for our use the most
perfect records of their religion which they on the one
hand were able to deliver, and we on the other have been
able to receive.
We will now proceed to inquire what internal evidence
the New Testament furnishes, bearing upon the question, in
what age the books of the New Testament were composed?
The external evidence has been considered in the previous
chapters; so far, at least, as is necessary to establish the con-
clusion that the four Gospels, bearing the names of Matthew,
Mark, Luke, and John, do not appear to be contemporary
records: for, if they were not in being during the 120 years
immediately following after the crucifixion of our Lord, it is
certain that they could not have been compiled into their
present form by any writers who were themselves witnesses
* "The history of the New Testament," says Dr Lardner, [vol. i, p. 136,]
"is attended with many difficulties." This remark suggests a variety of
thoughts, which crowd upon and almost overwhelm the mind. Were the
Gospels written by our Lord's apostles, to be the only source from which
his followers are to draw their Christian morals and to regulate their
course of life-and is their history still "attended with many difficulties"?
No remark can be more injurious to Christianity than this admission on
the part of one who has always been named as among its most able de-
fenders.
xv.]
153
THE ORDER OF THE FOUR GOSPELS.
of those events. To establish the same inference, indeed, a
less space than 120 years would, ordinarily, be sufficient, but
the circumstance of the great age ascribed to St John,
Polycarp, and others, by ecclesiastical writers, contrary to
all general probability, makes it necessary to comprise a
longer space of time in the review of authors who are said,
or may be supposed, to name the Gospels and their authors.
Having then failed to find any notices of the four Gospels
in works earlier than the date of Irenæus, we will now first
examine whether any allusion is made to the Apostles as
having written or handed down to posterity any records at
all of the wonderful things which they had witnessed in their
life-time, and then review certain passages in each of the
four Gospels, which do not seem to harmonize with one
another, or with the opinion that the works in which they
occur were written by those to whom they are ascribed.
Here we shall find abundant evidence to convince us that
what the Apostles or their immediate disciples left behind
them, although containing the same doctrines and subject
matter, was different in form from that which our New Tes-
tament now contains. We must here consider the existing
four Gospels with reference to the apostles to whom they are
ascribed, and see how far they harmonize with existing
notices of what those apostles left behind them in writing.
For, if it should appear that the disciples of our Lord did
actually leave any writings behind them, or were thought to
have done so, and those writings seem to be of a different
character from our existing Gospels, the identity of the four
will be disproved by the same process.
Now the gradual stages by which the world became pos-
sessed of our four Gospels is recorded by Eusebius in the
third book (§ 24) of his "Ecclesiastical History." After in-
forming us that only two of our Lord's disciples delivered in
writing, and that of necessity, an account of his life and
teaching, the historian proceeds as follows:
Matthew, having before preached to the Hebrews, when he
was about to go to others also, left in writing in the language of
his country the Gospel which is according to him, thus supplying
by writing the void which his absence occasioned to those from
whom he was sent away. And whereas Mark and Luke had
already delivered the Gospels which are according to them, they
say that John, having during the whole time used unwritten
preaching, at length came to write it, from some such cause as
this. When the three [Gospels] previously written had been
already given out to all as well as to himself, they say that he
་
154
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
received them, bearing witness to their accuracy, but that the
only thing wanting to the narrative was a description of the
things done by Jesus at the beginning of his preaching. And
this is the truth.
§ 1. Matthew.
We shall have occasion presently to recall this passage,
and to consider how far the work ascribed to St John may
be considered as supplementary to the other three, but in
the first place the Gospel according to St Matthew must be
brought to notice, that we may see how far it agrees with
that which is ascribed to St Matthew by Eusebius and
Papias, whom he quotes, as having been written by that
Evangelist in the Hebrew tongue. On this point it may be
said without hesitation that there is nothing to show the
identity of our present Gospel with that which is said to
have been written at an early period for the use of the Jews.
The words quoted by Eusebius from Papias have been
already given at page 116:—
Matthew, then, in the Hebrew dialect wrote the Sayings
[λóvia]: and each person interpreted them as he was able.
If St Matthew wrote his Gospel in Hebrew, why has the
original perished? The existing Greek text is either a
translation of the Hebrew, or it is a separate work.
it cannot be a translation, for many reasons.
But
1. Because there is not the slightest evidence on record
of its being a translation.
2. Because it is unreasonable to believe that an authentic
work-written by inspiration-would perish or be super-
seded by an unauthenticated translation-for all translations
are less authentic than their original.
3. Because there are many features in our present Gospel
according to St Matthew, which are common to the Gospels
of St Mark, St Luke, and even St John; which would lead
to the inference that the latter are translations also.
4. Besides, there is nothing in the Gospel of St Matthew,
as regards its style or construction, that would lead to the
inference of its being a translation, any more than all the
other books contained in the New Testament. Most of
them bear marks of having been put together out of pre-
vious materials, and these materials are very likely to have
been found in the Hebrew, Syriac, or any other of the
various dialects which existed then, as they exist now,
derived from the original Arabic, and used over the wide
I
xv.]
MATTHEW'S HEBREW GOSPEL.
155
range of Arabia, Palestine, Syria, and other conterminous
parts of Asia. That such an account of the Life and Acts
of Jesus might reasonably proceed from the pen of Matthew
a tax-gatherer, for his very office would denote that he was
familiar with the art of writing and the practice of the pen,
is not improbable, and that this original record should have
perished, is also not an unprecedented event, but that it
should be superseded by a translation is not a theory hastily
to be received. The original might indeed survive, as Mr
Greswell remarks in his second Dissertation on the Har-
mony of the Gospels (i, 104), "for a time in Judæa-as
long perhaps as the succession of Hebrew bishops was kept
up in the Jewish Church, and consequently the Hebrew or
mother Church could still be externally distinguished from
the Gentile. But this was not longer than the eighteenth
of Hadrian, within little more than sixty years from the
first destruction of Jerusalem." But a more fatal objection
lies against the theory that our existing first Gospel is a re-
production in Greek of an original work that had been first
composed in Hebrew. Papias, whom Eusebius quotes, does
not tell us that St Matthew wrote any gospel at all. His
words are "Matthew wrote the Sayings (ta logia) in the
Hebrew dialect and each person interpreted them as he was
able." The Sayings is a well-known term applied to the
brief and sententious teaching of Jesus, and a collection of
these certainly existed before the compilation of the four
Gospels. Such a collection is quoted perhaps two hundred
times by Justin Martyr, who was not aware that they had
been embodied with the Memorials so as to form Gospels as
we now have them. Neither is there any ground for saying
that St Matthew's Hebrew work was translated into Greek.
Papias says that each person interpreted, not translated the
Sayings. This also is intelligible: in our Gospels we have
the acts and almost the daily life of Jesus, or at all events
the particular occasions on which his Sayings were delivered,
and this explains their meaning and their application. But
the Sayings themselves reduced to writing by St Matthew
(if the tradition be true) would be left to the private inter-
pretation of all who read them without the aid which we
now have from the History in which they are embodied.
The Greek word hermeneus denotes one who explains or ex-
pounds a subject quite as often as one who interprets a
foreign language, and it can hardly be supposed that every
individual reader would make a translation of the work for
his own use-a process which would entail great useless
156
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
labour on those who undertook to study it, even if their
means and appliances for doing so were seconded by the
necessary ability which such a task would require. This,
however, is not the only difficulty we meet with. It was
not till the end of the second century that Pantænus disco-
vered in India or Ethiopia the Hebrew work of St Matthew
which had been conveyed to India, as we may infer, by the
Apostle Bartholomew more than a hundred years before,
and meanwhile was unknown to more western Christians.
It is clear from what has been here quoted that no sound
conclusion connecting the Hebrew which has perished with
the Greek which has survived can be deduced, and for these
reasons we conclude that the Hebrew "Gospel of St
Matthew," which perhaps no one has seen since Pantænus
who brought it from India,* and the Greek "Gospel
according to St Matthew," are separate and independent
works.
§ 2. Mark.
The second of our Gospels is said to have been written by
St Mark, although its title in all manuscripts and editions
"At that
* Eusebius gives us the following account of Pantænus:
time [about B. c. 180], there presided in the school of the faithful at that
place [Alexandria] a man highly celebrated on account of his learning,
by name Pantænus. For there had been from ancient time erected among
them a school of sacred learning, which remains to this day; and we have
understood that it has been wont to be furnished with men eminent for
their eloquence and the study of divine things; and it is said that this
person excelled others of that time, having been brought up in the Stoic
philosophy; that he was nominated or sent forth as a missionary to
preach the Gospel of Christ to the nations of the East, and to have tra-
velled into India. For there were yet at that time many evangelists of
the word, animated with a divine zeal of imitating the Apostles, by contri-
buting to the enlargement of the Gospel, and building up the Church; of
whom this Pantænus was one; who is said to have gone to the Indians,
where it is commonly said he found the Gospel of Matthew, written in the
Hebrew tongue, which before his arrival had been delivered to some in
that country who had the knowledge of Christ, to whom Bartholomew,
one of the Apostles, is said to have preached, and to have left with them
that writing of Matthew, and that it was preserved among them to that
time. This Pantænus, therefore, for his many excellent performances,
was at last made president of the school of Alexandria, where he set forth
the treasures of the divine principles both by word of mouth and by his
writings."-ECCL. HIST. v, 9.
St Jerome, as quoted by Dr Lardner, vol. i, p. 391, says of him: "Pan-
tænus, a philosopher of the Stoic sect, according to an ancient custom of
the city of Alexandria, was, at the request of ambassadors from India,
sent into that country by Demetrius, bishop of Alexandria, where he found
that Bartholomew, one of the twelve Apostles, had preached the coming of
our Lord Jesus Christ, according to the Gospel of Matthew, which he
brought back with him to Alexandria, written in Hebrew letters."
xv.]
157
MARK'S Gospel.
is The Gospel according to St Mark. But the work men-
tioned by Papias as quoted by Eusebius, even if it could be
called a gospel at all, seems to have been wholly different,
and the account which they give of it is not applicable to
the work which we now have. For the "Gospel according
to St Mark" professes to give a continuous history of
Christ's life, as regularly as the other three Gospels, but the
work noticed by Papias, as may be seen from the fragment
recited in page 115 of this volume, was written by Mark
"not indeed in a regular order," but as much as he re-
membered of what Christ did and said. And Papias adds
that Mark made no error, but wrote down accurately such
things as Peter delivered from memory. In this case also
the same Greek word hermeneutes is used to designate St
Mark's relation to St Peter: the former became a follower
and, as we say, exponent of the latter, but there has seldom
if ever been any suggestion made by any of the commen-
tators that the Gospel according to St Mark was ever trans-
lated from a lost original. Such an opinion would not how-
ever be wholly untenable, if it be true that our second
Gospel was written at Rome, and that Mark was, as his
Latin name Marcus would imply, by birth a Roman. To
this however an important objection may be raised. Euse-
bius, quoting from Irenæus, tells us (Hist. Ecc. v, 8) that
Mark the disciple and interpreter of Peter delivered to us
in writing the things preached by Peter, after the exodus of
Peter and Paul who had founded the Church at Rome. It
has been a question whether these two Apostles were dead
or had only departed from Rome. But in either case we
are involved in great difficulties, for Eusebius tells us (ii, 24)
that Annianus succeeded Mark as bishop of Alexandria in
the 8th year of Nero's reign, which would correspond with
the 61st year of the Christian era, when it would appear
from the former statement that Mark was still at Rome, and
Paul, consistently with the narrative in the Acts of the
Apostles which makes him to have passed at least two
whole years in that city, could not have left it before A.D.
63. Whether therefore we interpret the exodus as denoting
the death or only the departure of the two Apostles, we do
not escape the inconsistent statements that Annianus suc-
ceeded to Mark as bishop of Alexandria in A.D. 61, and that
Mark wrote his Gospel at Rome after the death or departure
of St Peter and St Paul in A.D. 63. It
It appears also from
other passages in the Ecclesiastical History of Eusebius, to
be almost certain that St Mark never was in Rome at all.
158
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
If it be admitted, as suggested in page 60 of this volume,
that the early Christians were actuated, laudably it may be
allowed, by mixed motives to display the zeal, which un-
doubtedly influenced them, in propagating the true religion,
yet we can hardly go to the length which our early Christian
writers would lead us, in their description of those missions.
It may be doubted whether many leaders of the new sect
would be thought worthy of deportation to Rome; and it
does not seem reasonable to accept the accounts of Eusebius
and others, who ascribe a sort of ubiquity to the Apostles
and other early preachers of Christianity. If it is difficult
to reconcile the two apparently conflicting accounts of St
Mark above noticed, how shall we escape from the embar-
rassment which is thrown in our way by another account
which Eusebius gives us as follows?
The first [Gospel] is written according to Matthew, the same
that was once a publican, but afterwards an apostle of Jesus
Christ, who published it for those who believed from out of
Judaism, written in Hebrew letters. But the second is that
according to Mark, who made it as Peter instructed him, whom
also he acknowledged in his Catholic epistle (i, v, 13) as his son
in these words saying, "The Elect church in Babylon saluteth
you, and Marcus my son."
This passage has caused great embarrassment to all the
commentators; who have failed to find that the solution of
the difficulty is connected with the true estimate of the accu-
racy which is to be attributed to the historian who records
it. Eusebius, who quotes the salutation sent by Peter from
Babylon as undoubtedly due to Mark the Evangelist, has
equally stated that St Mark was with Peter and Paul at
Rome, and with equal plainness, as we have seen, stated
that he died at Alexandria and was succeeded by Annianus
in the episcopate of that city. A fourth passage occurs in the
work of the same ecclesiastical historian (ii, 16) as follows:
They say that this Mark, being the first that went to Egypt,
preached the Gospel, which indeed he also composed, and first
established churches in Alexandria itself: and so great a multi-
tude of those who there believed, both men and women, at the
first outset, through their severe philosophical discipline, that
Philo has deemed their pursuits, their meetings, their entertain-
ments and all their other conduct of life, worthy to be noticed in
his writings.
The embarrassment in which the reader is involved by
these brief notices of St Mark and the work which he is said
xv.]
159
LUKE'S GOspel.
to have originally written, needs no augmentation from the
fact that his name Marcus would show that he was a
Roman: for there were many Greeks with Roman names
and vice versa in those days. Nor, if written at Rome, is it
surprising that the Gospel should be written in Greek; for
the first promulgation of Christianity was effected by Greek
missionaries, and the first converts at Rome were most prob-
ably Greeks also. The embarrassment here alluded to is
mostly caused by the obscure language of Papias as quoted
by the historian Eusebius. His constant reference to the
"elder" and the "elders" does not sanction our attaching
any authority to what remains of his works concerning the
Gospel which now exists "according to" Mark, and the
doctrines therein contained.
§ 3. St Luke.
The third of our canonical Gospels entitled according to
St Luke, and commonly ascribed to him as its writer, differs
from the others in having a form of dedication prefixed,
from which we learn that it was compiled for the use of one
Theophilus: which name occurs both in this dedication, and
in another like it prefixed to the Acts of the Apostles. The
purpose for which the dedication is here brought forward is
to correct the grave errors which occur in the translation of
it found in the authorized version of our Bible. I use the
term grave errors, because the words, by which the Greek is
translated, may lead the English reader to the belief that
the author claims the credit of being a contemporary writer,
whereas the Greek expressly declares that the author has
accurately followed the accounts which had been handed
down to his time by others who had been eye-witnesses of
the facts. This is an important difference between the
writer's real meaning and that which is attributed to him by
those who follow an erroneous translation. The reader may
judge from what follows whether this statement is correct.
AUTHORIZED VERSION.
1. Forasmuch as many have
taken in hand to set forth in
order a declaration of those
things which are most surely
believed among us,
2. Even as they delivered
them unto us, which from the
beginning were eye-witnesses,
and ministers of the word;
CORRECTED TRANSLATION.
1. Forasmuch as many have
taken in hand to set forth in
order a NARRATIVE of those
things, which HAVE BEEN
BROUGHT TO FULFILMENT IN US,
2. Even as THEY, WHICH from
the beginning were eye-wit-
nesses and ministers of the
word, have HANDED DOWN to us,
160
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
3. It seemed good to me also,
having had perfect understand-
ing of all things from the very
first, to write unto thee in order,
most excellent Theophilus,
4. That thou mightest know
the certainty of those things,
wherein thou hast been in-
structed.
3. It hath seemed good to me
also, FOLLOWING ALL ACCURATELY
FROM THE BEGINNING, to write
unto thee in order, most excel-
lent Theophilus,
4. That thou mightest know
the certainty of those things,
wherein thou hast been in-
structed.
There are here three mistranslations. The writer of this
Gospel does not say that he is going to write about things
"which are surely believed among us," but things, "which
have been brought to fulfilment or completion (Engоpоgn-
μévwv) in us. Neither was it himself and his contempo-
raries, "which from the beginning were eye-witnesses and
ministers of the word," but others "who handed it down to
him and his contemporaries." Again, the writer had not
perfect understanding of all things from the first,” but he
"followed or traced down (Tagnoλovennóтi) all the accounts of
others from the first." If these statements do not show that
he disclaims a contemporary character, and writes only at
second-hand, then is there no rule for receiving literary
evidence, but words may be turned to any meaning that
may best suit the purpose of those who use them.*
66
Having then pointed out the preliminary errors which
stand in the way of the English reader of this Gospel, we
* Dr Westcott, in his work on the Canon, suggests that the Greek verb
translated "have attempted" may be translated "attempt," indicating
that Luke's Gospel was written at the same time with the others which
were less authentic. Let me remind him that the aorist denotes a past
event which continues down to the present time, but never indicates posi-
tively any time at all. In this respect the English language corresponds
with the Greek. We say I did a thing at some definite time, I have done
it indefinitely, indicating a time that extends down to the present
moment. If any one maintains the accuracy of the "assuredly believed,"
let him be informed that a man may be "filled with belief" as in Ep.
Rom. iv, 21, whereas a thing cannot be "filled with belief" but is brought
to fulfilment, as in 11 Tim. iv, 17, also it ought to be translated. The
word also which is erroneously rendered "having had perfect knowledge
of all things from the first," has in fact a totally different meaning. The
word is used constantly, both by sacred and profane writers, to denote one
who follows either a person or a doctrine, history or theory. See 1 Tim.
iv, 6: II Tim. iii, 10: II Maccabees ix, 27: Justin M. Dial. c. T. p. 33 D;
also Dioscorides Proleg. ad lib. vi; Lucian de Consc. Hist. § 6: Xenophon,
Eq. viii, 14; Dem. cclxxxv, 21: Epict. 11, xvi, 3. To these remarks it may
be added that Theophilus was a man in some authority when the Gospel
was dedicated to him, and that this must have been many years after he
had been instructed or as the early Church expresses it had become a
catechumen.
xv.]
161
LUKE'S GOSPEL-ZACHARIAS.
have only to observe further that not only the short preface,
but the whole narrative of John the Baptist's birth and
parentage, recorded in this Gospel alone, has met with
severe criticism and been explained by the supposition, for
which no ample and conclusive evidence has been produced,
that the narrative which follows the preface in the Gospel
according to St Luke, comprehending the genealogy and
the account of Zacharias, are later additions made for some
specific purpose and possessing less authority than the re-
mainder of the Gospel. Those who have adopted this view
refer to the Protevangelium Jacobi, one of the uncanonical
gospels, but perhaps as ancient as those which form our
canon. As there were conflicting accounts concerning the
death of John the Baptist, described in page 65 of this
volume, so also is there an incompleteness concerning the
circumstances which accompanied his birth. The account
given in the Protevangelium Jacobi is as follows:
But Herod sought for John and sent his attendants to Zacha-
rias saying, "Where hast thou hidden thy son?" But he
answered them saying, "I am a minister of God and serve in the
temple of the Lord: I know not where my son is." And the
attendants departed and told Herod all these things: and Herod
being angry said, "His son is to be king of Israel," and he sent
to him again, saying, "Speak the truth; where is thy son? for
thou knowest that thy blood is under my hand." And Zacharias
said, “I am a witness [martyr] of God, if thou sheddest my
blood: for the master will receive my spirit, because thou
sheddest innocent blood on the vestibule of the temple of the
Lord." And about the time of dawn Zacharias was slain, and
the sons of Israel knew not that he was slain. Protev. Jac.
Protev. Jac. p. 44,
ed. Tischendorf.
The devout believer in the truth of the Christian history,
however prepared to admit errors or mistakes of detail inci-
dental to everything proceeding from the pen, will need no
arguments to induce him to question if not to reject accounts
which materially affect the authority of our books; but
error can only be detected and truth vindicated by the pro-
duction of all the evidence which the case allows. As
regards the death of Zacharias related in the above-named
uncanonical gospel, the narrative has been connected with
that passage of St Matthew's Gospel in which allusion is
made to a certain Zacharias son of Barachias as slain
between the temple and the altar. This event must have
happened during or not long before our Saviour's time, for
the victim of this murder is named as the last of those which
VOL. II.
12
162
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
were due to the unholy and rebellious spirit of the Jews,
and the story more fully related in the Protevangelium
Jacobi, was evidently well known, for it is referred to in St
Luke's Gospel also (xi, 51) without any of those attendant
circumstances which the uncanonical gospel supplies. It
cannot however be denied that those who come for the first
time to the knowledge of this narrative are naturally at a
loss to know why St Luke, if he wrote those details which
are recorded in his Gospel, should have omitted to relate
the tragical event which followed so soon after; nor can it
be wondered at that the German critic Ewald has doubted
the authenticity of the chapter in which the miraculous
birth of John the Baptist is recorded. In this doubt the
reader will concur perhaps so far as to question the antiquity
of the document, whilst he may still give credit to the truth
of the facts.

§ 4. John.
The Gospels according to Matthew, Mark and Luke, are
remarkably alike, both in the sequence of facts, the style of
the composition, and in the identity of their words and
language. This circumstance has attached to them the
name of "Synoptical Gospels" in contradistinction to that
according to John, which differs wholly in its historical
arrangement and in its style, although in numerous passages
it is identical in words and language with the other three.
The transition from them to the fourth Gospel involves the
passage from one world of thought to another; nor can any
familiarity with the general teaching of the Gospels, or wide
conception of the character of the Saviour suffice to destroy
the contrast which exists in form and spirit between the
earlier and the later narratives.* A few observations
* This is the judgement of Dr Westcott in his Introduction to the Study
of the Gospels, page 249. He more fully develops the "contrast" in
what follows:-"The Synoptic Gospels contain the Gospel of the infant
Church; that of St John the Gospel of its maturity, The first combine
to give the wide experience of the many: the last embraces the deep
mysteries treasured up by the one. All alike are consciously based on
the same great facts, but yet it is possible, in a more limited sense, to
describe the first as historical, and the last as ideal; though the history
necessarily points to truths which lie beyond all human experience, and
the ideas only connect that which was once for all realized on earth with
the eternal of which it was the revelation." If this be so, the contrast,
spoken of in the text above, is still more striking than it is there described
to be, and it becomes still more difficult to recognize two histories, if the
divergence, even in the purpose for which they were written, is so re-
markable.
xv.]
163
ST JOHN'S GOSPEL.
on some of the peculiarities of this Gospel are all that is
necessary at present. The other matters which require to
be noticed, will recur in the comparison to be more fully
instituted with reference to the harmonies and discrepancies
which exist between all the four works in which the life and
deeds of our Saviour are related.
We learn from the words of Papias, given in page 114,
that there were two Johns, one of whom is named the elder,
but Papias does not say that either of them had left any-
thing in writing either of the nature of a Gospel or other-
wise. The reader is left to form his own judgement on this
point, and is at liberty to form it according to any one
which he may prefer of the various opinions that have been
given upon that subject. Again, we read in the Acts of the
Apostles (iv, 13), that the rulers of the Jews and others,
some of whom were kinsmen of the high priest, having
examined Peter and John because they had preached the
resurrection of the dead, marvelled at their boldness, per-
ceiving that they were unlettered and ignorant men. As
regards this statement which is probably true, for it is not
likely that Jewish fishermen would possess much learning,
it is certainly remarkable that the Gospel according to St
John is written in much purer Greek than that of the
other three, nor must it be forgotten that no sufficient
explanation has been given for the fact that a fisherman of
Galilee should be able to write in Greek at all. It is of
course to be understood that any difference of style in
a foreign language on the same subject is not readily
noticed by the English reader, and this is especially the
case with the authorized version of the New Testament, the
language of which is, in every part of it, somewhat removed
from the style of the present day, and in which also the
various translators would seek as much as they were able to
use similar language, so as to produce for the use of the
English Church an uniform and harmonious work. It may
further be remarked that, whereas Annas the high priest and
Caiaphas were present at the inquiry related in the Acts,
the prisoners Peter and John appear to have been wholly
unknown to the tribunal before which they are summoned.
But at the examination of our Lord himself recorded in the
fourth Gospel (xviii, 16) we read that John-for all admit
that he was that other disciple there named-being known
unto the high priest, "spake unto her that kept the door,
and brought in Peter." It has also been suggested that the
writer of this Gospel by exalting the character and acts of
164
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
John, whilst he depreciates those of Peter, has betrayed
himself to be that John, whose position he has sought to
exalt. To inquire how far the fact is so would bear with
little weight upon our present argument. Nor is it neces-
sary to prove in the case of the fourth Gospel that a Jew
could not have been its author; for the expression so con-
stantly occurring about the "feasts" and other customs of
the Jews (ii, 6, 13: v, 1: vi, 4: vii, 2: &c.) would hardly
have been used if the writer had been a Jew himself.
It is of more importance to discuss, however briefly, a
question which has in all ages been agitated concerning the
last two verses of the twentieth and also the whole of the
twenty-first chapter, with which the Gospel according to St
John concludes. The former of these chapters ends thus:
30. And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of
his disciples, which are not written in this book. 31. But these
are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the
son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his
name.
These two verses, notwithstanding the adverse judgement
of a few German critics, seem to form a fit termination to
the history in which they are found. It is not easy however
to pass a similarly favourable opinion on the twenty-first
chapter of the Gospel, which seems rather to be an appendix
attached afterwards than to have been a portion of the
original work. "After these things Jesus showed himself
again, &c." is the connection between this appendix and the
preceding narrative which seemed to have been brought to a
conclusion. It is however unimportant to determine whether
this was written by St John at the same time as what goes
before or by him at a later period of his life: for our argu-
ment is that St John is not the writer of any part of the
work, unless perhaps of individual passages which he may
have left in writing, and which have been embodied by those
whose aim it was to collect the Memorials of all the Apostles
and as many as could be got together of the "Sayings," or
Oracles as they are also called, "of our Lord" Jesus Christ.
It will be observed that of the three Synoptical Gospels, in
one only, that according to St Matthew, is there a notice,
and that a very slight one, of Jesus appearing in Galilee
after his resurrection from the dead.
Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee into a moun-
tain where Jesus had appointed them.
xv.]
165
LAST CHAPTER OF ST JOHN.
There Jesus gave them brief instructions to teach and to
baptize, and the history there ends. But in the Gospel
according to St John, the history is resumed and, although
some say the style of the language is different, yet the tenour
of the facts related is certainly similar to that which had
been wound up at the end of the previous chapter. There
is also a peculiar feature of this appendix which has caught
the attention and exercised the critical ingenuity of number-
less critics. In verse 21 of this chapter Peter, speaking of
the disciple whom Jesus loved, asks Jesus, "What shall this
man do?" To this somewhat vague question, Jesus answers,
"If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee?
Follow thou me.” The answer would have been as obscure
as the question, if we did not know from other sources that
for many years the Christians believed that Christ would
come again soon and establish on earth what he, and John
the Baptist before him, had preached as the kingdom of
heaven. After this, three more verses are added and the
book concludes.
23. Then went this saying abroad among the brethren, that
that disciple should not die: yet Jesus said not unto him, He
shall not die; but, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that
to thee? 24. This is the disciple which testifieth of these things,
and wrote these things: and we know that his testimony is true.
25. And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the
which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even
the world itself could not contain the books that should be writ-
ten. Amen.
Similar to this is the statement in the thirty-fifth verse of
the nineteenth chapter, which refers to the soldier piercing
the side of Jesus.
And he that saw it bare record, and his record is true: and he
knoweth that he saith true, that ye might believe.
The two statements here compared were no doubt written
by the same author, and it is obvious to infer that he is
quoting the authority of the disciple whom Jesus loved,
possibly St John as tradition had delivered it down, but, if
he meant to say that he was himself that disciple, he has
adopted a more singular mode of expressing his meaning
than any other author either before or since his time.
Having premised these observations on the Gospels and
the authors to whom they are ascribed, we will proceed to
examine the history therein contained, and to compare the
166
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
testimony of the four concerning the salient points of our
Lord's life and actions, and thence to obtain such evidence
as may be the result on the question whether they have been
rightly ascribed to those authors or not.
CHAPTER XVI.
GENEALOGIES OF CHRIST, IN THE GOSPELS ACCORDING TO
ST MATTHEW AND ST LUKE.
IN the Gospels according to St Matthew and St Luke are
given genealogies of Christ, showing his descent, in the
former from Abraham, the great ancestor of the Hebrews, in
the latter from the first man, Adam. The catalogue, given
in Luke's Gospel (iii, 23-38) is in accordance, for the earlier
part from Adam to Abraham, with the list of names found
in the book of Genesis; and from Abraham downwards to
David, it agrees with the genealogy given in St Matthew's
Gospel (i, 2-6), and both agree with the genealogy of the Old
Testament, in either the Septuagint version or the Hebrew
original. But the descent of Jesus, after the time of David,
is told so discrepantly in the two Gospels, that it is absolutely
impossible to reconcile them. In this portion of the genea-
logy, from David to Christ, the two accounts are inadmissible
for these five reasons:
1. They do not agree with one another.
2. They do not agree with the genealogy found in the Old
Testament.
3. They are not supported by probability.
4. The genealogy of St Matthew is not consistent with
itself.
5. They impugn the doctrine of the Church, that the
Christ was to be the descendant of King David.
The inference to be deduced from these serious discrepan-
cies will be that the genealogies were drawn up later than
the time of Christ, not by contemporary writers, who might
perhaps have ascertained the truth, but by later writers,
after the dispersion of the Jews into other countries, when the
destruction of records and registers had made it difficult to
ascertain the exact lineage of the family of Christ.
1. The first of the discrepancies will be evident from an
inspection of the following table, in which the several
XVI.]
167
THE GENEALOGICAL TABLES.
pedigrees from David to Christ are given in three parallel
columns.
OLD TESTAMENT
MATTHEW
LUKE
David Bath-sheba
David
David
Solomon
Nathan
Solomon
Nathan
Rehoboam
Roboam
Mattatha
Abijah
Abia
Menan
Asa
Asa
Melea
Jehoshaphat
Josaphat
Eliakim
Jehoram
Joram
Jonan
Ahaziah or Azariah
Joseph
or Jehoachaz
Ozias
Juda
Joash
Simeon
Amaziah
Levi
Uzziah or Azariah
Matthat
Jotham
Joatham
Jorim
Ahaz
Achaz
Eliezer
Hezekiah
Ezekias
Jose
Manasseh
Manasses
Er
Ammon
Amon
Elmodam
Josiah
Josias
Cosam
Eliakim or Jehoiakim
Addi
Jeconiah
Jechonias
Melchi
Neri
Salathiel
Salathiel
Salathiel
Pedaiah
Zorobabel
Zorobabel
Zorobabel
Abiud
Rhesa
Eliakim
Joanna
Azor
Juda
Sadoc
Joseph
Achim
Semei
Eliud
Mattathias
Eleazar
Matthan
Jacob
Joseph
Christ
Maath
Nagge
Esli
Naum
Amos
Mattathias
Joseph
Janna
Melchi
Levi
Matthat
Heli
Joseph
Christ
168
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
On comparing these lists, we find that between David and
Christ there are only two names which occur in both Mat-
thew and Luke-those of Zorobabel and of Joseph the
reputed father of Jesus. In tracing the list downwards
from David there would be less difficulty in explaining this,
at least to a certain point, for Matthew follows the line of
Solomon, and Luke that of Nathan-both of whom were
sons of David. But even in the downward line, on reaching
Salathiel, where the two genealogies again come into con-
tact, we find, to our astonishment, that in Luke he is the son
of Neri, whilst in Matthew his father's name is Jechonias.
From Zorobabel downwards, the lists are again divergent
until we reach Joseph, who in St Luke is placed as the son
of Heli, whilst in St Matthew his father's name is Jacob.
As an explanation of this difficulty we find in a note at-
tached to the genealogy by St Luke in the Bible published
by the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, the fol-
lowing passage:
It is seen that the genealogy of our Saviour, here given by St
Luke, is entirely different, as far as David, from that given by
St Matthew, chap. i. Among the various methods of explaining
this, which have been proposed, the most probable is, that
whereas St Matthew traced the genealogy through Joseph the
husband of his mother, so St Luke here traces it through Mary'
his mother. It is certain that Heli was not the natural father
of Joseph, for St Matthew expressly tells us, that "Jacob begat
Joseph": it is therefore inferred that Heli was the father of
Mary, and only father-in-law of Joseph. But it was never usual
with the Jews to mention the names of females in their genea-
logies; on this account, Mary is not mentioned here by St Luke,
but is only intimated or included, when the line is commenced
from her father Heli. The true purport of this genealogy becomes
more evident, if we consider, as seems to be intended, the word
Jesus to be understood at every step. Thus it is to be supplied,
Jesus, as was supposed, the son of Joseph, Jesus the son of Heli,
Jesus the son of Matthat, &c.-Jesus the son of Seth, Jesus the
son of Adam, Jesus the son of God. A style of genealogy pre-
cisely similar to this is used by Moses at Gen. xxxvi, 2, "Aholi-
bamah the daughter of Anah, the daughter of Zibeon," &c.
Thus it appears that St Luke composing his gospel for the use
of the Gentiles, and intending to prove that Christ was the seed
of the woman, necessarily reckons by the line of his mother,
Mary the daughter of Heli. St Matthew, on the other hand,
intending to deduce his legal descent from David and Abraham,
reckons by the line of Joseph the espoused husband of Mary
through whom the legal descent was to be carried.—DR LIGHT-
FOOT.
XVI.]
169
THE TWO GENEALOGIES.
It is difficult to look upon this extract seriously, or to be-
lieve that such a line of argument could ever have been put
forward to explain what is really a great difficulty to all
those who believe that the two Gospels in question were
written by two contemporaries, and one of them a disciple, of
our Lord. If we suppose Luke to say that Joseph was the
son of Heli, and to mean that Mary, Joseph's wife, was the
daughter of Heli, we are at liberty to give to words whatever
meaning may best suit our own convenience, and the critical
art, by which so many truths have been saved from oblivion,
may be cast aside as no longer of any benefit to mankind.
But there is nowhere any indication that Mary was the
daughter of Heli, or that the Jews omitted "women in their
genealogies." The utmost that can be said on this point is
that the Jews, like the English, traced their descent if pos-
sible through the male line; and in the case cited from
Genesis xxxvi, 2, where is the evidence that Anah was not
a female as well as a male appellation among the Jews?
The passage cited is in itself a proof of this fact. The words
"Aholibamah . . . the daughter of Zibeon," occurring in
serious prose-not poetry-indicates that females were
named occasionally in Jewish genealogies, and also that
Anah, at least in this instance, was the name of a woman.
But to recur more closely to our subject: the genealogies of
Matthew and Luke are so different that it is impossible both
can be true; and it is not a sufficient reply to this objection
to state that the writers wrote one thing, and meant another:
there is no evidence that Jewish writers ever called a man
the son of his wife's father, without some indication of their
doing so.
2. But the genealogies do not differ less from that which
is found in the Old Testament than they do from one
another, as may be seen from the tables given above. That
of St Luke does not so easily admit of being tested by this
comparison; for Luke traces the lineage of Christ through
Nathan, another son of David, whose family and descent do
not occur at all in the Old Testament. Yet even here, on
the only point where it is possible to compare the two, they
are found to differ: for Salathiel and Zorobabel, the only in-
termediate links which occur both in the Old Testament and
in Luke, are placed in the older genealogy as grandfather
and grandson, whilst in Luke they stand in the relation of
father and son; besides which Salathiel appears in Luke as
the son of Neri, whilst in the Old Testament his father's
name is Jechonias. Luke also mentions Resa as the son of
170
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Zorobabel, but no such name occurs in the Old Testament
of any such person. As the Old Testament genealogy is the
more ancient, being in fact the original authority, it is clear
that the genealogy given by St Luke must be set aside as
inaccurate, because refuted by the evidence of an original
and more authentic document. The genealogy of St Mat-
thew, following the line of Solomon, as does that of the Old
Testament, admits of a more ready comparison between the
two; and here also we find a perfect harvest of divergences.
First, as to the number of generations: the Old Testament
gives twenty-two, St Matthew only seventeen from David to
Zorobabel. Secondly, though the names for the first eight
generations, from David to Jehoram, are as nearly alike as,
perhaps, the Greek and Hebrew idioms will admit, yet a
serious discrepancy immediately occurs; for before Ozias,
the eighth member of St Matthew's list, we have three
names, Ahaziah, Joash and Amaziah, given in the Old
Testament, and altogether omitted in St Matthew. The
same Gospel genealogy also omits Eliakim after Josiah, and
Pedaiah between Salathiel and Zorobabel.
The question then arises, How are these difficulties to be
surmounted? and the dilemma which arises is simple: one of
the two accounts must be erroneous; but, as the Old Tes-
tament is the original authority, from which all later Jewish
writers must have drawn their information, if they wished
their histories to be received for truth, it follows that St
Matthew's Gospel, as well as that of St Luke, have been in-
accurately copied from the original sources. This leads us
to believe that the writings, in which such mistakes are
found, were composed when the means of arriving at the
truth had been removed out of the way, which is equivalent
to saying that these writings are not contemporary with the
events which they describe.
3. But the third objection, which lies to the reception of
these genealogies, is that they offend against proba-
bility; for whilst the Gospel of St Matthew has twenty-
eight generations from David to Christ, both inclusive, St
Luke has forty-three generations for the same period. Now,
the interval between David and Christ, 1050 years, divided
by twenty-eight in the one case and by forty-three in the
other, gives thirty-four years to a generation according to
St Matthew, and twenty-four according to St Luke.
former estimate is much too long; no instance can be found in
the history of the world, of twenty-eight generations, each of
thirty-four years' duration. The objection does not apply to
The
XVI.]
171
THE THREE GENEALOGIES.
the other Gospel, for twenty-four years is perhaps a reason-
able duration to allow to each member in so long a pedigree.
4. A fourth objection to the genealogy of St Matthew is
that it is inconsistent with itself: for, although the writer
sets out with the statement that the pedigree from Abraham
to Christ exhibits three periods, each of fourteen members or
forty-two altogether, yet the names given in the list amount
to forty-one only, even if we include those of Abraham and
of Christ. This cannot have arisen from the error of a
copyist; at least not within the last 1600 years, for Por-
phyry, one of the early opponents of Christianity, has men-
tioned the omission. It is true that some manuscript copies
of the New Testament still exist, in which the number is
made to amount to forty-two, by the insertion of an addi-
tional name, Jehoiakim, between Josias and Jechonias; but,
unfortunately for this mode of correction, it has the effect of
augmenting the second period of names from fourteen to
fifteen, and still leaves the third period, from Jechonias to
Jesus, where only thirteen names occur, imperfect as before.
Some persons have attempted to account for the dis-
crepancy by supposing that the writer has counted some of
the names in his list twice, so as to include them in two of the
separate periods of fourteen. It would be a waste of words to
refute so puerile an idea; and it is more to the point to sup-
pose that the writer was led by a fanciful view of his subject,
to divide the genealogy into three periods, for the sake of
convenience, and neglected the slight difference between the
actual number and that which he arbitrarily adopted. This
may be admitted without much danger to the truth of the
history—if it be supposed that the writer lived at a time
when he could trifle with a serious subject—but not if that
writer was one of the twelve disciples, inspired by God to
declare to future ages the marvellous deeds which they had
witnessed in the life and actions of Jesus their master.
sup-
5. Still more serious is the fifth objection, which lies
against both the genealogies alike, connected it is true with
a doctrine of the Church, but brought forward here for its
historical significance only, and not for the purpose of
porting or weakening any doctrine of the Church at all. It
is the belief of Christians that Jesus was the son of Mary by
the Holy Ghost, in which case he would have a human
mother but not also a human father. Mary however was of
the tribe of Levi and therefore not descended from King
David. Moreover she is not named in either genealogy, and
her husband Joseph who is named, although descended from
172
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
King David, was not the father of Jesus. What then
becomes of the genealogies, both of which represent Joseph
as the father of Jesus, and do not mention his mother Mary?
It is no solution of this difficulty that St Luke adds the
words " as was supposed" to his statement that Jesus was
the son of Joseph; for the writer does not even name Mary
as entering into the genealogy at all; and St Matthew does
not make the omission less remarkable by concluding his list
of names with the words "Jacob begat Joseph the husband
of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called* Christ."
Amongst others who have taken in hand the solution of
this discrepancy in the history, the Reverend Edward
Greswell, certainly one of the most learned and diffuse of
commentators, has given us the following account of the
matter.
If Joseph was really the father of our Lord, the genealogy of
Joseph, according to the flesh, would be the genealogy of our
Lord, in the same respect and it would be superfluous to search
for any other. But if Joseph was not really the father of our
Lord, that is, if the Christian doctrine of the Incarnation be
scriptural and true-a doctrine, which St Matthew also confirms
as plainly as St Luke-the genealogy of Joseph, according to the
flesh, could in no wise be the similar genealogy of Christ. Now
the genealogy, which is given by St Matthew, is obviously the
genealogy of Joseph, according to the flesh: the use of the asser-
tion "begat" between its several links, from first to last, admits
of no other conclusion. If so, it could not be the genealogy of
Christ in the natural sense. But it might still be his genealogy
in some other sense- as reputed, for instance, the son of Joseph
—that is, as naturally the son of the wife of Joseph [!]. It
might be, therefore, his genealogy in a civil or political sense.
Accordingly the same Evangelist, who so clearly propounds it as
the natural genealogy of Joseph, does by no means propound it
as the natural genealogy of Christ; for, when he is arrived at
the name of Joseph, instead of continuing, as he had begun, and
had proceeded all along until now-'Iwong dè ¿yévvnoe tòv 'Inσovv
-he changes his language in a striking manner-'Ianàß dè éyév-
νησε τὸν Ἰωσήφ, τὸν ἄνδρα Μαρίας ἐξ ἧς ἐγεννήθη Ἰησοῦς ὁ λεγόμενος Χριστός
-It is evident, then, that he intended the previous line to stop
short with Joseph-or not to pass on to Christ, except as the son
of Mary, whose husband was Joseph. Nor is this all; but, if

* The word is here λɛyóμevos, which does not mean called by a definite
name like ovoμalóμevos, but so called by report, as we read in Liddell and
Scott's Greek Lexicon, "rò λeyóμevov, absol. as it is said, as the saying goes,
Lat. quod perhibent . ô λɛyóμɛvos the so-called."
•
XVI.]
173
THE THREE GENEALOGIES.
the words be rightly translated, it is further implied by them,
that Joseph did not become the husband of Mary until after the
birth, or at least the conception, of Christ: And Jacob begat
Joseph, the husband of Mary, of whom had been born, or had
been conceived, Jesus who is called Christ. That this is a pos-
sible meaning of ¿yɛwńên, I have no hesitation in affirming.
It is almost needless to reply to these remarks of my late
learned tutor and friend. A few words will be sufficient.
Whatever may be the possible meaning of the word which
we render" was born," it certainly has no other signification
in the passage before us than that which is given to it in the
authorized translation of the Bible. But if it had the mean-
ing which is "affirmed to be possible," we might ask with
reason why the genealogy of Joseph should be given at all,
seeing that our Lord was born of Mary before her marriage
with Joseph and was therefore in every respect unconnected
with him or his family. A more reasonable explanation
might be deduced from some observations on the first two
chapters of St Matthew's Gospel by Dr Donaldson in his
learned work on "Christian Orthodoxy," p. 277:
We agree, too, with Professor Norton (Genuineness of the Gos-
pels, i, pp. 204, sqq.) that the translator and editor must have
added some passages, which could scarcely have formed a part
of the original Gospel. For example, there is every reason to
believe that the first two chapters were derived from another
source, and that the original Gospel began, like that of St Mark,
with the preaching of John the Baptist. Other probable inter-
polations or additions are the following: the account of the re-
pentance and death of Judas (xxvii, 3-10); the statement that
many saints rose from the dead at our Saviour's crucifixion
(xxvii, 52, 53); the reference to the sign of Jonah (xii, 40); and
the doxology of the Lord's Prayer (vi, 13).
I refrain from touching further on the doubtful authen-
ticity of the first two chapters of St Matthew's Gospel which
contain the genealogy, or of the other passages which have
been called in question by various critics. We are at pre-
sent regarding the whole of this and the other Gospels as
compilations from the original documents, namely the Me-
morials of the Apostles and the Sayings of our Lord, drawn
up soon after the middle of the second century, when the
living memory of the remarkable event therein recorded had
become faint by the lapse of more than an hundred years.
174
CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER XVII.
THE TWO ACCOUNTS OF THE ANNUNCIATION.
THE careful reader of the gospel history cannot fail to ob-
serve an incompleteness in the narratives of all the four
evangelists, which gives them the appearance of contradict-
ing one another, and has led their opponents to condemn
them prematurely and in many instances unfairly. To
this extreme they have been led, perhaps, in some cases, by
the unreasonable conduct of indiscreet partisans whose ad-
miration of the Gospels will not hear of their being incom-
plete or in any way defective. The truth is often found to
lie half-way between extreme controversialists, even when
the sacredness of the Gospel is assailed on the one hand, or
defended on the other.
The history of the annunciation of the birth of Christ, as
related by St Matthew and St Luke, will be found to be
attended with a difficulty which requires to be noticed. The
two accounts are here subjoined.
MATT. i. 18-25.
18. Now the birth of Jesus Christ
was on this wise: When as his mo-
ther Mary was espoused to Joseph,
before they came together, she was
found with child of the ¤ním Oh-nd
19. Tuon Joseph her husband,
being a just man, and not willing to
make her a publick example, was
minded to put her away privily. 20.
But while he thought on these
things, behold, the angel of the Lord
appeared unto him in a dream, say-
ing, "Joseph, thou son of David,
fear not to take unto thee Mary thy
wife: for that which is conceived in
her is of the Holy Ghost. 21. And
she shall bring forth a son, and
thou shalt call his name JESUS:
for he shall save his people from
their sins."
22. Now all this was done, that
it might be fulfilled which was
spoken of the Lord by the prophet,
saying, 23, "Behold a virgin shall
be with child, and shall bring forth
a son, and they shall call his name
LUKE i. 26-38.
26. And in the sixth month the
angel Gabriel was sent from God
unto a city of Galilee, named Naza-
reth, 27. To a virgin espoused to a
w name was Joseph, of
the house of David: and the virgin's
name was Mary.
ALL CULL
28. And the angel came in unto
her, and said, "Hail, thou that art
highly favoured, the Lord is with
thee: blessed art thou among wo-
men."
29. And when she saw him, she
was troubled at his saying, and cast
in her mind what manner of salu-
tation this should be.
30. And the angel said unto her,
"Fear not, Mary: for thou hast
found favour with God. 31. And,
behold, thou shalt conceive in thy
womb, and bring forth a son, and
shalt call his name JESUS. 32.
He shall be great, and shall be
called the Son of the Highest: and
the Lord God shall give unto him
the throne of his father David: 33.
XVII.]
175
THE TWO ANNUNCIATIONS.
Emmanuel, which being interpreted
is, God with us."
24. Then Joseph being raised from
sleep did as the angel of the Lord
had bidden him, and took unto him
his wife: 25. And knew her not till
she had brought forth her first-
born son: and he called his name
JESUS.
And he shall reign over the house of
Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom
there shall be no end."
34. Then said Mary unto the
angel, “How shall this be, seeing I
know not a man?
35. And the angel answered and
said unto her, "The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee, and the power
of the Highest shall overshadow
thee: therefore also that holy thing
which shall be born of thee shall be
called the Son of God. 36. And,
behold, thy cousin Elizabeth, she
hath also conceived a son in her old
age and this is the sixth month
with her, who was called barren.
37. For with God nothing shall be
impossible."
38. And Mary said, "Behold the
handmaid of the Lord: be it unto
me according to thy word." And
the angel departed from her.
The points in these narratives which arrest our attention
are manifold:
1. Either these are two different accounts of the same
thing, or two separate annunciations were made, the one to
Joseph, and the other to Mary. But either of these suppo-
sitions is attended with a difficulty. If they are two accounts
of the same transaction, it is evident that they do not agree
together; and we must explain the variation by supposing
that tradition had gradually altered the features of the story,
before it was at length set down in writing. If, however,
there were two annunciations, it is obvious to remark that
one of them seems to have been superfluous; for the an-
nouncement made to Mary, that she should conceive by the
agency of the Holy Ghost, would render it unnecessary that
the same announcement should be made to Joseph also.
Not so will doubtlessly be the reply-it was necessary that
so important a fact as the conception of Mary by the Holy
Ghost should be borne out by a heavenly communication
made both to the husband and to the wife. If so, why was
not the communication made to Joseph at the same time as
to his wife? The angel appeared to Mary before she had
conceived, but he did not show himself to Joseph until his
nuptials with Mary had been solemnized, and then, before
they came together, the husband discovered the condition of
things. It is evident that two or three months must have
passed since the conception, and it also appears that Joseph
found out the fact for himself-and that Mary did not com-
་་
I
176
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
[CHAPTER
municate it to him. This is not what we should have
expected, nor what propriety seems to require. The hea-
venly message which Mary had received, followed by a
change in her condition, that would naturally lead to suspi-
cion and even scandal among her friends, would have
extorted a confession of the truth; but to leave it to be
found out by her husband, on the celebration of their wed-
ding, would be neither prudent nor becoming.
In some of the uncanonical or apocryphal gospels the
history of the annunciation is related with many additional
particulars; for instance, that Mary's silence, previous to
Joseph's discovery of her condition, arose from her having
wholly forgotten the announcement made to herself; but
this is simply absurd, for her condition would daily have re-
minded her of it. If we listen to another of the apocryphal
gospels, Mary did actually communicate to Joseph what had
passed; but in this case, if he had believed her, the later
announcement made to himself would have been superfluous,
and, on the other hand, if he did not believe her, the message
previously delivered to Mary must as clearly have failed of
its effect. Thus there are difficulties lying in our path,
whichever view of the case we may prefer. Upon the whole,
the weight of probability is in favour of the first-named inter-
pretation-that St Matthew and St Luke relate the same
annunciation with different features. To this conclusion it
is no objection that it infers a discrepancy between the two
evangelists; for such a discrepancy is sufficiently explained
by the fading character of tradition, which always gives
divergences to different accounts of the same transaction,
until they are consigned to writing and admit of being tho-
roughly compared and tested. It is a fair argument against
our accepting these separate annunciations, that neither of the
evangelists has related both. It is rather remarkable that
two only of them have alluded at all to so striking an inter-
vention of the Almighty; but that two such interventions
took place is less credible, when we find that neither of those
two evangelists was acquainted with more than one.
XVIII.]
177
DURATION OF MINISTRY.
4
CHAPTER XVIII.
DIFFERENT VIEWS ENTERTAINED BY THE FOUR EVANGELISTS
CONCERNING THE DURATION OF CHRIST'S MINISTRY.
A COMPARISON of the four Gospels as to the general plan
of the history which they contain, leads to the discovery of a
very important divergency existing between them, respecting
the duration of time occupied by the events therein related.
On this point they do not all differ from one another; for
the first three agree tolerably well in their general outline,
and have for this reason been called Synoptic; but the
chronology of John's Gospel is remarkably at variance with
all the others.
According to the first Gospel, Christ, after his baptism
and temptation in the wilderness, for which he had gone ex-
pressly out of Galilee into Judæa, immediately returns to
Galilee and performs a series of cures, miracles, and other
actions which occupy the whole of the evangelist's narrative
as far as the end of the eighteenth chapter. In chapter
xix, verse 1, he is related to have gone into Judæa beyond
Jordan, and in the first part of chapter xxi, we have the visit
to Jerusalem which led to his crucifixion. He there spends
the day generally in the temple and retires to pass the night
at Bethany.
The scheme of the second Gospel is in harmony with the
foregoing. All the earlier part of it is occupied with Christ's
teaching in Galilee, and at chapter x, verse 1, we read that
he set out on his visit to Jerusalem.
The Gospel of St Luke does not differ from the two
preceding. Eighteen chapters are occupied with Christ's
teaching in Galilee, and in the first verse of chapter xix, we
read that he went up to Jerusalem, passing through the
town of Jericho.
Very different, however, is the historical basis of the
Gospel according to St John, which represents Jesus first
as showing himself to John the Baptist near the Jordan:
"The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, &c."
(i, 29). But in chapter ii, verse 1, we are told of the mar-
riage at Cana of Galilee, and we should be at a loss to
account for so long a journey performed in one day, if we

VOL. II.
13
178
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
were certain that the third day means the day after the in-
terview with John.
Immediately after the account of this his first miracle, he
goes to Capernaum, where he stops "not many days," and
then we read in chapter ii, verse 13:
And the Jews' passover was at hand, and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem.
Here he had the interview by night with Nicodemus, and
in chapter iii, verse 22, we read:
After these things came Jesus and his disciples into the land
of Judæa; and there he tarried with them and baptized.
In the interval however between these two texts it is not
said that Jesus had left Judæa, so that it appears superfluous
information to tell us that he again came into it. But it was
on this visit, if not that John the Baptist baptized Jesus,
yet that he himself began to baptize, as appears also from
chapter iv, verse 1-3, where we are told that he left Judæa,
and for what reason.
When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard
that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John (though
Jesus himself baptized not, but his disciples), he left Judæa, and
departed again into Galilee.....
. . 46. So Jesus came again into
Cana of Galilee, where he made the water wine.
On this journey it was necessary to pass through Samaria,
and then occurred the interview at the well with the woman
of that country. Whilst Jesus was talking with her, his
disciples "were gone away into the city to buy meat" (iv, 8).
But up to this time we have heard of only three disciples,
Simon Peter, Andrew and Philip; and yet the manner in
which they are here named, without any allusion to the
smallness of their number, being in fact precisely similar to
the manner in which they are named elsewhere, supports the
theory that this Gospel does not deal with events in a strictly
chronological order, but relates them as they occurred to the
mind of the writer, as a vehicle for the sayings and teaching
of Jesus, which are so abundant in this work.
Having arrived in Galilee (iv, 43), he did not long remain
there; for we learn from chapter v, verse 1:
After this there was a feast of the Jews; and Jesus went up to
Jerusalem.
Here he cures the infirm man at the pool of Bethesda,
and discourses about himself and John the Baptist, and we
XVIII.]
179
DURATION OF MINISTRY.
next.find him again in Galilee, but nothing is told us of the
manner or circumstances under which he went thither.
After these things Jesus went over the sea of Galilee, which is
the sea of Tiberias. And a great multitude followed him, be-
cause they saw his miracles which he did on them that were
diseased. And Jesus went up into a mountain and there he sat
with his disciples (vi, 1).
In the next verse, vi, 4, we are told that "the Passover a
feast of the Jews was nigh.'
""
It is not, however, said that Jesus went up to this Pass-
over; though shortly after he again goes up to Jerusalem,
unknown to his disciples, whom he had led to suppose that
he did not mean to attend the feast. We read this in
chapter vii, verses 2-9, 10.
•
•
Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand . . 8. Go
ye up unto this feast: I go not yet unto this feast; for my time
is not yet full come. 9. When he had said these words unto
them, he abode still in Galilee. 10. But when his brethren were
gone up, then went he also up unto the feast, not openly, but as
it were in secret.
At chapter x, verse 22, we read:
And it was at Jerusalem the feast of the dedication and it was
winter, And Jesus walked in the temple in Solomon's porch.
From which it would seem that Jesus passed the whole
interval between the two feasts at Jerusalem-at least there
is no notice of his having left it-between the feast of taber-
nacles and the feast of dedication.
At chapter x, 40-1, it is related that the Jews
Sought again to take him, but he escaped out of their hand,
And went away again beyond Jordan into the place where John
at first baptized; and there he abode.
It must have been here—namely, at Bethabara—that he
received from Martha and Mary the message that their
brother Lazarus was sick, and here that he abode two days
longer before he went to raise him from the dead. Accord-
ing to chapter xi, verse 7, he said, "Let us go into Judæa
again," and we then have the account of his return into
Judæa out of Peræa, and his journey to Bethany for the
purpose of recalling Lazarus to life. He subsequently
retires "unto a country near to the wilderness, into a city
called Ephraim," from fear of the Jews who had formed a
180
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
design to kill him. From this place he returned to Bethany,
six days before the final passover at which he was put to
death (xii, 1).
The general character of the chronology of the four Gos-
pels may be briefly stated as deduced from the above out-
line. The first three Gospels evidently lay the scene of
Christ's teaching in Galilee, whilst the Gospel of St John
places it principally in Judæa and in Jerusalem. So
remarkable a discrepancy has not escaped the notice of
the commentators and harmonists, and various modes have
been adopted to reconcile the four narratives, so as to form
a chronological basis for the history of our Lord's teaching
and for the duration of his ministry. According to the first
three Gospels, Christ's public life lasted only one year, at
the end of which he went up to Jerusalem and was crucified.
But, according to St John's Gospel, his ministry would
appear to have lasted as many years as there occur pass-
overs. This point, however, is not so easy to ascertain, for
in some of the passages just quoted from St John's Gospel,
where a feast is mentioned, it is uncertain whether the feast
of the passover or some other feast is spoken of. It is, there-
fore, only by the most minute investigation of particular
events that the commentators have endeavoured to form a
system, and unhappily the results they have arrived at, do
not speak favourably of the process by which they have been
deduced; for whilst some have come to the conclusion that
the whole period of Christ's ministry lasted two years, others
have extended it to four and even to five years.
It appears that, during the first three centuries of our era,
no one suspected the ministry to have lasted more than one
year, but when' the work of Eusebius appeared in the early
part of the fourth century, and theology began to assume the
form of a science, this, like every other subject, was examined
and canvassed in a variety of ways, until there arose that
great diversity of opinion which has since prevailed. That
well-known ecclesiastical historian tells us (iii, 24) that the
first three Gospels relate only what Jesus did and taught
during the one year which elapsed after the imprisonment of
John the Baptist, and that St John supplies the deficiency
by relating what Jesus did before that time in Judæa,
Jerusalem and elsewhere. To those who examine carefully
the history as it is found in all the four Gospels, the explana-
tion given by Eusebius will in no particular recommend
itself. They say indeed that it was from the scarcity of
copies of the New Testament and the difficulty of bringing
XVIII.]
181
DURATION OF MINISTRY.
together and comparing the four Gospels, that the world so
long acquiesced in the first opinion; but also that St John's
Gospel was then less known than it afterwards became.
This argument however is dangerous to the antiquity of St
John's Gospel; for, if not known, might not the enemies of
its authenticity argue its non-existence? This, it is true,
would be to draw an inference from imaginary premises; for
there is no proof that the Gospel of St John was less known
before the time of Eusebius than the other three Gospels.
It is safer therefore to set aside all these opinions and infer-
ences, and to be guided by a view of the Gospels themselves,
and not by Eusebius or any other authorities; for the Gos-
pels are open to us as to them, and are indeed more acces-
sible to us than they were in the fourth century, when copies
of them were exceedingly dear and scarce.
The first three Gospels plainly exhibit the events of only
one year or little more; to prove them erroneous or defective
in so important a feature as this, would be to detract greatly
from their value-rather to nullify their authority-at least
if we suppose them the work of the Apostles, who had wit-
nessed the mighty works of Christ, and having seen him die
upon the cross, were inspired by God to write a faithful
account of his ministry. We cannot however convict them
of such inaccuracy; for the whole tenour of their narratives
points to the speedy termination of Christ's career, and that
he only visited Jerusalem at the passover which coincided
with his crucifixion. Could it be believed that so long a
time as three, four, or five years would have produced no
more sensible effect among so stubborn a people as the
Jews? Such wonderful cures and miraculous deeds would
have filled the whole world, if they had been continued for
so long a time; and persons would have come from distant
countries to see so wonderful a prophet-as the queen of
Sheba came of old to see the wisdom and the riches of
Solomon, or as pilgrims have gone in our days, from the
farthest part of Europe, to witness the childish exhibitions
which the Romish priests have from time to time set forth
to deceive the unwary. Nothing however of this sort is
recorded; and we justly infer from it that the ministry of
Christ was short, as we read in the first three Gospels, and
extended to little more than the period of one year.
This opinion is confirmed by certain indications, occurring
in other parts of the history. Thus at Matthew xxi, 10,
where Christ's triumphal entry into Jerusalem is recorded,
we read:
#
182
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
And when he was come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, "Who is this?" And the multitude said, "This is Jesus
the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."
Would this questioning have taken place, if Jesus had
often made visits to Jerusalem, and been well known there?
The multitude who answered the question, and who knew
Jesus, consisted of those "who had come to the feast,"-St
John indicates this in chapter xii, verse 12.
On the next day much people that were come to the feast,
when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem, took
branches of palm trees, and went forth to meet him and cried,
"Hosanna blessed is the King of Israel that cometh in the
name of the Lord."
It was then the strangers who knew Jesus, in Galilee
perhaps, that recognized him, not the people of Jerusalem.
The inhabitants of the city knew him not and therefore
asked "Who is this?" But if St John's narrative is chro-
nological, the people of the city also would have known him
as well as the strangers who came up to the feast.
How then is the original divergency between the first
three Gospels and that of John to be explained? If
Matthew, Mark, and Luke cannot be convicted of error,
must we accuse John of having falsified the fact of history?
As there is no appearance of an intention to mislead in his
narrative, is it possible that the writer was himself ignorant
of the truth, and can merely be handing down to us the
accounts which he had received from others? If so, the
writer or compiler of this Gospel, as we now have it, was not
contemporary with those facts-not to have known whether
Christ's teaching occupied the space of one or of four years,
or, at least, not to have stated this clearly for the benefit of
his readers, shows clearly that the writer could not have been
that John, Christ's beloved disciple, who was present at all
the most important passages of his master's life, and who
must have been able to settle this and every other doubt
that might arise. This inference is the less to be avoided,
if we admit, as is currently reported, that St John writes to
supply the deficiencies of the former evangelists, and yet, so
far from rectifying a most serious error, he has perpetuated
a discussion, which, if we follow received opinions, is now
farther from being cleared up than ever.
There is, however, a mode of explaining this difficulty
also. The Gospel of St John is even still more unchrono-
logical in its order than the other three: and its general
XIX.]
183
PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH.
character, having rather doctrine than history in view,
authorizes our supposing-what is indeed evident in almost
every part of it-that the various facts which it records are
placed as subordinate to Christ's teaching, and as suited the
peculiar view of the writer. The fragmentary character,
also, of all the four Gospels, showing that they have all been
copied from tradition or from separate traditional anecdotes,
would also have the effect of giving an unchronological and
divergent appearance to the accounts of four separate com-
pilers.
CHAPTER XIX.
UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE PLACE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH.
RESPECTING the time and place of Christ's birth, the
evangelists St Mark and St John are altogether silent; for
they begin their histories with the preaching of John the
Baptist, and the appearance of Christ among those who
throng to the banks of the river Jordan to be partakers of
his baptism. St John does not name the place from which
Jesus came for this purpose, but Mark is more explicit:
Mark i, 9. And it came to pass in those days, that Jesus came
from Nazareth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
This tallies exactly with the general idea, common to all
the evangelists, that Christ resided in Nazareth during the
early part of his life. But residence at a place does not
imply that a person was also born there; as is shown in the
history before us for two of the evangelists, St Matthew
and St Luke, relate that Christ was born at Bethlehem, a
village about six miles from Jerusalem. It is, indeed, very
surprising that all the four evangelists have not related the
fact of his birth at Bethlehem; for, as it was essential to the
Messiah that he should be a Jew, and of the seed of David,
it might be objected to the Gospels of St Mark and St
John-if these were the only histories of Christ in existence
* A minute and almost exhaustive examination of the question con-
cerning the duration of Christ's ministry is found in Fynes Clinton's "Fasti
Romani,” vol. ii, p. 227 (ed. Oxford, 4to, 1850).
184
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
F
-that having been born in Galilee, he might possibly not
be a Jew at all.
Now the general reader is apt to regard Judæa, Samaria,
and Galilee as three districts of the same land, like three
counties of England; it may therefore be proper to explain
the real nature of the connexion, which is not quite the same
as in the case of the English counties.
We read in the "Annals of Tacitus," xii, 54, that in the
year 32, two years after Christ was crucified, Cumanus a
Roman had the government of Galilee, and that the inha-
bitants of the country waged a predatory war with their
neighbours the Samaritans, who were under the government
of Antonius Felix. This circumstance shows that there
was at that time no common national feeling between the
two states. The general tenour of the Gospels leads also to
the same inference, that the Samaritans, and therefore also
still more the Galileans, were aliens, and not included
among God's chosen people. In fact, they were in the time
of Christ a different people altogether, though it is true that
they occupied the territory which had formerly belonged to
the tribes of Issachar, Naphthali, Zebulon, Asher, and part
of Dan. But the country was almost depopulated in the
wars with the Babylonians, and had again been peopled by
settlers of all nations. Strabo enumerates among its inha-
bitants Arabians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians; and, though
they had, according to Josephus, two hundred and four
cities and towns in their country, and were a very industrious
people, yet the Jews treated them with contempt, and their
language, although originally Hebrew, was a mixed dia-
lect different from that which was spoken by the Jews at
Jerusalem, as appears in the denial of Peter, who was
instantly recognized by his speech. In accordance with
these facts, we find that the Jews held the Galilæans in
great contempt, and when told of the supposed birthplace of
Christ, they asked, whether any good or any prophet could
come out of Galilee and Nazareth.
Thus, then, we are justified in expressing some surprise
that neither St Mark nor St John has alluded to the fact of
Christ's having been born at Bethlehem, as a ready refuta-
tion of those who might contend that he was not a Jew
at all.
St Matthew and St Luke, however, have recorded that
Christ was born at Bethlehem; but it will be evident from
an impartial perusal of their separate narratives, that the
points of view, from which these two contemplate the birth
XIX.]
185
BETHLEHEM OR NAZARETH.
at Bethlehem, do not coincide: for whilst St Matthew sup-
poses that Christ's parents had always lived at Bethlehem
before the flight into Egypt, St Luke tells us that they
lived at Nazareth, and only went to Bethlehem for a short
visit during which Mary gave birth to Jesus. The narra-
tives of Matthew and Luke here follow.
MATTHEW ii, 1-23.
Now when Jesus was born in
Bethlehem of Judæa in the days of
Herod the king, behold, there came
wise men from the east to Jerusa-
lem, 2. Saying, Where is he that
is born King of the Jews? for we
have seen his star in the east, and
are come to worship him.
3. When Herod the king had
heard these things, he was troubled,
and all Jerusalem with him. 4.
LUKE ii, 1-52.
And it came to pass in those days,
that there went out a decree from
Cæsar Augustus, that all the world
should be taxed. 2. (And this tax-
ing was first made when Cyrenius
was governor of Syria.) 3. And all
went to be taxed, every one into his
own city.
4. And Joseph also went up from
Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth,
into Judæa, unto the city of David,
which is called Bethlehem; (be-
cause he was of the house and
lineage of David): 5. To be taxed
with Mary his espoused wife, being
great with child. 6. And so it was,
that, while they were there, the
days were accomplished that she
should be delivered. 7. And she
brought forth her first-born son, and
wrapped him in swaddling clothes,
and laid him in a manger; because
there was no room for them in the
inn.
21. And when eight days were
accomplished for the circumcising
of the child, his name was called
JESUS, which was so named of
the angel before he was conceived
in the womb. 22. And when the
days of her purification according
to the law of Moses were accom-
plished, they brought him to Jeru-
salem, to present him to the Lord;
23. (As it is written in the law of
the Lord, Every male that openeth
the womb shall be called holy to
the Lord ;) 24. And to offer a sacri-
fice according to that which is said
in the law of the Lord, A pair of
turtledoves, or two young pigeons.
25. And, behold, there was a man
in Jerusalem whose name was
Simeon, &c.
[Here follows the narrative of
Simeon and Anna in the Temple.]
186
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW ii, 1-23.
And when he had gathered all the
chief priests and scribes of the peo-
ple together, he demanded of them
where Christ should be born. 5.
And they said unto him, In Beth-
lehem of Judæa: for thus it is writ-
ten by the prophet, 6. And thou,
Bethlehem, in the land of Juda, art
not the least among the princes of
Juda; for out of thee shall come a
Governor, that shall rule my people
Israel. 7. Then Herod, when he
had privily called the wise men, en-
quired of them diligently what time
the star appeared. 8. And he sent
them to Bethlehem, and said, "Go
and search diligently for the young
child and when ye have found
him, bring me word again, that I
may come and worship him also."
9. When they had heard the king
they departed: and, lo, the star,
which they saw in the east, went
before them, till it came and stood
over where the young child was.
10. When they saw the star, they
rejoiced with exceeding great joy.
11. And when they were come
into the house, they saw the young
child with Mary his mother, and
fell down, and worshipped him :
and when they had opened their
treasures, they presented unto him
gifts gold, and frankincense, and
myrrh. 12. And being warned of
God in a dream that they should
not return to Herod, they departed
into their own country another
way.
13. And when they were departed,
behold, the angel of the Lord ap-
peareth to Joseph in a dream, say-
ing, "Arise, and take the young
child and his mother, and flee into
Egypt, and be thou there until I
bring thee word for Herod will
seek the young child to destroy
him." 14. When he arose, he took
the young child and his mother by
night, and departed into Egypt:
15. And was there until the death
of Herod: that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken of the Lord by
the prophet, saying, Out of Egypt
have I called my son.
16. Then Herod, when he saw
that he was mocked of the wise
men, was exceeding wroth, and sent
forth, and slew all the children that
LUKE ii, 1-52.
XIX.]
187
PLACE OF BIRTH.
{
MATTHEW ii, 1-23.
were in Bethlehem, and in all the
coasts thereof, from two years old
and under, according to the time
which he had diligently enquired of
the wise men. 17. Then was ful-
filled that which was spoken by
Jeremy the prophet, saying, 18. In
Rama was there a voice heard, la-
mentation, and weeping, and great
mourning, Rachel weeping for her
children, and would not be com-
forted, because they are not.
19. But when Herod was dead,
behold, an angel of the Lord ap-
peareth in a dream to Joseph in
Egypt, 20. Saying, "Arise, and take
the young child and his mother,
and go into the land of Israel: for
they are dead which sought the
young child's life." 21. And he arose,
and took the young child and his
mother, and came into the land of
Israel.
22. But when he heard that Ar-
chelaus did reign in Judæa in the
room of his father Herod, he was
afraid to go thither: notwithstand-
ing, being warned of God in a dream,
he turned aside into the parts of
Galilee : 23. And he came and dwelt
in a city called Nazareth: that it
might be fulfilled which was spoken
by the prophets, He shall be called
a Nazarene.
LUKE ii, 1-52.
39. And when they had perform-
ed all things according to the law of
the Lord, they returned into Galilee,
to their own city Nazareth. 40.
And the child grew, and waxed
strong in spirit, filled with wisdom:
and the grace of God was upon
him. 41. Now his parents went to
Jerusalem every year at the feast of
the passover.
42. And when he
was twelve years old, they went up
to Jerusalem after the custom of
the feast. 48. And when they had
fulfilled the days, as they returned,
the child Jesus tarried behind in
Jerusalem and Joseph and his
mother knew not of it. 44. But
they, supposing him to have been
in the company, went a day's jour-
ney; and they sought him among
their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
45. And when they found him not,
they turned back again to Jerusa-
lem, seeking him. 46. And it came
to pass, that after three days they
:
188
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
LUKE ii, 1-52.
found him in the temple, sitting in
the midst of the doctors, both hear-
ing them, and asking them ques-
tions. 47. And all that heard him
were astonished at his understand-
ing and answers. 48. And when
they saw him, they were amazed:
and his mother said unto him,
"Son, why hast thou thus dealt
with us? behold, thy father and I
have sought thee sorrowing." 49.
And he said unto them, "How is it
that ye sought me? wist ye not that
I must be about my Father's busi-
ness?" 50. And they understood
not the saying which he spake unto
them.
51. And he went down with them,
and came to Nazareth, and was
subject unto them: but his mother
kept all these sayings in her heart.
52. And Jesus increased in wisdom
and stature, and in favour with God
and man.
The evangelists here agree in fixing the birth at Bethle-
hem; but St Matthew supposed that town-and not Naza-
reth-to be the place where Joseph and Mary had pre-
viously resided; or he would not have related that they
feared to return into Judæa, and were so led to take up their
abode at Nazareth, which was not in Judæa. If St
Matthew had known Christ's parents to have commonly
resided at Nazareth, and that they were only on a visit or
forty days at Bethlehem, he would not have thought it
required an explanation, why Jesus should be called a
Nazarene, nor has the application of the word Nazarene,
here made, been satisfactory to a large number of those who
have commented on this part of the history. St Luke
apparently knew that the family of Joseph were ordinarily
inhabitants of Nazareth, and he therefore does not think it
necessary to give any other reason for Christ's being so
called.
xx.]
189
TIME OF CHRIST'S BIRTH.
".
CHAPTER XX.
UNCERTAINTY ABOUT THE TIME OF CHRIST'S BIRTH-ANACHRONISM
OF THE CENSUS-CHRIST BORN BEFORE A.D. 1.
CONCERNING the time of Christ's birth there are even
greater doubts than about the place; for, though the four
evangelists have noticed several contemporary facts, which
would seem to settle this point, yet on comparing these dates
with the general history of the period, we meet with serious
discrepancies, which involve the subject in the greatest un-
certainty.
The data which the Gospels furnish for ascertaining the
chronology are these:
1. The taxing [more correctly enrolment or census] stated
by St Luke to have been the cause of Mary's visit to Beth-
lehem, where her son Jesus was born.
And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a de-
cree from Cæsar Augustus that all the world should be taxed,
And this taxing was first made when Cyrenius was governor of
Syria (ii, 1).
2. The fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius, marked, as
St Luke tells us, by the following synchronisms:
Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Cæsar, Pon-
tius Pilate being governor of Judæa, and Herod being tetrarch
of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituræa and of the
region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2.
Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God
came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. 3. And
he came into all the country about Jordan, preaching the baptism
of repentance for the remission of sins (iii, 1-3).
At verse 23 of the same chapter, we read, that at the
same time Jesus himself began to be about thirty years of
age.
From these data, we should infer that Christ was born
fifteen years before the emperor Tiberius came to the throne,
and that the census alluded to by the writer took place in
the same year. To the former part of this inference, we
have nothing to object at present; the statement that Jesus
was thirty years old, fifteen years after the death of Augustus,
190
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
implies that he was born fifteen years before the decease of
that emperor; and no concurrent events are related, which
enable us to dispute the truth of the account.
The writer however of St Luke's Gospel is not correct in
stating that a census or taxation, decreed by Cæsar Augustus,
and executed by Cyrenius, or as he is called in Latin Quiri-
nus, furnished occasion for Mary's visiting Bethlehem, where
her son Jesus was born, fifteen years before the death of the
emperor Augustus. There is no mention in history of any
census, or assessment of the whole Roman empire for the
purpose of taxation, or indeed for any other purpose, as
having been made at that time; and even if such a taxation
had been made, it would not have extended to Judæa, which
was still an independent country, under its king Herod the
Great, and was not reduced to the form of a Roman province
until ten years afterwards. Nor is there any proof that
Lysanias was tetrarch of Abilene.
Is it then to be supposed that the account which St Luke's
Gospel gives us of a census, is a forgery on the part of the
writer, and that no such enrolment or mission of Cyrenius
ever took place? Far from it-it is only necessary to sup-
pose that the writer has committed an anachronism-not a
forgery for it is related by Josephus that Cyrenius did
actually go into Judæa on a mission of the kind referred to
by the evangelist about the year A.D. 10, and consequently
ten years later than the birth of Christ. The affair is related
by Josephus (Antiq. XIII, i, 1), in these words:
Cyrenius, a man of those who assemble in the senate, who had
both discharged the other magistracies, and had gone through
all so as also to have been consul, and who was in other respects
great in estimation, came with a few attendants to Syria, having
been sent by Cæsar to give justice to the nation, and to take an
account of their substance. Coponius also a man of the eques-
trian order, is sent with him to hold supreme authority over the
Jews.
But Cyrenius also came into the country of the Jews, which
had been made an appendage to Syria, both to make a valuation
of their substance, and to administer the property of Archelaus.
But the people, although at first bearing ill their obedience to
pay tribute, refrained from making any further opposition, by
the persuasion of their chief priest Joazar, who was the son of
Boethus. Overcome by the arguments of Joazar, they gave in a
valuation of their property, nothing doubting.
There can be little doubt that this is the mission of
Cyrenius which the evangelist supposed to be the occasion
xx.]
191
DATE OF BIRTH.
1
of the visit of Christ's parents to Bethlehem. But such an
error betrays on the part of the writer a great ignorance of
the Jewish history and of Jewish politics; for, if Christ was
born in the reign of Herod the Great, no Roman census or
enrolment could have taken place in the dominions of an
independent king. If, however, Christ was born in the year
of the census, not only Herod the Great, but Archelaus
also his son was dead. By no possibility can the two events
be brought together; for even after the death of Archelaus
Judæa alone became a Roman province; Galilee was still
governed by Herod Antipas as an independent prince, and
Christ's parents would not have been required to go out of
their own country to Jerusalem for the purpose of a census
which did not comprise their own country Galilee. Besides
which, it is notorious that the Roman census was taken from
house to house, at the residence of each, and not at the birth-
place or family rendezvous of each tribe.
Nor is there any proof that Lysanias was the governor of
Abilene at this time. The only Lysanias mentioned in history
as tetrarch of Abilene died many years before, and no men-
tion is made of any son who bore that name. It is suggested
by those who doubt the accuracy of St Luke's Gospel that
he ignorantly makes Lysanias still alive, being deceived by
the fact that the country was still called the Abilene of
Lysanias, in honour perhaps of its former governor. It is
in vain that harmonists and commentators have attempted to
reconcile these conflicting accounts. There is no need of
any other explanation than the partial obscurity of the his-
tory at the time St Luke's Gospel was written. This view
does not weaken the estimation in which every sensible man
will hold both that and the other three Gospels, which were
written to perpetuate the benevolent sentiments and doc-
trines of Jesus, but not to teach us chronology. It matters
not what was the circumstance that led the holy family to
Bethlehem: all we know about it is, that it certainly was
not the census, which did not happen until ten years after-
wards, and which, if it had been in harmony as regards the
time, would still have presented numberless difficulties, for-
bidding us to accept it in the manner which the evangelist
has described.
But, notwithstanding these patent difficulties in the narra-
tive, the Camden Professor of Ancient History, in a Lecture
delivered at Oxford before the Christian Evidence Society,
has endeavoured, as he thinks successfully, to vindicate the
exact truth of the Gospel History in this account of the
192
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
census, so that in this and in every other particular “the
historical character of the New Testament (to use his own
words) is, I think I may say, in the eyes of all sober his-
torical critics established."
The answer, which the Professor makes to the charge of
inaccuracy, is as follows.
""
The words of St Luke [ii, 2] cannot possibly mean that Cyre-
nius was governor at the time of the taxing; had it been St
Luke's intention to express this, the verse would have run thus:
“This taxation was made when Cyrenius was governor of Syria,
and not "This taxing was first made, &c." "First," that is,
which is manifestly the emphatic word of the sentence, would
have been absent from it. Evidently, therefore, St Luke's words
must bear some other meaning. They may signify "this taxing
was made before Cyrenius was governor, " and so before that
better known taxing which he ordered. This is an allowable
translation of the passage. Or they may mean, and I think they
do mean,
this taxing was first completed-first took full effect
--when Cyrenius was governor ; that is to say, the taxing
ordered by Augustus, and commenced under Herod the Great,
was interrupted (as it may easily have been, since the Jews were
very bitter against it) and the business was first accomplished
under Cyrenius. This is a sense which the Greek verb translated
in our version “ was made" sometimes has.
""
It seems hardly necessary to reply to criticism which-
not for grammatical reasons, but to avoid the historical infer-
ence flowing from it-denies the accuracy of a translation
that has passed current for several hundred years as well
expressing the meaning of the Greek original, and borne out
in terms still stronger by the Latin Vulgate. It is possible,
however, to express the Greek still more literally and to
support its meaning by the unmistakeable testimony of the
Latin.
GREEK: This taxing [more correctly enrolment] was the
first of Cyrenius governor of Syria. LATIN: This description
first was made by the president of Syria.
Of the two translations substituted in the place of that
which is generally received, the first," although allowable,"
is rejected as unsatisfactory by the Professor himself, who
will no doubt see that the declinable adjective, which we
translate first, cannot have the meaning of the comparative
before except between two names of persons or two names of
things. The only two passages in the New Testament
(John i, 15-30; and xv, 18) where it occurs with the apparent
meaning of before, fulfil the conditions here pointed out, and
xx.]
193
LYSANIAS OF ABILENE.
it is not clear that in the last of those places the word first
is equivalent to the adverb at all. Our Lord may be sup-
posed to identify himself with his followers, and to say: "If
the world hate you, ye know that it hated me first of
""
you."
Of the second translation suggested by the Professor less
still can be said in favour than of the first. For there is no
idea of completion whatever implied in the verb éyéveto, which
generally means that a thing happened or took place, but in
numerous instances has more reference to the beginning of
an event than to its end. The literal meaning of the verb is
to grow or be produced, and in such a sense it occurs in
Matthew xxi, 19, "Let no fruit grow (yemtai) on thee for
ever." Still less worthy of refutation is the remark that the
taxing named in the Gospel was interrupted by the Jews and
therefore only completed ten years afterwards. Nothing is
said of any disturbance; on the contrary everything passes
off smoothly in the Gospel narrative, and when the Holy
Family "had performed all things according to the law of
the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own city Naza-
reth.'
•
As regards the difficulty about Lysanias, Professor Raw-
linson quotes an inscription found near Baalbec on a memorial
tablet or statue "to Zenodorus (son of the tetrarch Lysanias)
and to Lysanias, her children," and suggests that it was the
widow of the elder Lysanias and mother of the second
Lysanias who set it up. This inscription would certainly
indicate that there was a second Lysanias son of the former,
but not that Lysanias the son was also tetrarch of Abilene.
It would indeed rather tend to prove that the son was
never governor of that or any other province. For we read
in the "Antiquities" of Josephus, XV, x, i, that “one Zeno-
dorus had hired the house of Lysanias," but the writer does
not say that Zenodorus was the son of Lysanias, although
he relates the rapine and other deeds which Zenodorus
enacted in his office as tetrarch of the country now spoken
of. His misdeeds attracted the notice of Augustus, but, as
he died a natural death soon afterwards, these were not
inquired into. Seeing however that his father Lysanias
(if he was his father) was put to death by Mark Antony,
B.C. 35, on a charge of introducing the Parthians into the
* "The two numbers in St Luke, the 15th year of Tiberius and thirty
years of age for Jesus at the Baptism, are irreconcilable with each other."
Clinton's Fasti Romani, vol. ii, page 237: to which the reader is referred
for a full statement of the difficulties which surround this subject.
VOL. II.
14
194
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
empire, and that one of the sons Zenodorus also appears to
have given offence to the imperial government, it is far from
likely that the second Lysanias should be made tetrarch
after the punishment of his father and the imputed miscon-
duct of his brother whilst successively at the head of the
administration in those provinces.
There is another circumstance of some moment connected
with the time of Christ's birth, which confirms our view, that
the Gospels were not written until the events which they
contain had become obscured by time. So important an
occurrence as the intervention of the son of God to redeem
and instruct mankind, might seem a likely subject to engage
the attention of the world, and to occupy the pens of
numerous writers to hand down to posterity every minute
particular of so solemn a theme. To expect that nothing
would be doubtful or unsettled about a person so exalted
would be wholly natural and consistent with reason.
That
such an expectation would be in every way reasonable was
admitted from the very beginning of the Christian Church:
for not only do we date our time from the exact year in
which Christ is said to have been born, but our ecclesiastical
calendar has determined with scrupulous minuteness the day
and almost the hour at which every particular of Christ's
wonderful life is stated to have happened. All this is
implicitly believed by millions; yet all these things are
among the most uncertain and shadowy that history has
recorded. We have no clue to either the day or the time of
year, or even the year itself in which Christ was born.
Every thing about him is unknown, save the morality which
he has taught us, and that short space of his life termed his
"Ministry," when, as the Gospels tell us, he went about doing
good, and had not where to lay his head. Notwithstanding
the seeming accuracy of our Gospels, which tell us that in the
"fifteenth year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius--Jesus
began to be about thirty years old," yet there has always
been a doubt in the Church, whether a mistake of four years
has not been made in fixing the first year of the Christian
When we reflect that the present mode of calculating
time was not adopted until 500 years of our era had already
passed, it will not be wonderful that there should be some
difficulty in recovering dates that had for so long a time been
neglected. But all such probabilities as these are based
upon the supposition that the history is similar to other his-
tories, and the whole question, of a human, not of a divine,
nature. For that which comes from God, suffers no obscura-
era.
xx.]
195
DATE OF CHRIST'S BIRTH.
tion by lapse of time-to Him especially is applicable that
legal maxim, which we apply to our kings-nullum tempus
occurrit regi. If the Gospels, written by his immediate
inspiration, have once for all declared that his Son was born
in the fifteenth year before the death of the emperor
Augustus, that Herod the Great was still alive, and that a
census of the whole Roman world was made in that year, we
may be sure that all these points will be found to concur at
the beginning of the year Anno Domini 1, so that no doubt
may be raised or incredulity be entertained!
But, unhappily, there has been a doubt about the concur-
rence of these things; until it is at last allowed that those
events do not concur at all, and that our present calculation
of years since the birth of Christ is erroneous. It is true
that no practical evil can result from this error; for a con-
ventional harmony between the years following A.D. 1, and
those preceding that date has long been established. Accord-
ing to our best system of chronology, the birth of Christ is
fixed at December 25 or Christmas Day at the end of the
year 1 before Christ, so that, by neglecting the short space
of time, six days, which remain to complete the year B.C. 1,
we consider Christ's birth to coincide with the end of the
year B.C. 1, and the beginning of the year A.D. 1. It is also
agreed, that the year A.D. 1 shall coincide with the follow-
ing dates:
1. The 1st year of the 195th Olympiad.
2. The consulship of Caius Cæsar and Lucius Æmilius Paulus.
3. The 32nd year of the reign of the Emperor Augustus.
By this mode of synchronism, we find that so many years
have passed down to the present time-not since the birth of
Christ, but since the time conventionally fixed on as the end
of B.C. 1 and the beginning of a.d. 1.
There can be no doubt that this system had its origin in
too implicit a reliance on the words of the Gospel, “In the
fifteenth year of the reign of the emperor Tiberius, Jesus
began to be about thirty years old": for, since it has been
usual to examine the grounds upon which history is founded
a process not so general in the days of Dionysius Exiguus,
who introduced the present mode of dating-we have dis-
covered, that at the time fixed for the birth of Christ, king
Herod the Great had been dead nearly four years. By the
same discovery also it was evident, either that the history of
Christ's persecution by Herod the Great is erroneous, or
196
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
else, that in the fifteenth year of Tiberius, Jesus began to
be-not about thirty but about thirty-four years of age.
The ecclesiastical historian, Sulpicius Severus, has ob-
served, in his "Chronicle" (ii, 29):
Christ was born in the consulship of Sabinus and Rufus, on
the 8th day before the calends of January, i. e. Dec. 25, B.c. 1.
According to the observations made above, this would be
correct: and we might be content to find that an unimpor-
tant error had been satisfactorily remedied. But other
ancient writers are not found to be in agreement with Sul-
picius on the one hand, or with the received system of chro-
nology on the other.
Cassiodorus, who lived in the sixth century, says:
Caius Lentulus and Marcus Messala. In their consulship, our
Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, is born in Bethlehem, in the
41st year of the reign of Augustus.
The consulship of Caius Lentulus and Marcus Messala
fell on the 3rd not the 4th year before A.D. 1: and Cassio-
dorus is supported in this account by Clement of Alexandria,
who says, in his "Stromata," vol. 1, p. 340 B:
From the time when the Lord was born until the death of
Commodus, were in all, 194 years, 1 month, and 13 days.
Commodus was slain A.D. 192, Dec. 31, so that our Lord's
birth fell in B.C. 3.
But, unfortunately, the ecclesiastical historian Eusebius
agrees with neither of the writers already cited, nor with the
received chronological arrangement. In his "Ecclesiastical
History," i, 5, he writes:
This was the 42nd year of the reign of Augustus, but of the
subjection of Egypt and the death of Antony and Cleopatra, the
28th year.
"Eusebius," observes Mr Clinton in his "Fasti Hellenici,"
(vol. iii, p. 258), "like Josephus, ‘Ant.' xviii, 2, 2, reckoned
the years of Augustus from the death of Cæsar." He there-
fore places the birth of Christ in the year B.C. 2.
Epiphanius, also, in his work "On Heresies," liber 1,
tom. 1, p. 48 B, says that the Saviour was born in the 42nd
year of the emperor Augustus.
Zonaras also and Orosius agree in placing the birth of
Christ at the end of the second year before the beginning of
our era.
xx.
197
DATES UNCERTAIN.
Again, Tertullian, in his work "Against the Jews,"
chapter 8, makes a calculation which fixes the birth of
Christ both to the year B.C. 1 and B.C. 3, in the same sen-
tence.
We shall see that Christ was born in the 41st of the reign of
Augustus dating from the death of Cleopatra. Augustus sur-
vived the birth of Christ 15 years.
The particulars of this notice do not agree together.
"41 +15=56 years," as Mr Clinton observes, "do not
express the interval." If Tertullian placed the Nativity
fifteen years before the death of Augustus, he placed it in
the year A.D. 1. But there is an error in the text of Ter-
tullian: the reign of Augustus cannot be dated from the
death of Cleopatra, which happened only 30 years before
Christ. It has therefore been proposed to substitute Cæsaris
for Cleopatra, but as Cæsar was slain 43 years before A.D. 1,
in this case Tertullian places the Nativity in B.C. 3. Thus
in the same sentence he gives conflicting dates.
Lastly; the evidence of an old Roman calendar, Fasti
apud Norisium, may be brought for placing the birth of
Christ, not at the beginning, but at the end, of the first year
of our era:
Cæsar and Paulus. In this consulship, Christ was born on the
8th day before the calends of January-i. e. Dec. 25, A.D. 1.
From a consideration of all these different opinions, it may
safely be inferred that it is impossible to determine the exact
truth. All the writers here named have, no doubt, taken
the statements of the Gospels as the groundwork of their
different systems of chronology; but, when we reflect that
the statements of the Gospels are inconsistent with themselves
and involve a dilemma, we are necessarily led to the infer-
ence that they are erroneous in one or other of the conflicting
points—either Christ was thirty-four, not thirty, years old in
the fifteenth year of Tiberius, or he was not born until four
years after the death of Herod the Great. I leave it for
those who worship the letter of the Gospels and neglect or
undervalue their spirit, to say which alternative they will
choose.
198
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER XXI.
FLIGHT INTO EGYPT-MURDER OF THE INNOCENTS, &C.
THE same two evangelists who have related that Christ was
born at Bethlehem in the days of Herod the king, have gone
further into details concerning what took place at Bethlehem
and Jerusalem, followed by the massacre of the Innocents
and the flight into Egypt; but these writers do not agree
together, and cannot be reconciled in any other way than by
supposing that one of them was ignorant of some facts with
which the other was acquainted. Thus St Luke tells us, in
the passage which has been given from his Gospel in a former
page (187), that when Mary had made the usual offering for
her purification in the temple, forty days after the birth of
Jesus, the holy family immediately returned to Nazareth
their usual place of residence. But if so, what becomes of
the visit of the magi, and the flight into Egypt? There is
no room for this to have taken place; for if the flight into
Egypt and the tarrying there until the death of Herod are
to be understood as following immediately after the birth, in
that case Mary did not go to Jerusalem to present Christ in
the temple. If, on the other hand, the offering in the temple
is the first event after the birth, and the flight into Egypt
followed, it is equally certain, that St Luke is wrong in say-
ing that "when they had performed all things according to
the law of the Lord, they returned into Galilee, to their own
city Nazareth."
The solution of this dilemma is to be found not by labori-
ously endeavouring to prove that two years intervened be-
tween events, which the writers have related, in the same
breath, as following closely one upon the other, but by
admitting that the Gospels, like all other writings, are liable
to error, that the writers of the different Gospels have put
together all such separate narratives of particulars as came
within their reach or seemed worthy of admission into their
respective works. According to this view, we may infer-
must indeed infer, for there is no reasonable alternative-that
the writer of the Gospel according to Luke was not aware of
the flight into Egypt, and therefore connects the return of
Christ with his parents to Nazareth as immediately following

XXI.]
199
BEGINNING OF MINISTRY.
the presentation in the temple, and the other incidents which
took place during their short visit to Jerusalem and Beth-
lehem.
But our examination of this part of the narrative must not
be limited to the divergency between the Gospels according
to St Matthew and St Luke. We must take into considera-
tion what St Mark's Gospel also records, or omits to record,
on the same period of the Christian history. Our second
Gospel then begins with the preaching of John the Baptist
in the wilderness, and then, having described his appearance
and the subject of his preaching, it brings Jesus to our
notice for the first time as follows, in the 9th verse of the
first chapter.
And it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Naza-
reth of Galilee, and was baptized of John in Jordan.
On his coming up out of the water, the Spirit of God
descends upon him, accompanied by a voice from heaven,
recognizing his title to be the Son of God, and he is impelled
by the same Spirit to go into the wilderness where he is
tempted by the devil. Thus the Gospel of St Mark begins
with the preaching of John the Baptist and the baptism of
Jesus by John in the river Jordan. In this particular the
fourth agrees with the second Gospel; whilst the third
agrees with the first in prefixing two chapters, the one con-
cerning Christ's birth at Bethlehem with the flight into
Egypt, the murder of the innocents and the events therewith
connected, the other concerning the birth of John the Bap-
tist and the miraculous agency which preceded and followed
that event. It may be remarked that, if we pass over these
preliminary chapters, the testimony of the four Gospels is in
almost perfect harmony, as the comparison of their state-
ments in the next chapter (p. 207) will clearly show. But
there has always been great doubt about the originality of
the first two chapters of St Matthew's Gospel, and the same
doubt may possibly be entertained concerning those which
are prefixed to the Gospel of St Luke. It is more than
probable that fresh facts connected with our Saviour's life
may from time to time have come to the knowledge of those
who copied the Gospels afresh, and that these facts were
inserted in the new editions which in those days could owe
their origin to no other instrument than the pen. It is
notorious that such a doubt was entertained in very early
times to the chapters prefixed to St Matthew's Gospel, and
the concurrence of all the four in their mode of introducing
200
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Christ's history, when these preliminary chapters have been
removed, makes it possible to suggest a similar explanation
concerning the Gospel of St Luke; whilst the supplemen-
tary narrative concerning Zacharias, previously quoted from
an uncanonical gospel in page 161 of this volume, shows that
possibly the whole history of John the Baptist's infancy has
not been recorded in the books which form our canon.
Proceeding then to the narrative concerning what is com-
monly termed the Massacre of the Innocents, we find no
account of this event in either of the last three Gospels. It
is related by St Matthew alone, and so clearly connected
with the flight into Egypt that the accuracy of both narra-
tives must rest upon the same basis.
It would be the extreme of scepticism to doubt the
genuineness of the passage in the history of Josephus in
which the name of John the Baptist is mentioned, and it is
well known that baptism is a rite that has been practised by
other sects than the Christians. In the work of the Jewish
historian it is stated, as quoted in page 65 of this volume,
that John the Baptist was put to death by Herod from a
cause not the same as that which is given in the Gospels, but
it would appear, if we believe the uncanonical gospel
ascribed to St James, that Herod sought to destroy the
Baptist, when he was a child, and that, failing to find the
son, he wreaked his vengeance on the father Zacharias.*
The most cursory reading of the uncanonical narrative
would suggest that Herod's desire to find the youthful Bap-
tist proceeded from the same motive which led him to inquire
after the infant Christ, and the murder of the Innocents is
said to have been the mode which Herod adopted to secure
the death of one whom he regarded as his future rival for the
sovereignty of Judæa. The zeal however of our ecclesias-
tical historians has, in this as in other instances, outrun their
discretion. The calculation that a very large number of
children, amounting even to several thousands, as stated on
(6
* The main point of this narrative derives support from the authority of
Origen, who says that the father of John the Baptist was killed in the
Temple, but the editor of the Dictionary of the Bible, admitting that
many of the Greek fathers have maintained that this is the person to
whom our Lord alludes," adds that "there can be little or no doubt that
the allusion is to Zacharias, the son of Jehoiada (11 Chron. xxiv, 20, 21)”—
so easy does it appear to defend the authenticity of our Scriptures, if it is
allowed to reject the authority both of Origen and of the uncanonical
gospel, which confirm the present text, and to alter that text in those
particulars which seem to introduce a difficulty into their own method of
interpretation. See also Dr Lightfoot's citations from the Jerusalem
Talmud, Taanith, fol. 69, and the Babylonian Sanhedrim, fol. 96.
xxI.]
201
MURDER OF INNOCENTS.
the authority of Voltaire, may be set aside with contempt,
but we must not neglect certain passages in credible his-
tories, which tell us that Herod the Great committed many
atrocious acts, none of which would be so atrocious or so
likely to cause his own destruction, as the murder of four-
teen thousand children "from two years old and under," in
order that the youthful Saviour and King might perish with
the rest. It can hardly be believed that even fifty infants,
as suggested by the author of the "Introduction to the
Critical Study of the Scriptures," could be slain by the
arbitrary decree even of so cruel a king as Herod, and yet
not be noticed by any contemporary or subsequent historian,
but it is well known that Herod was a cruel king and that
he perpetrated many acts which have been handed down to
our times and have earned for him the execration of ages.
But even in Herod there were qualities of a higher tendency,
and of a certain magnificence that has everywhere and at all
times been reckoned as a counterpoise however insufficient
to the darker traits of the character of a prince. Josephus
tells us that
Some there are who stand amazed at the diversity of Herod's
nature and purposes; for when we have respect to his magnifi-
cence, and the benefits which he bestowed on all mankind, there
is no possibility for even those who have the least respect for him
to deny, or not openly to confess, that he had a nature vastly
beneficent.-Antiq. XVI, v, 4.
But the historian does not hesitate to denounce the same
monarch as brutally cruel, even to his own family; in proof
of which has been quoted the death of his two sons, Alex-
ander and Aristobulus, who were accused of rebellion and
conspiracy against their father, on evidence which, whilst it
does not exonerate them from the charge of insubordination
and disobedience, yet was insufficient to render them liable
to be put to death.
The execution of these young men is referred to by Strabo
who lived and wrote his Geographical Accounts of various
countries not many years later.
Some of his sons he himself put to death, and the others as he
was dying he left as his successors, giving them each a part.
But Cæsar also honoured Herod's sons and his sister Salome,
and her daughter Berenice. His sons, however, were not fortu-
nate, but fell under accusations; and one of them remained in
exile, taking up his residence among the Allobrigian Gauls, and
the others with difficulty, and by paying great court, obtained
202
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
permission to return, when tetrarchies were given to both of them.
-STRABO, xvi, 3.
It would seem dangerous to imagine, had it not been
believed to be a fact, that the execution of Herod's sons was
connected with the murder of the children at Bethlehem, and
a certain significance may be attached to the suggestion by
a passage from the Latin author Macrobius, whose words
are these:
Quum [Augustus] audîsset
inter pueros quos in Syria
Herodes rex Judæorum intra
bimatum* jussit interfici filium
quoque ejus occisum, ait: "Me-
lius est Herodis porcum esse
quam filium.”—MACROB.Saturn.
ii, 4.
When he [Augustus] had
heard that among the boys,
whom Herod king of the Jews
commanded to be slain within
the age of two years, his son also
was put to death, he said: “It
is better to be Herod's swine
than his son.
""
If these words be duly weighed, it is difficult to arrive at
a thorough identification of the events which some writers
have too hastily sought to connect together and to ascribe
to the same motive. We learn from the Gospel narrative,
that to secure the dynasty of Herod by the death of a child
who was destined to extinguish it, all the children of the
same age were ordered to be put to death. But if this be
true, it is hardly to be believed that the life of his own son,
even if still a child under two years of age, would be sacri-
ficed also, and it is scarcely possible that the execution of
the two young princes Alexander and Aristobulus can be
traced to the same circumstances or included in the same
category as the murder of the children at Bethlehem, related
in the Gospel of St Matthew. The accounts therefore of
these events must remain as we find them in the Scriptural
narrative, and must be judged on their own merits, unsup-
ported and unimpugned by any evidence which friends or
foes to the Gospel may endeavour to elicit from the writings
or suggestions of any later writers.
* Intra bimatum, within the age of two years. It is likely that these
words were added to the text of Macrobius by some reader, from no dis-
honest motive, but because he hastily imagined that this circumstance, i.e.
Herod's cruelty, was identical with the murder of the children at Beth-
lehem.
XXII.]
203
JOHN THE BAPTIST.
CHAPTER XXII.
RELATION OF JOHN THE BAPTIST'S MINISTRY TO THAT OF CHRIST.
THE most remarkable prophet or teacher among the Jews
before the appearance of our Saviour upon earth, was John
the Baptist. The history of his miraculous conception,
birth, and mode of life until the beginning of his public
preaching, is related by St Luke alone, who concludes his
narrative with these words:
80. And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, and was
in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel.
Josephus alone, of all the profane ancient historians, has
mentioned John the Baptist. The passages of his history
where this notice occurs, have already been given in page
65 of this volume. They present a variation from the Gos-
pel narrative, but both accounts are probably imperfect.
Whilst the evangelist ascribes Herod's command that the
Baptist should be beheaded, to the oath which he had sworn
to his daughter-in-law, and the malice of his offended wife,
Josephus attributes it to a political motive-the fear lest
John might raise a sedition among the people. It is easy to
see that, the fact being undoubted, the motive assigned for
its commission may have varied according to the peculiar
circumstances of the case. Whilst John's followers saw
nothing but religious persecution, the politician may have
seen nothing but precaution, political though unjust, in the
cruel orders of the king. Nay, it is not impossible that the
secret enmity instigated by his wife, may have been veiled
by the more plausible appearance of regard for the public
tranquillity; or, in another point of view, that real solicitude
for the tranquillity of his government may have lurked
beneath his apparent readiness to gratify Herodias, ratified
by the obligation of the oath which he had sworn.
In the scarcity of information respecting this remarkable
ascetic we turn to the profane writers to gather what they
have left us concerning the class to which the Baptist
belonged.
The poet Juvenal mentions an order of priests called
Baptæ or Baptists, dedicated to the service of the goddess
Cotytto:
204
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Cecropiam soliti Baptæ las-
sare Cotytto: [Sat. ii, 92].
The Baptæ, used to tire [with
their petitions] the Athenian
Cotytto.
Some have named Thrace as the soil from which the wor-
ship of the goddess Cotytto was imported into Greece. But,
generally, the Grecian gods and religious ceremonies came
from Egypt and Phoenicia ; nor is it difficult to imagine that
Thrace may have received from those countries the orgies,
which were afterwards transmitted to Greece and Rome.
At any rate, it is worthy of observation, that the Baptæ of
the Romans are not mentioned by the more ancient classics,
but only by those who lived about the time of the Christian
era.
The idea of using water as emblematic of spiritual washing
is too obvious to allow surprise at the antiquity of this rite.
Dr Hyde, in his treatise on the Religion of the ancient
Persians, chapter xxxiv, p. 406, tells us that it prevailed
among that people. The passage, translated from the
original Latin, here follows.
They do not use circumcision for their children, but only bap-
tism or washing for the inward purification of the soul. They
bring the child to the priest into the church and place him in
front of the sun and fire, which ceremony being completed they
look upon him as more sacred than before. Lord says that they
bring the water for this purpose in bark of the Holm-tree: that
tree is in truth the Haum of the Magi, of which we spoke before
on another occasion. Sometimes also it is otherwise done by
immersing him in a large vessel of water, as Tavernier tells us.
After such washing or baptism, the priest imposes on the child
the name given by his parents.
Afterwards, in the 15th year of his age, when he begins to put
on the tunic, the sudra [a kind of cloak], and the girdle, that he
may enter upon religion, and is engaged upon the articles of
belief, the priest bestows upon him confirmation, that he may
from that time be admitted into the number of the faithful, and
may be looked upon as a believer himself.
The Manichæans, a Christian sect who followed the doc-
trines of Mani, are said by Beausobre to have administered
baptism to children, conformably to the custom of the Per-
sian Magi, "from which he, Mani, deviated as little as he
possibly could." BEAUS. liv. 9, chap. 6, sect. 16.
We have positive evidence from Tertullian that the rite
of baptism was used among the Gentiles in his time. He
says in his treatise De Baptismo, cap. 5:

XXII.]
205
BAPTISM AN ANCIENT RITE.
They are certainly dipped at the Apollinarian and Eleusinian
solemnities, and they presume that they do this for the purpose
of regeneration and impunity for their perjuries. . .
At certain sacred rites of one Isis and Mithra they initiate
themselves by dipping.
It has been thought that baptism was prevalent among
the Jews also, long before the beginning of the Christian
era. This is a subject which has not been very satisfactorily
cleared up. Though there is no sure evidence disproving
the existence of the rite, yet the evidence which is supposed
to establish the opposite view is not so conclusive as could be
wished. We have seen from Josephus that John was sur-
named the Baptist, because he baptized those who came to
him. This seems to indicate that baptism was not usual
among the Jews, and yet it seems to presuppose that the rite
was not altogether unknown. In the days of Justin Martyr,
about A.D. 150, it is thought to have been practised among
them; and the following passages from his works are sup-
posed to bear reference to it.
For, this circumcision is not necessary to all, but to you alone;
that, as I said before, you may suffer those things which you now
justly suffer. For neither do we adopt that useless baptism, the
baptism in cisterns; for there is no communion between this
baptism and that of life. Dial. xix.
Let us glorify God, all ye assembled nations, because he hath
also looked on us: let us glorify him through the king of glory,
through the Lord of powers. For he hath been well pleased also
with the gentiles, and receives sacrifices more willingly from us
than from you. What account should I any longer make of cir-
cumcision, seeing that I have been borne witness to by God?
What need of that baptism is there to one who has been baptized
with the holy spirit ? In saying these things, I think that I shall
persuade even those who have very little sense. Dial. xxix.
But these passages are remarkably indecisive; and, even
if they should be thought to point to a baptismal ceremony
among the Jews, yet those who practised it may have be-
longed to the sect of the followers of John the Baptist, who
certainly continued for some time to be distinct from the
Christian community. See Acts xviii, 25.
In the absence of more explicit evidence concerning the
practice of baptism among the Jews, we turn to a remark-
able passage in St Paul's first epistle to the Corinthians, xv,
29, where the question is asked "What shall they do which
are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all?" To
206
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
this question no answer is given, and no explanation of any
such custom is found in the earliest Christian writers, and
as the best interpretations which have been hazarded are,
to say the least, wholly incompatible with the words of the
text and also repugnant to every modern feeling, we are left
to acquiesce in the literal meaning of the words, which imply
that those who had died unbaptized might be still placed
under the protection of the Christian covenant by any sur-
viving friends who undertook to appear for them at the bap-
tismal font. "A brother or a catechumen," says the Che-
valier Bunsen in his work on Hippolytus (vol. iii, p. 196),
"who could prove that a deceased Christian friend had a
believing disposition, and a desire to be admitted into the
Church, received baptism in his stead." It is doubtful
whether even the mention of such a ceremony as admissible
into our religion would now be listened to for a moment by
any Christian community.
MATTHEW, iii, 4-12.
4. And the same John had his
raiment of camel's hair, and a
leathern girdle about his loins; and
his meat was locusts and wild
honey. 5. Then went out to him
Jerusalem, and all Judæa, and all
the region round about Jordan,
6. And were baptized of him in
Jordan, confessing their sins.
7. But when he saw many of the
Pharisees and Sadducees come to
his baptism, he said unto them, “O
generation of vipers, who hath
warned you to flee from the wrath
to come? 8. Bring forth therefore
fruits meet for repentance: 9. And
think not to say within yourselves,
We have Abraham to our father:
for I say unto you, that God is able
of these stones to raise up children
unto Abraham. 10. And now also
the axe is laid unto the root of the
trees: therefore every tree which
bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the fire.
MARK i, 4-8.
4. John did baptize in the wilder-
ness, and preach the baptism of
repentance for the remission of
sins. 5. And there went out unto
him all the land of Judæa, and they
of Jerusalem, and were all baptized
of him in the river of Jordan, confess-
ing their sins. 6. And John was
clothed with camel's hair, and with
a girdle of a skin about his loins;
and he did eat locusts and wild
honey:
.
XXII.]
207
DOCTRINES OF JOHN THE BAPTIST.
,
1. John's preaching and doctrines.
The peculiar doctrines of John the Baptist may be seen
in the following passages from the early part of the four
Gospels concerning his first appearance as a teacher. But
as regards the place where he preached, a discussion, which
reasonable persons will pass over as needless, has arisen
about the name Bethany which appears in the Vulgate and
certain editions of the original Greek text, whereas in our
authorized version Bethabara is the place where the Baptist
carried on his ministry. All the earliest MSS read Bethany,
and it was Origen who restored what he conceived to be the
true name. A copyist may have inadvertently written the
well-known Bethany for the less known Bethabara, but the
additional words beyond Jordan sufficiently indicate the
locality of the village.
LUKE iii, 7-18.
7. Then said he to the multitude
that came forth to be baptized of
him, "O generation of vipers, who
hath warned you to flee from the
wrath to come? 8. Bring forth
therefore fruits worthy of repent-
ance, and begin not to say within
yourselves, We have Abraham to
our father: for I say unto you,
That God is able of these stones to
raise up children unto Abraham.
9. And now also the axe is laid unto
the root of the trees: every tree
therefore which bringeth not forth
good fruit is hewn down, and cast
into the fire." 10. And the people
asked him, saying, "What shall we
do then? 11. He answered and
saith unto them, "He that hath
two coats, let him impart to him
that hath none; and he that hath
meat, let him do likewise."
12.
Then came also publicans to be
baptized, and said unto him, "Mas-
ter, what shall we do?" 13. And
he said unto them, "Exact no more
than that which is appointed you."
14. And the soldiers likewise de-
manded of him, saying, “And what
shall we do?" And he said unto
them, "Do violence to no man,
neither accuse any falsely; and be
content with your wages." 15. And
as the people were in expectation,
JOHN i, 15-28.
18.
15. John bare witness of him,
and cried, saying, "This was he of
whom I spake, He that cometh
after me is preferred before me:
for he was before me. 16. And of
his fulness have all we received and
grace for grace. 17. For the law
was given by Moses, but grace and
truth came by Jesus Christ.
No man hath seen God at any time;
the only begotten Son, which is in
the bosom of the Father, he hath
declared him." 19. And this is
the record of John, when the Jews
sent priests and Levites from Jeru-
salem to ask him, "Who art thou?"
20. And he confessed, and denied
not; but confessed, "I am not the
Christ." 21. And they asked him,
"What then? Art thou Elias?"
And he saith, "I am not."
"Art
thou that prophet?" And he
answered, "Ño.” 22. Then said
they unto him, "Who art thou?
that we may give an answer to
them that sent us. What sayest
thou of thyself?" 23. He said, “I
am the voice of one crying in the
wilderness, Make straight the way
of the Lord, as said the prophet
Esaias." 24. And they which were
sent were of the Pharisees. 25. And
they asked him, and said unto him,
Why baptizest thou then, if thou
66
208
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW iii, 4-12.
MARK i, 4-8.
11. "I indeed baptize you with
water unto repentance: but he that
cometh after me is mightier than I,
whose shoes I am not worthy to
bear: he shall baptize you with the
Holy Ghost, and with fire: 12.
Whose fan is in his hand, and he
will throughly purge his floor, and
gather his wheat into the garner;
but he will burn up the chaff with
unquenchable fire."
7. And preached, saying, “There
cometh one mightier than I after
me, the latchet of whose shoes I am
not worthy to stoop down and un-
loose. 8. I indeed have baptized
you with water: but he shall bap-
tize you with the Holy Ghost."
There are some unimportant differences between the four
evangelists in these extracts:
St Matthew says that the words, "O generation of vipers
&c." were addressed to the Scribes and Pharisees-St Luke,
to the multitude. The first three Gospels represent the
Baptist as saying, vaguely and in general terms, that a
greater than himself was coming, without specifying him
more minutely; but St John is more definite "There
standeth one among you, whom ye know not." The record
of John concerning himself, "I am the voice of one crying
in the wilderness, Make straight the way of the Lord, &c.'
[John i, 23] is represented by the three other evangelists
MATTHEW iii, 13-17.
13. Then cometh Jesus from
Galilee to Jordan unto John, to be
baptized of him. 14. But John for-
bad him, saying, "I have need to
be baptized of thee, and comest thou
to me? 15. And Jesus answering
said unto him, "Suffer it to be so
now: for thus it becometh us to
fulfil all righteousness." Then he
suffered him. 16. And Jesus, when
he was baptized, went up straight-
way out of the water: and lo, the
heavens were opened unto him, and
he saw the Spirit of God descending
like a dove, and lighting upon him:
17. And lo a voice from heaven,
saying, “This is my beloved Son, in
whom I am well pleased."
MARK 1, 9-11.
9. And it came to pass in those
days, that Jesus came from Naza-
reth of Galilee, and was baptized of
John in Jordan. 10. And straight-
way coming up out of the water, he
saw the heavens opened, and the
Spirit like a dove descending upon
him: 11. And there came a voice
from heaven, saying "Thou art my
beloved Son, in whom I am well
pleased."
XXII.]
209
JESUS MEETS THE BAPTIST.
4
1
LUKE iii, 15-18.
and all men mused in their hearts
of John, whether he were the Christ,
or not;
16. John answered, saying unto
them all, "I indeed baptize you with
water; but one mightier than I
cometh, the latchet of whose shoes
I am not worthy to unloose: he
shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire: 17. Whose
fan is in his hand, and he will
throughly purge his floor, and will
gather the wheat into his garner;
but the chaff he will burn with fire
unquenchable."
18. And many
other things in his exhortation
preached he unto the people.
JOHN i, 25-28.
be not that Christ, nor Elias, neither
that prophet?"
26. John answered them, saying,
"I baptize with water: but there
standeth one among you, whom ye
know not; 27. He it is, who
coming after me is preferred before
me, whose shoe's latchet I am not
worthy to unloose." 28. These
things were done in Bethabara be-
yond Jordan, where John was bap-
tizing.
as coming not from John himself, but from the writer [comp.
Matt. iii, 3: Mark i, 3: and Luke iii, 4].
This peculiarity, of running the thoughts of the writer
into the mouth of the person speaking, is not uncommon with
all the four evangelists, especially with the last, as we shall
have frequent occasion to remark.
2. First meeting of Jesus and the Baptist.
The second class of extracts from the four Gospels, con-
cerning the Baptist, informs us of the mode in which Jesus
first met him and was baptized by him in Jordan.
LUKE iii, 19-22.
19. But Herod the tetrarch, being
reproved by him for Herodias his
brother Philip's wife, and for all
the evils which Herod had done,
20. Added yet this above all, that
he shut up John in prison. 21. Now
when all the people were baptized,
it came to pass, that Jesus also
being baptized, and praying, the
heaven was opened, 22. And the
Holy Ghost descended in a bodily
shape like a dove upon him, and a
voice came from heaven, which
said, “Thou art my beloved Son;
in thee I am well pleased."
VOL. II.
15
JOHN i, 29-36.
29. The next day John seeth
Jesus coming unto him, and saith,
"Behold the Lamb of God, which
taketh away the sin of the world.
30. This is he of whom I said, After
me cometh a man which is preferred
before me: for he was before me.
31. And I knew him not; but that
he should be made manifest to
Israel, therefore am I come bap-
tizing with water.
tizing with water." 32. And John
bare record, saying, "I saw the
Spirit descending from heaven like
a dove, and it abode upon him.
33. And I knew him not: but he
that sent me to baptize with water,
the same said unto me, Upon whom
thou shalt see the Spirit descending,
and remaining on him, the same is
he which baptizeth with the Holy
210
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
There is here, also, a variation in the four different
accounts-of some importance. Three of the Gospels relate
a miraculous appearance, which, though seen by a multitude
of persons, yet seems to have produced no result, and to have
attracted no notice. But the fourth evangelist, it will be
observed, limits the miraculous appearance to the physical
or mental vision of the Baptist alone. "John bare record,
saying, I saw the spirit descending from heaven, &c." In
other words we have, in St John's Gospel, the miracle
related, not as a well-known occurrence, but resting on the
word only of the Baptist. And it would appear from what
follows, " And I knew him not, &c." that the miracle was
intentionally revealed to John the Baptist, to enable him to
MATTHEW iv, 12-17.
12. Now when Jesus had heard
that John was cast into prison, he
departed into Galilee; 13. And
leaving Nazareth, he came and
dwelt in Capernaum, which is upon
the sea coast, in the borders of
Zabulon and Nephthalim: 14. That
it might be fulfilled which was
spoken by Esaias the prophet, say-
ing, 15. The land of Zabulon, and
the land of Nephthalim, by the way
of the sea, beyond Jordan, Galilee
of the Gentiles; 16. The people
which sat in darkness saw great
light; and to them which sat in the
region and shadow of death light is
sprung up.
17. From that time Jesus began
to preach, and to say, Repent: for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
MARK i, 14-15.
14. Now after that John was put
in prison, Jesus came into Galilee,
preaching the gospel of the kingdom
of God, 15. And saying, "The time
is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God
is at hand: repent ye, and believe
the gospel."
There is no doubt that John the Baptist was imprisoned
by Herod's orders, for we have the independent testimony of
Josephus and of all the four evangelists; but there is an
uncertainty as to the time, in relation to Christ's ministry, at
which the imprisonment took place. It is difficult to bring
the observation of St John above quoted, "For John was
XXII.]
211
THE BAPTIST IMPRISONED.
JOHN i, 34-36.
Ghost. 34. And I saw, and bare
record that this is the Son of God."
35. Again the next day after John
stood, and two of his disciples:
36. And looking upon Jesus as he
walked, he saith, "Behold the
Lamb of God!"
distinguish the remarkable person of whom he was the fore-
runner. The reasonable inference is, that John told the
people how he had been enabled to discriminate the Mes-
siah, and that, in process of time, it was popularly believed
that the whole multitude had seen the miracle. This opinion
is strengthened by the traditions to which we have already
alluded in the fourteenth chapter of this volume, of other
miraculous appearances seen at the baptism of our Lord, but
not recorded in our four Gospels.
3. Imprisonment of the Baptist.
The imprisonment of John the Baptist must next be ex-
amined.
LUKE iv, 14-15.
14. And Jesus returned in the
power of the Spirit into Galilee:
and there went out a fame of him
through all the region round about.
15. And he taught in their syna-
gogues, being glorified of all.
JOHN iii, 22-24.
22. After these things came Jesus
and his disciples into the land of
Judæa; and there he tarried with
them, and baptized. 23. And John
also was baptizing in Ænon near to
Salim, because there was much
water there: and they came, and
were baptized. 24. For John was
not yet cast into prison.
not yet cast into prison," into harmony with what the other
three evangelists have written. They all relate that imme-
diately or soon after the baptism, John the Baptist was cast
into prison, and that Jesus, hearing of it, departed into
Galilee. But the author of the fourth Gospel interposes
several important events, and among others the marriage at
212
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Cana in Galilee, and a visit of Jesus to Jerusalem at the
feast of the Passover.
The didactic nature of St John's Gospel, apparently the
least chronological of the four, would deter us from taking
his narrative in preference to that of Matthew and Mark.
But, if, as we might infer from the latter, Jesus retired into
Galilee from fear of sharing the fate of the Baptist, it would
create surprise that he should choose the very dominions
of Herod as his place of refuge, to escape falling into his
hands.
4. John's doubts about the Messiahship of Jesus.
It appears from the general tenour of the first three Gos-
pels that the wonderful works of Christ speedily attracted
the notice of John whilst in prison, and of his disciples, who
Two
seem still to have had free access to their master.
interviews between Jesus and the disciples of John are men-
tioned, but in both of them there is something to arrest
attention. The first occasion arose from the disciples of
John contrasting their own master's ascetic doctrine with the
milder practices of Jesus.
The parallel notices of this matter from the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark, and Luke here follow.
MATTHEW ix, 14, 15.
came
to
14. Then
him the disciples of
John, saying, "Why do
we and the Pharisees
fast oft, but thy disciples
fast not?" 15. And Je-
sus said unto them,
Can the children of the
bridechamber mourn, as
long as the bridegroom
is with them? but the
days will come, when
the bridegroom shall be
taken from them, and
then shall they fast."
MARK ii, 18-20.
18. And the disciples
of John and of the Pha-
risees used to fast: and
they come and say unto
him, "Why do the dis-
ciples of John and of
the Pharisees fast, but
thy disciples fast not?"
19. And Jesus said unto
them, "Can the chil-
dren of the bridecham-
ber fast while the bride-
groom is with them? as
long as they have the
bridegroom with them,
they cannot fast. 20.
But the days will come,
when the bridegroom
shall be taken away
from them, and then
shall they fast in those
days."
drink?"
LUKE V, 33-35.
33. And they said
unto him, "Why do the
disciples of John fast
often, and make prayers,
and likewise the disci-
ples of the Pharisees;
thine eat and
but
34. And he
"Can
said unto them,
ye make the children of
the bridechamber fast,
while the bridegroom is
with them?
the days will come, when
the bridegroom shall be
taken away from them,
and then shall they fast
in those days."
35. But
But the three evangelists do not wholly coincide in their
accounts. St Matthew alone says that the disciples of John
came and asked Jesus why his followers did not fast: St
XXIII.] THE BAPTIST'S MESSAGE TO JESUS.
213
Mark and St Luke place the question in the mouths of the
people who are represented as always following Jesus about.
On the second meeting between Jesus and the disciples of
John, the only two evangelists who relate it, St Matthew
and St Luke, are agreed:
MATTHEW Xi, 2-6.
2. Now when John had heard in
the prison the works of Christ, he
sent two of his disciples, 3. And
said unto him, "Art thou he that
should come, or do we look for
another?"
4. Jesus answered and said unto
them, "Go and show John again
those things which ye do hear and
see: 5. The blind receive their sight,
and the lame walk, the lepers are
cleansed, and the deaf hear, the
dead are raised up, and the poor
have the gospel preached to them.
6. And blessed is he, whosoever
shall not be offended in me.”
LUKE Vii, 18-23.
18. And the disciples of John
showed him of all these things. 19.
And John calling unto him two of
his disciples sent them to Jesus,
saying, "Art thou he that should
come? or look we for another?" 20.
When the men were come unto him,
they said, "John Baptist hath sent
us unto thee, saying, Art thou he
that should come? or look we for
another?"
21. And in the same hour he
cured many of their infirmities and
plagues, and of evil spirits; and
unto many that were blind he gave
sight.
22. Then Jesus answering said
unto them, "Go your way, and tell
John what things ye have seen and
heard; how that the blind see, the
lame walk, the lepers are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised,
to the poor the gospel is preached.
23. And blessed is he, whosoever
shall not be offended in me.”
But it has been thought surprising that John the Baptist,
who had before borne such noble testimony to the Messiah-
ship of Jesus, should at last waver in his faith, and send two
of his disciples to inquire whether Jesus really was he that
should come, or were they to look for some other besides him.
It has been justly remarked that John would really have
been a reed shaken by the wind, if he could have wavered
about so vital a point in so remarkable a manner.
CHAPTER XXIII.
THE TEMPTATION IN THE WILDERNESS.
THE reputed authors of the four Gospels, Matthew, Mark,
Luke and John, are said to have been, two of them, of the
number of the twelve apostles who were chosen at the first
214
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
K
to be Christ's immediate followers; and the other two, Mark
and Luke, to have been in the next rank to the apostleship,
having been followers, one of St Peter, the other of St Paul.
As the events which preceded the choosing of the twelve
apostles could not be known to them by the evidence of
their own senses, but must have come to them by the recital
of others, we might make allowance for any discrepancies
between the four evangelists on all those particulars, which
they had received from others, and had not themselves wit-
nessed. But it has unfortunately been the custom to ascribe
to the four Gospels, a priori, a peculiar character, which is
to exempt them from examination, on the plea that they
wrote, word for word, by divine inspiration. Even viewed
in this light they must be tried, and there is no other way of
trying them than that which is usual with all other books,
and with every kind of evidence admitted among mankind.
If two of our Lord's apostles, and two who were followers
of other apostles, wrote the Gospels, as we now have them,
by direct verbal inspiration, we shall undoubtedly find the
most perfect agreement between them in every particular,
even on those points which they had not themselves wit-
nessed, but which they learnt from others, whilst the divine
inspiration prevented them from making any error about the
facts which they were writing. In describing the effects of
the divine inspiration, it is not enough to say that it would
guard them from material errors-all errors are material, on
such a subject. It would guard them from every error what-
soever, or it would be of no value. Indeed, to admit that
the writers of the Gospels were inspired, and then to speak
of their contemporary character, and the means they had of
knowing the truth, is the most futile work of supererogation
that can be imagined. For the divine inspiration would
alone suffice. Error-mistake-anachronism-are words
that could have no place in the vocabulary, and the Gospels
would only defy criticism, because they would make good
their supernatural pretensions against any test that criticism
could apply.
Yet, notwithstanding the supposed aid of such inspira-
tion, and the nearness of the time, the four evangelists have
not been able to tell us even the first event of Christ's
ministry-his TEMPTATION-without differing one from
another. And moreover, if we interpret correctly the account
given in John i, 40-44, three disciples, Simon, Andrew, and
Philip, had been chosen only the day before the temptation
in the wilderness began. The first three Gospels furnish the
XXIII.]
215
THE TEMPTATION.
1
following accounts of the Temptation in the wilderness-
placed in parallel columns:
MATT. iv, 1-2.
Then was Jesus led
up of the spirit into
the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil.
2. And when he had
fasted forty days and
forty nights, he was
afterwards an hungred.
MARK i, 12-13.
12. And immediately
the spirit driveth him
into the wilderness. 13.
And he was there in
the wilderness forty
days, tempted of Satan;
and was with the wild
beasts; and the angels
ministered unto him.
LUKE iv, 1-2.
And Jesus being full
of the Holy Ghost re-
turned from Jordan,
and was led by the
Spirit into the wilder-
ness, 2. Being forty
days tempted of the
devil. And in those
days he did eat nothing:
and when they were
ended, he afterward
hungered.
So far all the three name the Temptation, but only St
Matthew and St Luke give us the details as they here fol-
low; but even here the order of the temptations is not the
same in both.
MATTHEW iv, 3-11.
3. And when the tempter came
to him, he said, "If thou be the Son
of God, command that these stones
be made bread." 4. But he an-
swered and said, "It is written,
Man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth
out of the mouth of God."
5. Then the devil taketh him up
into the holy city, and setteth him
on a pinnacle of the temple, 6.
And saith unto him, "If thou be
the Son of God, cast thyself down:
for it is written, He shall give his
angels charge concerning thee: and
in their hands they shall bear thee
up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone." 7. Jesus said
unto him, "It is written again,
Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy
God."
8. Again, the devil taketh him up
into an exceeding high mountain,
and showeth him all the kingdoms
of the world, and the glory of them;
9. And saith unto him, "All these
things will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me. 10.
Then saith Jesus unto him,
"Get
thee hence, Satan: for it is written,
Thou shalt worship the Lord thy
God, and him only shalt thou serve.'
LUKE iv, 3-13.
3. And the devil said unto him,
"If thou be the Son of God, com-
mand this stone that it be made
bread." 4. And Jesus answered
him, saying, "It is written, That
man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word of God."
*
5. And the devil, taking him up
into an high mountain, showed un-
to him all the kingdoms of the
world in a moment of time. 6.
And the devil said unto him,
" All
this power will I give thee, and the
glory of them: for that is delivered
unto me; and to whomsoever I will
I give it. 7. If thou therefore wilt
worship me, all shall be thine.”
8. And Jesus answered and said
unto him, "Get thee behind me,
Satan for it is written, Thou shalt
worship the Lord thy God, and
him only shalt thou serve."
:
9. And he brought him to Jeru-
salem, and set him on a pinnacle of
the temple, and said unto him,
"If thou be the Son of God, cast
thyself down from hence: 10. For
it is written, He shall give his
angels charge over thee, to keep
thee: 11. And in their hands they
shall bear thee up, lest at any time
thou dash thy foot against a stone."
12. And Jesus answering said unto
him, "It is said, Thou shalt not
tempt the Lord thy God."
216
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
}
MATTHEW iv, 11.
11. Then the devil leaveth him,
and, behold, angels came and minis-
tered unto him.
LUKE iv, 13.
13. And when the devil had
ended all the temptation, he de-
parted from him for a season.
In all three, the Temptation is placed immediately after
the baptism of Jesus. The language of Matthew, Then was
Jesus led &c., is the least decisive: but Mark is remarkably
pointed And immediately &c.: and all doubt is wholly dis-
pelled by St Luke, who having in the previous chapter
related the descent of the Holy Ghost, now tells us that
Jesus, being full of the Holy Ghost, returned from Jordan,
and was led by the spirit into the wilderness."
CC
Thus there is no doubt that all the three, St Matthew, St
Mark, and St Luke, place the temptation of Jesus immediately
after his baptism in the river Jordan.
If now we turn to the Gospel of St John, we find, to our
surprise, that he not only passes over this remarkable scene
altogether, but places the marriage at Cana of Galilee on the
third day after Christ's baptism.
JOHN i, 35. Again, the next day after, John stood, and two of his dis-
ciples.
i. 43. The day following, Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth
Philip, and saith unto him, Follow me,
The second chapter opens with the marriage at Cana:
JOHN ii, 1-11. And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee ;
and the mother of Jesus was there: 2. And both Jesus was called, and his
disciples, to the marriage.
"
3. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto him,
They have no wine." 4. Jesus saith unto her, "Woman, what have I
to do with thee? mine hour is not yet come." 5. His mother saith unto
the servants, "Whatsoever he saith unto you, do it."
6. And there were set there six waterpots of stone, after the manner of
the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. 7. Jesus
saith unto them, "Fill the waterpots with water." And they filled them
up to the brim. 8. And he saith unto them, "Draw out now, and bear
unto the governor of the feast." And they bare it.
9. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine
and knew not whence it was: (but the servants which drew the water
knew ;) the governor of the feast called the bridegroom, 10. And saith unto
him, "Every man at the beginning doth set forth good wine; and when
men have well drunk, then that which is worse: but thou hast kept the
good wine until now."
11. This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee, and mani-
fested forth his glory; and his disciples believed on him.
By this order of events, the scene of the forty days in the
wilderness is altogether excluded, for the very days between
the baptism in Jordan and the marriage are numbered. To
reconcile such conflicting accounts is impossible, without
XXIII.]
217
TEMPTATION MENTAL, NOT BODILY.
correcting one of them. It is better to correct the narrative
of St John, for three reasons:
1. Because his silence about the temptation does not
invalidate the testimony of the other three witnesses who
relate it—and the only way to admit their testimony is to
break the sequence of events observed by John.
2. Because the distance between the Jordan and Cana of
Galilee renders it improbable that Christ could have reached
the latter place, seventy miles, in the short space of two
days.
3. Because the writer of the fourth Gospel relates inci-
dental matters, which shows that he pays no regard to
chronology, but only to Christ's teaching and miracles. He
tells us that "his disciples believed on him ;" but, seeing
that only Philip, Andrew, and Simon Peter had been first
brought into the company of Jesus the day before, it is
rather premature to speak of his disciples, and it is very
surprising that they should have followed him to the distance
of seventy miles. But unless they followed him, Jesus had
no other disciples who could believe on him.
Thus we can only explain these divergences by admitting
that there are inaccuracies in the Gospel-histories, as in every
other book that ever yet was written; and the way to deal
with these is to meet them openly and candidly, not to ex-
plain them away in a manner which brings both the Gospels
and their annotators into manifest and merited contempt.
Admitting then that the temptation of Jesus followed
closely after his baptism, we are startled and offended at the
incidents of which it is made up. That the devil should
appear personally to the Son of God is certainly not more
wonderful than that he should, in a more remote age, have
appeared among the sons of God, in the presence of God
himself, to tempt and torment the righteous Job. But that
Satan should carry Jesus bodily and literally through the
air, first to the top of a high mountain, and then to the top-
most pinnacle of the Temple, is thought by many to be
inadmissible, to be an insult to our understanding, and an
affront to our Great Creator and our Redeemer.
If however we listen to this denial of what has by the
greater number of Christians been looked upon as an un-
doubted fact, must we reject the moral as well as the literal
acceptation of Christ's Temptation? By no means: the
spirit of the Gospel runs through all Christ's history, teeming
with life and light, where the letter of those ancient histories
would slay. The moral lesson might be taken thus: Jesus,
218
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
endowed with a master-mind by the gift of his Almighty
Father, and yet amenable to the suggestions of his human
nature, retires to meditate in that eastern wilderness on the
subject of his mission, and to prepare himself by prayer and
fasting for encountering the lusts of the world, the stings of
ambition, and the pride of life. Who will doubt that Jesus,
if he could be supposed to give way to worldly ambition,
might have gained that kingdom which he was there tempted
to covet, and was afterwards charged with coveting? The
thought of all these things, and the sight of the fair land of
Judæa, for one moment cast their shadow over his spotless
mind, but he spurns the tempter, described in the story as
bodily present before him-"Get thee behind me, Satan; for
it is written, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God." Is
such a scene less real, less weighty in teaching a moral
lesson, because it passes in the mind? Is evil less rife, less
pernicious to us, because for eighteen hundred years we have
never seen Satan bodily amongst us? Let us not be de-
ceived by such an imagination; we are tempted to stray
quite far enough from the road to righteousness by the evil
passions which we bear in our own bosoms-farther than we
should stray even if vice met mankind, as our forefathers
believed, in the shape of a being that had horns and hoofs.
CHAPTER XXIV.
THE TWELVE APOSTLES-VARIATION, 1. IN THEIR NAMES; 2. IN
THE TIME, PLACE AND MANNER OF THEIR BEING CALLED TO THE
APOSTLESHIP-THE SEVENTY.
It is related by two of the evangelists, Mark, and Luke,
that Jesus chose twelve out of those who followed him, to
be his immediate attendants. Matthew, without stating that
Jesus chose the twelve, seems to imply that such a choice
had been made, by naming them "the twelve,” the “twelve
disciples," &c. All the three furnish a list of their names,
the occasion when Christ ordained them as a separate body,
and the instructions which he gave to them when he sent them
forth to preach.
XXIV.]
219
NAMES OF THE APOSTLES.
MATTHEW X, 1-4.
And when he had
called unto him his
twelve disciples, he
gave them power against
unclean spirits, to cast
them out, and to heal all
manner of sickness and
all manner of disease.
MARK iii, 13-21.
13. And he goeth up
into a mountain, and
calleth unto him whom
he would: and they
came unto him. 14.
And he ordained twelve,
that they should be
with him, and that he
might send them forth
to preach, 15. And to
have power to heal sick-
nesses, and to cast out
devils :
16. And Simon he
surnamed Peter; 17.
And James the son of
Zebedee, and John the
brother of James; and
he surnamed them Boa-
nerges, which is, The
sons of thunder; 18.
2. Now the names of
the twelve apostles are
these; The first, Simon,
who is called Peter, and
Andrew his brother;
James the son of Zebe-
dee, and John his bro-
ther; 3. Philip, and
Bartholomew; Thomas, And Andrew, and Phi-
and Matthew the pub- lip, and Bartholomew,
lican; James the son of and Matthew, and
Alphæus, and Lebbæus, Thomas, and James the
whose surname was son of Alphæus, and
Thaddeus; 4. Simon Thaddeus, and Simon
the Canaanite,
Judas Iscariot,
also betrayed him.
and
who
MATTHEW X, 5-16.
5. These twelve Jesus
sent forth, and com-
manded them, saying,
“Go not into the way of
the Gentiles, and into
any city of the Samari-
tans enter ye not: 6.
But go rather to the lost
sheep of the house of
Israel. 7. And as ye
go, preach, saying, The
kingdom of heaven is at
hand.
the Canaanite, 19. And
Judas Iscariot, which
also betrayed him: and
they went into an house.
20. And the multi-
tude cometh together
again, SO that they
could not so much as
eat bread. 21. And
when his friends heard
of it, they went out to
lay hold on him: for
they said, He is beside
himself.
·MARK vi, 7-13.
7. And he called unto
him the twelve, and
began to send them
forth by two and two;
and gave them power
over unclean spirits;
8. Heal the sick, 8. And commanded
cleanse the lepers, raise them that they should
the dead, cast out devils: take nothing for their
LUKE vi, 13-19.
13. And when it was
day he called unto him
his disciples; and of
them he chose twelve,
whom also he named
apostles;
14. Simon (whom he
also named Peter), and
Andrew his brother,
James and John, Philip
and Bartholomew, 15.
Matthew and Thomas,
James the son of Al-
phæus, and Simon called
Zelotes, 16. And Judas
the brother of James,
and Judas Iscariot,
which also was the
traitor.
17. And he came
down with them and
stood in the plain, and
the company of his dis-
ciples, and a great mul-
titude of people out of
all Judæa and Jerusa-
lem, and from the sea
coast of Tyre and Sidon,
which came to hear
him, and to be healed
of their diseases: 18.
And they that were
vexed with unclean spi-
rits: and they were
healed. 19. And the
whole multitude sought
to touch him: for there
went virtue out of him,
and healed them all.
LUKE ix, 1-6.
Then he called his
twelve disciples to-
gether, and gave them
power and authority
over all devils, and to
cure diseases. 2. And
he sent them to preach
the kingdom of God and
to heal the sick.
3. And he said unto
them, "Take nothing
for your journey, neither
220
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW X, 8-16.
freely ye have received,
freely give. 9. Provide
neither gold, nor silver,
nor brass in your purses,
10. Nor scrip for your
journey, neither two
coats, neither shoes, nor
yet staves: for the work-
man is worthy of his
meat. 11. And into
whatsoever city or town
ye shall enter, inquire
who in it is worthy;
and there abide till ye
go thence. 12. And
when ye come into an
house, salute it. 13.
And if the house be
worthy, let your peace
come upon it: but if it
be not worthy, let your
peace return to you. 14.
And whosoever shall
not receive you, nor hear
your words, when ye de-
part out of that house
or city, shake off the
dust of your feet. 15.
Verily I say unto you,
It shall be more tolera-
ble for the land of Sodom
and Gomorrha in the
day of judgement, than
for that city. 16. Be-
hold I send you forth as
sheep in the midst of
wolves: be ye therefore
wise as serpents, and
harmless as doves," &c.
Chapter xi. And it
came to pass, when Je-
sus had made an end of
commanding his twelve
disciples, he departed
thence to teach and to
preach in their cities.
MARK vi, 8-13.
"
journey, save a staff
only; no scrip, no bread,
no money in their purse;
9. But be shod with
sandals; and not put
on two coats. 10. And
he said unto them, "In
what place soever ye
enter into an house,
there abide till ye depart
from that place. 11. And
whosoever shall not re-
ceive you, nor hear you,
when ye depart thence,
shake off the dust under
your feet for a testimony
against them. Verily I
say unto you, it shall be
more tolerable for So-
dom and Gomorrha in
the day of judgement,
than for that city."
12. And they went
out, and preached that
men should repent. 13.
And they cast out many
devils, and anointed
with oil many that were
sick and healed them.
LUKE ix, 3-6.
staves, nor scrip, neither
bread, neither money;
neither have two coats
apiece. 4. And what-
soever house ye enter
into, there abide, and
thence depart. 5. And
whosoever will not re-
ceive you, when ye go
out of that city, shake
off the very dust from
your feet for a testimony
against them.”
6. And they departed,
and went through the
towns, preaching the
gospel, and healing
everywhere.
Here we observe only eleven names occurring the same in
all the three: Simon Peter and Andrew his brother, James
and John, sons of Zebedee, Philip and Bartholomew, Mat-
thew and Thomas, Simon the Canaanite or the Zealot, Judas
Iscariot, and James the son of Alphæus. About the twelfth
disciple, the evangelists are not agreed. Mark calls him
Thaddeus; Matthew, Lebbæus, "whose surname was Thad-
dæus;" Luke calls him Judas, and says that he was "of
+
XXIV.]
221
NAMES OF THE APOSTLES.
James." Our authorized version supplies this blank by in-
serting the word "brother on the strength of the first
verse in the General Epistle of St Jude; who, in his saluta-
tion "to them that are sanctified" calls himself the "servant
of Jesus Christ, and brother of James."
But this reason is insufficient-there is nothing to show
that the Jude of the epistle is the same person as the Judas
of St Luke: the Greek indeed is Judas in every case where
this name occurs, and the variation which appears in the
Epistle of "St Jude," would seem to imply that our trans-
lators had the wish or the intention to make a distinction
between the two. But further, a blank between two proper
names, in Greek, is always to be supplied, as in the cases
before us, James of Zebedee, James of Alphæus, Judas of
James, by son or daughter, according to the sex, not by brother
or sister. We are therefore thrown back to the only explana-
tion of which the case admits, that either St Luke has made
a mistake in naming the twelfth disciple Judas, or Matthew
and Mark in calling him Thaddeus. Some of the commen-
taries try to clear up the difficulty by supposing Thaddeus
or Theudas and Judas to be the same name. But this, be-
sides being a mere conjecture, would prove too much; it
would admit Judas Iscariot among the possible claimants for
the name of Thaddeus, and render the whole subject of these
names infinitely more doubtful than before.
There is however a solution of the difficulty regarding the
passage in St Matthew's Gospel. It appears by our short
summary of various readings given in page 16 of this volume,
that the Vatican and the Sinaitic, which are the earliest
manuscripts in existence, omit the words "Lebbæus, whose
surname was Thaddeus," altogether, and we are led to infer
that some writer noticing that only eleven names are found
in his copy of St Matthew's Gospel, inserted Lebbæus on
the authority of some other copy, and then added the words
"whose surname was Thaddeus," in order to reconcile the
text with that of the Gospel according to St Mark.
The Gospel of St John, being less minute in historical
particulars than the other three, has no list of the names of
the twelve apostles.
Now it is remarkable that in a matter apparently so im-
portant as this, the three evangelists, who have undertaken
to hand down to posterity the names of Christ's apostles,
should not agree together in those names. According to
the view which this work is written to maintain, there is no
difficulty arising from this or any other similar discrepancy,
+
222
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
either to the general truth of Christianity or to the cause of
general religion. But those who believe that the Gospels
are four separate and independent works written by four
contemporaries of Christ, under the guidance of verbal in-
spiration, are bound to explain how it is possible for them to
have made a mistake even in the names of those men, to
whose labours we owe the establishment of Christ's religion,
after their master was removed from the earth.
But we have not yet noticed all the inaccuracies to be
found in one or other of the four Gospels respecting the
names of Christ's disciples. Matthew, who is termed "the
publican" in the Gospel which he is erroneously supposed
to have written himself, is elsewhere called Levi by St Luke
and Levi the son of Alphæus by St Mark. The parallel
accounts of his "call " here follow.
MATTHEW ix, 9-13.
9. And as Jesus pass-
ed forth from thence,
he saw a man, named
Matthew, sitting at the
receipt of custom: and
he saith unto him, "Fol-
low me." And he arose,
and followed him.
10. And it came to
pass, as Jesus sat at
meat in the house, be-
hold, many publicans
and sinners came and
sat down with him and
his disciples. 11. And
when the Pharisees saw
it, they said unto his
disciples, Why eateth
your Master with publi-
cans and sinners?
12. But when Jesus
heard that, he said unto
them, They that be
whole need not a phy-
sician, but they that are
sick. 13. But go ye and
learn what that mean-
eth, I will have mercy,
and not sacrifice: for I
am not come to call the
righteous, but sinners to
repentance.'
MARK ii, 13-17.
13. And he went forth
again by the sea side;
and all the multitude
resorted unto him, and
he taught them. 14. And
as he passed by, he saw
Levi the son of Alphæus
sitting at the receipt of
custom and said unto
him, "Follow me." And
he arose and followed
him.
15. And it came to
pass, that, as Jesus sat
at meat in his house,
many publicans and sin-
ners sat also together
with Jesus and his dis-
ciples; for there were
many, and they followed
him. 16. And when the
scribes and Pharisees
saw him eat with publi-
cans and sinners, they
said unto his disciples,
How is it that he eateth
and drinketh with pub-
licans and sinners?
LUKE V, 27-32.
27. And after these
things he went forth,
and saw a publican,
named Levi, sitting at
the receipt of custom :
and he said unto him,
Follow me." 28. And
he left all, rose up, and
followed him.
29. And Levi made
him a great feast in his
house: and there was a
great company of publi-
cans and of others that
sat down with them. 30.
But their scribes and
Pharisees murmured
against his disciples,
saying, Why do ye eat
and drink with publi-
cans and sinners?
17. When Jesus heard 31. And Jesus an-
it, he saith unto them, swering said unto them,
"They that are whole "They that are whole
have no need of the need not a physician;
physician, but they that but they that are sick.
are sick: I came not to 32. I came not to call
call the righteous, but the righteous, but sin-
sinners to repentance." ners to repentance."
We cannot doubt that Matthew the publican,-supposing
.
XXIV.]
223
CALL OF PETER AND OTHERS.
him to have written the Gospel-knew his own name; but
it is very surprising that St Mark and St Luke, his contem-
poraries, did not know it also. For both of them name
Matthew and not Levi, as among the twelve disciples in the
later chapters which have been quoted, forgetful, as it
would seem, that they had previously related the call of
Levi, and the great feast which this disciple had made for
Jesus in his house.
There is, in the next place, an historical inaccuracy in
either St Luke, or in St Matthew and St Mark, respecting
the call of the brothers Peter and Andrew, and likewise in
the call of James and John.
MATTHEW iv, 18-22.
18. And Jesus, walk-
ing by the sea of Galilee,
saw two brethren, Simon
called Peter, and An-
drew his brother, cast-
ing a net into the sea:
for they were fishers.
19. And he saith unto
them, "Follow me, and
I will make you fishers
of men." 20. And they
straightway left their
nets and followed him.
MARK i, 16-20.
16. Now as he walked
by the sea of Galilee, he
saw Simon and Andrew
his brother casting a net
into the sea: for they
were fishers. 17. And
Jesus said unto them,
"Come ye after me, and
I will make you to be-
come fishers of men."
18. And straightway
they forsook their nets,
and followed him.
LUKE V, 1-11.
And it came to pass,
that, as the people
pressed upon him to
hear the word of God,
he stood by the lake of
Gennesaret, 2. And
saw two ships standing
by the lake: but the
fishermen were gone out
of them, and were wash-
ing their nets.
3. And he entered into
one of the ships, which
was Simon's, and pray-
ed him that he would
thrust out a little from
the land. And he sat
down, and taught the
people out of the ship.
4. Now when he had
left speaking, he said
unto Simon, "Launch
out into the deep and
let down your nets for a
draught." 5. And Simon
answering said unto
him, "Master, we have
toiled all the night, and
have taken nothing:
nevertheless at thy word
I will let down the net.
6. And when they had
this done, they inclosed
a great multitude of
fishes and their net
brake. 7. And they
beckoned unto their
partners, which were in
the other ship, that they
should come and help
them. And they came,
and filled both the ships,
霖
​224
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW iv, 21-22.
MARK i, 19-20.
20.
LUKE V, 7-11.
21. And going on from 19. And when he had so that they began to
thence, he saw other two gone a little farther sink. 8. When Simon
brethren, James the son thence, he saw James Peter saw it, he fell
of Zebedee, and John the son of Zebedee, and down at Jesus's knees,
his brother, in a ship John his brother, who saying, "Depart from
with Zebedee their also were in the ship me: for I am a sinful
father, mending their mending their nets. man, O Lord." 9. For
nets;
and he called And straightway he he was astonished, and
all that were with him,
at the draught of fishes
which they had taken :
10. And so was also
James, and John, the
sons of Zebedee, which
were partners with
Simon. And Jesus said
unto Simon, "Fear not:
from henceforth thou
shalt catch men." 11.
And when they brought
their ships to land, they
forsook all, and followed
him.
them. 22. And they
immediately left the
ship and their father,
and followed him.
called them: and they
left their father Zebe-
dee in the ship with the
hired servants, and went
after him.
The third evangelist represents the four disciples as fol-
lowing Jesus in consequence of the miraculous draught of
fishes, but Matthew and Mark, with less likelihood, omit
the miracle. All the three lay the scene of their call in
Galilee, near the lake of Gennesaret.
It may here be observed that, although the Gospels of St
Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke are on the whole tolerably
in accordance with one another in the general chronological
arrangement of Christ's life, yet St Matthew and St Mark
place the call of Simon Peter before the miracle of raising
his wife's mother, whereas St Luke places the miracle first,
and describes St Peter's election to the apostleship as taking
place afterwards.
MATTHEW Viii, 14, 15.
14. And when Jesus
was come into Peter's
house, he saw his wife's
mother laid, and sick of
a fever.
15. And he
touched her hand, and
the fever left her: and
she arose, and minis-
tered unto them.
MARK i, 29-31.
LUKE iv, 38, 39.
29. And forthwith, 38. And he arose out
when they were come of the synagogue, and
out of the synagogue, entered into Simon's
they entered into the house.
house of Simon and An-
drew, with James and
John. 30. But Simon's
wife's mother lay sick
of a fever, and anon
they tell him of her.
31. And he came and
took her by the hand,
and lifted her up; and
immediately the fever
left her, and she minis-
tered unto them.
And Simon's
wife's mother was ta-
ken with a great fever;
and they besought him
for her. 39. And he
stood over her, and re-
buked the fever; and it
left her: and immedi-
ately she arose and
ministered unto them.
ཟ
XXIV.]
225
CALL OF THE TWELVE.
In this comparison of the different accounts of the call of
these four disciples, we have taken no notice of St John.
We must now observe that his account is so entirely at
variance with the three already narrated, that all the four
cannot at the same time be looked upon as equally chrono-
logical, and as such cannot therefore be placed in juxta-
position.
JOHN i, 35-51.
35. Again the next day after John stood, and two of his disciples; 36.
And looking upon Jesus as he walked, he saith, "Behold the Lamb of
God !" 37. And the two disciples heard him speak, and they followed
Jesus.
38. Then Jesus turned, and saw them following, and saith unto them,
"What seek ye?" They said unto him, Rabbi (which is to say, being
interpreted, Master), where dwellest thou?" 39. He saith unto them,
"Come and see." They came and saw where he dwelt, and abode with
him that day: for it was about the tenth hour.
40. One of the two which heard John speak, and followed him, was
Andrew, Simon Peter's brother. 41. He first findeth his own brother
Simon, and saith unto him, "We have found the Messias," which is, being
interpreted, the Christ. 42. And he brought him to Jesus. And when
Jesus beheld him, he said, "Thou art Simon the son of Jona: thou shalt
be called Cephas, which is by interpretation, a stone."
43. The day following Jesus would go forth into Galilee, and findeth
Philip, and saith unto him, "Follow me." 44. Now Philip was of Beth-
saida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45. Philip findeth Nathanael, and
saith unto him, "We have found him, of whom Moses in the law, and the
prophets, did write, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.' 46. And
Nathanael said unto him, "Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth?”
Philip saith unto him, "Come and see."
""
47. Jesus saw Nathanael coming to him, and saith of him, "Behold
an Israelite indeed, in whom is no guile !" 48. Nathanael saith unto
him, "Whence knowest thou me?" Jesus answered and said unto him,
"Before that Philip called thee, when thou wast under the fig tree, I saw
thee." 49. Nathanael answered and saith unto him, "Rabbi, thou art the
Son of God: thou art the King of Israel.” 50. Jesus answered and said
unto him, "Because I said unto thee, I saw thee under the fig tree, be-
lievest thou? thou shalt see greater things than these." 51. And he saith
unto him, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Hereafter ye shall see heaven
open, and the angels of God ascending and descending upon the Son of
man.
In this narrative the first remarkable circumstance is, that
Judæa near the Jordan where John was baptizing, and not
Galilee, is the country in which Jesus first meets with Peter,
Andrew, and a third disciple who is supposed to be John.
Secondly, these three, certainly two of them, seem to have
been already disciples of the Baptist, and now, as it were by
a sudden impulse, become followers of Christ. Thirdly, a
strange name, Nathanael, next occurs in conjunction with
Philip, though it is not found in either of the first three
Gospels, and only in one other passage of St John's Gospel,
where, however, he is mentioned as if he was one of the
twelve apostles or disciples. All this is irreconcilable with
VOL. II.
16
226
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the narratives of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who know
nothing of Nathanael, and who place the call of Simon,
Andrew, James, and John, in Galilee, where they usually
lived and carried on their trade of fishermen, not in Judæa
where John the Baptist was baptizing.
The last particular of disagreement between the evan-
gelists is the silence of three of them on a most significant
and important circumstance which is related by the fourth,
namely, the appointment of seventy disciples, subordinate to
the twelve:
LUKE X, 1-20.
After these things the Lord appointed other seventy also, and sent them
two and two before his face into every city and place, whither he himself
would come.
2. Therefore said he unto them, "The harvest truly is great, but the
labourers are few: pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he
would send forth labourers into his harvest. 3. Go your ways: behold,
I send you forth as lambs among wolves. 4. Carry neither purse, nor
scrip, nor shoes: and salute no man by the way. 5. And into whatsoever
house ye enter, first say, Peace be to this house. 6. And if the son of
peace be there, your peace shall rest upon it: if not, it shall turn to you
again. 7. And in the same house remain, eating and drinking such things
as they give: for the labourer is worthy of his hire. Go not from house to
house. 8. And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat
such things as are set before you: 9. And heal the sick that are therein,
and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 10. But
into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you not, go your ways out
into the streets of the same, and say, 11. Even the very dust of your city,
which cleaveth on us, we do wipe off against you: notwithstanding be ye
sure of this, that the kingdom of God is come nigh unto you. 12. But I
say unto you, that it shall be more tolerable in that day for Sodom, than
for that city.
16. He that heareth you heareth me; and he that
despiseth you despiseth me: and he that despiseth me despiseth him that
sent me.' ""
17. And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, "Lord, even the
devils are subject unto us through thy name." 18. And he said unto them,
"I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven. 19. Behold, I give unto
you power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the
enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. 20. Notwithstanding
in this rejoice not, that the spirits are subject unto you; but rather rejoice,
because your names are written in heaven."
The admonitions and instructions contained in this extract
will be seen to be here and there the same as those which
Jesus had before delivered to his twelve disciples; but
among these we find other sayings not especially adapted for
the occasion of these missions, but of a more general ten-
dency, and expressed in that concise language, which caught
the attention of Justin Martyr as rendering them so easy to
be retained in the memory: this happened, as we contend,
before they were embodied among those miraculous deeds
which with them have since formed the four Gospel his-
tories. Although this fact would neither invalidate the truth
XXIV.]
227
MARKS OF COMPILATION.
·
of these missions nor impugn the accuracy of Christ's teach-
ing, yet we might reasonably doubt whether the admonitions
and sayings, which now form the most valuable records of his
ministry, have been always placed in the exact order and on
the real occasions when they were delivered. It might also
be contended that the writers of the Gospel history, in imi-
tating, as they appear to have done, the scheme of the Old
Testament, have also in this case imitated the form of
administration, which we find to have prevailed at the earliest
period of Jewish history, where the numbers twelve and
seventy are prominent and have been thought to have a mys-
terious significance. But if there was a fixed intention of
our Lord to establish a peculiar form for his church, it is re-
markable that St Luke alone has recorded the mission of the
Seventy, whilst the other three take no notice of it at all.
And it appears equally remarkable that in the Gospel ac-
cording to St John, we find nothing said of the mission
either of the twelve or of the seventy, and yet we read in St
Luke's Gospel (vi, 12), not only that the disciples went
out and preached repentance, as John the Baptist had
done before, but that they "cast out many devils, and
anointed with oil many that were sick and healed them."
From the privilege of performing these miracles we cannot
imagine the beloved disciple John to have been excluded,
and it is on this account the more surprising that in the
Gospel which has come down to us under his name no men-
tion is made of the mission either of the seventy or of the
twelve. This omission, therefore, must be ascribed to the
compiler who in the next generation put together the details
of which the fourth Gospel is made up, and if in doing so he
has introduced, as a sort of framework, the favourite Jewish
numbers twelve and seventy, or, as is more likely still, has
copied them from the Old Testament in imitation of the
twelve tribal princes and the seventy elders whom God
chose to assist Moses in his duties, such a mode of writing
the history would not be alien either from the customs of the
East or from the mythical tendency of Jewish writers during
the years which not only preceded but which also followed
the Christian era.
Some bold critics might therefore contend that the single
mission of the twelve had gradually been expanded by tradi-
tion into two, one of which was assigned to the twelve, the
other to the seventy, before the history had been set down in
writing.
:
228
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER XXV.
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
THAT the four Gospels do not follow a strictly chronological
order in the events which they relate, has long been admitted
even by their warmest advocates. With the exception of a
certain rough outline, that Christ's ministry lay first and
mainly in Galilee, and afterwards in Judæa and Jerusalem,
we cannot obtain anything like an approximate scheme of
his travels through the countries and cities which he visited.
Even where an attempt is made by the evangelists to connect
the performance of a great miracle, or the delivery of a beau-
tiful parable, with some event as following or preceding it,
we find in many cases that the four Gospels differ in the
attendant circumstances.
This is remarkably so in the case of the Sermon on the
Mount, a most beautiful discourse, containing the heads of
a moral law, that has been the admiration of every nation
and of all ages: so excellent indeed is it in every point of
view, that charity can find no other reason than its surpas-
sing and impracticable excellence for the apathy with which
men seem agreed, whilst admiring it in theory, to reject it
wholly in practice!
The Sermon on the Mount consists of a series of maxims,
each complete in itself, yet occasionally connected with those
which follow or precede it, as the case may be, with parables
and occasional apostrophes introduced, which give it a remark-
ably vivid and energetic character throughout, and render
it a perfect specimen of all the peculiar modes in which
Christ conveyed to his hearers the new and beautiful morality
which he taught.
Yet, in spite of all these qualities, and of the far-famed
reputation which this Discourse has met with throughout
all Christendom, there is some ground for believing that such
a collective body of maxims was never at any one time de-
livered from the lips of our Lord, but that a number of
separate and shorter discourses, spoken at different times,
have been put together to form this more lengthened and
much admired Sermon. The reasons for entertaining this
belief will be readily gathered from the following table, in
xxv.]
229
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
which the Sermon on the Mount of St Matthew is placed in
juxtaposition with the disjointed maxims of it, which are
found in the other Gospels, showing certain peculiarities
which deny to it the character of being a distinct and inde-
pendent discourse.
MATTHEW V, 1-12.
And seeing the multi-
tudes, he went up into
a mountain: and when
he was set, his disciples
came unto him:
6.
2. And he opened his
mouth, and taught
them, saying, 3. "Bless-
ed are the poor in spirit:
for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. 4. Blessed
are they that mourn:
for they shall be com-
forted. 5. Blessed are
the meek: for they shall
inherit the earth.
Blessed are they which
do hunger and thirst
after righteousness: for
they shall be filled. 7.
Blessed. are the merci-
ful: for they shall ob-
tain mercy. 8. Blessed
are the pure in heart:
for they shall see God.
9. Blessed are the peace-
makers: for they shall
be called the children of
God. 10. Blessed are
they which are perse-
cuted for righteousness'
sake: for theirs is the
kingdom of heaven. 11.
Blessed are ye, when
men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and
shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely,
for my sake.
12. Rejoice, and be
exceeding glad: for great
is your reward in hea-
ven: for so persecuted
they the prophets which
were before you.
LUKE Vi, 20-22.
20. And he lifted up
his eyes on his disciples,
and said, "Blessed be ye
poor: for yours is the
kingdom of God. 21.
Blessed are ye that hun-
ger now: for ye shall be
filled. Blessed are ye
that weep now: for ye
shall laugh. 22. Blessed
are ye, when men shall
hate you, and when they
shall separate you from
their company, and
shall reproach you, and
cast out your name as
evil, for the Son of
man's sake.
LUKE Vi, 23-25.
23. Rejoice ye in that
day, and leap for joy:
for, behold, your reward
is great in heaven: for
in the like manner did
their fathers unto the
prophets.
24. But woe unto you
that are rich! for ye
have received your con-
solation. 25. Woe unto
you that are full! for ye
:
230
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
1
·
Matthew v, 13-24.
13. Ye are the salt of
the earth: but if the
salt have lost his savour,
wherewith shall it be
salted? it is thenceforth
good for nothing, but to
be cast out, and to be
trodden under foot of
men. 14. Ye are the
light of the world. A
city that is set on an
hill cannot be hid. 15.
Neither do men light a
candle, and put it under
a bushel, but on a can-
dlestick; and it giveth
light unto all that are
in the house. 16. Let
your light so shine be-
fore men, that they may
see your good works,
and glorify your Father
which is in heaven.
17. Think not that I
am come to destroy the
law, or the prophets: I
am not come to destroy,
but to fulfil. 18. For
verily I say unto you,
Till heaven and earth
pass, one jot or one
tittle shall in no wise
pass from the law, till
all be fulfilled.
MARK ix, 50.
50. Salt is good: but
if the salt have lost his
saltness, wherewith will
ye season it? Have salt
in yourselves, and have
peace one with another.
MARK iv, 21.
21. And he said unto
them, "Is a candle
brought to be put under
a bushel, or under a
bed? and not to be set
on a candlestick?"
LUKE Vi, 25-27.
shall hunger. 26. Woe
unto you that laugh
now! for ye shall mourn
and weep. 27. Woe unto
you, when all men shall
speak well of you! for
so did their fathers to
the false prophets.
LUKE Xiv, 34, 35.
34. Salt is good: but
if the salt have lost his
savour, wherewith shall
it be seasoned? 35. It
is neither fit for the
land, nor yet for the
dunghill; but men cast
it out. He that hath ears
to hear, let him hear.
LUKE viii, 16.
16. No man, when he
hath lighted a candle,
covereth it with a ves-
sel, or putteth it under
a bed; but setteth it on
a candlestick, that they
which enter in may see
the light.
Repeated at xi, 33.
33. No man, when he
hath lighted a candle,
putteth it in a secret
place, neither under a
bushel, but on a candle-
stick, that they which
come in may see the
light.
LUKE xvi, 17.
17. And it is easier
for heaven and earth to
pass, than one tittle of
the law to fail.
19. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments,
and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of
heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called
great in the kingdom of heaven. 20. For I say unto you, That except
your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pha-
risees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.
21. Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not
kill;
and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgement: 22. But
I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause
shall be in danger of the judgement: and whosoever shall say to his brother,
Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou
fool, shall be in danger of hell fire. 23. Therefore if thou bring thy gift to
the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against
thee; 24. Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be
reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.
xxv.]
231
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW V, 25-31.
25. Agree with thine
adversary quickly,
whiles thou art in the
way with him; lest at
any time the adversary
deliver thee to the judge,
and the judge deliver
thee to the officer, and
thou be cast into prison.
26. Verily I say unto
thee, Thou shalt by no
means come out thence,
till thou hast paid the
uttermost farthing.
27. Ye have heard
that it was said by them
of old time, Thou shalt
not commit adultery:
28. But I say unto you,
That whosoever looketh
on a woman to lust after.
her hath committed
adultery with her al-
ready in his heart.
29. And if thy right
eye offend thee, pluck
it out, and cast it from
thee: for it is profitable
for thee that one of thy
members should perish,
and not that thy whole
body should be cast into
hell. 30. And if thy
right hand offend thee,
cut it off, and cast it
from thee: for it is pro-
fitable for thee that one
of thy members should
perish, and not that thy
whole body should be
cast into hell.
MARK ix, 43.
43. And if thy hand
offend thee, cut it off:
it is better for thee to
enter into life maimed,
than having two hands
to go into hell, into the
fire that never shall be
quenched: where their
worm dieth not, and the
fire is not quenched.
And if thine eye offend
thee, pluck it out: it is
better for thee to enter
into the kingdom of God
with one eye, than
having two eyes to be
cast into hell fire:
where their worm dieth
not and the fire is not
quenched.
Repeated at xviii, 8, 9.
LUKE xii, 58, 59.
58. When thou goest
with thine adversary to
the magistrate, as thou
art in the way, give
diligence that thou
mayest be delivered
from him, lest he hale
thee to the judge, and
the judge deliver thee
to the officer, and the
officer cast thee into
prison. 59. I tell thee
thou shalt not depart
thence, till thou hast
paid the very last mite.
[8. Wherefore if thine hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off and
cast them from thee; it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed,
rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.
9. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out and cast it from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes
to be cast into hell fire.]
31. It hath been said,
MARK X, 4.
4. Moses suffered to
Whosoever shall put write a bill of divorce-
away his wife, let him ment, and to put her
give her a writing of away.
divorcement:
232
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Repeated at xix, 7.
[7. Why did Moses then command to give a writing of divorcement,
and to put her away?]
MATTHEW V, 32-43.
MARK X, 11, 12.
32. But I say unto 11. And he saith unto
you, That whosoever them, "Whosoever shall
shall put away his wife, put away his wife, and
saving for the cause of marry another, com-
fornication, causeth her mitteth adultery against
to commit adultery: her. 12. And if a wo-
and whosoever shall man shall put away her
marry her that is di- husband, and be mar-
vorced committeth ried to another, she
adultery.
committeth adultery."
Repeated at xix, 9.
LUKE xvi, 18.
18. Whosoever put-
teth away his wife, and
marrieth another, com-
mitteth adultery: and
whosoever marrieth her
that is put away from
her husband commit-
teth adultery.
[9. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except it be
for fornication, and shall marry another committeth adultery; and whoso
marrieth her that is put away, doth commit adultery.]
33. Again, ye have heard that it hath been said by them of old time,
Thou shalt not forswear thyself, but shalt perform unto the Lord thine
oaths: 34. But I say unto you, Swear not at all; neither by heaven; for
it is God's throne: 35. Nor by the earth, for it is his footstool: neither by
Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. 36. Neither shalt thou
swear by thy head, because thou canst not make one hair white or black.
37. But let your communication be, Yea, yea; Nay, nay: for whatsoever
is more than these cometh of evil.
38. Ye have heard
that it hath been said,
An eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth: 39.
But I say unto you,
That ye resist not evil :
but whosoever shall
smite thee on the right
cheek, turn to him the
other also. 40. And if
any man will sue thee
at the law, and take
away thy coat, let him
have thy cloke also. 41.
And whosoever shall
compel thee to go a mile,
go with him twain.
42. Give to him that
asketh thee, and from
him that would borrow
of thee turn not thou
away.
43. Ye have heard
that it hath been said,
Thou shalt love thy
neighbour, and hate
thine enemy. 44. But
I say unto you, Love
enemies, bless
them that curse you, do
your
LUKE vi, 29, 30.
29. And unto him
that smiteth thee on the
one cheek offer also the
other; and him that
taketh away thy cloke
forbid not to take thy
coat also.
30. Give to every man
that asketh of thee; and
of him that taketh away
thy goods ask them not
again.
LUKE Vi, 27-28.
27. But I say unto
you which hear, Love
your enemies, do good
to them which hate you,
28. Bless them that
curse you, and pray for
them which despite-
fully use you.
•
xxv.]
233
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW V, 44-48.
good to them that hate
you, and pray for them
which despitefully use
you, and persecute you;
45. That ye may be the
children of your Father
which is in heaven: for
he maketh his sun to
rise on the evil and on
the good, and sendeth
rain on the just and on
the unjust. 46. For if
ye love them which
love you, what reward
have ye? do not even
the publicans the same?
47. And if ye salute
your brethren only,
what do ye more than
others? do not even the
publicans so?
48. Be ye therefore
perfect, even as your
Father which is in
heaven is perfect.
MATTHEW vi, 1-10.
Take heed that ye do
not your alms before
men, to be seen of them:
LUKE vi, 32-36.
32. For if ye love
them which love you,
what thank have ye?
for sinners also love
those that love them.
33. And if ye do good
to them which do good
to you, what thank have
ye? for sinners also do
even the same. 34. And
if ye lend to them of
whom ye hope to re-
ceive, what thank have
ye? for sinners also
lend to sinners, to re-
ceive as much again.
35. But love ye your
enemies, and do good,
and lend, hoping for
nothing again; and your
reward shall be great,
and ye shall be the
children of the Highest:
for he is kind unto the
unthankful and to the
evil.
36. Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father
also is merciful.
otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. 2. There-
fore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as
the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have
glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. 3. But
when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand
doeth: 4. That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth
in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
5. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are for
they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the
streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have
their reward. 6. But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and
when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thyFather which is in secret; and
thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. 7. But when
ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that
they shall be heard for their much speaking. 8. Be not ye therefore like
unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before
ye ask him. 9. After this manner therefore pray ye :
Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name. 10. Thy
kingdom come. Thy
will be done in earth, as
LUKE Xi, 2.
Our Father which art
in heaven, Hallowed be
thy name, Thy kingdom
come. Thy will be done,
as in Heaven, so in
234
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Vi, 10-22.
it is in heaven. 11.
Give us this day our
daily bread. 12. And
forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors.
13. And lead us not
into temptation, but
deliver us from evil :
For thine is the king-
dom, and the power,
and the glory, for ever.
Amen.
MARK Xi, 25-26.
14. For if ye forgive And when ye stand
men their trespasses, praying, forgive if ye
your heavenly Father have aught against any:
will also forgive you: that your Father also
15. But if ye forgive not which is in heaven may
men their trespasses, forgive you your tres-
neither will your Father passes. But if ye do
forgive your trespasses. not forgive, neither will
16. Moreover when your Father which is in
ye fast, be not, as the heaven forgive your
hypocrites, of a sad trespasses.
countenance: for they
disfigure their faces,
that they may appear
unto men to fast. Verily
I say unto you, They
have their reward. 17.
But thou, when thou
fastest, anoint thine
head, and wash thy
face; 18. That thou
appear not unto men to
fast, but unto thy
Father which is in
secret: and thy Father
which seeth in secret,
shall reward thee
openly.
19. Lay not up for
yourselves treasures
upon earth, where
moth and rust doth
corrupt, and where
thieves break through
and steal: 20. But lay
up for yourselves trea-
sures in heaven, where
neither moth nor rust
doth corrupt, and where
thieves do not break
through nor steal: 21.
For where your trea-
sure is, there will your
heart be also.
22. The light of the
body is the eye: if
therefore thine eye be
LUKE Xi, 2.
earth. Give us day by
day our daily bread.
And forgive us our sins;
for we also forgive every
one that is indebted to
us. And lead us not
into temptation; but
deliver us from evil.
LUKE Xii, 33.
Sell that ye have, and
give alms; provide
yourselves bags which
wax not old, a treasure
in the heavens that
faileth not, where no
thief approacheth, nei-
ther moth corrupteth.
For where your treasure
is, there will your heart
be also.
LUKE Xi, 34.
The light of the body
is the eye: therefore
when thine eye is single,
t
xxv.]
235
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW vi, 22-30.
single, thy whole body
shall be full of light.
23. But if thine eye be
evil, thy whole body
shall be full of dark-
ness. If therefore the
light that is in thee be
darkness, how great is
that darkness!
24. No man can serve
two masters: for either
he will hate the one,
and love the other, or
else he will hold to the
one, and despise the
other. Ye cannot serve
God and mammon.
25. Therefore I say un-
to you, Take no thought
for your life, what ye
shall eat, or what ye
shall drink; nor yet for
your body, what ye
shall put on. Is not
the life more than meat,
and the body than rai-
ment? 26. Behold the
fowls of the air: for
they sow not, neither do
they reap, nor gather
into barns; yet your
heavenly Father feedeth
them. Are ye not much
better than they?
27. Which of you by
taking thought can add
one cubic unto his sta-
ture? 28. And why
take ye thought for rai-
ment? Consider the
lilies of the field, how
they grow; they toil not,
neither do they spin:
29. And yet I say unto
you, That even Solo-
mon in all his glory
was not arrayed like
one of these. 30. Where-
LUKE Xi, 34.
thy whole body also is
full of light; but when
thine eye is evil, thy
body also is full of
darkness. Take heed
therefore that the light
which is in thee is not
darkness. If thy whole
body therefore be full
of light, having no part
dark, the whole shall
be full of light, as when
the bright shining of a
candle doth give thee
light.
LUKE xvi, 13.
No servant can serve
two masters: for either
he will hate the one, and
love the other; or else
he will hold to the one,
and despise the other.
Ye cannot serve God
and mammon.
LUKE Xii, 22-27.
22. And he said unto
his disciples, "There-
fore I say unto you, Take
no thought for your life,
what ye shall eat; nei-
ther for the body, what
ye shall put on. 23.
The life is more than
meat, and the body is
than raiment.
24. Consider the ravens :
for they neither sow
nor reap; which neither
have storehouse nor
barn; and God feedeth
them: how much more
are ye better than the
fowls?
more
25. And which of you
with taking thought can
add to his stature one
cubit? 26. If ye then
be not able to do that
thing which is least,
why take ye thought
for the rest? 27. Con-
sider the lilies how they
grow: they toil not,
they spin not; and yet
I say unto you, that
Solomon in all his glory
was not arrayed like one
3
236
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Vi, 30-34.
fore, if God so clothe
the grass of the field,
which to-day is, and to-
morrow is cast into the
oven, shall he not much
more clothe you, O ye of
little faith? 31. There-
fore take no thought,
saying, What shall we
eat? or, What shall we
drink? or, Wherewithal
shall we be clothed?
32. (For after all these
things do the Gentiles
seek:) for your heavenly
Father knoweth that ye
have need of all these
things.
33. But seek ye first
the kingdom of God,
and his righteousness;
and all these things
shall be added unto
you. 34. Take there-
fore no thought for the
morrow for the mor-
row shall take thought
for the things of itself.
Sufficient unto the day
is the evil thereof.
MATTHEW Vii, 1-4.
Judge not, that ye
be not judged. 2. For
with what judgement
ye judge, ye shall be
judged and with what
measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to
you again.
3. And why beholdest
thou the mote that is
in thy brother's eye,
but considerest not the
beam that is in thine
own eye? 4. Or how
wilt thou say to thy
brother, Let me pull
the mote out of thine
eye; and behold a beam
is in thine own eye?
MARK iv, 24.
24. And he said unto
them, "Take heed what
ye hear: with what
measure ye mete, it
shall be measured to
you: and unto you that
hear shall more be
given."
LUKE Xii, 28-31.
of these. 28. If then
God so clothe the grass,
which is to-day in the
field, and to-morrow is
cast into the oven; how
much more will he
clothe you, O ye of little
faith? 29. And seek
not ye what ye shall
eat, or what ye shall
drink, neither be ye of
doubtful mind: 30. For
all these things do the
nations of the world
seek after: and your
Father knoweth that
ye have need of these
things.
31. But rather seek
ye the kingdom of God;
and all these things
shall be added unto you.
LUKE Vi, 37-41.
37. Judge not, and ye
shall not be judged :
condemn not, and ye
shall not be condemned:
forgive, and ye shall be
forgiven: 38. Give, and
it shall be given unto
you; good measure,
pressed down, and
shaken together, and
running over, shall men
give into your bosom.
For with the same
measure that ye mete
withal it shall be mea-
sured to you again.
39. And he spake a
parable unto them, Can
the blind lead the blind?
shall they not both fall
into the ditch? 40. The
disciple is not above his
master: but every one
that is perfect shall be
as his master. 41. And
why beholdest thou the
mote that is in thy
xxv.]
237
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW Vii, 5-13.
5. Thou hypocrite, first
cast out the beam out
of thine own eye; and
then shalt thou see
clearly to cast out the
mote out of thy bro-
ther's eye. 6. Give not
that which is holy unto
the dogs, neither cast
ye your pearls before
swine, lest they trample
them under their feet,
and turn again and
rend you.
7. Ask, and it shall
be given you; seek, and
ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened
unto you; 8. For every
one that asketh receiv-
eth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be
opened. 9. Or what
man is there of you,
whom if his son ask
bread, will he give him
a stone? 10. Or if he
ask a fish, will he give
him a serpent? 11. If
ye then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts
unto your children, how
much more shall your
Father which is in hea-
ven give good things to
them that ask him?
Therefore
all
12.
things whatsoever ye
would that men should
do to you, do ye even so
to them: for this is the
law and the prophets.
13. Enter ye in at
the strait gate: for wide
is the gate, and broad
is the way, that leadeth
to destruction, and
many there be which
LUKE VI, 41-42.
brother's eye, but per-
ceivest not the beam
that is in thine own
eye? 42. Either how
canst thou say to thy
brother, Brother, let me
pull out the mote that
is in thine eye, when
thou thyself beholdest
not the beam that is in
thine own eye? Thou
hypocrite, cast out first
the beam out of thine
own eye, and then shalt
thou see clearly to pull
out the mote that is in
thy brother's eye.
LUKE Xi, 9.
9. And I say unto
you, Ask, and it shall
be given you: seek, and
ye shall find; knock,
and it shall be opened
unto you. For every
one that asketh receiv-
eth; and he that seeketh
findeth; and to him
that knocketh it shall
be opened. If a son
shall ask bread of any
of you that is a father,
will he give him a stone?
or if he ask a fish, will
he for a fish give him a
serpent? Or if he ask
an egg, will he offer
him a scorpion? If ye
then, being evil, know
how to give good gifts
unto your children:
how much more shall
your Heavenly Father
give the Holy Spirit to
them that ask him?
LUKE vi, 31.
31. And as ye would
that men should do to
you, do ye also to them
likewise.
LUKE Xiii, 24.
24. Strive to enter in
at the strait gate: for
many, I say unto you,
will seek to enter in,
and shall not be able.
238
MATTHEW Vii, 14-21.
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
go in thereat: 14. Be-
cause strait is the gate,
and narrow is the way,
which leadeth unto life,
and few there be that
find it.
15. Beware of false
prophets, which come
to you in sheep's cloth-
ing, but inwardly they
are ravening wolves. 16.
Ye shall know them by
their fruits. Do men
gather grapes of thorns,
or figs of thistles? 17.
Even so every good tree
bringeth forth
forth good
fruit; but a corrupt
tree bringeth forth evil
fruit. 18. A good tree
cannot bring forth evil
fruit, neither can a cor-
rupt tree bring forth
good fruit. 19. Every
tree that bringeth not
forth good fruit is hewn
down, and cast into the
fire. 20. Wherefore by
their fruits ye shall know
them.
Repeated at iii, 10.
[10. And now also the
axe is laid unto the root
of the trees: therefore
every tree which bring-
eth not forth good fruit
is hewn down and cast
into the fire.
And at xii, 33.
33. Either make the
tree good, and his fruit
good; or else make the
tree corrupt and his fruit
corrupt: for the tree is
known by his fruit.]
21. Not every one that
saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into
the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the
will of my Father which
[CHAPTER
LUKE vi, 43-45.
43. For a good tree
bringeth not forth cor-
rupt fruit; neither doth
a corrupt tree bring
forth good fruit. 44.
For every tree is known
by his own fruit. For
of thorns men do not
gather figs, nor of a
bramble bush gather
they grapes. 45. A good
man out of the good
treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that
which is good; and an
evil man out of the evil
treasure of his heart
bringeth forth that
which is evil; for of the
abundance of the heart
his mouth speaketh.
LUKE iii, 9.
9. And now also the
axe is laid unto the root
of the trees: every tree
therefore which bring-
eth not forth good fruit
is hewn down and cast
into the fire.
LUKE Vi, 46.
46. And why call ye
me Lord, Lord, and do
not the things which I
say?
1
ין
xxv.]
239
SERMON ON THE MOUNT.
MATTHEW vii, 22-29.
is in heaven. 22. Many
will say to me in that
day, Lord, Lord, have
we not prophesied in
thy name? and in thy
name have cast out
devils? and in thy name
done many wonderful
works? 23. And then
will I profess unto them,
I never knew you: de-
part from me, ye that
work iniquity.
24. Therefore whoso-
ever heareth these say-
ings of mine, and doeth
them, I will liken him
unto a wise man, which
built his house upon a
rock: 25. And the rain
descended, and the
floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and
it fell not: for it was
founded upon a rock.
26. And every one that
heareth these sayings of
mine, and doeth them
not, shall be likened
unto a a foolish man,
which built his house
upon the sand: 27. And
the rain descended, and
the floods came, and the
winds blew, and beat
upon that house; and
it fell and great was
the fall of it."
MARK i. 22.
28. And it came to 22. And they were
pass, when Jesus had astonished at his doc-
ended these sayings, the trine: for he taught
people were astonished them as one that had
at his doctrine: 29. For authority and not as the
he taught them as one scribes.
having authority, and
not as the scribes.
Luke vi, 47-49.
47. Whosoever com-
eth to me, and heareth
my sayings and doeth
them, I will show you
to whom he is like: 48.
He is like a man which
built an house, and
digged deep, and laid
the foundation on &
rock: and when the
flood arose, the stream
beat vehemently upon
that house, and could
not shake it: for it was
founded upon a rock.
49. But he that heareth
and doeth not, is like a
man that without a
foundation built an
house upon the earth;
against which the
stream did beat vehe-
mently, and immediate-
ly it fell; and the ruin
of that house was great.
The Reasons, which this harmony furnishes, for doubting
the original separate character of a Sermon on the Mount,
are these.
1. Because it is only in Matthew's Gospel that the Dis-
course so called is found in a perfect state.
2. Because in all the other Gospels no such consecutive
discourse is found, but only a variety of maxims, used by
Christ on different occasions, in part the same as those which
have been gathered by Matthew under one head.
240
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
!
3. Because some of the very maxims which Matthew in-
cludes in the Sermon on the Mount, occur elsewhere again.
even in St Matthew's own Gospel as spoken by Christ at
other times.
4. Because some of the said maxims are found elsewhere,
as spoken not by Jesus, but by John the Baptist.
5. The appellation "Sermon on the Mount" has been
adopted in later times to designate a discourse which does
not stand forward with any particular prominence under an
especial name, even in the Gospel according to St Matthew.
6. Because the beginning and the end of Matthew's Ser-
mon on the Mount are given by St Luke, but with every
circumstance of time, place and manner diametrically op-
posed to what is found in the Gospel according to St Mat-
thew, as will appear from a few words of explanation.
As regards the time, we read in the Gospel according to
St Matthew, that Jesus, having returned from the wilder-
ness of Judæa into Galilee, calls Simon Peter, Andrew,
James, and John, and immediately afterwards heals all that
are brought unto him, and, seeing the multitudes, goes up
into a mountain and delivers the Sermon on the Mount.
The time therefore is evidently fixed by Matthew at the
very beginning of Christ's ministry. But in the parallel
history of St Luke, a much longer space of time is supposed
to have passed between the Temptation in the wilderness
and the Sermon on the Mount; all the numerous events in
the fourth, the fifth, and half of the sixth chapters are inter-
posed between them.
up
The place where the Sermon was delivered, according to
St Matthew, was the mountain, into which Jesus went up:
but in St Luke, vi, 12, he is represented as having first gone
“into a mountain to pray," where he "continued all
night in prayer to God;" after which he is said to have
gone down again from the mountain in the morning before
he addressed the multitude; as we read in the seventeenth
verse, "And he came down with them and stood in the plain.'
These two versions of the story are irreconcilable the one
with the other.
But the Manner in which Christ delivered this discourse
is also differently set forth by the two evangelists. In St
Matthew's Gospel (v, 1) he is made to address the people in
a sitting posture. "And seeing the multitudes, he went up
into a mountain and when he was set, his disciples came
unto him." But in St Luke's account he is said to have
gone down and stood in the plain.
xxvI.]
241
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
་
Thus we have not conformity, either of time, place, or
manner, in the accounts of the two evangelists who have told
us all we know about the Sermon on the Mount; and we are
led by this and the other reasons above stated, to doubt
whether it ever was delivered at all as a separate discourse,
whether its present state is not rather an embodiment of
various maxims and sentences grouped together by tradition,
or by the arrangement of the compiler, who wished to com-
bine methodical with moral teaching, whilst at the same time
delivering historical facts. From this conclusion the only
alternative, certainly more attractive and interesting to the
devout believer, is however less open to demonstration,
namely that such a discourse was actually delivered by Jesus,
but that imperfect accounts of it were circulated, and that
each of the Evangelic writers recorded what he knew.
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
If we would derive from the books of the New Testament
the benefit which they are best qualified to furnish, we shall
dwell less upon their historical accuracy, and more upon
their practical and moral use. The subjects, which have
occupied our attention in the preceding chapters, must have
led the reader to perceive that the four Gospels cannot be
received as accurate and complete histories, but only as
Memoirs or Memorials, combined into one work with the
doctrines and teaching of Jesus which give to that work its
chief value. In our anxiety to hold fast on those beautiful
truths contained in this cherished book, which were taught us
in our childhood, we must acknowledge the propriety of
casting overboard certain parts in order to escape making
shipwreck of the whole. Our true consolation is that the
spirit of the Christian book will still remain with us, when
we no longer reverence its letter. The Apostle speaks of
three great Christian virtues, Faith, Hope, and Charity;
but the greatest of these he says is Charity. With the
sanction then of the great Apostle who spake these words,
we may proceed with our work, without hesitation certain
that the greatest of Christian virtues is as safe from danger
by these speculations as the rock of adamant amid the waves
VOL. II.
17
+
242
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
*
which fall and are broken against its base.
The Christian
religion has always suffered from the rash zeal of its real or
pretended adherents. Its merciful doctrines, found in the
New Testament, have ever been clouded by the deep
shadows cast upon them by the literal interpretation of that
book. By freeing the New Testament from the trammels
which involve it, we may alone hope to give it a more vital
circulation in the hearts rather than in the lips or in the
hands of the multitude. There is no way so certain of
bringing the gifts of providence into contempt, as to magnify
them beyond the place which they justly occupy in the scale
of things. In proportion as this evil is great, is its remedy
difficult. Hence the vulgar apprehension that long estab-
lished error is safer than novel truth; and hence the feeling,
too common, but culpably erroneous, that on the most serious
and momentous of all the subjects which can interest us, it is
possible for ignorance to be bliss, and that it may be folly to
be wise. If it has been proved by the arguments contained
in the last chapter that the Sermon on the Mount may be re-
garded rather as a compilation of Christ's sayings, possessing
no separate original character of its own, though we may
cease henceforth to regard it in this latter light, yet our
respect for the moral lessons which it conveys will suffer no
diminution. In the same way, we find a similar want of
verbal accuracy in what is commonly called "The Lord's
prayer," a short and beautiful effusion, adopted by Christians
in every age and clime, and bearing the character of having
been delivered by Christ to his disciples, at their own re-
quest, as a mode of addressing their Father which is in
Heaven, and of pouring out their petitions to the throne of
grace. It must be remembered, that what we are here con-
cerned with, is simply to bring the evidence which the
"Lord's Prayer" furnishes to bear upon the question, about
what time the Gospels, in which that Prayer is found, were
written. Without raising a doubt or a question whether the
Lord's Prayer was really given by Christ or not-such a
surmise would be only worthy of that senseless scepticism
which doubts every thing-we yet are justified in suggesting
a doubt as to the time when that beautiful and simple prayer
was first reduced to writing, and also as to the historical
accuracy of language in which it has been handed down.
Two copies of the Lord's Prayer have come to us: they are
found in the Gospels of St Matthew, vi, 9-13, and St Luke,
xi, 2-4.
The texts of the Prayer in the words of the respective

XXVI.]
243
THE LORD'S PRAYER.
Gospels, as we read in the authorized version, may be seen
at page 233 of this volume arranged in parallel columns.
The first difference to be noticed between the two Gospels
on the subject of the Lord's Prayer, regards the occasion
when each of the two represents it as having been delivered.
St Matthew introduces it into the Sermon on the Mount, and
therefore refers it to the very beginning of Christ's ministry.
But St Luke says, at xi, 1;
And it came to pass, that, as he was praying in a certain place, when
he ceased, one of his disciples said unto him, Lord, teach us to pray, as
John also taught his disciples.
2. And he said unto them, when ye pray, say, Our Father &c.
This took place at a much more advanced period of
Christ's ministry, than that at which the Sermon on the
Mount was delivered; and the account of St Luke is also
more probable, by its giving an occasion for the delivery of the
Prayer. Christ's disciples, unwilling to be at a disadvantage
with the disciples of John the Baptist, ask their master to
furnish them also with a form of prayer, as John had already
done to his followers, and they receive that short form,
which has been used in the Church thenceforward down to
the present time. But, secondly, the two copies of the Lord's
Prayer do not agree together. Whilst St Matthew records
the prayer that God will give us "to-day" our daily bread,
St Luke has "day by day ;" and whilst according to the former
we pray God to "forgive us debts as we forgive our debtors,"
according to the latter we pray God to "forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive every one who is indebted to us." In our
prayer books, it will be observed neither the version of St
Matthew nor that of St Luke has been followed; we pray
that God will "forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them
that trespass against us."
Again, St Matthew's copy adds a whole sentence, “For
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for ever," which
is omitted by St Luke. These verbal variations are trifling
in the eyes of those who regard our Gospels as containing all
that could be saved from the wreck of time, when tradition
was no longer able to carry on the knowledge of the fading past;
nor indeed ought they to cause any difficulty to those who know
that Christ's disciples and apostles were Jews and did not
speak Greek; but those who refer these writings to direct
verbal inspiration, are bound to explain the principles upon
which they can ascribe to such a source two documents so
important and in such general use among Christians, yet
differing so much the one from the other.
244
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
But it may not be out of place to hear what others have
said, in confirmation of the views here suggested, and also
what emendations have been suggested by which the mean-
ing of our authorized translation may be improved. In the
first place on the Greek word epi-ousion translated 'daily,' a late
eminent bishop of our church, Dr Hinds, suggests that,
whereas the etymology of the word is similar to that of peri-
ousion, which indicates substance over, i.e. superfluous, the pre-
position epi to' or 'for', substituted in the compound word
for peri, would seem to give it the signification of merely
sufficient for us. The learned prelate seems to be less suc-
cessful in taking the words, ô Év Toïs oùgavois “which art in
heaven" to have been originally a side-note which has by
accident been admitted into the text. He is right in saying
that 'the' is not equivalent to is 'who,' but no Greek
scholar ever said that it was: the word to be supplied is ov
being,' which is a participle, and not is 'art' or έσtìv ‘is,'
which is a verb and therefore inadmissible in such a sentence.
The same explanation applies to 'Abba, father'in Galatians,
iv, 6, and to the two passages in St Matthew's Gospel, v, 16,
and 45, where the words "Father which is in heaven" are re-
presented in Greek by the article, just as in the Lord's
prayer which we are now considering. And another ex-
ample occurs in the Acts, xiii, 9, where we have Saulos ho
kai Paulos which is interpreted in our version by "Saul who
is also called Paul."
7
Whilst then no other satisfactory explanation has or can
be given for the existence of two copies of so important a
document it is not only lawful to propose but difficult to re-
sist an inference which must constantly recur to the mind of
the reader, that in the city of Antioch, where Greek was the
language of the people, where also as our own books tell us
the early converts were first called Christians, and where
Lucian alludes in no obscure terms to the compilation of
Christian books—it is difficult, I say, to resist the inference
that those which now form our Canon, as well as numerous
others perhaps, were put together at that very time, and in
consequence of various circumstances which were then con-
currently in action.*
* In Bunsen's work entitled Hippolytus and his Age, vol. iii, p. 265, is a
curious development of the six clauses of the Lord's Prayer, in connection
with the Christian ritual in the early ages of our religion.
XXVII.]
245
THE FOLLOWERS OF JESUS.
CHAPTER XXVII.
JESUS ALWAYS ACCOMPANIED BY A MULTITUDE OF FOLLOWERS.
THE four Gospels are all marked with a dramatic or scenic
character, well fitted for purposes of doctrine, but remark-
ably improbable if we regard them as relating absolute mat-
ters of fact. Thus we find that the Scribes and Pharisees,
who seem to have been Christ's open enemies, are always at
hand, to find fault with him and to discuss his most trivial
actions. An instance of this we have in the walk through
the cornfields on the Sabbath day, as related by the first three
evangelists.
MATTHEW Xii, 1-8.
At that time Jesus
went on the sabbath
day through the corn;
and his disciples were
an hungred, and began
to pluck the ears of
corn, and to eat. 2.
But when the Pharisees
saw it, they said unto
him, "Behold, thy dis-
ciples do that which is
not lawful to do upon
the sabbath day."
MARK ii, 23-28.
23. And it came to
pass, that he went
through the corn fields
on the sabbath day; and
his disciples began, as
they went, to pluck the
ears of corn. 24. And
the Pharisees said unto
him, "Behold, why do
they on the sabbath day
that which is not law-
ful?"
25. And he said unto
them, "Have ye never
read what David did,
when he had need, and
was an hungred, he, and
they that were with
him? 26. How he went
into the house of God in
the days of Abiathar the
high priest, and did eat
the showbread, which is
not lawful to eat but for
the priests, and gave
also to them which were
with him?"
3. But he said unto
them, "Have ye not
read what David did,
when he was an hun-
gred, and they that were
with him; 4. How he
entered into the house
of God, and did eat the
showbread, which was
not lawful for him to
eat, neither for them
which were with him,
but only for the priests?
5. Or have ye not read
in the law, how that on
the sabbath day the 27. And he said unto
priests in the temple them, "The sabbath
profane the sabbath, was made for man, and
and are blameless? 6. not man for the sab-
But I say unto you, bath:
That in this place is
LUKE vi, 1-5.
And it came to pass
on the second sabbath
after the first, that he
went through the corn
fields; and his disciples
plucked the ears of
corn, and did eat, rub-
bing them in their
hands. 2. And certain
of the Pharisees said
unto them, "Why do ye
that which is not lawful
to do on the sabbath
day?"
an
3. And Jesus answer-
ing them said,
"Have
ye not read so much as
this, what David did,
when himself was
hungred, and they which
were with him; 4. How
he went into the house
of God, and did take
and eat the showbread,
and gave also to them
that were with him;
which is not lawful to
eat but for the priests
alone ?"
14
246
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Xii, 7, 8.
one greater than the
temple. 7. But if ye
had known what this
meaneth, I will have
mercy, and not sacrifice,
ye would not have con-
demned the guiltless.
8. For the Son of
man is Lord even of the
sabbath day."
MARK ii, 28.
28. Therefore the Son
of man is Lord also of
the sabbath."
LUKE vi, 5.
5. And he said unto
them, "That the Son of
man is Lord also of the
sabbath."
How the Pharisees could have time to follow Jesus about
in this way on all occasions, it is hard to conjecture. They
surely did not attend on him as friends; nor is it easy to
suppose that from hatred of him they would have taken so
much trouble. The various transactions of Christ's life,
whilst he was on earth, have evidently derived a colouring,
suited to place them in the most striking and picturesque
light before the eyes of the world. Unless we admit this
principle of interpretation, it is impossible to find our way
through the mass of extraordinary facts which we meet with.
If we take the accounts literally, we must believe that the
whole political state of Jerusalem, if not of all Judæa and
Galilee, was arrested to watch the career of our Lord:
Pharisees, Sadducees, Priests, and Scribes, seem to have had
nothing else to do, or to leave every thing else undone. It
may be admitted that we know very little of these Scribes,
Priests, Pharisees, and Sadducees; hardly any thing, indeed,
beyond what we read of them in the New Testament. But
we know, at all events, that they were the leading men of the
Jews, and, though subordinate to the authority of the Roman
procurator, yet engaged in administrating a considerable
portion of the public government, and consequently of too
high rank to follow so obscure a person as Christ appeared
to be.
Neither do we find sufficient testimony in the writers
of that period, to the truth of the supposition that a Messiah
was generally expected at that time by the Jews. We cer-
tainly find allusion to an opinion of this kind being afloat
forty or fifty years after Christ's crucifixion, but not earlier.
This is an important difference. An expectation of a Mes-
siah should have preceded the appearance of Christ, if it is
to be accepted as an explanation of the great attention with
which the rulers of the Jews watched all his motions. But
an expectation of a Messiah, following so long after Christ's
appearance on earth, may have had its origin in Christ's own
XXVII.]
247
EXPECTATION OF A MESSIAH.
history, and so be of no weight in settling such questions as
the present.
Even this however is admitting too much; for all the pas-
sages quoted from the ancient authors in this matter prove
that the expectation was rather of a ruler of the world than
of a Messiah, strictly so called.
We may briefly dismiss the well-known eclogue of Virgil,
written in compliment to his patron Augustus, as having not
the most remote bearing upon the events which passed in
Judæa some twenty years afterwards:
Magnus ab integro sæclorum nascitur ordo!
A great revolution, it is true, was about to come; but it
was the royal family of the Cæsars, not the humble family
in the inn at Bethlehem, of which the poet was speaking.
How vain, then, the endeavours of weak-minded men to en-
list the Roman Virgil among the harbingers of Christ and
of his religion!
A second indication of Christ's coming and of a general
expectation concerning him, is supposed to be contained in
Suetonius's Life of Vespasian, § 4.
In the journey through Greece among the companions of Nero,
he [Vespasian] often either went out when Nero sang, or went
to sleep if he remained, and by doing so gave serious offence.
For this cause he was excluded from his society, and from saluta-
tion in public, and withdrew into a small out of the way city,
where he lay concealed, until suddenly, when he was looking out
for some extreme punishment, he was intrusted with the govern-
ment of a province and the command of an army. An old and
constant opinion had grown up throughout the whole of the
East, that it was fated for the empire of the world at
that time to devolve on some one who should go forth from
Judæa. This prediction referred to a Roman emperor, as was
afterwards evident by the result, but the Jews took it to them-
selves, and rose in rebellion. Having slain their governor, they
moreover routed the lieutenant of Syria, a man of consular
rank, who was bringing supplies, and took the standard of
the eagle.
This was forty years or more after the crucifixion of our
Lord. It is dangerous to say that the old and constant
opinion was prophetical of Christ; for if so, prophecy,
always obscure until fulfilled, in this case also failed in its
fulfilment. The expectation, it seems, was not gratified by
Christ's coming. It was still to be realized, and was at last
248
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
destroyed by the swords of the Romans, who claimed for
themselves and for their emperor the fulfilment of the
expectation which had grown up among the people of the
East.
We find in the History of Tacitus, v, 13, a similar account
of this expectation by which the Jews were encouraged to
revolt against the Romans.
Many prodigies had happened, but that nation sunk in super-
stition, and opposed to religion, do not deem it right to expiate
these either by victims or by prayers. Armies were seen fighting
in heaven, arms rattling, and the temple was illuminated by a
sudden light from the clouds. The gates of the forum were sud-
denly thrown open, and a voice more than human was heard, that
"the Gods were leaving"; upon which there was a great move
as of persons leaving. These things alarmed some; but the
greater number were persuaded that it was written in the ancient
writings of their priests, that the East would at this very time gain
strength, and the empire of the world devolve on some one who
should go forth from Judæa. This ambiguous expression was
prophetic of Vespasian and Titus. But the common people,
after the custom of human cupidity, interpreting such a mag-
nificent decree of the fates in their own favour, could not be
induced oven by misfortune to view things in their true light.
We have heard that the number of the besieged, of every age,
men and women, was six hundred thousand.
All took arms,
who could bear them, and those who dared to do so, were far
more than in proportion to the whole number. Men and women
were alike obstinate, and they showed less fear of death than of
living in exile. Such was the city, such the people, which Titus
Cæsar, seeing that the nature of the ground would not allow of a
speedy decision by assault, prepared to assail with mounds and
military engines.
MATTHEW XXi, 12-17.
12. And Jesus went into the tem-
ple of God, and cast out all them
that sold and bought in the temple,
and overthrew the tables of the
moneychangers, and the seats of
them that sold doves, 13. And
said unto them, "It is written, My
house shall be called the house of
prayer, but ye have made it a den
of thieves."
14. And the blind and the lame
came to him in the temple; and he
healed them.
MARK xi, 15-19.
15. And they come to Jerusalem:
and Jesus went into the temple, and
began to cast out them that sold
and bought in the temple, and over-
threw the tables of the money-
changers, and the seats of them
that sold doves; 16. And would not
suffer that any man should carry
any vessel through the temple. 17.
And he taught, saying unto them,
"Is it not written, My house shall
be called of all nations the house of
prayer? but ye have made it a den
of thieves."
XXVIII.]
249
PURIFICATION OF TEMPLE.
Thus, we see no good ground for believing that there was
a general expectation of a Messiah, in our sense of the word,
prevalent among the Jews at the time when Christ appeared.
The aspiration of all nations in distress, finds vent for itself
in the wish for a regenerator, and the Exoriare aliquis of the
poet no doubt found its way into the hearts of the Jews, as
it has of most other oppressed nations. But this does not
account for the extraordinary concourse of people always
following Christ: this seems to be the dramatic framework
adopted by the writer in which to represent more forcibly
the discourses of our Lord; and although this may have
appeared quite lawful and sanctioned by the hyperbolic and
imaginative character of the Eastern intellect, yet the cooler
judgement of the western world must make allowance for this
feature of the Gospel history and interpret it by the natural
tendency of the early Christians to magnify every occasion
that concerned the founder of their religion.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
PURIFICATION OF THE TEMPLE.
PERHAPS the most remarkable of all Christ's miracles,
because in performing it he put himself in open hostility
to the Jewish authorities, was driving out the money-
changers and others from the temple of Jerusalem.
miracle is thus related by the four evangelists:-
LUKE Xix, 45-48.
45. And he went into the temple,
and began to cast out them that
sold therein, and them that bought;
46. Saying unto them, "It is writ-
ten, My house is the house of prayer:
but ye have made it a den of
thieves."
JOHN ii, 13-17.
The
13. And the Jews' passover was
at hand, and Jesus went up to Jeru-
salem, 14. And found in the tem-
ple those that sold oxen and sheep
and doves, and the changers of
money sitting: 15. And when he
had made a scourge of small cords,
he drove them all out of the tem-
ple, and the sheep, and the oxen;
and poured out the changers' money,
and overthrew the tables; 16. And
said unto them that sold doves,
"Take these things hence; make
not my Father's house an house of
merchandise."
**
250
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XXi, 15-17.
15. And when the chief priests
and scribes saw the wonderful things
that he did, and the children cry-
ing in the temple, and saying, Ho-
sanna to the son of David; they
were sore displeased, 16. And said
unto him, "Hearest thou what
these say?" And Jesus saith unto
them, "Yea; have ye never read,
Out of the mouth of babes and
sucklings thou hast perfected
praise?"
17. And he left them, and went
out of the city into Bethany; and
he lodged there.
MARK xi, 18, 19.
18. And the scribes and chief
priests heard it, and sought how
they might destroy him: for they
feared him, because all the people
was astonished at his doctrine.
19. And when even was come, he
went out of the city.
There are no striking points of difference in these recitals
of the same fact. All of them suggest to the mind a similar
picture of the purification of the Temple with its attendant
circumstances. But, as regards the time, when this remark-
able scene took place, there is an important difference
between the four evangelists. Whilst the first three Gos-
pels place it at the end of Christ's ministry, during his
stay at Jerusalem which ended with his seizure in
the garden of Gethsemane, the fourth evangelist places
it at the very beginning of his public life, during one of
those previous visits to Jerusalem, which are mentioned in
the Gospel of St John alone.
This discrepancy is remarkable, and forbids our thinking
that the apostles Matthew and John, both of whom must
have been witnesses of the deed, could have, one or the
other, made so great an error in relating it.
There is, moreover, a minor discrepancy between St Mark
and the others in the day, on which the deed is related to
have taken place. Matthew and Luke relate it among the
events of the same day, on which Jesus rode on the ass into
Jerusalem. Not so Mark: he says at xi, 11:
And Jesus entered into Jerusalem, and into the temple, and when he
had looked round about upon all things, and now the eventide was come,
he went out unto Bethany with the twelve.
"Looking about upon all things" certainly commends.
itself much more to our judgement, and is more consistent
with the general character of Christ than the “making a
scourge of small cords." But it is on the morrow, at a
second visit to the Temple, according to St Mark, that the
traders are driven out, and the tables of the money-changers
overthrown.
XXVIII.]
PURIFICATION OF TEMPLE.
251
JOHN ii, 17.
LUKE xix, 47, 48.
47. And he taught daily in the
temple. But the chief priests and
the scribes and the chief of the peo-
ple sought to destroy him, 48. And
could not find what they might do :
for all the people were very attentive
to hear him.
17. And his disciples remembered
that it was written, The zeal of
thine house hath eaten me up.
What inference, then, is to be drawn from these conflicting
accounts of the evangelists? Some biblical critics have
concluded, with St John, that the transaction took place
in the early part of Christ's ministry; others at its close.
A third body of commentators, unwilling to allow that either
of the evangelists is in error, have supposed that the same
scene in the Temple was twice enacted, once at the begin-
ning, and again at the termination of Christ's career.
But neither are these explanations satisfactory; for, whilst
neither of them wholly disembarrasses the subject of its
attendant difficulties, there are other considerations, which
suggest another view of the matter, more reconcilable with
Christ's character, and might demand our assent no less as a
religious than as a reasonable deduction. If we are startled at
finding that the witnesses of this deed do not agree about
the time when it happened, does it not surprise us still more
that such a deed should be related as a fact at all? Let us
picture to ourselves a single man entering a throng of mer-
chants in London or any other of our populous cities, and
forcibly ejecting them from their usual haunts ;-that some
hundreds of tradesmen should have been driven out by the
force of a single arm. It is inconceivable that such a scene
could be real. The guards and constables of the city would
have interposed, even if the traders themselves had not been
firm in defending their property from destruction, and the
daring assailant been speedily repulsed. It is painful to
imagine such a scene as passing in reality before our eyes:
we cannot conceive that the Son of God and the Saviour of
men should create a tumult in that Temple which he wished
to purify. The people, instead of being astonished at his
doctrine, would have been terrified at his power, and would
252
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
certainly have been little disposed, not many days afterwards,
to crowd round the judgement hall, and to cry" Crucify him,
crucify him!"
Another principle of interpretation might, then, be adopted;
that the transaction was not real, but allegorical and didactic.
That the people might be astonished at his doctrine, it was
not necessary that the traders should actually be all driven
bodily out of the Temple. There were probably hundreds of
persons, who sold doves and pigeons for offerings, and changed
money in the court of the Temple; and this without being
conscious of doing wrong, for such practices had always been
common and were regarded as indifferent, in those external
parts of the building which were not looked upon as sacred.
It was enough to create astonishment among the people that
Jesus should speak against these things, and endeavour to
open their eyes to the universality of the religious sentiment,
to spiritualize their hearts, and freeing them from the for-
malities of the Jewish ritual, to expand their minds so as to
comprehend the infinity of the divine attributes. For this
purpose, the whip of small cords was as potent a symbol, as
a flying cherubim with a sword of flame. The whip of small
cords was allegorical merely. The Saviour chastised with
his burning words the traders by whom he was surrounded:
he drove them in gesture only, but not in literal reality. He
suited the action to the word, like an energetic orator, and
whilst he pointed out to them the more elevated view which
he took of the Temple his Father's house, he used the whip
of small cords only as figurative of his meaning, and making
as though he would overthrow the tables of the money-
changers, and the seats of them that sold doves. Whether
this scenic mode of teaching took place at the beginning or
end of his ministry, or at both, becomes now a matter of no
consequence: that there should be a doubt as to the time
when it happened, shows that the books, in which such
doubts are not cleared up, could not have been written, whilst
the Holy Ghost was still visibly on earth, to elucidate even
more important points than that.

XXIX.]
253
CENTURION'S SERVANT.
CHAPTER XXIX.
HEALING OF THE CENTURION'S SERVANT.
It has often been remarked that the same fact, related by
several eye-witnesses, is sure to be related in as many
different manners as there are relators. Not only will
inaccuracies of detail be committed by all, and a different
colouring be given by each to almost every distinct trans-
action, but positive contradictions will occur on many
matters of fact, about which, it might be supposed, there
could be no possibility of a mistake. Yet all this has never
invalidated the separate testimony of each witness, because
it is well known that to be wholly free from error is more
than human, but that by confronting and comparing the
testimony of the separate authorities, an approximate con-
clusion may be arrived at, sufficient for all the practical
purposes of life. We must extend this principle to the four
Gospels, if we would wish to obtain a true historical view of
them; but we must not, at the same time, argue that being
inspired writings, they do not exhibit any of those defects
for which alone such a principle of interpretation can be
required. Let us see how this principle may be applied to
the account of Christ's healing the centurion's servant, re-
lated by St Matthew and St Luke.
MATTHEW Viii, 5-13.
5. And when Jesus was entered
into Capernaum, there came unto
him a centurion, beseeching him,
6. And saying, "Lord, my servant
lieth at home sick of the palsy,
grievously tormented." 7. And
Jesus saith unto him, "I will come
and heal him."
8. The centurion answered and
said, “Lord, I am not worthy that
thou shouldest come under my roof:
but speak the word only, and my
servant shall be healed. 9. For I
am a man under authority, having
soldiers under me: and I say to this
man, Go, and he goeth; and to ano-
ther, Come, and he cometh; and to
my servant, Do this, and he doeth
it."
LUKE Vii, 1-10.
Now when he had ended all his
sayings in the audience of the peo-
ple, he entered into Capernaum. 2.
And a certain centurion's servant,
who was dear unto him, was sick,
and ready to die. 3. And when he
heard of Jesus, he sent unto him
the elders of the Jews, beseeching
him that he would come and heal
his servant.
4. And when they came to Jesus,
they besought him instantly, saying,
That he was worthy for whom he
should do this: 5. For he loveth
our nation, and he hath built us a
synagogue. 6. Then Jesus went
with them. And when he was now
not far from the house, the cen-
turion sent friends to him, saying
unto him, "Lord, trouble not thy-
*
254
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Viii, 10-13.
10. When Jesus heard it, he mar
velled, and said to them that fol-
lowed, "Verily I say unto you, I
have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel. 11. And I say unto
you, That many shall come from
the east and west, and shall sit
down with Abraham, and Isaac, and
Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12. But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into outer dark-
ness there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth." 13. And Jesus
said unto the centurion, "Go thy
way; and as thou hast believed, so
be it done unto thee." And his
servant was healed in the selfsame
houï.
LUKE Vii, 6-10.
self: for I am not worthy that thou
shouldest enter under my roof: 7.
Wherefore neither thought I myself
worthy to come unto thee: but say
in a word, and my servant shall be
healed. 8. For I also am a man
set under authority, having under
me soldiers, and I say unto one, Go,
and he goeth; and to another, Come,
and he cometh; and to my servant,
Do this, and he doeth it."
9. When Jesus heard these things,
he marvelled at him, and turned
him about, and said unto the people
that followed him, "I say unto you,
I have not found so great faith, no,
not in Israel."
10. And they that were sent, re-
turning to the house, found the ser-
vant whole that had been sick.
The difference between these two accounts is worthy of
observation :
1. According to St Matthew's Gospel, the centurion
comes himself: but according to St Luke he sends a mes-
sage by the "elders of the Jews." Matthew, as one of the
twelve, was probably present; for the event takes place im-
mediately after the Sermon on the Mount, which he alone
of the four evangelists gives in full. St Luke, not having
been of the twelve, may not have been present. So far,
therefore, the advantage is in favour of St Matthew, ad-
mitting for the moment that these two are writers of the
Gospels which bear their names. But there is a difficulty
about both these accounts if viewed separately: It is not
likely that a Roman centurion would have come himself to
solicit the aid of Jesus for one of his servants, as related by
St Matthew; and still less so that he should have sent "the
elders of the Jews," as we read in the Gospel according to
St Luke. The former account is improbable, not only on
account of the rank of the centurion, but, as would appear
from St Luke's observation that he had built a Jewish
synagogue, on account of his riches also. That he would
send the "elders of the Jews" is still less likely, because
xxx.]
255
BLIND MEN HEALED.
the Jews were nationally repugnant to the Roman govern-
ment, and the house of a Roman military officer is almost
the last place in which one would expect to find their elders.
Of the two accounts that of St Luke is the least probable,
and is more complex in its details than that of St Matthew,
which is on this account also to be preferred.
2. But, according to St Luke, the centurion sends a
second deputation consisting of his own friends, counteract-
ing the message which he had before sent, and "saying unto
him, Lord, trouble not thyself: for I am not worthy that
thou shouldest enter under my roof" &c. This second mes-
sage seems to have grown out of the previous particulars.
Tradition has handed down the centurion's great faith in
Christ's power to work the miracle even at a distance, but
according to the writer of the third Gospel, the centurion
not having gone himself, a second message was necessary in
order to communicate to Jesus the expression of faith, which
according to the first Gospel was made by word of mouth.
This also awards the preference to the Gospel of St Matthew
as more probable from its greater simplicity.
But, whilst we exercise this necessary principle of selec-
tion, and reject one narrative for the other, we necessarily
protest against the obligation to accept both alike; and we
may with reason express a doubt whether two accounts, so
different, could have proceeded from contemporary writers,
one or both of whom perhaps saw with their own eyes the
occurrence which they relate.

CHAPTER XXX.
HEALING OF TWO BLIND MEN NEAR JERICHO-OTHER SUCH
CASES.
AMONG the various miracles by which Jesus manifested his
divine power, some of the most prominent, I believe, are
those which relate to blindness, a calamity to which the in-
habitants of hot, as well as those of extremely cold countries,
would seem to be peculiarly liable. We may infer that
numerous cures of this malady were performed by our Lord,
but that the greater number have been omitted by all the
four evangelists. Thus we find Jesus answering the ques-
256
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
tion put to him by the emissaries of John the Baptist, at the
beginning of his ministry, by an appeal to the works which
he had done. "The blind receive their sight." And on
numerous other occasions allusion is made to this among
other cures which are mentioned in attestation of his divine
commission. But, if fewer cases have been given of these
healings of blind men and others than the repeated allusion
to them would justify, it may be suggested that such heal-
ings were not unknown to the Jews as wrought by other
agency than that of Jesus. For we read in the Gospel ac-
cording to St John (v, 3) concerning the five porches at the
pool of Bethesda, that-
In these lay a great multitude of impotent folk, of blind, halt, withered,
waiting for the moving of the water. 4. For an angel went down at a cer-
tain season into the pool and troubled the water; whosoever then first
after the troubling of the water stepped in, was made whole of whatsoever
disease he had. (See also Luke iv, 18, and vii, 22.)
No other evangelist confirms this account given in our
fourth Gospel, and the authority of MSS has been appealed
to against our receiving this narrative as of equal authority
with others which have come down to us in the books of the
New Testament. Omitting therefore these casual allusions
to the general power of healing the blind, we may observe
that in the four evangelic histories there are seven passages
in which our Lord is said to have opened the eyes of the
blind. Three of these concern the miracle of healing the
blind performed by Jesus at or near the city of Jericho, and
their narrative of this miracle is found in the Gospels of
Matthew, Mark and Luke.
MATTHEW XX, 29-34.
29. And as they de-
parted from Jericho, a
great multitude follow-
ed him. 30. And, be-
hold, two blind men
sitting by the way side,
when they heard that
Jesus passed by, cried
out, saying, "Have
mercy on us, O Lord,
thou son of David."
31. And the multitude
rebuked them, because
they should hold their
peace: but they cried
MARK X, 46-52.
46. And they came to
Jericho: and as he went
out of Jericho with his
disciples and a great
number of people, blind
Bartimæus, the son of
Timæus, sat by the
highway side begging.
47. And when he heard
that it was Jesus of Na-
zareth, he began to cry
out, and say, Jesus,
Thou son of David, have
mercy on me."
48. And many charged
him that he should hold
his peace: but he cried
the more a great deal,
LUKE Xviii, 35-43.
35. And it came to
pass, that as he was
come nigh unto Jericho,
a certain blind man sat
by the way side begging:
36. And hearing the
multitude pass by, he
asked what it meant.
37. And they told him,
that Jesus of Nazareth
passeth by. 38. And he
cried, saying, Jesus,
thou son of David, have
mercy on me.
39. And they which
went before rebuked
him, that he should hold
his peace: but he cried
xxx.]
257
BLIND BARTIMÆUS.
MATTHEW XX, 31-34.
the more, saying,
"Have mercy on us, O
Lord, thou son of Da-
vid."
32. And Jesus stood
still, and called them,
and said, “What will
ye that I shall do unto
you?" 33. They say unto
him, "Lord, that our
eyes may be opened."
34. So Jesus had com-
passion on them, and
touched their eyes: and
immediately their eyes
received sight, and they
followed him.
MARK X, 48-52.
"Thou son of David,
have mercy on me."
LUKE Xviii, 39-43.
so much the more,
"Thou son of David,
have mercy on me."
40. And Jesus stood,
49. And Jesus stood
still, and commanded and commanded him to
him to be called. And be brought unto him:
they call the blind man, and when he was come
saying unto him, "Be near, he asked him, 41.
of good comfort, rise; Saying, "What wilt
he calleth thee." 50. thou that I shall do unto
And he, casting away thee?" And he said,
his garment, rose, and "Lord, that I may re-
came to Jesus. 51. And ceive my sight." 42.
Jesus answered and said And Jesus said unto
unto him, "What wilt him, "Receive thy sight:
thou that I should do thy faith hath saved
unto thee?" The blind thee." 43. And imme-
man said unto him, diately he received his
'Lord, that I might re- sight, and followed him,
ceive my sight.' 52. glorifying God: and all
And Jesus said unto the people, when they
him, "Go thy way; thy saw it, gave praise unto
faith hath made thee God.
whole." And imme-
diately he received his
sight, and followed Je-
sus in the way.
""
There can be no doubt, from the great similarity in the
attendant circumstances, that the incident is the same in all
three Gospels, or, in other words, that the three writers
speak of the same miracle: and yet they have related it in
a manner so remarkably different, the one from the other,
that it is impossible to ascertain the exact nature of the
occurrence.
1. St Matthew and St Mark lay the scene of the miracle
at Christ's departure out of Jericho: Luke places it at
Christ's entry into that city.
2. Matthew says that there were two blind men healed :
Mark and Luke confine the incident to one, whom Mark
alone calls Bar-timæus, and explains this name as meaning
"Son of Timæus."
With these exceptions all the other particulars are exactly
similar, and we cannot doubt that they belong to the same
miracle. For if Christ once cured a blind Bartimæus, as he
was departing from Jericho according to Mark, he must a
second time have cured two blind men, as he was leaving
that town according to Matthew, and must a third time have
healed a single blind man according to Luke, when he was
entering into Jericho. These arguments prove that the three
VOL. II.
18
258
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
writers of the Gospels copied tradition, or earlier accounts,
and were not themselves eye-witnesses of the fact.
It remains to take notice of the other cases of healing the
blind, and the first of these is related by St Matthew, as
having occurred when Jesus left the house of the ruler,
whose daughter he had just raised, as they supposed, from
the dead, but Jesus had said, "The maid is not dead, but
sleepeth.'
""
And when Jesus departed thence, two blind men followed him, crying
and saying, “Thou son of David, have mercy on us." 28. And when he
was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith
unto them, "Believe ye that I am able to do this?" They said unto him,
"Yea, Lord." 29. Then touched he their eyes, saying, "According to
your faith be it unto you." (ix, 27-29.)
It was not long after this that two more similar miracles
were performed by Jesus, sufficiently different from those
which have just been detailed, but yet similar in certain
particulars which indicate a peculiarity of the writer, if not
a peculiar mode used commonly by Jesus in performing his
miraculous cures. The first of these cures was performed
on a man who was possessed by a devil, besides being blind
and dumb, and is recorded by St Matthew. The other case
was that of a man who was blind only, and is recorded by
St Mark.
Then was brought unto him one possessed with a devil, blind, and
dumb: and he healed him insomuch that the blind and dumb both spake
and saw.
23. And all the people were amazed, and said, "Is not this the
son of David?" (Matt. xii, 22, 23.)
And he cometh to Bethsaida, and they bring a blind man unto him. 23.
And he took the blind man by the hand, and led him out of the town; and
when he had spit on his eyes, and put his hands upon him, he asked him
if he saw aught. 24. And he looked up and said, "I see men, as trees,
walking. 25. After that he put his hands again upon his eyes and made
him look up, and he was restored and saw every man clearly. 26. And he
sent him away to his house, saying, "Neither go into the town, nor tell it
to any in the town." (Mark viii, 23-26.)
""
Not long before this, Jesus had healed a man who had an
impediment in his speech, as we read the narrative in St
Mark's Gospel (vii, 33): but the only point to be noticed
therein is that "he spit and touched his tongue," as he
afterwards spit on the eyes of the blind man at Bethsaida.
This process indeed seems to have been customary with our
Lord; for in the only instance of his healing the blind,
recorded by St John, we find he adopted the same mode of
action, when he had just escaped out of the Temple to avoid
the stones which the Jews had taken up to cast at him. The
man whom he then healed had been blind from his birth,
XxxI.]
259
BLIND MAN OF BETHSAIDA.
and the miraculous cure wrought on him by Jesus led to a
long discussion between the Pharisees and the man, which
ended in his being excommunicated by those teachers, into
whose presence he had been brought. The details of this
incident, occupying the whole of the ninth chapter of St
John's Gospel, clearly distinguish this from all the other
cases before enumerated; with which indeed it partially
agrees in one point only, that in this instance Jesus "spat
on the ground and made clay of the spittle and anointed the
eyes of the blind man with the clay.
Before concluding this subject, attention may be drawn
to the singular fact that in the three narratives of the
miracle performed at Bethsaida, the man whose eyes were
restored to sight invokes the aid of Jesus as Thou son of
David!" In no other instance do these words of appeal to
our Lord appear, but in one of the instances here given it is
the multitude who exclaim, when they were amazed at the
wonderful manifestation of divine power, "Is not this the
son of David?" In the Gospel according to St John this
formula does not occur-probably because the object of that
work was to inculcate the doctrines of Christianity and the
sayings of Jesus, with less regard to historical minutiæ;
whereas his descent from the ancient line of Israelitish kings
was thought to be an important subject in the other more
historical Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke.
CHAPTER XXXI.
THE MIRACLE OF THE LOAVES AND FISHES.
AMONG the comparatively few incidents of Christ's life,
related by all the four evangelists, without much variation
or discrepancy, is the miraculous feeding of the multitude
by the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.
The circumstance that preceded and led to this event,
according to Matthew and Mark, was the death of John the
Baptist, which caused Jesus to retire by ship into a desert
place for greater security. In Luke's Gospel we read that
Herod, having beheaded John, wished to see Jesus, who in
consequence retires for safety with his disciples into a desert
place, but seemingly by land. The fourth evangelist does
260
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
not mention the death of the Baptist in connection with the
feeding of the multitude. The narratives of the four are
MATTHEW Xiv, 14-22.
14. And Jesus went forth, and
saw a great multitude, and was
moved with compassion toward
them, and he healed their sick.
MARK vi, 34-45.
34. And Jesus, when he came out,
saw much people, and was moved
with compassion toward them, be-
cause they were as sheep not having
a shepherd: and he began to teach
them many things.
15. And when it was evening, his
disciples came to him, saying,
"This is a desert place, and the
time is now past; send the multi-
tude away, that they may go into
the villages, and buy themselves
victuals."
16. But Jesus said unto them,
They need not depart; give ye
them to eat." 17. And they say
unto him, "We have here but five
loaves, and two fishes." 18. He
said, "Bring them hither to me."
19. And he commanded the mul-
titude to sit down on the grass, and
took the five loaves, and the two
fishes, and looking up to heaven, he
blessed, and brake, and gave the
loaves to his disciples, and the dis-
ciples to the multitude.
20. And they did all eat, and
were filled: and they took up of the
fragments that remained twelve
baskets full. 21. And they that
had eaten were about five thousand
men, beside women and children.
35. And when the day was now
far spent, his disciples came unto
him, and said, "This is a desert
place, and now the time is far pass-
ed: 36. Send them away, that they
may go into the country round
about, and into the villages, and buy
themselves bread: for they have
nothing to eat."
37. He answered and said unto
them, "Give ye them to eat." And
they say unto him, "Shall we go
and buy two hundred pennyworth
of bread, and give them to eat?"
38. He saith unto them, "How
many loaves have ye? go and see.”
And when they knew, they say,
Five, and two fishes."
39. And he commanded them to
make all sit down by companies
upon the green grass. 40. And they
sat down in ranks, by hundreds,
and by fifties.
41. And when he had taken the
five loaves and the two fishes, he
looked up to heaven, and blessed,
and brake the loaves, and gave them
to his disciples to set before them;
and the two fishes divided he among
them all.
42. And they did all eat, and were
filled. 43. And they took up twelve
baskets full of the fragments, and
of the fishes. 44. And they that
did eat of the loaves were about five
thousand men.
XXXI.]
261
FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND.
ず
​remarkably in harmony with one another and without a
doubt refer to the same incident.
LUKE ix, 10-17.
10. And the apostles, when they
were returned, told him all that
they had done. And he took them,
and went aside privately into a de-
sert place belonging to the city
called Bethsaida. 11. And the peo-
ple, when they knew it, followed
him: and he received them, and
spake unto them of the kingdom of
God, and healed them that had
need of healing.
12. And when the day began to
wear away, then came the twelve,
and said unto him, "Send the mul-
titude away, that they may go into
the town and country round about,
and lodge, and get victuals: for we
are here in a desert place."
13. But he said unto them, "Give
ye them to eat." And they said,
"We have no more but five loaves
and two fishes; except we should
go and buy meat for all this peo-
ple."
14. For they were about five
thousand men. And he said to his
disciples, "Make them sit down by
fifties in a company." 15. And
they did so, and made them all sit
down.
16. Then he took the five loaves
and the two fishes, and looking up
to heaven, he blessed them, and
brake, and gave to the disciples to
set before the multitude.
17. And they did eat, and were
all filled and there was taken up
of fragments that remained to them
twelve baskets.
JOHN vi, 5-17.
5. When Jesus then lifted up his
eyes, and saw a great company
come unto him, he saith unto Philip,
"Whence shall we buy bread, that
these may eat?" 6. And this he
said to prove him: for he himself
knew what he would do. 7. Philip
answered him, "Two hundred
pennyworth of bread is not suffi-
cient for them, that every one of
them may take a little.”
8. One of his disciples, Andrew,
Simon Peter's brother, saith unto
him,
9. "There is a lad here, which
hath five barley loaves, and two
small fishes: but what are they
among so many ?"
10. And Jesus said, "Make the
men sit down." Now there was
much grass in the place. So the
men sat down, in number about five
thousand.
11. And Jesus took the loaves;
and when he had given thanks, he
distributed to the disciples, and the
disciples to them that were set
down; and likewise of the fishes as
much as they would.
12. When they were filled, he
said unto his disciples, "Gather up
the fragments that remain that
nothing be lost."
13. Therefore they gathered them
together, and filled twelve baskets
with the fragments of the five bar-
ley loaves, which remained over
and above unto them that had
eaten.
262
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XIV, 22.
22. And straightway Jesus con-
strained his disciples to get into a
ship, and to go before him unto the
other side, while he sent the multi-
tudes away.
MARK vi, 45.
45. And straightway he constrain-
ed his disciples to get into the ship,
and to go to the other side unto
Bethsaida, while he sent away the
people.
As soon as the multitude are fed, the disciples of Jesus
take ship, leaving behind them their master, who at night
follows them walking on the sea (Matt. xiv, 25: Mark vi,
48: John vi, 19). So far there is agreement between the
evangelists, though there may be uncertainty as to the rela-
tive position of the place where the multitude were fed, and
the place to which they crossed in the boat. The account
of their landing at the latter is given thus:
MATTHEW Xiv, 34.
And when they were
gone over, they came
into the land of Genne-
saret.
MARK Vi, 53.
And when they had
passed over, they came
into the land of Genne-
saret, and drew to the
shore.
JOHN vi, 17.
And went over the
sea toward Capernaum.
As Capernaum was a town in the land of Gennesaret, the
three narratives of Matthew, Mark, and John, are so far in
harmony with one another. The disciples land in Genne-
saret; but we see in the last verses of the foregoing har-
mony, Matt. xiv, 22, and Mark vi, 45, that Christ's instruc-
tions were to go before him "unto the other side;" from
which we might infer that the feeding of the multitude took
place on the eastern side of the lake.
St John however tells us, at vi, 23, that
There came other boats from Tiberias nigh unto the place where they
did eat bread, after that the Lord had given thanks.
From which it would appear that the feeding took place
on the south-western side, and that Christ with his disciples
afterwards sailed in the boat along the shore northward
towards Capernaum, also on the western bank of the lake.
But this interpretation is not more probable than the other,
for the eastern side of the lake was also the territory of
XXXI.]
263
FEEDING THE FOUR THOUSAND.
JOHN vi, 14-17.
14. Then those men, when they
had seen the miracle that Jesus did,
said, "This is of a truth that pro-
phet that should come into the
world."
15. When Jesus therefore per-
ceived that they would come and
take him by force, to make him a
king, he departed again into a
mountain himself alone. 16. And
when even was now come, his dis-
ciples went down into the sea. 17.
And entered into a ship &c.
Herod, and it was the intention of Jesus to retire out of his
power.
The remarkable incident, thus carefully and accurately
described, would, we might suppose, be of a nature to end
all the doubts which Christ's disciples could entertain re-
specting his divine mission and his miraculous power.
"Five thousand men," say two of the evangelists, St Mark
and St John, "besides women and children," adds St
Matthew, obtain a plentiful meal from five barley loaves
and two small fishes: and yet, within a very short space of
time, the disciples, who had distributed the food to the mul-
titude, seem to have forgotten the circumstance altogether.
The fourteenth chapter of St Matthew concludes with the
arrival of Christ and his disciples at Capernaum, whence he
makes a journey into the parts near Tyre and Sidon, return-
ing to the neighbourhood of the sea of Galilee. Then, at
verse 32 of the following chapter, is an account of another
miraculous feeding of a multitude, corresponding in almost
every particular with the former, and not only with no
allusion made to the former feeding, but preceded by a
doubt on the part of the disciples as to how so large a
number should be fed, showing that they either did not
know of any other previous miracle of the kind, or (which
appears incredible) that they had forgotten it. This latter
miracle is related by Matthew and Mark alone: Luke and
John do not notice it.
MATTHEW XV, 32-39.
32. Then Jesus called his disci-
ples unto him, and said, “I have
compassion on the multitude, be-
cause they continue with me now
three days, and have nothing to eat:
and I will not send them away
fasting, lest they faint in the way.'
MARK viii, 1-10.
In those days the multitude being
very great, and having nothing to
eat, Jesus called his disciples unto
him, and saith unto them, 2. "I have
compassion on the multitude, be-
cause they have now been with me
three days, and have nothing to
264
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XV, 33-39.
33. And his disciples say unto
him, "Whence should we have so
much bread in the wilderness, as to
fill so great a multitude?" 34. And
Jesus saith unto them, "How many
loaves have ye?" And they said,
"Seven, and a few little fishes."
35. And he commanded the mul-
titude to sit down on the ground.
36. And he took the seven loaves
and the fishes, and gave thanks,
and brake them, and gave to his
disciples, and the disciples to the
multitude.
37. And they did all eat, and
were filled: and they took up of the
broken meat that was left seven
baskets full. 38. And they that did
eat were four thousand men, beside
women and children. 39. And he
sent away the multitude, and took
ship, and came into the coasts of
Magdala.
MARK Viii, 3-10.
eat: 3. And if I send them away
fasting to their own houses, they
will faint by the way:" for divers of
them came from far.
4. And his disciples answered
him, "From whence can a man
satisfy these men with bread here
in the wilderness?" 5. And he
asked them, "How many loaves
have ye?" And they said, "Seven."
6. And he commanded the people
to sit down on the ground: and he
took the seven loaves, and gave
thanks, and brake, and gave to his
disciples to set before them; and
they did set them before the people.
7. And they had a few small fishes:
and he blessed and commanded to
set them also before them.
8. So they did eat, and were filled:
and they took up of the broken meat
that was left seven baskets.
9. And they that had eaten were
about four thousand: and he sent
them away.
10. And straightway he entered
into a ship with his disciples, and
came into the parts of Dalma-
nutha.
The points of agreement between the accounts of this and
the former miracle are more than the points of difference:
hence the following observations seem just and reasonable.
1. In the one case, five thousand, in the other four thou-
sand, is the number fed: but this is a slight difference, such
as often creeps silently and accidentally into the most credible
histories.
2. St Matthew, in the latter, as well as in the former
miracle, adds “besides women and children," omitted by St
Mark.
3. In both instances, the disciples make the men sit
down, and distribute the food which they receive from the
hands of Jesus.
4. In both instances, the scene of the miracle is the wilder-
ness, near the sea of Galilee.
5. In both instances, Jesus embarks on board a ship,
immediately after the multitude are fed, and passes across
the lake.
These circumstances are so remarkably similar that it is
extremely difficult to believe in the separate occurrence of
two such miracles. History, it has been said by some, never
XXXI.]
265
FEEDING THE MULTITUDE.
exactly repeats itself; but here we have two events so pre-
cisely alike that it is difficult to distinguish the one from the
other. And, to add to our astonishment, it appears from St
Matthew and St Mark, that both these remarkable miracles
were lost upon the disciples, who shortly after the occurrence
of the second, expect a rebuke from their master because
they had taken no bread with them in the ship:
MATTHEW XVi, 5-12.
5. And when his disciples were
come to the other side, they had
forgotten to take bread. 6. Then
Jesus said unto them, "Take heed
and beware of the leaven of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees." 7.
And they reasoned among them-
selves, saying, "It is because we
have taken no bread."
8. Which when Jesus perceived,
he said unto them, "O ye of little
faith, why reason ye among your-
selves, because ye have brought no
bread? 9. Do ye not yet under-
stand, neither remember the five
loaves of the five thousand, and how
many baskets ye took up? 10.
Neither the seven loaves of the four
thousand, and how many baskets
ye took up?
11. "How is it that ye do not un-
derstand that I spake it not to you
concerning bread, that ye should
beware of the leaven of the Phari-
sees and of the Sadducees?" 12.
Then understood they how that he
bade them not beware of the leaven
of bread, but of the doctrine of the
Pharisees and of the Sadducees.
MARK viii, 14-22.
14. Now the disciples had forgot-
ten to take bread, neither had they
in the ship with them more than
one loaf. 15. And he charged them,
saying, “Take heed, beware of the
leaven of the Pharisees, and of the
leaven of Herod." 16. And they
reasoned among themselves, saying,
"It is because we have no bread."
17. And when Jesus knew it, he
saith unto them, "Why reason ye,
because ye have no bread? perceive
ye not yet, neither understand?
have ye your heart yet hardened?
18. Having eyes see ye not? and do
ye not remember? 19. When I
brake the five loaves among five
thousand, how many baskets full of
fragments took ye up?" They say
unto him, "Twelve.' 20. "And
when the seven among four thou-
sand, how many baskets full of
fragments took ye up?" And they
said "Seven."
21. And he said unto them, "How
is it that ye do not understand?"
22. And he cometh to Bethsaida;
and they bring a blind man unto
him, &c.
How then is the whole narrative to be viewed? The four
accounts of the miraculous multiplication of food fail in
almost every condition which would entitle them to be
regarded as written by contemporary authors; but, viewing
them as later records, we may refer to the fading character
of tradition those particulars, which otherwise embarrass us
and defy every attempt to explain them.
If reason may be admitted in elucidating so extraordinary
an occurrence, we might suggest that Christ only once sup-
266
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
plied food miraculously and with beneficent purpose to a
smaller number of people, who on that occasion only, and
not always, were following him, and that the traditional
memory of this event gave birth in time to a written record
of two separate miracles, wrought in one case on five thou-
sand, in the other on four thousand men, "besides women
and children." In this way only does it seem possible to
escape from the double difficulties which the literal interpre-
tation of the text presents. That four or five thousand per-
sons if not more should twice have followed Christ into a
desert place, where they stopped three days without any
thing to eat, and were then fed miraculously with bread and
fish, can hardly be accepted literally, for two reasons:
1. Such an event would have led to a thorough revolution
in any country ancient or modern, and is utterly out of har-
mony with all the other miracles of Christ, which were
mostly of a private and unostentatious nature.
2. Because immediately after both the miraculous feed-
ings, the very disciples themselves seem not to be aware of
an inference which would now occur to the most simple
child, that it was unnecessary for them any more to carry
with them articles of food, which might be readily supplied
by the miraculous powers of their master.
CHAPTER XXXII.
THE DEMONIAC AMONG THE TOMBS AND THE SWINE.
IN three of the Gospels we have an account of a multitude
of devils or evil spirits cast out by Jesus and suffered to
enter into certain swine, which, in consequence of being thus
demoniacally possessed, are driven over a precipice and
perish in the sea.
MATTHEW Viii, 28-34.
28. And when he was
MARK V, 1-20.
LUKE viii, 26-40.
And they came over 26. And they arrived
come to the other side unto the other side of at the country of the
into the country of the the sea, into the country Gadarenes, which is
Gergesenes, there met of the Gadarenes. 2. over against Galilee. 27.
him two possessed with And when he was come And when he went forth
devils, coming out of out of the ships, imme- to land, there met him
the tombs, exceeding diately there met him out of the city a certain
fierce, so that no man out of the tombs a man man, which had devils
might pass by that way. with an unclean spirit, long time, and ware
XXXII.]
267
THE DEMONIACS AND THE SWINE.
MATTHEW viii, 29-32.
29. And behold, they
cried out, saying, "What
have we to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of God?
art thou come hither to
torment us before the
time?"
30. And there was a
good way off from them
an herd of many swine
feeding. 31. So the de-
vils besought him, say-
ing, "If thou cast us
out, suffer us to go away
into the herd of swine."
32. And he said unto
them, "Go." And when
they were come out,
they went into the herd
of swine: and, behold,
the whole herd of swine
MARK V, 3-13.
3. Who had his dwell-
ing among the tombs;
and no man could bind
him, no, not with chains:
4. Because that he had
been often bound with
fetters and chains, and
the chains had been
plucked asunder by
him, and the fetters
broken in pieces: neither
could any man tame
him.
5. And always, night
and day, he was in the
mountains, and in the
tombs, crying, and cut-
ting himself with stones.
6. But when he saw
Jesus afar off, he ran
and worshipped him, 7.
And cried with a loud
voice, and said, "What
have I to do with thee,
Jesus, thou Son of the
most high God? I ad-
jure thee by God, that
thou torment me not."
8. For he said unto
him, "Come out of the
man, thou unclean spi-
rit." 9. And he asked
him, "What is thy
name?" And he an-
swered, saying, 'My
name is Legion: for we
are many."
10. And he besought
him much that he would
not send them away out
of the country.
11. Now there was
there nigh unto the
mountains a great herd
of swine feeding. 12.
And all the devils be-
sought him, saying,
Send us into the swine,
that we may enter into
them." 13. And forth-
with Jesus gave them
leave. And the unclean
spirits went out, and
entered into the swine:
and the herd ran vio-
LUKE viii, 27-33.
no clothes, neither a-
bode in any house, but
in the tombs.
28. When he saw Je-
sus, he cried out and
fell down before him,
and with a loud voice
said, "What have I to
do with thee, Jesus, thou
Son of God most high?
I beseech thee, torment
me not.” 29. (For he
had commanded the
unclean spirit to come
out of the man.
oftentimes it had caught
him: and he was kept
bound with chains and
in fetters: and he brake
the bands, and was
driven of the devil into
the wilderness.)
For
30. And Jesus asked
him, saying, "What is
thy name?" And he
said, "Legion:" because
many devils were
tered into him.
en-
31. And they besought
him that he would not
command them to go
out into the deep.
32. And there was there
an herd of many swine
feeding on the moun-
tain: and they besought
him that he would suffer
them to enter into them.
And he suffered them.
33. Then went the de-
vils out of the man, and
entered into the swine:
and the herd ran vio-
lently down a steep
place into the lake, and
were choked.
268
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
*
MATTHEW Viii, 32-34.
ran violently down a
steep place into the sea,
and perished in the
waters.
33. And they that
kept them fled, and
went their ways into the
city, and told every
thing, and what was be-
fallen to the possessed
of the devils. 34. And,
behold, the whole city
came out to meet Jesus:
and when they saw him,
they besought him that
he would depart out of
their coasts.
MATTHEW ix, 1.
And he entered into a
ship, and passed over,
and came into his own
city.
MARK V,
13-20.
lently down a steep
place into the sea (they
were about two thou-
sand); and were choked
in the sea.
14. And they that fed
the swine fled, and told
it in the city, and in the
country. And they went
out to see what it was
that was done. 15. And
they come to Jesus, and
see him that was pos-
sessed with the devil,
and had the legion, sit-
ting, and clothed, and
in his right mind: and
they were afraid. 16.
And they that saw it
told them how it befell
to him that was pos-
sessed with the devil,
and also concerning the
swine.
17. And they began
to pray him to depart
out of their coasts.
18. And when he was
come into the ship, he
that had been possessed
with the devil prayed
him that he might be
with him. 19. Howbeit
Jesus suffered him not,
but saith unto him,
"Go home to thy friends,
and tell them how great
things the Lord hath
done for thee, and hath
had compassion on
thee." 20. And he de-
parted, and began to
publish in Decapolis
how great things Jesus
had done for him: and
all men did marvel.
LUKE Viii, 34-40.
34. When they that
fed them saw what was
done, they fled, and
went and told it in the
city and in the country.
35. Then they went
out to see what was
done; and came to Je-
sus, and found the man,
out of whom the devils
were departed, sitting at
the feet of Jesus, clothed,
and in his right mind:
and they were afraid.
36. They also which saw
it told them by what
means he that was pos-
sessed of the devils was
healed. 37. Then the
whole multitude of the
country of the Gada-
renes round about be-
sought him to depart
from them; for they
were taken with great
fear: and he went up
into the ship, and re-
turned back again. 38.
Now the man out of
whom the devils were
departed besought him
that he might be with
him: but Jesus sent
him away, saying, 39.
"Return to thine own
house, and show how
great things God hath
done unto thee."
And he went his way,
and published through-
out the whole city how
great things Jesus had
done unto him. 40. And
it came to pass, that,
when Jesus was return-
ed, the people gladly re-
ceived him: for they
all waiting for
were
him.
The purpose for which this remarkable occurrence is here
adduced, is neither to uphold nor to deny its real historical
character; but to point out from two of its principal features,
xxxII.]
269
LEGION.
}
that it has not been handed down to us by three eye-wit-
nesses: for in one principal feature of the story, the three
writers differ from one another, and in another important
particular there is an anachronism in the words of two of
the writers.
In the first place, St Matthew speaks of two demoniacs,
St Mark and St Luke of only one; and it is now impossible,
for want of further testimony, to determine which is in the
right.
The other inconsistency or anachronism has reference to
the answer which the unclean spirit makes to the question,
"What is thy name?" And he answered, saying, "My
name is Legion; for we are many." The four Gospels are
written in Greek, and the word legion is Latin: but in
Galilee and Peræa, the people spoke neither Latin nor
Greek, but Hebrew or a dialect of it. The word legion
would be perfectly unintelligible to the disciples of Christ
and to almost every body in the country, as much so as the
English word "regiment" or "brigade" would be to the
people of a country where the English arms had never been
carried. How then can we account for the Latin word
legion thus occurring in a vernacular dialogue between men
of Galilee and Peræa? It is true that this word occurs in
a Greek form in our Gospels; and that the inhabitants of
those countries did not speak Greek any more than they
spoke Latin. But the Gospels, however they may have
been derived from Hebrew sources, or from some kindred
Asiatic dialect, have nevertheless been put together in their
present form by Grecian editors, who lived at a time when
the Hebrew nationality had been destroyed, and every part
of Judæa having been overrun by the Roman legions, the
inhabitants of every part of it would understand the name
and nature of the Roman legion. The word may then have
been used, as we now use the word host, to describe a large
indefinite number, and the compilers so used it, not reflect-
ing that in the time of Christ such usage was unknown,
because the country was not then reduced into the perfect
tranquillity of a subject province.
270
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
CHAPTER XXXIII.
INSTRUCTIONS AND CONDUCT OF JESUS TOWARDS THE SAMARITANS.
THE traditional origin of a book is easily detected in the
various forms, often out of harmony with one another, which
maxims assume after the death of him who first propounded
them. The truth of this assertion will be at once evident to
the classical student, who cannot fail to remember the dis-
sonance between the original tenets of Epicurus and those
which gradually obtained among the later Epicureans. The
same transformation seems to have befallen many particulars
of Christ's teaching. Our attention is now invited to the
intercourse of himself and his disciples with the Samaritans,
presenting two opposite views, which have given much
trouble to commentators, and led to a vacillating system of
interpretation, from which little advantage is to be gained.
The inconsistency is this, that on one occasion Christ seems
to forbid all intercourse with Samaritans, at other times he
not only allows it but sanctions it by his own conduct.
Thus, at chapter x, verse 5, of St Matthew's Gospel,
where Jesus is giving instructions to his disciples, whom he
is sending out to preach the Gospel, he says, "Into any city
of the Samaritans enter ye not," and no reason is given or
can be imagined why the Gospel should be forbidden to a
whole nation of men, living between the chief city of the
Jewish nationality and Galilee in which our Lord and his
disciples principally resided. If we had received more
detailed accounts of Christ's ministry, this peculiarity, which
appears to be a deviation from the universality of his teach-
ing, would no doubt have been satisfactorily cleared up; but
with our present information on this subject, the prohibition to
evangelize the Samaritans is somewhat at variance with the
acts and sayings of our Lord which are elsewhere so remark-
ably in their favour.
The parable of the good Samaritan in St Luke's Gospel
(x, 30-37), is especially intended to counteract the hostility
of the Jews, showing that Jesus not only had no animosity
towards the Samaritans but rather sought to free the minds
of his hearers from the prejudice which all the Jews enter-
tained towards them. When priest and Levite had both
XXXIII.]
271
THE SAMARITANS.
failed to render assistance to their wounded countryman,
who had fallen among thieves, a certain Samaritan, who
chanced to be travelling that way, performed those duties of
benevolence, which not only drew forth the praises of our
Lord, but presented a model for the imitation of his followers
whom he told to "go and do likewise."
That the inhabitants of Judæa and Jerusalem entertained
a national hatred against the Samaritans is manifest from
the inference which may be drawn from his words and acts,
as we find them related in St John's Gospel (viii, 4-8),
Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan and hast a
devil?"
66
But there are three other narratives concerning the
Samaritans, which require to be noticed. We read in the
Gospel according to St John (iv, 3-4) that Jesus "left
Judæa and departed again into Galilee, and he must needs
go through Samaria." Now, as this is related by the writer
so early in the life of Jesus, and, if we believe those who
defend the chronological character of this Gospel, must have
been before the captivity of John the Baptist, and also
before the number twelve of the apostles was completed,
the details of our Lord's interview with the woman at the
well of Sychar, followed by the request of the Samaritans
that he would tarry with them, and the granting of their
request, seem hardly to sanction the exclusion of them after-
wards from the benefits of the Gospel dispensation.
[Jesus] abode there two days. 41. And many more believed because of
his own word, 42. And said unto the woman, "Now we believe, not be-
cause of thy saying, for we have heard him ourselves, and know that this
is indeed the Christ the Saviour of the world." (iv, 40-42.)
According to this narrative Jesus was on his way to
Galilee; but he passed through Samaria on two other occa-
sions, according to accounts, both of which are found in the
Gospel according to St Luke, unless indeed a similar inac-
curacy as to the time has happened in this case also. In the
ninth chapter of St Luke, verse 51, we read,
And it came to pass, when the time was come that he should be
received up, he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem, 52. And sent
messengers before his face; and they went, and entered into a village of
the Samaritans to make ready for him. 53. And they did not receive
him, because his face was as though he would go to Jerusalem.
It was in consequence of this conduct on the part of the
Samaritans, that the disciples James and John asked that
fire should be sent down upon the inhospitable nation; but
Jesus refused their inhuman request, and "they went to
272
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
another village." This event however, although recorded
so early in the Gospel history, happened on his last journey
to Jerusalem when the end of his life was approaching; and
yet in the seventeenth chapter of the same Gospel, a similar
journey to Jerusalem is recorded, in connection with the ten
lepers. The narrative of these things is as follows, and can
only be reconciled with the foregoing on the supposition that
one of the two events is out of place in the book, but that
both occurred on the occasion of Christ's last visit to Jeru-
salem immediately before he was put to death.
""
11. And it came to pass, as he went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. 12. And as he entered into a
certain village, there met him ten men that were lepers, which stood afar
off: 13. And they lifted up their voices, and said, "Jesus, master, have
mercy on us. 14. And when he saw them, he said unto them, "Go, show
yourselves to the priests.' And it came to pass that, as they went, they
were cleansed. 15. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed,
turned back and with a loud voice glorified God, 16. And fell down on his
face at his feet, giving him thanks: and he was a Samaritan. 17. And
Jesus answering said, "Were there not ten cleansed, where are the nine?
There are not found that returned to give glory to God, save this stranger."
(Luke xvii, 11-18.)
From these passages it must be inferred that our Saviour's
intercourse with the Samaritans was conducted after the
same plan which he followed with other nations, but that
the minor particulars of that intercourse are less accurate
MATTHEW Xxvi, 1-13.
And it came to pass, when Jesus
had finished all these sayings, he
said unto his disciples, 2. “Ye
know that after two days is the
feast of the passover, and the Son of
man is betrayed to be crucified."
3. Then assembled together the
chief priests, and the scribes, and
the elders of the people, unto the
palace of the high priest, who was
called Caiaphas, 4. And consulted
that they might take Jesus by
subtilty, and kill him.
5. But they said, Not on the feast
day, lest there be an uproar among
the people.
6. Now when Jesus was in Betha-
ny, in the house of Simon the leper,
7. There came unto him a woman
having an alabaster box of very
precious ointment, and poured it on
his head, as he sat at meat.
MARK XIV, 1-9.
After two days was the feast of
the passover, and of unleavened
bread: and the chief priests and
the scribes sought how they might
take him by craft, and put him to
death.
2. But they said, Not on the feast
day, lest there be an uproar of the
people.
3. And being in Bethany in the
house of Simon the leper, as he sat
at meat, there came a woman hav-
ing an alabaster box of ointment of
spikenard very precious; and she
brake the box, and poured it on his
head.
•
XXXIV.]
273
A WOMAN ANOINTS JESUs.
than if they had been copied down in writing by those who
had been eye-witnesses of the facts. But that the Sama-
ritans were admitted to the same privileges as both Jews
and Gentiles is equally manifest from the extracts here
given, and is confirmed by the words of the two men, who
"stood by them in white apparel" on the occasion when
Jesus was taken up into heaven.
Ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and
ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judæa, and in
Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth. (i, 8.)
66
And in accordance with these instructions we read in
chapter viii, verse 25, that the apostles preached the
Gospel in many villages of the Samaritans."
CHAPTER XXXIV.
CHRIST ANOINTED BY A WOMAN AT A FEAST.
ALL the four evangelic histories speak of a woman who
poured ointment or oil upon the head or feet of Jesus, whilst
he sat at meat. The parallel accounts here follow.
LUKE Vii, 36-50.
36. And one of the Pharisees de-
sired him that he would eat with
him. And he went into the Phari-
see's house, and sat down to meat.
JOHN xii, 1-9.
Then Jesus'six days before the
passover came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was which had been dead,
whom he raised from the dead.
2. There they made him a supper;
and Martha served: but Lazarus
was one of them that sat at the
table with him.
37. And, behold, a woman in the
city, which was a sinner, when she
knew that Jesus sat at meat in the
Pharisee's house, brought an ala-
baster box of ointment, 38. And
stood at his feet behind him weep-
ing, and began to wash his feet with
tears, and did wipe them with the
VOL. II.
19
3. Then took Mary a pound of
ointment of spikenard, very costly,
and anointed the feet of Jesus, and
wiped his feet with her hair: and
the house was filled with the odour
of the ointment.
1
274
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XXvi, 8-13.
MARK XIV, 4-9.
8. But when his disciples saw it,
they had indignation, saying, “To
what purpose is this waste? 9. For
this ointment might have been sold
for much, and given to the poor."
10. When Jesus understood it, he
said unto them, " Why trouble ye
the woman? for she hath wrought a
good work upon me. 11. For ye
have the poor always with you: but
me ye have not always. 12. For in
that she hath poured this ointment
on my body, she did it for my
burial.
4. And there were some that had
indignation within themselves, and
said, "Why was this waste of the
ointment made? 5. For it might
have been sold for more than three
hundred pence, and have been given
to the poor." And they murmured
against her.
6. And Jesus said, "Let her a-
lone: why trouble ye her? she hath
wrought a good work on me. 7. For
ye have the poor with you always,
and whensoever ye will ye may do
them good but me ye have not
always. 8. She hath done what
she could: she is come aforehand
to anoint my body to the burying.
13. Verily I say unto you, Where-
soever this gospel shall be preached
in the whole world, there shall also
this, that this woman hath done, be
told for a memorial of her."
9. Verily I say unto you, Where-
soever this gospel shall be preached
throughout the whole world, this
also that she hath done shall be
spoken of for a memorial of her."
There are here so many striking points of agreement and
the words of the descriptions are so nearly the same, that it
is impossible to believe they refer to other than the same
occurrence. And yet there is such a difference as to time,
place, persons, and manner, that it is equally difficult to
XXXIV.]
275
JESUS ANOINTED.
LUKE Vii, 38-50.
hairs of her head, and kissed his
feet, and anointed them with the
ointment.
39. Now when the Pharisee
which had bidden him saw it, he
spake within himself, saying, "This
man, if he were a prophet, would
have known who and what manner
of woman this is that toucheth
him for she is a sinner."
40. And Jesus answering said un-
to him, "Simon, I have somewhat
to say unto thee." And he saith,
44
Master, say on. " 41. "There was
a certain creditor which had two
debtors: the one owed five hundred
pence, and the other fifty. 42. And
when they had nothing to pay, he
frankly forgave them both. Tell me
therefore, which of them will love
him most?" 43. Simon answered
and said, “I suppose that he, to
whom he forgave most." And he said
unto him, "Thou hast rightly judg-
ed." 44. And he turned to the wo-
man, and said unto Simon, "Seest
thou this woman? I entered into
thine house, thou gavest me no water
for my feet: but she hath washed
my feet with tears, and wiped them
with the hairs of her head. 45.
Thou gavest me no kiss: but this
woman since the time I came in
hath not ceased to kiss my feet.
46. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint: but this woman hath
anointed my feet with ointment.
47. Wherefore I say unto thee,
Her sins, which are many, are for-
given: for she loved much: but to
whom little is forgiven, the same
loveth little." 48. And he said unto
her, "Thy sins are forgiven." 49.
And they that sat at meat with him
began to say within themselves,
"Who is this that forgiveth sins al-
so?" 50. And he said to the woman,
Thy faith hath saved thee; go in
peace."
JOHN xii, 4-9.
4. Then saith one of his disciples,
Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, which
should betray him, 5. " Why was
not this ointment sold for three
hundred pence and given to the
poor?" 6. This he said, not that he
cared for the poor; but because he
was a thief, and had the bag, and
bare what was put therein.
7. Then said Jesus, "Let her
alone; against the day of my bury-
ing hath she kept this. 8. For the
poor always ye have with you; but
me ye have not always." 9. Much
people of the Jews therefore knew
that he was there: and they came
not for Jesus' sake, only, but that
they might see Lazarus also, whom
he had raised from the dead.
imagine eye-witnesses could have varied so greatly in re-
lating what they had seen.
1. The four evangelists differ as to the time when this took
place: Luke relates it in the early part of Christ's ministry;
the other three place it within a few days of his crucifixion.
276
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Again, Matthew and Mark seem to say that it was two
days, John certainly fixes it at six days before the feast of
the Passover.
2. Matthew and Mark say that it took place at the village
of Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, of whom we
know nothing, for he is not elsewhere mentioned; Luke
calls him Simon a Pharisee, and lays the scene "in the city."
But John gives us to understand that it was at Bethany in
the house of Martha and Mary sister of Lazarus, for he tells
us that "Martha served," and he adds (v. 9) that a large
number of persons had come together that they might see
Lazarus, "whom he had raised from the dead."
3. As to the manner of the act, there is equal divergency
in the four accounts. The first three evangelists speak of
an alabaster box or jar of ointment; the fourth of a pound
of ointment; which apparently she had just bought at a
shop, and which might indeed be contained in a box or jar.
St Matthew and St Mark say that the woman poured the
ointment on his head, as he sat at meat; but Luke and John
say that she anointed his feet with it; and Luke, entering
more into detail, adds that she stood behind Jesus-a position
in harmony with the anointing of his head, but very unfavour-
able for pouring the ointment over his feet, unless he reclined
like the Romans, of which we have no information.
4. The persons concerned in this scene are either vaguely
described, or are actually different. According to St Mat-
thew and St Mark, it is " a woman " who anoints Jesus: St
Luke adds the words "which was a sinner," but St John
limits the deed to " Mary" the sister of Lazarus and Martha.
As there is no proof that this Mary was a sinner more than
any other woman, we are at a loss to reconcile these ac-
counts, and the mind is led to stray in the direction of Mary
Magdalene, who indeed from the earliest years of the Chris-
tian era has been identified with the woman who anointed
Jesus as has been related in the passages that have here
been quoted. There were indeed legends throughout all
Christendom concerning this conspicuous character of the
Gospel history, which have rendered her equally famous in
more recent times, and the dedication of churches in her
honour has been always accompanied with the belief that
she had been raised by our Lord out of the depths of sin and
restored to a life of purity and happiness. To examine and
see what other women have borne the name of Mary, and
how they are to be distinguished the one from the other,
will be the subject of a future chapter.
xxxv.]
277
JAIRUS'S DAUGHTER.
5. Lastly there is not perfect agreement about the person
who expostulates with Jesus at the waste of ointment.
Matthew and Mark say that it was the disciples who "had
indignation" among themselves; John names Judas Iscariot
son of Simon; from which it would appear that the traitor
who soon afterwards sold his master to his enemies, was the
son of the leper (or Pharisee, as he is termed by St Luke);
but St Luke himself says that it was Simon himself who com-
plained of the waste of ointment.*
All these circumstances point to the conclusion that we
know very little about the real particulars of this occur-
rence; nothing indeed beyond the fact that a pound of
ointment was used by some unknown woman in anointing
Jesus; but whether his feet or his head was anointed, and
in what place, or at what time, and under what circumstances
this happened, we have no certain information.
CHAPTER XXXV.
JESUS RAISES JAÏRUS'S DAUGHTER-HEALS THE WOMAN WHO HAD
AN ISSUE OF BLOOD.
We have it related by the first three evangelists, that soon
after the healing of the demoniacs in the country of the
Gadarenes, Jesus raised to life the daughter of a certain
ruler named Jaïrus. St Matthew (ix, 1) gives us the addi-
tional information that he had already returned to his own
city, and a further proof that the three narratives refer to
the same event is furnished by the concurrent testimony of
the evangelists that the woman who had the issue of blood
was healed at the same time. The accounts of both cures
here follow.
MATTHEW ix, 18-26.
18. While he spake
these things unto them,
behold, there came a cer-
tain ruler, and worship-
MARK V, 22-43.
22. And, behold, there
cometh one of the rulers
of the synagogue, Jairus
by name, and when he
LUKE Viii, 41-56.
41. And, bebold, there
came a man named
Jairus, and he was a
ruler of the synagogue :
* The reader is referred, for the most profuse information about Mary
Magdalene, to Dr Smith's Dictionary of the Bible, vol. iii, page 255; but
is cautioned against hastily adopting the conclusion that there were two
anointings, or that Mary Magdalene could not have been a sinner, because
seven devils had been cast out of her.
How
278
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW ix, 18-22.
ped him saying, "My
daughter is even now
dead: but come and lay
thy hand upon her, and
she shall live.". 19. And
Jesus arose, and fol-
lowed him, and so did
his disciples.
20. And behold, a
woman, which was dis-
eased with an issue of
blood twelve years,
came behind him, and
touched the hem of his
garment: 21. For she
said within herself, "If
I may but touch his
garment, I shall be
whole." 22. But Jesus
turned him about, and
when he saw her, he
said, "Daughter, be of
good comfort; thy faith
hath made thee whole."
MARK V, 22-33.
saw him, he fell at his
feet, 23. And besought
him greatly, saying," My
little daughter lieth at
the point of death: I
pray thee, come and lay
thy hands on her, that
she may be healed; and
she shall live." 24. And
LUKE Viii, 41-48.
and he fell down at
Jesus's feet, and be-
sought him that he
would come into his
house: 42. For he had
one only daughter,
about twelve years of
age, and
and she lay a-
dying. But as he went
Jesus went with him; the people thronged
and much people fol- him.
lowed him and thronged
him.
having
they that were with
him said, "Master, the
multitude throng thee,
and sayest thou, Who
touched me? 46. And
Jesus said, "Somebody
hath touched me: for I
perceive that virtue is
gone out of me." 47.
And when the woman
saw that she was not
hid, she came trembling,
and falling down before
him, she declared unto
him
25. And a certain 43. And a woman,
woman which had an
an issue of
issue of blood twelve blood twelve years,
years, 26. And had which had spent all her
suffered many things of living upon physicians,
many physicians, and neither could be healed
had spent all that she of any, 44. Came be-
had, and was nothing hind him, and touched
bettered, but rather the border of his gar-
grew worse, 27. When ment: and immediately
she heard of Jesus, came her issue of blood
in the press behind, and stanched. 45. And
touched his garment. Jesus said, "Who
28. For she said, "If I touched me?" When
may touch but his all denied, Peter and
clothes, I shall be
whole." 29. And strait-
way the fountain of her
blood was dried up;
and she felt in her body
that she was healed
of that plague. 30.
And Jesus immediately
knowing in himself
that virtue had gone out
of him, turned him
about in the press, and
said, "Who touched my
clothes?" 31. And his
disciples said unto him,
"Thou seest the multi-
tude thronging thee, and
sayest thou, "Who
touched me?" 32. And
he looked round about
to see her who had done
this thing. 33. But the
woman, fearing and
trembling, knowing
what was done in her,
came and fell down
before him, and told
him all the truth. 34.
And he said unto her,
'Daughter, thy faith
hath made thee whole;
before all the
people for what cause
she had touched him,
and how she was
healed immediately.
48. And he said unto
her, "Daughter, be of
good comfort: thy faith
hath made thee whole;
go in peace."
xxxv.]
279
JAIRUS'S DAUGHTER.
MATTHEW ix, 23-26.
the
23. And when Jesus
came into the ruler's
house, and saw
minstrels and the
people making a noise,
24. He said unto them,
"Give place: for the
maid is not dead, but
sleepeth." And they
laughed him to scorn.
25. But when the people
were put forth, he went
in, and took her by the
hand, and the maid
arose.
26. And the fame
hereof went abroad into
all that land.
LUKE viii, 49-56.
MARK V, 34-43.
go in peace, and be
whole of thy plague."
35. While ye yet
49. While he yet
spake, there came from spake, there cometh
the ruler of the syna- one from the ruler of
gogue's house certain the synagogue's house,
which said, Thy daugh- saying to him, Thy
ter is dead: why daughter is dead:
troublest thou the Mas- trouble not the Master.
ter any further? 36. 50. But when Jesus
As soon as Jesus heard heard it, he answered
the word that was him, saying, Fear not:
spoken, he saith unto believe only, and she
the ruler of the syna- shall be made whole.
gogue, "Be not afraid,
only believe."
51. And when he
came into the house, he
suffered no man to go
in, save Peter, and
James, and John, and
mother of the maiden.
52. And all wept, and
bewailed her: but he
said, "Weep not; she is
not dead, but sleepeth."
53. And they laughed
him to scorn, knowing
that she was dead. 54.
And he put them all
out, and took her by the
hand, and called saying,
" 'Maid, arise." 55. And
her spirit came again,
and she arose straight-
way: and he com-
manded to give meat.
37. And he suffered
no man to follow him,
save Peter, and James,
and John the brother of
James. 38. And he
cometh to the house the father and the
of the synagogue, and
seeth the tumult, and
them that wept and
wailed greatly. 39. And
when he was come in,
he saith unto them,
"Why make ye this ado,
and weep? the damsel is
not dead, but sleepeth."
40. And they laughed
him to scorn. But when
he had put them all out,
he taketh the father and
the mother of the dam-
sel, and them that were
with him, and entereth
in where the damsel was
lying. 41. And he took
the damsel by the hand,
and said unto her, Ta-
litha cumi; which is, be-
ing interpreted, "Dam-
sel, I say unto thee, a-
rise." 42. And straight-
way the damsel arose,
and walked; for she
was of the age of twelve
years.
And they were aston- 56. And her parents
ished with a great as- were astonished: but
tonishment. 43. And he charged them that
he charged them straitly they should tell no man
that no man should what was done.
know it; and com-
manded that something
should be given her to
eat.
.
280
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN Records.
#
The three Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, agree
in fixing the scene of this miracle at Capernaum, the time, as
has been already said, close upon the return of Jesus into
Galilee, after casting out the devils which were suffered to
enter into the bodies of the swine.
There are however certain differences in the three accounts,
which indicate a traditional origin.
1. St Matthew says that the ruler's daughter was already
dead, and that the ruler came and asked Jesus to restore her
to life: St Mark and St Luke however relate, with greater
probability, that the child was lying at the point of death,
and that her father requested Jesus to go and heal her.
On their way to the house, the people thronged him, and
a woman having an issue of blood, under circumstances
told briefly by Matthew and more fully by the other two,
was cured by touching him. Immediately after this, mes-
sengers from the ruler's house, according to Mark and Luke,
bring the information that the child is dead.
2. St Mark and St Luke state that Jesus suffered only
Peter, James and John to follow him into the ruler's house:
but St Matthew does not mention this circumstance.
the
3. The conclusion of the history is also different, for
whilst we learn from St Matthew that the report of the
miracle "went abroad into all that land," St Mark and St
Luke relate that Jesus charged the father and mother, who
with his three disciples were the only persons that entered
room, "that they should tell no man what was done."
It cannot be denied that the main point is the same in all
these narratives, and it is not difficult to suggest that the
differences are unimportant and may be explained by the
imperfect information which each of the writers had received.
We see for instance that, whilst one account begins with the
intimation that the maid is dead, in the others a message is
first received that she is lying at the point of death. Both
of these however agree with St Matthew in relating that
she had expired before our Saviour arrived at her father's
house.
xxxvI.]
281
ENTRY INTO JERUSALEM.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
CHRIST'S LAST JOURNEY AND TRIUMPHAL ENTRY INTO
JERUSALEM.
THE ministry of Christ in Galilee ends with a journey from
Capernaum, where he principally resided, to Jerusalem,
into which he entered in triumph, riding upon an ass.
In all the four Gospels notice is taken of this final jour-
ney out of Galilee into Judæa in the extracts which here
follow.
MATTHEW Xix, 1.
And it came to pass, that when
Jesus had finished these sayings, he
departed from Galilee, and came
into the coasts of Judæa beyond
Jordan.
LUKE ix, 51.
And it came to pass when the
time was come that he should be
received up, he steadfastly set his
face to go up to Jerusalem.
MARK X, 1.
And he arose from thence, and
cometh into the coasts of Judæa by
the farther side of Jordan: and the
people resort unto him again, and
as he was wont, he taught them
again.
JOHN Xi, 54.
Jesus therefore walked no more
openly among the Jews; but went
thence to a country near to the
wilderness, into a city called
Ephraim, and there continued with
his disciples.
It can scarcely be doubted that all these narratives de-
scribe the last journey which Jesus made out of Galilee into
Judæa. That he turned aside into the city called Ephraim
near the wilderness for a time, to avoid the enmity of the
Jews who sought to kill him, is an incident which apparently
was unknown to the three synoptical Gospels: Matthew
and Mark indeed speak of his having retired beyond the
Jordan, but still within the territory of Judæa.
In the three synoptical Gospels events are now interposed,
especially by St Luke, before we arrive at the following
passages, from all the four evangelists, in which the trium-
phal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem is described. The facts
are less historically put together in the fourth Gospel,
owing to its generally didactic and doctrinal character.
Yet even there the sequence of events is sufficiently clear
and decided, as having taken place after the triumphal
entry into the city, and they occupy one half of the whole
book.
282
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XX, 17.
17. And Jesus, going up to Jeru-
salem, took the twelve disciples
apart in the way, and said unto
them, 18. "Behold, we go up to Je-
rusalem," &c.
MARK X, 32.
32. And they were in the way
going up to Jerusalem; and Jesus
went before them and they were
amazed; and, as they followed, they
were afraid. And he took again the
twelve, and began to tell them what
things should happen unto him,
23. Saying, "Behold, we go up to
Jerusalem" &c. . 46. And they
came to Jericho, &c.
•
29. And as they departed from
Jericho a great multitude followed
him.
MATTHEW XXi, 1.
And when they drew nigh unto
Jerusalem, and were come to Beth-
phage, unto the mount of Olives,
then sent Jesus two disciples, 2.
Saying unto them, "Go into the
village over against you, and
straightway ye shall find an ass
tied and a colt with her: loose
them, and bring them unto me.
3. And if any man say ought unto
you, ye shall say, The Lord hath
need of them; and straightway he
will send them."
4. All this was done, that it might
be fulfilled which was spoken by the
prophet, saying, 5. "Tell ye the
daughter of Sion, Behold, thy King
cometh unto thee, meek, and sitting
upon an ass, and a colt the foal of
an ass."
6. And the disciples went and did
as Jesus commanded them, 7. And
brought the ass, and the colt, and
put on them their clothes, and they
set him thereon. 8. And a very
great multitude spread their gar-
ments in the way; others cut down
branches from the trees, and
strawed them in the way.
9. And the multitudes that went
before, and that followed, cried,
MARK xi, 1.
And when they came nigh to
Jerusalem, unto Bethphage and
Bethany, at the mount of Olives, he
sendeth forth two of his disciples,
2. And saith unto them, "Go your
way into the village over against
you: and as soon as ye be entered
into it, ye shall find a colt tied,
whereon never man sat; loose him,
and bring him. 3. And if any man
say unto you, Why do ye this? say
ye that the Lord hath need of him;
and straightway he shall send him
hither."
4. And they went their way, and
found the colt tied by the door with-
out in a place where two ways met:
and they loose him. 5. And certain
of them that stood there said unto
them, "What do ye, loosing the
colt?" 6. And they said unto them
even as Jesus had commanded; and
they let them go. 7. And they
brought the colt to Jesus, and cast
their garments on him: and he sat
upon him. 8. And many spread
their garments in the way: and
others cut down branches off the
trees, and strawed them in the way.
9. And they that went before, and
they that followed, cried, saying,
#
XXXVI.]
283
THE TRIUMPHAL ENTRY.
LUKE XVii, 11.
11. And it came to pass, as he
went to Jerusalem, that he passed
through the midst of Samaria and
Galilee.
LUKE Xviii, 31, 35.
31. Then he took unto him the
twelve, and said unto them, "Be-
hold, we go up to Jerusalem," &c.
35. And it came to pass, that as
he was come nigh unto Jericho, &c.
LUKE Xix, 1.
And Jesus entered and passed
through Jericho, &c.
28. And when he had thus
spoken, he went before, ascending
up to Jerusalem.
29. And it came to pass, when he
was come nigh to Bethphage and
Bethany, at the mount called the
mount of Olives, he sent two of his
disciples, 30. Saying, “Go
"Go ye into
the village over against you; in the
which at your entering ye shall find
a colt tied, whereon yet never man
sat: loose him, and bring him
hither. 31. And if any man ask
you, Why do ye loose him? thus
shall ye say unto him, Because the
Lord hath need of him.”
JOHN Xi, 55.
55. And the Jews' passover was
nigh at hand, &c. .
JOHN xii, 1.
Then Jesus six days before the
passover came to Bethany, where
Lazarus was which had been dead,
whom he raised from the dead.
2. There they made him a supper,
&c.
•
32. And they that were sent went.
their way, and found even as he
had said unto them. 33. And as
they were loosing the colt, the
owners thereof said unto them,
Why loose ye the colt?" 34. And
they said, "The Lord hath need of
him." 35. And they brought him to
Jesus: and they cast their gar-
ments upon the colt, and they set
Jesus thereon. 36. And as he
went, they spread their clothes in
the way.
37. And when he was come nigh,
even now at the descent of the
12. On the next day much people
that were come to the feast, when
284
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XXi, 9-11.
saying, "Hosanna to the son of
David: Blessed is he that cometh
in the name of the Lord; Hosanna
in the highest.”
MARK Xi, 9-10.
"Hosanna; Blessed is he that
cometh in the name of the Lord :
10. Blessed be the kingdom of
our father David, that cometh in
the name of the Lord: Hosanna
in the highest."
10. And when he was come into
Jerusalem, all the city was moved,
saying, Who is this?" 11. And
the multitude said, "This is Jesus
the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee."
There are three points in these accounts which are more
or less at variance one with another.
1. Matthew, Mark and Luke represent Jesus as going up
to Jerusalem from Galilee, passing through Jericho, and
then riding on the ass from Bethphage and Bethany, into Je-
rusalem, without stopping at Bethany. John, on the other
hand, brings Jesus not from Galilee but from the city of
Ephraim where he remained some time; and he makes him
partake of a supper and pass the night at Bethany.
2. Matthew, Mark, and Luke, who agree in bringing
Jesus directly out of Galilee, differ about the road which he
took. The two former say that he crossed the Jordan and
passed along to the east of that river, again crossing it to
the westward near Jericho: but Luke says, as plainly, at
xvii, 11, that he came by the straight road which led through
Galilee and Samaria.
3. A third difference between the evangelists is equally
real, but of less importance. Whilst Matthew speaks of an
ass and a colt the foal of an ass, the other three name the
XXXVI.]
285
JESUS ENTERS JERUSALEM.
,
LUKE xix, 37-40.
mount of Olives, the whole multi-
tude of the disciples began to re-
joice and praise God with a loud
voice for all the mighty works that
they had seen: 38. Saying, "Blessed
be the King that cometh in the
name of the Lord: peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest."
39. And some of the Pharisees
from among the multitude said
unto him, "Master, rebuke thy
disciples." 40. And he answered
and said unto them, "I tell you
that, if these should hold their
peace, the stones would immedi-
ately cry out."
JOHN xii, 12-19.
they heard that Jesus was coming
to Jerusalem, 13. Took branches
of palm trees, and went forth to
meet him, and cried, "Hosanna;
Blessed is the King of Israel that
cometh in the name of the Lord."
14. And Jesus, when he had found
a young ass, sat thereon; as it is
written, 15. Fear not, daughter of
Sion: behold, thy King cometh, sit-
ting on an ass's colt.
16. These things understood not
his disciples at the first; but when
Jesus was glorified, then remem-
bered they that these things were
written of him, and that they had
done these things unto him. 17.
The people therefore that was with
him when he called Lazarus out of
his grave, and raised him from the
dead, bare record. 18. For this
cause the people also met him, for
that they heard that he had done
this miracle.
19. The Pharisees therefore said
among themselves, "Perceive ye
how ye prevail nothing? behold,
the world is gone after him."
ass's colt only. The variation may be explained—the word
and possibly should be rendered even; and we get a meaning
which at once reconciles Matthew with the other three,
ass, even a colt the foal of an ass."
66
an
Nor is this conjecture without some support. The Hebrew
style of composition is peculiar, and we have a familiar in-
stance of it in the book of Psalms, where every verse consists
of two parts, the latter answering to the former even so as
sometimes to repeat the meaning. Thus we read in a prayer
of David (Psalm 1xxxvi) "Give ear unto my prayer!" at
the beginning of verse 6, and the concluding part repeats the
sense by the words "Attend to the voice of my supplications."
This antiphonal character is especially remarkable in He-
brew poetry. But the very solution here proposed is in itself
a more powerful argument against the originality of Mat-
thew's Gospel than the error which it remedies; for it shows
that Matthew copied from some original documents which he
could not understand, and that he is a compiler from others,
instead of being an original authority or eye-witness.
286
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
4. Lastly, as regards the honours paid to Christ in his entry
into Jerusalem, Matthew says that a "very great multi-
tude" "spread their garments in the way," and he speaks of
the "multitudes that went before and that followed." Mark,
more moderate in his terms, says that "many spread their gar-
ments in the way," and Luke, keeping still closer to proba-
bility, says "they," i. e. the disciples, "spread their clothes
in the way," and "the whole multitude of the disciples began
to rejoice &c." John, however, is at variance with all the
three, for having made Jesus rest that night at Bethany, he
says that,
on the next day" the multitude who escorted
him into Jerusalem consisted of the "much people that were
come unto the feast," and now went out expressly to meet
him. If so, these visitors were probably the only persons
who knew him, a fact which tells strongly against his having
often before been at Jerusalem, as we might infer from the
narrative of St John. It is, however, seldom that histories
written by contemporary authors present such discrepancies
as these, and very hard to believe that they could possibly
proceed from eye-witnesses of the facts which they relate.
66
CHAPTER XXXVII.
THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
WHEN our Lord, after receiving such triumphal honours,
had entered Jerusalem, he went, in the words of Mark (xi,
11), "into the temple; and when he had looked round about
upon all things, and now the eventide was come, he went out
unto Bethany with the twelve."
From this time until his crucifixion it was his practice to
walk into Jerusalem in the morning, and to return in the
afternoon to Bethany. The incident of the barren fig-tree
is told by St Matthew and St Mark, and is said to have hap-
pened on the first morning after his triumphal entry.
MATTHEW XXi, 18-22.
18. Now in the morning as he
returned into the city, he hungered.
19. And when he saw a fig tree in
the way, he came to it, and found
nothing thereon but leaves only, and
said unto it, "Let no fruit grow on
thee henceforward for ever. And
MARK Xi, 12-24.
12. And on the morrow, when
they were come from Bethany, he
was hungry: 13. And seeing a fig
tree afar off having leaves, he came,
if haply he might find any thing
thereon: and when he came to it,
he found nothing but leaves; for
XXXVII.]
287
THE BARREN FIG-TREE.
MATTHEW XXi, 19-22.
presently the fig tree withered away.
20. And when the disciples saw
it, they marvelled, saying, "How
soon is the fig tree withered away!”
I
21. Jesus said unto them, "Verily
say unto you, If ye have faith, and
doubt not, ye shall not only do this
which is done to the fig tree, but
also if ye shall say unto this moun-
tain, Be thou removed and be thou
cast into the sea; it shall be done.
22. And all things, whatsoever
ye shall ask in prayer, believing, ye
shall receive."
MARK xi, 13-24.
the time of figs was not yet. 14.
And Jesus answered and said unto
it, "No man eat fruit of thee here-
after for ever. And his disciples
heard it.
20. And in the morning, as they
passed by. they saw the fig tree
dried up from the roots. 21. And
Peter calling to remembrance saith
unto him, "Master, behold, the fig
tree which thou cursedst is withered
away."
22. And Jesus answering saith
unto them, "Have faith in God.
23. For verily I say unto you, That
whosoever shall say unto this moun-
tain, Be thou removed, and be thou
cast into the sea; and shall not
doubt in his heart, but shall believe
that those things which he saith
shall come to pass; he shall have
whatsoever he saith.
24. Therefore I say unto you,
what things soever ye desire, when
ye pray, believe that ye receive
them and ye shall have them."
We have in these two accounts, whether taken separately
or compared one with the other, marks of something more
than a traditional origin, and it may be inferred from the
nature of the miracle that we have a very imperfect account
of it. We do not find in all the Gospels a similar instance
of Christ's power being put forth to do harm rather than
good. If the fig-tree was the property of a private man, the
owner might justly complain of the wrong done him by the
destruction of his property: we therefore may infer that the
fig-tree was growing on waste land by the road-side: but
even in that case it is difficult to conceive that a tree pro-
ducing fruit and fig-trees are highly valued in Eastern
countries—would be cursed and perish, because our Lord
found no fruit on it. We are therefore justified in suggest-
ing that some particulars, which would have shown the real
character of this transaction, have been lost, and this view
coincides with the general theory and with other facts,
showing that our existing Gospels are, as a traditionary
origin would make them, not always wholly in accordance
one with another. Nor is the silence of St John without
significance in this matter. If any of the disciples were in
constant attendance on their Lord, he surely would not be
absent, and would scarcely have omitted to mention so
striking a manifestation of supernatural power.
1
288
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
*
Proceeding then to examine the two accounts which are
here brought into comparison, we may observe certain points
in which they do not perfectly agree. Whilst Matthew
seems to say that the fig-tree withered in the sight of the
disciples, immediately after the words of Jesus, Mark says
that the disciples did not remark that it had withered until
the next morning, and that a conversation ensued on the sub-
ject between Jesus and Simon Peter. If we might judge of
the matter by the test of reason, the latter would seem the
most probable of the two, and the account given by Mat-
thew would up to a certain point be in agreement; but
according to his account the fig-tree is said to have imme-
diately withered away, and the disciples marvelled at it and
said "How soon is the fig-tree withered away !"
But we must not omit to mention another peculiarity in
the remarkable avowal of St Mark, that "the time of figs
was not yet." That fruit is not found on trees so early as
Easter at present and was not to be found on trees at the
season of the Passover in the time of Jesus, is a well known
fact; but it is less clear how it could be expected that figs
would be found on the tree when Jesus was passing with his
disciples, nor can we form any clear idea why a tree should
be cursed and consigned to barrenness for not bearing fruit,
when the season for producing it was not yet come. The
real character of the story is somewhat obscure; for, even if
we suppose it was meant to inculcate the lesson that men
must produce fruit by their deeds, yet we should still seek
for other details which are here wanting, whilst those which
are given are not completely in harmony. Many of the
more minute particulars of our Saviour's life and miracles
have no doubt passed into oblivion, and left behind only
what the compilers of our Gospel-histories were able to re-
cover from tradition. There can be no doubt that these dif-
ficulties would be removed, if we had fuller accounts of the
very extraordinary occurrences with which the life of Christ
abounds; and that to attempt a conjectural explanation of it
is attended with hazard, and may lead to erroneous conclu-
sions.
MATTHEW Xxvi, 17-30.
17. Now the first day of the feast
of unleavened bread the disciples
came to Jesus, saying unto him,
"Where wilt thou that we prepare
for thee to eat the passover?" 18.
And he said, "Go into the city to
such a man, and say unto him, The
MARK XIV, 12-26.
12. And the first day of unlea-
vened bread, when they killed the
passover, his disciples said unto
him, "Where wilt thou that we go
and prepare that thou mayest eat
the passover." 13. And he sendeth
forth two of his disciples, and saith
XXXVIII.]
289
THE LAST SUPPER.
CHAPTER XXXVIII.
THE LAST SUPPER.
THE didactic character of St John's Gospel shows itself
most conspicuously in the account of the last supper of which
Christ partook with his disciples. The narrative beginning
with chapter xiii verse 1, ends at chapter xviii verse 1,
where is related the departure of Christ and his disciples
from the supper-room: and almost the whole interval of five
chapters is filled with his discourses and exhortations. In
the middle of these, at the end of the fourteenth chapter,
Jesus says, "Arise, let us go hence!" His disciples do not
however appear to have departed, but remained still listen-
ing to other admonitions which fill the whole of the fifteenth,
sixteenth, and seventeenth chapters.
There can be no doubt that the supper, of which I am
now speaking, is one of the most interesting and important
events of the whole Gospel-history. It is related, more or
less fully, by all the four evangelists, and demands the most
attentive consideration from all who wish to understand the
true nature of the events which then happened. The four
accounts here follow; but with a slight transposition of two
passages, which occur in almost the same words both in St
Matthew and St Mark, in order to render easier their com-
parison with St Luke.
From St John's Gospel also only such extracts are given
as describe what Jesus did or said whilst sitting at supper,
but the moral discourses are omitted, and indeed appear to
have been inserted here in a body solely that they might be
preserved for their intrinsic value and not as especially
adapted to this particular occasion.
LUKE Xxii, 7-39.
7. Then came the day of unlea-
vened bread, when the passover
must be killed. 8. And he sent
Peter and John. saying, "Go and
prepare us the passover, that we
may eat.' 9. And they said unto
him, "Where wilt thou that we
VOL. II.
20
JOHN xiii, 1; xviii, 1.
Now before the feast of the pass-
over, when Jesus knew that his
hour was come that he should
depart out of this world unto the
Father, having loved his own
which were in the world, he loved
them unto the end.
*
}
290
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XXvi, 18-29.
Master saith, My time is at hand;
I will keep the passover at thy
house with my disciples."
19. And the disciples did as Jesus
had appointed them; and they
made ready the passover.
20. Now when the even was
come, he sat down with the twelve.
26. And as they were eating,
Jesus took bread, and blessed it,
and brake it, and gave it to the
disciples, and said, “Take, eat;
this is my body." 27. And he
took the cup, and gave thanks, and
gave it to them, saying, "Drink ye
all of it; 28. For this is my blood
of the new testament, which is shed
for many for the remission of sins.
29. But I say unto you, I will not
drink henceforth of this fruit of the
vine, until that day when I drink it
new with you in my Father's king-
dom."
[CHAPTER
MARK Xiv, 13-25.
unto them, "Go ye into the city,
and there shall meet you a man
bearing a pitcher of water: follow
him. 14. And wheresoever he
shall go in, say ye to the goodman
of the house, The master saith,
Where is the guestchamber, where
I shall eat the passover with my
disciples? 15. And he will shew
you a large upper room furnished
and prepared: there make ready
for us.' ""
16. And his disciples went forth,
and came into the city, and found
as he had said unto them: and they
made ready the passover.
17. And in the evening he cometh
with the twelve.
22. And as they did eat, Jesus
took bread, and blessed, and brake
it, and gave to them, and said,
(6
Take, eat: this is my body." 23.
And he took the cup, and when he
had given thanks, he gave it to
them: and they all drank of it. 24.
And he said unto them, "This is
my blood of the new testament,
which is shed for many. 25. Verily
I say unto you, I will drink no
more of the fruit of the vine, until
that day that I drink it new in the
kingdom of God."
XXXVIII.]
291
THE LAST SUPPER.
LUKE xxii, 9-20.
prepare?" 10. And he said unto
them, "Behold when ye are entered
into the city, there shall a man
meet you, bearing a pitcher of
water; follow him into the house
where he entereth in. 11. And ye
shall say unto the good-man of the
house, The Master saith unto thee,
Where is the guestchamber, where
I shall eat the passover with my
disciples? 12. And he shall show
you a large upper room furnished:
there make ready."
13. And they went, and found as
he had said unto them: and they
made ready the passover.
14. And when the hour was
come, he sat down, and the twelve
apostles with him.
15. And he said unto them,
"With desire I have desired to eat
this passover with you before I
suffer: 16. For I say unto you, I
will not any more eat thereof, until
it be fulfilled in the kingdom of
God." 17. And he took the cup,
and gave thanks, and said, “Take
this, and divide it among your-
selves: 18. For I say unto you, I
will not drink of the fruit of the
vine, until the kingdom of God
shall come." 19. And he took
bread, and gave thanks, and brake
it and gave unto them, saying,
"This is my body which is given
for you: this do in remembrance of
me." 20. Likewise also the cup
after supper, saying, "This cup is
the new testament in my blood,
which is shed for you.
JOHN xiii, 2-12.
2. And supper being ended, the
devil having now put into the heart
of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to
betray him; 3. Jesus knowing
that the Father had given all
things into his hands, and that he
was come from God and went to
God, 4. He riseth from supper,
and laid aside his garments, and
took a towel, and girded himself.
5. After that he poureth water into
a bason, and began to wash the
disciples' feet, and to wipe them
with the towel wherewith he was
girded.
6. Then cometh he to Simon
Peter and Peter saith unto him,
10.
Lord, dost thou wash my feet?”
7. Jesus answered and said unto
him, "What I do thou knowest not
now; but thou shalt know here-
after." 8. Peter saith unto him,
"Thou shalt never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him, "If I wash
thee not, thou hast no part with
me." 9. Simon Peter saith unto
him, "Lord, not my feet only, but
also my hands and my head."
Jesus saith to him, "He that is
washed needeth not save to wash
his feet, but is clean every whit:
and ye are clean, but not all." 11.
For he knew who should betray
him; therefore said he, Ye are not
all clean. 12. So after he had
washed their feet, and had taken
his garments and was set down
again, he said unto them, "Know
ye what I have done to you?" &c.
}
292
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
་
MATTHEW Xxvi, 21-25.
21. And as they did eat, he said,
"Verily I say unto you, that one of
you shall betray me." 22. And
they were exceeding sorrowful, and
began every one of them to say unto
him, "Lord, is it I?" 23. And he
answered and said, "He that dip-
peth his hand with me in the dish,
the same shall betray me. 24. The
Son of man goeth as it is written of
him: but woe unto that man by
whom the Son of man is betrayed!
it had been good for that man if he
had not been born."
25. Then Judas, which betrayed
him, answered and said, Master,
is it I?" He said unto him, “ Thou
hast said."
MARK XIV, 18-21.
""
18. And as they sat and did eat,
Jesus said, "Verily I say unto you,
One of you which eateth with me
shall betray me. 19. And they
began to be sorrowful, and to say
unto him one by one, Is it I? and
another said, Is it I? 20. And he
answered and said unto them, "It
is one of the twelve, that dippeth
with me in the dish. 21. The Son
of man indeed goeth, as it is written
of him: but woe to that man by
whom the Son of man is betrayed!
good were it for that man if he had
never been born."
XXXVIII.]
293
THE LAST SUPPER.
LUKE Xxii, 21-35.
21. But, behold, the hand of him
that betrayeth me is with me on
the table. 22. And truly the Son
of man goeth, as it was determined:
but woe unto that man by whom
he is betrayed!" 23. And they
began to enquire among them-
selves, which of them it was that
should do this thing.
*
24. And there was also a strife
among them, which of them should
be accounted the greatest. 25. And
he said unto them, "The kings of
the Gentiles," &c. &c.
31. And the Lord said, "Simon,
Simon, behold, Satan hath desired
to have you, that he may sift you as
wheat: 32. But I have prayed for
thee, that thy faith fail not: and
when thou art converted, strengthen
thy brethren." 33. And he said
unto him, "Lord, I am ready to go
with thee, both into prison, and to
death." 34. And he said, “I tell
thee, Peter, the cock shall not
crow this day, before that thou
shalt thrice deny that thou knowest
me."
35. And he said unto them,
"When I sent you &c."
JOHN Xiii, 21-38.
21. When Jesus had thus said, he
was troubled in spirit, and testified,
and said, "Verily, verily, I say
unto you, that one of you shall
betray me." 22. Then the dis-
ciples looked one. on another,
doubting of whom he spake. 23.
Now there was leaning on Jesus's
bosom one of his disciples, whom
Jesus loved. 24. Simon Peter
therefore beckoned to him, that he
should ask who it should be of
whom he spake. 25. He then lying
on Jesus's breast saith unto him,
"Lord, who is it?" 26. Jesus
answered, "He it is, to whom I
shall give a sop, when I have
dipped it." And when he had
dipped the sop, he gave it to Judas
Iscariot, the son of Simon. 27.
And after the sop Satan entered
into him. Then said Jesus unto
him, "That thou doest, do quickly."
28. Now no man at the table knew
for what intent he spake this unto
him. 29. For some of them thought,
because Judas had the bag, that
Jesus had said unto him, Buy
those things that we have need of
against the feast; or, that he
should give something to the poor.
30. He then having received the sop
went immediately out: and it was
night.
36. Simon Peter said unto him,
Lord, whither goest thou?" Jesus
answered him, "Whither I go, thou
canst not follow me now: but thou
shalt follow me afterwards." 37.
Peter said unto him, "Lord, why
cannot I follow thee now? I will
lay down my life for thy sake."
38. Jesus answered him, "Wilt
thou lay down thy life for my sake?
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, The
cock shall not crow, till thou hast
denied me thrice."
1
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MATTHEW Xxvi, 30.
30. And when they had sung an
hymn, they went out into the mount
of Olives.
MARK Xiv, 26.
26. And when they had sung an
hymn, they went out into the mount
of Olives.
In examining these parallel narratives, we find there is a
difference as to the place, the time, the nature, and the sub-
ordinate circumstances of the last supper, which warrant the
belief that the accounts of it, thus divergent, have been
compiled in a later age, when all the particulars that had
been handed down respecting it, were already faint with
time, so that many of the minor details are contradictory.
1. As to the place of the supper; it appears from the con-
current testimony of the first three evangelists that it took
place at Jerusalem, Jesus having sent some of his disciples
that very morning from Bethany into the city to make pre-
paration for the feast. But in the Gospel of St John the
supper appears to have been at Bethany, whither Christ re-
turned every evening after the occupation of the day at
Jerusalem, and nothing is said of the sending the disciples
into Jerusalem in the morning to make preparations for the
feast, or of his going thither himself in the evening.
2. The time, also, of the supper is not the same in the four
Gospels: for, whilst Matthew, Mark, and Luke fix it accu-
rately in the evening, the first day of unleavened bread, i. e.
the 14th of the month Nisan (which, according to our modern
calendar, would be in that year about the 9th day of April),
the Gospel of St John says, " Now before the feast of the pass-
over &c.," which words being followed in the next verse by
"And supper being ended," can hardly denote any thing else
than that the supper was at least on the day before the
feast of the passover and was not itself that feast.
3. As regards therefore the nature of the supper also, the
last evangelist is not in harmony with the other three;
for Matthew, Mark, and Luke all describe it as the passover
or paschal feast, "they made ready the passover "; and Luke
especially adds, "With desire I have desired to eat this
passover with you before I suffer": but John has no indica-
tion that it was the passover or any thing more than a com-
mon meal. These remarks apply to the beginning of the
meal in St John's Gospel, not of course to its end; for the
narrative, after five chapters of intervening discourses and ad-
monitions addressed to the disciples, does actually come
round to the same point as the other three Gospels; for,
XXXVIII.]
295
THE LAST SUPPER.
LUKE Xxii, 39.
39. And he came out, and went,
as he was wont, to the mount of
Olives and his disciples also fol-
lowed him.
JOHN Xviii, 1.
When Jesus had spoken these
words, he went forth with his
disciples over the brook Cedron,
where was a garden into the which
he entered and his disciples.
"when Jesus (xviii, 1) had spoken these words, he went forth
with his disciples over the brook Cedron"; coming, it will
be remembered, from Bethany, and not, as in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, from Jerusalem.
4. And lastly, the subordinate circumstances of the supper
are equally divergent.
The first three evangelists relate the message carried by
some of the disciples to a man in the city that he should
make ready a room at his house for the paschal feast. This
circumstance is not noticed by St John, but it is also related
differently by the other three. Whilst, according to St Mat-
thew, Christ sends his disciples generally, St Mark says that
only two went, and St Luke tells us that these two were
Peter and John. Again, in Matthew they are instructed to
go to the house of a certain man and give notice that they would
eat the passover there that evening. But in St Mark and
St Luke, they are instructed to follow a servant who should
meet them in the street bearing a pitcher of water into a
house where they should find a room prepared for them.
These details are not contradictory, and yet the one excludes
the other. If they went to the house of a certain man—
whereby is implied that Jesus specified the man by name,
what was the need of their watching the servant in the street
to know where they should go? It is evident that the evan-
gelists have written according to the knowledge of each, and
that the traditions which they followed had become diver-
gent one from another.
If we proceed to review the incidents that are said to have
happened at the feast, we shall find that these also are very
differently told by the four writers.
In the first place Matthew and Mark relate Christ's de-
tection of Judas's treachery as preceding the institution of
the Communion: but Luke inverts this order and places the
Communion first. John, however, omits all notice of the
Communion and instead represents Jesus as washing the
feet of his disciples. He also makes Judas Iscariot leave
the feast, immediately after his treason was detected. If we
insert this fact as having been accidentally omitted by the
first three Gospels, we still cannot reconcile the accounts of
296
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Matthew, Mark, and Luke; for if in Matthew and Mark
the previous detection of Judas saved him from the sin of
partaking in the Communion, yet in Luke, his detection fol-
lowed after the institution of that ceremony, and he conse-
quently must have partaken of it. But the probability is
that Matthew, Mark, and Luke were not aware that Judas
left the room, for they do not relate his detection in such ex-
plicit terms as John; who alone says that Jesus presented a
sop to the traitor who immediately left the room: in the
other three evangelists, there is no indication of Judas hav-
ing been designated so pointedly.
Secondly, Luke places the "strife among the disciples
which should be greatest as one of the incidents of the
last supper; but Mark says that it took place as they were
on their way to Capernaum some time before.
Thirdly, according to Luke, Christ foretells Peter's denial
of him whilst they are still sitting at meat, but Matthew and
Mark agree in placing it after their arrival at the mount of
Olives, and the accounts which they give of it are therefore
not quoted above in a parallel column with those of Luke and
John. Nor, although there is some little difference in the
four descriptions given of Peter's denial, does it seem worth
while to make this an additional instance of divergency be-
tween the four evangelists.
CHAPTER XXXIX.
CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN OF GETHSEMANE.
FROM the mount of Olives' Jesus and his disciples withdraw
into the neighbouring garden of Gethsemane. The fourth
Gospel then immediately relates the coming of Judas and
his betrayal of his master, but the other three Gospels inter-
pose a scene generally called the “Agony in the garden."
MATTHEW Xxvi, 36-46.
MARK XIV, 32-42.
36. Then cometh Je- 32. And they came to
sus with them unto a a place which was
place called Gethse- named Gethsemane:
mane, and saith unto and he saith to his dis-
the disciples, "Sit ye ciples, "Sit ye here,
here, while I go and pray while I shall pray." 33.
yonder." 37. And he And he taketh with
LUKE Xxii, 40-46.
40. And when he was
at the place, he said
unto them, "Pray that
ye enter not into temp-
tation."
XXXIX.
297
CHRIST'S AGONY IN THE GARDEN.
MATTHEW Xxvi, 37-44.
took with him Peter and
the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to be sorrow-
ful and very heavy. 38.
Then saith he unto
them, "My soul is ex-
ceeding sorrowful, even
unto death: tarry ye
here, and watch with
me."
39. And he went a
little farther, and fell
on his face, and prayed,
saying, "O my Father,
if it be possible, let this
cup pass from me:
nevertheless not as I
will, but as thou wilt."
MARK XIV, 33-40.
him Peter and James
and John, and began to
be sore amazed, and to
be very heavy; 34. And
saith unto them, "My
soul is exceeding sorrow-
ful unto death: tarry
ye here, and watch."
LUKE Xxii, 41-44.
35. And he went for- 41. And he was with-
ward a little, and fell drawn from them about
on the ground, and a stone's cast, and
prayed that if it were kneeled down, and pray-
possible, the hour might ed, 42. Saying, "Father,
pass from him. 36. if thou be willing, re-
And he said, "Abba, move this cup from me:
Father, all things are nevertheless not my
possible unto thee: take will, but thine, be done."
away this cup from me:
nevertheless not what I
will, but what thou
wilt."
40. And he cometh 37. And he cometh,
unto the disciples, and and findeth them sleep-
findeth them asleep, ing, and saith unto
and saith unto Peter, Peter, "Simon, sleepest
What, could ye not thou? couldst not thou
watch with me one watch one hour? 38.
hour? 41. Watch and Watch ye and pray, lest
pray, that ye enter not ye enter into tempta-
into temptation: the tion. The spirit truly
spirit indeed is willing, is ready, but the flesh is
but the flesh is weak." weak."
42. He went away 39. And again he went
again the second time, away, and prayed, and
and prayed, saying, "O spake the same words.
my Father, if this cup
may not pass away from
me, except I drink it,
thy will be done.”
43. And he came and
found them asleep
again: for their eyes
were heavy. 44. And
he left them, and went
away again, and prayed
the third time, saying
the same words.
40. And when he re-
turned, he found them
asleep again, (for their
eyes were heavy,)neither
wist they what to an-
swer him.
43. And there appear-
ed an angel unto him
from heaven, strength-
ening him.
44. And being in an
agony he prayed more
earnestly: and his sweat
was as it were great
drops of blood falling
down to the ground.
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[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Xxvi, 45, 46.
45. Then cometh he
to his disciples, and
saith unto them, "Sleep
on now, and take your
rest: behold, the hour
is at hand, and the Son
of man is betrayed into
the hands of sinners.
46. Rise, let us be
going: behold, he is at
hand that doth betray
me."
MARK Xiv, 41, 42.
LUKE Xxii, 45, 46.
45. And when he rose
41. And he cometh
the third time, and up from prayer, and was
saith unto them, "Sleep come to his disciples, hẹ
on now, and take your found them sleeping for
rest: it is enough, the sorrow. 46. And said
hour is come; behold, unto them, " Why sleep
the Son of man is be- ye? rise and pray, lest ye
trayed into the hands enter into temptation."
of sinners. 42. Rise
up, let us go; lo, he
that betrayeth me is at
hand."
The first observation called forth by a perusal of this nar-
rative relates to the very remarkable circumstance of its
being totally omitted by St John, one of the three selected
(if we may believe Matthew and Mark) to be more closely
witnesses of it. To explain the omission by supposing that
John's Gospel was supplementary to the other three is im-
possible, for that Gospel frequently mentions at length
things of little moment that are also found in Matthew,
Mark, and Luke, whilst it fails to supply information on
points of great interest that are cursorily treated by the
others. The present is an event which would certainly have
been a remarkable incident in the life of St John, and would
probably have been fully described by him, even if his
object had been to supply information that had been omitted
by the other evangelists; for, although Matthew, Mark, and
Luke relate the Agony in the Garden, yet they do it in such
a manner as to give rise to more than one embarrassing
question on the subject.
2. From Matthew and Luke we learn that Christ says to
his disciples, "Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder," and
that taking with him his three favourite disciples Peter and
James and John, he then goes away to some little distance
from the others. But at Matthew, v, 38, and Mark, v, 34,
we read that he tells even them to remain behind, and going
himself alone a little further, throws himself upon the
ground in prayer. But in Luke's Gospel we find nothing
of the selection of Peter and James and John: Christ only
goes alone "about a stone's cast," kneels down and prays.
3. Luke adds the miraculous appearance of an angel sent
to strengthen Christ; but neither Matthew nor Mark relates
this circumstance; which, we might suppose, would in itself
have been a sufficient reason for some notice on the part of
St John who was so close a witness of it.
4. Matthew and Mark represent Christ as coming to the
XL.]
299
CHRIST'S ARREST AND EXAMINATION.
three disciples three times and each time finding them asleep.
But in St Luke's Gospel Jesus is represented as coming
back once only, not to three of his disciples, but to all the
eleven, and it is added that he found them all asleep; "for
their eyes were heavy."
CHAPTER XL.
CHRIST'S ARREST AND EXAMINATION BEFORE THE HIGH-PRIEST.
THE agreement between the evangelists, at least between
three of them, about the main outlines of Christ's life, is as
striking as their want of agreement on all the minor details.
Thus, in the account of his arrest, all the four agree in fixing
it, for the time, on the evening of his last supper, and, for the
place, in the garden of Gethsemane. These things may have
descended to the writers of the Gospels by tradition, and no
variation may have been made on points so specific. But in
the minute details which the Gospels give of the arrest, it is
impossible to reconcile the accounts of the four together.
The first three give the account which follows.
MATTHEW Xxvi, 47-75.
47. And while he yet
spake, lo, Judas, one of
the twelve, came, and
with him a great mul-
titude with swords and
staves, from the chief
priests and elders of the
people. 48. Now he
that betrayed him gave
them a sign, saying,
"Whomsoever I shall
kiss, that same is he:
hold him fast." 49. And
forthwith he came to
Jesus, and said, "Hail,
master;" and kissed
him. 50. And Jesus
said unto him, "Friend,
wherefore art thou
come?" Then came
they, and laid hands on
Jesus, and took him.
MARK XIV, 43-72.
LUKE Xxii, 47-71.
twelve, went before
them, and drew near
unto Jesus to kiss him.
48. But Jesus said unto
him, "Judas, Betrayest
thou the Son of man
with a kiss?"
43. And immediately, 47. And while he yet
while he yet spake, spake, behold a multi-
cometh Judas, one of tude, and he that was
the twelve, and with called Judas, one of the
him a great multitude
with swords and staves,
from the chief priests
and the scribes and
the elders. 44. And he
that betrayed him had
given them a token,
saying, "Whomsoever I
shall kiss, that same is
he; take him, and lead
him away safely." 45.
And as soon as he was
come, he goeth straight-
way to him, and saith,
"Master, master;" and
kissed him. 46. And
they laid their hands on
him, and took him.
That of St John here follows separately.
+
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[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
JOHN Xviii, 3-9.
3. Judas then, having received a band of men and officers from the chief
priests and Pharisees, cometh thither with lanterns and torches and
weapons.
4. Jesus therefore, knowing all things that should come upon him, went
forth, and said unto them, "Whom seek ye?" 5. They answered him,
"Jesus of Nazareth." Jesus saith unto them, "I am he." And Judas also,
which betrayed him, stood with them. 6. As soon then as he had said unto
them, I am he, they went backward, and fell to the ground. 7. Then
asked he them again, "Whom seek ye?"
"Whom seek ye?" And they said, "Jesus of
Nazareth." 8. Jesus answered,
8. Jesus answered, "I have told you that I am he: if there-
fore ye seek me, let these go their way;" 9. That the saying might be ful-
filled, which he spake, "Of them which thou gavest me have I lost none."
Here, though all agree that Jesus was betrayed by Judas
Iscariot, yet the mode in which this was done is differently
told by the four evangelists. If, according to St John,
Jesus stepped forth and declared himself to be the person
whom they were seeking, it is evident that Judas did not in-
dicate him by going up and kissing him, or, at least, it would
MATTHEW XXvi, 51-56.
51. And behold, one of them
which were with Jesus stretched
out his hand, and drew his sword,
and struck a servant of the high
priest's, and smote off his ear.
52. Then said Jesus unto him,
"Put up again thy sword into his
place: for all they that take the
sword shall perish with the sword.
53. Thinkest thou that I cannot
now pray to my Father, and he shall
presently give me more than
twelve legions of angels? 54. But
how then shall the scriptures be
fulfilled, that thus it must be?"
55. In that same hour said Jesus
to the multitudes, "Are ye come out
as against a thief with swords and
staves for to take me? I sat daily
with you teaching in the temple, and
ye laid no hold on me." 56. But
all this was done, that the scriptures
of the prophets might be fulfilled.
Then all the disciples forsook him
and fled.
MARK Xiv, 47-52.
47. And one of them that stood
by drew a sword, and smote a ser-
vant of the high priest, and cut off
his ear.
48. And Jesus answered and said
unto them, "Are ye come out, as
against a thief, with swords and
with staves to take me? 49. I was
daily with you in the temple teach-
ing, and ye took me not: but the
scriptures must be fulfilled."
50. And they all forsook him, and
fled.
51. And there followed him a cer-
tain young man, having a linen cloth
cast about his naked body; and the
young men laid hold on him:
52. And he left the linen cloth,
and fled from them naked.
XL.]
301
CHRIST'S ARREST AND EXAMINATION.
have been superfluous to do so. If on the other hand the kiss
which Judas gave Jesus, was the preconcerted sign by which
they might know him, it would be unnecessary for Jesus to
declare and so deliver up himself. The narrative of St
John is on the whole the most divergent, for he introduces,
besides the dialogue between Jesus and the soldiers who
arrest him, a very extraordinary display of supernatural
power, wholly unnoticed by the other three writers. The
omission of this fact is fatal to their claim of having been
present at this remarkable scene. That all the four copied
from such sources as had come down to their times, and
neither were themselves eye-witnesses nor drew from the
writings of those who were, is perhaps more evident from the
little incident of Peter's smiting the high priest's servant
than from any other particular. It is related by the three
writers of the Synoptical Gospels immediately after the kiss
of Judas; and is noticed also by St John.
LUKE Xxii, 49-53.
49. When they which were about
him saw what would follow, they
said unto him, "Lord, shall we
smite with the sword?" 50. And
one of them smote the servant of
the high priest, and cut off his right
ear.
51. And Jesus answered and
said, "Suffer ye thus far.' And he
touched his ear, and healed him.
JOHN Xviii, 10, 11.
10. Then Simon Peter having a
sword drew it, and smote the high
priest's servant, and cut off his
right ear.
The servant's name was
Malchus. 11. Then said Jesus unto
Peter, "Put up thy sword into the
sheath: the cup which my Father
hath given me, shall I not drink it?"
52. Then Jesus said unto the chief
priests, and captains of the temple,
and the elders, which were come to
him, "Be ye come out, as against a
thief, with swords and staves? 53.
When I was daily with you in the
temple, ye stretched forth no hands
against me: but this is your hour,
and the power of darkness.”
The growth of this circumstance from Mark's simple state-
ment that 66 one of them that stood by drew a sword, and
smote, a servant of the high priest and cut off his ear," is
worthy of notice.
1
302
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
First: Luke adds that all the disciples meant to defend
themselves, and asked Jesus, "Shall we smite with the
sword ?"
Secondly: Matthew adds that Jesus reproved the author
of the deed.
Thirdly From Luke we learn also that Jesus healed the
wounded ear with a touch.
Fourthly: John makes the history complete by adding
that it was Peter who struck the blow, and that Malchus
was the name of the wounded servant.
This accession of particulars looks exceedingly like the
slow process of additional successive details which all such
accounts receive, when a number of persons are trying to
bring to light what has begun to fade away, and each par-
ticular has to be sought after with patient zeal and untiring
MATTHEW XXvi, 57-63.
57. And they that had laid hold
on Jesus led him away to Caiaphas
the high priest, where the scribes
and the elders were assembled.
MARK XIV, 53-60.
53. And they led Jesus away to
the high priest: and with him were
assembled all the chief priests and
the elders and the scribes.
58. But Peter followed him afar
off unto the high priest's palace,
and went in, and sat with the ser-
vants, to see the end.
54. And Peter followed him afar
off, even into the palace of the high
priest and sat with the servants,
and warmed himself at the fire.
59. Now the chief priests, and
elders, and all the council, sought
false witness against Jesus, to put
him to death, 60. But found none :
yea, though many false witnesses
came, yet found they none.
At the
last came two false witnesses, 61.
And said, "This fellow said, I am
able to destroy the temple of God,
and to build it in three days." 62.
And the high priest arose, and said
unto him, "Answerest thou no-
thing? what is it which these wit-
ness against thee?" 63. But Jesus
held his peace. And the high priest
55. And the chief priests and all
the council sought for witness
against Jesus to put him to death;
and found none. 56. For many
bare false witness against him, but
their witness agreed not together.
57. And there arose certain, and
bare false witness against him, say-
ing, 58. "We heard him say, I will
destroy this temple that is made
with hands, and within three days
I will build another made without
hands." 59. But neither so did
their witness agree together. 60.
And the high priest stood up in the
XL.] CHRIST'S ARREST AND EXAMINATION.
303
perseverance; every contributor being, as it would seem,
ignorant of the effect of his discoveries, and careful only to
collect facts, which hereafter may be blended together. We
may of course make an exception to this process when an
isolated fact is recorded as in the case of the young man, named
by Mark, who, alarmed at what was going on at night, threw
a sheet from the bed round his body, but, surprised and
frightened at the sight of the soldiers, left his covering in
their hands, and fled naked away.
The company of soldiers meanwhile carry off Jesus; but,
though the disciples had at first all taken to flight, Peter
came again and followed his master, in company, says the
Gospel of St John, with another disciple, who is generally
said to have been St John himself. The four narratives
proceed thus.
LUKE Xxii, 54-71.
54. Then took they him, and led
him, and brought him into the high
priest's house.
55.
And Peter followed afar off.
And when they had kindled a fire
in the midst of the hall, and were
set down together, Peter sat down
among them.
JOHN Xviii, 12-16.
12. Then the band and the cap-
tain and officers of the Jews took
Jesus, and bound him, 13. And led
him away to Annas first; for he
was father in law to Caiaphas,
which was the high priest that same
year.
•
14. Now Caiaphas was he, which
gave counsel to the Jews, that it was
expedient that one man should die.
for the people.
15. And Simon Peter followed
Jesus, and so did another disciple:
that disciple was known unto the
high priest, and went in with Jesus
into the palace of the high priest.
16. But Peter stood at the door
without. Then went out that other
disciple, which was known unto the
high priest, and spake unto her that
kept the door, and brought in
Peter.
1
1
1
304
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Xxvi, 63-75.
answered and said unto him, “I
adjure thee by the living God that
thou tell us whether thou be the
Christ the Son of God." 64. Jesus
saith unto him, "Thou hast said :
nevertheless I say unto you, Here-
after shall ye see the Son of man
sitting on the right hand of power
and coming in the clouds of heaven."
65. Then the high priest rent his
clothes, saying, "He hath spoken
blasphemy; what further need have
we of witnesses? behold, now ye
have heard his blasphemy. 66.
What think ye?" They answered
and said, “He is guilty of death."
67. Then did they spit in his
face, and buffeted him; and others
smote him with the palms of their
hands, 68. Saying, "Prophesy unto
us, thou Christ, Who is he that
smote thee?"
69. Now Peter sat without in the
palace and a damsel came unto
him, saying, "Thou also wast with
Jesus of Galilee." 70. But he de-
nied before them all, saying, “I
know not what thou sayest."
71. And when he was gone out
into the porch another maid saw
him, and said unto them that were
there, "This fellow was also with
Jesus of Nazareth.” 72. And again
he denied with an oath, "I do not
know the man."
73. And after a while came unto
him they that stood by, and said to
Peter," Surely thou also art one of
them; for thy speech betrayeth
thee."
74. Then began he to curse
and to swear, saying, "I know not
the man. ""
And immediately the
cock crew. 75. And Peter remem-
bered the word of Jesus, which said
unto him, "Before the cock crow,
thou shalt deny me thrice." And
he went out and wept bitterly.
MARK XIV, 59-72.
midst, and asked Jesus, saying,
"Answerest thou nothing? what is
it which these witness against
thee?" 61. But he held his peace,
and answered nothing. Again the
high priest asked him, and said
unto him, "Art thou the Christ,
the Son of the Blessed?" 62. And
Jesus said, "I am: and ye shall see
the Son of man sitting on the right
hand of power, and coming in the
clouds of heaven.' 63. Then the
high priest rent his clothes, and
saith, "What need we any further
witnesses? 64. Ye have heard the
blasphemy: what think ye?" And
they all condemned him to be guilty
of death.
65. And some began to spit on
him, and to cover his face, and to
buffet him, and to say unto him,
Prophesy:" and the servants did
strike him with the palms of their
hands.
(C
66. And as Peter was beneath in
the palace, there cometh one of the
maids of the high priest: 67. And
when she saw Peter warming him-
self, she looked upon him, and said,
"And thou also wast with Jesus of
Nazareth." 68. But he denied, say-
ing, "I know not, neither under-
stood I what thou sayest." And he
went out into the porch; and the
cock crew.
69. And a maid saw him again,
and began to say to them that stood
by, "This is one of them." 70. And
he denied it again.
And a little after, they that stood
by said again to Peter, "Surely thou
art one of them: for thou art a
Galilæan, and thy speech agreeth
thereto." 71. But he began to curse
and to swear, saying, "I know not
this man of whom ye speak." 72.
And the second time the cock crew.
And Peter called to mind the word
that Jesus said unto him, Before
the cock crow twice, thou shalt
deny me thrice. And when he
thought thereon, he wept.
In these accounts are many particulars, difficult to be re-
conciled.
1. Whilst in the other three Gospels Jesus is led straight
into the palace of the high priest, we find in St John that
XL.]
305
CHRIST'S ARREST AND EXAMINATION.
LUKE Xxii, 56-71.
56. But a certain maid beheld
him as he sat by the fire, and
earnestly looked upon him, and
said, "This man was also with
him." 57. And he denied him,
saying, "Woman, I know him not."
58. And after a little while another
saw him, and said, "Thou art also
of them."
I am not.
And Peter said, "Man,
59. And about the space of one
hour after another confidently
affirmed, saying, "Of a truth this
fellow was also with him: for he is
a Galilæan.” 60. And Peter said,
Man, I know not what thou say-
est."
And immediately, while he
yet spake, the cock crew.
61. And the Lord turned, and
looked upon Peter. And Peter re-
membered the word of the Lord,
how he had said unto him, Before
the cock crow, thou shalt deny me
thrice. 62. And Peter went out
and wept bitterly.
63. And the men that held Jesus
mocked him, and smote him. 64.
And when they had blindfolded
him, they struck him on the face,
and asked him, saying, "Prophesy,
who is it that smote thee?" 65.
And many other things blasphe-
mously spake they against him.
66. And as soon as it was day,
the elders of the people and the
chief priests and the scribes came
together, and led him into their
council, saying, 67. "Art thou the
Christ? tell us." And he said unto
them, "If I tell you, ye will not be-
lieve: 18. And if I also ask you, ye
will not answer me, nor let me go.
69. Hereafter shall the Son of man
sit on the right hand of the power
of God." 70. Then said they all,
"Art thou then the Son of God?"
And he said unto them, “Ye say
that I am.” 71. And they said,
"What need we any further wit-
ness? for we ourselves have heard
of his own mouth."
JOHN Xviii, 17-27.
17. Then saith the damsel that
kept the door unto Peter, "Art not
thou also one of this man's dis-
ciples?" He saith, "I am not."
18. And the servants and officers
stood there, who had made a fire of
coals; for it was cold: and they
warmed themselves: and Peter
stood with them, and warmed him-
self.
19. The high priest then asked
Jesus of his disciples, and of his
doctrine. 20. Jesus answered him,
"I spake openly to the world; I
ever taught in the synagogue, and
in the temple, whither the Jews
always resort; and in secret have I
said nothing. 21. Why askest thou
me? ask them which heard me,
what I have said unto them: be-
hold, they know what I said.” 22.
And when he had thus spoken, one
of the officers which stood by struck
Jesus with the palm of his hand,
saying, “Answerest thou the high
priest so?" 23. Jesus answered
him, "If I have spoken evil, bear
witness of the evil: but if well, why
smitest thou me?" 24. Now Annas
had* sent him bound unto Caiaphas
the high priest.
25. And Simon Peter stood and
warmed himself. They said there-
fore unto him, "Art not thou also
one of his disciples?" He denied
it, and said, "I am not." 26. One
of the servants of the high priest,
being his kinsman whose ear Peter
cut off, saith, "Did not I see thee
in the garden with him?" 27. Peter
then denied again: and imme-
diately the cock crew.
Had" is an interpolation of our
translators. The original Greek is
ἀπέστειλεν, which must apply to a
consecutive series of events.
he is first led away to Annas the father-in-law of Caiaphas,
who was the high priest that same year; and yet within two
verses Peter is said to have followed Jesus into the palace of
the high priest, having been detained a short time at the door
VOL. II.
21
306
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
until his companion had obtained for him admission. The
discrepancy appears to arise solely from the unhistorical
manner in which the fourth Gospel is compiled: often relat-
ing facts of which no trace occurs elsewhere, it as often
weakens their credibility by the confused order and imper-
fect manner in which they are related.
2. If, then, setting aside the previous difficulty, we lay the
scene of Christ's examination in the palace of the high priest,
we have next to observe that St Luke puts off that examina-
tion until the next morning early (ver. 66), leaving Jesus for
the night in the hands of the servants and officers, who make
sport of him, blindfold him, and treat him with many indig-
nities. In this St Luke is not borne out by the other three,
all of whom relate the examination as occurring over night,
and place the buffeting and smiting, as the immediate conse-
quence of his having been therein declared to be worthy of
death.
3. But a third discrepancy, concerning the denial of Christ
by Peter, furnishes a still stronger proof that these records
have not come down to us with the exactness of a contem-
porary character, much less with the authority of verbal in-
spiration.
The four accounts of Peter's denial vary very
considerably.
The variations will be more intelligible, exhibited in a
tabular form.
1st DENIAL.
2nd DENIAL.
Out in the porch, to
in an
another maid.
According to MAT-
THEW-Seated
outer room, by the fire,
to a damsel.
MARK-Agrees with Matthew in all three.
LUKE-seated in an
outer room by the fire,
to a damsel.
Still near the fire, to
another damsel.
Seated by the fire, to
JOHN-On entering, to
the damsel who kept the bystanders.
the door.
3rd DENIAL.
Out in the porch, to
the bystanders.
Still near the fire, to
a man.
Still seated by the
fire, to one of the ser-
vants, who was a rela-
tive of Malchus.
The circumstance of the cock crowing is also differently
told. Mark alone says that the first crowing was imme-
diately after the first denial, and the second immediately
after the third. The other three place the only crowing with
which they were acquainted immediately after the third
denial.
Such variations do not impugn the idea of the fact, but only
the accuracy of the writers; and the introduction of the cock
XLI.]
307
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
at all seems to militate against all the four alike, for they all
place the scene over night, and cocks do not generally crow
until the dawn of day.
Lastly, there is a remarkable feature added to the story by
St Luke alone-that Jesus, after the third denial, turned and
looked at Peter, who was smitten with remorse and went out
to weep bitterly. But all the other three evangelists agree
that Jesus and Peter were separated from one another-
Matthew and Mark even tell us that, whilst the former was
led in before the high priest, the latter sat without by the fire.
To harmonize these different authorities, without qualifying
one of them, is impossible, though it may not be difficult to
extract from them a consistent narrative, if reason and not
preconceived opinion, be allowed its due weight in conduct-
ing the enquiry.
CHAPTER XLI.
THE TRIAL OF JESUS BEFORE PONTIUS PILATE, THE ROMAN
PROCURATOR.
THE meeting of priests and elders, before whom Jesus was
first brought to be examined, appears to have been the Jewish
Sanhedrim; but as they no longer had the power of life and
death, it was necessary that he should be tried by due form
of law before the governor. Whether the previous examina-
tion before the Jewish authorities was according to a regular
custom, or whether it was exceptional in the present in-
stance, we are not informed. The Romans were willing to
allow every safe privilege to the subject states, but insisted
on themselves administering the laws of the empire. They also
were very careful to extend the language as well as the laws
of Rome, and it can hardly be doubted that the trial of our
Lord, like all other trials, was conducted in the Latin
tongue. We have the testimony of several ancient authors
on this subject. Valerius Maximus (ii, 2) has the following
passage:
How energetically the ancient magistrates conducted them-
selves in support of their own majesty and that of the Roman
people, may be learned from the fact that among other marks of
dignity they persistently took care that no one should reply, even
to Greeks, in other than the Latin language.
308
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Cicero also, in his fourth oration against Verres (ch. 66),
complains that he had been charged with acting unworthily
for having spoken before Greeks in their own tongue.
Plutarch too, in his Life of Cato, alludes to a popular re-
port that the Censor during a lengthened stay at Athens
delivered to the inhabitants of that city an oration in Greek
and in praise of their illustrious ancestors: but his biogra-
pher says that this is not true, for that Cato spoke to them
through an interpreter. We will then proceed to cite the
passages from the four Gospels in which this trial is described.
The three Synoptical writers begin this part of their narra-
tive as follows:
Matthew xxvii, 1-14.
MARK XV, 1-5.
When the morning And straightway in
was come, all the chief the morning the chief
priests and elders of priests held a consul-
the people took counsel tation with the elders
against Jesus to put him and scribes and the
to death: 2. And when whole council, and
they had bound him,
they led him away, and
delivered him to Pon-
tius Pilate the governor.
bound Jesus, and car-
ried him away, and de-
livered him to Pilate.
2. And Pilate asked
him, "Art thou the King
of the Jews?” And
11. And Jesus stood
before the governor
and the governor ask-
ed him, saying, "Art he answering said
thou the King of the unto him, "Thou say-
Jews?" And Jesus said est it." 3. And the
unto him, "Thou say
est." 12. And when he
was accused of the chief
priests and elders, he
answered nothing. 13.
Then said Pilate unto
him, “Hearest thou not
how many things they
witness against thee?"
14. And he answered But Jesus yet answered
him to never a word; in- nothing; so that Pilate
somuch that the gover- marvelled.
nor marvelled greatly.
chief priests accused
him of many things:
but he answered no-
thing. 4. And Pilate
asked him again, say-
ing, "Answerest thou
nothing? behold how
many things they wit-
ness against thee." 5.
LUKE Xxiii, 1-5.
And the whole mul-
titude of them arose,
and led him unto Pi-
late.
2. And they began to
accuse him, saying, "We
found this fellow per-
verting the nation, and
forbidding to give tri-
bute to Cæsar, saying
that he himself is Christ
a King." 3. And Pilate
asked him, saying, "Art
thou the King of the
Jews?” And he an-
swered him and said,
"Thou sayest it." 4.
Then said Pilate to the
chief priests and to the
people, "I find no fault
in this man. 5. And
they were the more
fierce, saying, "He
stirreth up the people,
teaching throughout all
Jewry, beginning from
Galilee to this place."

The divergences of description given in the Gospel accord-
ing to St John will be evident from the following extract:
JOHN Xviii, 28-38.
28. Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgement: and
it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgement hall, lest
they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. 29. Pilate
XLI.]
309
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
then went out unto them, and said, "What accusation bring ye against this
man?"
30. They answered and said unto him, "If he were not a male-
factor, we would not have delivered him up unto thee.' 31. Then said
Pilate unto them, "Take ye him, and judge him according to your law."
The Jews therefore said unto him, "It is not lawful for us to put any man
to death:" 32. That the saying of Jesus might be fulfilled, which he spake,
signifying what death he should die. 33. Then Pilate entered into the
judgement hall again, and called Jesus, and said unto him, "Art thou the
King of the Jews?"
34. Jesus answered him, "Sayest thou this thing of thyself, or did others
tell it thee of me?
""
35. Pilate answered, "Am I a Jew? Thine own nation and the chief
priests have delivered thee unto me: what hast thou done?"
36. Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom
were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be de-
livered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence."
37. Pilate therefore said unto him, "Art thou a king then?" Jesus
answered, “Thou sayest that I am a king. To this end was I born and
for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness unto the
truth. Every one that is of the truth heareth my voice."
38. Pilate saith unto him, "What is truth?" and, when he had said
this, he went out again unto the Jews, and saith unto them, "I find in him
no fault at all.”
At this point of the proceedings St Luke records an inci-
dent of which nothing is said by the other three evangelists.
LUKE Xxiii, 6-16.
6. When Pilate heard of Galilee, he asked whether the man were a
Galilæan. 7. And as soon as he knew that he belonged unto Herod's juris-
diction, he sent him to Herod, who himself also was at Jerusalem at that
time. 8. And when Herod saw Jesus, he was exceeding glad: for he was
desirous to see him of a long season, because he had heard many things of
him; and he hoped to have seen some miracle done by him. 9. Then he
questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing. 10.
And the chief priests and scribes stood and vehemently accused him.
11. And Herod with his men of war set him at nought and mocked him,
and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again to Pilate. 12.
And the same day Pilate and Herod were made friends together: for before
they were at enmity between themselves.
13. And Pilate, when he had called together the chief priests and the
rulers, and the people, 14. Said unto them, "Ye have brought this man
unto me, as one that perverteth the people: and, behold, I, having ex-
amined him before you, have found no fault in this man touching those
things whereof ye accuse him: 15. No, nor yet Herod: for I sent you to
him; and, lo, nothing worthy of death is done unto him. 16. I will there-
fore chastise him, and release him."
At this point of the narrative we meet with the notice of
Barabbas the robber, mentioned by all the four evangelists,
but very briefly by St John.
MATTHEW Xxvii, 15-26.
15. Now at that feast
the governor was wont
to release unto the peo-
ple a prisoner, whom
MARK XV, 6-15.
LUKE Xxiii, 17-25.
one
6. Now at that feast 17. (For of necessity
he released unto them he must release
one prisoner, whomso- unto them at the feast.)
ever they desired. 7. 18. And they cried out
310
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW Xxvii, 15-26.
prisoner, called Barab-
bas. 17. Therefore
when they were gather-
ed together, Pilate said
unto them, "Whom
will ye that I release
unto you? Barabbas, or
Jesus which is called
Christ?" 18. For he
knew that for envy they
had delivered him.
MARK XV, 7-15.
LUKE Xxiii, 18-25.
us
they would. 16. And And there was one all at once, saying,
they had then a notable named Barabbas, which "Away with this man,
lay bound with them and release unto
that had made insur- Barabbas:" 19. (Who
rection with him, who for a certain sedition
had committed murder made in the city, and
in the insurrection. 8. for murder, was cast
And the multitude cry- into prison.) 20. Pilate
ing aloud began to de- therefore, willing to re-
sire him to do as he had lease Jesus, spake again
ever done unto them. to them. 21. But they
9. But Pilate answered cried, saying,
"Crucify
them, saying, "Will ye him, crucify him." 22.
that I release unto you And he said unto them
the King of the Jews?" the third time, "Why,
10. For he knew that what evil hath he done?
the chief priests had de- I have found no cause
livered him for envy.
of death in him: I will
therefore chastise him,
and let him go."
11. But the chief
priests moved the peo-
19. When he was set
down on the judgement
seat, his wife sent unto
him, saying, "Have
thou nothing to do with
that just man: for I
have suffered many
things this day in a
dream because of him."
20. But the chief
priests and elders per-
suaded the multitude ple, that he should
that they should ask rather release Barabbas
Barabbas, and destroy unto them. 12. And
Jesus. 21. The gover- Pilate answered and
nor answered and said said again unto them,
unto them, "Whether "What will ye then
of the twain will ye that that I shall do unto him
I release unto you?" whom ye call the King
They said, "Barabbas." of the Jews?" 13. And
22. Pilate saith unto
them, "What shall I
do then with Jesus
which is called Christ?'
They all say unto him,
Let him be crucified."
23. And the governor
said, "Why, what evil
hath he done?" But
they cried out the more,
they cried out again, 23. And they were
"Crucify him.” 14. instant with loud voices,
Then Pilate said unto requiring that he might
them, "Why, what evil be crucified. And the
hath he done?" And voices of them and of
they cried out the more the chief priests pre-
saying, "Let him be exceedingly, Crucify vailed. 24. And Pilate
crucified."
26. Then released be
Barabbas unto them:
and when he had
scourged Jesus, he de-
livered him to be cruci-
fied.
him."
15. And so Pilate,
willing to content the
people, released Barab-
bas unto them, and de-
livered Jesus, when he
had scourged him, to be
crucified.
gave sentence that it
should be as they re-
quired.
25. And he released
unto them him that for
sedition and murder
was cast into prison,
whom they had desired;
but he delivered Jesus
to their will.
XLI.]
311
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
JOHN Xviii, 39, 40.
39. "But ye have a custom, that I should release unto you one at the
passover: will ye therefore that I release unto you the King of the Jews?"
40. Then cried they all again, saying, "Not this man, but Barabbas.'
Now Barabbas was a robber.
The incident of Pilate's washing his hands before the mul-
titude, is related by St Matthew alone in these terms:
MATTHEW XXvii, 24, 25.
24. When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing, but that rather a
tumult was made, he took water, and washed his hands before the multi-
tude, saying, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it."
25. Then answered all the people, and said, "His blood be on us, and on
our children.”
St Luke's narrative here ceases and the sequel of history
according to the other three here follows.
MATTHEW XXvii, 27-31.
MARK XV, 16-20.
27. Then the soldiers 16. And the soldiers
of the governor took led him away into the
Jesus into the common hall, called Prætorium;
hall, and gathered unto and they call together
him the whole band of the whole band. 17. And
soldiers. 28. And they they clothed him with
stripped him, and put purple, and platted a
on him a scarlet robe. crown of thorns, and
29. And when they had put it about his head,
platted а crown of 18. And began to salute
thorns, they put it upon him, "Hail, King of the
his head, and a reed in Jews!" 19. And they
his right hand: and smote him on the head
they bowed the knee be- with a reed, and did
fore him, and mocked spit upon him, and bow-
him, saying, Hail, ing their knees worship-
King of the Jews!" 30. ped him.
And they spit upon him,
and took the reed, and
smote him on the head.
31. And after that 20. And when they
they had mocked him, had mocked him, they
they took the robe off
from him, and put his
own raiment on him,
and led him away to
crucify him.
took off the purple from
him, and put his own
clothes on him, and led
him out to crucify him.
JOHN Xix, 1-16.
Then Pilate there-
fore took Jesus, and
scourged him.
2. And the soldiers
platted 2 crown of
thorns, and put it on
his head, and they put
on him a purple robe,
3. And said, Hail,
King of the Jews!" and
they smote him with
their hands.
therefore
4. Pilate
went forth again, and
saith unto them, "Be-
hold, I bring him forth
to you, that ye may
know that I find no
fault in him."
5. Then came Jesus
forth, wearing the crown
of thorns, and the pur-
ple robe. And Pilate
saith unto them, “Be-
hold the man.
""
6. When the chief
priests therefore and
officers saw him, they
cried out, saying, "Cru-
cify him, crucify him."
Pilate saith unto them,
"Take ye him, and cru-
cify him: for I find no
fault in him.”
7. The Jews answered him, "We have a law, and by our law he ought
to die, because he made himself the Son of God." 8. When Pilate there-
fore heard that saying, he was the more afraid; 9. And went again into
312
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RÉCORDS.
the judgement hall, and saith unto Jesus, "Whence art thou?" But Jesus
gave him no answer. 10. Then saith Pilate unto him, "Speakest thou
not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee and
have power to release thee?" 11. Jesus answered, "Thou couldest have
no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: there-
fore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.”
12. And from thenceforth Pilate sought to release him: but the Jews
cried out, saying, "If thou let this man go, thou art not Cæsar's friend :
whosoever maketh himself a king speaketh against Cæsar." 13. When
Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought Jesus forth, and sat down
in the judgement seat in a place that is called the Pavement, but in the
Hebrew, Gabbatha.
14. And it was the preparation of passover and about the sixth hour:
and he saith unto the Jews, "Behold your King!" 15. But they cried
out, Away with him, away with him, crucify him." Pilate saith unto
them, "Shall I crucify your King!" The chief priests answered, "We
have no king but Cæsar."
16. Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be crucified.
That the particulars of this trial are of a legendary cha-
racter, and will not bear a close examination, must be evident
to all who are acquainted with Roman history. It is well
known that some years before the crucifixion of our Lord,
Judæa had been taken possession of by the Romans, reduced
to the form of a province, and was governed by a procurator.
We learn from John, xviii, 31, as noticed in the foregoing
harmony, that the Jews had no longer the power of life and
death; which supplies the reason why it was necessary to
bring Jesus before the tribunal of Pilate. That he was so
brought before the Roman procurator, is testified by all the
evangelists; but there lies at the outset a discrepancy be-
tween John and the other three, as to the place in which this
trial was held. For St Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke,
all assert that Jesus stood before the governor, and was there
accused of many things by the chief priests and elders. But
this could hardly be done if the priests and elders remained
without and "went not into the judgement hall, lest they
should be defiled, but that they might eat the passover."
St John, who tells us this, adapts the circumstances of the
trial to this beginning of it, and makes Pilate go backward
and forward, out from the judgement hall to the people and
again in from the people to examine Jesus further. This is
said to have happened three times, according to St John,
but nothing of the kind is told by the other evangelists;
which causes great perplexity to the mind in forming a true
estimate of this remarkable trial. Perhaps there is probably
no nation in the world in which the public administration of
justice would be rendered so undignified, as that the chief
magistrate should quit the judgement seat in the trial of a
public criminal, and, in a question of life and death, go
XLI.]
313
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
1
backwards and forwards between the accuser and the
prisoner, that he might hear what they had to plead. It
may be said without hesitation that no Roman governor ever
condescended to an act which he would deem so derogatory
to his rank and dignity. The writer of the fourth Gospel
was no doubt embarrassed by the connection between Christ's
death and the Jewish passover; and being aware that in his
own previous narrative he had not identified the Last Supper
with the paschal feast, he naturally supposed that it was still
to come, in which case the Jewish rulers must not disqualify
themselves from partaking of it by immediate contact even
with the court of the governor. Whether any traditions had
already been embodied into this form, out of which the fourth
Gospel was compiled, is now uncertain, but this is not un-
likely. We may therefore set aside this peculiar feature of
St John's Gospel and suppose, with the other three, that ac-
cusers and accused stood before the
governor.
2. We must next qualify another incident mentioned by
St Luke alone, Pilate's sending Jesus to Herod, not because
it would be incompatible with Roman customs; on the con-
trary, it was always agreeable to them that the allied kings
should administer justice to their own subjects; but because
it is related under many improbable circumstances by Luke,
and related by him alone, and also because by admitting it
as so related, we should have too many events to occupy the
brief space of time which elapsed between the dawn of day
and the crucifixion. That so singular an incident as the re-
ference of a state prisoner to another tribunal should have
escaped the notice of three out of four contemporary writers,
is most significant, and this significancy is increased by the
fact that none of their narratives present any break into
which the omitted circumstance might be introduced. It is
certain that they omitted it because they knew nothing about
it. But if it had happened, they could not fail to know it,
or, writing by inspiration, they could not but have been in-
spired with the knowledge of such an important incident. St
Mark, at all events, ought to have known it by natural
means; for we are told that he wrote what he had heard
from St Peter, who was present in the high priest's palace,
and no doubt followed his master into the Roman prætorium.
The most improbable circumstance about it is that Herod,
a king, “with his men of war set him at nought, and mocked
him, and arrayed him in a gorgeous robe, and sent him again
to Pilate. It is inconceivable that a man of rank should
condescend to such conduct, and would be hard to believe,
314
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
even if it were recorded by all the evangelists. But as it
is related by only one, we are driven to look round for a
solution of the difficulty; and a solution at once presents it-
self in the equally remarkable fact, that this mockery of
Jesus is related to have happened at four different times;
first, by the servants of the high priest the night before
(Luke xxii, 63): secondly, by Herod (Luke xxiii, 11):
thirdly, by the Roman soldiers before the order for cruci-
fixion was given (John xix, 2): and fourthly by the same
after the order was issued (Matt. xxvii, 27; Mark xv, 17). We
cannot resist the feeling that one such incident has here been
multiplied into four. The probability is that Jesus was only
once mocked-not by Herod who really wished to see Jesus,
nor by the Roman soldiers, for that would have been
unworthy of their general character, but by the servants of
the chief priests, who were perhaps pleased with the oppor-
tunity of taunting him who had so often with his truthful
irony taunted and baffled their masters.
That Jesus should have been sent to Herod at so early an
hour in the morning, is inconceivable; and the multitude of
events crowded into so small a space of time throws great
improbability' on this particular incident; for we learn from
Mark xv, 25, that Christ was crucified immediately after the
trial, at the third hour or nine o'clock in the morning.
3. Another doubt, with respect to the details of Christ's
trial before Pilate, arises from the discordant statements of
the evangelists about his scourging Jesus. It is well known
that Roman criminals condemned to death were scourged,
virgis casi, before execution. That Jesus was so dealt with,
we need not doubt, St Matthew, St Mark, and St John say
so; "when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be
crucified." But St Luke, who does not actually say that
Jesus was scourged, makes Pilate propose to the Jewish
people that he should "chastise him and release him."
This might be thought to be a flagrant act of injustice
in most cases, not only according to the Roman, but to every
other code of law or right. But in the inartistic and un-
professional style used by all the evangelists in describing this
trial, it is rather difficult to detect the exact crime of which
Jesus was accused. Pilate seems to have thought him an
enthusiast, and if besides the charge of rebellion and sedition,
he was accused of making a disturbance among the people,
¹ Herod was probably in Pilate's house at this time, and the difficulty is
removed.
XLI.]
315
THE TRIAL OF JESUS.
Pilate may have been willing to scourge him by way of
warning, but not to sentence him to the punishment of death.
In ordinary cases of rebellion and sedition a Roman crimi-
nal, like an English criminal, was either found guilty or
innocent. If guilty, he was scourged and executed, but if
innocent, he was discharged without further suffering. Now
all the four evangelists agree that Pilate declared Jesus to
be innocent; he clearly stated his opinion, "I find no fault
in him,” that is to say, of the more serious charge brought
against him. We must therefore look for an explanation of
these statements in the simplicity of the early Christians and
their want of knowledge of the world. If Pilate had been
fully convinced of Christ's innocence, he would probably not
have condemned him, though it may be reasonably admitted
that he was not unwilling to gratify the Jewish authorities,
and therefore perhaps to look at the charges brought against
the prisoner in a Jewish and not a Roman point of view.
4. The proceedings related to have taken place at the
trial must be much qualified before they can be accepted as
historical. The questions asked of Jesus have evidently
assumed the irregular character likely to have been given
them in later times by the Christians who, like all reli-
gious societies, were very little experienced in the ways of
the world and possibly altogether ignorant of the formality
belonging to a court of justice. In particular, the question
“What hast thou done?" asking the prisoner to state his
own offence and convict himself-reminds one rather of a
father's expostulation with his son, or of a master's castiga-
tion of his pupil than of a trial in a court of justice by the
governor of a large and important province, conducted ac-
cording to the laws of the greatest people that ever yet existed
upon the earth,
5. Lastly; there is a want of uniformity with respect to
the custom pleaded by Pilate, of releasing one prisoner, and
sacrificing another, on behalf of the people. This custom is
nowhere mentioned by any historian, sacred or profane; and
it may be conjectured that the confused manner in which it
is alluded to by the evangelists is a proof there was no very
clear idea of its meaning or application even in their time.
All the four tell us that it was customary for the governor
to release unto them a prisoner whom they would; and Dr
Hammond, in a note on St Matthew's Gospel (xxvii, 15),
says that "this seems not to have been the custom of the
Jews, but introduced by the Roman governor as an act of
grace, for the purpose of gaining popularity." Yet in John

316
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
xviii, 39, Pilate says, "Ye have a custom that I should re-
lease unto you one at the passover, &c." As if the custom
were a Jewish, not a Roman custom-and it was Jewish, not
Roman, if it prevailed at all; for the whole of Roman his-
tory may be read in vain, without finding any notice of such
a custom prevailing at any period of their existence. It may
be suspected, indeed, from a passage in John xi, 49, 50, where
Caiaphas counsels,
"That it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people," &c.
that some confusion has been made between anʼact of release
and an act of sacrifice,*—that the idea of offering up an in-
nocent victim has been moulded by time into that of releasing
a guilty one-a proceeding much more conducive, if not to
the glory of God, yet to peace and good-will among men.
CHAPTER XLII.
THE CRUCIFIXION.
THE execution of Jesus followed unusually soon after the sen-
tence had been pronounced. He was brought before Pilate
MATTHEW XXvii, 32-66.
32. And as they came out, they
found a man of Cyrene, Simon by
name him they compelled to bear
his cross.
MARK XV, 21-47.
21. And they compel one Simon
a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming
out of the country, the father of
Alexander and Rufus, to bear his
cross.
* See the note about the scapegoat at page 357 of the first volume of this
work,
XLII.]
317
THE CRUCIFIXION.
at the dawn of day on the morning of what was perhaps the
ninth of April, if, as is probable, the year in which this took
place, was the thirtieth of the Christian era. We are also
informed by St Mark (xv, 25) that he was crucified at nine
o'clock in the morning, which according to the ancient mode
of reckoning was the third hour of the day. The haste with
which these proceedings were conducted may be explained
in various ways. According to the narrative of St John, the
Jews, expecting to eat the Passover in the evening of that
day, might wish previously to be free from the charge of
Jesus who had been given up to Pilate to be disposed of at
their will. Or, if we adopt the statement of the other evan-
gelists, that the Passover had been eaten the day before, yet
even then, the next day being a Sabbath and being moreover
a "high day," seeing that it fell within the Paschal week,
they might equally wish to crucify Jesus in time that he
might die and be buried, and not remain upon the cross
during the ensuing Sabbath. We are indeed assured by
Josephus that it was deemed of much importance among his
countrymen that the bodies of criminals, who had suffered the
extreme penalty of the law, should be buried before the close
of day.
The crucifixion of Jesus is described by the four evan-
gelists as follows:

LUKE Xxiii, 26-56.
26. And as they led him away,
they laid hold upon one Simon, a
Cyrenian, coming out of the country,
and on him they laid the cross, that
he might bear it after Jesus.
27. And there followed him a
great company of people, and of wo-
men, which also bewailed and la-
mented him. 28. But Jesus turn-
ing unto them said, "Daughters of
Jerusalem, weep not for me, but
weep for yourselves, and for your
children. 29. For, behold, the days
are coming, in the which they shall
say, Blessed are the barren, and the
wombs that never bare, and the
paps which never gave suck. 30.
Then shall they begin to say to the
mountains, Fall on us; and to the
hills, Cover us. 31. For if they do
these things in a green tree, what
shall be done in the dry?"
32. And there were also two other,
malefactors, led with him to be put
to death.
JOHN xix, 16-42.
16. And they took Jesus and led
him away.
318
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW xxvii, 33-43.
33. And when they were come
unto a place called Golgotha, that
is to say, a place of a skull, 34.
They gave him vinegar to drink
mingled with gall: and when he
had tasted thereof, he would not
drink.
38. Then were there two thieves
crucified with him, one on the right
hand, and another on the left.
35. And they crucified him, and
parted his garments, casting lots:
MARK XV,
22-32.
22. And they bring him unto the
place Golgotha, which is, being in-
terpreted, The place of a skull. 23.
And they gave him to drink wine
mingled with myrrh: but he re-
ceived it not.
27. And with him they crucify
two thieves; the one on his right
hand, and the other on his left.
28. And the scripture was fulfilled,
which saith, And he was numbered
with the transgressors.
24. And when they had crucified
him, they parted his garments, cast-
ing lots upon them, what every man
should take.
25. And it was the third hour,
and they crucified him.
that it might be fulfilled, which was
spoken by the prophet, They parted
my garments among them, and
upon my vesture did they cast lots.
36. And sitting down they watch-
ed him there;
37. And set up over his head his
accusation written, THIS IS JESUS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
26. And the superscription of his
accusation was written over, THE
KING OF THE JEWS.
39. And they that passed by re-
viled him, wagging their heads, 40.
And saying, "Thou that destroyest
the temple, and buildest it in three
days, save thyself. If thou be the
Son of God, come down from the
cross.
""
41. Likewise also the chief priests
mocking him, with the scribes and
elders, said, 42. "He saved others;
himself he cannot save. If he be
the King of Israel, let him now
come down from the cross, and we
will believe him. 43. He trusted in
God; let him deliver him now, if
29. And they that passed by rail-
ed on him, wagging their heads, and
saying, "Ah, thou that destroyest
the temple, and buildest it in three
days, 30. Save thyself, and come
down from the cross."
""
31. Likewise also the chief priests
mocking said among themselves
with the scribes, "He saved others;
himself he cannot save. 32. Let
Christ the King of Israel descend
now from the cross, that we may
see and believe."
XLII.]
319
THE CRUCIFIXION.
LUKE Xxiii, 33-37.
33. And when they were come to
the place, which is called Calvary,
JOHN xix, 17-22.
17. And he, bearing his cross,
went forth into a place called the
place of a skull, which is called
in the Hebrew Golgotha:
there they crucified him, and the
malefactors, one on the right hand,
and the other on the left.
34. Then said Jesus, "Father,
forgive them; for they know not
what they do."
And they parted his raiment, and
cast lots.
38. And a superscription also was
written over him in letters of Greek,
and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
35. And the people stood behold-
ing.
18. Where they crucified him, and
two other with him, on either side
one, and Jesus in the midst.
23. Then the soldiers, when they
had crucified Jesus, took his gar-
ments, and made four parts, to
every soldier a part; and also his
coat: now the coat was without
seam, woven from the top through-
out.
24. They said therefore among
themselves, "Let us not rend it,
but cast lots for it, whose it shall
be:" that the scripture might be
fulfilled, which saith, They parted
my raiment among them, and for
my vesture they did cast lots.
These things therefore the soldiers
did.
19. And Pilate wrote a title, and
put it on the cross. And the writ-
ing was, JESUS OF NAZARETH THE
KING OF THE JEWS. 20. This title
then read many of the Jews: for
the place where Jesus was crucified
was nigh to the city: and it was
written in Hebrew, and Greek, and
Latin. 21. Then said the chief
priests of the Jews to Pilate,
"Write not, The King of the Jews;
but that he said, I am King of
the Jews." 22. Pilate answered,
"What I have written I have writ-
ten."
And the rulers also with them de-
rided him, saying, "He saved
others; let him save himself, if he
be Christ, the chosen of God." 36.
And the soldiers also mocked him,
coming to him, and offering him
vinegar, 37. And saying, "If thou
be the king of the Jews, save thyself."
320
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
1
MATTHEW XXVvii, 43-53.
he will have him: for he said, I am
the Son of God."
44. The thieves also, which were
crucified with him, cast the same in
his teeth.
MARK XV, 32-38.
And they that were crucified with
him reviled him.
55. And many women were there
beholding afar off, which followed
Jesus from Galilee, ministering
unto him: 56. Among which was
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James and Joses, and the
mother of Zebedee's children.
40. There were also women look-
ing on afar off: among whom was
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James the less and of
Joses, and Salome; 41. (Who also,
when he was in Galilee, followed
him, and ministered unto him;) and
many other women which came up
with him unto Jerusalem.
45. Now from the sixth hour
there was darkness over all the land
unto the ninth hour. 46. And about
the ninth hour Jesus cried with a
loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama
sabachthani?" that is to say, My
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? 47. Some of them that stood
there, when they heard that, said,
"This man calleth for Elias.' 48.
And straightway one of them ran
and took a spunge, and filled it with
vinegar, and put it on a reed, and
gave him to drink. 49. And the
rest said, "Let be, let us see whe-
ther Elias will come to save him.'
""
50. Jesus, when he had cried
again with a loud voice, yielded up
the ghost. 51. And, behold, the veil
of the temple was rent in twain
from the top to the bottom; and
the earth did quake, and the rocks
rent;
52. And the graves were opened;
and many bodies of the saints which
slept arose, 53. And came out of
the graves after his resurrection,
33. And when the sixth hour was
come, there was darkness over the
whole land until the ninth hour.
34. And at the ninth hour Jesus
cried with a loud voice, saying,
"Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani ?"
which is, being interpreted, My
God, my God, why hast thou for-
saken me? 35. And some of them
that stood by, when they heard it,
said, "Behold, he calleth Elias."
36. And one ran and filled a spunge
full of vinegar, and put it on a reed,
and gave him to drink, saying, “Let
alone; let us see whether Elias will
come to take him down.”
37. And Jesus cried with a loud
voice, and gave up the ghost. 38.
And the veil of the temple was rent
in twain from the top to the bot-
tom.
XLII.]
321
THE CRUCIFIXION.
4
LUKE Xxiii, 39-46.
39. And one of the malefactors
which were hanged railed on him,
saying, "If thou be Christ, save
thyself and us."
40. But the other answering re-
buked him, saying, "Dost not thou
fear God, seeing thou art in the
same condemnation ?
41. And we indeed justly; for
we receive the due reward of our
deeds: but this man hath done no-
thing amiss.”
42. And he said unto Jesus,
"Lord, remember me when thou
comest into thy kingdom."
43. And Jesus said unto him,
"Verily I say unto thee, To day
shalt thou be with me in paradise."
49. And all his acquaintance, and
the women that followed him from
Galilee, stood afar off, beholding
these things.
44. And it was about the sixth
hour, and there was a darkness
over all the earth until the ninth
hour. 45. And the sun was darken-
ed, and the veil of the temple was
rent in the midst.
JOHN Xix, 25-30.
25. Now there stood by the cross
of Jesus his mother, and his mother's
sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas,
and Mary Magdalene. 26. When
Jesus therefore saw his mother, and
the disciple standing by, whom he
loved, he saith unto his mother,
"Woman, behold thy son!" 27.
Then saith he to the disciple, "Be-
hold thy mother!" And from that
hour that disciple took her unto his
own home.
28. After this, Jesus knowing that
all things were now accomplished,
that the scripture might be fulfilled,
saith, "I thirst." 29. Now there
was set a vessel full of vinegar: and
they filled a spunge with vinegar,
and put it upon hyssop, and put it
to his mouth. 30. When Jesus
therefore had received the vinegar,
46. And when Jesus had cried
with a loud voice, he said, "Father,
into thy hands I commend my spi-
rit:” and having said thus, he gave
up the ghost.
he said, "It is finished:" and he
bowed his head, and gave up the
ghost.
VOL. II.
22
322
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
赛​。
1
MATTHEW Xxvii, 54-60.
and went into the holy city, and
appeared unto many.
54. Now when the centurion, and
they that were with him, watching
Jesus, saw the earthquake, and
those things that were done, they
feared greatly, saying, "Truly this
was the Son of God."
57. When the even was come,
MARK xv, 39-46.
39. And when the centurion,
which stood over against him, saw
that he so cried out, and gave up
the ghost, he said, "Truly this man
was the Son of God."
42. And now when the even was
come, because it was the prepara-
tion, that is, the day before the
sabbath,
there came a rich man of Arima-
thæa, named Joseph, who also him-
self was Jesus' disciple: 58. He
went to Pilate, and begged the body
of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded
the body to be delivered.
59. And when Joseph had taken
the body, he wrapped it in a clean
linen cloth, 60. And laid it in his
own new tomb, which he had hewn
out in the rock: and he rolled a
great stone to the door of the sepul-
chre, and departed.
43. Joseph of Arimathæa, an
honourable counsellor, which also
waited for the kingdom of God,
came, and went in boldly unto
Pilate, and craved the body of Je-
sus.
44. And Pilate marvelled if he
were already dead: and calling unto
him the centurion, he asked him
whether he had been any while
dead. 45. And when he knew it of
the centurion, he gave the body to
Joseph.
46. And he bought fine linen, and
took him down, and wrapped him
in the linen, and laid him in a se-
pulchre which was hewn out of a
rock, and rolled a stone unto the
door of the sepulchre.
XLII.]
323
THE CRUCIFIXION.
LUKE Xxiii, 47-54.
JOHN xix, 31-42.
47. Now when the centurion saw
what was done, he glorified God,
saying, "Certainly this was 84
righteous man." 48. And all the
people that came together to that
sight, beholding the things which
were done, smote their breasts, and
returned.

50. And behold, there was a man
named Joseph, a counsellor; and
he was a good man, and a just: 51.
(The same had not consented to
the counsel and deed of them :) he
was of Arimathæa, a city of the
Jews: who also himself waited for
the kingdom of God. 52. This man
went unto Pilate, and begged the
body of Jesus. 53. And he took it
down, and wrapped it in linen, and
laid it in a sepulchre that was hewn
in stone, wherein never man before
was laid. 54. And that day was
the preparation, and the sabbath
drew on.
31. The Jews, therefore, because
it was the preparation, that the
bodies should not remain upon the
cross on the sabbath day, (for that
sabbath day was an high day,) be-
sought Pilate that their legs might
be broken, and that they might be.
taken away. 32. Then came the
soldiers, and brake the legs of the
first, and of the other which was
crucified with him. 33. But when
they came to Jesus, and saw that
he was dead already, they brake not
his legs: 34. But one of the soldiers
with a spear pierced his side, and
forthwith came thereout blood and
water. 35. And he that saw it bare
record, and his record is true: and
he knoweth that he saith true, that
ye might believe. 36. For these
things were done, that the scripture
should be fulfilled, A bone of him
shall not be broken. 37. And again
another scripture saith, They shall
look on him whom they pierced.
38. And after this Joseph of Ari-
mathæa, being a disciple of Jesus,
but secretly for fear of the Jews,
besought Pilate that he might take
away the body of Jesus: and Pilate
gave him leave. He came there-
fore, and took the body of Jesus.
39. And there came also Nicode-
mus, which at the first came to
Jesus by night, and brought a mix-
ture of myrrh and aloes, about an
hundred pound weight.
40. Then took they the body of
Jesus, and wound it in linen clothes
with the spices, as the manner of
the Jews is to bury. 41. Now in
the place where he was crucified
there was a garden; and in the
garden a new sepulchre, wherein
was never man yet laid. 42. There
laid they Jesus therefore because of
the Jews' preparation day, for the
sepulchre was nigh at hand.
324
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MARK XV,
47.
MATTHEW XXvii, 61-66.
61. And there was Mary Magda-
lene, and the other Mary, sitting
over against the sepulchre.
62. Now the next day, that fol-
lowed the day of the preparation,
the chief priests and Pharisees came
together unto Pilate, 63. Saying,
"Sir, we remember that that de-
ceiver said, while he was yet alive,
After three days I will arise again.
64. Command therefore that the
sepulchre be made sure until the
third day, lest his disciples come by
night, and steal him away, and say
unto the people, He is risen from
the dead: so the last error shall be
worse than the first." 65. Pilate
said unto them, "Ye have a watch:
go your way, make it as sure as ye
can."
66. So they went, and made
the sepulchre sure, sealing the stone,
and setting a watch.
47. And Mary Magdalene and
Mary the mother of Joses beheld
where he was laid.
In comparing these four narratives, we observe that St
John, as usual, follows a different line of description from
the other three, occasionally making us acquainted with
facts which they have omitted, as often omitting circum-
stances which they have related, and frequently relating the
same facts in a manner so contradictory to theirs, that no
further argument is needful to prove his Gospel to be a dis-
tinct work, and not, as is commonly supposed, supplementary
to the others.
There are seven points of divergency in the foregoing
harmony; some of which are irreconcilable even by the
widest conjecture, whilst all militate against the contempo-
rary character of the writings.
1. In the first place St John says that Jesus bore his own
cross to the place of execution, called in Hebrew Golgotha :
but St Matthew, St Mark, and St Luke relate that the
soldiers laid hold on one Simon a Cyrenian, who was acci-
dentally passing by, and compelled him to carry the cross.
The account of John is the most likely to be true; for it was
part of the Roman punishment of crucifixion that the
criminal should bear his own cross. The opposite statement,
though told by three writers, is also less likely, because of
the injustice done to Simon an innocent passer-by-for it was
not a period of revolution among the Jews, when such an
outrage might happen, but of regular lawful government.
Some of the German commentators have supposed that the
XLII.]
325
THE CRUCIFIXION.
▸
LUKE Xxiii, 55, 56.
55. And the women also, which
came with him from Galilee, fol-
lowed after, and beheld the sepul-
chre, and how his body was laid.
56. And they returned, and pre-
pared spices and ointments; and
rested the sabbath day according to
the commandment.
designation of Simon, "father of Alexander and Rufus,"
added by Mark, was intended to refer to two persons known
in after times as "Alexander the coppersmith" and "Rufus
chosen in the Lord," both of whom are named in various
passages of the New Testament, though not in connection
with Alexander here mentioned.* Others have imagined
that the services of Simon were needful, in consequence of
our Lord having fainted beneath the weight of the cross.
Both of these ideas are conjectural. The absurd legend, of
much later growth, and propagated by the followers of
Basileides, that the Cyrenian was thrown in the way by
Providence, and was crucified instead of Jesus, need not
arrest our attention one moment.
2. A serious discrepancy between John and the other
three evangelists concerns the time of the day at which
Christ was first tried before Pilate and then crucified. St
John (xix, 14) says that it was "about the sixth hour," that
is 12 o'clock at noon, when Pilate, in the course of the trial,
said "Behold your king." But St Mark (xv, 25) says, “it
was the third hour," that is, 9 o'clock in the morning "when
they crucified him." It has been suggested, and the sugges-
tion is reasonable, that the Greek numeral hekté sixth has
been written erroneously for trité third in one of the Gos-
* See Acts xix, 33; Romans xvi, 13; 1 Timothy i, 20; and 2 Timothy
iv, 14: but these evidently were different men of the same name.
گم
326
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
pels, or that trité has been written erroneously for hekté in
the other. And it has been said that this emendation is
supported by a few MSS that once existed. This is of
course a mere conjecture, and we cannot doubt that such a
discrepancy between the evangelists would long since have
been removed, if it had not been due, not to a clerical error
but to a real difference of statement. Another explanation
has been given, which will commend itself still less to the
judgement of the reader. It has been attempted to show
that St John followed a different notation of time from the
other three writers: but no conjectural arrangement of the
day or mode of calculating time will explain away the differ-
ence of three hours which must have elapsed between the
third hour named by St Mark and the sixth named by St
John. There is not the slightest proof that St John used a
different calculation of time, and if he did so, whether by
divine inspiration, or by the ordinary mode of procuring
information, his leaving us in ignorance of the fact would
weaken the authority of any writing in which such an omis-
sion had been made. If one of the two accounts is to be
rejected, that of St John would seem preferable, because it
allows a more reasonable interval for the various incidents
which preceded the condemnation of Jesus, than that which
results from accepting the early hour in the morning accord-
ing to the Gospel of St Mark.
3. The third point which requires to be noticed is the fact
that some liquor was given to Jesus by those who were pre-
sent at the crucifixion; but the account of this fact is not
the same in the four narratives, nor would it be easy, even
if it were important, to discover the real nature of the
incident. In the first place, St Matthew tells us that, before
the crucifixion, the soldiers gave him vinegar to drink
mingled with gall; and that afterwards about the ninth
hour, which would be about 3 o'clock in the afternoon, when
he would have been six hours on the cross, he cried out
"Eli, Eli, lama sabacthani!" upon which one of them that
stood by, "ran and took a sponge, and filled it with vinegar,
and put it on a reed and gave him to drink.”
The account given by St Mark does not differ greatly
from the foregoing; but it departs in two particulars from
this agreement: instead of vinegar and gall, it is now wine
and myrrh that are offered to Jesus the first time, and the
second time, when he who ran and got the sponge, gave him
it filled with vinegar, whilst we read in Matthew that the
rest of the bystanders said in ridicule, "Let alone, let us see
XLII.]
327
THE CRUCIFIXION.
whether Elias will come to take him down!" in Mark it is the
man himself who offered the vinegar, that used those words.
In the next place, we find in St Luke's Gospel no mention
of gall or myrrh; but only that the soldiers "mocked him,
coming to him and offering him vinegar," but whether this
was done at the beginning, or at the end, just before Jesus
breathed his last, does not appear from the narrative of St
Luke, where nothing is said of a second offering of vinegar,
but only of one such offering made in mockery, whereas
neither of the two draughts in Matthew and in Mark was
made in mockery, but rather with a benevolent purpose, as
perhaps it was customary to do in such cases.
Lastly, in St John's Gospel nothing is said of gall or
myrrh, but that "there was set a vessel full of vinegar, and
they filled a sponge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop
[i.e. a stalk or reed of hyssop] and put it to his mouth: " and
it is added that this was done at the request of Jesus him-
self, who exclaimed "I thirst!”
The divergences in these four narratives are of remarkably
little importance, if we explain them reasonably, but if we
regard all the four as distinct inspirations, it may justly be
asked why one of the evangelists should be directed to speak
of a sponge filled with vinegar and placed on a reed of hys-
sop, whilst the others speak, one of gall, another of myrrh,
and the fourth mention none of these details, seeing also that
they all vary as to the cause or occasion, for which the
draught was offered at all to Jesus on the cross. That the
writers of these narratives were not eye-witnesses of what
they relate may be inferred from the fact that according to
St Luke the soldiers offer Jesus drink in mockery, whilst in
the other Gospels it is offered seriously, and it would seem
that neither of the writers seems to have had an exact idea
of the occurrence, but each wrote faithfully what had come
down to him from the memoranda of others or by tradition.
Neither of them seems to have been aware that the vinegar
named in the Gospels was probably the small sour wine used
still in many foreign countries as the ordinary drink of the
people, and that, when mingled with myrrh or gall, it was
offered to Jesus in kindness, or possibly by custom, for the
purpose of deadening the pain of crucifixion: and this per-
haps afterwards presented an appearance of mockery to those,
who, a hundred and twenty years later, received what was
told them by their elders, without having the means of testing
the details of the history more accurately for themselves.
4. The words of Christ, as he was hanging on the cross,

328
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CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
are variously reported by the four evangelists, and in particu-
lar his last exclamation immediately before his death. The
dying words of eminent men are always of interest and have
often been recorded in history; but in hardly one case out of
a hundred is there any variation in the accounts about the
exact words spoken. In the case of our Lord, however, it
is impossible to reconcile the divergent reports of his last
words upon the cross. With the exception that Matthew and
Mark agree in making him speak twice only, first, "Eli,
Eli, lama sabachthani," and then, his last cry, before he
died, the other two evangelists differ from both of these,
and, multiplying the number of Christ's speeches, differ
wholly from one another. For instance, St Luke takes no
notice of the exclamation "Eli, eli, lama sabachthani," but
tells us of a dialogue between Christ and the thieves; after
which he says that Jesus cried with a loud voice, and, having
exclaimed "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit,
gave up the ghost. St John, however, knows nothing of all
this, but in its place has a dialogue with Christ's mother,
and with the beloved disciple,-" Woman, behold thy son !"
"Behold thy mother !" after which he exclaims, "I thirst,"
and then with the words "It is finished !" bows his head and
gives up the ghost. Now in these passages St John and
St Luke contradict one another: the one says the last words
were "Father, into thy hands I commend my spirit ;" the
other says the words were "It is finished." The difference
is unimportant-perhaps both these cries were uttered, and
we might not wonder at two writers having described the
matter differently, if it were not generally believed that both
of those writers drew their history as well as their doctrines,
not from human sources but from inspiration.
5. A fifth variation between the evangelists is found in
their account of the two thieves crucified with Jesus. In
Matthew they "cast the same in his teeth;" in Mark they
"revile him:" but in Luke, it is only one of the malefactors
that reviles Christ, the other repents, and confessing his
sins, is promised immediate happiness with Christ in paradise.
The only reasonable explanation of this difference is, that the
first two evangelists did not know of the exact particulars,
which have been recorded more at length by Luke.
6. The inscription, placed by Pilate upon the cross, occurs
in four different forms, according to the Gospel in which it
is found;
MATTHEW has-This is Jesus the King of the Jews.
MARK has-The King of the Jews.
XLII.]
329
THE CRUCIFIXION.
LUKE has-This is the King of the Jews.
JOHN has-Jesus of Nazareth the King of the Jews.
As the value of inscriptions depends wholly upon their
being faithfully and exactly copied, it is evident that the
inscription now under consideration cannot be relied on for
accuracy, but has been handed down in a popular form by
divers traditions, each of which has been adopted by one or
other of the four evangelists.
7. Neither can we form a very accurate idea of the mode
in which the soldiers cast lots for Christ's clothing, seeing
that all the accounts of it are vague and discordant.
St Matthew describes the process as if he thought they
cast lots on all Christ's garments alike-" they parted his
garments, casting lots."
St Mark, following the same idea, explains it more fully,
"parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every
man should take.”
St Luke uses the very general expression-" parted his
garments, and cast lots."
The notion which these terms convey is clearly to the
effect that the whole of Christ's clothing was divided into
portions, and lots were then drawn, to determine what
portion each soldier should take. This interpretation is not
weakened by St Matthew's application of a prophecy from
the Old Testament to this subject, "They parted my gar-
ments among them, and upon my vesture did they cast lots"
(Ps. xxii, 18): for there is a distinction made in our trans-
lation between garments and vesture, where there is virtually
no distinction in the original Greek, ἱμάτια and ἱματισμός.
Indeed, even in English, it would be difficult to point out a
real difference between garments and vesture. The truth is
that in the connective and lies the cause of the confusion.
We should read "even upon my vesture did they cast lots,"
and we come to the same conclusion that all the articles of
Christ's clothing were distributed by lot among the soldiers.
66
Turning then to the Fourth Gospel, we find a much more
detailed account of the matter. It appears from St John
that there were four soldiers, and that the clothes were
divided into four parts, one of which in consequence was
given without lot to each. But the tunic, XTÚν—“ coat” in
our version of the New Testament-being of a peculiar make,
woven in one piece without seam throughout, was not cut
into four parts, but reserved entire as having a peculiar value
and significance, for which the four soldiers cast lots sepa-
rately. It is also to be remarked that the same text from
330
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the Old Testament is quoted by St John in illustrating this
story, which has been already named as quoted by St Mat-
thew. A thought here comes into the mind, which possibly
may be accepted as an explanation. Did not St John's.
narrative grow out of the Greek version of the supposed
prophecy, in which there is a fanciful distinction between
iuária garments and iμariouós vesture? It is known that
popular prophecies tend to bring about their own fulfilment.
If it was so here, which looks in every way probable, the
idea of the lot having been applied to the tunic or seamless
coat, has gradually grown out of the necessity of harmoniz-
ing the incident with the prophecy of it found in the Book
of Psalms.
7. We come to the seventh and last point of difference
between the four Gospels concerning those persons who were
present at the consummation of Christ's miraculous career.
We learn from St Matthew that there were present, 1.
The centurion and Roman soldiers. 2. The chief priests,
scribes, and elders, who mocked him saying, "He saved
others &c." 3. Many "women, which followed Jesus from
Galilee, ministering unto him: among which was Mary
Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses, and
the mother of Zebedee's children." Two of these women,
Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, followed Christ's
body to the sepulchre, and sat down over against it. In
St Mark's Gospel also we have Mary Magdalene, and Mary
the mother of James the less and Joses, but instead of "the
mother of Zebedee's children" is the more particular definition
of " Salome," which is supposed to be the name of the same
person.
are
In St Luke's Gospel the names of the women
not given, but some additional circumstances are added.
We read that "a great company of people followed him,"
and "of women, which also bewailed and lamented him."
It was to these that Jesus turned and uttered that beautiful
address, "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep
for yourselves and for your children”—and if he had ended
there, the picture would have been complete, but Luke
makes him add, if not without meaning, yet certainly so as to
weaken the force of the preceding apostrophe, parts of an
address which he had delivered some time before (see Luke
xxi, 23), and some words which occur almost verbatim in the
Septuagint version of the prophet Hosea (x, 8).
It appears also from verse 49, that all his acquaintance,
and the women that followed him from Galilee, stood afar
off, beholding his crucifixion.
XLIII.]
331
THE RESURRECTION.
Between these particulars, recorded on the one hand by
Matthew, Mark and Luke, and on the other hand by John,
there is not a perfect agreement, for the latter says that the
women who followed Christ were his mother's sister the wife
of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene, and that they stood "by
the cross," and not "afar off," as in Luke's Gospel. Besides
these women, the beloved disciple generally thought to be
St John was present, and received his master's parting
admonition to take charge of his bereaved mother.
The list of the women does not coincide with that given
by the other evangelists: they say nothing of Mary the
mother of Christ, which is a remarkable omission, and alone
is enough to prove the traditional character of the writings.
St John moreover does not mention Salome, the mother of
Zebedee's children, and instead of Mary the mother of
James and Joses, he has Mary the wife of Cleophas. It is
not certain that these designations point to the same person;
for, at Matthew x, 3, we find that James, commonly called
the less, was the son, not of Cleophas, but of Alpheus; and
there is no proof that Alpheus and Cleophas were the same
person, as some of our commentators have gratuitously
assumed. An additional difficulty is occasioned by the
mention of the sister of Christ's mother being present. The
words are so closely connected with "Mary the wife of
Cleophas," that they are generally thought to describe the
same person. If so, two sisters bore the same name, Mary :
a most remarkable and improbable circumstance in those
days, when persons bore only one proper name, and likely to
result in great family confusion.
CHAPTER XLIII.
THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST AND THE WITNESSES THEREOF.
WE have seen in the preceding chapters that the exact
order of time and other particulars regarding the last supper
of our Lord with his disciples and the events incidental to
his seizure, trial, and crucifixion, cannot now be clearly
ascertained. The interval, however, of a Jewish sabbath,
or day of rest, when no one stirred abroad, and consequently
no fresh events happened requiring to be noticed, gives us a
fresh point for starting, and we find that all the four evan-
332
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
་
gelists present a tolerable agreement as to the momentous
occurrences which next follow. It is not to be denied that
some critics, in a spirit of captiousness as it would seem,
object to the terms employed by the several gospel-writers
to describe the point of time when the scene re-opens with
a visit made by certain women to the tomb of Jesus.
Matthew relates that "it was at the end of the sabbath,
as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week,” and
St John tells us that it was early, "when it was yet dark”:
but these terms, though apparently contradictory, are yet
not so, for who does not know that the dawn begins to
show itself faintly in the heavens, whilst the face of the
heaven is still dark, though not perhaps densely dark?
Strictly speaking, also, the end of the Sabbath means
Saturday evening, after six o'clock; but the qualifying
words, "as it began to dawn towards the first day of the
week,” show plainly that St Matthew was speaking not of
MATTHEW XXviii, 1-15.
In the end of the sabbath, as it
began to dawn toward the first day
of the week, came Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary to see the se-
pulchre.
2. And, behold, there was a great
earthquake for the angel of the
Lord descended from heaven, and
came and rolled back the stone
from the door, and sat upon it.
3. His countenance was like light-
ning, and his raiment white as
snow: 4. And for fear of him the
keepers did shake, and became as
dead men. 5. And the angel an-
swered and said unto the women,
"Fear not ye: for I know that ye
seek Jesus, which was crucified.
6. He is not here: for he is risen,
as he said. Come, see the place
where the Lord lay. 7. And go
quickly, and tell his disciples that
he is risen from the dead; and, be-
hold, he goeth before you into Gali-
MARK XVI, 1-11.
And when the sabbath was past,
Mary Magdalene, and Mary the
mother of James, and Salome, had
bought sweet spices, that they might
come and anoint him.
2. And very early in the morn-
ing the first day of the week, they
came unto the sepulchre at the
rising of the sun.
3. And they said among them-
selves, "Who shall roll us away
the stone from the door of the se-
pulchre?"
4. And when they looked, they
saw that the stone was rolled away,
for it was very great :
5. And entering into the sepul-
chre, they saw a young man sitting
on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment; and they were
affrighted. 6. And he saith unto
them, "Be not affrighted: Ye seek
Jesus of Nazareth, which was cru-
cified; he is risen; he is not here:
behold the place where they laid
him. 7. But go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter that he goeth
before you into Galilee: there shall
ye see him, as he said unto you.”
XLIII.]
333
THE RESURRECTION.
the evening, but of the morning after the sabbath. The
chief difficulty which attends the comparison of the four
narratives is the observation of St Mark, "They came unto
the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." If the sun were just
rising, it could not be yet dark, though probably the interval
between the time of the women's setting out from home and
their arrival at the sepulchre, in countries near the equator
where there is not much twilight, may have been long
enough to account for the different descriptions used by the
evangelists. After all, it appears unnecessary to harmonize
statements which do not differ much from one another; they
point out, within an hour or two probably, the time at which
the women named by the evangelists set out on a visit to
Christ's tomb very early on the morning after his crucifixion.
Here however their agreement ends, and we find a series of
facts related by all of them, but in so different a manner,
that it is impossible to harmonize them exactly.
LUKE XXIV, 1-12.
Now upon the first day of the
week, very early in the morning,
they came unto the sepulchre,
bringing the spices which they had
prepared, and certain others with
them,
JOHN XX, 1-18.
The first day of the week cometh
Mary Magdalene early, when it was
yet dark, unto the sepulchre,
2. And they found the stone roll-
ed away from the sepulchre.
3. And they entered in, and found
not the body of the Lord Jesus.
4. And it came to pass, as they
were much perplexed thereabout,
behold, two men stood by them in
shining garments: 5. And as they
were afraid, and bowed down their
faces to the earth, they said unto
them, "Why seek ye the living
among the dead? 6. He is not
here, but is risen: remember how
he spake unto you when he was yet
in Galilee, 7. Saying, The Son of
man must be delivered into the
and seeth the stone taken away
from the sepulchre.
334
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
MATTHEW XXviii, 7-15.
lee; there shall ye see him: lo, I
have told you."
8. And they departed quickly
from the sepulchre with fear and
great joy; and did run to bring his
disciples word. 9. And as they
went to tell his disciples, behold,
Jesus met them, saying, "All hail."
And they came and held him by
the feet, and worshipped him. 10.
Then said Jesus unto them, "Be
not afraid go tell my brethren
that they go into Galilee, and there
shall they see me.”
11. Now when they were going,
behold, some of the watch came
into the city, and showed unto the
chief priests all the things that were
done.
12. And when they were assem-
bled with the elders, and had taken
counsel, they gave large money unto
the soldiers,
13. Saying, "Say ye, His disciples
came by night, and stole him away
while we slept.
14. And if this come to the go-
vernor's ears, we will persuade him,
and secure you."
15. So they took the money, and
did as they were taught: and this
saying is commonly reported among
the Jews until this day.
MARK xvi, 8-11.
8. And they went out quickly,
and fled from the sepulchre: for
they trembled and were amazed:
neither said they any thing to any
man; for they were afraid.
9. Now when Jesus was risen
early the first day of the week, he
appeared first to Mary Magdalene,
out of whom he had cast seven
devils. 10. And she went and told
them that had been with him, as
they mourned and wept. 11. And
they, when they had heard that he
was alive, and had been seen of her,
believed not.
XLIII.]
335
THE RESURRECTION.
LUKE Xxiv, 8-12.
hands of sinful men, and be cruci-
fied, and the third day rise again."
8. And they remembered his words,
9. And returned from the sepul-
chre, and told all these things unto
the eleven, and to all the rest.
JOHN XX, 2-16.
2. Then she runneth, and cometh
to Simon Peter, and to the other
disciple, whom Jesus loved, and
saith unto them, "They have taken
the Lord out of the sepulchre, and
we know not where they have laid
him."
10. It was Mary Magdalene, and
Joanna, and Mary the mother of
James, and other women that were
with them, which told these things
unto the apostles.
11. And their words seemed to
them as idle tales, and they be-
lieved them not.
12. Then arose Peter, and ran
unto the sepulchre; and stooping
down, he beheld the linen clothes
laid by themselves, and departed,
wondering in himself at that which
was come to pass.
3. Peter therefore went forth, and
that other disciple, and came to the
sepulchre.
4. So they ran both together: and
the other disciple did outrun Peter,
and came first to the sepulchre. 5.
And he stooping down, and looking
in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet
went he not in. 6. Then cometh
Simon Peter following him, and
went into the sepulchre, and seeth
the linen clothes lie.
7. And the napkin, that was
about his head, not lying with the
linen clothes, but wrapped together
in a place by itself. 8. Then went
in also that other disciple, which
came first to the sepulchre, and he
saw, and believed. 9. For as yet
they knew not the scripture, that
he must rise again from the dead.
10. Then the disciples went away again unto their own home.
11. But Mary stood without at the sepulchre weeping: and as she wept,
she stooped down, and looked into the sepulchre, 12. And seeth two
angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet,
where the body of Jesus had lain. 13. And they say unto her, "Woman,
why weepest thou?" She saith unto them, "Because they have taken
away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid him."
14. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus
standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. 15. Jesus saith unto her,
Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou?" She, supposing him
to be the gardener, saith unto him, "Sir, if thou have borne him hence,
tell me where thou hast laid him, and I will take him away." 16. Jesus
saith unto her, "Mary!" She turned herself, and saith unto him, "Rab-
336
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
boni;" which is to say, Master. 17. Jesus saith unto her, "Touch me
not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and
say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my
God, and your God."
18. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the
Lord, and that he had spoken these things unto her.
When we examine the four narratives here placed in juxta-
position, it is impossible not to notice several remarkable
divergences and other peculiarities which we might fancy
very unlikely to occur if the writers had been so closely
connected with the events which they describe.
·
1. We may first observe that according to St Matthew,
Mary Magdalene and a woman, whom he calls "the other
Mary," go to see the sepulchre early on the morning after
the Sabbath, which is thus fixed to have been on Sunday
morning of the third day from the Crucifixion, according
to the Jewish mode of reckoning. St Mark tells us that
the women were Mary Magdalene, Mary of James, and
Salome and the translators insert the word mother into our
version, as do also the Arabic, Syriac, and Persian transla-
tions of the Gospel, although no similar word of parentage
is inserted in either the Latin Vulgate, the Ethiopic, or the
Greek text. Thus St Mark describes three women, and St
Matthew only two. But St Luke's account represents a
larger number of women visiting the sepulchre on that
morning. Not only Mary Magdalene and Mary the
[mother] of James, but instead of Salome, we meet with
Joanna, who is elsewhere called the wife of Chusa Herod's
steward, and others also, but Salome is not named. Lastly
St John names Mary Magdalene only as coming to the
sepulchre at that early hour. The explanation given by
harmonists and commentators is that each writer has named
such women as suited his particular object. But what object
could the writers have for making such diverse statements
on so simple a subject? There is no ground for believing
that the four evangelists wrote each for a special purpose:
this is the conjecture of those who find it convenient to have
such a basis on which to rest other conclusions equally con-
jectural. It is more reasonable to suppose that each writer
recorded what he had been told or had been able to find out,
and that, as tradition varied, so also is there a variation in
their accounts. It is true that John was the only disciple
who could claim to have been an eye-witness, and he, at
least, leaves no room for doubting that Mary Magdalene
went alone to the tomb. No sooner did she see that it was
XLIII.]
337
THE RESURRECTION.
empty than she ran off, which was a most natural thing to
do if she was alone, but equally unnatural if any other
woman was in her company. This feature of St John's
Gospel shows that his account at least cannot be harmonized
with the others, though they may perhaps, even as far as
this point is concerned, be brought into something like a
conventional agreement.
2. But the object which the men had in view by making
so early a visit to the tomb, involves a second discrepancy,
between St Matthew and St John, who take one view of the
matter, and St Mark and St Luke, who take the other.
The first and fourth evangelists allege no other motive on the
part of the women than the wish, which was exceedingly
natural, of seeing again the tomb of their beloved master.
But St Mark and St Luke attribute to them the wish to
embalm the body of Jesus. We have no means of determin-
ing which of these motives was the real one, but, if it should
be thought that Mark and Luke have stated the case cor-
rectly, it is remarkable that Matthew and John, both of
whom were of the number of the twelve apostles, and the
latter an eye-witness, should have omitted such a fact, whilst
the other two evangelists, who were neither eye-witnesses
nor apostles, should have added it. A certain degree of
preference may perhaps be claimed for Matthew and John,
on the ground, that Joseph of Arimathæa is said to have
already embalmed the body before it was consigned to the
tomb, but even this fact seems to be involved in as much
difficulty as that which it is adduced to illustrate.*
3. A third, and still more serious discrepancy is found in
the different ways in which the appearance of the angels is
recorded. Matthew mentions only one angel; who "des-
cended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone
from the door and sat upon it." This took place of course
outside the tomb, and the angel was probably sitting on the
stone, when the women came up. The guard of soldiers had
fled, frightened at the earthquake and the appearance of the
angel, and were therefore no longer there at the arrival of
the women. This at least seems more probable, than that
the angel came and rolled away the stone, when the women
and the soldiers were still present. Mark however relates,
* Some writers have doubted whether the practice of embalming
existed among the Jews. See II Chronicles, xvi, 14, where something is
named that seems to be similar to what was done to Jesus: but we know
nothing certain on the subject.
VOL. II.
23
338
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
that they found the stone rolled away, and entering in, saw
a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long
white garment. St Luke relates, with Mark, that they
found the stone rolled away, and entered in; where, as they
were perplexed at not finding Christ's body, two men stood
by them in shining garments. Lastly St John says that
Mary Magdalene, finding the tomb empty, ran to call Peter,
and having returned in his company, remained behind when
he left the tomb, and then, on looking into the tomb, saw
two angels in white, sitting, the one at the head, and the
other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. It is
plain that where the four narratives differ so totally, it is
impossible to harmonize them in any other way than by
multiplying the vision of the angels and the visits of the
women in a surprising manner, and by supposing that the
writers closed their eyes to every thing except the very fact
which they were relating, no matter how it might be sur-
rounded by other incidents which in the eyes of another
writer would give it a totally different character, and lead to
a wholly different description. If we were called upon to
determine the real nature of the appearances of the angels,
as recorded in any other work, it might not be difficult to set
aside all the divergencies that lie between the four narra-
tives, and so to extract what remains as common to them all.
From such a process we should infer that Mary Magdalene,
for certain, and perhaps also some other women in her com-
pany, went at an early hour to see the sepulchre of Jesus, and
that, when they arrived there, an angel, or perhaps two,
appeared and told them that Jesus was already risen. This
original and simple story, handed down by tradition, had
grown, after a hundred years or more, into the varied narra-
tives which we find in our present gospels.
4. A fourth difference between the evangelists in their
description of the same eventful morning, concerns the visit
of Peter to the sepulchre. Here again, each writer has a
different mode of viewing the matter.
According to St Matthew, the women, as instructed by
the angel, go and tell the disciples that their master was
risen from the dead, but nothing is said of Peter's visit to
the tomb.
In St Mark's gospel, the same turn is given to the account;
but the words of the angel are "Go your way, tell his
disciples and Peter &c." Still the writer does not add that
Peter went to the sepulchre to see what had happened.
It is in the third gospel that we first find a hint of this

XLIII.]
339
THE RESURRECTION.
fact. It is there stated that the women reported what they
had seen to the apostles who received the announcement as
an idle tale. "Then arose Peter and ran unto the sepulchre;
and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by them-
selves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was
come to pass." This visit, it will be observed, is still un-
connected with that of Mary Magdalene, and is later in point
of time.
But in St John's Gospel, the story receives several new
features. Mary Magdalene alone runs and calls Peter, to
whom John is added, and all three return to the tomb.
Peter and John then depart, leaving Mary Magdalene
alone; and all this precedes both the appearance of the
angels to her and her announcement of Christ's resurrection
to the whole body of the apostles. In deciding between the
two, whilst, on the one hand, we recognize the supposed
authority which John might claim as an eye-witness, yet, on
the other hand, his account is less probable than that of the
other evangelists, because it multiplies the visits both of the
women and of the disciples; because it is less simple than
the other accounts; and because it is not likely that Peter
and John would have left Mary Magdalene alone weeping
at the tomb.
5. A remarkable incident among those which occur at the
sepulchre is the appearance of Christ himself to the women,
as they leave the spot to fulfil the commands of the angel.
In the relation of this occurrence, Mark is more concise than
Matthew, but without any other points of difference. St
John tells the story in a very different way from St Matthew,
partly because he represents Mary Magdalene as being
alone. In the first gospel Jesus salutes them, and they at
once know him. In St John, Mary does not know him,
until he has emphatically called her by name. She even
takes him for the gardener and asks him if he knows where
the body of Jesus has been carried. This account has not
an air of probability about it; for it gives a low idea of
Christ's personal appearance to mistake him for the gardener,
and the interval of one day could not have produced forget-
fulness in Mary's mind. The paleness produced by the
death which his body had suffered would even have guided
her mind to the recognition,-not to forgetfulness of him.
We must therefore choose the account which Matthew gives
of this highly interesting interview.
But another objection, drawn from the appearance of
Christ so speedily afterwards, lies against the accuracy of
340
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
:
the words which were spoken by the angels. St Matthew
and St Mark represent the angel as bidding Mary tell his
disciples that they should see Christ again in Galilee and
yet the words are hardly spoken before Mary herself sees
him there upon the spot, and all the disciples see him that
same day in Jerusalem. We must suppose that the con-
versation between Mary and the angels was preserved a long
time by tradition, and gradually assumed a different charac-
ter, as it flowed, during a hundred years or more, into dif-
ferent channels.
6. It is not unworthy of inquiry why St Matthew alone
should have related that the Jewish authorities sealed the
stone and set a guard of Roman soldiers, who must have fled
at the appearance of the angel that accosted Mary. That
so remarkable a precaution against fraud should have been
known to only one of the four writers, furnishes a strong
probability that the gospels were not written by the apostles
themselves, or by their contemporaries; for they would cer-
tainly not have omitted to record such an occurrence, es-
pecially when followed by the miraculous appearance of an
angel from heaven, which put the guard to flight, and
defeated the plans both of the Jewish Sanhedrim and of the
Roman governor.
CHAPTER XLIV.
CHRIST'S APPEARANCES AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
""
FROM the passages out of the four gospels placed in juxta-
position in our last chapter, it must be inferred that Jesus,
on the morning of his resurrection, appeared to Mary Mag-
dalene as she was returning from her visit to his tomb; but
whether other women were in her company or not, is more
doubtful; for whilst St Matthew speaks of "the other
woman who was with her, St John writes as if she were
alone, and the other two evangelists do not mention that
Jesus immediately after his resurrection appeared near his
tomb to any one at all. Setting aside therefore this narra-
tive as forming part of what constitutes the Resurrection, let
us next examine the accounts which have come down to us
of his having appeared either to his disciples or others, after
XLIV.]
341
AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
it was notified to them by the women that he was risen from
the dead.
His first appearance to any of his disciples or followers
was when, as related by St Mark and St Luke, he showed
himself to two of his followers as they were on their way to
Emmaus. St Mark (xvi, 12,) says only that he "appeared
in another form unto two of them as they walked and went
into the country." St Luke gives us the following more
detailed narrative.
LUKE xxiv, 13-33.
13. And, behold, two of them went that same day to a village called
Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem about threescore furlongs. 14. And
they talked together of all these things which had happened.
15. And it came to pass, that, while they communed together and
reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went with them. 16. But their
eyes were holden that they should not know him. 17. And he said unto
them, "What manner of communications are these that ye have one to
another, as ye walk, and are sad?" 18. And the one of them, whose
name was Cleophas, answering said unto him, "Art thou only a stranger
in Jerusalem, and hast not known the things which are come to pass there
in these days?" 19. And he said unto them, "What things?" And they
said unto him, "Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, which was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God, and all the people: 20. And how the
chief priests and our rulers delivered him to be condemned to death, and
have crucified him. 21. But we trusted that it had been he which should
have redeemed Israel: and beside all this, to day is the third day since
these things were done. 22. Yea, and certain women also of our company
made us astonished, which were early at the sepulchre; 23. And when
they found not his body, they came, saying, that they had also seen a vision
of angels, which said that he was alive. 24. And certain of them which
were with us went to the sepulchre, and found it even so as the women
had said: but him they saw not."
25. Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all
that the prophets have spoken: 26. Ought not Christ to have suffered
these things, and to enter into his glory?" 27. And beginning at Moses
and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the
things concerning himself. 28. And they drew nigh unto the village,
whither they went: and he made as though he would have gone further.
29. But they constrained him, saying, "Abide with us: for it is toward
evening, and the day is far spent." And he went in to tarry with them.
30. And it came to pass as he sat at meat with them, he took bread, and
blessed it, and brake, and gave to them. 31. And their eyes were opened,
and they knew him, and he vanished out of their sight. 32. And they
said one to another, "Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked
with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?" 33. And
they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them.
In this narrative, furnished by only one evangelist, there
are no particulars which can be disputed or confirmed by
comparison with other evidence. A new feature, however,
appears, which nowhere showed itself in the conduct of our
Lord before his crucifixion. St Mark, in his short mention of
the occurrence, says that Jesus appeared in another form, that
is, disguised in some way or other, so that his two followers
342
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
did not know him, and yet one of the two was Cleophas, who,
if we believe previous passages of the gospel history, must
have known him intimately before. When his two followers
at last recognize him, he vanishes out of their sight, and the
two return late in the afternoon to Jerusalem. From Em-
maus therefore our attention must now be turned to that city,
and the four narratives now again vary much about the
events which follow. The account which St Matthew gives
is the shortest: he knows nothing of the walk to Emmaus,
or of any appearance of Jesus to his followers in Jerusalem.
He says:-
MATTHEW Xxviii, 16-20.
19.
16. Then the eleven disciples went away into Galilee, into a mountain
where Jesus had appointed them. 17. And when they saw him, they
worshipped him: but some doubted. 18. And Jesus came and spake unto
them, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.
Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20. Teaching them to ob-
serve all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with
you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen."
The account which St Mark gives is also short, but much
at variance with that of St Matthew: he represents the dis-
ciples as stopping at Jerusalem and witnessing the ascension
of Jesus from the chamber in which they sat at meat.
MARK XVI, 14-20.
14. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and
upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they
believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. 15. And he
said unto them, "Go ye into all the world," &c.
19. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up
into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. 20. And they went forth,
and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming
the word with signs following. Amen.
The meeting of the eleven disciples which St Mark here
briefly names, but of which St Matthew seems to have known
nothing, took place on the evening of the day on which
Jesus rose from the dead, and is more fully described by
St Luke and St John.
The former of these two evangelists represents the two
disciples from Emmaus as finding the eleven sitting at meat
in Jerusalem.
LUKE XXIV, 33-53.
33. And they rose up the same
hour, and returned to Jerusalem,
and found the eleven gathered to-
gether, and them that were with
them, 34. Saying, "The Lord is
risen indeed, and hath appeared to
JOHN XX, 19-31.
19. Then the same day at even-
ing, being the first day of the week,
when the doors were shut where
the disciples were assembled for
fear of the Jews,
XLIV.]
AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
343
LUKE xxiv, 35-49.
JOHN XX, 19-25.
Simon." 35. And they told what
things were done in the way, and
how he was known of them in break-
ing of bread.
36. And as they thus spake, Jesus
himself stood in the midst of them,
and saith unto them, "Peace be
unto you.
37. But they were
terrified and affrighted, and sup-
posed that they had seen a spirit.
38. And he said unto them, "Why
are ye troubled? and why do
thoughts arise in your hearts? 39.
Behold my hands and my feet, that
it is I myself: handle me, and see;
for a spirit hath not flesh and bones,
as ye see me have."
40. And when he had thus spoken,
he shewed them his hands and his
feet. 41. And while they yet be-
lieved not for joy, and wondered, he
said unto them, "Have ye here any
meat?" 42. And they gave him a
piece of a broiled fish, and of an
honeycomb. 43. And he took it,
and did eat before them.
44. And he said unto them,
"These are the words which I
spake unto you, while I was yet
with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the
law of Moses, and in the prophets,
and in the psalms, concerning me.
45. Then opened he their under-
standing, that they might under-
stand the scriptures, 46. And said
unto them, "Thus it is written,
and thus it behoved Christ to suffer,
and to rise from the dead the third
day: 47. And that repentance and
remission of sins should be preached
in his name among all nations, be-
ginning at Jerusalem. 48. And ye
are witnesses of these things. 49.
And, behold, I send the promise of
my Father upon you: but tarry ye
in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be
endued with power from on high."
came Jesus and stood in the midst,
and saith unto them, "Peace be
unto you."
20. And when he had so said, he
shewed unto them his hands and
his side. Then were the disciples
glad, when they saw the Lord. ~21.
Then said Jesus to them again,
"Peace be unto you: as my Father
hath sent me, even so send I you."
22. And when he had said this,
he breathed on them, and saith unto
them, "Receive ye the Holy Ghost:
23. Whose soever sins ye remit,
they are remitted unto them; and
whose soever sins ye retain, they
are retained."
24. But Thomas, one of the
twelve, called Didymus, was not
with them when Jesus came. 25.
The other disciples therefore said
unto him, "We have seen the Lord."
But he said unto them, "Except I
shall see in his hands the print of
the nails, and put my finger into
the print of the nails, and thrust
my hand into his side, I will not
believe."
344
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
LUKE XXIV, 50-53.
50. And he led them out as far as
to Bethany, and he lifted up his
hands, and blessed them. 51. And
it came to pass, while he blessed
them, he was parted from them,
and carried up into heaven. 52.
And they worshipped him, and re-
turned to Jerusalem with great joy:
53. And were continually in the
temple, praising and blessing God.
Amen.
JOHN XX, 26-31.
26. And after eight days again his
disciples were within, and Thomas
with them: then came Jesus, the
doors being shut, and stood in the
midst, and said, "Peace be unto
you." 27. Then saith he to Thomas,
"Reach hither thy finger, and be-
hold my hands; and reach hither
thy hand, and thrust it into my
side: and be not faithless, but be-
lieving. 28. And Thomas answer-
ed and said unto him, "My Lord
and my God." 29. Jesus saith unto
him, "Thomas, because thou hast
seen me, thou hast believed: bless-
ed are they that have not seen, and
yet have believed."
30. And many other signs truly
did Jesus in the presence of his
disciples, which are not written in
this book: 31. But these are writ-
ten that ye might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the Son of God; and
that believing ye might have life
through his name.
Of the four evangelists Luke, as we have seen, is the only
one who has given us the details of Christ's first appearance
to his followers on the road to Emmaus. Mark seems to
have had some faint knowledge of such an occurrence, but
without indication of either time or place. But on the
evening of that same day, on which Jesus quitted the tomb,
he showed himself to the eleven disciples in Jerusalem.
This fact is recorded by all the three evangelists who have
recorded that he appeared at all after his resurrection in
that city. But St Mark says that the disciples were sitting
at meat, when Jesus appeared among them, and there is
some divergency between St Mark and St Luke arising
from this statement. The former, not having accurate
knowledge of the walk to Emmaus and of Jesus having
already broken bread, that is, having made his evening meal
or dinner there with the two disciples, represents his first
appearance to the disciples whilst they were taking the
principal meal of the day at Jerusalem. Now the two
disciples at Emmaus had induced Jesus to stop with them,
when he made as though he would go further, on the plea
that it was toward evening, and the day was far spent. As
these two disciples returned to Jerusalem-no doubt on foot
-a distance of six miles, it would certainly be unusual that
the eleven should be at their evening meal so late in the day.
We may indeed suppose that Jesus had the power of trans-
XLIV.]
345
AFTER THE RESURRECTION.
porting himself instantly from one place to another, seeing
that he vanished out of sight at Emmaus, and at this meeting
stood in the midst of them, although, as St John tells us the
doors were shut for fear of the Jews; but we have no right
to suppose that the two disciples were endowed with a similar
power of locomotion, and we must therefore suppose that the
eleven were taking their meal on that day at a later hour
than usual, or that the meeting at Emmaus had taken place
at an earlier hour than that which is indicated by the evan-
gelist. In any case it appears that Jesus sat at table with
them; for according to St. Luke, he says to them "Have
ye here any meat?" upon which they gave him a piece of a
broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. Thus it appears there
were two meals on the evening of this day; and we can only
suppose that the accounts are in this case divergent only
because they are imperfect, and from the want of sufficient
data, it may be impossible to determine which of the two
should be preferred.
2. The second difference lies between St Matthew and St
Mark. Both record only one appearance of Christ to his
disciples, but Matthew represents them as having first gone
into Galilee, where they meet their master and receive his
final instructions. Mark places this scene at Jerusalem,
apparently on the evening of the day of the resurrection,
and adds that immediately afterwards Jesus was taken up
into heaven.
3. A third view is suggested by the words of Luke-that
after the exhortations given on the evening of the resurrec-
tion, Jesus led his disciples out to Bethany, where he
bestowed a blessing upon them, and was immediately after-
wards taken up into heaven. The disciples then return to
Jerusalem and spend their time continually in the temple,
praising and blessing God.
4. In St John's Gospel, we read that on the evening of the
resurrection Thomas, not being with the other ten, when
Jesus appeared, entertained doubts, which were not dispelled.
until eight days afterwards when Christ again showed him-
self to the disciples. The history seems here to end with
the observation that there were many other signs done by
Jesus in the presence of his disciples, besides those that are
"written in this book" but in chapter XXI, a new series
of events begins, the scene of which lies in Galilee, the time,
uncertain; and the disciples, so far from being "continually
in the temple praising and blessing God," have gone back
to their usual haunts and occupations. Peter with six of
:
+
346
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the disciples, "Thomas, Nathanael, the sons of Zebedee, and
two others," go out fishing, and the next morning Jesus joins
them standing on the shore: they take a meal together, and
the scene closes as abruptly as before in the 20th chapter,
and almost in the same words respecting the many other
things that Jesus did over and above those which the evan-
gelist has related. It seems unnecessary to dwell upon this
additional appearance of Jesus in Galilee near the sea of
Tiberias, given in the twenty-first chapter of St John's
Gospel. It has no counterpart in the other three histories,
with which indeed it is wholly irreconcilable; and indeed
the most sensible commentators have decided that it is, what
it appears, an unauthorized addition to the work in which it
is found.
5. The ascension also of Christ into heaven presents some
peculiar points of divergency between the narratives of St
Mark and St Luke, who alone have left the record of that
event. But, as a third account of it is given in the Book of
the Acts of the Apostles, it will be more convenient to defer
the mention of it here, and to recur to the subject hereafter
in our notice of that book.
CHAPTER XLV.
THE DEATH OF JUDAS, AND PURCHASE OF THE POTTER'S FIELD.
THE repentance and death of Judas Iscariot are related by
Matthew alone of the evangelists; but in the first chapter
of the Acts of the Apostles is a different account of the same
matter introduced into a speech of Peter to the apostles,
when they elected Matthias to be their colleague in the
place of Judas.
MATTHEW XXvii, 3-10.
3. Then Judas, which had be-
trayed him, when he saw that he
was condemned, repented himself,
and brought again the thirty pieces
of silver to the chief priests and
elders, 4. Saying, "I have sinned
in that I have betrayed the innocent
blood." And they said, "What is
that to us? see thou to that."
ACTS i, 16-19.
16. "Men and brethren, this
scripture must needs have been ful-
filled, which the Holy Ghost by the
mouth of David spake before con-
cerning Judas, which was guide to
them that took Jesus. 17. For he
was numbered with us, and had ob-
tained part of this ministry."
XLV.]
347
THE DEATH OF JUDAS.
MATTHEW XXvii, 5-10.
5. And he cast down the pieces
of silver in the temple, and de-
parted, and went and hanged him-
self.
6. And the chief priests took the
silver pieces, and said, "It is not
lawful for to put them into the
treasury, because it is the price of
blood." 7. And they took counsel,
and bought with them the potter's
field, to bury strangers in. 8. Where-
fore that field was called, the field
of blood, unto this day.
9. Then was fulfilled that which
was spoken by Jeremy the prophet,
saying, “And they took the thirty
pieces of silver, the price of him that
was valued, whom they of the
children of Israel did value;
10.
And gave them for the potter's
field, as the Lord appointed me.
ACTs i, 18, 19.
18. Now this man purchased a
field with the reward of iniquity:
and falling headlong, he burst
asunder in the midst, and all his
bowels gushed out. 19. And it was
known unto all the dwellers at
Jerusalem; insomuch as that field
is called in their proper tongue,
Aceldama, that is to say, The field
of blood,
These extracts will not detain us long: there are three
points to be noticed.
1. St Matthew says that the chief priests bought the field
with the thirty pieces of silver: but Peter says that Judas
himself was the purchaser.
2. Matthew relates that Judas hanged himself in remorse
immediately after the crucifixion of Jesus: Peter knows
nothing of his remorse; on the contrary, he shows that Judas
bought a field with the money which he had received, and
died afterwards, as if by an accident, or a judgement of
Providence, but certainly not by his own hand. The suppo-
sition that he hanged himself over a precipice, and fell by
reason of the rope breaking, is too childish to merit notice.
A singular version of the mode in which Judas came by
his death is told by Ecumenius in his Commentary on the
Acts of the Apostles (chap. ii) quoting from Papias, bishop
of Hierapolis.
Judas walked in this world a great example of impiety. For
being swelled so much in flesh that he could not pass through,
where a cart passed through easily, he was crushed by the cart so
that his entrails were evacuated.
3. The prophecy which, according to Matthew, was ful-
filled by the history of Judas, is very different in the Old
Testament from what it appears in the New. Zechariah,
speaking of himself and his exhortations to the people,
proceeds thus (xi, 10-13):
348
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
And I took my staff, even Beauty, and cut it asunder, that I might break
my covenant which I had made with all the people. 11. And it was broken
in that day and so the poor of the flock that waited upon me knew that
it was the word of the Lord. 12. And I said unto them, "If ye think good,
give me my price; and if not, forbear." So they weighed for my price
thirty pieces of silver. 13. And the Lord said unto me, "Cast it unto the
potter:" a goodly price that I was prized at of them. And I took the
thirty pieces of silver, and cast them to the potter in the house of the
Lord.
It would be difficult to find any analogy between the facts
of the gospel-history and those which the prophet imagined:
the only connection between them is evidently the number
of silver-pieces, which is thirty in both documents, the house
of the Lord, and the mention of the potter, although nothing
is said of his field. The writers of the gospel history con-
stantly quote passages from the Septuagint version of the
Old Testament, and apply them to the events of their own
time: but we are not bound to infer that the ancient author,
from whose work these passages are taken, wrote them with
any intention, or even with the knowledge that they would
be so used by others living and quoting them several hundred
years after his own time.
CHAPTER XLVI.
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
A STRIKING witness to the late composition of the gospels
is furnished by expressions, denoting ideas that could not
have had any being in the time of Christ and his disciples,
but must have been developed afterwards, at a time when
the Christian religion was established on a broader and still
increasing basis
1. The first instance of this anticipation of ideas occurs
in the words which St John's Gospel places in the mouth of
John the Baptist:
me.
JOHN i, 15-18.
15. John bare witness of him, and cried, saying, "This was he of whom I
spake, He that cometh after me is preferred before me: for he was before
16. And of his fulness have all we received, and grace for grace.
17. For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus
Christ. 18. No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son,
which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.
XLVI.]
349
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
These words appear to have been spoken by John the
Baptist, as the record which he bare to Christ. But the
latter part, " And of his fulness, &c." could not be spoken by
John; for the things there spoken of as resulting from
Christ's coming, had not yet resulted. Neither John the
Baptist nor the multitude he was addressing, had yet received
either grace or fulness from Christ. "The only-begotten
Son, which was in the bosom of the Father," had not then
"declared him," nor was he at all known to the world, when
these words are thought to have been spoken. The truth is
that these words were not spoken by John the Baptist at
all, but flow from the thoughts of the writer, who knew not
where to stop, but having once taken up the words of the
Baptist, is borne along in the same tenour, and gives utter-
ance to sentiments, which apply not to the Baptist but to
himself, and to the aspect of things in his own time.
2. A still more remarkable form of words is ascribed by
the evangelists repeatedly to Christ himself; and an anachro-
nism is the result. The word cross is used metaphorically
by Christ in numerous passages:
MATTHEW X, 38. And he that taketh not his cross and followeth after me
is not worthy of me. xvi, 24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, "If any
man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me.”
Mark viii, 34. And when he had called the people unto him with his
disciples also, he said unto them, "Whosoever will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me." x, 21. Then Jesus
beholding him loved him, and said unto him, "One thing thou lackest: go
thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt
have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me.”
Luke ix, 23. And he said unto them all, "If any man will come after
me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
xiv, 27. And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, can-
not be my disciple."
When these exhortations to patience, fortitude, and per-
severance were delivered, the Jews did not know the meaning
of the word cross, used metaphorically for Christian patience
under affliction and perseverance in Christian well-doing.
It was only after Christ had suffered on the cross, that the
word acquired such a signification, or the thing itself that
reverence which it has since received. There may be no
doubt that Christ called on the parties to follow him, and
to become his disciples, but he would not use for that pur-
pose a word which his hearers could not understand. Some
may think that there is an analogy between this misuse of
the word cross and the exclamation of the Jewish multitude,
demanding the execution of our Lord. "Crucify him!
350
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
crucify him!" is said to have been their cry, and we might
here substitute another word better suited to the modes of
execution practised by the Jews, among whom stoning pre-
vailed, as we find it in the laws of Moses: but this argu-
ment is not conclusive, for, though the Roman supremacy
over Judæa had not long existed, yet it is possible the
people of Jerusalem would be sufficiently aware that cruci-
fixion was a common Roman punishment.
3. Again: we observe a similar incoherence of words and
ideas in Christ's address to his disciples, concerning John
the Baptist, then in prison.
It is related in Matthew's Gospel, chapter 11, verse 2:
Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent
two of his disciples, 3. And said unto him, "Art thou he that should
come, or do we look for another?"
When John's messengers were gone, a conversation takes
place on the subject between Jesus and his disciples-it is
related both by St Matthew and St Luke.
MATTHEW Xi, 7-12.
7. And as they departed, Jesus
began to say unto the multitude
concerning John, "What went ye
out into the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken with the wind? 8. But
what went ye out for to see?
prophet? behold, they that wear
soft clothing are in kings' houses.
9. But what went ye out for to see?
A prophet? yea, I say unto you, and
more than a prophet.
A
10. For this is he, of whom it is
written, Behold, I send my mes-
senger before thy face, which shall
prepare thy way before thee.
11. Verily I say unto you, Among
them that are born of women there
hath not risen a greater than John
the Baptist: notwithstanding he
that is least in the kingdom of
heaven is greater than he.
12. And from the days of John the
Baptist until now the kingdom of
heaven suffereth violence, and the
violent take it by force.
LUKE Vii, 24-28.
24. And when the messengers of
John were departed, he began to
speak unto the people concerning
John, "What went ye out into the
wilderness for to see? A reed
shaken with the wind ? 25. But
what went ye out for to see? A
man clothed in soft raiment ! Be-
hold, they which are gorgeously
apparelled, and live delicately, are
in kings' courts. 26. But what went
ye out for to see? A prophet? Yea,
I say unto you, and much more
than a prophet.
27. This is he of whom it is writ-
ten, Behold, I send my messenger
before thy face, which shall prepare
thy way before thee.
28. For I say unto you, Among
those that are born of women there
is not a greater prophet than John
the Baptist: but he that is least in
the kingdom of God is greater than
he."
In this recital of the words of Jesus, St Luke is more
cautious than St Matthew; for he omits those suspicious
words, which Christ could not have spoken; "From the days
XLVI.]
351
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven suf-
fereth violence, and the violent take it by force." All the
three parts of this sentence are liable to observation. In
the first place, what length of time had elapsed between the
"days of John the Baptist" and "now"? Jesus had just
dismissed John's disciples, to go back to their master who
was in prison, where he had been placed a short time before
by Herod. No time at all had elapsed between John the
Baptist and Christ, though there is no doubt that when the
Gospel of St Matthew was written, a very long time had
passed, enough to fully justify the use of the words which we
are considering.
But in the second place, the kingdom of heaven could at
that time be hardly said to have begun; for John himself
only announced that it was at hand; but to say that it
suffered violence before the death of our Lord, which was to
usher in that kingdom, is hardly in unison with either
Christian history or Christian doctrine.
But the third objection to this passage lies partly in the
erroneous translation in which we read it, and partly in the
erroneous statement which it conveys. The words agπášovow
aůτýv should be rendered "plunder it," and this meaning, un-
suitable to the time when Jesus was preaching the advent of
the kingdom of heaven, would be appropriate in the time of
a later writer, when we know that much harshness was exer-
cised towards the Christians, and many violent men would
be ready to plunder them.
4. The title by which the four histories of Christ's life and
death are known among Christians, in English gospel, in
Greek Evαyyénov, in French evangile, has a twofold significa-
tion, similar to church and many other words, which have
both an abstract and a concrete meaning. We have already
noticed that the word gospel, as a title to the evangelic his-
tories, is of late origin, not being found to bear this sense in
Justin Martyr or any of the fathers who wrote before the
end of the second century. The literal meaning of the
Greek, ɛ well and ayyɛnía message, tidings, is excellently
rendered into English by an old Saxon word gospel, or god-
spell, that is good-spell, good tidings. The word has long been
confined to signify the good tidings of the evangelic king-
dom, but in its origin it probably might denote any good
news whatsoever. In the same way, the Greek word at first
bore a general signification, which was gradually narrowed
to its present theological meaning. That the preaching of
the kingdom of heaven was soon looked upon as good tidings,
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[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
and designated by a word bearing that import, may be con-
ceded without difficulty, but it seems unlikely that Christ
himself used the word. The word denoting the preacher and
the thing preached are so thoroughly of Greek formation,
that we are led to ascribe them to Greek writers who lived
at a later period, when the Jewish element in Christianity
had been eliminated. In no case do we more regret that the
books of the New Testament have not come down to us in
the Hebrew language which Christ and his disciples spoke.
In the following texts the word gospel occurs. The reader
may distinguish between those cases where the use of the
word may be referred to the writer, and those in which Christ
himself is made to use it.
Matthew iv, 23. And Jesus went about all Galilee, teaching in their
synagogues, and preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner
of sickness and all manner of disease among the people. ix, 35. And Jesus
went about all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and
preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people.
MARK i, 14, 15. Now after that John was put in prison, Jesus came into
Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15. And saying,
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye,
and believe the gospel. viii, 35. For whosoever will save his life shall
lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's,
the same shall save it." x, 29. And Jesus answered and said, "Verily
I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house or brethren, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for my sake,
and the gospel's, 30. But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this
time, houses, and brethren, &c."
MATTHEW Xxiv, 14.
And this gospel of the kingdom
shall be preached in all the world
for a witness unto all nations, and
then shall the end come.
MATTHEW XXvi, 13.
Verily I say unto you, Whereso-
ever this gospel shall be preached
in the whole world, there also shall
this, that this woman hath done, be
told for a memorial of her.
MARK Xiii, 10.
And the gospel must first be pub-
lished among all nations.
MARK XIV, 9.
Wheresoever this gospel shall be
preached throughout the whole
world, this also that she hath done
shall be spoken of for a memorial
of her.
LUKE X, 1.
And it came to pass, that on one of those days, as he taught the people
in the temple, and preached the gospel, the chief priests and the scribes
came upon him with the elders.
5. The next instance of a later idea prematurely intro-
duced into the Gospels is to be found in the words of Martha,
when Jesus says that her brother Lazarus shall rise again;
"Yes," says she, at the last day." But this was a Christian,
not a Jewish idea: the Jews are thought to have known
66
XLVI.]
353
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
F
little or nothing of a last day; Christ first taught this belief,
and there had not been sufficient time for Martha to have
imbibed the idea so deeply as to be able to reply to Jesus
by reference to his own doctrine.
6. In the first volume of this work (p. 141) has been
noticed a remarkable expression "until this day" which
seemed to render it impossible that the writers of the books
of the Old Testament were contemporary, but must have
lived many years after the events which they have described.
In the New Testament also are several forms of speech, from
which it might be thought that the writers referred to things
belonging to an age that had long since passed away. Such
expressions are the following: "It came to pass in those
days," and in other cases simply "In those days," "At that
time," &c.
The first place in which we find this form of words is in
St Matthew's Gospel (iii, 1), " In those days came John the
Baptist preaching in the wilderness of Judæa." Seeing that
John the Baptist was still preaching in Judæa at the very
time that Matthew was following Jesus as one of his twelve
disciples, it is difficult to conceive that, in writing a narra-
tive of what himself had witnessed, he would use words that
generally designate a period far more remote.
A similar inference may be drawn from the words which
introduce us to the miraculous multiplication of food in the
Gospel according to St Mark (viii, 1), “In those days the
multitude being very great and having nothing to eat." The
miracle introduced to our notice by this preface is wholly
unconnected with what went before, and might be placed
anywhere else in the history with equal propriety. St Luke
has indeed, at the beginning of his Gospel, used the same
form of words appropriately to the subject of which he is
writing. He says in his first chapter, verse 1, "There was
in the days of Herod," and again in chapter ii, verse 1,
"And it came to pass in those days." The author was
speaking of events that had happened before the birth of
Christ, and there can be no doubt, even if St Luke be
acknowledged to be the writer of the Gospel which bears his
name, that fifty years or more had passed since the time of
which he was writing. It results therefore that the writers
of the Gospel history use this formula to indicate that the
period of time in which the miracles and other deeds of our
Lord were done, was sufficiently remote from their own
times. The expression is indeed well suited for the compo-
sition of a narrative which like the Gospels has been com-
VOL. II.
24
354
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CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
piled out of fragments that have been preserved by indi-
viduals and afterwards collected together into one book.
7. In the nineteenth chapter of St Matthew's Gospel,
verse 12, we read as follows:-
"For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their mother's
womb;
and there are some eunuchs which were made eunuchs of men ;
and there be eunuchs which have made themselves eunuchs for the king-
dom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it let him receive it."
It is not to be denied that in all the kingdoms of the East,
both ancient and modern, the class of men designated by the
name of eunuch has been found, and the Greek emperors
of the later period failed to preserve their court and palace
from the blot of having eunuchs in their service and at their
courts. The Romans do not appear to have been equally
guilty but we can hardly suppose that the Jewish nation,
governed as they were by priests and professing a religion
of which our own is an offshoot, would encourage amongst
themselves any such beings as those named in the passage
which we are now considering, to whichever of the three
classes they might have belonged. Two of those classes
may be passed over, the first as naturally rare, the second as
out of place among native Jews; but the third cannot so
easily be dismissed, seeing that among the early Christians
were to be found more than one who literally made them-
selves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. Had any
of the followers of Jesus then, we may ask, ever as yet
made themselves eunuchs for his sake, during the time that
he was on earth? The answer to this question cannot be
doubtful. It was in the second and third centuries that
self-mutilation was deemed to be the strongest safeguard of
chastity, and pre-eminent among those who inflicted it upon
themselves were Melito and Origen, both well known as
early writers in the Christian Church.* The case of Origen
is authenticated by the strongest evidence: as regards
Melito, the writer of his life in Dr Smith's Dictionary of the
Bible has expressed his doubt whether another meaning may
not be attached to the word, but the expression of Polycrates
Μελίτωνα τόν εὐνοῦχον Melito the eunuch, preserved by Eusebius
(v, 24) would seem too decided to allow any hesitation as to
what meaning it must convey.
Recurring therefore to the passage in St Matthew's
Gospel, the only one in the New Testament in which the
* See Athenagoras's "Apology for Christianity," sec. 34, and Dr Cave's
"Life of Origen,” p. 220.
XLVI.]
355
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
subject is named, we may not unreasonably conclude that
the words of Jesus have been expanded by the writer who in
a later age did not see that the precepts of Christ on the
subject of marriage could receive no illustration in his
mouth from customs that had not begun to exist until long
after he had himself withdrawn out of the world.
8. In all the four Gospels we meet with the words king-
dom of heaven, kingdom of God, Church of God, &c., used
to denote the new religious era, which Jesus came to insti-
tute. The precursor of Jesus was John the Baptist; he also
preached that men should repent, because the kingdom of
heaven was at hand; and Jesus immediately after his
baptism, made a similar announcement. "From that time"
[says St Matthew (iv, 17)] "Jesus began to say Repent;
for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" In chapter iv,
verse 33, Jesus preaches the " Gospel of the Kingdom," and
in other cases the institution which he came to establish
´among mankind is designated as the kingdom of heaven and
of God, or simply by the name of kingdom, which if we pos-
sessed more detailed documents on the subject, might per-
haps more fully explain the condemnation of our Lord as
having been guilty of endeavouring to found a Jewish king-
dom upon earth, instead of that figurative kingdom which
was to extend over the minds and not the bodies of his fol-
lowers, and into which all nations were qualified to enter.
We will not now raise the question how far the mention of
this heavenly kingdom might be an anachronism whilst
Jesus was on earth; for there is another expression which
occurs more frequently in almost every book of the New
Testament, but which hardly could have been used by
Christ himself. The English word church is derived from
the German kirche, and that from the Greek kuriake a
feminine adjective which means "belonging or referring to
our Lord." As we have no records of the language used
commonly by our Lord and his disciples, we are obliged to
be content with the books of the New Testament as they
have come down to us in the Greek tongue. In these books
the word which represents the Christian community is
ecclesia, a word which in its literal sense would designate a
body of men "called out" from the multitude, without any
indication of the purpose for which they were summoned.
In the various states of Greece this word is used to denote
the popular assembly by which the affairs of the state were
managed, but since the introduction of Christianity the
words ecclesia in Greek or Latin, and church in English, are
356
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
used to designate the whole body of believers who have
adopted the Christian faith. It is not impossible that some
Hebrew word may have been used by Jesus and his disciples
to denote the community which they were then establishing ;
nor would it be objected to the use of the word church that
its Hebrew equivalent should have been replaced by this
word, when the Hebrew began to die out, and the nation no
longer preserved a definite existence. But the word church
conveys to the mind many ideas which are intelligible to us,
but could have had no existence during the life of our
Saviour himself. The following passage from the Gospel
according to St Matthew (xviii, 15) may be quoted as an
illustration of this subject.
“15. Moreover, if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell
him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou
hast gained thy brother. 16. But if he will not hear thee, then take with
thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every
word may be established. 17. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell
it unto the church; but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto
thee as an heathen man and a publican."
In this passage we have allusion to a body of men not
merely known for the universal benevolence, piety, humility
and modesty of their life, such as would be in perfect har-
mony with the teaching of their great master, but as having
already a sort of ecclesiastical system established among
them, whereby offences were withdrawn from the cognizance
of the people at large, and the foundation already laid for
the superstructure of ecclesiastical law, which began to be
built up towards the end of the second century, and which
has held the whole Christian world in a species of thraldom
even down to the present time. "Let him be unto thee as
an heathen man and as a publican," was a precept which in
the hands of a later age was thought to be best obeyed by
burning a heretic at the stake.
9. That the four Gospels were written by Greeks might
be inferred a priori from the fact that they are written in the
Greek language; and that they were not written by Jews, a
necessary corollary from the former inference, seems to de-
rive further support from the Hebrew words and names
which occur and which are all explained by a Greek trans-
lation or by an equivalent term better known, as we might
suppose, to the readers.
But the passages in which these equivalent names occur
will hardly fail to suggest the further inference that the
books in which they are found were written at a later period,
XLVI.]
357
DEVELOPMENT OF LATER IDEAS.
when the names which those equivalents explain had them-
selves either ceased to exist, or had become so faint by time
that without such explanatory affix they would hardly be in-
telligible to those who read the Gospel histories.
In the sixth chapter of St John, verse 1, mention is made
of the "sea of Galilee which is the sea of Tiberias." It
might be thought that no reader of St John's Gospel would
require explanation about the sea of Galilee, and it would
probably be notorious that the sea of Galilee and the lake of
Genesareth were one and the same. But when we read
that the sea of Galilee is also the sea of Tiberias, we are led
to inquire why this explanation should be given of a name
that was sufficiently intelligible of itself. It appears then
that Tiberias was a city founded by Herod Antipas, not
long before the crucifixion of our Saviour, and it follows that
the adjoining sea or lake would often be called by the name of the
city built upon its banks. This city being strongly fortified,
played a prominent part in the later wars between the Jews
and the Romans, but does not appear prominently before
that time, and the point to which these facts lead is to suggest
that the lake which had formerly passed under the name of
the sea of Galilee, had probably lost that name and
passed under its new name of Tiberias when the gospel his-
tories were written. As regards the Hebrew terms which
are used in the Gospels, and which are explained in Greek,
it does not seem unreasonable to suppose that a similar ex-
planation may be given.
In Mark x, 46 the name Bartimæus is explained to mean
the son of Timæus.
;
In John v, 3 the pool in which the diseased were healed,
is said to have been called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda,
but no Greek equivalent is here added; possibly because the
writer did not know the etymology of the word; and indeed
this seems even now not to have been clearly ascertained
for whilst some commentators explain it as the "House of
Mercy," others suppose it to mean the "House of flowing
water," and indeed the oldest MSS vary in the reading, so
that we cannot be certain that Bethesda correctly repre-
sents the name by which this pool was called.
As illustrations of the same argument may be cited
the various Hebrew words spoken at various times by our
Lord himself. Thus in St Mark's Gospel (xiv, 36) Jesus is
represented as saying "Abba, father, all things are possible
unto thee," but as Abba is the Hebrew term for father,
we cannot suppose that he used both these words, and
J
358
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN Records.
it is obvious to suppose that the writer adds the word father
to explain the meaning of the Hebrew word Abba by
its Greek equivalent. It is unnecessary to quote the other
Hebrew words Talitha cumi &c. all of which are followed by
a translation or paraphrase which renders them more in-
telligible to the reader.
10. An anachronism of another character, connected with
the geography of the Holy Land, seems to show itself in the
account of a woman whose "young daughter had an unclean
spirit" and who came and fell at the feet of Jesus. The
woman, says St Mark (vii, 26) was a Greek, a Syrophenician
by nation; and she besought him that he would cast forth the
devil out of her daughter.
It has been doubted by some of the commentators what
the word Syrophenician in this passage can mean; but the
etymology of the name is evident and seems to carry with it
its proper signification. The country was Phoenicia, which
may be taken as part of Syria; and we have the same word
occurring in other works besides the New Testament. Thus
Juvenal (vii, 160) speaks of the "Syrophenician inhabitant
of the Idumæan gate," and Lucian (De cons. Deorum) fifty
years later used the term with great propriety. But the mean-
ing of the name is less important to our present purpose than
the question when the name first appears in history, and the
answer to this question is unfavourable to the contemporary
character of the Gospel in which the name occurs. The
woman spɔken of is termed a Canaanitish woman by St
Matthew (xv, 21) and might, had she lived 100 years later,
have been rightly called a Syrophenician. It appears that
the emperor Hadrian, in the beginning of the second century,
divided Syria into three parts, Syro-Phoenice, Syria Pales-
tine, and Syria proper, and it would follow that until
the time when this was done the word Syro-Phoenician could
not properly be used to describe the inhabitants of that
province, and the inference is either that the narrative,
in which the use of this word is anticipated, was not
composed before the reign of Hadrian, or that the later
term was substituted in place of some other original one
since that time.
The foregoing instances are here produced, out of many
that occur, pointing to events, practices, and customs, which
had hardly begun to exist in the age of which the four Gospels
are a record; and are here brought forward to confirm the
opinion that the Gospels, compiled out of traditional informa-
tion derived from the four Apostles themselves, but handed
XLVII.]
359
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
down through intermediate agents, have been supposed to be
written textually by those "according to " whom only they
were written.
CHAPTER XLVII.
SUMMARY OF THE ACTS OF THE APOSTLES, &c.
THE Book of the Acts of the Apostles, which is placed, in
the New Testament, immediately after the four Gospels,
begins with a short dedication or preface addressed to
Theophilus, who is reasonably supposed to be the same to
whom the Gospel according to St Luke is inscribed. The
book contains the adventures which happened to some of the
apostles, and especially to Saul, afterwards St Paul, a new
convert, between Christ's ascension into heaven and the
year of our Lord 63. A summary of its contents may be
convenient to avoid the necessity of constant reference to the
New Testament.
Christ's Ascension, 40 days after his Resurrection: chapter i,
vv. 3-9.
-"In those days," i, 15,-when the number of the disciples
was 120, Matthias is elected into the place of Judas: 26.
-The Holy Spirit is given on the day of Pentecost, ii, 1; ac-
cording to the modern mode of computation, Whitsunday was on
or about May 24 in the year A.D. 33.
Soon afterwards, Peter, "standing up with the eleven," ad-
dressed the people. "The same day were added unto them about
three thousand souls," ii, 41.
Peter and John cure the lame man in the Temple, iii, 1.
-Gamaliel cautions the people not to molest the apostles, for
that their doctrines, if false, would die away of their own accord;
and, in illustration of this, he reminds them that the similar at-
tempts of Theudas and Judas the Galilæan, "in the days of the
taxing," had been brought to nought, v, 35-36.
-Seven deacons are chosen. "And the word of God in-
creased; and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem
greatly; and a great company of the priests were obedient to the
faith." vi, 1-7.
Stephen, the deacon, is stoned to death. vii.
The first notice of Paul here occurs in Acts vii, 58, where the
360
CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
witnesses against Stephen, stripping themselves to cast the first
stone against their victim, laid down "their clothes at a young
man's feet whose name was Saul."
"Saul was consenting unto his [Stephen's] death.” viii, 1.
"At that time there was a great persecution against the
church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered
abroad throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the
apostles."
"As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, &c." viii, 3.
Marginal date 34.
Philip preaches Christ in Samaria, viii, 1.
-Saul's journey to Damascus-His conversion on the way, ix,
3-22. A.D. 35. He then preaches Christ at Damascus.
"After that many days were fulfilled," Saul escapes from
Damascus and goes to Jerusalem, ix, 23-27. The disciples at
first are afraid of him.
The disciples, hearing that he was a convert and fearing lest
the Gentiles should murder him, "brought him down to Cæsarea,
and sent him forth to Tarsus." ix, 30.
"And it came to pass in those days that she [Tabitha or
Dorcas] was sick and died." ix, 37.
"And it came to pass that he [Peter], having raised Dorcas
to life, tarried many days in Joppa with one Simon a tanner." ix,
43.
-Peter is warned to go with the messengers of Cornelius from
Joppa to Cæsarea. X.
The date given in the margin of our Bibles to these events is
A.D. 41.
"Then departed Barnabas to Tarsus, for to seek Saul, and
when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. And it
came to pass that a whole year they assembled themselves with
the church and taught much people. And the disciples were
called Christians first in Antioch. And in those days came pro-
phets from Jerusalem unto Antioch; and there stood up one of
them named Agabus, and signified by the spirit that there should
be great dearth throughout all the world: which came to pass in the
days of Claudius Cæsar. Then the disciples, every man accord-
ing to his ability, determined to send relief unto the brethren
which dwelt in Judæa: which also they did, and sent it to the
elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul.” xi, 25-30.
"About that time Herod the king stretched forth his hand
to vex certain of the church." James is put to death, and Peter
is imprisoned, but escapes by the interference of an angel.
"And he [Herod] went down from Judæa to Cæsarea, and there
abode." xii, 1-19.
An approximate date to these events may be obtained from the
death of Herod, which happened A. D. 44, and is related in con-
nection with these events. Acts xii, 23.
XLVII.]
361
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
"Barnabas and Saul returned from Jerusalem when they
had fulfilled their ministry, and took with them John, whose sur-
name was Mark.'
xii, 25.
In chapter 13, it is related that Barnabas and Saul are deputed
to preach the Gospel in distant countries, and that they proceed
accordingly to Seleucia, and from thence to Cyprus (v. 4), where
they visit the principal cities Salamis and Paphos (vv. 5, 6).
Here, in the account of their rencontre with Elymas the sorcerer,
before Sergius Paulus, the deputy, i.e. proconsul, we first learn
that Saul was also called Paul (v. 9); and from this time the
name of Saul is dropped.
They sail from Paphos to Perga in Pamphylia. John, alias
Mark, returns to Jerusalem. xiii, 13.
They depart from Perga to Antioch, where Paul preaches in
the synagogue on the two following sabbaths, xiii, 14. Being
persecuted by the Jews, they shake off the dust from their feet
and depart to Iconium (v. 51).
They preach at Iconium, but, "when there was an assault made
both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers,'
they flee to Lystra and Derbe. xiv, 1-6.
At Lystra Paul cures a lame man; the people take him and
Barnabas for gods, but by the intervention of some Jews from
Antioch and Iconium, their minds are turned, and they stone
Paul, leaving him for dead. On his recovery, he and Barnabas
depart to Derbe, thence back to Lystra, Iconium, Antioch, Perga,
Attalia (v. 25), and back to Antioch, where they "abode long
time with the disciples." xiv, 8-28.
-Paul and Barnabas go up from Antioch to Jerusalem to
consult the church about circumcision, and return to Antioch
taking with them Judas, surnamed Barsabas, and Silas. xv, 1-35.
A.D. 51.
-Paul sets out on his second tour, but quarrels with Barnabas
about John surnamed Mark. Barnabas takes Mark and sails to
Cyprus. xv, 36-39.
-Paul proceeds on his journey, in company with Silas: they
visit Derbe, Lystra, and passing through Phrygia, Galatia,
Mysia, Troas, cross to Samothrace, Neapolis, Philippi (where Paul
cast out from a woman, a spirit of divination, xvi, 12: and was
imprisoned with Silas, but released after the shock of an earth-
quake), Amphipolis, Apollonia, Thessalonica, Beræa, xvii, 18:
Athens, and Corinth, where they "found a certain Jew named
Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife
Priscilla, because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to
depart from Rome." xviii, 2.
[The date is 54 in margin] after which they "continued
there [i.e. at Corinth] a year and six months (Gallio being
deputy of Achaia). Here Paul exercises his craft of tentmaking
and then with Aquila and Priscilla visits Cenchreæ [where he
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CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
}
fulfils a vow by shearing his head], Ephesus, Cæsarea, Jerusalem,
and Antioch. xv, 40-xviii, 22.
""
-After Paul "had spent some time there [at Antioch] " he
"went over all the country of Galatia and Phrygia in order
to Ephesus (where he "disputed daily in the school of one
Tyrannus-by the space of two years"), Macedonia, xx, 1:
Greece, where he abode three months, Philippi, Troas, Assos,
xx, 13: Mitylene, Chios, Samos, Trogyllium, Miletus, Ephesus,
xx, 17: Coos, Rhodes, Patara, Tyre, xxi, 3: Ptolemais, Cæsarea,
Jerusalem, where he was led before the chief captain Claudius
Lysias, who asked him if he was not that Egyptian who had “led
into the wilderness 4000 men that were murderers, &c." xxi, 38.
Paul makes his defence, but owing to the clamours of the Jews,
they are on the point of scourging him, until it is known that he
was a Roman citizen; upon which he is on the morrow set free
from his bonds and again examined, on the morrow, face to face
with his accusers. xxii, 1-30.
Ananias the high priest commanding to smite Paul, is rebuked
by Paul, who does not know that he is the high priest. The Jews
conspire to kill Paul, but through his sister's son information
thereof is sent to Claudius Lysias who sends him down to
Cæsarea. xxxiii, 1-35.
He appears before Felix, and is left bound two years, until
Festus was sent to succeed Felix. xxiv, 1-27.
Paul, having been heard by Festus and King Agrippa, appeals
to Cæsar. The hearing occupies the whole of chapters xxv and
xxvi.
Paul is sent on board ship for Rome, and on his arrival at that
city, he dwelt "two years in his own hired house, and received
all that came in unto him, preaching the kingdom of God, and
teaching those things which concern the Lord Jesus Christ with
all confidence, no man forbidding him." Chapters xxvii and xxviii.
The particulars of the voyage, though highly interesting,
are of no importance to our present subject, which is neither
to defend nor to assail the truth of the history contained in
this book, but to show, as has been done in the case of the
gospels, that the work is an anonymous compilation, drawn
up in a later age, and does not possess the authority of an
original contemporary record of the first twenty or thirty
years after the death of Christ. The arguments arise, as in
the gospel, partly from errors, anachronisms, and contradic-
tions, found in the book itself, partly from a comparison of
its contents with other profane histories of the period which
it treats of.
From the inscription to Theophilus, it has been argued
that the Book of the Acts was written by St Luke; but
XLVII.]
363
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
this inference is based on the supposition that the gospel,
bearing his name, was also written by him; and we have
shown that no proof of this can be produced beyond the
popular tradition; neither can we state with certainty who
this Theophilus was. The epithet prefixed to his name,
xpátiσtos most excellent, denotes somewhat of a diplomatic
style, and was thought by Gibbon to designate a man hold-
ing a civil or official dignity. It seems not to be a prefix
which those contemporary with the apostles would care to
give to the humble inspectors or overseers of the Christian
community, who have since been denominated by the pro-
fessional and more dignified title of bishops. The sixth
bishop of Antioch (A.D. 171) was Theophilus, who appears
as the writer of a book addressed to Autolycus, and it has
been said that he is the man to whom the Gospel of St Luke
and the Acts of the Apostles are inscribed. It is, however,
impossible either to confirm or to refute this opinion, although
we know, from the example of Paul, who preached the
gospel immediately after his conversion, how easy it would
be for Theophilus, having been confirmed in his religion by
the writer of the third gospel, to publish a work himself in
defence of it, after he had been raised to be bishop of the
See of Antioch. Nor can we omit to see the close connec-
tion between Antioch and the origin of at least one of our
gospels, if the Theophilus to whom it is dedicated was the
sixth bishop who presided over that See. But all our
premises on these points are traditional or conjectural, and
the conclusion drawn from them must clearly be conjectural
also. There are, however, certain passages in the Acts
which are thought to prove that the author of the Acts was
at all events contemporary with St Paul, and actually ac-
companied him on his travels. Thus, in the last chapter,
verse 7, the writer says:
In the same quarters were possessions of the chief man of the
island, whose name was Publius, who received us, and lodged us
three days courteously.
A similar form of words is found in several other passages
of the work. This conclusion might be of weight, if it were
certain that the Acts of the Apostles is a distinct original
work, as opposed to a compilation in which different tradi-
tions and documents are put together in the very words
which they bore in their original fragmentary state. This
point, however, cannot be proved of the Acts of the Apostles.
There is the strongest internal evidence that the work is
364
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
compiled out of at least two fragments, and that the compiler
has united them together so as to make a continuous history,
but has not been able to conceal the sutures which join, and
yet separate, the several portions of the work. To the com-
piler of the work,* then, may be due the dedication to
Theophilus, as in the case of the gospel, but not the
character of having himself witnessed the events which he
relates of the apostles generally in the first few chapters, and
afterwards of Paul alone.
We e may now consider the facts which seem to prove that
this view of the work is a reality and not a supposition.
1. Paul, otherwise called Saul.
In the first place, after the thirteenth chapter, verse 9,
where we learn that Saul was also called Paul," we hear
little or nothing of the twelve apostles, but the history
follows the new apostle Paul almost exclusively, and it is
only in the travels of Paul that the writer of the history,
whoever he may have been, uses the personal pronouns we
and us.
A suspicion arises from this fact, that the book of
the Acts is made up out of two originals, one the Acts of the
Apostles generally, the other the Acts or Travels of St Paul.
It would seem that the compiler did not know why the name
of Saul was changed to Paul, for he merely tells us that the
two names designate the same person, and this view of the
case militates strongly against the opinion that the writer
was himself a witness of the events which he relates.
2. The Ascension.
There is a serious discrepancy between the writer of
the Acts of the Apostles and the evangelists on the subject
of the Ascension. It will be seen in the harmony of events
following the resurrection, given in the 44th chapter, that
St Matthew and St John take no notice of this important
particular; that, according to Mark (xvi, 19) the ascension
took place from the chamber in which the eleven sat at meat
in Jerusalem on the evening of the resurrection, but that in
Luke's Gospel (xxiv, 50-51), it took place from Bethany,
* An apposite illustration of this process may be adduced in the various
lives of Thomas-à-Becket, preserved in MSS in various public libraries.-
Besides several independent lives of this saint by known writers, there is
a compilation from various sources called the "Quadrilogus." No less than
six copies of this work are extant, each professing to be the work of a
separate author, who has prepared a new preface of his own-but the body
of the work is the same in all!
XLVII.]
365
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
whither Jesus is described as having led them out imme-
diately after his appearance to them on the evening of the
resurrection. Now, however, we learn from the Acts (i, 3)
that Christ" showed himself alive after his passion by many
infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speak-
ing of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." It is
impossible to insert this interval of forty days into the narra-
tive of St Luke between the resurrection which happened in
the morning and the ascension which took place at Bethany
in the evening. Again in the Acts (i, 4) Jesus tells his
disciples "that they should not depart from Jerusalem,"
until they should "be endued with power from on high"
(Luke xxiv, 59), but, in St Matthew's Gospel, they had
already gone into Galilee, immediately after the resurrec-
tion, and in St John's narrative they appear to have resumed
their old occupations, supposing that they had for ever lost
their master.
In the latter statement about not departing from Jeru-
salem, the author of the Acts is at variance with St Matthew,
but in the former, about the forty days, he is at variance
with St Luke. How then can it be said that the same per-
son wrote the Gospel and the Acts-which are at variance
with one another on so important a point as the question
whether Christ was seen only one day or forty by his disciples
after his resurrection? The two accounts can only be re-
conciled by supposing them to have been derived from
different traditions, which leads to the inevitable inference
that the books could not both have been written by apostles
or infallible authors.
3. Simeon and Simon.
In the fifteenth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles is
the notice of a meeting held by Paul and Barnabas and the
other apostles and elders respecting the alleged necessity of
keeping the law of Moses. Peter then rises, and addresses
them as follows:
7. Men and brethren, ye know how that a good while ago God made
choice among us that the Gentiles by my mouth should hear the word of
the gospel, and believe. 8. And God, which knoweth the hearts, bare
them witness, giving them the Holy Ghost, even as he did unto us; 9. And
put no difference between us and them, purifying their hearts by faith.
10. Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear? 11. But
we believe that through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ we shall be
saved, even as they.
When Peter had ended, Paul and Barnabas address the
366
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
meeting; after which James, commonly called the first
Bishop of Jerusalem, begins to speak thus:
13. Men and brethren, hearken unto me: 14. "Simeon hath declared
how God at the first did visit the Gentiles, to take out of them a people
for his name," &c.
This is an important passage, and it is worth while to con-
sider who is meant by Simeon, and what "visitation of the
Gentiles" is here referred to. A note in some of our com-
mentaries on the Bible interprets Simeon, "the same as
Simon, meaning St Peter." But this explanation cannot be
accepted; Simeon is not the same name as Simon, either in
Hebrew, in Greek, or in any other language. In Greek
especially the difference is strongly marked, Σίμων-Συμέων.
The mind involuntarily turns to aged Simeon, who is said in
the Gospel of St Luke to have come into the temple, when
the infant Jesus was presented by his mother, and to have
blessed God, and said:
LUKE ii, 29-32.
29. Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy
word. 30. For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 31. Which thou hast
prepared before the face of all people; 32. A light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of thy people Israel.
But there are difficulties in both views of the matter.
If Simon Peter's address to the meeting is what James re-
fers to, why does James now call him Simeon ?* Moreover
the words which he addressed to the meeting do not convey
the meaning which James ascribes to Simeon. The remark
which Peter made, was that they knew how God through
him had lately admitted the Gentiles to the privileges of the
Gospel: but James tells the assembly that Simeon had de-
clared how God at the first had chosen the Jews from among
the Gentiles, to the honour of his name. There is here
some confusion, as if the writer had obtained a faint know-
ledge of what had been said by aged Simeon fifty years
before in the temple, and was unable to explain it more
clearly, because it had already become obscure by time.
4. Theudas and Judas.
In the fifth chapter of the Acts, verses 36-37, we read:
36. For before these days rose up Theudas, boasting himself to be
somebody; to whom a number of men, about four hundred, joined them-
selves: who was slain; and all, as many as obeyed him, were scattered,
* Simeon Peter is found, and not Simon, in the inscription to the
second Epistle of St Peter-in the Greek, but not in the English version.
XLVII.]
367
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
and brought to nought. 37. After this man rose up Judas of Galilee in
the days of the taxing, and drew away much people after him: he also
perished; and all, even as many as obeyed him, were dispersed.
These words form part of the speech of Gamaliel to the
Jewish Sanhedrim, dissuading them from persecuting Peter,
lest they should be found to fight against God. Gamaliel
enforces his argument by pointing out that all previous im-
postors had fallen by the weakness of their cause, and he
suggests that the apostles also, left to themselves, will not
succeed, unless their doctrine is from above.
The cases which Gamaliel cites in support of his argument
are those of Theudas and Judas the Galilean. But there is
this remarkable difficulty attendant upon the affair, that,
when Gamaliel made this address to the Sanhedrim, the in-
surrection of Theudas and his misguided followers had not
taken place! The account of the affair is found in Josephus.
Whilst Fadus was governor of Judæa, [i. e. in the fourth year
of Claudius A. D. 44] a certain magician [impostor], Theudas by
name, persuades the greater part of the multitude to take their
possessions and follow him to the river Jordan. For he said that
he was a prophet, and told them that he would divide the river
by his command, and afford them an easy passage. And by say-
ing this he deceived many. Fadus however did not suffer them
to reap the fruits of their folly; but sent against them a troop
of cavalry, which falling on them unexpectedly, slew many of
them, and took many alive. They captured Theudas alive, and
cut off his head and carried it to Jerusalem.
Such were the events which happened to the Jews at the time
of Cuspius Fadus's government.
2. The successor of Fadus was Tiberius Alexander, son of
Alexander who was Alabarch in Alexandria, the first man there
of his time both in birth and in wealth, and who for piety towards
God also was far above his son Alexander; for the latter did not
abide by the customs of his country. It was during the govern-
ment of these men that the great famine also happened in Judæa,
when also the Queen Helena bought corn in Egypt for much
money, and dealt it out, as we have already said, to those who
were in need. In addition to these were put to death also the
children of Judas the Galilean—who led the people to revolt from
the Romans, when Cyrenius was the valuer in Judæa, as we have
shown in the previous part of this history. Antiq. xx, v, 1-2.
Those who defend the genuineness and the accuracy of the
Acts of the Apostles, suggest that there may have been two
men bearing the name of Theudas, as well as two insurrec-
tions, one of which had already happened before the time of
368
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
Gamaliel; but there is not the slightest authority for such
a supposition, and in any case it is highly improbable that
two such events should have happened, so precisely similar,
within so short a period.
But the insurrection of Judas the Galilean, is said to have
followed that of Theudas, and to have happened at the time
of the taxing, which is erroneously supposed by St Luke to
have been the occasion which led Christ's parents to visit
Bethlehem ten years before, as has been already stated in
page 190 of this volume. But instead of happening imme-
diately after the insurrection of Theudas, it happened forty
years before, though it appears from the extract above quoted
out of Josephus, that the children of Judas the Galilean were
put to death immediately after the tumult, begun by Theu-
das, had been repressed. The connection between the two
names, Theudas and Judas, both in the speech of Gamaliel
and in the history of Josephus, is at any rate curious, and
is a strong argument that the same incidents are referred to,
both by the Jewish historian, and the writer of the Acts.
No other proof however is wanting that the writer of the
Acts of the Apostles has endeavoured to ornament his nar-
rative, like the historians Thucydides and Livy, by placing
in the mouths of his characters speeches, which he supposed
likely to have been spoken in the circumstances under which
those persons were placed.
No other explanation so reasonable can be given for
Gamaliel being made to refer in his speech to an event
which did not happen until forty years afterwards.
5. The Conversion of St. Paul.
The first eight chapters of the Acts of the Apostles bring
down the history, according to the margin of our Bibles,
from the date of Christ's crucifixion to A.D. 34; embracing
an interval of four years, if we place Christ's death in 30,
but of one year only, if we place it in the year 33 of our era.
This chronological arrangement is exceedingly arbitrary,
for we have no sure indication of the time at which any of
the events related in the Acts of the Apostles may be sup-
posed to have happened: a few short and vague allusions to
the "days of Claudius Cæsar," and similar expressions, are
all the data that remain.
The ninth chapter of the Acts opens with the journey of
Saul to Damascus, and of his conversion by the way.
Three accounts of this event have come down to us-all of
them in the Acts-the first in the words of the author or
XLVII.]
369
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
=
compiler of the book, writing of St Paul in the third person,
the other two in the words of Paul, speaking in the first
person, first to the people of Jerusalem, and secondly before
king Agrippa.
ACTS ix, 1-8.
And Saul, yet breath-
ing out threatenings
and slaughter against
the disciples of the
Lord, went unto the
high-priest,
2. And desired of him
letters to Damascus to
the synagogues, that if
he found any of this
way, whether they were
men or women, he
might bring them bound
unto Jerusalem. 3. And
as he journeyed, he
came near Damascus :
and suddenly there
shined round about him
a light from heaven:
-
ACTS xxii, 5-11.
5. I received letters
unto the brethren, and
went to Damascus, to
bring them which were
there bound unto Jeru-
salem, for to be punish-
ed.
6. And it came to
pass, that, as I made
my journey, and was
come nigh unto Damas-
cus about noon, sud-
denly there shone from
heaven a great light
round about me,
7. And I fell unto
the ground and heard a
voice saying unto me,
ACTS xxvi, 12-16.
12. Whereupon as I
went to Damascus with
authority and commis-
sion from the chief
priests,
13. At mid-day, O
king, I saw in the way
a light from heaven,
above the brightness of
the sun, shining round
about me and them
which journeyed with
me.
4. And he fell to the
14. And when we
earth, and heard a voice
were all fallen to the
saying unto him, "Saul,
earth, I heard a voice
Saul, why persecutest Saul, Saul, why per- speaking unto me, and
thou me?" 5. And he secutest thou me.?" 8. saying in the Hebrew
said, "Who art thou, And I answered, "Who tongue, "Saul, Saul,
Lord?" And the Lord art thou, Lord?" And why persecutest thou
said, "I am Jesus whom he said unto me, "I am me? It is hard for thee
thou persecutest: it is Jesus of Nazareth, to kick against the
hard for thee to kick whom thou persecut- pricks." 15. And I said,
against the pricks." est."
"Who art thou, Lord?"
and he said, "I am
Jesus whom thou per-
secutest.
6. And he trembling
and astonished said,
“Lord, what wilt thou
have me to do?" And
the Lord said unto him,
Arise, and go into the
city, and it shall be told
thee what thou must
do." 7. And the men
which journeyed with
him stood speechless,
hearing a voice, but see
ing no man. 8. And
Saul arose from the
earth; and when his
VOL. II.
9. And they that were
with me saw indeed the
light, and were afraid:
but they heard not the
voice of him that spake
to me.
10. And I said, "What 16. But rise, and stand
shall I do, Lord?" And upon thy feet, for I have
the Lord said unto me, appeared unto thee for
"Arise, and go into Da- this purpose, to make
mascus; and there it thee a minister and a
shall be told thee of all witness both of these
things which are ap- things which thou hast
pointed for thee to do." seen and of those things
11. And when I could in the which I will ap-
not see for the glory of pear unto thee," &c.
that light, being led by
the hand of them that
were with me, I came
into Damascus.
25
370
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
ACTS ix, 8.
eyes were opened, he
saw no man: but they
led him by the hand,
and brought him into
Damascus.
In these accounts we meet with two serious difficulties,
leading to a suspicion, not that the writer of the book was
guilty of forgery or of dishonesty, but that in the first part
of this story he was ignorant of the political relations of
Damascus to Judæa, and that, as regards the miraculous
event which happened to Paul, he has given, in the same
book, three different accounts of it, so little harmonizing one
with the other that it is quite evident we have the event
second-hand, and not in the words of a contemporary, an eye-
witness, or an inspired historian.
1. Let us first explain in what way the writer was igno-
rant of the political relations between Judæa and Damascus.
The chief priests at Jerusalem had no power whatever over
persons living at Damascus; that city did not belong to
Judæa, any more than Boulogne to the English; and we
all know what would be the consequence, if an English
magistrate were sent with full powers to seize and bring to
London any of the numerous British who reside in that
foreign town. The priests of the Jews had no power at
Damascus the Roman empire comprised that city in her
extensive territories; the Roman arms and laws were estab-
lished there in the time of St Paul, and the ecclesiastical
rulers of the Jews at Jerusalem had no authority at all over
the people of Damascus, which was to them a foreign city.
We learn indeed from Dr Cave's note, given in a popular
commentary on the Bible, that
The Jewish Sanhedrim had not only the power of seizing and
scourging offenders against their law, within the bounds of their
own country, but, by the connivance and favour of the Romans,
might send into other countries where there were any synagogues
that acknowledged a dependence in religious matters upon the
council at Jerusalem, to apprehend them.
But this unsupported assertion is not sufficient; so extra-
ordinary an usurpation by the Jewish priests of authority
over a Roman city beyond the frontiers of Judæa, requires
the strongest confirmation before it can be accepted as a fact,
and writers of the present day have accordingly endeavoured
to find in the political circumstances of those times a sup-
port for the Scripture narrative. The explanation which
XLVII.]
371
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
has been given of this point by Messrs Conybeare and How-
son, the learned authors of the Life and Epistles of St Paul,
is as follows:
There was war between Aretas, who reigned at Petra, the
desert metropolis of Stony Arabia, and Herod Antipas, his son-
in-law, the tetrarch of Galilee. A misunderstanding concerning
the boundaries of the two principalities had been aggravated into
an inveterate quarrel by Herod's unfaithfulness to the daughter
of the Arabian king, and his shameful attachment to "his brother
Philip's wife." The Jews generally sympathized with the cause of
Aretas, rejoiced when Herod's army was cut off, and declared
that this disaster was a judgement for the murder of John the
Baptist. Herod wrote to Rome and obtained an order for assist-
ance from Vitellius, the governor of Syria. But when Vitellius
was on his march through Judæa, from Antioch towards Petra,
he suddenly heard of the death of Tiberius (A.D. 37); and the
Roman army was withdrawn before the war was brought to a
conclusion. It is evident that the relations of the neighbouring
powers must have been for some years in a very unsettled condi-
tion along the frontiers of Arabia, Judæa, and Syria; and the
falling of a rich border-town like Damascus from the hands of
the Romans into those of Aretas would be a natural occurrence
of the war.
If it could be proved that the city was placed in the
power of the Arabian Ethnarch under these particular circum-
stances, and at the time of Paul's journey, good reason would be
assigned for believing it probable that the ends for which he went
were assisted by the political relations of Damascus. And it would
indeed be a singular coincidence if his zeal in persecuting the
Christians were promoted by the sympathy of the Jews for the
fate of John the Baptist.
But there are grave objections to this view of the occupation of
Damascus by Aretas. Such a liberty taken by a petty chieftain
with the Roman power would have been an act of great audacity;
and it is difficult to believe that Vitellius would have closed the
campaign if such a city was in the hand of an enemy. It is
more likely that Caligula,-who in many ways contradicted the
policy of his predecessor,-who banished Herod Antipas and
patronised Herod Agrippa,-assigned the city of Damascus as a
free gift to Aretas. This supposition, as well as the former, will
perfectly explain the remarkable passage in St Paul's letter,
where he distinctly says that it was garrisoned by the Ethnarch
of Aretas, at the time of his escape. Many such changes of ter-
ritorial occupation took place under the emperors, which would
have been lost to history, were it not for the information derived
from a coin, an inscription, or the incidental remark of a writer
who had different ends in view. Any attempt to make this es-
cape from Damascus a fixed point of absolute chronology will be
372
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
unsuccessful, but, from what has been said, it may fairly be col-
lected, that Saul's journey from Jerusalem to Damascus took
place not far from that year which saw the death of Tiberius,
and the accession of Caligula.
It would seem hardly needful to make any addition to this
extract, for the writers of the work put forth with much
diffidence the two theories, as equally well calculated to ex-
plain the political difficulty about the mission of Saul to
Damascus. But it is right to point out that both of those
explanations are purely conjectural. There is not the
slightest allusion in history to the occupation of Damascus
by Aretas of Petra: nor is it likely that in a war with Herod,
the king of Petra, which lies wholly to the south of Judæa,
would have seized on a city, lying to the north of that country,
and belonging, not to Herod, but to the Romans. But
moreover, even if Damascus had for the moment fallen into
the hands of Aretas, it is still very unlikely that this prince
would have allowed the quarrel between the Jewish priests
and the Christians to be carried to such a length. There
is no proof that any persecution of the Christians was yet
made or likely to be made in Judæa, when under the
tolerant government of the Romans. We may be sure that
the judgement of Gallio, who "drave" the parties
"from
the judgement seat," is a fair index of what would be
thought by other Roman magistrates under similar circum-
stances- "If it were a matter of wrong or wicked lewdness,
O
ye Jews, reason would that I should bear with you: but
if it be a question of words and names, and of your law, look
ye to it; for I will be no judge of such matters."
We must then look for another interpretation of St
Paul's mission. The simplicity of the early Christians led
them to magnify every incident of their past annals into
political importance. We must strip from the mission of
Saul its public and more showy features, leaving its private
and more intrinsic character. That the enmity of the
priests was seconded by the zeal of Saul their agent need
not be doubted, that he was furnished with letters, &c. is
also admissible, but not that the mission was supported by
the authority to imprison and persecute the Christians, who
were as much the subjects of Rome and under the protec-
tion of universal tolerance as the priests themselves.
2. In the miraculous particulars with which the conversion
of Saul is more immediately clothed, there is a variation in
the accounts which we should not expect to find in contem-
porary narratives, but only in writings which had been con-
XLVII.]
373
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
structed many years afterwards from tradition. In the 9th
chapter of the Acts, where the first account of Paul's vision
occurs, it is said that
The men who journeyed with him stood speechless, hearing a voice, but
seeing no man.
But, in chapter xxii, Paul himself says that
They that were with me saw indeed the light, and were afraid; but they
heard not the voice of him that spake to me.
In both of these descriptions, the latter as well as the
former, we may suppose that the men remained standing
although speechless through fear; but in chapter xxvi, in
another recital of the events which then happened to him,
St Paul says,
And when we were all fallen to the earth, I heard a voice, &c.
The commentators make a feeble attempt to harmonize these
accounts, but it is only by such means as would be wholly
rejected in the interpretation of any other human compo-
sition, and therefore cannot be readily admitted in
interpreting the New Testament. The threefold description
of Paul's conversion leads to the conclusion that each
description comes from a different document, the author of
which had not seen the other two.
6. Use of the word Christians.
We learn from Acts xi, 26, that the disciples of Christ
were called* "Christians first in Antioch." But it is not re-
lated at what time this name was first given to them; and it
is not probable that it began to be used at the very outset:
for our Saviour's name, whilst he was alive, was not Christ,
but Jesus, which is the Greek form of the Hebrew name
Joshua. The latter was a more vague title, only applicable
to him whom the Jews in Hebrew would call the Messiah.
Some time would elapse before the identification of Jesus as
the Christ would lead the world at large to give him
that name generally, or to call his followers by a name de-
rived from it. The etymology of the word, also, is not in
favour of its early use; for the termination anus is not
Greek but Latin, and cannot be supposed to have been in-
troduced into Palestine before the Roman conquest of that
country, which was not completed before the siege of Jeru-
salem in A.d. 70. It is therefore not probable that the
disciples were called Christians before that time. This view
* I doubt the propriety of the translation of the Greek word. It rather
means "acted as Christians"-perhaps called themselves.
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CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
of the matter is supported by the very rare occurrence of the
word in the New Testament; it is found three times only in
that volume; first, in the passage above quoted, secondly in
Acts xxvi, 28, where Agrippa says to Paul, "Almost thou
persuadest me to be a Christian," and lastly in the 1st
Epistle of Peter, iv, 16:
Yet if any of you suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but
let him glorify God on this behalf.
In the second place where it occurs, an anachronism is in-
volved. For the use of the word Christian grew up too
slowly to allow the possibility that Agrippa should have em-
ployed it as a well-known and recognized term. He seems
to have known nothing whatever of the Christian doctrines
before he saw Paul, and we read that it was Festus, who first
told him of the "certain man left in bonds by Felix," so that
he seems, if we may judge from chapter xxv, 14-21, to have
known almost as little as Agrippa.
Lastly, the use of the word Christian in an epistle written
by St Peter, is quite as unlikely, for the same reason, as in
king Aprippa's speech to Paul,-with a further reason, that
the allusion to "suffering as a Christian" was not wholly
appropriate in the days of the apostles themselves, though it
was highly appropriate many years afterwards, when the
Roman magistrates, like Pliny, were compelled to use force
to put down the system of socialism, liberty, and equality,
which was adopted by the Christians, and would, if unchecked,
have infallibly subverted all the existing fabric of society.
Let not the inference to which this leads be misunderstood
or misconstrued. No doubt is here expressed that Agrippa,
in his speech, and St Peter in his epistle, used some word
equivalent to the word Christian; the only doubtful point
is that they used this very word. If "Christian" be a
translation of the word they used, then those writings, in
which this word is found, are translations, and not the
original works of the apostles to whom they are ascribed.
7. Seeming anticipation of regular Christian worship.
The two passages which here follow seem to point to a
state of things which did not exist at the time when they were
written:
1. In Acts xiii, 42-44, the whole city, Gentiles and Jews,
meet together on the sabbath, not once, but regularly. Is
not this a picture of a later age, when the Christians had
become a large and increasing body?
XLVII.]
375
ACTS OF THE APOSTLES.
2. In Acts xiv, 1, "a great multitude both of the Jews
and the Greeks believed." Gentiles and Greeks are the
same in the language of Scripture. How came there to be a
great multitude of Gentiles in the Jewish synagogue?
8. Variation in the name of the disciples and brethren of
Christ, James, Judas, &c.
After the ascension of Christ into heaven, we read in Acts
i, 12-14,
12. Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet,
which is from Jerusalem a sabbath day's journey. 13. And when they
were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter
and James and John, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew,
and Matthew, James the son of Alpheus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas
the brother of James. 14. These all continued with one accord in prayer
and supplication, with the woman, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and
with his brethren.
The twelve disciples of Christ are here enumerated as in
the Gospel according to St Luke, and not in harmony with
the lists of St Matthew and St Mark, which have been.
given in page 219 of this volume. This disagreement con-
cerning the names of such important persons as the twelve
apostles is not sufficient to impair the general testimony
and value of the history, but only to show us that the book
which contains the Acts of the Apostles is not exempt from
the general law of Providence, which is the law of Nature.
The energies of the first teachers of Christianity were
directed not to hand down to future times the deeds which
they themselves had done, but to preach that Gospel which
as they felt it to be beneficial to themselves, they thought
it their duty to extend if possible to the whole of the human
race.
Our examination of these Acts would not be complete if
we now omitted to inquire, as in the case of the Gospels,
how far the earliest Christian writers were acquainted with
the book called the Acts of the Apostles, or have quoted
passages which can be proved to have been taken from that
book. Such evidence, indeed, is not necessary in proof of
its truthfulness, nor does the absence of such evidence prove
that the incidents therein recorded are to be set aside as
fabulous or legendary. But if no contemporaneous or early
writers have quoted the Acts of the Apostles which now
forms part of our canon, it results that St Luke, who was
one of the earliest disciples of Christianity, could not have
been the author of the work. It is then indisputable that no
quotation from the Acts of the Apostles is found in any
376
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
ancient writer until the time of Irenæus, about the year
A.D. 170. A few passages have however been quoted by
those who maintain the genuineness of form as well as the
authenticity of the matter, to prove that the book which we
now have was well known to the early writers, in whose
works those passages are found. The first of those who are
supposed to have quoted the Acts of the Apostles are the
five Apostolical Fathers, who will demand but a short notice.
In the epistle of Barnabas, chapter 7, occur the words.
applied to Christ, "Being about to judge quick and dead,”
and in Acts x, 42, we read of Christ that he is "judge of
quick and dead." But we find in I Peter iv, 5, " ready to
judge quick and dead," and in II Tim. iv, 1, "who is about
to judge quick and dead." It is evident that these words in
the epistle of Barnabas denote an opinion prevalent among
all Christians, and have no necessary connection with any
book of our canon, nor indeed need be considered as a quo-
tation from any book at all.
The epistle of the Roman Clement also furnishes
nothing which directs the attention to the Acts of the
Apostles. When in his second chapter he speaks of "Being
subject rather than subjecting [others], giving with greater
pleasure than receiving," it is by no means necessary to
suppose that he had seen the passage in the Acts (xx, 13),
where we read "He [Jesus] said It is blessed rather to give
than to receive." If Jesus said this, for it is not recorded in
the Gospel histories of his life, others must have known it
besides the writer of the Acts, and the sentiment expressed
in those words would naturally lead to their being quoted
among the Christians.
In the Shepherd of Hermas are two passages which are
adduced as similar to others in the Acts, Vision iv, 2, com-
pared with Acts iv, 12; and Similitude ix, 28, with Acts v,
41; but it would be a waste of time to show-what is well
known to everyone that similarities of word and of thought
are found in all writings, particularly in religious works,
where set forms of speech and a few specific doctrines are of
constant occurrence.
In the Epistle to the Philadelphians, by Ignatius, a sen-
tence in the second chapter is thought to be imitated from
Acts xx, 29, because the enemies of the faith are described
as wolves in both. And a similar identification of the same
author's epistle to the Smyrnæans (iii) with Acts x, 41, is
supposed to be established by the reference in both to those
who ate and drank with Jesus after his resurrection. But
XLVIII.]
377
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
all this was known to others besides the writer of the Acts,
and must have been known to Ignatius, even if, as appears
from his silence to have been the case, he had never heard of
the work in question.
In the Epistle of Polycarp (i) the same inference is vainly
drawn from the expression "loosing the pangs of hell,"
which is thought to have been derived from the words in
Acts ii, 24, "loosing the pangs of death." No connection
whatever is established by this similarity of expression.
Next to the five Apostolical Fathers comes Justin Martyr,
in whose writings no reference to the Acts of the Apostles
or quotation from any part thereof is to be found. Nor need
we search for any proof of this fact; for Dr Westcott, in his
work on the Canon (p. 168), says that "the references to
the Acts are uncertain," and Alford, in his Prolegomena to
the Greek Testament (ii, p. 20), says that there are none
"which, fairly considered, belong to this book."
We cannot doubt that these writers would have quoted
from so important a work as the Acts of the Apostles if they
had been acquainted with it, and may therefore conclude that
up to the time of Justin Martyr, this book was not known
to the Christian Church.
CHAPTER XLVIII.
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
In the canon of the Christian Scriptures the book which
describes, as it is also named, the Acts of the Apostles, is
followed by fourteen epistles, attributed to the Apostle
Paul. This great preacher has by many been called the
second founder of Christianity, and it may reasonably be
allowed that without his agency our religion would hardly
have made such rapid progress, after it had received what
must have been a serious check by the crucifixion of Jesus
Christ.
The eleven disciples, according to Christ's own prophecy,
forsook their master and fled immediately after his appre-
hension; and whether they withdrew to Galilee and resumed
their original occupations, or remained in Jerusalem, as ac-
cording to one injunction of their master's they were bound
378
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
to do, their proceedings were on a very limited scale com-
pared with those which were carried on so widely and so
successfully by the apostle Paul.
It has caused surprise to many readers of the New Testa-
ment that a closer bond was not formed between the original
disciples and the new convert, but the points of view from
which the two parties regarded their religion, and their
modes of preaching the gospel, were by no means the same.
The old disciples, having witnessed the good deeds and the
remarkably practical teaching of Jesus, and having also
what might be then thought a better security in their own
senses, than in faith like St Paul's, not founded in experi-
ence, for the truths which they were to preach, perhaps did
not wholly comprehend the vigour and energy which sprung
up in the mind of Paul, when converted by so wonderful an
intervention of Providence, nor had they anything to com-
pare with his strong feeling that predestination alone had
snatched him from his former unbelief. The original dis-
ciples had never heard their master compare them to the
clay, which the potter formed at his own pleasure to be
vessels, some of honour and others of dishonour, and even of
the wrath of God; and indeed there was a strong taint of
Judaism adhering to all who adopted Christianity and
resided in Jerusalem, even later than the time when that
city was partially destroyed by the Romans. It was from
this source probably that the complaints of false brethren
arose, which occur so frequently in the Epistles of St Paul,
as we now have them. That the disciples at Jerusalem
never wholly harmonized with St Paul derives much confir-
mation from certain passages which invite our attention.
To whom can he refer when he uses those words in 1
Corinthians ix, 1-6?
Am I not an apostle? am I not free? have I not seen Jesus Christ our
Lord? are not ye my work in the Lord? 2. If I be not an apostle unto
others, yet doubtless I am to you: for the seal of mine apostleship are ye in
the Lord. 3. Mine answer to them that do examine me is this, 4. Have
we not power to eat and to drink? 5. Have we not power to lead about a
sister, a wife, as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the Lord,
and Cephas? 6. Or I only and Barnabas, have not we power to forbear
working?
Paul here, we see, answers some objections that had been
made to his claim of being an apostle, and he even asserts
that, like the other apostles, he had seen Jesus Christ our
Lord whose gospel he was preaching.
In another epistle, inscribed to the Galatians (i, 1), he
urges on those whom he is addressing, that he derived his

XLVIII.] ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
379
office not from men but from Christ himself, and in the
twelfth verse he states more fully of the gospel which he
preaches that he "neither received it of man, neither was
taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ." That
there were violent contentions among the Christians of this
early age is manifest from the following extracts :-
2 TIM. ii, 17, 18.
17. Their word will eat as doth a canker: of whom is Hymenæus and
Philetus; 18. Who concerning the truth have erred, saying that the resur-
rection is past already.
1 Cor. i, 12.
12. Now this I say, that every one of you saith, "I am of Paul; and I of
Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ."
PHIL. i, 15-17.
15. Some indeed preach Christ of envy and strife; and some of good
will: 16. The one preach Christ of contention, not sincerely, supposing
to add affliction to my bonds: 17. But the other of love, knowing that I
am set for the defence of the gospel.
GAL. ii, 9.
9. But when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, per-
ceived the grace that was given unto me, they gave to me and Barnabas
the right hands of fellowship; that we should go unto the heathen, and
they unto the circumcision.
GAL. ii, 11.
11. But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face,
because he was to be blamed.
Together with these complaints the personality of Jesus
is clearly less conspicuous in those epistles than it is in either
the Gospels or the Acts; indeed, no persons or facts are
brought much into the foreground, but ideas and feelings
occupy the first place. The writer never for a moment
seems to lose sight of what befel him on the road to Damas-
cus, and to this all-absorbing reflection so many of his ad-
monitions are chiefly due.
Many other passages might be quoted to show that St
Paul encountered much opposition from the older disciples
who dwelt at Jerusalem. But we do not learn from any
part of the New Testament the full extent to which their
opposition went. It is in an obscure writing, which has not
hitherto had such attention paid to it as it would seem to
deserve, that we meet with some startling observations which,
if genuine, bear with great force upon the history and
ministry of St Paul.
In the eighth chapter of the Acts of the Apostles (verses
9-25) is the account of Simon Magus, who, having thought
to obtain for money the same miraculous powers which he
had seen exhibited by St Peter, was reproved by the apostle
380
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
and having declared his repentance was forgiven. This
incident, brief as it is here described, is nowhere else referred
to in the New Testament, and yet the name of this man has
obtained the greatest notoriety in every age and country of
the Christian faith. It only concerns our present purpose
to notice an ancient writing, in which the name of this Simon
is prominent; and, strange as it may appear, critics of all
parties have agreed that under the fictitious name of Simon
is to be understood the apostle Paul.
"There can be no doubt," says Dr Westcott, in his work
on the Canon of the New Testament (p. 261), “that St
Paul is referred to as the enemy' in the Epistle of Peter to
James prefixed to the Homilies."
These Homilies, formerly ascribed to Clement of Rome,
were probably written at the end of the second century; but
their origin is doubtful, and the various questions and
opinions that have arisen concerning them forbid us by their
extent from entering fully upon that subject here. The
general purpose of the writer seems to have been to defend
the Judaizing form of Christianity, which prevailed for
nearly two hundred years at Jerusalem and elsewhere,
against other doctrines which seemed to be more spiritual in
their nature and destructive of church government in their
results. The whole body of Homilies, twenty in number, is
prefaced by a letter from its supposed author Clement to St.
James, whom he addresses as "master, bishop of bishops,
and ruler of the church of the Hebrews at Jerusalem."
But prefixed to this is another letter bearing the name of St
Peter, also addressed to St James, and containing certain
passages which are here given, as illustrating the history of
St Paul.
Peter to James the master and bishop of the Holy Church, by
the Father of all things, through Jesus Christ, may there be
peace for ever! Knowing, my brother, that thou art earnestly
zealous towards that which is expedient for all of us in common,
I ask and beg of thee not to impart the books of my preachings,
which I have sent thee, either to any of the Gentiles or to any of
the same tribe, before having experience of him. But if any one
having been tried has been found worthy, then deliver them to
him according to the course by which Moses also delivered to the
Seventy who received his seat.
Unless it is so done, our
word of truth will be torn asunder into many opinions. This,
however, I know, not as being a prophet, but already seeing the
beginning of that evil. For some out of the Gentiles have rejected
my lawful preaching, having taken to themselves a certain un-
•
•
XLVIII.]
381
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
•
That it may
lawful and vain teaching of the hostile man.
be perceived of what class is Simon who before me first went to
the Gentiles, and of what class I happen to be who came after
him and succeeded to him as light to darkness, as knowledge to
ignorance, and as health to disease. Thus then, as the True
Prophet has said, first must come a false gospel from an impostor
and then, after the destruction of the holy place, the true gospel
be sent to correct future heresies; and after this again at the end
first must come Antichrist, and then he who is truly our Christ
Jesus, after whom the eternal sun will rise and all darkness be
dispersed. Hom. ii, 17.
Wherefore before all things remember to avoid that apostle or
teacher or prophet who does not first refer his preaching to James
called the brother of our Lord, and trusted with managing the
church of the Hebrews in Jerusalem, and come to you with wit-
nesses ; lest the malice which conversed with the Lord forty
days, having effected nothing, should afterwards, like a star fall-
ing from heaven, send against you a preacher, as it has sent
against us that Simon, preaching under the pretext of truth
in the name of our Lord, and sowing the seeds of error.
xi, 35.
Hom.
After delivering this address, Peter sends certain of his
followers to Antioch, and three months afterwards went
thither himself: and this journey may perhaps be the same
which St Paul refers to in his epistle to the Galatians (ii, 11),
upon which occasion his own words indicate that a violent
altercation arose between him and Peter.
In the seventeenth Homily we have a long discussion
between Simon Magus and St Peter, of which the following
specimen will be sufficient:
And Simon said: "If thou sayest that visions do not always
declare the truth, yet things seen and dreams which are sent
by God do not speak falsely about things which he wishes to
say." And Peter said, "Thou hast said well that if sent by God
they do not speak falsely: but it is uncertain whether he who
sees has seen a dream sent by God." And Simon said, "If he
who has seen be just, he has seen truly." Hom. xvii, 15.
If then our Jesus was seen and known by thee also; and spoke
to thee in a vision, being angry with thee as an adversary to him,
he, therefore, spoke to thee by visions and dreams, or also by re-
velations from without. But if a man can be instructed for doc-
trine through a vision ? and if thou sayest it is possible, why did
the Teacher abide and converse a whole year* with those who
were awake? Hom. xvii, 19.
* The writer evidently thought that the ministry of Jesus lasted one
year only.
382
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN Records.
The dialogue proceeds in this style, and clearly its benefit
to the reader or to its hearers must have been as remote as
was the chance of its ever being brought to a satisfactory
conclusion. Inward feelings, and supposed manifestations
of the Deity, conveyed to the worshipper, have always been
favourite subjects with a certain class of enthusiasts or im-
postors in every age of the world, and have been encountered
by the opposite party, as in the present case, with the same
demand of more positive and authoritative evidence.
From this digression however let us return to the more
immediate subject of this chapter.
The enmity of the sacerdotal Christians residing at Jeru-
salem, rendered highly probable by St Paul's constant refer-
ence to the opposition which he experienced, is a strong argu-
ment that we have in some at least of the epistles ascribed
to him a genuine reflex of his mind and feelings. There
are three points of view from which we may regard these
writings. 1. How far the historical details contained in them
harmonize with the corresponding narrative of St Paul's
ministry as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. 2. How
far it is probable that St Paul would write such epistles as
we now have, forming part of the New Testament Canon
and written in the Greek language. And 3. What evidence
has been produced in favour of their authenticity, and if
such evidence is not applicable to all of them, it is important
if possible to ascertain which may be considered genuine
and which doubtful.
As regards the last question, it may be necessary to state
that the genuineness of a book is distinct from the truth of
its contents. A work written by any particular author may be
accepted as truthful in its contents, but may come before
the world under another name and not that of its real writer.
It has been not unusual to ascribe authenticity and not
genuineness to such a work. In most cases, however, the dis-
tinction between these words is not insisted upon, and the
two have consequently been often accepted as synonymous,
and used indifferently at the pleasure of the writer. If
such a distinction, however, be applied to the Epistles of St
Paul, there is a class of critics who would ascribe to them
authenticity as regards their contents, but not genuineness of
form. In other words it might be argued that the teaching
of St Paul, his doctrines, and the interesting sketches which
he gives us of his life, are authentic in the highest degree,
but that the epistolary form in which these have come down
XLVIII.]
383
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
•
to us labours under certain disadvantages which suggest a
doubt whether we have those doctrines, that teaching, and
those personal details of his life in their genuine original form.
That certain of these epistles have been erroneously ascribed
to St Paul is an opinion which has been entertained by the
best and most learned critics, and which originated in
the very earliest ages of our era, and that there was danger
of this happening even during his own life-time may be
inferred from his own words in the Second Epistle to the
Thessalonians (ii, 1),where he cautions them not to be deceived
by letters, falsely purporting to be written by him. But
that all of these epistles are supposititious, as some have ven-
tured to declare, is an assertion which does not commend
itself to the approbation of candid judges. The short
summary of the Acts given in the last chapter enables us to
form a tolerable idea of the chronology of St Paul's life and
ministry.
We read of him first in the book of the Acts as taking a pro-
minent part at the stoning of the martyr Stephen (vii, 58).
His conversion, which is the next event in his life (ix, 3), is
placed in the year A.D. 35, about five years after the cruci-
fixion, on his way to Damascus. Recovering from the effects
of his miraculous vision, he began to preach in the Jewish
synagogue of Damascus, with so much success that the
Jews sought to kill him, and being let down from the wall in
a basket he escaped to Jerusalem, where he joined the dis-
ciples and preached, but being again in danger of his life, he
escaped to Cæsarea and thence to Tarsus his native town. If
our chronology is correct, he remained there till A.D. 41,
when he was brought by Barnabas to Antioch, where
they preach the gospel during a whole year (xi, 25).
We
are told in the same chapter that the disciples were called
Christians first in Antioch, but it is not necessarily implied
that the name was given to them at this very time.
At the
end of the year Saul and Barnabas carry relief to the
brethren at Jerusalem, and return afterwards to Antioch
in company with John surnamed Mark (xii, 25). The date
of these events is marked in the margin of our Bibles at A.D.
44, and at this time Barnabas and Saul set out on a mission
to Cyprus and several of the chief cities in Asia Minor.
His name of Saul is now dropped and from this time he
is called Paul, a name assumed by him perhaps in compli-
ment to Sergius Paulus the deputy whom he had converted
to the new faith in Cyprus (xiii, 7). The two apostles
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[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORds.
'
return from their mission to Antioch, where they abode long
time with the disciples (xiv, 28). They afterwards attend a
meeting of the Christian Church at Jerusalem where they
tarried a space (xv, 33), and returned to Antioch A.D. 53.
Paul now sets out on his second missionary tour, in
the course of which he continued a year and six months at
Corinth, and again returned to Jerusalem and Antioch
(xviii, 22). In his third tour, he stayed two years at
Ephesus, three months in Greece, and after visiting a large
number of the Grecian islands and cities he came to Cæsarea
and from thence to Jerusalem (xxi, 15), where he was arrested,
detained two years (xxiv, 27), and finally sent to Rome, A.D.
62.
Thus the ministry of St Paul lasted nineteen years, from
A.D. 41 when he began to preach at Antioch until A.D. 60,
when he was put in bonds at Jerusalem. And for
the events which befel the Church during this period our at-
tention is divided, at least equally, between Jerusalem and
Antioch. We know from profane history that in the years
A.D. 64, 65, the emperor Nero, unjustly accusing the
Christians of having set fire to Rome, exercised a cruel
persecution against all who bore that name; and when
we read at the end of the Acts of the Apostles the
significant statement that Paul preached two years in that
city, "no man forbidding him," we can hardly forbear from
drawing the inference that at the end of the two years he
was no longer allowed the same freedom of action; and
when we find that in the very year when this impunity was
at an end the Christians, having become a numerous body,
were marked out for punishment, it is very difficult to believe
that other inferior and newly converted Christians would be
punished and that he their leader would be spared.
The proceedings of St Paul on his first arrival in Rome
are interesting and important, and have a strong bearing
on the question of his epistles. He is stated in the last
chapter of the Acts (13) to have been met, on his arrival in
Italy, by the brethren at Appii Forum, and afterwards when
he had been at Rome three days, to have called the chief of
the Jews together and explained to them the circumstances
under which he had been brought to that city. The Jews in re-
ply profess their ignorance on the subject: they had received
no"letters" about him, and only knew that the sect to which he
belonged was everywhere "spoken against." Paul then de-
clares to them his mission, "and some believed the things
which were spoken, and some believed not" (24). He then

XLVIII.]
385
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
intimates to them that he shall turn to the Gentiles, "and
when he had said these words, the Jews departed, and had
great reasoning among themselves (29)." From that time
he preached the gospel for two years to all that “ came
in unto him,” and at the end of those two years was begun
that cruel persecution of the Christians, in which there
is every probability that St Paul himself perished.
We will now turn to the epistles themselves which pro-
fess to have been written by the great apostle. At the end
of almost every manuscript copy is found a subscription pur-
porting to inform the reader where it was written, and
accordingly, at the end of each in our authorized version is
added a notice more or less full containing the information
here referred to. In the second chapter of this volume.
(p. 7) is given a table of dates according to the latest opinions
that have been held on this subject. How far these opinions
are borne out by authority or evidence may appear more
clearly from the subscriptions as they are found in two of the
oldest MSS which now exist, the Alexandrian and the
Vatican, compared with those found in the more common
and less ancient MSS, and copied from them into the
English authorized version. Taking the epistles in the
chronological order which the latest critics have suggested,
we find the following results:
I. II. The two EPISTLES TO THE THESSALONIANS are
now thought to have been written from Corinth, A.D. 52, but
our authorized version has the subscription "written
from Athens," with which the Alexandrian MS agrees.
The Sinaitic MS has no name of place to any of the epistles;
and the Vatican has "from Athens" in handwriting some-
what later than the rest of the book, as it has in all St Paul's
épistles.
It was in his second missionary tour that St Paul visited
Thessalonica, where there was a Jewish synagogue (Acts xvii,
1). He there "as his manner was," reasoned with them out
of the Scriptures three sabbath days. Some of the Jews and
many of the Greeks believed, but some did not; a
disturbance arose among the people, and Paul accompanied
by Silas was sent out of the city for safety to Beroa. He
soon after went to Athens, where he addressed the
Areopagites concerning the resurrection from the dead. He
then went to Corinth where he abode one year and six
months. It is difficult to say from which of these two cities
St Paul indited the Epistles to the Thessalonians, but it is
still more difficult to say why he addressed an epistle to them
VOL. II.
26
386
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
at all. He had resided among them three or four weeks
only, with less success for his preaching than he afterwards
obtained among the Berceans, who were "more noble than
those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all
readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures whether those
things were so" (xvii, 11). But the Jews of Thessalonica
followed him to Beroa, and he was compelled by a
disturbance among the people to depart from that town also.
The external evidence in favour of the authenticity of these
epistles is very slight; they are not mentioned by the
Apostolic Fathers, by Justin Martyr, or by any other writer
until the end of the second century, when the whole canon
of Scripture comes at once into notice, and is extensively
quoted by Irenæus and others. The name of Paul occurs
in the Epistles of Clement and Polycarp, as we might
naturally expect in the case of one to whose ministry the
establishment of Christianity was chiefly due. But there
are certain peculiarities in these epistles, which may suggest
a doubt respecting the time, and also the place where they were
written, and possibly also the form in which they have come
down to us. The writer says in the First Epistle (i, 7) that
the Thessalonians, by their zeal in receiving "the word "
were an "ensample to all that believe in Macedonia and
Achaia," but this is not in perfect harmony with his abrupt
expulsion, after a residence of a few weeks, from that town
which he is not known ever to have revisited.
Neither does his statement in the Second Epistle (iii, 8)
commend itself to a literal interpretation. In justification
of his conduct amongst them he says that he did not eat
any man's bread, "but wrought with labour and travail
night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of
you." He would probably find some difficulty in working
at his trade of tent-making, whilst he was at the same time
preaching the gospel for so short a time in the manner
which he describes.
""
A third point, which has not yet been satisfactorily cleared
up is, that whereas in the First Epistle he clearly indicates
the near approach of Christ's second coming, he in his
second letter as clearly warns them not to be deceived on
that subject. The two passages will be best examined when
exhibited in parallel columns as follows:
1 THESS. iv, 15-18.
15. For this we say unto you by
the word of the Lord, that we which
are alive and remain unto the com-
2 THESS. ii, 1-5.
Now we beseech you, brethren,
by the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and by our gathering to-
XLVIII.]
387
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
1 THESS. iv, 15-18.
ing of the Lord shall not prevent
[go before] them which are asleep.
16. For the Lord himself shall de-
scend from heaven with a shout,
with the voice of the archangel, and
with the trump of God: and the
dead in Christ shall rise first. 17.
Then we which are alive and re-
main shall be caught up together
with them in the clouds, to meet
the Lord in the air: and so shall
we ever be in the Lord. 18. Where-
fore comfort one another with these
words.
2 THESS. ii, 1-5.
gether unto him, 2. That ye be
not soon shaken in mind, or be
troubled, neither by spirit, nor by
word, nor by letter as from us, as
that the day of Christ is at hand.
3. Let no man deceive you by any
means: for that day shall not come,
except there come a falling away
first, and that man of sin be re-
vealed the son of perdition; 4. Who
opposeth and exalteth himself above
all that is called God, or that is
worshipped; so that he as God
sitteth in the temple of God, show-
ing himself that he is God. 5. Re-
member ye not, that, when I was
yet with you, I told you these
things?
It may fairly be asked whether these epistles have been
altered at a later date by some editor and arranged to suit
the needs of the Church, when they were embodied with the
other writings in the Christian canon.
:
III. The EPISTLE TO THE GALATIANS also is thought
to have been written from Corinth about the same time as
the preceding but the subscription, in the common Greek
MSS, and in the authorized version, is "Written from
Rome," which is confirmed by the Alexandrian and Vati-
can MSS, and seems preferable to that which some modern
critics have substituted in its place. The "region of Galatia "
is briefly mentioned in the Acts (xvi, 6) as having been tra-
versed by Paul in his second tour before he visited Thessa-
lonica, and again (xviii, 23) on his third tour, just before he
visited Ephesus, where he disputed two years in the school
of Tyrannus. Whether the epistle was written to the Ga-
latians after his first or after his second visit, it is difficult to
determine,* for we know nothing of what was done by him
in that country, the inhabitants of which, descended from
the ancient Gauls, still retained their ancient language in the
centre of Asia Minor, with no large cities which might invite
the attention of merchants or missionaries. That an epistle
should be written to such a people by St Paul is not without
the range of probability, but that it should be written in the
Greek language is a point which has never been satisfactorily
* I have had equal difficulty in determining why Messrs Conybeare and
Howson have substituted the words "at my first visit" for "at the first
in Gal. iv, 13, unless it was done to support their view that the apostle had
made two visits to Galatia before he wrote the epistle to that nation.
The Greek words, to proteron, cannot mean at my first visit. See John ix, 8.
388
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
ན
explained in any other way than by the necessity or expe-
diency of compiling an uniform canon for the whole Christian
Church. The Epistles to the Thessalonians, who spoke Greek,
are less subject to criticism on this head; but if Christianity
was addressed to the lowest class of the community, as is
understood generally to have been the case, it is not un-
reasonable to suppose that a Christian missionary would ad-
dress the Galatians in the language which they themselves
would understand. But St Paul appears as writing in a
language which not only those to whom he wrote, but him-
self also understood imperfectly. On this point we have the
evidence of Chrysostom, who cites the interview between
St Paul and King Agrippa, whose words, rendered in our
version, "Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian,"
should rather be rendered, "Why, thou art almost persuading
me to be a Christian!" Chrysostom says that Paul mis-
understood Agrippa-"so illiterate (outws idiúrns) was he."
In his third Homily on 1 Corinthians, chapter i, the same
Father says,
"Show me if Peter was a literary man, and
Paul too, but you cannot. They were ignorant and illiter-
ate." Jerome also in several passages of his commentaries
on the epistles states the same fact.
Like the other books contained in the Canon of the New
Testament, we have no distinct quotations from this epistle
before the time of Irenæus. Certain sayings cited by the
Apostolical Fathers and Justin seem to have been the com-
mon property of the Church, and here and there find their
counterpart in the Epistle to the Galatians. There is one
only point which requires to be noticed as involving a dis-
crepancy between what St Paul here writes and what is re-
corded of him in the Acts of the Apostles. From the latter
source (ix, 26) we are led to infer that when he escaped from
Damascus by night he went straight to Jerusalem, but in his
epistle the course of events is very different.
ACTS ix, 25-28.
25. The disciples took him by
night and let him down by the wall
in a basket. 26. And when Saul
was come to Jerusalem, he assayed
to join himself to the disciples, but
they were all afraid of him, and be-
lieved not that he was a disciple,
27. But Barnabas took him, and
brought him to the apostles, and
declared unto them how he had
seen the Lord in the way, and that
he had spoken to him, and how he
GAL. i, 15-19.
15. When it pleased God, who
separated me from my mother's
womb, and called me by his grace,
16. To reveal his Son in me, that I
might preach him among the hea-
then; immediately I conferred not
with flesh and blood: 17. Neither
went I up to Jerusalem to them
which were apostles before me; but
I went into Arabia, and returned
again unto Damascus. 18. Then
after three years I went up to Jeru-
XLVIII.]
389
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
GAL. i, 18, 19.
ACTS ix, 27, 28.
had preached boldly at Damascus
in the name of Jesus. 28. And he
was with them coming in and going
out at Jerusalem.
salem to see Peter, and abode with
him fifteen days. 19. But other of
the apostles saw I none, save James,
the Lord's brother.
It is difficult to imagine a greater divergency of descrip-
tion than that which is here presented to our notice. Ela-
borate attempts have been made to reconcile them: but all
these have failed, because their learned authors have not
noticed the important feature of both narratives, and have
laboured to ascertain which of the numerous visits paid by
St Paul as recorded in the Acts is to be identified with that
visit which St Paul himself records in the epistle. But the
drift of both these narratives is to show, the one that St Paul
immediately after his conversion at Damascus went up to
Jerusalem and at once began to preach the Gospel in com-
pany with the other apostles; whereas it is plainly stated by
himself, that he did not go immediately to Jerusalem, but
only after the lapse of three years, and then saw none of the
apostles except Peter and James the Lord's brother, and
that even then he only stayed there fifteen days. In the
22nd verse of the 1st chapter, the writer states most em-
phatically that at this time he was "unknown by face unto
the churches of Judea which were in Christ,"
The general tenour of the epistle does not require to be
noticed. There are few sentences which can guide us to
discover the time or the place at which it was written. The
11th verse of the last chapter is wrongly translated in
our English version; it should be, "See with what great
letters I have written to you with my own hand!" and it is
asserted by the authors of the Life and Epistles of St Paul
that the 12th verse of the 5th chapter conveys a meaning
far different from that which our English version expresses-
a meaning which would attribute to St Paul a levity and
perhaps bitterness of language not wholly becoming the
character of a Christian teacher. Their interpretation is
indeed supported by powerful modern critics and by a certain
despotic tone, more congenial to a later period of the Church
than to the time in which St Paul lived, in which the punish-
ment of excommunication appears as one of the weapons of
the Church. The two versions of the mistranslated passage
are as follows :
GAL. v, 12.
I would they were even cut off
which trouble you.
LIFE, &c., chap. xviii.
I could wish that these agitators
who disturb your quiet, would exe-
cute upon themselves not only cir-
cumcision, but excision also.
390
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
IV. V. The two EPISTLES TO THE CORINTHIANS are
dated in the English version from Philippi; the Vatican
MS dates the first from Ephesus and the second from
Philippi, but the Alexandrian and Sinaitic have no name of
place for either of these epistles; and some modern critics,
retaining Ephesus as the place where the first was written,
have dated the second vaguely from some place in Mace-
donia. They are thought to have been written at no wide
interval of time between one and the other, probably about
the year A.D. 57; and in the dearth of more accurate data,
it seems useless to raise doubts that can never be answered
on a subject which is not of primary importance. Certain
peculiarities are found in both these writings which may be
briefly noticed.
In the first place many additional circumstances belong-
ing, as we should infer, to the account of St Paul's conver-
sion are here named. Especially may be mentioned the
vision, which was made the subject of jocular conversation
in the dialogue of Lucian, of which an extract has been given
in page 80 of this volume. We have in the second of these
Epistles (xii, 1) the account which St Paul gives of the
man whom he knew, and who was carried up "fourteen
years ago" into paradise, where he "heard unspeakable
words, which it is not lawful for a man to utter." That
St Paul here states a vision which he had himself seen, has
never been doubted by any who have written commentaries
upon the Scriptures.
Connected with visions may be named the gifts of tongues
and of prophesying, and the order of ministers in the Church,
which are described rather largely in the twelfth, thirteenth,
and fourteenth chapters of the first epistle. Other adven-
tures which St Paul met with, not named elsewhere, occur
in the same chapters.
The number also of Christ's appearances after his resur-
rection must also be increased if those here named (1 Cor.
xv, 4) by St Paul are additional to those which have been
enumerated in the previous books of the New Testament.
Nor is it wholly uninteresting to observe that in the sixteenth
chapter of the first and in the ninth of the second epistle,
we find mention of the collection of money for the use of the
saints at Jerusalem, which is named in the Acts of the
Apostles. That the labourer is worthy of his hire, no doubt
was already admitted among the axioms of the Church; but
St Paul in these epistles, as elsewhere, prides himself upon
the fact that he did not burden the Corinthians with his
XLVIII.]
391
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
maintenance (II Cor. xii, 13) whilst he was among them.
Equally remarkable is the constant recurrence to the belief
that the second coming of Christ would take place whilst
some then living were still alive. "We shall not all sleep,
but we shall all be changed" (I, xv, 51), are words still used
in the burial service of the Church, but in some of the MSS
we read, "We shall all sleep, but we shall not all be
changed;" nor is it difficult to understand why the negative
should be intentionally misplaced here in order to release
Paul from asserting a belief in the early coming of Christ,"
which in process of time was so palpably negatived by fact.
Among the peculiar things to be noticed in these epistles
is the account which St Paul gives of the Last Supper. He
prefaces this account by saying, "I have received of the
Lord that which also I delivered unto you," and unless this
was communicated to him in a vision concurrently with what
is related of his conversion on the way to Damascus, we have
no mention of any other occasion when such a revelation
may have been made. He states in 1 Cor. xi, 23:-
23. That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took
bread: 24. And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, "Take,
eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance
of me." 25. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had
supped, saying, "This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye,
as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me."
These words, even in the English translation, are remark-
ably similar to those in which the first three evangelists, and
especially St Luke, describe the institution of the Lord's
Supper. But in the Greek text the similarity of words is
much more remarkable, nor can we avoid the inference that
if neither the gospels could have been copied from the
epistle nor the epistle from the gospels, the phraseology of
both has been taken from some traditional or written original
document, which had already been clothed in a Greek dress,
before either of these existing narratives had appeared.
VI. THE EPISTLE TO THE ROMANS, in the Alexandrian
and Sinaitic MSS, bears no name of place from which
it was addressed. The Vatican names Corinth, and the
authorized English version has "Written from Corinth to
the Romans by Phoebe the deaconess of the church in
Cenchreæ." The time when it was written, as in the case
* The belief that the reign of Christ on earth was at hand, shows itself
indirectly in the words "Anathema Maran-atha," which occur at the end
of the First Epistle to the Corinthians. These words are interpreted,
"The Lord is coming."
392
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
of all the epistles, can only be given from conjecture, which
generally assigns this one to the year 57 after Christ.
a
The belief in the speedy coming of Christ and in the
reign of the saints on earth appears in the words, "Now is
our salvation nearer than when we believed" (xiii, 11), but
the epistle does not enlarge further on this subject. It
seems to be the object of the writer to convey general
principles of Christian morality to his readers, and whilst he
professes his intention to visit Rome when he takes his
"journey into Spain," he acknowledges that he has had "
great desire these many years" (xv, 23) to go to Rome, but
had hitherto been prevented. At the same time he is per-
suaded that those to whom he is writing are "full of good-
ness, filled with all knowledge, able also to admonish one
another" (14). The fifteenth chapter ends with the usual
benediction, and the sixteenth contains salutations and greet-
ings to a variety of persons, all in the third person, save that
in verse 22 are interposed the words, "I Tertius, who wrote
this epistle, salute you in the Lord." The names which
occur in this chapter, whether of those who are saluted at
Rome or of those who join the writer in sending those salu-
tations, afford no decided test as regards the nationality of
the one or of the others; they are partly Roman and partly
Greek, and may all be taken to represent Romans, who were
much more used to imitate the Greeks than the Greeks to
imitate the Romans. It is however remarkable that the
persons to whom the Apostle writes are addressed as "you
that are in Rome;" which seems to denote not the Romans
generally, but those in Rome who had already become
Christians. In what way this bears upon the language in
which St Paul addresses the inhabitants of a Latin city
must be deferred until the other epistles are briefly noticed.
VII. THE EPISTLE TO THE EPHESIANS, supposed to
have been written about the year A.D. 62, is generally ad-
mitted to have been erroneously so addressed. The Vatican
MS and the English authorized version date it from Rome:
the Sinaitic and Alexandrian MSS give no name of place,
and the latter of these in the first verse has a blank for the words
"at Ephesus," which are added by a later hand. It is gene-
rally thought that the epistle was addressed to the Laodi-
ceans; but for this there is no authority but that of writers
who lived much later, and we learn from Colossians iv, 16,
that St Paul wrote an epistle "from Laodicea," and not to
the people who inhabited that city.
The only point here to be noticed is the great similarity
XLVIII.]
393
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
and even identity of thought and language between this and
the epistle addressed to the Colossians and occasionally
others of St Paul's letters, and this circumstance has fur-
nished one of the reasons why some modern critics have
denied that it was written by St Paul at all.
VIII. THE EPISTLE TO THE PHILIPPIANS also is dated
A.D. 62, and the place Rome, in both the Vatican MS and
the authorized version. In this short epistle St Paul gives
us some account of himself, his origin and creed (iii, 5): also
that he had twice received pecuniary aid from the Philip-
pians (iv, 16), and that, whilst he had some adherents even
in the prætorium among the servants of the emperor (i, 12),
there were some who preached Christ out of contention and
envy towards himself (15). There is also here, as in most
of the epistles, a reference to the speedy coming of Christ,
"The Lord is at hand" (iv, 5). And the word, rendered
concision in our English version, had already in ancient
times suggested a less vague meaning to commentators in
connection with the subject not only of circumcision, but of
eunuchs also. The Philippians were a colony from Rome.
IX. THE EPISTLE TO THE COLOSSIANS is thought to
have been written, A.D. 62, from Rome, as named in our
authorized version and in the Vatican MS.
In this short composition we may notice the warning
which St Paul so frequently repeats against false teachers,
"Lest any man should beguile you with enticing words
(ii, 4)”. "Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy
(ii, 8)," &c. And St Paul's usual warning about circum-
cision is here repeated; whilst other indications are not
wanting, that there were already two systems of doctrine
growing up in the Church not yet thoroughly amalgamated,
the Judaical derived from the original Church of Jerusalem,
and the Pauline as set forth in these epistles. When we con-
sider that hardly thirty years had elapsed since the cruci-
fixion of our Lord, we may be allowed to express surprise
that such schisms should in so short a time have found a
place among those who were so near to the wonderful career
and simple teaching of Jesus Christ.
X. THE EPISTLE TO PHILEMON is thought to have
been written in A.D. 62 from Rome, as subscribed in our
authorized version, but neither of the three most ancient
MSS give any name of place at all. The inscription is not
to Philemon alone, but to Appia, to Archippus, and "to the
church at thy house." Appia was probably, as stated by
Chrysostom, the wife of Philemon. Archippus is named in
394
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the Epistle to the Colossians (iv, 17): the church at Phile-
mon's house would mean all his family. The object of the
epistle is to ask forgiveness for Onesimus a slave, who had
run away from his master. The writer states that he has
written the letter with his own hand (19), and he intimates
to his friend to prepare for him a lodging; for, whereas he
describes himself at the beginning of the letter as " a prisoner
of Jesus Christ," he now says "I trust that through your
prayers I shall be given unto you." If, as is conjectured,
St Paul was set free at first, and was afterwards beheaded
there when again arrested, in 64 or 65, his hope of visiting
Philemon was fulfilled; but the fact of his release is unsup-
ported by any external evidence, and the internal evidence
which the letters themselves furnish has been laboriously
worked up out of data insufficient in quantity, vague in
reference to time, and altogether conjectural in results.
XI. XII. THE TWO EPISTLES TO TIMOTHY are thought
to have been written about A.D. 64 or 65, on the supposition
that St Paul escaped from the persecution at Rome in A.D.
62. The first is dated in our English version from Laodicea,
and the second from Rome. The Alexandrian MS dates
both from Laodicea, but the Sinaitic and Vatican give no
name of place.
The uncertainty which attends all the Epistles of St Paul
is exemplified by the fact that Dr Burton attributes the
first of these addressed to Timothy to the year 52 from
Ephesus, and thinks it might have been written from Troas.
The doctrine of predestination and of free grace, which
seems to have been the especial mark of St Paul's preaching,
is conspicuous in these Epistles to Timothy, and would
doubtless recommend them to eastern nations generally.
1 TIM. i, 9.
God (he says), who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling,
not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace,
which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began.
The idea of spiritual power in the hands of the Church
manifests itself again in the first of these epistles (i, 20),
where the writer says of Hymenæus and Alexander, "whom
I have delivered unto Satan, that they may learn not
to blaspheme." If this phrase means that those men were
only cast out of the Church, even supposing that there was
also a reference to the doctrine that Satan is the author of
bodily disease, as stated by the authors of the Life and
Epistles of St Paul (ii, p. 34), the agency of Satan must have
been thought to be much less formidable in those days than
XLVIII.]
395
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
the Church in general estimates it at present. Nor can
it be said that the human mind was less prone to error and
wayward thoughts than at any later period; for the various
fancies which led men astray from common sense and from
the strait path, as enumerated at the beginning of chapter 4
of the First Epistle, might be thought to mark a later period
in ecclesiastical history than the lifetime of St Paul
himself. Bishops, presbyters, and deacons are all named in
this epistle; the first and second of these orders were not
then distinct, as they have since become; and deacons appear
to have discharged highly important temporal duties, which
required that their character should be without reproach.
One regulation, common to them and to the bishops, limited
them to one wife, whereas the polygamous tendency of all
Asiatic nations has given them a greater latitude in this
respect than has since been generally allowed by the
Church.
XIII. THE EPISTLE TO TITUS bears the subscription,
both in our authorized version and in the Alexandrian MS,
"from Nicopolis": the Vatican and Sinaitic give no name
of place. It is thought to have been written about the year
A.D. 64, two years after the persecution of the Christians at
Rome, in which antecedent probability would suggest that
St Paul the leader of the Christian community would be
the first to perish. The writer styles himself in the inscrip-
tion "
a slave of God," rendered in our version a servant,
similarly to the inscription to the Romans a "slave of Jesus
Christ," and to the Philippians, where he and Timothy
inscribe themselves "slaves of Jesus Christ."
The writer passes some severe remarks on
CC
""
Many unruly and vain talkers and deceivers, especially they of the circum-
cision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole houses, teach-
ing things which they ought not, for filthy lucre's sake.—i. 10, 11.
Titus would seem to be at this time in Crete; for it is
against the people of this island that St Paul tells Titus to
use severe rebuke, whilst he directs him to ordain elders (or
presbyters) in every city, and he here repeats in the case of
these elders the injunction to be blameless and to be content
with one wife, which he has elsewhere enjoined on bishops
and deacons. It is remarked by the authors of the Life and
Epistles of St Paul, that the churches in Crete cannot be
supposed to have been founded by that apostle; for that
many indications in the Epistle to Titus show that they
had already lasted for a considerable time" (vol. ii, p. 487).
66
396
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
XIV. THE EPISTLE TO THE HEBREWS is dated from
Italy in our authorized version and by the Vatican MS:
the Alexandrian dates it from Rome, but the Sinaitic gives
no name of a place. The commentators, wholly unable to
assign any certain year, have referred it to that uncertain
period, after A.D. 62, of which we have not the slightest
original record of St Paul's life remaining.
It has justly been remarked that the absence of any in-
scription such as those with which every ancient letter used
to commence, makes it doubtful whether this is to be looked
upon as an epistle at all. On this point opinions are
divided, nor is it important here to determine such a
question; although to those who refer to its want of the
usual greeting at the beginning, we may reply that there
is no such want of the usual salutation at the end, for the
writer concludes with the words, "Salute all them that have
the rule over you, and all the saints. They of Italy salute
you."
""
Neither is it possible now to decide authoritatively
whether St Paul is the author; for there has always been a
question on this subject from very early times. The tone of
it is certainly less fervent than that of other epistles found
in our Canon, and there are a few passages which appear to
tell against the authorship of Paul. In chapter xiii, verse
23, we read, that "our brother Timothy is set at liberty,
but in other passages he is styled "my own son in
the Lord” (1 Tim. i, 2), and again "my dearly beloved son'
(11 Tim. i, 2). The tenour and tendency of the whole com-
position moreover point otherwise than to the same purpose
to which the other less doubtful of St Paul's epistles
were directed. In most of his other writings the dispute
between what is called the Pauline element, and the Ju-
daizing community still subsisting mostly at Jerusalem,
occurs incidentally and with a certain brief energy which
like a fire lasts but for a time in proportion to its vehemence:
but in the Epistle to the Hebrews it is the deliberate and al-
most the sole purpose to argue the question seriously, and to
bring over the Jews to perceive that Christianity is the ful-
filment of the law which was given to Moses. In pursuance
of this plan, there are almost as many quotations from the
Old Testament in this epistle, as in all the other epistles put
together, and, like them also, are taken in most instances
from the Greek Septuagint and not from the Hebrew text.
If this epistle was written in the year 64-5, as has been
suggested by some commentators, it is certainly remarkable
XLVIII.]
397
ST PAUL AND HIS EPISTLES.
that no written record of the wonderful event which took
place thirty-four years previously is referred to by the
writer, notwithstanding that he was in the company, more
than once, of Peter and John who had witnessed every par-
ticular of our Lord's life, preaching, and condemnation. But
St Paul does not make the slightest mention of their having
written anything on those subjects. On the contrary, he
pleads that he had seen Jesus as well as they, and had
received from him instructions to preach the gospel and
also full information as to the nature of that gospel. That
he should not, however, have had any knowledge, or left in
his epistles any notice, of other Christian writings, may be
ascribed to the early period at which he began to preach
the Gospel; and on the other hand it is similarly improbable
that any of the original disciples remaining at Jerusalem
should have had any knowledge of the writings which St
Paul might have disseminated over the Gentile world. But
it would not be surprising that his followers in preaching
Christianity should take notice in their writings of so well-
known a preacher as St Paul. It is from this difference in
their positions that the Second Epistle of Peter, in which St
Paul is named, seems less likely to be genuine; nor is the
possibility of its being genuine increased by the fact that St
Peter is made to speak of "all the epistles" of St Paul, for
we know nothing of their having met but once in Jerusalem
and a second time at Antioch; nor is there any certain
information that St Peter ever had knowledge of the epistles
of St Paul, or that these were written sufficiently early to
have ever come to the knowledge of St Peter. These re-
marks would of course lose their force if the epistle in
which St Paul is named were admitted to be undoubtedly
genuine.
We shall now briefly refer to the notices of St Paul found
in the writings of the Apostolical Fathers, observing however
at the same time, that the short tracts which remain, are by
many thought to have been written by later authors, who
bore the same names as the five contemporaries of the
Apostles.
The first of these, Clement, in the 47th section of his
Epistle to the Corinthians, has the following passage, re-
ferring evidently to St Paul's First Epistle to the Corin-
thians (i, 12; iii, 22).
Take the epistle of the blessed Paul the Apostle. What did
he write first to you in the beginning of the Gospel? In truth
398
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
he sent to you spiritually about both himself and Cephas and
Apollos, because you had made to yourselves factions.
There are two other passages (35 & 47) in St Clement's
work which have a slight similitude to Rom. i, 32 and
Ephes. iv, 4, 5, 6, but St Paul's name is not mentioned in
those places.
In the short epistle of Polycarp to the Philippians (iii)
we find three passages which have reference to our present
subject.
1. For neither I nor any other like me can attain to the wis-
dom of the blessed and glorious Paul, who, when he was among
you, thoroughly and strenuously taught the word of truth to men
then alive, and who also wrote to you letters, &c.
2. Not only in the blessed Ignatius, and Zosimus, and Rufus,
but also in others of you, and in Paul himself and the other
apostles (ix).
3. Do we not know that the saints shall judge the world? as
St Paul teaches (1 Cor. vi, 2). But I have seen nor heard any
thing like it in you, among whom St Paul laboured, and who are
praised in the beginning of his epistle to you (xi).
The last of these extracts is found in the Latin text only,
and it must be remembered, as may be seen from the summary
of the Acts, that St Paul is not related therein to have spent
a very long time at Philippi, and not to have met with so
much success as Polycarp here seems to indicate, or as St
Paul himself seems to speak of in his epistle to the citizens
of Philippi.
In the epistle of Ignatius to the Ephesians, § 12, we read
as follows:
Ye are the thoroughfare of those who are taken away to God,
jointly initiated with Paul the sanctified, the martyred, the
worthy of all blessing, beneath whose footsteps may. I be found,
when I attain to God. He in all his letter makes mention of you
in Christ Jesus.
In the remains of Barnabas and Hermas no notice of St
Paul is found, nor is there the slightest semblance of argu-
ment by which might be established even the faint idea of
genuineness which is sometimes alleged in favour of the
three preceding apostolical writers.
The few remains of writers who lived towards the end of
the second century furnish one or two passages in which St.
Paul is mentioned. Dionysius of Corinth briefly names him
in conjunction with St Peter. Justin Martyr seems to have
XLIX.]
399
GENERAL EPISTLES.
been wholly ignorant that such an apostle as St Paul ever
existed; and Theophilus of Antioch, whilst he quotes the
first chapter of St John's Gospel, does not even name or
remotely allude to the great apostle to whom the Christian
religion is so much indebted, and who resided so often and
long in his own city of Antioch.
CHAPTER XLIX.
THE GENERAL EPISTLES OF ST JAMES, ST PETER, ST JOHN, AND
ST JUDE. THE REVELATION OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE.
NEXT to the Epistles of Paul come seven other epistles, one
of which is ascribed to James, two to Peter, three to John,
and one to Jude: after which follows the Revelation or
Apocalypse of St John the Divine, concluding the volume
of what is termed the Canon of the New Testament. These
seven books, as Dr Westcott well remarks (p. 319), "have
been received into the Canon on evidence less complete than
that by which the others are supported."
Notwithstanding this admission, the same author suggests
that Clement of Rome, in the tenth chapter of his first
epistle, quotes from the Epistle of St James (ii, 23) the
words, "he [Abraham] was called the friend of God." As
Clement nowhere names St James and has no other passage
bearing the slightest likeness to anything found in the Gene-
ral Epistle of St James, it cannot be inferred that this
epistle, although now canonical, was in existence before the
time of Clement. The Shepherd of Hermas also contains
no "definite quotation" from St James or from any other
part of the Old or the New Testament, and, although the
learned author already cited speaks of frequent allusions to
the Epistle of St James as well as to the Apocalypse, I find
none so definite as to sanction the inference that Hermas was
acquainted with either the one or the other of those canonical
books. It is not necessary to name any other of the minor
Christian writers or Justin Martyr who comes next to them;
for the epistle which we are considering, if in existence,
seems to have lain in profound obscurity until it appears
about the end of the second century with other works then
400
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
put forward and forming the Christian Scriptures of the new
dispensation.
There are certain peculiarities in the work which may be
noticed. In chapter v, verse 14, it is directed that if any of
the brethren were sick, the elders should pray over him,
"anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord." On the
strength of this passage the Roman Catholic doctrine of
extreme unction has mainly been founded; but it may fairly
be doubted whether the application of oil may not have
produced as much benefit medicinally to the patient as the
prayers offered over him by the elders. The good Samaritan
seems to have had equal faith in the curative properties of
oil, which no doubt he applied externally to the wounded
man, whilst the wine which he administered was no doubt
taken inwardly to support his failing strength.
""
St James also, like all the other members of the primitive
church, believed in the speedy coming of our Lord. “Stab-
lish your hearts" (he says, v, 8): "for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh." But in the third place we find a remarkable
passage, which, if the epistle is genuine, gives support to
the belief that, even within so short a time after the cruci-
fixion of our Lord, those divisions were already beginning
which have ever since caused so much unhappiness and brought
so much discredit on the Christian Church. "What doth
it profit," says St James (ii, 14), "though a man say he hath
faith and have not works? Can faith save him? We must
remember that the author of this epistle was the brother*
of Jesus Christ, and it is very remarkable that the strife be-
tween faith and good works should have been begun so early,
or that the writer of this epistle should have written so de-
liberately about faith, "the evidence of things not seen,
when, in the case of his own divine and crucified brother, he
had with his own ears heard and with his own eyes seen the
very substance of those things, which future ages have of
necessity received on the evidence of faith alone. The story
of Simon Magus as a personification of St Paul, however im-
probable in itself, would seem to derive some support from
the variation of doctrine, which St James here attempts to
""
* See Matthew's Gospel, xiii, 55, where the names of four brothers of
Jesus are given. See also Eusebius ii, 1, where James is "called the
brother of our Lord," implying certainly some doubt: but it has been
vainly attempted to show that the Greek name of brother means some-
times cousin: but no real scholar will allow such an application of the
term, except when used figuratively-such as in the phrase "All men are
brethren."
XLIX.]
401
GENERAL EPISTLES.
explain. Seeing also that he was the first man designated
by the title of bishop of Jerusalem, and was much respected
by the Jews of that city, we need not doubt that there was
a Hebrew element of Christianity from the very first, and
that it was ultimately merged in the wider range of Christian
doctrine due to the superior energy of St Paul. The death
of James is recorded by Eusebius, and by Josephus, from
whose work an extract will be found in page 63 of this
volume.*
II. III. The two GENERAL EPISTLES OF ST PETER
follow next, and it might be thought somewhat remarkable
that these, in a canon which has been greatly under the in-
fluence of the Church of Rome, should have been placed
after the Epistle of James, who has never been held to be
of such high rank in the Romish Church as St Peter, who
has always been esteemed in that church as the prince of the
Apostles. But the Christian Canon was formed before the
bishops of Rome put forth their claim of universal sove-
reignty, and the prerogative of St James as bishop of Je-
rusalem, recognized as we have already quoted it from the
Clementine Homilies in page 380 of this volume, had per-
haps so strongly secured the first place to the first bishop of
Jerusalem in a multitude of manuscripts, that no alteration
could afterwards be made of the order in which these three
apostles stood.
In the Apostolical Fathers no notice whatever is found of
the two Epistles of St Peter; for whereas Polycarp uses the
words "not rendering evil for evil or reviling for railing,"
involved in a longer sentence where he is teaching Christian
duty, it is not to be taken for granted that he quotes these
words out of St Peter's Epistle; it is quite as likely that
they formed part of admonitions which from the first were
used both in preaching and in writing by the early Church.
It is indeed useless to inquire into the history of this
apostle, about whom more legends have been propagated
than about any other of the first teachers of Christianity.
In addition to what has been previously cited about him, we
may add that among the Epistolæ and Decreta of Pope
Anacletus, is a statement of his having lived at Antioch
before he went to Rome, and that he sent Mark the evange-
* It does not diminish the obscurity which, from the want of documents,
hangs over all the events of early ecclesiastical history, to find that two
men of the name of James were put to death, the Greater in the time of
Herod Agrippa, and the Lesser in the time of Ananias.
VOL. II.
27
402
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
list to found the Church of Alexandria. It is more to our
purpose that Eusebius (iii, 3) considers the first epistle to
be genuine, but the second doubtful, and only "read with
the other Scriptures because it was useful to many." The
same historian names other writings of St Peter, such as his
Acts," the "Gospel according to him," and that which is
called the "Preaching and the Revelations of Peter;"
adding, however, that he knew nothing of their being handed
down as Catholic writings. There are certain points in both
these epistles which require notice, and seem indeed to sup-
port the theory that even in this early age the Christian
sect retained a strongly marked distinction between Jew
and Gentile.
""
The address is to "sojourners of the dispersal" in Pontus
and other Asiatic provinces, "elect according to the fore-
knowledge of God," and in the second chapter, verse 12, he
exhorts them to have their "conversation honest among the
Gentiles," from which it would seem that the epistle was
directed principally to Jews who had become Christians,
seeing that some of the Gentiles also had adopted the
Christian faith, and these could not accurately be classed, as
in the passage before us, distinct from other Gentiles, among
whom they dwelt. The term "sojourners of the dispersal
could hardly be applied to other than Jewish Christians;
for none but Jews had been dispersed after the taking of
Jerusalem, and these no doubt dwelt as sojourners in the
various Asiatic countries to which they fled. If this view
be correct, it harmonizes well with the accounts already
quoted concerning Peter's opposition to St Paul already
mentioned, and also with his own statement in his second
epistle (iii, 15) where he cautions his correspondents against
certain parts of St Paul's epistles, "in which are some things
hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and
unstable wrest, as they do also the other Scriptures, unto
their own destruction." It is somewhat singular also that St
Peter, who must have been known to all the world as one of
the most prominent disciples of our Lord, should think it
needful, when admonishing the elders (I. v, 1), to add that
he "also was an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of
Christ."
The statement which he makes elsewhere (II. i, 14),
"That shortly I must put off this my tabernacle, even as
our Lord Jesus Christ hath showed me," was perhaps more
needful as less publicly known, and his remark that the end of
all things is at hand (I. iv, 7) is in harmony with the general
XLIX.]
403
GENERAL EPISTLES.
belief of the age; but the scoffers whom he names in the
third chapter of his second epistle, verse 4, seem to have had
some apparent reason for doubting that Christ was about
immediately to come. "Where is the promise of His coming?
for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they
were from the beginning of creation."* His allusion to suf
fering "as a Christian (iv, 16)" is less appropriate, and the
salutation which he sends from the "church that is at Baby-
lon," appropriate in itself, if, as is probable, he like other Jews
fled to Babylon after their expulsion from Jerusalem, requires
still an explanation of the difficulty that the various accounts
place him almost at the same time at Antioch, Alexandria,
Babylon, and Rome.
IV. V. VI. Of the three GENERAL EPISTLES OF ST
JOHN the first only has been considered to be genuine.
Eusebius, quoting from Origen, says of this apostle, "He
has also left an epistle consisting of very few lines, suppose
also a second and a third; for these are not allowed by all
to be genuine; but both together consist of less than one
hundred lines." The last two are not mentioned, nor is any
passage quoted from them by any writer before Irenæus:
and the same remark would be applicable to the first also
of these epistles, were it not for a sentence in the seventh
section of Polycarp's epistle, to the effect that "whosoever
does not believe that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is
antichrist." This, although no author is named, is said to
be a quotation from I John, iv, 3; but the words vary so
much, and the idea is so expanded in the case of St John,
that no such inference can be allowed. The word antichrist
occurring in both, has probably led to the supposed connec-
tion between the two; but the apostle tells us in his first
epistle (ii, 18), that there were even then many antichrists,
and he remarks, when speaking thereof, that it is "the last
time," referring doubtless to the expected coming of our
Saviour.
There are not many peculiarities found in these three
short epistles. It has been remarked in the early part of
this volume, that the passage which is generally quoted under
the name of the Three Heavenly Witnesses (1 John v, 7),
is now universally admitted to be an unauthorized interpola-

* This is the only clear expression of the obvious answer to those who
prophesied too boldly the coming of Christ. The reader may refer to the
following passages of the New Testament, where the subject is referred to:
Matt. x, 23; xvi, 28; xxiv, 15, 29, 34; Mark ix, 1; x, 23; Luke xix, 11;
xxi, 24; II Thes. ii, 26; Heb. x, 37; Rev. vi, 10, 11.
404
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
tion in the text. The second and third epistles are addressed,
the former to the "Elect Lady and her children," and the
latter to "our well-beloved Gaius," but they both profess to
be from "the Elder," and this is a title which we can
scarcely imagine any of the original witnesses of Christ's
wonderful deeds to have assumed.
VII. The GENERAL EPISTLE OF ST JUDE is not named
by any ancient writer, nor is there any sentence in either
of these that has more than the faintest likeness to any part
of this short canonical book. The Canon of Muratori which
may be as early as A.D. 170, and may on the other hand be
as late as the eighth century, enumerates this epistle as re-
cognized by the Catholic Church; but no one has explained
the fact that the Jude or Judas (for the Greek name is
the same for both) who wrote this epistle, is therein called
the brother of James, whereas the Judas named in the Gos-
pel of St Luke as one of the twelve Apostles must be con-
sidered to have been the son of James, as already pointed
out in page 221 of this volume. It may be added that St
Jude is the only writer in the New Testament who quotes
an uncanonical author by name; but it is not certain (though
probable) that the book of Enoch, which still exists and has
been published, is the same from which St Jude quoted.
VIII. The "REVELATION OF ST JOHN THE DIVINE”
is the last book in the Canon of the Church, and it has been
remarked by a recent writer* that the "preponderance of
evidence and critical opinion assigns it as a genuine work of
the Apostle." On this point, however, consent is not uni-
versal; for, although many modern writers have allowed it
to be possibly or even probably genuine, yet in the time of
Eusebius there was still great doubt upon the subject. This
historian, quoting from Dionysius, has left us the following
statement:
That it is a John who wrote these things we must believe as
himself says so, but what John that is, is uncertain. For he does
not say, as he does in many places in the Gospel, that himself
was the disciple beloved by the Lord, nor the one who reclined
on his breast, nor the brother of James, nor he who himself saw
and himself heard the Lord. For he would have said some
one of these things before mentioned, if he wished clearly
to make himself known. But there is none of these things.
He said that he was our brother and associate, and a witness
of Jesus, and blessed at seeing and hearing these revela-
* The author of Supernatural Religion, vol iii, page 314.
XLIX.]
405
GENERAL EPISTLES.
tions. But I consider that there have been many of the same
name as John, who through love towards him, and admiration
and imitation of him, and the wish to be loved by the Lord
equally with him, adopted also the same name; as also Paul is
much named and indeed Peter also among the children of the
faithful.
There is then also another John in the Acts of the Apostles,
surnamed Mark; whom Barnabas and Paul associated with them-
selves; concerning whom also he again says, "They had also
John as their minister." But whether it is he who wrote [the
Revelation] I could not say; for neither is it written that he
came with them into Asia.
In accordance with this the same historian more than once
(iii, 25), in enumerating the books of the New Testament,
adds the "Revelation of John, if persons think fit." It would
"It
seem then that there is still great doubt both whether the
revelation in our Canon was not written by some other John
and not by the disciple of our Lord, and this doubt is rather
augmented by the epithet the "Divine," or as we might
render it the "Theologist" or "Theologian." It may well
be doubted whether such a title could with propriety be
assumed by the disciple, as much as that St Peter in two of
his epistles should have assumed the title of the Elder.
It is indeed well known and recognized among scholars,
that the ancients, who have left the immortal works which are
read and studied with admiration among all the civilized
nations of the world, were nevertheless no better than
children in many of the exact sciences which the moderns
have since carried to the greatest perfection. In the science
of etymology they never progressed beyond the first ele-
ments; of languages few knew any but their own; and on
questions of genuineness and authenticity they were wholly
unable to form a sound and reasonable judgement. Epipha-
nius, an eminent Father of the Church, although too early
to throw much general light upon our present subject, has
however left some remarks which, whilst they confirm the
doubt acknowledged by Eusebius as to the genuineness of
the Revelation, cannot fail to raise a smile at the simplicity
of the writer himself. An early heretical sect called the
Alogi disputed the genuineness of the Revelation, which
enumerates Thyatira among the seven churches of Asia, be-
cause the church of Thyatira was not yet founded. Epi-
phanius (De Hares. 51) does not dispute the fact, but sug-
gests that St John exercised the prophetic spirit in thus
classing Thyatira with the other churches, and so extricates
406
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
himself from a difficulty, which the present age will hardly
deny to have revived with increased force since the days of
Epiphanius.
CHAPTER L.
UNCERTAINTY IN IDENTIFYING VARIOUS NAMES, JAMES, JUDAS,
SIMON, MARY, AND OTHERS IN OUR CANONICAL BOOKS.
AMONG the discrepancies which are noticed in the Gospel
history, I have already pointed out that the variation in
three of the Gospels touching the names of the twelve
Apostles, forbids us to believe that the writers of those Gos-
pels were some of the very apostles whose names have been
MATTHEW.
•
Simon, called Peter
Andrew, his brother
James, son of Zebedee
John, his brother
•
Philip.
Bartholomew
Thomas
•
MARK.
Simon, surnamed Peter
Andrew
•
•
James, son of Zebe-) surnamed
dee
John, his brother
Philip.
Bartholomew
Thomas
Sons of
Thunder
Matthew
•
James, son of Alpheus
Lebbæus [surnamed Thaddeus]
Simon the Canaanite.
Judas Iscariot
•
•
Matthew
•
James, son of Alpheus
Thaddeus
Simon the Canaanite.
Judas Iscariot
•
But there are many other names occurring in various parts
of the New Testament, about which there is great obscurity
and confusion; and perhaps no kind of evidence is more
conclusive to prove that a long interval had passed before
the history was committed to writing than the fact that the
writers have differed so greatly in recording the names
of men and women with whom they appear to have associ-
ated so intimately. It will therefore be of interest to trace
some names of various persons, who take part in the events
which are recorded in the various books, and if possible to
ascertain the identity of each, or to show how far it is diffi-
cult, if not impossible, to distinguish one from another.
L.]
407
GENERAL EPISTLES..
handed down so differently. In the book of the Acts also
(i, 13), is given a list of the eleven disciples who remained
after the death of Judas Iscariot, corresponding with the list
in the Gospel according to St Luke, and so far in harmony
with the theory that those two histories may have been
written or compiled by the same author. It may be observed
however that the obscurity which rests over the names Leb-
bæus, Thaddeus and Judas, brother of James, which seem
to denote the same individual, is not cleared away by the fact
that both in the Gospel and in the Acts the word brother has
been inserted without authority in our authorized version,
seeing that the elliptical Greek form "Judas of James," save
in well-known cases, requires the word son, not brother to be
inserted to express the relation between the two. The sub-
ject of these different lists has already been noticed, and the
following table of them may perhaps be sufficient to show the
full bearing of the argument.
LUKE.
Simon, named Peter
•
Andrew, his brother
James.
John
Philip.
Bartholomew
Peter.
Andrew.
James.
John.
Philip.
Bartholomew.
ACTS.
Thomas
Matthew.
James, son of Alpheus
Judas [brother] of James
Simon Zelotes
Judas Iscariot.
•
Thomas.
Matthew.
James, son of Alpheus.
Judas [brother] of James.
Simon Zelotes.
Setting aside therefore the name of Joseph, the reputed
father of our Lord, seeing that after his marriage with Mary
he does not appear again in the whole of the New Testa-
ment, we may observe that in the Gospels according to St
Matthew and St Mark the family of Joseph and Mary are
enumerated as follows.
MATTHEW Xiii, 55-56.
Is not this the carpenter's son?
Is not his mother called Mary? and
his brethren, James and Joses, and
Simon and Judas? 56. And his
sisters, are they not all with us?
Whence then hath this man all
these things?
MARK vi, 3.
Is not this the carpenter, the son
of Mary, the brother of James, and
Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and
are not his sisters here with us? and
they were offended at him.
408
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
St Luke and St John do not mention these names: the
former speaking of Jesus (iv, 22) says only, "Is not this
Joseph's son?" and the latter (vi, 41)" Is not this Jesus the
son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know ?”
Our attention is then called to the remarkable obscurity
which not only now hangs over every mention of the disciples
and the family of Jesus, but must have hung over it at the
time when our present canonical books were written. The
names of the twelve disciples are all, except Philip and
perhaps Simon, of Hebrew etymology: so also are those
assigned to the brothers of Jesus, and are thus strongly
contrasted with the names of nearly all who appear after-
wards in early ecclesiastical history. Even four of the so-
called Apostolical Fathers bear Greek or Latin names-
Polycarp, Hermas, Clement, Ignatius-and have no connec-
tion whatever with Jerusalem or its people. Barnabas alone,
the "son of consolation," bears a name derived from the
nationality of our Lord himself. Among the names of those,
to whom is assigned the authorship of the Christian canonical
books, John, James and Jude [or Judas] alone are derived
from a Hebrew origin. Mark, Peter, Paul, Luke also (if
Lucas be a short form of Lucanus), and Matthew (if being
a tax-gatherer he was also a Roman official) may be classed
(the last two with less certainty it is true) among names not
wholly derivable from the Hebrew.
If we come down to the second generation after Christ,
Hebrew names almost wholly disappear from the list of
Christians, orthodox and heretical alike. Aristides, Valen-
tine, Saturninus, Quadratus, Hegesippus, Papias, Justin
Martyr, Athenagoras, Theophilus, Montanus, Ammianus,
Basileides, Pantænus, Pinytus, Hermias, Celsus, Porphyrius,
and many others, present themselves to the student of early
Church history, and suggest to the mind that the Christian
books are due to Greek writers or compilers, and that the
Hebrew or Judaical element of Christianity has had very
little to do ultimately with the authorship of our books. So
true is the observation made by the late prime minister of
this kingdom:
When Christianity went forth into the world, no sooner had it
moved onward from its cradle in Jerusalem, than it assumed the
aspect of a Greek religion.-GLADSTONE in Contemporary Review,
Dec. 1876, p. 4.
It will be remembered that among the twelve earliest dis-
ciples there were two named James, two others named
Simon, and two named Judas. The two Jameses are dis-
L.]
409.
NAMES.
tinguished, the one as brother of John and son of Zebedee,
the other as the son of Alpheus. The two Simons are dis-
tinguished as Simon Peter, and Simon the Canaanite, who
was also (we must infer) called Zelotes" the Zealot." Of
the two Judases one is surnamed Iscariot, the other is that
doubtful disciple, who is called "of James" in two of the
lists, Lebbæus or Thaddeus in the other two. It is no
doubt remarkable that in the small number of twelve men
there should be three pairs bearing the same names; but
greater difficulty is found from the fact that three of those
who are mentioned in the Gospel history as brothers of
Jesus, Simon, James and Judas, bear names which occur in
the list of the twelve Apostles. So great is the difficulty of
distinguishing these and their relation to our Lord, that it is
a great hindrance to our regarding the books, which leave
such things uncertain, as written by any of the apostles
themselves, who would so thoroughly have known the sub-
ject, and would not, one would think, leave such an inter-
esting point involved in the obscurity which now lies over it.
We will then examine these names more minutely, and
bring forward, one after another, all the passages from the
New Testament in which these and other names severally
occur.
St James. I.
The most important of the apostles at first was undoubt-
edly St James, and this name is found in the following
passages:
1. Two brethren, James and John, sons of Zebedee, called to
be disciples. Matt. iv, 21; Mark i, 19; Luke v, 10.
2. James and John, sons of Zebedee, and James, son of Alphæus,
named among the twelve. Matt. x, 3; Mark iii, 18; Luke vi, 15,
omits " sons of Zebedee; " Acts i, 13.
3. James, Joses, Judas, and Simon, brothers of Jesus. Matt.
xiii, 55; Mark vi, 3.
4. James, John, and Peter, present at the transfiguration.
Matt. xvii, 1; Mark ix, 2; Luke ix, 28.
5. James and John ask to sit on right and left hand of Christ
in his kingdom. Matt. xx, 20, says Zebedee's sons, omitting
"James and John;" Mark x, 35, says James and John, omitting
"Zebedee's sons."
""
6. Two sons of Zebedee with Peter, witness Christ's agony in
the garden. Matt. xxvi, 37; Mark xiv, 33, names James, and
John, and Peter.
7. James, John, and Peter, taken to witness the raising to life
of Jaïrus's daughter. Matt. ix, 22; Mark v, 27, names the ruler
Jaïrus; Luke viii, 51, names ruler only.
410
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
8. James, and John, ask Jesus on his way to Jerusalem to call
down fire from heaven on the Samaritans. Luke ix, 54.
9. James, John, Peter, and Andrew ask Jesus about his pro-
phecy that the Temple should be destroyed. Mark xiii, 3;
Matt. xxiv, 3, says "the disciples" ask; Luke xxi, 7, "they"
ask.
10. James. (C
66
Mary the mother of James and Joses" stood by
the cross. Matt. xxvii, 57; Mark xv, 40, says
mother of James the Less, and of Joses."
Mary the
11. James. "Mary the [mother] of James" visits the sepul-
chre. Mark xvi, 1; Luke xxiv, 10.
From this summary, which contains every passage in
which the name of James occurs, we find it difficult to
extract any satisfactory result concerning the identity of the
persons bearing that name. The sons of Zebedee stand out
clearly from the rest; and James the son of Alpheus,
named once only by three evangelists, has it would seem a
distinct existence. But Matthew, as will be observed in
No. 10 of the foregoing summary, makes Mary to be the
mother of James and Joses, which seems hardly to admit of
explanation, seeing that in six other passages he joins James
not with a brother Joses, but with a brother John. And
Mark also, as in the same clause of the summary, does not
clear up the difficulty by naming Mary the "mother of
James the Less, and of Joses." Nor does the mention of
four brothers of Jesus, named by Matthew and Mark
(No. 3), aid us in clearing up this obscurity, for there is
nothing in the four Gospels to indicate that any members of
our Lord's family took part in promoting the success of his
mission. We have indeed, in the Gospel of St John
(vii, 3-5), a remarkable reproof from his brethren, accom-
panied with advice, of which the only explanation appears
to be that our existing histories, intended to teach the
Christian religion and not to furnish a complete account of
every transaction, must be interpreted with reference prin-
cipally to the main purpose for which they were written.
3. His brethren therefore said unto him, "Depart hence, and go into
Judæa, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. 4. For
there is no man that doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to
be known openly. If thou do these things show thyself to the world." 5.
For neither did his brethren believe in him.
In the Acts of the Apostles the name of James occurs
five times, and in the Epistles five times only. They are here
subjoined :-
1. Acts i, 13, in the list of the Apostles.
2. Acts xii, 2. Herod kills James the brother of John.
L.]
411
NAMES.
3. Acts xii, 17. Peter having escaped from prison, knocks at
the house of Mary the mother of John, whose surname was Mark,
and says to the maid “Go show these things to James, and to the
brethren."
4. Acts xv, 13. In reply to Barnabas and Saul "James
answered saying, 'Men and brethren, hearken unto me.
5. Acts xxi, 18. And the day following Paul went in with us
unto James; and all the elders were present.
6. In 1 Cor. xv, 7. St Paul, enumerating the appearances of
Jesus after the resurrection, says, "After that he was seen of
James."
7. Gal. i, 19. St Paul, speaking of his visit to Jerusalem,
says, "But other of the Apostles saw I none, save James the
Lord's brother."
66
8. Gal. ii, 9. St Paul says, James, Cephas, and John, who
seemed to be pillars" of the Church. Gal. ii, 12. "For before
that certain came from James, he [Peter] did eat with the Gen-
tiles."
9. James i, 1. "James a servant of God, and of the Lord Jesus
Christ."
10. Jude i. “Jude the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of
James."
In seven of these ten passages we find nothing to impugn
the testimony furnished by the Acts of the Apostles,
that one only apostle bearing the name of James takes part
in the various incidents recorded throughout the New Testa-
ment, and he cannot have been the brother of John, as he
was put to death at an early date by Herod the king. Two
passages only furnish additions which render the subject
obscure. In one of these (No. 7) the same James is termed
the Lord's brother, and in the other (No. 10) it is no longer
John or Joses, as elsewhere, but Jude, who is connected
with James and described as his brother.
Where there are so few dates, and these not perfectly in-
telligible, it seems needless and almost presumptuous to
examine too minutely or to supplement by conjecture. What
is wanting is fact, but some of our critics have attempted to
simplify the subject which we have been considering by
showing that the four names-James, Joses, Judas and
Simon, ascribed to brothers of our Lord-do in reality
designate his cousins, and they assert that the Greek word
adenpoì may be applied to other relatives of the male sex, and
ἀδελφοὶ
consequently to cousins, forgetting that in all languages the
word brother is used by a kind of metaphor, and not noticing
that the word adeλpal (sisters) occurs in the same passages,
and therefore must be extended similarly in meaning. The
412
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
subject has been well explained by the historian of the
Roman empire in the following extract:
This appellation [brothers] was at first understood in the most
obvious sense, and it was supposed that the brothers of Jesus were
the lawful issue of Joseph and Mary. A devout respect for the
virginity of the mother of God suggested to the Gnostics, and
afterwards to the orthodox Greeks, the expedient of bestowing a
second wife on Joseph. The Latins (from the time of Jerome)
improved on that point, asserted the perpetual celibacy of Joseph,
and justified by many similar examples the new interpretation that
Jude, as well as Simon and James, who are styled the brothers of
Jesus Christ, were only his first cousins. GIBBON, chap. xvi, vol.
ii, 216.
Judas. II.
The name Judas occurring as often as James in our
canonical books presents a similar difficulty from the number
of persons who bore it. The passages in which it occurs
with the name James have already been cited, and the
others, in which it occurs separately, are now to be pro-
duced.
1. Judas Iscariot is distinctly named or indicated in the fol-
lowing: Matt. x, 4: xxvi, 14-47: xxvii, 3; Mark iii, 19: xiv, 10-
43; Luke vi, 16: xxii, 3-47; John vi, 71: xiii, 2-26: xviii, 3-5;
Acts i, 16-25.
2. Acts v, 37. Judas of Galilee, who made a sedition in the
days of the taxing.
3. ix, 11. Judas, a citizen of Damascus, in whose house
Ananias is told to inquire for Saul.
4. xv, 22-27. Judas, surnamed Barsabas, is chosen with
Silas to accompany Paul and Barnabas from Jerusalem to An-
tioch.
Enough has been said, in connection with the name James,
and also in a former chapter of this work (p. 221), touching
the divergence of the names Lebbæus and Judas, assigned
by different evangelists to the twelfth disciple, and also
concerning the epistle ascribed to Jude; and of the addi-
tional passages now quoted, one only, the last, where a new
Judas surnamed Barsabas-as well as Barnabas-is men-
tioned, requires to be considered.
Barnabas and Barsabas. III.
The name Barsabas occurs twice only in the Acts, and
nowhere else.
L.]
413
NAMES.
1. In Acts i, 23, where "Joseph called Barsabas who was sur-
named Justus," is put forward as a competitor with Matthias for
the vacant place among the twelve apostles.
2. In Acts xv, 22, where he is mentioned as Judas surnamed
Barsabas."
To attempt reconciliation between these two passages
seems useless, and in the case of any other historical work
such an attempt would not be made. But when we examine
the passages where the name of Barnabas occurs, the diffi-
culty is much increased.
1. In Acts xi, 22-25-30: ii, 25: xiv, 12: xv, 2-12-37; in 1 Cor.
ix, 6; Gal. ii, 1-9-13: Barnabas is simply named as a companion
to St Paul, and nothing is there found to interfere with all the
details of the narrative.
2. In Acts iv, 36, however, we read "Joses, who by the
apostles was surnamed Barnabas . . . a Levite, and of the country
of Cyprus.'
""
3. In xiii, 1. Now there were in the church that was at
Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon,
that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which
had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
4. xiii, 50. The Jews [at Antioch in Pisidia] raised per-
secution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them out of
their coasts.
5. In Colos. iv, 10, is the following sentence: "Marcus, sister's
son to Barnabas, and Jesus, which is called Justus, who are
of the circumcision.”
•
In No. 2 of these five extracts, where Barnabas is named,
he is called Joses, and it appears was by place of birth a
Cypriot, although by race a Jew and a Levite.
In No. 5 we find a certain Jesus surnamed Justus asso-
ciated with Marcus the nephew of Barnabas, both of whom
were circumcised Jews.
Combining therefore the notices of Judas, Barnabas and
Barsabas, we find the following assemblage of names and
surnames :-
Judas is surnamed Barsabas.
Joseph is surnamed Barsabas, also surnamed Justus.
Joses is surnamed Barnabas.
Jesus is surnamed Justus.
Again, if we add to this from St Luke vi, 16, that Judas
was brother of James, from Eusebius (ii, 1) that James,
also first bishop of Jerusalem, was called the Just, and from
another text already quoted that James, Joses, Judas, and
414
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
*
13
Simon were brothers of our Lord, we find an extraordinary
combination of difficulties which will be best represented in
the following genealogical table :-

Joseph
alias Joses
surnamed Barsabas
surnamed Barnabas
surnamed Justus
James
surnamed Justus
Simon
Judas
surnamed Barsabas
The only reasonable explanation is that which the first
view of the case would suggest—namely, that Jesus, Joseph
and Judas were the same person, and that an error has been.
made by the writer or by a copyist in substituting one name
for another. This probability is much increased from the
circumstance that one of the names occurs in the former
part of the Acts, where Saul's history is given without the
explanation that Saul and Paul were the same person; the
other is found only in the latter portion of the Acts where
Paul's history is the principal subject. It has been re-
marked above that these two divisions of the Acts seem to
have been derived from two different originals; and the
beginning of the thirteenth chapter of the Acts, as seen in
No. 3 of the extracts last quoted, remarkably supports this
suggestion, for it is there stated that among certain prophets
and teachers at Antioch were included Saul and Barnabas,
as if the writer was not aware that Paul and Barnabas had
"assembled themselves together a whole year with the
church and taught much people," and that this had already
been recorded in the eleventh chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles.
Mary. IV.
"Is not his mother called Mary, and his brethren James,
and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?" was the question
extorted from the neighbours of our Lord by the miraculous
deeds which he performed. Whether these four were sons
of Joseph alone by a second or by a former wife, or of both
Joseph and Mary, we are not told, nor need we stop to in-
quire; for though it may be important to the speculative
theologian to maintain the immaculate character of Mary,
and her freedom from all to which the functions of woman-
hood and motherhood might make her liable, yet those who
look only to the facts will leave such questions unanswered,
and endeavour only to ascertain who these four were, who
are here said to have been brothers of our Lord, and whether
they were or were not the same persons, of whom two are
L.]
415
NAMES.
named in the lists of the twelve Apostles. But it seems to be
a necessary inference from the last two sections, in which the
names James and Judas have been passed in review, that we
cannot identify any of these four brothers with those who
appear under the same names as actors in the history of the
early Church. Their mother, however, the Virgin Mary,
bears a name which was also borne by others, and we have
the same difficulty in distinguishing the several Maries
which we had in the case of those who bore the names of
James and Judas. The subject will be placed in a clearer
light by inspection of the various passages in which the
name of Mary occurs, nor is this rendered unnecessary by
the fact that the Maries have already been twice produced
in a former part of this work, for in those chapters the in-
quiry had for its object to show that it was uncertain who
were the several Maries that anointed our Lord at the
feast, or attended at his crucifixion, or at the tomb when he
rose from the dead. But we have now to show generally
that there is no such distinction between the Maries who
occur in the Gospel narrative as must have been made by
the more perfect knowledge which the writers would have
had, if they had themselves witnessed the events which they
relate.
In Matt. i, 16: xiii, 55; Mark vi, 3; Luke i, 27: ii, 5,
16, 19, it is Mary the mother of Jesus who is named; and it
is most remarkable that in the Gospel according to St John
the name of the Virgin Mary is not found; it is said only in
one place (xix, 25) that the mother of Jesus with others
stood by the cross. Setting aside those passages, we have
to consider the following, where several Maries are named,
one of whom, Mary Magdalene, stands out prominently
among the rest.
1. Witnesses of the Crucifixion.
MATTHEW XXvii, 56.
MARK XV, 40.
JOHN Xix, 25.
Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene, The mother of Jesus,
Mary the mother of Mary the mother of his mother's sister Mary
James and Joses, and James the Less and of the [wife] of Cleophas,
the mother of Zebedee's Joses, and Salome. and Mary Magdalene.
children.
2. The following visit the Tomb.
MATTHEW Xxviii, 1.
Mary Magdalene and
the other Mary.
'
LUKE xxiv, 10.
MARK XVI, 1.
Mary Magdalene, Mary Magdalene,
Mary the [mother] of Joanna, Mary the
James, and Salome. [mother] of James, and
others.
416
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
In John (xx, 1-16) Mary Magdalene alone is described
as visiting the tomb.
3. The sisters Martha and Mary.
In Luke (x, 42) the sisters Martha and Mary are named
as entertaining Jesus, not in Bethany, but "in a certain
village," which shows that the writer was not aware of the
close intimacy which existed between these sisters and our
Lord.
In John (xi, 1-20; xii, 3) these sisters are named as of
Bethany, and Mary appears here as the woman who anointed
Jesus.
4. Other Maries.
In the Acts (xii, 12) is named Mary the mother of John,
whose surname was Mark; and in Romans (xvi, 6) St Paul
greets another Mary "who bestowed much labour on us."
Setting aside all attempt to discriminate and identify
these women, it is at all events a remarkable fact that so
many, appearing closely in connection with our Lord, should
have been known and handed down in history as bearing the
same name.
Simon, Peter, Cephas, and Symeon. v.
In the names by which the apostle Peter is designated,
both in the Gospels, the Acts, and the Epistles, we find
difficulties equal to those already mentioned. Great uncer-
tainty hangs over the distinction to be drawn between the
names assigned to St Peter. The original name of this
apostle seems to have been Simon, which in one instance
only has been most unaccountably exchanged for Symeon.
It is remarkable that in the second book of Maccabees the
same form, Symeon, has once been substituted for Simon in
the narrative which contains the exploits of the famous
leader who rescued the Jews from the power of the King of
Assyria. But the epithets Cephas and Peter present greater
difficulties. The word Cephas signifies a stone or rock, and
the name Petros well represents it in Greek. In the majo-
rity of texts where the names occur, we may admit without
much hesitation that Simon Peter is the apostle described.
But in the Epistle to the Galatians (ii, 9), where James,
Cephas, and John are named as pillars of the Church, one of
the earliest manuscripts omits Cephas, and in the other verses
of the same chapter, where the authorized version reads
Peter, Cephas is the reading of the three earliest MSS.
It has always been a stumbling-block to the commentators
1
L.]
CEPHAS AND PETER.
417
why Paul should have withstood Peter to the face; and
it has also hitherto remained unexplained how Peter could
be said to preach the gospel of the circumcision, that is,
to the Jews only; for it is notorious that a vision was
granted to St Peter expressly for the purpose of showing
that the wall of partition between Jews and Gentiles was
broken down. The words "when Peter was come to
Antioch," &c., are quoted by Eusebius, in his Ecclesiastical
History (i, 12), but Eusebius, as well as the earliest MSS,
reads "Cephas," not Peter, "was come to Antioch." His
words here follow :-
The story is found in Clement in the fifth of the Hypotyposes, in
which he says also that Cephas, of whom St Paul says, "when
Cephas was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face," was
one of the seventy disciples, and had the same name as Peter the
apostle.
We learn from the History of the Apostles, by Dorotheus,
the same fact, that one of the seventy disciples-not one of
the twelve-was Cephas, who was bishop of Cannia, and that
it was he whom St Paul withstood to the face at Antioch.
A strong suspicion might arise from this that Cephas and
Peter were wholly different persons, who were confounded
together when the books of the New Testament were com-
piled. If this be so, and other various discrepancies arise
from similar causes, the general character of our books is not
impugned, but, on the contrary, is sustained, seeing that all
human works are imperfect; and in the case of written
works the natural inference is that facts had become faint by
time, that the original witnesses had been removed from the
world, and many other sources of error had arisen, when the
existing histories of Christ and of our religion were put into
the shape in which they now appear.
CHAPTER LI.
THE CANON GENERALLY.-THE GREEK LANGUAGE.-ANTIOCH.-
CONCLUSION.
CONCERNING the life and miraculous history of our Lord
and the books of the New Testament in which the events of
VOL. II.
28
a
418
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
that life and history are recorded, enough has been said in
the preceding chapters of this work to suggest to the mind of
the reader that our canonical writings are not exempt from
the lot of all books that ever were written with the pen.
That these books were compiled at a very early period of
the Christian religion, and formed into a canon by which
Christians still profess to regulate their lives, is consistent with
what we know of all human institutions; and, although Chris-
tianity is to be regarded rather as a divine than a human insti-
tution, yet its affairs were even from the death of its founder
committed to the charge of fallible men, and liable to all the
chances and vicissitudes to which every thing on this earth is
subject. Our task would, however, be incomplete without
some remarks on the Canon formed out of the various books
which we have passed in review severally in this volume, and
on this subject it is obvious to conclude that if none of those
books were written before the latter half of the second cen-
tury, they could not have been gathered into the form in
which they now appear, until that same time. That no
writer before Irenæus has named these writings or seems to
have known either them or their writers, save two or three
brief notices of St Paul found in works of suspected antiquity,
can hardly lead to any other conclusion than that these books
were written immediately preceding the time when they are
first mentioned. It was then in the latter half of the second
century that the Canon was formed; and, although the col-
lection then made omitted some of the books now found in it,
and contained others which since have been excluded, these
slight changes are of very little importance, and do not in-
validate the fact that our Canon came into existence as early
as the date above assigned to it. If however the absence of
quotations, and many other peculiarities, which have been
already fully developed in the preceding pages, forbid us to
attribute an earlier origin to these books and to the canon
or collection in which they are contained, there are other
peculiarities already slightly alluded to which concern the
books collectively, and which equally leading us to the same
conclusion, seem sufficiently strong to enable us to fix the
place as well as the time when these books were compiled
and delivered to the world in the form which they now bear.
Recurring then to the four Gospels which stand first in the
volume of the Christian Scriptures, the most hasty reader
cannot fail to observe the marked difference between St
John's Gospel and the other three, as regards not only the
historical order of events, as already pointed out, but the
LI.]
419
OMISSION IN ST JOHN.
language and style in which the four are written. It is
sufficiently remarkable that these four documents, written
by those who witnessed the events which they describe,
should be written not in the language of the Jewish
people, among whom those events took place, but in Greek,
a language almost unknown, and rarely studied, as we are
informed by the Jewish historian, even by the most educated
persons of the Jewish nation. Our surprise becomes greater
at finding that the Greek of St John's Gospel is more pure
than that of any other part of the New Testament; and such
as we should think it impossible for an uneducated Jewish
fisherman ever to have produced. But the Gospel of St
John presents other peculiarities which have been fully dis-
cussed by many modern writers, and which render it difficult
to believe that he could have written the book as we now
have it. That the facts related in the history have been
delivered to us "according to St John," we need not doubt;
but we may fairly suggest that if he had written designedly
a regular life of Jesus, he would hardly have omitted to
insert the Baptism, the Temptation, the Call of himself and
his brother James, the Transfiguration, the Sermon on the
Mount, the last discourses in the Temple and on the Mount
of Olives, the Agony in the Garden, the Institution of the
Last Supper, the Ascension, and many other striking things
at which he was himself present.
The number of miracles moreover, of parables, and of
various incidents which occurred, is remarkably small in
the fourth Gospel: with the exception of the last week spent
at Jerusalem, the historical part of that Gospel is very
limited, and the narrative of events varies considerably from
those of the other evangelists. That certain facts are com-
mon to St John and to them might with reason be expected,
and in all such cases there is great similarity of language,
but not that identity of words and phrases which is so re-
markable in the other three. Even in the discourses of our
Lord, which, as Justin Martyr tells us in a passage which
has been quoted in page 131 of this volume, were delivered
in short sentences, easy to be remembered, the difference of
style may be seen, nor would there be any difficulty in ex-
plaining this circumstance, if we could be sure that the
Gospel of St John was written, as has been asserted, many
years later than the others. Of this however we have no
proof, nor are the other three Gospels named or quoted by
any ancient author at an earlier date than about the middle
of the second century, when the Gospel of St John is quoted
.
420
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
also. We are indeed wholly unable, except by conjecture,
to ascribe to any book of the New Testament an earlier
origin than to the others. They appear forming a canon at
the same time, and we are assured on competent authority
that, as there are four winds, and four quarters of the world,
so the number of the Gospels could be neither more nor less
than four. And the Canon also is constructed in imitation of
its prototype, the Old Testament, which was the canon of
the Jews. If that venerable book consisted of four divisions,
so also does the Christian canon. As Moses founded the
Hebrew Commonwealth described in the Pentateuch, so also
did Christ found the Christian community of which the four
Gospels are the record. In the same way the historical books
of the Old Testament have their counterpart in the Acts of
the Apostles: these writings equally tell us of those by whose
labours the two communities were taken up on the death of
the first founders, and brought into the perfect form which
they afterwards assumed. After these come, in the Old
Testament, the moral and didactic writings, Psalms, Proverbs
and others, followed by the prophetical books which com-
plete the Jewish canon. Similarly also in the New Testa-
ment we have the Epistles, which represent the moral and
didactic portions of the older volume, followed by the Reve-
lation, which is the counterpart of the ancient prophetical
books.
Thus it would appear so far impossible to disconnect the
origin of the Gospel of St John from that of the other three.
We cannot conceive any period to have intervened when
there were only three Gospels to form the canon, and it con-
sequently results that there is no good external evidence to
show that either of the four Gospels was written at a much
earlier date than the others. That St John should have
written a work in Greek scarcely inferior in style to that of
Philo, Josephus and others, who were men of learning, whilst
he was a fisherman on the lake of Gennesareth, is sufficiently
wonderful, and it is certain that the writer has expanded or
contracted or otherwise modified many passages both of the
facts and of Christ's sayings, and occasionally introduced
many thoughts and expressions of his own.
If we now turn to the other three Gospels, synoptical as
they are termed, besides the antecedent improbability that
they should have come down to us in the Greek language,
we observe such a remarkable similarity as appears in no
other works recording, like these, the same events. Their
writers agree in relating the same thing not only in the
1
LI.]
IDENTICAL LANGUAGE IN GOSPEls.
421
same manner and order, but likewise in the very same words,
as must be evident to every reader who has paid the slightest
attention to the subject.
A single instance may suffice to show the full bearing of
the case; it is taken from the three Gospels where the healing
of the sick of the palsy is described, and the comparison, here
made through the English version, would be far more
striking if the extracts were given in the original Greek.
MATTHEW ix, 2-7.
2. Jesus seeing their
faith said unto the sick
of the palsy; "Son, be
of good cheer; thy sins
be forgiven thee."
3. And, behold, certain
of the scribes said within
themselves, "This man
blasphemeth."
4. And Jesus knowing
their thoughts said,
"Wherefore think ye
evil in your hearts?
5. For whether is
easier, to say, Thy sins
be forgiven thee; or to
say, Arise, and walk?
on
6. But that ye may
know that the Son of
man hath power
earth to forgive sins,
(then saith he to the sick
of the palsy,)"Arise, take
up thy bed, and go unto
thine house."
7. And he arose, and
departed to his house.
MARK ii, 5-12.
5. When Jesus saw
their faith, he said unto
the sick of the palsy,
'Son, thy sins be for-
given thee."
6. But there were cer-
tain of the scribes sitting
there, and reasoning in
their hearts,
7. Why doth this
man thus speak blas-
phemies? who can for-
give sins but God only ?"
8. And immediately
when Jesus perceived in
his spirit that they so
reasoned within them-
selves, he said unto
them, "Why reason ye
these things in your
hearts ?
9. Whether is it easier
to say to the sick of the
palsy, Thy sins be for-
given thee; or to say,
Arise and take up thy
bed and walk?
LUKE V, 20-25.
20. And when he saw
their faith, he said unto
him, "Man, thy sins are
forgiven thee."
21. And the scribes
and the Pharisees began
to reason, saying, "Who
is this which speaketh
blasphemies? Who can
forgive sins, but God
alone ?”
22. But when Jesus
perceived their thoughts,
he answering said unto
them, "What reason ye
in your hearts?
23. Whether is easier,
to say, Thy sins be for-
given thee; or to say,
Rise up and walk?
24. But that ye may
10. But that ye may
know that the Son of know that the Son of
man hath power on man hath power upon
earth to forgive sins, (he earth to forgive sins, (he
saith to the sick of the said unto the sick of
palsy,)
the palsy,) I say unto
thee, Arise, and take up
thy couch, and go into
thine house."
11. I say unto thee,
Arise, and take up thy
bed, and go thy way into
thine house."
12. And immediately
he arose, took up the
bed and went forth be-
fore them all.
25. And immediately
he rose up before them,
and took up thatwhereon
he lay, and departed to
his own house, glorify-
ing God.
This instance is taken without any attempt at selection,
because the narrative is found in all the three Gospels: but
422
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
in the first two Gospels whole chapters, as in Matthew xxiv,
9-35, compared with Mark xiii, 13-32, are found to be
expressed throughout almost in the same words.
The agreement between the three evangelists in these
passages is remarkable, and leads to the question how such
coincidences could arise between works which, from the first
years of Christianity until very recent times, were understood
to be perfectly independent, and to have had each a separate
and independent origin. The answer to this question may be
given with tolerable certainty, if we are allowed to judge of
this subject according to the rules of reason and common
sense, by which all other such difficulties are resolved.
It is remarked by Dr Newman in his Two Essays on
Miracles, 1870, p. 232 f. that :-
Though attention was called to Christianity from the first, yet
it is true also that it did not succeed at the spot where it arose,
but principally at a distance from it.
The Church at Jerusalem, consisting of Jews and ruled
by fifteen circumcised bishops one after another, slumbered
for 150 years, and then became extinct; but the more ener-
getic Greeks, who had adopted Christianity, speedily carried
it over the whole Roman empire, and have left us the history
of it in the books which still form our canon.
a
Of the Acts of the Apostles, which forms the second divi-
sion of our canonical Scriptures, little more needs to be said
than what has been already noticed in the foregoing pages
of this work. It has been remarked by some writers that
the first twelve chapters betray by their style the hand of
different writer, and by others that the latter part indicates
an author well acquainted with maritime affairs. Some
appear to recognize a more classical style in the few verses
which form the preface to the work; others attach great
weight to the use of the pronouns we and us in the latter
part of the work which traces the history of St Paul.
An eminent German critic Zeller has written an elaborate
treatise to show that the book was composed expressly to
smoothe down the rivalry between St Peter and St Paul, lest
future ages should form an unfavourable view of Christi-
anity, the unity of which was severed by the conflict
between the Jewish and the Gentile elements. All these
points no doubt have a certain weight, and they justify the
inference which the present appearance of the work suggests,
that it was not known to the world, before it was included
LI.]
423
GENERAL EPISTLES DOUBTFUL.
•
in the Christian canon, immediately before that canon is
recognized in the second century by Irenæus.
The third division of our Scriptures consists of the
Epistles of Paul, James, Peter, John, and Jude; and what
has been said of these individually is supported by the view
which they suggest when considered as part of the Christian
canon. In the earliest half of the fourth century, whilst the
practical value and use of these epistles was fully recognized
by their being read in the churches, the question of genuine-
ness, that is whether they were written by the apostles to
whom they were commonly ascribed, had not been satisfac-
torily answered. Eusebius, whose general credulity and oc-
casional disingenuousness lead us to extend our doubts beyond
the limits which he would lay down in matters wherein his
own interests and those of the Church were concerned, has
told us in the second book of his history (ch. 25) that he
deemed it proper to give a summary statement of the books
of the New Testament which he had mentioned. It appears
from that passage, which has been already given in page 20
of this volume, that five of the seven Catholic Epistles,
namely, those of James and Jude, the second and the third of
John, and the second of Peter, were of doubtful genuineness
even at that late period. Eusebius informs us that the Reve-
lation of St John was not universally received as the work
of the apostle, but of a presbyter who bore the same name,
and whilst he considers the Epistle to the Hebrews to be
not inferior to any of the books acknowledged to be apostolic,
he seems to incline to the opinion that it was not written by
St Paul, and quoting from Origen (vi, 25) he tells us
that it has not that vulgarity of style, which belongs to the
apostle and is acknowledged by him, but is written in more
pure Greek, as every one will confess who can distinguish
difference of style.
To enlarge further on works, which from their first appear-
ance in the world until the year 320, when Eusebius wrote,
although admitted into the Canon, were still deemed of
doubtful authorship, is superfluous to those who do not deny
their value or wish to abrogate their use, but only to
establish if possible a reasonable explanation of their author-
ship, and of the time and place to which their origin is due.
It remains then to consider collectively and briefly the
Epistles of St Paul, if perchance it may be possible to con-
nect them more closely with their supposed author, from
whom according to the most general opinion they are
virtually separated by an interval of an hundred years,
424
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
}
between the date when he is known to have lived, A.D. 60,
and the time when his writings first became known to the
world. If it were fully established that the partial account
of his own life, given in the Epistle to the Galatians (i and ii)
proceeded in its present form from his own hand, we might
set aside the other account which differs so widely from it,
given in the Acts of the Apostles; but as both these accounts
came to the knowledge of the world about the same time,
and form part of the same religious code, we must leave
them as we find them to the individual judgement of their
readers. Whatever internal difficulties may present them-
selves on this subject are slight in comparison with the fact,
which has no parallel in history, that a series of writings,
twenty-six in number, having for their subject the original
history of the most wonderful revolution ever effected in the
world, was composed by the eye-witnesses of the events
which they recorded, and among a people who kept aloof
from every other people, in a foreign language, which not
only was unknown to the people of that nation and those
to whom these writings were addressed generally, but, as
every probability leads us to believe, unknown even to
those who are commonly thought to have been the writers of
those histories.
The Epistles of St Paul contain without doubt peculiar sen-
timents which indicate an individual and peculiar character;
but why has he written all his epistles in a language which
himself knew very imperfectly and which he might have
supposed some of those to whom he wrote would not know
at all? It is beyond our belief that the Romans generally
could read the barbarous Greek with which the thoughts of
Paul have been clothed in his epistle to the people of that
city, which moreover he had then never visited. As it
appears from the last chapter of the Acts of the Apostles
that his first interview on arriving there was with the Jews,
and as it appears he afterwards preached to the whole people,
we should infer that he used Hebrew in his conversation with
his countrymen and Latin in his preaching to the citizens.
Nor is a similar inference unreasonable in the case of his
preaching and his Epistles to the Corinthians. For Corinth
in the time of St Paul was inhabited by a colony of Romans
who spoke Latin. They had been planted by Julius Cæsar,
who restored that city many years after it had been wholly
destroyed by Memmius. "No one," says Pausanias, "of
the ancient Corinthians inhabits Corinth, but colonists sent
by the Romans." Modern travellers have confirmed this
15
J.
་
LI.]
GRECIAN ORIGIN.
425
statement. Dr Clarke, repeating the fact that the Co-
rinthians in the second century consisted entirely of the
remains of the Roman colony, speaks of sepulchral caves
hewn in the rocks near the sea, and the recesses within them,
intended evidently as niches for cinerary urns, denoting a
mode of sepulture belonging to the Romans rather than to
the Greeks. The names moreover of those whom Paul
salutes at the end of his letter betray rather a Roman than
a Grecian character; and a passage in the Acts (xviii, 17),
which has puzzled some of the commentators, becomes intel-
ligible if we understand the words "all the Greeks" to
mean not all the inhabitants, but only all that class of the in-
habitants who were of Grecian origin, for no doubt there
were many Greeks mixed up for pleasure or business with
the far greater Latin population. To these proofs may be
added that all the coins, of which there are three hundred
and forty distinct types, struck at Corinth from the time of
Julius Cæsar to Elagabalus, except three or four, have in-
scriptions in the Latin language.
The Epistle to the GALATIANS leads to the same con-
clusion as those which precede. That people was descended
from the Gauls, and indeed kept the name, Galatæ both in
Greek and Latin, which marked their descent. Their fore-
fathers had invaded Greece, from which they were driven
out, and afterwards settled in a central province of Asia
Minor, where, as we learn from Jerome (iv, 256 ed. Bened.)
they retained their own language even in his time, more than
250 years after the age of St Paul, although the Greek
language was also known among them, that is, no doubt, to
the officials of the Government and also perhaps to the
higher and educated classes.*
The Epistle to the EPHESIANS, which stands next in the
Canon, may be passed over in this review, for it has already
been remarked that there are doubts whether it was addressed
to the inhabitants of Ephesus or of Laodicea, and as regards
the language, may have been addressed to either of them,
for Greek was the language of both those cities.
Proceeding then to the PHILIPPIANS, I find the following
sentence in a popular work which will show the case of
Philippi to be the same as that of Corinth, Rome, and
Galatia.
* The whole of this subject is ably discussed by the author of Palæoro-
maica, especially at pp. 41, 155, &c. London, 8vo, 1822.
J
426
[CHAPTER
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
The Philippi, which St Paul visited, the site of which has been
described above, was a Roman colony founded by Augustus, and
the remains which strew the ground are no doubt derived from
that city. The establishment of Philip of Macedonia was pro-
bably not exactly on the same city; for it is described by Appian
as being on a hill. . . . Nothing would be more natural than that
the Roman town should have been built in the immediate neigh-
bourhood of the existing Greek one, on a site more suitable for
architectural display.*
Of the remaining epistles little needs to be said. We
have difficulty in understanding those addressed to the
THESSALONIANS when contrasted with St Paul's short
sojourn and adverse treatment in that city; and that which
is addressed to the HEBREWS labours under a weight of
unfavourable evidence which has always been recognized,
whenever the subject has been proposed. But whilst thus
abstaining from either admitting or denying the genuineness
of form and language in which these writings have come
down to us, we fall back upon the general nature of the
whole volume of which they form a part. In spite of the
slight difference of style which subtle criticism has professed
to discover, there is in reality less difference between the
language of the four Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles
than between any of the classic writers of ancient Greece,
and if the other books of our Canon present greater obstacles
to the modern student, as indeed every schoolboy who
attempts to read them immediately finds out, these are due
to the difference of thought and to the need of strange words
to express novel ideas rather than to any other cause. The
language of Christian as well as of classical philosophy
would naturally require the use of words and phrases which
could hardly be necessary in works which treated only of
history and of fact.
As a conclusion then to this inquiry, which has now reached
to more than sufficient length, it is suggested that our volume
of the New Testament was put together in the latter half of
the second century out of the "Memorials of the Apostles."
and the "Sayings of our Lord," both of which are named long
before any notice is taken or mention made of the present
Gospels or of their writers. That these documents existed
separately we cannot doubt, for the latter are named in such
a way that they must evidently have been collected in a
By the Rev. J [oseph] W [illiams] B [lakesley] B.D. in Dr Smith's
Dictionary of the Bible, Article Philippi.
LI.]
427
CONCLUSION.
book, and their existence in those early times in the concise
form of which Justin Martyr bears witness, is the strongest
evidence in favour of the origin of our religion, being in fact
that same evidence which Paley supposes to belong to the
existing four Gospels. But those Gospels were compiled out
of these sayings, and still embody them, especially the Gospel
according to St John, where there are as many of them as
in all the three others put together. Nor is it unreasonable
to assign the city of Antioch as the place from which our
Canon wholly or in great part emanated. Alexandria, which
alone is named as a rival claimant, is scarcely mentioned in
our books, although it had previously-200 years before-
produced the Septuagint version of the Jewish Scriptures.
Antioch, on the other hand, is constantly named in the Acts
of the Apostles, was moreover a seat of learning, and
appears in ecclesiastical history as the frequent residence of
St Paul. It is indeed difficult to determine, where authori-
ties differ so much, who was the first that received the office
of bishop in either of these two cities. If we find in the
chronicle of Eusebius (apud Hieron.) that Annianus became
the first bishop of Alexandria after St Mark, in the eighth
year of Nero, which was the sixty-second or third of the
Christian era, it is also recorded in the same chronicle that
Evodius was bishop of Antioch in the second year of
Claudius, which was the forty-second or third year of the
same era, and twenty years before the episcopate of
Annianus. But the uncertainty of both chronology and
history concerning these early times of our religion precludes
the possibility of accurately determining such points as
these, which in fact become still more involved and intricate
by the statement of the same historian, Eusebius, in his
Ecclesiastical History (iii, 36), that "Ignatius, who is cele-
brated by many even to this day as the successor of Peter
at Antioch, was the second that obtained the episcopal office
there." It appears moreover from the same source that this
city was one of the very first into which the Christian
religion* was introduced, if it be true, as the historian in-
forms us, that a great number of Greeks had already "re-
ceived the faith in Antioch, where the Gospel had been
preached by those who were scattered after the persecution
at Jerusalem and the death of Stephen." We read also in
* At Antioch in the reign of Julian "the majority of the people sup-
ported the glory of the Christian name, which had been first invented by
their ancestors."-GIBBON, ch. xxiv.
428
CHRISTIAN RECORDS.
the early part of the Acts of the Apostles (vi, 5) of "Nicolas
a proselyte of Antioch," and that Barnabas, closely con-
nected with Antioch, was already a preacher of Christianity
before St Paul's conversion, and that by his agency the new
convert was introduced to the original disciples at Jerusalem.
The travels of St Paul in the book of the Acts are supposed
to be delivered to us on the authority of St Luke, who is
said to have accompanied him; but we learn from Eusebius
(iii, 4) that St Luke was either born at Antioch or of
Antiochian parents; that he was by profession a physician,
and mostly a companion of St Paul. If to these facts be
added the testimony of the heathen Lucian, already given
at length (p. 82), that about the middle of the second
century the Christians were engaged in collecting their
sacred books, and further that all these books have come
down to us in the Greek language; that of those to whom
these books were addressed several spoke a different lan-
guage from that in which the books were written, and from
that which the writer himself would speak, and, lastly, that
the books which present the best and smoothest Greek pro-
fess to have been written by those who would be least
expected to know Greek at all, we may with reason
suggest that the volume concerning which such statements
may be made, however worthy of the reverence with which
we receive it as being drawn from authentic and truthful
sources, cannot reasonably be ascribed to an earlier period
than that in which it first became known in the second cen-
tury, when it was impossible to trust any longer to tradition
and to the living voice of the companions and followers of
the apostles.
INDEX OF THE PRINCIPAL MATTERS.
ACTS of the Apostles, Summary of,
359; not named by the Apostoli-
cal Fathers nor by Justin Martyr,
376.
Ægidius, Sanctus, migrated from
Athens to Toulouse, 60.
Agrippa Castor named by Jerome,
139.
Alexander the Great: his kingdom
divided among his generals, 40.
Alexander the Alabarch, 367.
Alexandrian MS one of the most
ancient, 15; its various readings,
16.
Alphabet of the Jews changed in
process of time, 47.
Annunciation, two accounts of the,
174.
Antioch, the rival of Alexandria, 41;
closely connected with Apostolic
history, 363.
Apocryphal Gospels, mostly of the
second century, 18; list of seventy
such writings, 21; editions of
them, 32 note.
Apostles, names of the twelve, 218.
Apostolical Fathers yield no testi-
mony to the early origin of the
New Testament Canon, 88, &c.
Aretas, king of Petra, 371.
Ass's foal tied to a vine, 129.
Athenagoras, author of two works
on behalf of the Christians, 140.
Augustus, his remark about Herod,
202.
Baptæ, priests of Cotytto, 205.
Barabbas the robber, 309.
Barnabas, his Catholic epistle, 90;
associated with Paul, 365.
Bartimæus, a blind man, healed,
257; son of Timæus, 357.
Bishops and Fathers of second cen-
tury nearly all Greeks, 59.
Blind men healed, 255.
Brothers of Jesus, their names, 375.
Bunsen, Chevalier, on Hippolytus,
206; 244 note.
Canon of the New Testament, 4.
Cassiodorus, his Chronicle, 196.
Celsus, an early opponent of Chris-
tianity, 142.
Census in the time of Cyrenius, 190.
Centuriators of Magdeburg, 111.
Centurion, his servant healed, 253.
Christians, use of the word, 373;
worship anticipated, 374.
Church of God, a later idea, 355.
Cicero, his oration against Verres,
308.
Claudius Apollinaris, quoted in the
seventh century by the Paschal
Chronicle, 143.
Clement of Alexandria acquainted
with the Gospels, 138.
Clement of Rome, his epistle, 93,
106, 108; his second epistle one
of the Homilies, 111,
Clementine Homilies, 380.
Clinton's Fasti Romani quoted,
183 note, 193 note, 196, 197.
Coined money unknown to the
Israelites, 43; first coined by
them in the reign of Antiochus,
45.
Commodus, emperor, slain, A.D. 192,
196.
Cureton, his edition of the Ignatian
epistles, 101; his discovery of the
Ignatian MSS, 112.
Cyrenius holds a census of the Jews,
A.D. 10, 190.
430
INDEX.
է
David buys the threshing-floor of
Araunah, 44.
Demoniac among the tombs, 266.
Deutsch, his literary remains, 39, 68.
Development of later ideas, 348.
Dionysius the Areopagite, 109.
Disciples, seventy chosen, 226.
Donaldson, his Christian orthodoxy,
38, 173.
Epictetus names the Galileans, 77.
Epiphanius on Heresies, 196.
Eunuchs, the subject thereof ex-
amined, 354.
Eusebius, his Ecclesiastical History
quoted, 13, 19, 20, 29, 125; on the
writings of Papias, 113; his state-
ment on the order of the Gospels,
153.
Evangelist, original meaning of the
term, 125.
Ezekiel quoted, 121 note.
Fabrication of writings in early
Christian times, 118.
Fadus, governor of Judæa, 367.
Fire kindled in Jordan, 130.
Flight into Egypt, 198.
Gamaliel, his speech, 367.
Genealogies of Christ examined, 166.
Genesis quoted, 38; 43.
Gough's New Testament Quota-
tions, 52.
Greek language unknown to the
Jews, 36.
Greek words in the Old Testament,
38.
Greeks had no intercourse with the
Jews before Alexander, 37.
Greek words of unusual form, 55.
Greek words copied from Latin, 54,
56.
Greswell, Rev. Edward, his expla-
nation of the genealogies, 172.
Hadrian, his letter on the degraded
state of the Egyptian Christians
about the year A.D. 120, 85.
Hebraisms, few or none in the New
Testament, 48.
Hebrew words quoted and inter-
preted in the Gospels, 51.
Hefele, his edition of the Apostoli-
cal Fathers, 110.
Hegesippus, his history of Christi-
anity, 144.
Hermas, his Shepherd, 96.
Hermias quotes St Paul, 144.
Herod, his character as given by
Josephus; puts to death his sons,
201.
Herodotus quoted, 38.
Hilgenfeld: his Evangeliorum frag-
menta, 33.
Homer's Odyssey, quoted, 123.
Hyde, Dr, on the Persian religion,
204.
Ignatius, his epistles mostly for-
geries, 97; the Syriac version
of them, edited by Cureton, 101,
107.
Innocents, massacre of the, 200.
Irenæus, bishop of Lyons, first
writer who recognizes the four
Gospels, 137.
Jaddua the High Priest, 39.
James, the brother of Jesus Christ,
stoned to death, 63; his general
epistle, 399.
Javan supposed to mean Greece,—a
late notion, 37.
Jerusalem colonized by Hadrian and
called Elia, 49.
Jesus, his baptism, 199; his place
of birth uncertain, 185; time of
birth uncertain, 189; tempted in
the wilderness, 213; his conduct
towards the Samaritans, 270;
anointed at a feast, 273; raises to
life Jaïrus's daughter, 277; heals
the woman having an issue of
blood, 277; his last journey and
triumphal entry into Jerusalem,
182, 281; curses the barren fig-
tree, 286; his last supper, 289;
his agony in the garden, 296; his
arrest, 299; examination before
the high priest, 302; denied by
Peter, 306; his trial before Pon-
tius Pilate, 307; mocked four
times, 314; crucified, 316; in-
scription over the cross, 328; his
embalmment, 337; his resurrec-
tion, 331; his appearances after
his resurrection, 340; his ascen-
sion, 364.
Jews and Greeks not amalgamated
in the time of Herod, 53.
Jews still remain in Jerusalem after
the siege by Titus, 49.
John the Baptist, named by Jose-
phus; the mode and reason of his
death, 65, 203; his doctrines, 207;
first meeting with Jesus, 209; im-
prisoned, 211; his doubt about
the Messiahship of Jesus, 212.
!
INDEX.
John, St, his Gospel written in purer
Greek than the others, 163; the
last chapter a late addition, 164;
his general epistles, 399; First
Epistle quoted, 12; Gospel, last
chapter doubtful, 12; also ch. v,
verses 3-4 doubtful, 13.
Joseph of Arimathæa, 337.
Josephus a bad Greek scholar, 42;
interpreter to the Romans at the
siege of Jerusalem, 43; spurious
passages in his writings, 61, &c.
Judas Iscariot, his death, 346.
Jude, St, his general epistle, 399.
Justin Martyr, list of his works,
119; does not name the Gospels,
123; names one John; his quota-
tions compared with those of the
Gospels, 132; on baptism, 205.
Kingdom of heaven, 355.
Lamech and Ada, Greek names, 37.
Latin words and Latinisms in the
Gospels, 53, 54, 56; mixed with
Greek in the Eastern provinces,
57.
Loaves and fishes, miracle of the,
259.
Lord's Prayer, 241.
Lucian of Samosata: his, notice of
Christian meetings and allusion
to St Paul; 79; his account of
Peregrinus, 81.
Luke, erroneous translation of the
preface, 159; later additions made
to his Gospel, 161.
Lysanias of Abilene, 193.
Maccabees, book quoted, 1, xv, 6;
p. 45.
Madden's History of the Jewish
coinage, 45, 48.
Manichæans, a Christian sect, 204.
Marcus Aurelius names the Chris-
tians, 77.
Mark's Gospel quoted, 55-56; last
twelve verses not authentic, 12;
the present Gospel not the same
which he wrote, 157.
Matthew wrote in Hebrew the Say-
ings of our Lord, not the Gospel,
154.
Melito, his works, 145.
Mishna does not name Christianity,
66, &c.
Money: Persian money used by the
Jews; Jewish money first coined
by Simon the Maccabee, 44.
431
Muratori, Canon discovered by him,
141.
Nicodemus, his interview with Je-
sus, 178.
Nolan, Dr, his Inquiry into the in-
tegrity of the Greek Vulgate, 16.
Orosius quoted, 196.
Otto, his edition of Justin Martyr,
126.
Paley's evidences, 120; erroneous
statements, 116.
Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, 113.
Paul, St, his conversion, 368; his
epistles, 377; preaches during 19
years, 384; his epistles to the
Thessalonians, 385; Galatians,
387; Corinthians, 390; Romans,
391; Ephesians, 392; Philippians,
393; Colossians, 393; Philemon,
393; Timothy, 394; Titus, 395;
Hebrews, 396.
Peter, St, his general epistles, 55,
399.
Philo Judæus, his allegorical works:
does not name Christianity, 61.
Pilate washes his hands, 311.
Pliny the younger, his letter about
the Christians, 72.
Plutarch, his life of Cato, 308.
Polycarp, his Epistle, doubted by
some, defended by others, 104,
107.
Polycrates, bishop of Ephesus, 145.
Porphyry, an early opponent of
Christianity, 171.
Potter's Field, purchase of it, 347.
Quadratus, bishop of Athens, 146.
Ramayana quoted, 38.
Rawlinson, Professor, his lecture
before the Christian Evidence
Society, 192.
Revelation quoted, 8.
Rufinus of Aquileia, 109.
Samaritans, three narratives con-
cerning them, 270.
Samuel, book quoted, 44.
Saul called also Paul, 364.
Sayings of our Lord in general use,
105, &c.; other sayings not found
in the Gospels, 129, &c.
Scene of Christ's ministry, Galilee
in the synoptical Gospels, Judæa
in John, 180.
$
432
INDEX.
Seneca, his notice of the Sabbath,
spurious letters between him and
St Paul, 76.
Sermon on the Mount, 228.
Sibylline Oracles, 130; quoted by
Josephus, 147; the collection of
them in fourteen books, 147, &c.
Simeon and Simon, 365, 366 note.
Simon the Cyrenian, 324.
Simon Magus, 381.
Sinaitic MS one of the most ancient,
15; its various readings, 16.
Suetonius, his notice of the Chris-
tians, 69, &c.; his life of Vespa-
sian, 247.
Sulpitius Severus, his chronicle, 196.
Syrian coins used by the Jews, 45.
Synoptical, name given to the first
three Gospels collectively, 162.
Syrophoenician woman, 358.
Tacitus, his notice of Christ and the
Christians, 71; his Annals, 184,
248.
Targums do not name Christianity,
66.
Temple, Purification of the, 249.
Tertullian, his work against the
Jews, 197.
Testament, books of the New,
names and authors, 5; supposed
dates, 7; questions about author-
ship, &c., not new, 10; only
known as a whole, 11; the New
framed in harmony with the Old,
35; its language copied from the
Septuagint, 51. ·
Theophilus, his three books ad-
dressed to Autolycus, 149; Acts
inscribed to him, 362.
Theudas and Judas, their rebellion,
366.
Tischendorf: his apocryphal gos-
pels, acts and revelations, 33.
Vatican MS one of the most
ancient, 15; its various readings,
16.
Westcott (Dr) on the Canon, 58;
his introduction to the study of
the Gospels, 162 note.
Writers, list of twenty-six minor, of
second century, 139.
Zacharias, his death related in the
Protevangelium Jacobi, 161.
Zonaras quoted, 196.
Y
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