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DR. BRIGGS'S WORKS.

A General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scrip
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NEW LIGHT ON THE
LIFE OF JESUS

o

NEW LIGHT ON THE
LIFE OF JESUS

BY

CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, D.D., D.Litt.
Edward Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology
The Union Theological Seminary, New York

NEW YORK
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS
1904

Copyright, 1904
By Charles Scribner's Sons

All rights reserved
Published, February, 1904

TROW DIRECTORY
PRINTING AMD BOOKBINDING COMPANY
NEW YORK

TO
DAVID R. FRAZER, D.D.
PASTOR
OF THE FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
NEWARK, NEW JERSEY
CLASSMATE AND LIFE-LONG FRIEND

PREFACE
THIS volume does not propose to give a
new life of Jesus Christ our Saviour ; but
to give a new light upon the life of our Lord
which has come to the author in his recent
studies. In the term 1861-62 of the Union
Theological Seminary, it was my privilege to
study with my classmates the Greek Harmony
of the Gospels under the greatest of American
Biblical scholars, Edward Robinson. An entire
year was given to this study at that time. Sub
sequently in 1867 and 1868 I renewed this
study, but from a more historical point of view,
at the University of Berlin, under the guidance
of one of the greatest theologians of the past cen
tury, Isaac Dorner. I then reviewed the entire
literature of the Life of Jesus in those troublous
times which were dominated by the negative
criticism of Strauss, Baur, Renan, Schenkel, and
Keim. As a result of these studies I made a
revision of Robinson's Harmony for my private

vm PREFACE
use. My studies for many years, from 1874-
1891 were concentrated upon the Old Testa
ment, because I was called to use my utmost
endeavors in battling for the rights of the
Higher Criticism and in the work of reconstruct
ing the Old Testament material in the light of
that Criticism. In 1891 when I was transferred
from the Hebrew chair to the new chair of
Biblical Theology, it was necessary for me to
renew my New Testament studies and to con
centrate my attention upon them. It was in
evitable that I should apply the same rigorous
methods of Criticism to the New Testament
that I had applied for many years to the Old
Testament. I had the advantage of coming to
the New Testament afresh from studies in the
Hebrew and Aramaic Scriptures, and so was
prepared to investigate and discern the Sem
itic originals at the basis of the New Testa
ment. The Harmony of Robinson was based on the
chronological order of the Gospel of John. This
order I abandoned many years ago. But it was
only gradually that my confidence in the chrono
logical order of Mark was weakened. One of
these pre-suppositions, or both, are at the basis
of the Harmonies of the Gospels and Lives of

PREFACE ix
Jesus of modern times. So soon as these pre
suppositions were abandoned, and I felt as free
to study the whole material as Tatian, the earli
est harmonist, did, a cloud was lifted from the
Gospels and a number of questions sprang up
which pressed for a solution. The most essential
of these were :
1. When did Jesus begin His Ministry ?
2. Where was Jesus during the absence of the
Twelve? The answer to these two questions
which came to me flooded the Gospels with new
light. I saw that there was a Galilean Ministry
of Jesus prior to the arrest of John the Bap
tist, and that while five pairs of the Twelve
were absent on a Mission in Galilee, Jesus with
James and John, one pair of the Twelve, was
carrying on His ministry in Jerusalem, and at
intervals with another pair, Thomas and Mat
thew, in Perasa ; and so the order of the ministry
became altogether different from that pre-sup-
posed in the modern Harmonies and Lives of
Jesus. At first the result was startling, but I was
encouraged by finding that my results were in
many respects in accord with that ancient har
monist, Tatian, and by recalling that the ordinary
arrangement of the Life of Jesus is indeed quite

x PREFACE
modern. It was not, however, until I began to
trace the consequences of this new arrangement
of the ministry in all its details, and I saw the
material of the Gospels take its place with so
much ease, so much propriety, and with such
simplicity and beautiful harmony, that I was
convinced that the essential problems of the
Gospels had been solved.
Ten years ago I said : "We would prefer
some chronological scheme. But such a chrono
logical scheme is sufficiently difficult in the
study of the life of the Messiah. It is still more
difficult when we have to put His discourses in
their historical relations. Any attempt to do
this burdens us with numberless questions of
historical criticism where it is impossible at pres
ent to attain definite results in some of the
most important passages. Many attempts have
been made to trace a development in the Mes
sianic consciousness of Jesus, and in His doctrine
of the kingdom of God, but none of these has
found favor. It seems impracticable in the
present stage of the criticism of the Gospels to
give an accurate and comprehensive statement of
such a development. It is sufficiently difficult
if the study is limited to the Synoptics. It is at
present impossible if the Gospel of John is in-

PREFACE xi
eluded in the study." (Messiah of the Gospels,
pp. 72-73.)
But now I have arranged the Life of Jesus in
a simple and orderly chronological scheme. I
have also traced the Messianic idea from its
origin in a historical situation, in its development
in accordance with historical circumstances, even
to its climax. I have also traced in a volume
soon to be published an orderly development in
the entire Ethical Teaching of Jesus.
This new light solves most of the difficult
problems of the Gospels, fills up the chasm be
tween the Synoptists and the Gospel of John,
and satisfies the most searching inquiries of
modern Higher Criticism and Historical Criti
cism. I have subjected these results to the
most careful criticism that I could apply to my
own work, again and again. It may be that I
have myself been to some extent blinded by the
new light. If so I shall be glad to be corrected.
The book must go into the fires of criticism, the
hotter the better. If the light is a true light it
will abide. The question is submitted with
confidence to Christian scholars and to the
Christian public.
The references to the author's previous works
are given without mention of his name. He

xn PREFACE
has avoided discussions of the opinions of other
scholars, not because he undervalues them but
to make the volume as untechnical as possible
and to set forth distinctly the new view he pro
poses. Chapters L, III., and IV. were printed as arti
cles in the Expository Times, September, Octo
ber, and November, 1903, and are reprinted with
few additions.

CONTENTS Page
I. When did Jesus begin His Ministry ? . . . 1
II. Jesus and John the Baptist  17
III. The Twelve and the Seventy  31
IV. Where was Jesus during the Absence of the
Twelve ?  40
V. HOW MANY AND WHAT FeASTS DID JeSUS
attend ?  50
VI. The PerjEan Ministry  64
VII. Jesus and the Pharisees  79
VIII. When did Jesus First Declare his Messiah-
ship ?  91
IX. The Order of Events in Passion Week . .101
X. The Forty Days of the Risen Jesus . . .110
XI. The Synoptic Problem  125
XII. The Composition of the Gospel of John . .140
XIII. The Gospel of the Infancy  159
XIV. Outline of the Life of Jesus  167

Index  193

NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF
JESUS I
WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY?
ONE of the most difficult questions con
nected with the early ministry of Jesus
is : when Jesus began His ministry. The four
Gospels differ in their statements. According
to the Gospel of Mark " after that John was
delivered up, Jesus came into Galilee, preaching
the gospel of God, and saying, The time is ful
filled, and the kingdom of God is at hand: repent
ye, and believe in the gospel." * It is a sure result
of the modern criticism of the Gospels, that the
Gospels of Matthew and Luke used Mark as a
source, but with freedom, usually condensing,
but sometimes enlarging and explaining. In
Matthew we find : "Now when he heard that
John was delivered up, he withdrew into Galilee ;

1 Marki. 14, 15.

2 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
[and leaving Nazareth, he came "and dwelt in
Capernaum, which is by the sea, in the borders of
Zebulun and Naphtali : that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaiah. . . . ] From
that time began Jesus to preach, and to say,
Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand."1 It is evident that all the material in
brackets 2 is an addition to the source. The
other verses give essentially the same as Mark,
but with important modifications, which we
shall consider later on. Luke tells us : " And
Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit into
Galilee: [and a fame went out concerning him
through all the region round about. And he
taught in their synagogues, being glorified of
all. "] 3 It is evident that the bracketed material 4
is an addition to the source, and that while the
phrase " in the power of the Spirit " is unique, the
reference to the agency of the Spirit is charac
teristically Lukan, and is original with this Gos
pel. There remains, therefore, as derived from
the Markan source, only "and Jesus returned into
Galilee " ; the reference to the arrest of John the
Baptist being omitted altogether. Luke is com-

1 Matt. iv. 12-17. 2 Verses 13-16.
3 Luke iv. 14, 15. * Verses 14b, 15.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 3
monly recognized to be the best historian in the
New Testament, the writer from whom we
would expect historical data more than from any
other. It is contrary to this characteristic that
he should omit such a definite statement as that
given in Mark with reference to John the Bap
tist, if he regarded it as a correct historical state
ment. We are compelled to the opinion that
Luke did not think the ministry of Jesus in
Galilee began subsequent to the arrest of John
the Baptist. In this he is sustained by the
Gospel of John,1 which gives a ministry of Jesus
in Galilee and Judaea prior to the arrest of John,
and gives another motive for departing into
Galilee a second time. This is the statement:
" When therefore the Lord knew how that the
Pharisees had heard that Jesus was making and
baptizing more disciples than John, . . . he
left Jud&a, and departed again into Galilee?
On the surface of the statements of the Gos
pels there are grave discrepancies in which Mark
and Matthew, on the one side, seem to date the
beginning of the Galilean ministry subsequent to
the arrest of the Baptist, while Luke and John
do not ; the latter asserting a ministry in Galilee

1 John 2, 3. 2 John iv. 1-3.

4 jVEJV LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
prior to that event. Those harmonists who
regard the Gospel of John as unhistorical, build
on the statement of Mark and make the Galilean
ministry begin in fact after the arrest of the
Baptist, without giving the silence of Luke its
due value. Those who accept the historicity of
the Gospel of John endeavor to arrange an
earlier Galilean ministry, so far as the statements
of that Gospel are concerned ; but put all the
Synoptic material subsequent to the arrest of
the Baptist. This does not, however, escape the
difficulty, but only makes the discrepancy more
glaring. If we build on the statement of Luke,
there is no reason why we should not put a con
siderable amount of the Synoptic material before
the arrest of the Baptist. If the statement of
Mark is invalid as to the ministry reported by
the Gospel of John, it is no less invalid as to the
Galilean ministry of Luke's report, and should be
no barrier to the consideration of any evidence
that may lead to a larger Galilean ministry before
the arrest of the Baptist, even to the inclusion of
a considerable amount of material given by Mark
himself subsequent to his statement. It has
been a serious mistake to make this statement of
Mark the key to the early ministry of our Lord.
It is impossible to make any satisfactory har-

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 5
mony of the Gospels on that basis. It is much
safer to build on the statement of Luke.
There are several possible explanations of the
relation of Luke's statement to that of Mark.
The statement of Mark was before Luke in its
present form, and he either (1) rejected it as un-
historical, or (2) interpreted it as not referring
to the real beginning of the Galilean ministry.
(3) Having related the arrest of John,1 he saw
no reason to refer to it again here. (4) The
statement of Mark in its present form is not that
of the original Mark which Luke used, but the
reference to the Baptist is one of the additions
made to the primitive Gospel. We shall con
sider these in the inverse order.
It is recognized by all critics that the Greek
canonical Mark has some material which was
not in the original Mark at the basis of the Gos
pels. How much this material may be, and
what in particular may be regarded as additional,
depends upon careful criticism. Certainly there
is no evidence that Luke had this statement as
to John the Baptist before him, or that the
author of the Gospel of John knew of it. Did
Matthew's Gospel build on the present text of

1 Luke iii. 19.

6 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Mark ? This is possible, but by no means cer
tain. It is difficult to see why Matthew should
change the statement of the fact in Mark to the
hearing about it. The structure of the sentence
is quite different in Matthew from Mark, al
though, apart from the addition of hearing, both
might be regarded as translations of a common
Hebrew original. It is altogether probable that
" the gospel of God" and " and believe in the gos
pel " of Mark are additions to the original Mark.
They are not in Matthew. The original Gospel
gave only "preaching and saying, The kingdom
of God is at hand: repent ye." Resch thinks
that the previous clause, "the time is fulfilled,"
was there also. That is quite possible. In any
case, the Greek Mark has at least two clauses of
additions to the original Hebrew Gospel, and if
so,1 why not also in the reference to John's ar
rest ? The most that can be said therefore is
that it is not certain whether the clause, " after
that John was delivered up," was in the original
Mark or not.
If it were in the original Mark how could
Luke the historian destroy its historical impor
tance by omitting it here and giving the arrest of

1 Marki. 14b, 15.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 7
John a topical order in the previous chapter ?
The question then remains, was it designed to
state the actual beginning of the Galilean minis
try, and if so, was it so understood by Luke ?
The statement is in the protasis of a temporal
clause, whose apodosis is a general statement as
to the substance of the preaching of Jesus in
Galilee, namely, the proclamation of the advent
of the kingdom of God and the call to repent
ance, which was also essentially the message of
the Baptist. This is as much as to say that
after the arrest of John the Baptist, Jesus went
into Galilee to preach the same message that the
Baptist had preached. It does not necessarily
imply that Jesus did not teach or work miracles
before the arrest of John, unless we suppose that
this was designed as a comprehensive statement
of His entire work. But that opinion cannot be
sustained. The statement might be interpreted
as a general introductory statement with refer
ence to His ministry in Galilee as a whole, with
out the necessary implication that all the events
mentioned subsequently, even in Mark, actually
followed the arrest of the Baptist ; unless we in
sist upon strict chronological order for all the
material of this Gospel. But the modern view,
that the order of Mark is the norm for the life of

8 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Jesus, has been so shattered by recent criticism,
that it can no longer be regarded as a decisive
test in any question. In fact, none of the Gos
pels can be relied upon for chronological order.
They are all dominated by didactic considera
tions, which make the topical order prevail over
the chronological. The ambiguity of the sen
tence in Mark involving the possibility that it
might be interpreted as making the ministry of
Jesus in Galilee begin with the arrest of the
Baptist, would be a sufficient motive for Luke
to omit it.
Matthew's statement is : " From that time (de
fined not only by the arrest of the Baptist and
Jesus' withdrawal to Galilee, but also by the
leaving Nazareth to dwell in Capernaum) began
Jesus to preach, and to say, Repent ye ; for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." This represents
that there was a real beginning, not simply with
the arrest of the Baptist, but in connection with
this removal to Capernaum after the arrest of the
Baptist. If we could distinguish between the
ministry of preaching the kingdom and an earlier
ministry of teaching and miracle-working, then
this would be a second stage in the Galilean
ministry of Jesus, wThich would by no means
exclude an earlier ministry of a simpler kind.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 9
There are reasons for regarding this distinction
as in a measure correct, although it is not clear
in fact to any of the evangelists. Prior to the
death of the Baptist, Jesus naturally was in his
shadow. The Baptist was in the public eye the
principal ; Jesus appeared rather as his most
prominent disciple. It might well be, therefore,
that Mark, and even his authority, Peter, con
ceived of the earlier ministry of Jesus as intro
ductory and relatively unimportant, and that
His own real independent ministry began after
the death of the Baptist. At all events, there
is a dilemma, so far as I can see, for those who
regard the statements of John 2-3 as historical.
They must either give these statements of Mark
some such explanation as those suggested above,
or else regard the reference to the arrest of John
in this connection as unhistorical. We should
not shrink from this latter alternative, if the
other could not be sustained.1
The story of Luke is intrinsically most proba
ble. The baptism by the Divine Spirit was im-

1 It is noteworthy that Tatian, the earliest harmonist of
the Gospels, does not hesitate to ignore this statement of
Mark. This fact had escaped my attention until after I had
made up my mind on the subject. I was gratified to be sus
tained by so early and so great an authority.

10 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
mediately followed by an ecstatic condition of
fasting in the wilderness, at the conclusion of
which Jesus endures the great temptation. Re
turning from the wilderness, He goes under the
power of the Spirit to undertake His ministry in
Galilee. The statements of the Gospel of John are en
tirely harmonious with this. It was natural that
on His way to Galilee He should stop at the Jor
dan side to revisit the one who had baptized Him
and given Him the anointing for His ministry.
The recognition of His Messiahship by the
Baptist, and the transfer of two of his disciples,
Andrew and probably John, to Jesus, and the
call of Philip the next day, are altogether in
place. With these three disciples He attends a
marriage feast at Cana of Galilee on the third
day afterward, and then goes down to Caper
naum.1 The naming of Peter 2 and the call of
Nathanael3 were evidently inserted for topical
reasons. They belong to a much later date, as
I have shown elsewhere.4

1 John i. 29-ii. 12. * John i. 41, 42.
s John i. 45-51.
* General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture, pp.
514 seq. The Apostolic Commission, Art. i. in Studies in Honor
of B. L. Gildersleeve.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 11
We have now to consider the material of the
Galilean ministry given by the Synoptists subse
quent to the statements considered above. So
far as Luke is concerned, there is no reason why
all of this should be subsequent to the arrest of
the Baptist. We have seen that the statements
of Mark and Matthew should not compel us to
that opinion. Luke gives first of all in the Gal
ilean ministry Jesus' rejection at Nazareth.1 But
this is only a variation of the story of His rejec
tion given in Mark and Matthew2 at a much
later date. Jesus could not have challenged His
townsmen to accept Him as Messiah so early in
His ministry. Luke placed this crisis at Naza
reth at the beginning of the Galilean ministry for
topical reasons. We should not hesitate to place
it later, as do Mark and Matthew.
The call of the four fishermen comes first in
Mark,3 and it fits on appropriately to the calls
mentioned in John. This is followed by the
Sabbath day in Capernaum,4 and a tour of teach
ing and miracle-working in Galilee.5 The Syn
optists differ slightly in the order of these events.

1 Luke iv. 16-30. ' Mark vi. l-6a. ; Matt. xiii. 54-58.
3 Marki. 16-20; Matt. iv. 18-22; Luke v. 1-11.
4 Mark i. 21-34; Matt. viii. 14-17; Luke iv. 31-41.
6 Mark i. 35-45; Matt. iv. 23, viii. 1-4; Luke iv. 42-v. 16.

12 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
But all give them at this time. Then comes a
second Sabbath in Capernaum.1 This is followed
by the call of Matthew, making the sixth disci
ple.2 All this material seems to belong to the
earlier Galilean ministry, before the arrest of the
Baptist. The next item in the Synoptists 3 is of some
importance, because it is related in some way to
the narrative of John.4 The words of Jesus ad
dressed to the disciples of the Baptist with refer
ence to fasting are : " Can the sons of the bride-
chamber fast, while the bridegroom is with them ?
as long as they have the bridegroom with them,
they cannot fast. But the days will come, when
the bridegroom shall be taken away from them,
and then will they fast in that day. " 5 These words
seem to imply the word of the Baptist himself :
" He that hath the bride is the bridegroom : but
the friend of the bridegroom, which standeth and
heareth him, rejoiceth greatly because of the bride-
gpoovis voice : this my joy therefore is fulfilled.
He must increase, but I must decrease." 6
Jesus justifies Himself and His disciples over

1 Mark ii. 1-12; Matt. ix. 1-8; Luke v. 17-26.
2 Markii. 13-17; Matt. ix. 9-13; Luke v. 27-32.
3 Mark ii. 18-22; Matt. ix. 14-17; Luke v. 33-39.
* John iii. 22-30. 5 Mark ii. 1 9, 20. 6 John iii. 29, 30.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 13
against the disciples of the Baptist by using the
very figure of speech with reference to Himself
that the Baptist had used. The discussion be
tween the disciples of Jesus and the disciples of
the Baptist as to fasting implies the same essen
tial situation as the discussion as to purifying.
Both imply that Jesus was followed by disciples.
The disciples present at this time 1 can hardly be
explained, unless we suppose that at least several
had been previously called. It seems altogether
probable, therefore, that Jesus soon after the
call of Matthew departed from Galilee to Ju
daea, and came into connection with the Baptist
again,2 and that in the same region the discus
sion about fasting took place, as well as that
about purification.
The next incident given by Mark 3 and by
Luke,4 although given by Matthew at a later
date,5 is doubtless in its place in Mark. It gives
additional evidence of great importance. The
disciples on a sabbath day, passing through the
fields of ripe grain, pluck some of the ears and
rub out the grains and eat them. The ripe grain
was still uncut. Leviticus 6 gives the law that

1 John iii. 22. * John iii. 22-36.
5 Mark ii. 23-28. 4 Luke vi. 1-5.
5 Matt. xii. 1-8. 6 Lev, xxiii, 5-15.

14 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the first-fruits of the barley harvest must be pre
sented as an Omer offering on the morrow after
the first great sabbath, that is, on the second
day of unleavened bread. Prior to this it was
unlawful to cut the grain or to eat of it. "And
ye shall eat neither bread, nor parched corn, nor
fresh ears, until this self-same day."1 The dis
ciples of Jesus would certainly obey this law,
however far they may have been from the Phari
saic excesses in holding that rubbing grain on
the hands was labor, and so a violation of the
sabbath. The wheat harvest was two or three
weeks later. We must therefore conclude that
this incident was subsequent to the Passover,
and not distant from it. In the text of Luke,
iv o-a/3/3aTG> is followed in most early codices 2
by BeurepoTrpaTO), and this is accepted by Tisch-
endorf and most critical authorities, although re
jected by Westcott and Hort, Weiss,3 and many
others. It is a difficult reading, whose omis
sion is easier to explain than its insertion.
Whether it was original or a later explanatory
addition, it is still important because it defines
that sabbath. It seems to be the sabbath after

1 Lev. xxiii. 14. * A C D E H K, etc.
s These follow too closely B K.

WHEN DID JESUS BEGIN HIS MINISTRY? 15
the Omer offering, and therefore Jesus and His
disciples were on their way from Jerusalem to
Galilee, having just left Jerusalem immediately
after the conclusion of Passover. If this be so,
then all the events thus far considered, except
the last, were prior to the first Passover which
Jesus spent with His disciples in Jerusalem.
This second return to Galilee would then cor
respond with that mentioned in John 1 the mo
tive of which was the opposition of the Pharisees
of Judaea, due to the wonderful success of Jesus
in winning disciples even beyond that of the
Baptist. Jesus, for prudential reasons, would
avoid a premature conflict with the Pharisees
of Jerusalem. There is no sufficient reason to
doubt this statement, although it is prefixed to
the story of the journey through Samaria, which
must be assigned to a much later time in the
life of Jesus.2
The Gospel of John does not mention the
arrest of the Baptist at this stage, and it is prob
able that it had not yet happened when Jesus
departed for Galilee, but that it occurred so soon
afterward that it might be assigned by Matthew
and Mark as a motive for the beginning of the

1 John iv. 1-3. 2 See p. 45.

16 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
preaching of the repentance and the near advent
of the kingdom of God.
If now we look back over the incidents thus
far considered as prior to this, the first Passover
of Jesus' ministry, we may conclude that the first
meeting of Jesus with the Baptist was due to
His journey from Galilee to Jerusalem to keep
the Feast of Tabernacles, and that it was on His
return from this feast that He went alone to the
Baptist to be baptized by him in the Jordan.
The first stage of the ministry of Jesus, there
fore, was between Tabernacles and Passover, and
this first Passover spent by Jesus and His disci
ples in Jerusalem marks essentially the boundary
between the preparatory work of the Baptist and
the ministry of Jesus. The work of Jesus up
to this time was a preparatory work under the
shadow of the Baptist, and therefore not consid
ered by Mark and his authority, St. Peter, as the
real beginning of the ministry of Jesus.

II
JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST
ACCORDING to Luke, Jesus and John the
Baptist were near relations through their
mothers, Mary and Elizabeth. Although Eliza
beth brought up her son in a city in the hill
country of Judah, and Jesus was brought up in
the distant Nazareth of Galilee, it is altogether
probable that other visits were made by Mary to
Elizabeth than that reported in Luke ; and that
at such visits Jesus and John became acquaint
ed as boys. The statement of Luke,1 that the
residence of Elizabeth was in a city of Judah in
the hill country, is too indefinite to be accurate.
The conjecture of Reland supported by Robin
son, that Judah stands for Juttah, a city of the
priests south of Hebron,2 is probably correct.
Moreover, Zacharias must have attended the
feasts at Jerusalem with his family, and twice in
the year he served there in his course as priest in
the temple. The visits of Jesus with His par-

1 Luke i. 39. * Josh. xv. 55, xxi. 16.

18 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ents to the feasts gave frequent opportunity for
renewing the acquaintance of Jesus and John
during the eighteen years subsequent to Jesus'
first visit to Jerusalem prior to the beginning of
His ministry. It is true that John the Baptist
is reported as saying : "J knew him not ; " 1
but the context indicates that this knowledge
was not that of personal acquaintance, but of
recognition of His special calling as Messiah.
Jesus and the Baptist first came into contact
in a public way when Jesus went to him for
baptism. At this time John, guided by the the
ophany which he received, recognizes Jesus as
the One greater than himself whom he had
heralded.2 Jesus immediately after His Baptism goes
for forty days, in the ecstatic state, into the wil
derness, and undergoes His temptation;3 after
which He visits the Baptist on His way to Gali
lee and is recognized by him as his Master. Two
of the Baptist's disciples join Jesus on the fol
lowing day, and on the third day Jesus returns
to Galilee.4
The next meeting of John and Jesus was at

1 John i. 31. s John i. 32-34.
5 Mark i. 12, 13. * John i. 29-43.

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 19
iEnon, near Salim, in the valley of the Jordan.
Jesus in the meantime had gathered about Him
a band of disciples. Jesus and these disciples
teach, make disciples, and baptize alongside of
John and his disciples. The disciples of the
Baptist were disturbed by this apparent rivalry
all the more that Jesus' success was greater than
that of their master.1 Accordingly disputes
arose respecting purifications2 and fasting.3 But
the Baptist distinctly recognized and stated to
his disciples that Jesus must increase while he
himself decreased.4
The motive for the departure of Jesus to
Galilee, the second time, as given in John,6 was
the opposition of the Pharisees to Him because
of His greater success in winning disciples than
John. This naturally implies that Jesus left for
Galilee while John was still working. The
statement of Mark,6 upon which Matthew7 is
based, that He withdrew into Galilee after the
arrest of John, is, as we have seen,8 either incor
rect, or was not meant to exclude an intro
ductory Galilean ministry. At all events the

1 John iii. 22-23, 26, iv. 1-2. 2 John iii. 25.
3 Mark ii. 18-22. i John iii. 25-30.
5 John iv. 1. 6 Mark i. 14.
' Matt. iv. 12. 8 See pp. 1 seq.

20 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
arrest of the Baptist could not have been long
after this second departure of Jesus into Galilee
and probably it was soon afterward.
The arrest of the Baptist is stated in Mark 1
and Matthew2 incidentally in connection with
their account of the opening of the Galilean
ministry. But the Gospels give a fuller account
at a much later date, incidentally again, as pre
paratory to the narrative of the martyrdom of
the Baptist.3 Luke, however, mentions the im
prisonment as supplementary to an account of
his work.4 The imprisonment is also mentioned
incidentally in Matthew,5 in connection with
the message of the Baptist to Jesus.
There are three important events which are in
chronological succession in the closing career of
the Baptist: (1) His imprisonment, (2) His
message to Jesus, (3) His death. These give
us a frame on which we may construct a large
part of the Galilean ministry of Jesus.
1. The arrest and imprisonment of the Bap
tist were due to his prophetic denunciation of
Herod for his illegal marriage with Herodias his
brother's wife. It is improbable that this could
1 Marki. 14. 2 Matt. iv. 12.
3 Mark vi. 17, 18 ; Matt. xiv. 3-5. 4 Luke iii. 19, 20.
5 Matt. xi. 2.

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 21
have occurred while Jesus was working with
him; otherwise Jesus also would have been
under suspicion by Herod and his satellites. It
is probable, therefore, that it did not occur until
after Jesus had departed into Galilee. But it
was probably soon after Jesus arrived in Galilee.
2. The Baptist while in prison sends a mes
sage to Jesus through two of his disciples. This
message is not given in Mark but in Matthew *
and Luke.2 The message was: "Art Thou he
that cometh, or look we for another?" This does
not imply any doubt in the Baptist's mind as to
the fact that Jesus was the One he had already
proclaimed him to be, as the One greater than
himself whose advent it was his privilege to
herald. But it implied a doubt whether Jesus
in all respects fulfilled the ideal of his prediction.
This was due to the complexity of the Messianic
ideals of the Old Testament,3 and also to the fact
that the Baptist had heralded the advent of God
in a day of judgment. He could not see his way
through the mazes of prophetic ideals. Jesus in
His reply tells these disciples of the Baptist to
report what they have seen and heard.

1 Matt. xi. 2-19- ' Luke vii. 18-35.
8 The Incarnation of the Lord, pp. 172 seq.

22 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
" The blind receive their sight ;
The lame walk ;
The lepers are cleansed ;
The deaf hear ;
The dead are raised up ;
The poor have good tidings preached to them ;
Blessed is he, whosoever shall find none occasion of stumbling
in me."
This logion is practically identical in both
reports and probably comes from the Logia of
Matthew. It implies therefore a considerable
amount of miracle-working and preaching by
Jesus. Indeed it was the report of this, that
came to the Baptist either by rumor or from
the testimony of his disciples, or from both,
which was the occasion of the message. We
may safely put the following incidents in the
second Galilean ministry prior to the message of
the Baptist:
(1.) The healing of the man with the withered
hand on a sabbath in the synagogue which im
mediately follows, in the three Synoptists,1 the
story of the plucking of the ears of grain on the
sabbath. Matthew puts both of these incidents
later, after the sending forth of the Twelve.
But Matthew's order is evidently not historical.

1 Mark iii. 1-6 ; Matt. xii. 9-14; Luke vi. 6-11.

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 23
The order of the other Synoptists is also topical.
The intense hostility of the Pharisees in con
nection with this healing is too early in the
development of the conflict of Jesus with them.
This event belongs at the close of this visit to
Galilee, just before going to the feast of Pen
tecost. For topical reasons it is given out of
place even in Mark.
(2.) The preaching by the seashore1 comes
next; then,
(3.) The appointment of the Twelve.2
(4.) The Sermon on the Mount is really, ac
cording to Luke, the discourse of Consecration
of the Twelve.3 This is enlarged in Matthew
v.-vii., by the addition of a great amount of ma
terial selected from logia given on many differ
ent occasions, according to Luke.
(5.) The healing of the Centurion's servant in
Capernaum soon follows.4 This is doubtless the
same as the similar story of John.5 It tells us
that Jesus was at Cana when the nobleman
sent to Him to come to Capernaum, which
implies a work in Cana after the Sermon on the
Mount, on the way to Capernaum.
1 Mark iii. 7-12. 2 Mark iii. 13-19a; Luke vi. 12-19.
3 Luke vi. 20-49. * Luke vii. 1-10; Matt. viii. 5-13.
5 John iv. 46-54.

24 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
(6.) Luke reports the raising of the widow's
son at Nain,1 prior to the message.
The narratives also imply an extended tour,
in which Jesus was followed by multitudes, and
during which He wrought many miracles.
Are these incidents sufficient to account for
the words of His message to the Baptist? A
leper was healed on His first tour.2 A dead boy
was raised in the second tour.3 But thus far
there has been no report of healing the blind,
lame, or deaf. Are we justified in including
these under the generic terms for healings given
in the previous narrative ? — or, must we put this
message of the Baptist later, after such miracles
are reported? — or, if we cannot take either of
these alternatives, are we to suppose this logion
was not exactly what Jesus said, but a summing
up of His miracle-working uttered later and
attached by the evangelist here for topical rea
sons ? Luke tells us : " In that hour he cured
many of diseases and plagues and evil spirits;
and on many that were blind he bestowed sight." 4
But this is not in Matthew and was not derived
from the Logia, and may be regarded as an

1 Luke vii. 11-17. ' Mark i. 40-45.
3 Luke vii. 11-17. * Luke vii. 21.

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 25
explanatory addition of Luke. In case the
logion was a topical addition to the narrative,
the answer of Jesus to the Baptist would be
simply His words to the two disciples : " Go
your way, and tell John what things ye have
seen and heard."1 This on the whole, seems
most probable under all the circumstances of
the case. If the view taken in another chapter
be correct2 that all this took place between
Passover and Pentecost, and that John the Bap
tist's arrest took place soon after Passover, then
the message must have been sent between thirty
and forty days after the arrest of John.
3. The final catastrophe of the beheading of
the Baptist is reported in the three Synoptists.3
This is given incidentally, some time after its oc
currence, in connection with Herod's alarm lest
Jesus might be John the Baptist risen from the
dead. The story is given by the three Synoptists
immediately before the Feeding of the multitude.
Mark and Luke let it immediately follow the
Commission of the Twelve. But Matthew in
serts a considerable amount of the ministry of
Jesus between the Commission and this story, all

1 Luke vii. 22 ; Matt. xi. 4. * See pp. 15, 52.
3 Mark vi. 14-29 ; Matt. xiv. 1-12 ; cf. Luke ix. 7-9-

26 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
of which is out of place. There is a great gap
here in the narrative of Mark, during the ab
sence of the Twelve, which we shall consider
later on. But at this point we must ask, what,
then, was the place of the death of the Baptist
in relation to the ministry of Jesus ? It is prob
able that there was a real connection between
the Commission of the Twelve and the death of
the Baptist. The putting of the Baptist to death
at the solicitation of Herodias, which Herod
commanded with great reluctance, with many
scruples, and much anxiety, doubtless made him
very sensitive to public opinions and supersti
tions. When the miracle-working and preaching
of Jesus was reported to him soon afterward, he
saw that Jesus was carrying on the work of the
Baptist with greater vigor and success, and he
feared that John the Baptist had risen from the
dead in the person of Jesus.
This put the work of Jesus and Jesus Him
self in great peril from Herod and his court.
This, therefore, was a reason why Jesus should
give over His mission in Galilee to the Twelve,
and retire Himself to another and safer field of
labor. If this be so, it is probable that the
death of John occurred shortly before the Com
mission of the Twelve. We may, therefore, put

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 27
the most of the remaining Galilean ministry of
Jesus prior to the death of the Baptist.
John v. reports a journey of Jesus to Jerusa
lem at a feast. If this was Pentecost, as we
shall show later on,1 it came a few days after the
message of the Baptist to Jesus. In His dis
course at this feast Jesus said to the Pharisees —
" Ye have sent unto John, and he hath borne wit
ness unto the truth. . . . He was the lamp that
burneth and shineih ; and ye were willing to re
joice for a season in his light." 2 Does this imply
that the Baptist was still alive or that he was
already dead ? These words do not suggest the
death of the Baptist. It seems probable that if
the Baptist had already suffered death, it would
have appeared in a reference to him at this
time. It is most natural to interpret these
words as referring to the testimony of one still
living, but whose career had diminished in im
portance. John3 states that after the Feast of Dedica
tion Jesus went into Peraea "into the place
where John was at the first baptizing; and there
he abode. And many came unto him ; and they
said, John indeed did nu sign, but all things what-

1 See p. 52. ' John v. 33-35. 3 John x. 40-41.

28 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
soever John spake of this man were true."1 This
speaks of John as if he were no longer living.
The death of John occurred, therefore, in all
probability between Pentecost and Dedication.
If the view taken in another chapter is correct,2
it occurred between Pentecost and Tabernacles.
If, as we suppose, John the Baptist was arrested
soon after Passover, he was put to death on the
subsequent birthday of Herod, a little before
Tabernacles of the same year. It is not likely
that his enemies would allow him to live any
longer than they could help.
Soon after the message of the Baptist Jesus
goes to the Feast of Pentecost, and then returns
for His third mission to Galilee. The earlier in
cidents are mentioned by Luke alone, namely:
(1) His anointing by a penitent woman in the
house of Simon.3
(2) He made a tour through Galilee accom
panied by several women as well as His other
disciples.4 (3) The three Synoptists report the anxiety
of His family respecting Him, in connection with
which He proclaims the true kinship of the

1 John x. 22. 2 See p. 43.
5 Luke vii. 36-50. i Luke viii. 1-3.

JESUS AND JOHN THE BAPTIST 29
family of God.1 Mark inserts here,2 sustained
by Matthew,3 material given by Luke 4 at a later
and better date. Probably this material was in
serted for topical reasons, and may be an addi
tion to the original Mark. It is chiefly com
posed of logia.
(4) Next come the parables of the Kingdom
spoken at the seaside,6 to which Matthew adds a
number of other parables of the Kingdom spoken
at other times.6
(5) Jesus then crosses the sea into the country
of the Gadarenes ; on the way he stills the tem
pest, and, arriving on the other side, heals a
demoniac.7 (6) Returning to the Galilean side of the sea,
Jesus raises Jairus' daughter from the dead, and
cures a woman from an issue of blood.8
(7) He then makes a final tour in Galilee,9
which may correspond with the one mentioned
in Luke,10 the latter beginning the narrative with

1 Markiii. 19b-21, 31-35 ; Matt. xii. 46-50 ; Luke viii. 8-19-
2 Mark iii. 22-30. 3 Matt. xii. 22-45. 4 Luke xi. 14-36.
5 Mark iv. 1-34 ; Luke viii. 4-18. 6 Matt. xiii. 1-53.
' Mark iv. 35-41, v. 1-20; Luke viii. 22-39; Matt. viii.
22-34. 8 Mark v. 21-43 ; Matt. ix. 18-26; Luke viii. 40-56.
' Mark vi. 6 ; Matt. ix. 35. I0 Luke viii. 1-3.

30 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the general statement, the former concluding
with the general statement.
Jesus now hears of the death of the Baptist
and the suspicion of Herod relating to himself,
and He commissions the Twelve to go in pairs
and carry on his Mission in Galilee,1 to which
Matthew2 adds many logia given by Luke in
connection with the commission of the Seventy,
and others belonging to the final Apostolic Com
mission.3

1 Mark vi. 7-13 ; Luke ix. 1-6. ' Matt. x. 1, 5-xi.l.
3 See The Apostolic Commission, Art. i. in Studies in Honor of
B. L. Gildersleeve.

Ill
THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY
THE Gospels of Mark and Matthew give
the sending forth of the Twelve, the Gos
pel of Luke the sending forth of both the Twelve
and the Seventy. The Gospel of John says
nothing about either event. It does not men
tion the Seventy at all. It mentions the Twelve
only twice, and even these passages may be
redactional. But, on the other hand, this Gospel
gives a group of seven disciples, and mentions
several names not known to the Synoptists.
These differences raise several difficult questions.
The story of Mark1 is simple. The sending
forth of the Twelve in pairs to preach repent
ance and work miracles is given without explicit
motive. The story of the death of John the
Baptist is inserted.2 Then the return of the
Twelve is given in connection with the Feeding
of the multitudes.3

1 Mark vi. 7-13. ' Mark vi. 14-29. ' Mark vi. 30-46.

32 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
The story of Luke1 is evidently based on
Mark, and gives nothing additional of any im
portance. But Luke also gives an account of
the sending forth of the Seventy2 and their
return3 in connection with a large amount of
material usually supposed to belong to the
Peraean ministry, unknown for the most part to
Matthew and Mark, and evidently derived from
a source unknown to these Evangelists.
A large amount of the material, in the form
of logia, spoken by Jesus in connection with the
sending forth and the return of the Seventy, is
given by Matthew in connection with the mission
and return of the Twelve.4 Between these is
inserted the sending of the disciples of the
Baptist to Jesus,5 given by Luke elsewhere. In
fact, as I have shown, Matthew heaps up in this
section a number of logia connected with the
ministry of the disciples, not only those uttered
by Jesus according to Luke on these two dif
ferent occasions, but also some belonging to the
final commission of the Twelve before His de
parture from the world to the Father.6 Many
1 Luke ix. 1-6. 2 Luke x. 1-16. 3 Luke x. 17-24.
4 Matt. x. 1-xi. 1, and xi. 20-27. 6 Matt. xi. 2-19.
6 The Apostolic Commission, Art. i. in Studies in Honor of B.
L. Gildersleeve.

THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY 33
of the logia scattered through those chapters of
Luke which are peculiar to him, are found in
Matthew attached to his version of the Sermon
on the Mount, the Woes of the Pharisees, and
the Eschatological Discourse, all derived from
the Logia of Matthew by our Gospels of Mat
thew and Luke, notwithstanding this difference
in the grouping of the material.
There is no sufficient reason why we should
doubt the mission of this second group of
disciples by Jesus. It is altogether probable
that the Twelve were commissioned for a
Galilean ministry, the Seventy for a Peraean
and Judaean ministry. It is a common opinion
that Jesus was accompanied by the Twelve
throughout His ministry, and that their absence
from Him was quite brief. This opinion is due
doubtless to the fact that the return from their
mission is given in the narrative so close to the
sending forth. But this, as in the case of the
Seventy also, was due to topical reasons and by
no means implies the close proximity in time of
the sending and the return. This mission, if
it amounted to anything, must have continued
several weeks at least.
There are in the Gospels of Matthew and
Mark many instances of calls to a special follow-

34 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ing of Jesus connected with the abandonment of
all things else, some accepted, others rejected —
calls which imply a larger circle of special
disciples than the Twelve, and which, therefore,
incidentally sustain another and a larger group
of ministers, such as the Seventy of Luke. Only
thus can we get a basis in the life of Jesus
for the two groups of the apostolic history, the
Twelve and the larger group of prophets such
as Barnabas, Ananias, Joseph, and Matthias, the
latter of whom was assigned the place of Judas
in the group of the Twelve. The term apostle
was not used by Jesus, but was first given
at Antioch in connection with the mission of
Barnabas and Paul, and was a comprehensive
term which was used indifferently for both of
these groups.
A careful study of the Gospels shows us that
there was indeed a natural and simple develop
ment in the calling, training, and sending forth
of the ministry by Jesus during His lifetime.
The Synoptic narrative tells of the call of the
four fishermen and of Matthew. The narrative
of John tells us of the call of Andrew and Simon,
Philip and Nathanael, and a fifth, probably John.
Nathanael is usually regarded as another name
for Bartholomew of the Synoptists ; but this is

THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY 35
by no means certain. How and when the others
named among the Twelve were called by Jesus
we are not told. But it was not long before a
group of Twelve was selected with Peter at the
head.1 The Sermon on the Mount, so called, accord
ing to the version of Luke which is nearest to
the original, was a discourse of consecration.
Matthew has attached to it a large amount of
material gathered from the Logia of Matthew,
given by the other Synoptists on many other
different occasions.
After continuing with Jesus as a group of
Twelve for some considerable time, they were
sent forth in pairs to conduct missions through
out Galilee. At this time Jesus gave them a
solemn charge. This mission continued until
shortly before the last journey of Jesus to Jeru
salem. It is probable that one of these pairs always
remained with Jesus ; at one time John and
James, at another Andrew and Peter, at another
Matthew and Thomas. But the Twelve, as a
whole, were absent on their mission from this
time forth until they rejoined Jesus just prior to

1 Mark iii. 13-19; Matt. x. 2-4; Luke vi. 12-19-

36 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the Feeding of the multitudes, which was only a
short time before the Passion of Jesus, and not
in the midst of His ministry, as is commonly
supposed. In the meanwhile Jesus was attaching other
disciples to Himself besides the Twelve, by special
calls, and preparing them for a special ministry.
Before setting forth upon His Peraean ministry,
He organizes Seventy of these in a group and
sends them forth in pairs to prepare the way
before Him in Peraea and in Judaea. These also
return to Him, probably on His last passage along
the border of Peraea on His way to Jerusalem.
The mission of the Seventy is not reported in
Mark because that Gospel depends upon the
preaching of Peter, and Peter seems to have
limited his testimony to that which he himself
had seen and heard. He was not present during
the Peraean and Judaean ministry of Luke and
John, and therefore makes no report of it, or of
the work of the Seventy with which he had
nothing to do.
The Gospel of Matthew is based on Mark and
the Logia of Matthew, which latter 1 was simply

1 See my articles, Expository Times, June, July, August,
November, 1897.

THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY 37
a collection of the wisdom of Jesus with occa
sional introductory incidents, but without his
torical narrative. These the author of our Gospel
of Matthew arranged as best he could in groups
on the basis of Mark's narrative. He had no
knowledge of the special sources used by Luke
and John, or of the historical material given in
those sources.
If the order in the development of the ministry
given above is correct, we have an important
help for the arrangement of the material relating
to the life of Jesus.
1. The calling of disciples to follow Jesus in a
life involving an abandonment of all else.
2. The selection of Twelve of these into a
special group, and their solemn setting apart.
3. The mission of these Twelve to Galilee.
4. The selection of a larger group of Seventy,
and their consecration.
5. The mission of the Seventy to Peraea and
Judaea. 6. The return of the Twelve near Bethsaida in
order to accompany Jesus to His last Passover.
7. The return of the Seventy on His last jour
ney along the border of Peraea to Jerusalem.
8. The final commission of the apostolic min
istry.

38 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
If now we take this as a framework for the
material given in the Gospels, it is evident that
the usual arrangement of the harmonists is in
correct. The material Mark vi. 30-ix.=Matt. xiv. 13-
xviii.=:Luke ix. 10-50 does not precede Luke
x.-xviii. 14, but follows it. Luke xviii. 15-34
coincides with Mark x. 13-34. The material
inserted here in Luke between ix. 50 and xviii. 15
is material, apart from the logia, derived from
another source unknown to Mark and Matthew.
Luke does not mingle the material derived from
this source with the material derived from Mark,
but follows Mark essentially as far as ix. 50, only
changing the order occasionally for topical rea
sons, and then gives his new material entirely by
itself. This new material, apart from the logia,
belongs for the most part to the Peraean minis
try, while Peter was absent from Jesus in Gal
ilee. There is no sound reason which compels
us to place this ministry subsequent to the entire
Galilean ministry, as the modern harmonists do.
The situation is similar with the material given
in John vii. 1-xi. 54. This is based on a source
unknown to the Synoptists. There is no sound
reason why it should be placed between Mark
ix. 50 and Mark x. 2. The single intervening

THE TWELVE AND THE SEVENTY 39
verse x. 1 may or may not correspond with Luke
ix. 51. The passages are not so similar that a
coincidence is evident. In the former Jesus
goes into the borders of Jordan and Peraea. In
the latter he goes steadfastly toward Jerusalem
through Samaria, which is very different. The
latter probably corresponds with the journey to
the Feast of Tabernacles,1 to which He went up
secretly through Samaria, the unusual route, to
avoid the publicity of the usual route by the
valley of the Jordan. The former probably was
much later, His last journey on which He cast
all secrecy and prudence aside, and therefore went
to Jerusalem by the usual route with all His
disciples by way of the Jordan, Jericho, and
Bethany. This arrangement of the material gives a bet
ter development to the narrative, explains the
silence of Mark as to the Peraean and Jerusalem
ministry by the absence of Peter, whose preach
ing was the basis of Mark, and puts a new light
upon many obscure problems.

1 John vii. 1-13.

IV

WHERE WAS JESUS DURING THE ABSENCE OF
THE TWELVE?1
THE sending forth of the Twelve was for
a mission in Galilee.2 They went in pairs,
therefore, in six different circuits. This mission
must have taken some considerable time ; for it
contemplates the going from one city to another
and from house to house, and the sojourning for
a time in houses and cities, because directions
are given respecting just these things. All this
could not have been accomplished in a few days.
A comprehensive mission seems to have been
contemplated so as to reach entire Galilee.
The return is given in close connection with
the sending.3 These Evangelists insert accounts

1 I have asked several eminent New Testament scholars this
question, but not one of them had thought of it before, or
could give me an answer. So far as I am aware, the har
monists and authors of Lives of Jesus have not considered it.
2 Mark vi. 7-13 ; Matt. ix. 36-xi. 1 ; Luke ix. 1-6.
3 Mark vi. 30 ; Luke ix. 10.

DURING THE ABSENCE OF THE TWELVE 41
of the death of John the Baptist,1 motived by
the fact that Herod heard of the great work of
Jesus, and was so disturbed by it that he sup
posed that John the Baptist had risen from
the dead in Jesus. This is given by Matthew 2
immediately before the Feeding of the multi
tude, without any mention of the return of
the Twelve. That Gospel inserts a considerable
amount of material here.
(1) An account of the message of the Baptist
to Jesus,3 which is given by Luke at an earlier
and more probable date.4
(2) A number of logia follow,6 the most of
which are given by Luke more appropriately in
connection with the return of the Seventy.6
(3) Matthew also gives, before the Feeding of
the multitudes, various incidents reported by
Mark and Luke at other dates.7

1 Mark vi. 14-29 = Luke ix. 7-9 2 Matt. xiv. 1-12.
3 Matt. xi. 2-19- 4 Luke vii. 18-35.
5 Matt. xi. 20-30. 6 Luke x. 13-24.
' (a) Matt. xii. 1-21 = Markii. 23— iii. 12 = Lukevi. 1-11 ;
(b) Matt. xii. 22-50 = Mark iii. 19b-35 — incidents given by
Luke at two different times, the former (xi. 14-36) at a later
date, the latter (viii. 19-21) at an earlier date ; (c) Matt. xiii.
1-53, the parables by the sea = Mark iv. 1-34 = Luke viii.
4-18 ; and (d) Matt. xiii. 54-58, the rejection at Nazareth =
Mark vi. 1-6 = Luke iv. 16-30.

42 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Mark and Luke make no statement whatever
as to what Jesus did in the absence of the
Twelve. But Matthew tells us : 1 " And it came
to pass, when Jesus had made an end of com
manding his twelve disciples, he departed thence
to teach and preach in their cities." This is a
general statement, which this Gospel adds to
the Markan source, and is indeed most proba
ble in itself. But it does not tell us where Jesus
carried on His ministry. It is not probable that
He reserved a seventh circuit in Galilee to Him
self, or that He went with one pair on one of
these circuits. It is much more probable that
having divided up Galilee among the Twelve,
He Himself, either alone or, more likely, with
one of these pairs, went elsewhere to carry on
His ministry. The insertion of so many inci
dents by Matthew prior to the Feeding of the
multitudes, in connection with which Mark, fol
lowed by Luke, gives the return of the Twelve —
although Matthew does not mention the return
at all — yet implies that the author of this Gospel
supposed there was a considerable ministry of
Jesus during that interval. Some of these inci
dents given by Matthew in this interval really

1 Matt. xi. 1.

DURING THE ABSENCE OF THE TWELVE 43
belong there. But Mark's order in most cases
is to be preferred; in others, that of Luke.
We must recognize however the effort of the
author of Matthew to fill up this gap.
If it is reasonable to suppose that Jesus, dur
ing the absence of the Twelve would carry on
His ministry elsewhere than in Galilee, then we
have a gap of time in which we may place the
Jerusalem ministry of the Gospel of John and
the Peraean ministry of the Gospel of Luke,
both absent from the Gospel of Mark because
Peter was on a mission in Galilee all this time.
And, indeed, this ministry in Jerusalem and
Peraea fits into this space with the utmost ex
actness and nicety. It is evident from Mark
and Luke that the anxiety of Herod was a real
peril for the continuance of Jesus' work, and was
a sufficient motive for giving over His Galilean
ministry to the Twelve, while He Himself re
tired elsewhere.
Luke,1 at the beginning of the matei-ial derived
by this Evangelist from another source than
Mark, tells us that Jesus set His face to go to
Jerusalem, and that He went by way of Samaria.
This unusual route to Jerusalem, instead of the

1 Luke ix. 51-56.

44 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
usual route by the valley of the Jordan, was
doubtless because of the peril from Herod and
the need of a secret journey. The brother pair,
James and John, accompanied Him on this
journey to Jerusalem, as is evident from the first
incident in Samaria, where their names are men
tioned and no others. There is no evidence of
the presence of any others of the Twelve.
This journey may be put in parallelism with
the journey described in John.1 Jesus does not
go up to the Feast of Tabernacles with His
brethren in a public way, but in secret ; and He
does not appear in public until the midst of the
feast.2 During this feast the visjt to Martha
and Mary in Bethany3 doubtless occurred. It is
probable that the Seventy were sent forth from
Jerusalem on their mission to Peraea and Judaea.
From Jerusalem Jesus follows in the footsteps
of the Seventy in a ministry in Peraea,4 which
concludes with a journey to Jerusalem.6 This
journey seems to correspond with that reported
in John6 at the Feast of Dedication, from which
He returns to Peraea.7
The ministry in Peraea included the incidents

1 John vii. 2-14. 2 John vii. 10-14. 3 Luke x. 38-42.
' Luke x. 25-37, xi.-xiii. 21. 5 Luke xiii. 22.
6 John x. 22-39. ' John x. 40.

DURING THE ABSENCE OF THE TWELVE 45
and teaching mentioned in Luke,1 for the most
part at least, although the exact connection of
the logia is by no means certain. From this
ministry Jesus is suddenly recalled to Jerusalem
by the death of Lazarus.2 The raising of
Lazarus from the dead excited so great atten
tion that Jesus was in great danger from the
authorities, and He retires to Ephraim on the
borders of Samaria.3
It is probable that the journey northward to
Galilee through Samaria4 occurred at this time.
He was in peril, both from the authorities of
Jerusalem and also from Herod, and the safest
journey was just this one. He was on the
borders of Samaria at Ephraim, and the journey
through Samaria was the easiest from this place.
The statement " Say not ye, There are yet four
months, and then cometh the harvest ? " 6 exactly
suits this time. Moreover, the explicit statement
of His Messiahship suits this period of His min
istry, and could hardly have come much earlier.
The order of the material of John is certainly
not chronological but topical, as Tatian recog
nized.6 At this time John and James alone of

1 Luke xiv.-xvii. 10. 2 John xi. s John xi. 54.
4 John iv. 3-43. 6 John iv. 35.
6 He puts the journey through Samaria after Mark vii. 24-37.

46 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the Twelve were with Jesus, and therefore
John's Gospel tells us of these things and
Peter's Gospel does not mention them. Indeed,
these brothers had been with him in Samaria.
They would be especially valuable to Jesus in
Jerusalem because of their important acquaint
anceship there.1 They, if any of the Twelve,
would remain with him during his ministry there,
and return with him through Samaria to Galilee.
Arriving in Galilee, Jesus comes at once into
peril from Herod, and therefore He avoids re
newing His ministry in Galilee and hurries
northward to Tyre and Sidon.2 It is probable
that the preaching in Nazareth and His rejection
there occurred on His way. The Synoptists are
in disagreement as to the time.3 It is more ap
propriate here because of the explicit statement
of Jesus' Messiahship with the implication of
His impending sufferings and the hostile temper
of the Nazarenes.4
Here Mark resumes his narrative, and it is

1 John xviii. 15-16. 2 Mark vii. 24-30.
3 Mark vi. 1-6; Matt. xiii. 54-58; Luke iv. 16-30.
4 The logion, John iv. 44, certainly was uttered at Nazareth,
and suggests that the discourse at Nazareth immediately fol
lowed the journey through Samaria. As I shall show later,
there has been a displacement of the original John here.
See p. 151.

DURING THE ABSENCE OF THE TWELVE 47
probable that Peter and Andrew join Jesus
at Nazareth for the journey northward, while
John and James depart. From Phoenicia Jesus
journeys along the northern borders of Galilee
to Northern Decapolis,1 and so to Bethsaida,
where He is rejoined by the entire Twelve.2 It
is significant that the feeding of the four thou
sand, which is probably only a variant tradition
of the feeding of the five thousand, is placed by
Mark3 and Matthew4 after the journey from
Sidon by way of Decapolis. The feeding of the
five thousand is reported in John.6 Andrew and
Philip, representing two pairs of the Twelve,
are mentioned as with him. It is also stated
that " the passover, the feast of the Jews, ivas
at hand,"6 which exactly suits this time. The
harmonists, even Tatian, place this event too
early, and therefore find it difficult to explain the
discourse of Jesus in Capernaum, which follows
just after crossing the sea,7 which offends many
of His disciples and brings on the crisis in which
the Twelve recognize Him distinctly as the
Messiah.8 1 Mark vii. 31. 2 Mark vi. 30 = Luke ix. 10.
3 Mark viii. 1-9- 4 Matt. xv. 32-38.
6 John vi. 1-15. 6 John vi. 4. 7 John vi. 16-66.
8 John vi. 17 states that He crossed to Capernaum; Mark
vi. 53, Matt. xiv. 34, to the plain of Gennesaret; Matt.

48 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
This recognition, however, according to the
Synoptists, does not occur at Capernaum but at
Caesarea Philippi,1 whither they hastened after a
brief tarry at Bethsaida.2 These rapid move
ments indicate a consciousness of grave peril.
This is the readjustment of the order of events
in the life of Jesus which is required by the
answer to the question, Where was Jesus during
the absence of the Twelve ? It solves a number of
the most difficult problems of the New Testa
ment, explains the silence of Mark as to the
ministry in Peraea and Judaea, and the full report
of John as to the Jerusalem ministry, and his
implicit agreement with the full report of Luke

xv. 39 that He crossed to the borders of Magadan ; Mark
viii. 10 to the parts of Dalmanutha. Mark vi. 45 states that
their real destination was Bethsaida. Gennesaret is a general
term of the plain on the border of which Capernaum was
situated. Magadan may be another name for Magdala, which
is on the south side of the plain, as Capernaum is on the
north. Dalmanutha may be a more precise designation of
the place, which has not yet been identified. All these
places were within a few miles of each other. The calm
after the storm compelled them to seek the nearest land.
1 Mark viii. 27-30; Matt. xvi. 13-20; Luke ix. 18-21.
2 It is evident that the original plan of going to Bethsaida
was carried out because of the healing of the blind man
there before the journey north to Caesarea Philippi (Mark
viii. 22-26).

DURING THE ABSENCE OF THE TWELVE 49
as to the Peraean ministry. It also fills the gap
in time which the absence of ten of the Twelve
requires by a sufficient amount of active ministry
of Jesus to satisfy all conditions of the problem.
It also explains the movements of Jesus in ac
cordance with the perils of His position, and
enables us to see how the crisis is brought on
which finally removes every reason for caution
and justifies Him in making a distinct announce
ment of His Messiahship. Thus He secures His
definite acceptance as Messiah by His chief dis
ciples, and is enabled to give them a clear warn
ing of His impending death and resurrection just
before He makes His last journey to Jerusalem,
to the cross and the crown.

V
HOW MANY AND WHAT FEASTS DID JESUS
ATTEND ?
THE Synoptists mention only one feast
which Jesus attended, the Passover, in
connection with which He was crucified. John's
Gospel also mentions this Passover, but there is
a grave difference between John and the Synop
tists as to the day of the crucifixion, whether it
occurred on the day of the Passover, or the day
before. The discussion of this difference I shall
reserve for the present.
It may also be said that another earlier Pass
over is implied in the story of the plucking and
eating ripe grain.1 The public ministry of Jesus
according to the Synoptists might thus be em
braced in a period of a little more than a year.
But the Gospel of John mentions several
feasts :
1. Passover, John ii. 13.
2. A feast unnamed, John v. 1.
3. Passover, John vi. 4

1 Mark ii. 23-28 ; Luke vi. 1-5 ; Matt. xii. 1-8. See p. 14.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 51
4. Tabernacles, John vii. 2.
5. Dedication, John x. 22.
6. Passover, John xi. 55.
If the narrative of John be chronological, we
have three Passovers defined, which gives us a
ministry of two years and upward. The feast
undefined 1 is regarded as a Passover by Robin
son. This would make a ministry of three years
and upward. But though a pupil of Robinson
and his successor, following him for many
years in this opinion, I can no longer hold it.
All the other feasts are defined in this Gospel.
We might say that the author who left this feast
undefined most probably did not know which
one it was. The argument of Robinson is based
on the Hebrew usage of making the noun defi
nite by the construct relation which is repre
sented in Greek by the genitive.2 This usage
must be recognized as a possibility; but it is by
no means certain in this case. The Sinaitic
codex of the Gospel gives the definite article with
the principal noun. But this cannot be given
much weight over against the absence of the
article in the other great Uncials of the New
Testament.1 John v. 1. 2 Robinson's Harmony, pp. 190 seq.

52 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
But even if we had sufficient evidence that
this feast was made definite by the article, it by
no means follows that it was the Passover. All
the examples given by Robinson in which the
feast refers to the Passover are in a context in
which the Passover had been already mentioned.
He gives no example in which the feast, at the
beginning of a narrative, by itself, stands for the
Passover ; and even if a few instances could be
given, it would not prove that it must always be
so, or that it was certainly so in this particular
case. It is true that Irenaeus, Eusebius, Theo-
doret, and other early writers held that this feast
was a Passover. But Tatian, Jerome, Cyril,
Chrysostom held it to be Pentecost, and so
Erasmus, Calvin, Beza, Bengel, and others. The
feast of Purim was first suggested by Kepler,
who has been followed by many modern scholars
such as Neander, Olshausen, Tholuck, Meyer,
and Lange. Under these circumstances we may
say that the text does not determine the ques
tion. We must decide upon other grounds if at
all. It seems to be most probable that it was
Pentecost.1 We have now to consider the other feasts.
1 See p. 25.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 53
Can we be sure that the three Passovers men
tioned were all different Passovers ? Can we be
sure that the narrative of John's Gospel is chron
ological ? Tatian did not think so, for he puts
the cleansing of the temple and the interview of
Jesus with Nicodemus at the last Passover. The
Synoptists all place the cleansing of the temple
at the last Passover, and that is for many rea
sons the most probable time of its occurrence.
Jesus would not have forced the issue between
Himself and the Sanhedrim, at the beginning of
His ministry in Jerusalem, when, even according
to John, He prudentially postponed the crisis as
long as possible.
It is altogether improbable that this violent
and revolutionary act was repeated. The story of
the interview with Nicodemus is certainly given
in John too early in the development of the
teaching of Jesus. Moreover the narrative itself
implies many miracles.1 But the only miracle
recorded prior to this narrative is the one at the
marriage feast at Cana, which certainly Nico
demus and the Jerusalemites had not witnessed,
and which they could only have heard of by rumor
if at all, and which therefore could not have had

1 John ii. 23, iii. 2.

54 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
any great influence upon a man like Nicodemus,
or have won the faith of any of the people of
Jerusalem. The interview with Nicodemus seems to have
occurred at an earlier date than the last Pass
over, but not at so early a time as the order of
John's Gospel would imply, if its order be re
garded as chronological. These two incidents
are placed here by the author of John's Gospel
for topical reasons.
The Passover of John vi. 4, which was said to
be "at hand " at the time of the Feeding of the
multitude, was not a third intermediate Pass
over, but the last Passover ; for it was immedi
ately after the Feeding of the multitude, and
soon after this event Jesus goes up to Jerusalem
to His last Passover as we have seen.1
Accordingly the three Passovers of John's
Gospel are not different Passovers, but one and
the same Passover, and thus the supposed differ
ences between John and the Synoptic Gospels,
in this respect, disappear. There were but two
Passovers which Jesus attended, and His min
istry may be embraced in less than two years.
The Gospel of John mentions the Feast of
1 See p. 47.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 55
Tabernacles,1 and the Feast of Dedication.2 The
Feast of Dedication was not, to use modern
ecclesiastical terms, a feast of obligation. But
the Feast of Pentecost was one of the three
feasts of obligation for which every pious Jew
went up to Jerusalem to worship. It is improb
able that Jesus would violate the Law. The
unnamed Feast3 was probably just this feast. If
this be so, the Feasts recorded in John's Gospel
give us a framework for the ministry of Jesus
between the two Passovers — John v. 1 gives us
Pentecost, John vii. 2 Tabernacles, John x. 22
Dedication. I have already shown that Mark ii.
23-28, Luke vi. 1-5, Matt. xii. 1-8, imply a
Passover just past, and that Jesus probably be
gan His ministry soon after the previous Feast
of Tabernacles.4
We have then the following framework for
the life of Jesus :
1. Tabernacles, October.
2. Passover, April.
3. Pentecost, June.
4. Tabernacles, October.
5. Dedication, December.
6. Passover, April.

1 John vii. 2. 2 John x. 22. 3 John v. 1. 4 See p. 16.

56 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
I have shown that the first Galilean ministry
and the earlier Judaean ministry were prior to the
first Passover.1 I have also shown that the se
lection and the sending forth of the Twelve and
all the related material of the Galilean ministry
belong prior to the Jerusalem ministry, at Tab
ernacles and Dedication, and also prior to the
Peraean ministry of Luke and John.2 The jour
ney to Jerusalem at Pentecost alone interrupts
the Galilean ministry. I have shown that the
journey through Samaria of John iv. is out of
its historical order and really was subsequent
to Dedication ; and that Jesus then makes His
last journey to Galilee, goes northward to Phoe
nicia, then to the Northern Decapolis, and meets
His disciples at Bethsaida just prior to the Feed
ing of the multitudes ; and that this was just
before the last Passover.3 So soon as we aban
don the opinion that the order of John's Gospel
is chronological, the separate incidents may all
be arranged in a simple and natural harmony on
the framework of the Feasts as given above.
There remains to be considered the discrepan
cy between John and the Synoptists as to the
last Passover. Mark states that " on the first

1 See p. 13 seq. ' See p. 21 seq. ' See p. 45.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 57
day of unleavened bread, when they sacrificed
the Passover," the disciples were instructed to
make ready to eat the Passover, and that they
made ready the Passover in the guest chamber
to which Jesus directed them.1 The natural
implication from this is that they not only se
cured a chamber for the Paschal meal, but also
made the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb in the
temple according to the Law, and prepared the
flesh with the unleavened bread and the bitter
herbs and the wine prescribed for the meal ; and
that therefore, when it was evening,2 Jesus and
His disciples ate the Paschal lamb prior to the
institution of the Lord's supper.3 Matthew 4 evi
dently depends upon Mark as its source ; for it
condenses the statement of Mark6 into three
verses,6 making it more evident that Jesus Him
self selected the place of the meal.
Luke 7 tells us that it was Peter and John who
made these preparations. He probably had
another source of information as to this event
than Mark. He also puts the statement of time
in a different form. "And the day of unleavened

1 Mark xiv. 12-16. 2 Mark xiv. 17.
9 Mark xiv. 18-25. * Matt. xxvi. 17-36.
5 Mark xiv. 12-16. 6 Matt. xxvi. 17-19-
' Luke xxii. 7-13.

58 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
bread came, on which the Passover must be sacri
ficed."1 The difficulty with these statements of
the Synoptists is that they do not altogether
conform to the law of the Passover.
That law2 puts the sacrifice of the Passover
on the fourteenth of the first month between the
evenings, probably between three o'clock in the
afternoon and sundown. The feast of unleavened
bread begins on the fifteenth of the month, and
continues for a week until the twenty-first. The
first day was a great sabbath of holy convoca
tion, the first of the seven great sabbaths, while
the seventh or last day of the Feast was the
second great sabbath. The Hebrew day began
with sunset, the fifteenth day began with night
fall of the fourteenth, and on that evening the
Paschal lamb was eaten. How, then, can the
Synoptists say that the Jews were accustomed
to sacrifice the Passover on the first day of un
leavened bread ?
It might be said that the eating of the Pas
chal sacrifice was on that day ; but not the sacri
fice itself. We might say that the author uses
sacrifice in the sense of eating of the victim.

1 Luke xxii. 7.
2 Ex. xii. 2 seq; Lev. xxiii. 5 ; Num. xxviii. 16 seq.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 59
But then how could the preparation be made on
that day ? Indeed it seems rather late in a
crowded city to postpone all preparations until
the very day of the sacrifice. The lamb must be
selected according to the Law on the tenth day,
that is four days before the sacrifice.1 This
selection could hardly have been neglected. It
is indeed quite possible that the casting of the
traders out of the temple on the tenth day was
due to an attempt to defraud His disciples in the
purchase of the Paschal lamb.2
Dr. Robinson urges that " it was customary
for the Jews, on the fourteenth day of Nisan,
to cease from labor at or before midday ; and to
put away all leaven out of their houses before
noon ; and to slay the Paschal lamb toward the
close of the day. Hence, in popular usage, the
fourteenth day came very naturally to be reckoned
as the beginning or first day of the festival ; —
and Josephus could say that the festival was cel
ebrated for eight days." 3 This argument is that
the Gospels are using popular rather than legal
language. This is possible and might be accepted, were

1 Ex. xii. 3. 2 See p. 103.
3 Harmony Appendix Pt. VIII. iii. ; Josephus B. J. iii. 1 ;
Ant. XI. iv. 8; ii. 15. 1.

60 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
it not for the statement of the Gospel of John
which implies that Jesus did not eat the Passover
with His disciples, but was crucified on the day of
the Passover.
(1) John1 states that the great farewell dis
course of Jesus took place before the Passover.
(2) The Jews on the day of the arrest and
crucifixion " entered not into the judgment hall
that they might not be defiled, but might eat the
Passover."* This implies that they ate the
Passover the night of the crucifixion and not be
fore. (3) The preparation of the Passover on the day
of crucifixion 3 implies that it was the day before
the Paschal meal.
(4) " The preparation . . . for the day of that
sabbath was a high day,"* implies the fifteenth
of Nisan, the great sabbath of the first day of
unleavened bread, on the morrow after the death
of Jesus ; and the connection of the great sab
bath with the weekly sabbath.
(5) It may also be urged that the supposition
that Judas went forth just prior to the Lord's
supper to buy what things they had need of for

1 John xiii. 1 . J John xviii. 28.
3 John xix. 14. 4 John xix. 31.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 61
the feast," 1 refers to the need of the Paschal
meal the next evening, and that the meeting of
the Sanhedrim to condemn Jesus was unlawful
on the sabbath and great festival days.
All this makes it evident that John repre
sents that Jesus was crucified on the day of the
sacrifice of the Paschal lamb, and that He did
not in fact eat the Passover with His disciples,
but instituted the Lord's supper at an ordinary
meal the evening before. This is doubtless more
suited to the conception of Jesus as Himself the
Paschal lamb, offered at the legal time; and
may also be at the basis of Paul's conception
that Jesus Himself is " our Passover."2 These
several statements of the Gospel of John are
much stronger than the single statement of the
Synoptists, which has, as we have seen, its in
trinsic difficulties. The error is probably in the
Synoptists. Is it a real error or only an apparent
one, and is it possible of adjustment?
Resch gives, as in the original Hebrew Gospel
upon which the Gospels depend, nesn mpa, which
would yield the translation, before the Passover.3
If, however, it were read DTpa, taking it as adjec
tive, we would get the rendering: on the first

1 John xiii. 27-30. 2 1 Cor. v. 7.
3 Resch, Die Logia Jesu. 1898. s. 184.

62 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
day of the Passover. The variation of Luke
from Mark here is less important. The question
is as to the original of Mark. If the original
Mark was Hebrew, did it read as Delitzsch
gives it, nisan anb ¦jitesia, or as Resch suggests,
norm oipa, or nisan oipa, or simply nisan nip.
The technical language is doubtless that given
by Delitzsch, but that technical language applies
to the fifteenth of the month, the day after the
sacrifice of the Passover, and could not there
fore be used in popular language for the day be
fore. It is therefore much more probable that
in the more popular language Dip would be used.
If so Dip, as written without vowel points, might
be interpreted either as a preposition, before,
or as an adjective, first. There is probably an
error of interpretation of the Hebrew Mark by the
Greek Mark at the basis of the entire difficulty.
If we interpret the original as a preposition and
render : " before the feast of unleavened bread,
when they sacrificed the Passover, His disciples
say unto Him," the difficulty disappears ; for the
feast of unleavened bread is used in the general
sense as comprehending the entire Passover, as is
explained indeed by Luke -1 and before that feast

1 Luke xxii. 1.

HOW MANY FEASTS DID JESUS ATTEND? 63
is before the first event of the feast, the sacrifice
of the Paschal lamb, and therefore the day be
fore that sacrifice, the thirteenth of Nisan.
This is confirmed by the statement of Mark 1
that Judas arranged with the Sanhedrim to be
tray Jesus two days before the Passover, that is
the twelfth of Nisan. The language of Mark
would most naturally refer to the following day,
the thirteenth of Nisan, and Dip thus stands for
the day before Passover.
In this way all difficulty disappears, and we
may follow with confidence John's representa
tion that Jesus was offered up as the Paschal
lamb on the fourteenth of Nisan, and that the
Jews celebrated the Passover meal while Jesus
was lying in the grave. Thus the statement of
John2 that the scripture " a bone of him shall not
be broken " was fulfilled, in the neglect of the
soldiers to break his legs, as they did the legs of
those crucified with him ; and the statement of
St. Paul that Jesus Himself is " our Passover," s
were based on the event itself of the crucifixion
of Jesus as the Paschal sacrifice.

1 Mark xiv. 1. 2 John xix. 36. s 1 Cor. v. 7.

VI
THE PER^AN MINISTRY
THE only reference to the Peraean ministry in
Mark is placed subsequent to the Gali
lean ministry: 1 "And He arose from thence, and
cometh into the borders of Jud&a and beyond
Jordan : and multitudes come together unto him
again; and, as he was wont, he taught them
again." This is given in essentially the same
form in Matthew.2 It is in connection with the
final journey to Jerusalem by the valley of the
Jordan through Peraea. The ministry could have
been but brief, a few days only. The journey
corresponds with the journey reported by Luke :s
"And it came to pass, as they were on the way
to Jerusalem, that He was passing between*
Samaria and Galilee." It is often identified by
harmonists with the earlier journey mentioned
by Luke,6 but that is altogether improbable.

1 Mark x. 1. 2 Matt. xix. 1, 2. 8 Luke xvii. 11.
4 So Revised Version margin, which is preferred to through
the midst of in the text.
5 Luke ix. 51.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 65
The material given by Mark in this connection
is the following :
1. The Question of the Pharisees concerning
Divorce. 1
2. The Blessing of Little Children.2
3. The Counsel of Perfection.3
4. An Announcement of His Death and Res
urrection. 4
5. Rebuke of the Ambition of James and
John.6 The next incident is the healing of the blind
man near Jericho in Judaea. These events are in
this same order in all of the Synoptists, and it is
probably correct. Luke gives in addition, prior
to (2) and evidently before the arrival in Peraea:
(a) the Healing of the Lepers,6
(b) the Discourse as to the Advent of the
Kingdom,7 (c) the Parable of the Unjust Judge,8
(d) the Parable of the Pharisee and the
Publican.9

1 Mark x. 2-12; Matt. xix. 3-12.
8 Mark x. 13-16; Matt. xix. 13-15; Luke xviii. 15-17.
3 Mark x. 17-31 ; Matt. xix. l6-xx. 16; Luke xviii. 18-30.
4 Mark x. 32-34 ; Matt. xx. 17-19 ; Luke xviii. 31-34.
6 Mark x. 35-45 ; Matt. xx. 20-28.
6 Luke xvii. 11-19- 7 Luke xvii. 20-37.
8 Luke xviii. 1-8. 9 Luke xviii. 9-14.

66 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
(a) and (b) are probably in their proper place,
although the greater part of the material of (b) is
combined by Matthew xxiv. with the great es-
chatological discourse in Jerusalem. The two
parables (c) and (d), given only by Luke, have a
topical propriety here as subsequent to the ques
tion of the Pharisees as to the kingdom, and it
may be that they are in their historical place.
But we cannot be sure of it.
The Gospel of John, however, gives us an
earlier Peraean ministry: "And he went away
again beyond Jordan into the place where John
was at the first baptizing ; and there he abode.
And many came unto him; and they said, John in
deed did no sign : but all things whatsoever John
spake of this man were true. And many believed
on him there.1 This cannot be identified with
the Peraean ministry above-mentioned. It was
a prior ministry in Peraea unknown to Mark and
Matthew. This ministry was subsequent to the
feast of Dedication. It was from Peraea that
Jesus came to Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from
the dead.2 In the above statement of John 3 the
word again implies a visit to Peraea prior to this,

1 John x. 40-42. " John xi. 6, 7.
3 John x. 40.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 67
that is before the feast of Dedication, probably
between Tabernacles and Dedication.
When now we turn to Luke we find a Peraean
ministry of considerable extent, which may be
assigned in part to the earlier ministry suggested
by John, and in part to the later ministry stated
by John. As we have seen in a previous chap
ter the Seventy were sent forth on a mission to
Peraea in advance of Jesus Himself. They were
probably sent from Jerusalem after the feast
of Tabernacles. Jesus followed in their foot
steps. These two ministries of Jesus in Peraea
are distinguished also in Luke, for he tells of a
journey toward Jerusalem,1 which probably
corresponds with the journey to the feast of
Dedication. To the earlier ministry in Peraea
we may assign the greater part of what Luke
gives prior to this journey, namely :
1. The question as to prayer and the giving
of the Lord's Prayer. This was appropriate in
the scene of the Baptist's ministry, for Jesus is
asked to teach His disciples to pray as John also
taught his disciples. The incident is accompan
ied by an appropriate parable and a logion.2
The logion and the prayer are given out of place

1 Luke xiii. 22. ! Luke xi. 1-13.

68 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
by Matthew, attached to the Sermon on the
Mount. 2. The casting out of a demon from a dumb
man. J This is given by Matthew 2 at an earlier
date. But Luke's order is most probable.
This is followed by a warning against evil
spirits and the sin against the Holy Spirit,3 which
is given in Mark 4 in connection with an earlier
event, but evidently for topical reasons, as Mark
does not give the healing of the demoniac,
which is the natural basis for the discourse.
This is followed in both Luke B and Matthew 6
by the demand for a sign and the mention of the
sign of Jonah, which are given here out of place
for topical reasons. It is probably the same as the
demand for a sign at the close of the Galilean
ministry, just before the last journey to Jerusa
lem, and therefore too early. Luke7 inserts the
incident of the woman pronouncing the mother
of Jesus blessed, which doubtless belongs here.
But Luke 8 gives a series of logia given by Mat
thew in part in his version of the Sermon on the

1 Luke xi. 14. ' Matt. xii. 22, 23.
' Luke xi. 15-26 ; Matt. xii. 24-32, 43-45.
4 Mark iii. 19-30. 5 Luke xi. 29-32.
6 Matt. xii. 38-42. ' Luke xi. 27, 28.
8 Luke xi. 33-36.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 69
Mount, and in part by Luke1 and Mark2 on
another occasion. So also Matthew3 gives
logia not in Luke. These logia were all derived
from the Logia of Matthew and are given by both
evangelists in these places for topical reasons.
3. Jesus breakfasts with a Pharisee,4 when
there is a discussion as to ceremonial purification
before meals ; which reminds us of a similar dis
cussion in Mark 6 and Matthew.6 There it was
the disciples who were challenged, here Jesus
Himself. The former was at the close of the
Galilean ministry, the latter is given by Luke
here. It is possible that they are variant tra
ditions of the same event. If so, Luke, for top
ical reasons, has given it out of place as an in
troduction to the woes pronounced against the
Pharisees 7 which are given by Matthew in con
nection with the struggle with the Pharisees in
Jerusalem in Passion week.
4. This is followed by a warning against the
Pharisees,8 which may be in place. But it is fol
lowed by a series of logia,9 given by Matthew
and Mark and even Luke himself elsewhere —
thus doubtless in all cases for topical reasons.

1 Luke viii. 16. 2 Mark iv. 21. 3 Matt. xii. 36, 37.
4 Luke xi. 37-39. 5 Mark vii. 1-23. 6 Matt. xv. 1-20.
' Luke xi. 42-54. 8 Luke xii. 1. 9 Luke xii. 2-12.

70 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
5. Next comes the request of a man that
Jesus may intercede with his brother as to his
inheritance.1 This is followed by the parable
of the rich fool,2 which very probably belongs
here. To it are attached kindred logia,3 given
by Matthew in his version of the Sermon on the
Mount, followed by parables,4 given by Matthew
in connection with the great eschatological dis
course ; and a series of logia 8 given by Matthew
in three different connections. These are all
given here for topical reasons, and have no spe
cial propriety at this time rather than another.6
6. The reference to the Galileans slain by
Pilate in Jerusalem, with the parable of the fig
tree,7 probably belongs here.
7. The healing of the woman with an infirmity
in a synagogue on the Sabbath 8 is also probably
in its proper historical place. To this the para
bles of the grain of mustard seed and the leaven
are added,9 given by Matthew in connection
with his collection of the parables of the kingdom.
All of this material is given by Luke prior
to the journey to Jerusalem, which was to the

1 Luke xii. 13-15. 2 Luke xii. 16-21. s Luke xii. 22-34.
4 Luke xii. 35-48. 5 Luke xii. 49-59-
6 Certainly verses 35-53 seem to be too early.
7 Luke xiii. 1-9. 8 Luke xiii. 10-17- 9 Luke xiii. 18-21.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 71
feast of Dedication, according to the Gospel of
John.1 The logia and the parables — many of them at
least — were attached to the incidents for topical
reasons, and do not belong there historically.
The first period of the Peraean ministry closes
with the journey to the feast of Dedication.2
To this Luke attaches logia3 in reply to a ques
tion : " Are they few that be saved?" which seem
appropriate here, although given by Matthew in
part in his version of the Sermon on the Mount,
but in part also in several other connections.4
Here Luke attaches the warning given by the
Pharisees against Herod, which seems quite
appropriate in Peraea.5 To this is attached a
lament over Jerusalem,6 given by Matthew7 in
Jerusalem itself, during Passion week. This
lament implies several previous visits to Jerusa
lem and a final visit. It is out of place, there
fore, in connection with a visit to the feast of
Dedication followed by another visit for the
raising of Lazarus before the final journey. It

1 See p. 56. J Luke xiii. 22. s Luke xiii. 23-30.
4 Matt. viii. 11, 12, xiii. 42, 50, xix. 30, xx. 16, xxiv. 51,
xxv. 30.
5 Luke xiii. 31-33. 6 Luke xiii. 34, 35.
' Matt, xxiii. 37-39-

72 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
is equally out of place in both Matthew and
Luke. The second period of the Peraean ministry was
a brief one, as it was all included in the short
time between the feast of Dedication and the
raising of Lazarus. The only incident men
tioned probably belongs here.
1. We have first the sabbath meal with a chief
Pharisee when Jesus heals a man with dropsy,1
to which is appended the parable of the chief
places at the marriage feast,2 peculiar to Luke,
with the associated logia;3 and the parable of
the marriage feast,4 given by Matthew6 in Pas
sion week in Jerusalem. The connection is cer
tainly more appropriate in Luke.
2. A series of logia,6 spoken by Jesus to His
disciples, as to counting the cost, some given by
Matthew and Mark, and even Luke himself in
other connections.
3. Three parables of saving the lost, in justifi
cation of His receiving sinners and eating with
them, against the murmurs of the Pharisees.7
The parable of the lost sheep is given by Mat-

1 Luke xiv. 1-6. ' Luke xiv. 7-10.
3 Luke xiv. 11-14. 4 Luke xiv. 15-24.
5 Matt. xxii. 1-10. 6 Luke xiv. 25-35.
' Luke xv.

THE PERA3AN MINISTRY 73
thew 1 at a later date. The other two are pecul
iar to Luke.
4. Then follow the parables of the shrewd
steward, and of Dives and Lazarus,2 with inter
vening logia, given by Matthew in his version of
the Sermon on the Mount and elsewhere.
5. Next come 8 logia to the disciples, given by
Matthew,4 and Mark,6 at a later date ; and a par
able peculiar to Luke. The material given here
is indeed, with the single exception of the heal
ing of the man with the dropsy, entirely teach
ing. Some of it is evidently out of place, al
though a large amount of it is quite appropriate
in the connection given it by Luke.
We have sufficient evidence that the Peraean
ministry was divided into three periods, and that
the Seventy preceded Jesus in His work during
the first period. It is probable that the Seventy
continued their work until Jesus' last visit, when
they joined Him for His journey to Jerusalem
for the last Passover. The material given by
Luke in these chapters is not in Mark, whom he
follows closely in the main so far as he goes.
This material is composed of: (1) Logia derived

1 Matt, xviii. 12-14. 2 Luke xvi. ' Luke xvii. 1-10.
* Matt, xviii. 6, 7, 15, 21, 22. 6 Mark ix. 42.

74 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
from the Logia of Matthew. These logia are in
Luke attached to parables and historical inci
dents. In Matthew's Gospel they are for the
most part gathered about the four discourses —
(a) The Sermon on the Mount,1 (b) The Com
mission of the Twelve,2 (c) The Woes upon
the Pharisees,3 (d) The Eschatological Dis
course.4 On the whole their location in Luke is
more appropriate than in Matthew, but as we
have seen, we must regard a considerable num
ber of them as in topical rather than chronologi
cal place in Luke also.
(2) The parables may be divided into two
groups, those common with Matthew and those
peculiar to Luke. Those common with Matthew
are given by Matthew chiefly in its groups of
parables, either — (a) Parables of the kingdom,
at the sea.6 (b) In teaching the disciples.6 (c)
In conflict with the Pharisees in Jerusalem.7
(d) Appended to the eschatological discourse.8
These parables are so different in Luke, in
structure and detail, from the version of Mat
thew that it is impossible to think that they were
derived from a common written source. They
1 Chaps, v.-vii. 2 Chap. x. 3 Chap, xxiii.
4 Chaps, xxiv., xxv. 6 Chap. xiii. 6 Chaps, xviii., xx.
7 Chaps, xxi., xxii. 8 Chaps, xxiv., xxv.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 75
must have come from different oral sources with
varying details. Here again the connections in
which they are given by Luke are more natural
than those in which they are given by Matthew;
although we cannot ignore the probability that
topical reasons influenced Luke also rather than
chronological reasons.
The most of the parables given by Luke in
this section are peculiar to him. They are not
parables of the kingdom setting forth its myste
ries. They are parables of grace and salvation,
making plain to the people the way of salvation.
They belong to another method of teaching than
that given in Mark and Matthew. It is alto
gether probable, therefore, that they belong to a
period of ministry and a place of ministry of
which Mark and Matthew knew nothing. They
have their appropriate place in the Peraean
ministry. In some respects their teaching is
more in accord with the Jerusalem ministry of
John than with the Galilean ministry of Mark.
(3) There are but few incidents in these chap
ters as compared with those giving the Galilean
ministry of Mark, and the Jerusalem ministry of
John. The reason for this was probably the his
torical situation, — peril from Herod, and the
constant hostility of the Pharisees. Jesus' minis-

76 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
try was less in the synagogues and less in public
than during the Galilean ministry. It was more
in private and more in teaching disciples. The
work of the Seventy was going on all through
Peraea during this period. If they went in pairs
there were thirty-five or thirty-six different
missions which must have covered the whole
land of Peraea and much of Judaea also, at least
the whole valley of the Jordan. There is no
sufficient reason, therefore, to think of a written
source for this material. It was derived by
Luke from some one or more of the companions
of Jesus in this ministry; for it is altogether
probable that one of the pairs of the Twelve
continued with Him during all this period. If
James and John, owing to their connections in
Jerusalem, remained for the most part during
this period in Jerusalem, it may well be that
they brought to Jesus the sad report of the
death of Lazarus, for John gives the narrative
and words at this time. It may be that
Matthew and his mate Thomas were the com
panions of Jesus in the Peraean ministry.
Thomas is mentioned1 as being with Jesus in
Peraea. He it is who, when some disciples

John xi. 16.

THE PERAEAN MINISTRY 77
object to the journey to Jerusalem for the rais
ing of Lazarus, heroically says, ' ' Let us also
go that we may die with him." No other mem
ber of the Twelve is mentioned in connection
with events or discourses which certainly belong
to the Peraean ministry. The reference to
Peter, in Luke,1 is in connection with a parable
which is not in its local or chronological place.
Matthew was the mate of Thomas in the list of
the Twelve, so that he must have been with his
mate at this time. This explains how Matthew
in his Logia could give Peraean logia as well as
Galilean. The Logia of Matthew, if it gave any
historical incidents at all, gave them only briefly
as introductory to logia. Matthew's Gospel, as
we now have it, came from a different and a later
hand. Luke's versions of the logia are usually
nearer the original of Matthew's Logia in or
der, form, and substance, than the versions of
Matthew's Gospel. There are also in the para
bles peculiar to Luke certain characteristics
which Matthew, the publican, would have appre
hended more than any other of the Twelve.
And it is quite possible that Luke had received
oral information from Matthew himself. How-

1 Luke xii. 41.

78 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ever this may be, the sources of Luke for the
Peraean ministry were reliable oral sources, and
when the material is properly arranged, it fits
into the Life of Jesus with nicety and floods it
with light.

VII
JESUS AND THE PHARISEES
THE Pharisees were the dominant party in
Judaism in the time of Jesus. Party
spirit prevailed to an extraordinary degree, not
only against their chief antagonists, the Sad-
ducees, who had possession of the chief places of
the priesthood, and great political influence ; but
also against the minor parties such as the Hero-
dians and Essenes, and indeed between the Phar
isee schools of Hillel and Shammai.1 It was
only natural, therefore, that they should look
with suspicion upon the rise of a new party, at
first under the leadership of the Baptist and
then under the headship of Jesus. The Gospel
of Matthew2 represents that the Baptist sharply
rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees who came
to his baptism. This is, however, not given in
Mark, and Luke gives the rebuke a more general
reference to the multitude.3 The Gospel of

1 See Messiah of the Gospels, pp. 38 seq.
2 Matt. iii. 7-10. Matt. iii. 7-9-

80 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
John states that the Pharisees sent representa
tives from Jerusalem to the Baptist to inquire
who he was and why he baptized.1
The first conflict between Jesus and the
Pharisees, according to Mark, was in Caper
naum during the introductory Galilean ministry.
They accused Him of blasphemy because He
said to the man sick of the palsy, " Thy sins are
forgiven," and because of His asserting His
authority as the Son of Man to forgive sins.2
They next accused Him of associating with
publicans and sinners, because, after calling
Matthew to be His disciple, He was present at a
farewell feast given by Matthew to his friends.3
A third conflict soon followed as to fasting, in
which Jesus defended the action of His disciples,
in not conforming to the uses of the Pharisees
in this respect.4 It is probable also that the dis
cussion as to purification, about the same time,
was one in which the Pharisees took an active
part.6 If all these disputes had already taken
place in Galilee and in the valley of the Jordan

1 Johni. 19-28.
2 Mark ii. 1-12; Matt. ix. 2-8; Luke v. 17-26.
3 Mark ii. 13-17; Matt. ix. 9-13 ; Luke v. 27-32.
* Mark ii. 18-22; Matt. ix. 14-17 ; Luke v. 33-39.
6 John iii. 25.

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES 81
before Passover, we can understand that the
jealousy of the Pharisees at the greater success
of Jesus than of John in winning disciples may
have been so strong that it was prudent of
Jesus, immediately after Passover, to depart to
Galilee.1 On the way to Galilee another and still more
serious conflict arose respecting the Sabbath,
which became, from this time on, the most seri
ous question in debate. Jesus and His disciples
were charged with violating the Sabbath because
He allowed His disciples to pluck from the
standing grain and eat it.2 This is followed, in
the narratives, by His healing the man with a
withered hand on the sabbath.3 It is evident
that the Pharisees were already excited against
Him on this occasion. They were watching
Him for an opportunity to accuse Him. And
after this cure they took counsel with the He-
rodians to destroy Him. These two incidents
are put together by the evangelists. But it is
probable that this order was for topical reasons,
and that the second incident was some time
later. For the plotting of the Pharisees and the
1 John iv. 1-3.
2 Mark ii. 23-28 ; Matt. xii. 1-8 ; Luke vi. 1-5.
3 Mark iii. 1-6; Matt. xii. 9-14; Luke vi. 6-11.

82 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Herodians at so early a date would have made
His second Galilean ministry more difficult than
it appears to have been from the narratives of
this period. If the order of events given in
previous chapters is correct, the last incident
is probably the climax of the opposition of the
Pharisees, before He goes up to Jerusalem to
the feast of Pentecost.
At this feast Jesus heals an infirm man on the
sabbath.1 The Pharisees of Jerusalem, there
fore, are now stirred up against Him for violat
ing, as they supposed, the law of the sabbath.
He claims the authority to do this miracle on
the sabbath as the Son of the Father, and so
another ground of controversy arises respecting
His claim of a special Sonship to God. Luke 2
gives a touching story of Jesus at a meal in the
house of a Pharisee, allowing a magdalene to
kiss His feet, and then of His absolving her from
all her sins. Whether this occurred in the sec
ond Galilean ministry, or at the beginning of the
third, it is not easy to determine. It combines
two grounds of accusation already given in other
connections apart, namely, contact with sinners
and His pronouncing forgiveness of sins. The

1 John v. 1-18. 2 Luke vii. 36-50.

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES 83
situation is, however, less serious than that re
ported in connection with the sabbath cure,1 and
on that account might seem earlier. But, on
the other hand, a different place at a later date
might show a less serious situation. This is, as
I understand it, the sum of the conflicts of Jesus
with the Pharisees during His Galilean ministry.
The scene now shifts to Jerusalem, where the
conflict becomes much more serious, beginning
with a reference back to the healing of the in
firm man already considered.2 This conflict
broke out afresh at the feast of Tabernacles.
John 3 reports a continuous discussion with the
Pharisees in which Jesus is in constant peril of
His life. It is probable that the most of this
material belongs to a later date. The only event
mentioned is the healing on the sabbath, of the
man born blind, with the discussion based upon
it.4 As Jesus' discourse on the last or great day
of the feast is given B previously, we must either
suppose that Jesus remained in Jerusalem some
time after the conclusion of the feast day, in
which the material of John must be placed ; or
if Jesus departed from Jerusalem on His Peraean
1 Mark iii. 1-6. 2 John vii. 19-24.
3 Johnvii.-x. 21. 4 John ix.
5 John vii. 37-52.

84 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ministry directly after the feast, the material of
these chapters must be put at another and later
time. The latter opinion is more probable.
The word of Jesus as to His pre-existence :
seems to be too early. And the same may be
said of the crisis connected with the healing of
the blind man.2 In fact this material should be
attached to the visit to Jerusalem at the feast of
Dedication. We next turn our attention to the Peraean
ministry, where the conflict with the Pharisees
enters upon another stage. In the first Peraean
ministry the conflict begins with the healing of
a demoniac. The Pharisees charge Jesus with
casting out demons through the authority of the
prince of demons. Jesus warns them of the sin
against the Divine Spirit.3 The logia attached
are given by Mark 4 in connection with another
incident in Galilee. But this conflict is without
sufficient motive in Mark at so early a date. It
is appropriate where Luke puts it after the con
flict already considered. The next contest is at
the table of a Pharisee, with reference to cere
monial purification before meals.5 A similar dis-

1 John viii. 56-59. 2 John ix.
3 Luke xi. 14-15 ; Matt. xii. 22-24.
4 Mark iii. 22-30. 5 Luke xi. 37-41.

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES 85
cussion is given in Mark.1 It is possible that
these are different reports of one and the same
discussion, especially as Luke does not report
the story of Mark, and Mark does not give the
story of Luke, while Matthew follows Mark. It
is also possible, however, that this discussion
may have occurred twice, because the stories are
altogether different. The agreement is only in
the essential subject of controversy. If the
former alternative be correct, we must regard its
place here in Luke as due to topical considera
tions, although it must be recognized that he
gives it a better setting. To this incident Luke
attaches a series of woes upon the Pharisees 2
given by Matthew in connection with the final
struggle in Jerusalem.3 The connection of Luke
has topical propriety, but it is improbable that
Jesus would have uttered these woes at the table
of a Pharisee where He was a guest. They are
derived by both Matthew and Luke from the
Logia of Matthew, where they probably had no
historical connection. Each ^evangelist gives
them in a connection most appropriate topically
according to his mind. Matthew's use of them

1 Mark vii. 1-23 ; Matt. xv. 1-20. 2 Luke xi. 42-52.
* Matt, xxiii.

86 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
seems on the whole more appropriate. They
apply, many of them, to the Pharisees of Jeru
salem rather than to those of Peraea. The
warnings against the leaven of the Pharisees J is
appropriate in this connection and may be in its
proper place, although it is given in Mark 2 in a
still more appropriate place later. Luke 3 re
ports the healing of a woman on the Sabbath
with the usual opposition of the Pharisees, here
represented by the ruler of the synagogue.
Jesus now returns to Jerusalem to the feast
of Dedication. For what reason Jesus went up
thither we are not informed. He probably had
prudential reasons, as He had to steer between
the Scylla of Herod and the Charybdis of the
Sanhedrim at this time. All that is reported at
this feast is given in John x. 22-39. This is too
meagre to explain this journey. It is altogether
probable, therefore, that the incidents reported
in the previous chapter of John belong here.4
It is probable also, that the healing of the
blind man on the sabbath occurred at this time.
We may then explain the intensity of the hos-

1 Luke xii. 1. 2 Mark viii. 15 ; Matt. xvi. 6.
3 Luke xiii. 10-17-
4 John x. 26-29 implies x. 1-21 ; and x. 29-39 implies viii.
12-59.

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES 87
tility of the Pharisees in view of the assertion of
Jesus of His pre-existence as the Son of the
Father, and His assertion of His Messiahship.
No wonder that His life was now in extreme
peril and that He had to depart again to Peraea.
The second Peraean ministry renews the con
flict with the Pharisees. Another sabbath meal
with a Pharisee, when Jesus heals the man with
the dropsy,1 renews the discussion as to the sab
bath. Receiving and eating with sinners, against
which the Pharisees murmured, is the occasion
of the three parables of salvation.2 The rebuke
of the Pharisaic love of money is given in two
other parables.3 Jesus now suddenly goes up to
Jerusalem to raise Lazarus from the dead.4 His
disciples remonstrate with Him because of the
extreme peril of such a course. Thomas alone
of the Twelve is mentioned as present. He is
mated with Matthew in the lists of the six
pairs of the Twelve, who was probably present
also. The conflict has now reached its crisis in Jeru
salem, and the Pharisees in council, under the
advice of Caiaphas, the Sadducee high-priest,

1 Luke xiv. 1-6. 2 Luke xv. s Luke xvi.
4 John xi.

88 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
decide to put Jesus to death. So Jesus hastily
departed from Jerusalem to Ephraim. After
a brief tarrying there, He journeys northward
through Samaria, and secretly through Galilee to
Phoenicia, then on the border of Galilee and
Syria, to Decapolis, where the final Galilean
ministry begins. The conflict with the Pharisees
in Galilee now becomes much sharper. They
persist in demanding a sign and stir up the peo
ple to this demand. This is evident in the dis
course in the synagogue of Capernaum,1 which is
probably the same incident as that briefly given
in another connection in Mark.2 Here comes
the sign of the prophet Jonah, which is the sym
bol of His death and resurrection. This is ap
propriately followed by the warning against the
leaven of the Pharisees.3 It is probable that the
discussion as to ceremonial purification before
meals 4 belongs here, with the rebuke of the
Pharisees for making void the word of God by
their traditions.
Jesus now leaves Galilee on His last journey
to Jerusalem, passing through Peraea. On this
journey comes the question of the Pharisees con-
1 John vi. 26-40. 2 Mark viii. 10-13; Matt. xvi. 1-4.
3 Mark viii. 14-21 ; Matt. xvi. 5-12.
4 Mark vii. 1-23 ; Matt. xv. 1-20.

JESUS AND THE PHARISEES 89
cerning divorce,1 the discourse with the Pharisees
as to the advent of the kingdom, with the es
chatological discourse attached,2 and the parable
of the Pharisee and the Publican.3
Jesus now enters Jerusalem, and the last strug
gle begins. This was a battle of words between
Jesus and the Pharisees, in which, however, the
other parties join. It probably lasted two days,
in which Jesus finally silences all His adversaries.
The report is given by Mark.4 Luke 6 follows
Mark closely, omitting, however, the question as
to the great commandment,6 which is given by
him in another connection, and in another
form.7 Matthew 8 greatly enlarges the material
not only by the addition of parables, given by
Luke elsewhere, but also by the heaping up of
woes upon the Pharisees, given by Luke as we
have seen in connection with the Peraean minis
try. The connection of Matthew seems more
appropriate, but we cannot be sure that these
logia are not indeed a gathering up of logia
spoken on many different occasions. The con-

1 Mark x. 2-12; Matt. xix. 3-12.
s Luke xvii. 20-37. ' Luke xviii. 9-14.
* Mark xi. 27-xii. 41. 6 Luke xx. 1-47.
6 Mark xii. 28-34 ; Matt. xxii. 34-40.
7 Luke x. 25-37. 8 Matt. xxi. 23-xxiii.

90 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
flict with the Pharisees had reached its goal.
The Sanhedrim, controlled by the Pharisees, had
determined His death. The grounds of accusa
tion had been prepared. But Jesus makes all
this unnecessary, for under oath before the San
hedrim He meets the essential issue, asserts dis
tinctly that He is the Messiah, is condemned
for blasphemy on that account, and is given over
to Herod to be crucified as King of the Jews.

VIII
WHEN DID JESUS FIRST DECLARE HIS MES
SIAHSHIP ?
ANY attempt to harmonize the Gospels on
the basis of a chronological order of the
material in Mark or John is wrecked upon insu
perable obstacles. None of these is more impor
tant than the Messianic claims of Jesus. It is
evident from the Synoptists that His claims
were for the greater part of His Galilean minis
try veiled behind the term Son of Man; and
from the Gospel of John in the Jerusalem min
istry, behind the term Son of the Father.1 But
there comes a time when Jesus distinctly claims
recognition as the Messiah, and indeed as the
suffering Messiah. If we could find an adequate
reason for this change of policy, and fix the time
of the change, one of the most important prob
lems in the life of Jesus would be solved.
Such a reason and such a date are given in the
story, John xi. 47-54. The Sanhedrim followed

1 The Incarnation of our Lord, pp. 28 seq., 50 seq.

92 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the advice of the chief priest Caiaphas, and de
cided upon the death of Jesus as the only way in
which to save the nation. This was soon after
the resurrection of Lazarus — not long after the
feast of Dedication, probably at the close of De
cember, or the beginning of January. This de
cision of the Sanhedrim made the arrest and
death of Jesus only a question of time and of
opportunity. Jesus was at once informed of
this decision and—' ' therefore walked no more
openly among the Jews, but departed thence into
the country near to the wilderness, into a city
called Ephraim ; and there He tarried with the
disciples."1 It became evident, therefore, that
the next time Jesus appeared in Jerusalem
He would meet His arrest and death. And it
was not at all improbable that the Sanhedrim
would send officers after Him to arrest Him on
His journey. The little city of Ephraim on the
borders of the wilderness and of Samaria afforded
Him an easy and speedy way of escape from
such a pursuit. There was now, therefore, no
longer any reason for reticence as to His Mes
siahship on the part of Jesus. His enemies had
decided upon His death.

1 John xi. 54.

HIS MESSIAHSHIP 93
Indeed we may go back to the feast of Dedi
cation for the beginning of this critical situation.
He went up to that feast from Peraea to escape
Herod and to continue His conflict with the
Pharisees in Jerusalem. It was at this feast that
He first advanced His Messianic relation as the
Son of the Father to the assertion of His pre-
existence before Abraham, and only escaped
stoning for blasphemy by hurried escape from
the Temple. It was at this feast that He dis
tinctly asserted His Messiahship to the blind
man He had healed, and claimed his allegiance.
The Messianic claims of Jesus, therefore, were
brought clearly before the Sanhedrim and the
people of Jerusalem. They themselves had
forced the issue. They must either accept Jesus
or reject Him. They determined to reject Him
as a blaspheming pretender, and to expel the
blind man, whom Jesus had healed, from the
synagogue, as His disciple. This was the begin
ning of the policy of active persecution of Jesus
and His disciples. Jesus, when he went up to
Jerusalem to the raising of Lazarus, knew that
He was entering into greater peril than He was
exposed to from Herod in Peraea. His disciples
interposed with an objection to the journey, but
in vain.

94 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
His death was decreed by the Sanhedrim at
the feast of Dedication. It was certain to take
place when next He came to Jerusalem at the
ensuing Passover. There remained only about
four months J during which He could secure
from His disciples the recognition of His Mes
siahship, and therefore the time had come for
Him to make this the burden of His teaching.
After a brief sojourn in Ephraim Jesus makes
the journey through Samaria to Galilee. In
Samaria He was safe from the Sanhedrim and
from Herod. At Sychar, the ancient seat of
Jacob's well, He distinctly claims to be the Mes
siah and accepts the recognition of the Samar
itans.2 The narrative tells us that He abode with
them two days. On entering Galilee, He goes
to Nazareth, His birthplace, and in the syna
gogue on the Sabbath, declares that He is the
Messianic prophet of the second Isaiah, and gives
His native city an opportunity of recognizing
Him, which, however, His townsmen refused;
and with difficulty He escapes their hands.3 He
thus realizes His peril, not only from Herod,
but from the people of Galilee, even from those

1 John iv. 35. a John iv. 25, 26.
3 Luke iv. 16-30; Mark vi. 1-6; Matt. xiii. 54-58.

HIS MESSIAHSHIP 95
whom He had a right to expect would be most
favorable to Him.
Accordingly He at once departs to Phoenicia
to the borders of Tyre and Sidon, Peter and
Andrew probably being His only companions.
Even there He wished to remain unknown.1
From thence He journeys along the northern
borders of Galilee through the midst of the
borders of Decapolis (the northern section),
and goes up into a mountain, not far from
Bethsaida,2 which belonged to the jurisdiction
of Philip. Here the Twelve join Him. But a
great multitude crowd to Him also, and He
works many cures and feeds the multitude in the
wilderness. He sends the Twelve by sea to
Bethsaida, while He Himself remains behind
and apart to pray.3 A storm forces the Twelve
out of their course, and Jesus comes to them
walking on the sea.4 A calm coming on they
are compelled to land in the plain of Gennesaret
instead of at Bethsaida, and probably near Mag-
dala at its southern end.5 Jesus crosses the plain
to Capernaum, where He delivers the discourse
in the synagogue which brings on a crisis among
His disciples. Many of His disciples abandon
1 Mark vii. 24. 2 Mark vii. 31-37; Matt. xv. 29-31.
3 Mark vi. 45, 46. 4 Mark vi. 47-56.
5 See p. 48.

96 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Him, but the Twelve remain faithful, and
speaking through Peter recognize Him as the
Messiah.1 This recognition is placed in John at
the close of the discourse ; but it is doubtless the
same recognition as that given by the Synoptists
a little later at Caesarea Philippi.2
The demand for a sign3 other than His
miracles is probably the same as that given in
the Synoptists,4 in which, under the symbol of
Jonah, Jesus gives a veiled prediction of His
death and resurrection.
He crosses again to the other side of the sea,6
doubtless for prudential reasons, and goes to
Bethsaida with the Twelve, where He heals a
blind man,6 and then journeys rapidly northward
to Caesarea Philippi, at the base of Hermon,
where Peter, as the spokesman of the Twelve,
distinctly recognizes Him as the Messiah.7 Jesus
then tells them of His impending death and
resurrection.8 This is followed by the Trans
figuration.9 The grand tone of all His conversa-

1 John vi. 22-71. 2 See p. 47.
3 John vi. 30. 4 Mark viii. 11, 12; Matt. xvi. 1-4.
5 Mark viii. 13. s Mark viii. 22-26.
7 Mark viii. 27-30; Matt. xvi. 13-20 ; Luke ix. 18-21.
8 Mark viii. 31-ix. 1 ; Luke ix. 22-27 ; Matt. xvi. 21-28.
* Mark ix. 2-13 ; Matt. xvii. 1-13 ; Luke ix. 28-36.

HIS MESSIAHSHIP 97
tions with His disciples subsequent to this event
is His impending death. 1
How natural all this is if it occurred a few
days before His death, which He knew to have
been already decided upon by the Sanhedrim.
His journeys up to this time must have con
sumed several weeks. John2 states that the
Passover was at hand. We may therefore con
clude that the month of Nisan was about to
begin at the time of the feeding of the multi
tudes. He must have been, therefore, within less
than three weeks of His death when at Caesarea
Philippi. How unnatural it is if all this is
placed in the middle of His ministry, a year or
more before His death, as the harmonists are
accustomed to arrange it.
From Caesarea Philippi, Jesus with the Twelve
returns to Capernaum,3 on a rapid journey to
Jerusalem. He now takes the usual route, by
the valley of the Jordan, followed by His dis
ciples and the multitudes. He crosses to Peraea,4
where it is probable that the Seventy rejoin
Him. Then He continues His journey up to
Jerusalem,6 accompanied by both the Twelve

1 Mark ix. 9-13, 30-32. 2 John vi. 4.
5 Mark ix. 33 ; Matt. xvii. 24. 4 Mark x. 1.
5 Mark x. 32-45.

98 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
and the Seventy ; and again foretells to the
Twelve His impending death and gives the high
calling to suffer martyrdom in like manner. At
Jericho, where the journey was naturally inter
rupted for a rest, He heals a blind man,1 and
accepts Zacchaeus as a disciple, with whom He
lodges for a night.2 He then journeys on to
Jerusalem, arriving at Bethany six days before
the beginning of Passover,3 late Friday on the
evening beginning Sabbath. He lodges with
Lazarus over Sabbath, and is anointed by Mary
at a supper on the Sabbath. This which was
designed by her in His honor, but was inter
preted by Jesus as for His burial, was indeed
the provocation for the betrayal of Judas. Pas
sion week has begun.
The next day, Sunday, the ninth of Nisan, He
enters Jerusalem accompanied by the Twelve
and the Seventy and a great throng of His dis
ciples, and He accepts their enthusiastic re
cognition of Him as the Messiah.4 He knows
He is about to die. There is no longer reason
for hesitation. The more public the better.
Jerusalem must accept Him or reject Him.

1 Mark x. 46-52. ' Luke xix. 1-10.
3 John xii. 1-8. 4 Mark xi. 1-11.

HIS MESSIAHSHIP 99
This was her last opportunity. The casting out
of the traders from the temple on the tenth was
a still more marked declaration of His Messianic
authority. A few days of conflict with the
Pharisees, Sadducees, and Herodians, in which
all these parties tried to entrap Him and get
from Him grounds for condemnation — a few
days of struggle between the Galilean and
Peraean multitudes who followed Him and the
crowds of Jerusalem who rejected Him — a
few more days for the instruction of His dis
ciples — the case against Him had been prepared
and was ready; it was only necessary to arrest
Him with as little disturbance as possible; the
treachery of Judas enabled the Sanhedrim to
make a quiet arrest in the night, and to hurry
forward the process against Him, declare Him
guilty, and secure the consent of the Roman
Governor to His crucifixion, just before the
Passover feast began.
The order of events given above is a natural
order — it is an order that exhibits a rapid de
velopment of events rushing on to the crisis, and
it avoids the inconsistencies of the premature
declaration and recognition of His Messiahship,
and especially of a prediction of His death,
months before there was any real peril of it,

100 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
which the ordinary arrangement of the material
gives us. Such a view, indeed, enhances the
predictive element in the discourses of Jesus,
but on the other hand it is difficult to see any
real occasion for such prediction at so early a
stage in His career, and it results in an ap
parently unnecessary and premature puzzling of
His disciples with new difficulties, when those
they were compelled to confront were great
enough and severe enough in any case.

IX
THE ORDER OF EVENTS IN PASSION WEEK
THE Gospels heap up events and discourses
in the last week of Jesus' life. There are
several difficult problems connected with the ar
rangement of the material. The Gospel of John
tells us1 that Jesus came to Bethany six days be
fore the Passover. This statement seems definite
enough, and yet there are three different opinions
as to the day, whether it was Friday, Saturday,
or Sunday. This statement of the Gospel of
John must be interpreted in accordance with the
subsequent statement of this Gospel as to the
Passover. As we have seen, John represents
the crucifixion as taking place at the time of the
sacrifice of the Passover on Friday, the fourteenth
of Nisan — six days before would give us Saturday
the eighth. Jesus having made the journey from
Jericho on Friday, arrives late in the day on
the evening after the Sabbath had begun. The
Sabbath would then be spent in Bethany. This

John xii. 1.

102 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
gives room for the supper at Bethany on the
Sabbath. The Sabbath seems to have been the custom
ary time for social gatherings in the time of
Jesus. In John it is directly attached to the
arrival in Bethany,1 and gives a proper oppor
tunity for the coming of the crowds to see
Jesus and Lazarus.2 Another account of this
supper and of the anointing is given in the
Synoptists,3 subsequent to the statement that
the Sanhedrim two days before the Passover
decided to betray Him. But this is doubtless a
topical order due to the fact that the waste of
this anointing is given as the motive for the
betrayal of Judas,4 which naturally comes after
the determination to put Jesus to death. We
may therefore follow John rather than Mark as
to the time of the anointing, all the more that
it gives Judas time to brood over his dissatis
faction before he finally decides to become a
traitor. John6 tells us that on the morrow, that is
Sunday, the ninth of Nisan, Jesus made His
Messianic entry into Jerusalem. The Synop-

1 John xii. 2-8. 2 John xii. 9-11.
3 Mark xiv. 3-9; Matt. xxvi. 6-13. 4 Mark xiv. 10, 11.
5 John xii. 12-19.

ORDER OF EVENTS IN PASSION WEEK 103
tists 1 give it in connection with the journey from
Jericho, so that it seems as if He went right on
into Jerusalem the same day. The statement
of John is more natural and so more probable.
In the evening He retires to Bethany with the
Twelve.2 On the morrow, that is Monday, the tenth of
Nisan,3 on His way to the temple, Jesus cursed
the fig tree, and on His entry into the temple,
cast out the traders because they had made it a
den of thieves.4 As the tenth day was the day
of selecting the paschal lamb, it is quite possible
that an attempt to defraud Jesus and His dis
ciples in the purchase of the lamb excited His
indignation and induced Him to this assertion of
His Messianic authority. Again He went forth
to Bethany and lodged there.6 Luke tells us,
however, that He went to the Mount of Olives.
And it may be that Jesus and His disciples
lodged in the open air rather than in houses.
In the morning, that is Tuesday, the eleventh
of Nisan, they passed by the fig tree and found
it withered away from the roots.6 Now begins

1 Mark xi. 1-11 ; Luke xix. 29-44 ; Matt. xxi. 1-11.
2 Mark xi. 11. 3 Mark xi. 12-14; Matt, xviii. 18, 19.
4 Mark xi. 15-19 ; Matt. xxi. 12-17 ; Luke xix. 45-48.
5 Matt. xxi. 17. 6 Mark xi. 20-25 ; Matt. xxi. 20-22.

104 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the conflict of Jesus with the Pharisees and
other Jewish sects, who try one after the other
to entrap Him. The Synoptists begin the nar
rative immediately after the narrative of the
withering of the fig tree but without any pre
cise indication of time: "And they come again
to Jerusalem ;" 1 "and when he was come into
the temple ; " 2 Luke 3 makes the statement,
"And it came to pass, on one of the days."
This is preceded by the general statement,4
"And he was teaching daily in the temple.
But the chief priests and the scribes and the
principal men of the people sought to destroy
him; and they could not find what they might
do; for the people all hung upon him, listen
ing."5 It is probable, therefore, that we have
to distribute these discussions over two days,
Tuesday and Wednesday. It is evident that
a large amount of additional material given here
by Matthew is used in accordance with his
method of gathering logia, parables, and dis
cussions spoken on different occasions in con
nection with some principal occasion. Much of
this is given on other occasions in the other
1 Mark xi. 27. ! Matt. xxi. 23.
3 Luke xx. 1. * Luke xix. 47, 48.
6 Mark xi. 18.

ORDER OF EVENTS IN PASSION WEEK 105
Gospels. Mark, supported by Luke and John,
are therefore the only safe guides. The first
and most natural question is as to Jesus' author
ity.1 This was probably on Tuesday, the day
after His expulsion of the traders from the tem
ple. This is followed by a parable of the wicked
husbandmen,2 to which Matthew has attached
two other similar parables.3
It is probable that we must assign the ques
tions 4 to the next day, Wednesday, the twelfth
of Nisan, for they are represented as put to Him
in the execution of a plan which had been deter
mined upon after careful deliberation.6 The
questions were designed to ensnare Him. Three
different parties came to Him for this purpose —
(1) the Herodians,6 who try to entrap Him in a
question as to the lawfulness of paying tribute
to Caesar. (2) Next the Sadducees test Him as
to the Resurrection.7 (3) Finally the Phari
sees test Him as to the Law. 8 Jesus now turns

1 Mark xi. 27-33 ; Matt. xxi. 23-27 ; Luke xx. 1-8.
2 Mark xii. 1-12 ; Luke xx. 9-19-
3 Matt. xxi. 28-41 ; xxii. 1-14.
4 Mark xii. 13-34; Matt. xxii. 15-40; Luke xx. 20-40.
5 Mark xii. 13 ; Matt. xxii. 15 ; Luke xx. 20.
6 Mark xii. 13-17; Matt. xxii. 16-22; Luke xx. 21-26.
7 Mark xii. 18-27 ; Matt. xxii. 23-33 ; Luke xii. 27-40.
8 Mark xii. 28-34 ; Matt. xxii. 34-40.

106 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the tables on them with a question as to the
Messiah,1 which they cannot answer, and con
cludes with an exposure of the hypocrisy of the
Pharisees,2 to which Matthew adds a large
amount of material from earlier occasions.3 It
is probable that the story of the widow's mite 4
belongs to this day, and at its close the Escha
tological discourse to the disciples on the mount
of Olives,6 to which Matthew has added a large
amount of additional material,6 a considerable
portion of which is given by Luke elsewhere.
Matthew indeed puts this discourse two days
before the Passover. Matthew 7 and Mark 8 tell
us that it was on this day, two days before the
Passover, that the Sanhedrim decided to put
Jesus to death. They decided to take Him by
craft and not during the feast, in order to avoid
a tumult among the people. It is probable
that. Judas came to them and arranged for the
betrayal at this time, although it is quite possi
ble that it was not until the following day.9

1 Mark xii. 35-37; Matt. xxii. 41-46; Luke xx. 41-44.
2 Mark xii. 38-40; Luke xx. 45-47. 3 Matt, xxiii.
4 Mark xii. 41-44 ; Luke xxi. 1-4.
5 Mark xiii. ; Luke xxi. 5-38. 6 Matt, xxiv-xxv.
7 Matt. xxvi. 1, 2. 8 Mark xiv. 1-2.
9 Mark xiv. 10, 11 ; Luke xxii. 3-5; Matt. xxvi. 14-16.

ORDER OF EVENTS IN PASSION WEEK 107
The day before the Passover had now come.
What shall we assign to that day? Did Jesus
remain on the Mount of Olives apart by Him
self, or did He go again to the temple ? In the
latter case are we to place any of the discussions
given above so late ? This is improbable. The
contest of words had reached its end. His oppo
nents had been so defeated that they had given
up the contest and only now thought of His
arrest and death. It is quite possible that Jesus
spent this day in retirement, so far as the morn
ing and afternoon were concerned. But it is
more probable that He used it for a final dis
course in the temple. The Gospel of John
indeed gives us material which comes in appro
priately here, and which it is difficult to put on
an earlier day. John 1 tells us of a meeting with
some Greeks in the temple, a theophany there, a
declaration of His death, and a final rejection by
the people, and ends with the statement — ' ' He
departed and hid himself from them. "
If the interpretation2 given in a previous
chapter is correct, on this day Jesus sends Peter
and John to prepare for the Passover meal. The
story implies secrecy as to the place. On the
1 John xii. 20-36.
2 Mark xiv. 12 ; Luke xxii. 7 ; Matt. xxvi. 17. See pp. 6l seq.

108 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
evening after the close of this day, on Friday, the
fourteenth of Nisan, Jesus holds His farewell
meal with the Twelve, and institutes the Lord's
supper,1 which is connected with a long farewell
discourse of John.2
In the night they go forth to Gethsemane at
the foot of the Mount of Olives, where He
undergoes the agony of His last preparation for
martyrdom.3 Then follows His betrayal by
Judas, His arrest by the officers of the Sanhe
drim, and His interrogation and trial before the
Sanhedrim, all of which occurred during the
night. On the morning of Friday, the four
teenth of Nisan, the Sanhedrim accuse Him
before Pilate and demand His death. Pilate
examines Him and can find no fault in Him.
Desirous of pleasing the Jews, he offers them
the choice of Jesus or Barabbas. They choose
Barabbas and demand the crucifixion of Jesus.
Pilate complies with their demand. Jesus is
mocked as King of the Jews, is scourged by the
soldiers of Herod and Pilate, and taken off to be
crucified. During the extremity of His agony,
1 Mark xiv. 12-26 ; Matt. xxvi. 17-36; Luke xxii. 7-30.
2 Chaps, xiii— xvii.
3 Mark xiv. 32-42 ; Matt. xxvi. 36-46 ; Luke xxii. 39-46 ;
John xviii. 1.

ORDER OF EVENTS IN PASSION WEEK 109
from the sixth to the ninth hour, from midday
to three o'clock in the afternoon, there was an
eclipse of the sun and an earthquake. Jesus
seems to have expired about three o'clock in the
afternoon, at the time when it was usual to begin
the sacrifice of the Paschal lamb in the temple.
The veil of the temple was rent by the earthquake,
to show that it was now abandoned by God.
The true Paschal lamb had just been sacrificed,
the animal victims were no longer of any value.
The time for the eating of the Passover was
rapidly approaching, and it was improper to
allow the bodies to remain on the cross ; for that
would desecrate the feast. Accordingly they
were removed in great haste after death had
been certified. Joseph of Arimathaea obtained
from Pilate authority to remove the body of
Jesus to his own tomb. He was assisted by
Nicodemus and the women from Galilee in the
preparation of the body for entombment.
On the Sabbath, the fifteenth of Nisan, Jesus
remained in the tomb. But on Sunday, the six
teenth of Nisan, the day of the Omer offering,
He arose from the dead according to His prom
ise and showed Himself to His disciples dur
ing forty days, after which He ascended to His
heavenly throne to reign as the Messianic King.

X
THE FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS
THE earliest written reference to the resur
rection of Jesus is in the Epistle to the
Galatians, written less than twenty years after
the event. Paul claims to have received his
Gospel by revelation from the risen Jesus.1 The
First Epistle to the Corinthians, written some
five years later, makes the resurrection of Christ
the cardinal principle of the Christian religion,
and gives a number of appearances of the risen
Jesus to His disciples.2 These are no less than
six in number : (1) to Cephas, or Peter, (2) to
the Twelve, (3) to more than five hundred breth
ren, (4) to James, the Lord's brother, (5) to all
the apostles, (6) to Paul himself. This was many
years before any of the Gospels were written. In
view of this full report of Paul, it is certainly
surprising that the Gospel of Mark gives no ac
count whatever of the appearances of Jesus. It
is true that we have 3 an account of several ap
pearances of the risen Jesus : (1) to Mary Mag-

Gal, i. 11-12. ' 1 Cor. xv. 1-8. 3 Mark xvi. 9-20.

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS HI
dalene, (2) to two of the disciples unnamed, (3) to
the Eleven. But it is evident that this is a con
densed statement from a much later date, and it
is agreed by critics that this was a late addition
to the Gospel. The original Mark, as preserved
for us, contains, therefore, only the announce
ment of the resurrection to Mary Magdalene,
Mary the mother of James, and Salome, by an
angel, with the promise to Peter of an appear
ance x to the disciples in Galilee. This is all the
more significant that the Gospel of Mark gives
us no less than three predictions of His death
and resurrection.2
The same is implied in all Jesus' predictions
as to His second advent as the Son of Man
on the clouds, in accordance with the concep
tion of the Son of Man of Daniel. It seems
altogether improbable, therefore, that Mark,
having prepared so carefully for the event of the
resurrection by these predictions, would have
given no account of it in his narrative. More
over it is evident that the Gospel without the
closing section has no proper conclusion. Are

1 Mark xvi. 1-8.
2 (1) Mark viii. 31 ; Matt. xvi. 21 ; Luke ix. 22 ; (2) Mark
ix. 30-32 ; Matt. xvii. 22, 23 ; Luke ix. 43-45 ; (3) Mark x.
32-34 ; Matt. xx. 17-19 ; Luke xviii. 31-34.

112 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
we to suppose that the present conclusion is a
substitute for the original conclusion, owing to
a mutilation of the only original manuscript, or
that it has taken the place of the original conclu
sion by the intention of a later editor ? Both of
these suppositions are improbable. The Gospel
of Mark has at the beginning the sentence :
" The beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the
Son of God." It is not clear whether this is a
title, or the introductory clause of the sentence
defined by the ministry of John the Baptist that
follows. The most natural interpretation would
be, if this is the title of the Gospel, that it im
plies a continuation of the Gospel in another and
a concluding writing. The Book of Acts in the
earlier chapters uses a Hebraistic source, giving
an account of the origin of the Church at Jeru
salem and the development of Christianity from
Jerusalem as a centre to Antioch, the capital of
Syria. This source is used by Luke in a similar
way to his use of Mark for his Gospel. Mark,
as internal evidence shows, was the most natural
person to have written this narrative. He was
near to St. Peter, his mother's house was the
gathering place of the early Christians,1 he was

1 Acts xii. 12

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS 113
present as an eye-witness of many of the remark
able scenes which are described. If he wrote
the Gospel of Jesus he would also for a similar
reason naturally write the story of the Jerusa
lem church. As he depended upon St. Peter
for the one, so he depended upon St. Peter as
well as himself for the other. If the Jerusa
lem source of Acts was a continuation of the
Gospel of Jesus, we can understand better why
the Gospel of Mark was the beginning of that
Gospel.1 Luke, when he distinguished between
his former treatise, his Gospel, and the Book of
Acts, his later treatise, simply followed his pred
ecessor and probable source, Mark. In the
opening of Acts he tells us that Jesus " shewed
himself alive after His Passion by many proofs,
appearing unto them by the space of forty days,
and speaking the things concerning the king
dom of God."2 Two appearances after resur
rection are given in the subsequent narrative:
(1) one in Jerusalem to the apostles when He
charged them to wait for the baptism of the
Holy Spirit ; (2) the other to the apostles when
they asked Him respecting the restoration of the
kingdom to Israel, which was at the time of the
1 See p. 135. 2 Acts i. 3.

114 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ascension.1 It is altogether probable that both
of these came from the Jerusalem source. Turn
ing now to the appendix to Mark, we find the
last of these appearances condensed in Mark xvi.
19, 20, and the former in Mark xvi. 14.
Mark xvi. 12, 13, gives a condensed narrative
of the appearance of Jesus to the two disciples
at Emmaus, fully reported in Luke xxiv. 13-35.
Mark xvi. 9-11 gives an account of an appear
ance to Mary Magdalene. This appearance is
not given by Luke, but is given by Matthew
xxiii. 9, 10, attached to the story given by Mark
of the visit to the tomb by the Magdalene and
the other women. It is also given by John xx.
11-18, attached to the same event. On the
whole, therefore, it seems probable that though
the appendix of Mark does not come from Mark,
it yet is a condensation of the story of the resur
rection, given by Mark at the beginning of his
Jerusalem source of the Book of Acts, which
was added to the Gospel by a later editor to
give it a completion, after the Gospel had been
detached from its continuation.
We would have then in the narrative of the
original Mark (1) the appearance to the Magda-

1 Actsi. 4-11.

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS 115
lene, (2) the appearance to the two at Emmaus,
(3) the appearance to the Eleven in Jerusalem,
(4) the appearance to the disciples at the time of
the ascension. If so much is true, it is also
probable that the appearance to Peter, appended
to the story of the appearance to the two at
Emmaus,1 was derived from Mark, the Petrine
source, and it is improbable that Mark would
give the message of Jesus to the disciples and
Peter, that He would appear to them in Galilee,
and not give an account of that appearance to
Peter, if he gave any appearance at all. It is
probable also that we must add to the five ap
pearances already mentioned, the sixth in Galilee,
reported in Matthew xxviii. 16-20. This is
doubtless the same as the appearance of Mark
xvi. 15-18, which, however, is so condensed
that it appears as if given in connection with
the previous appearance reported by Mark in
Jerusalem. When now we compare these six
appearances with the six given by Paul at an
earlier date, three are in both — namely (1) to
Peter, (2) to the Eleven, (3) to all the apostles.
Three are peculiar to Paul, namely (1) to the
five hundred, (2) to James, (3) to Paul. Three

1 Luke xxiv. 34.

116 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
are peculiar to Mark, (1) to the Magdalene, (2)
to the two disciples, (3) at the ascension.
We are now prepared to consider the reports
of the other Gospels, so far as they have not al
ready been considered. We find nothing addi
tional in Matthew or in Luke. They depend in
fact upon the original Mark for their narrative
here as elsewhere. It is no more likely that we
would find additional material to any extent in
their narrative of the resurrection than in their
other narratives. The Gospel of John, however,
gives us additional information here as elsewhere.
It enlarges upon the appearance to the Eleven,
by stating that Jesus appeared at first to ten in
the upper room, where the Lord's supper was
instituted, Thomas being absent,1 on the day of
the resurrection ; and that in the next week He
appeared again to the Eleven, Thomas being
present. John also reports an appearance to the seven
on the sea of Galilee,2 thus two additional ones.
Accordingly we have ten appearances of Jesus in
all before His ascension, the one to Paul being
subsequent to the ascension.
A careful study of these appearances extending3

1 John xx. 19-25, 2 John xxi. 7-23. 3 Acts i. 3.

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS Hi
during forty days of the fifty between Passover
and Pentecost enables us to see a certain natural
and appropriate progress in them. We distin
guish those in Jerusalem from those in Galilee.
Those in Galilee divide those in Jerusalem into
two divisions, so that we really have three stages :
(I.) Those in Jerusalem on the day of the resur
rection and on the next Sunday. There were
four appearances on the day of resurrection, (1)
to Mary Magdalene, (2) to Peter, (3) to Cleopas
and his companion, (4) to the Ten in the room of
the Lord's Supper. (5) There was an appear
ance on the second Sunday to the Eleven.
(II.) Those in Galilee were : (6) to the Eleven
on a mountain, (7) to the Seven by the Sea. It
is probable that (8) the appearance to the five
hundred reported by Paul also occurred in Gali
lee, and also (9) the appearance to James, the
Lord's brother.
It is interesting to notice that these may be
arranged on the third, fourth, fifth, and sixth Sun
days after the resurrection, giving us, therefore,
about a month of the forty days for the appear
ances in Galilee ; which indeed is altogether
probable in itself. It is unlikely that the dis
ciples would remain in Jerusalem more than a
week after Passover, and so long only for good

118 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
reasons. They would naturally go to their homes
in Galilee, and the appearances of Jesus to the
disciples there would be the ones that would con
firm their faith in Him and rally them to His
cause. It is possible that there may have been
other appearances not reported in the New Tes
tament. But it is of no slight importance that
at least one of those reported may be assigned to
each of the Sundays following the resurrection.
These appearances of Jesus on successive Sun
days may have given origin to the assembling of
Christians on that day, and also to the use of the
term the Lord's day.
(III.) One other appearance (10) is assigned
to Jerusalem, and that at the close of the forty
days, for the final interview and the ascension
from the Mount of Olives. If we suppose that
forty is a round number, we have the forty-second
day, the sixth Sunday, or sixth Lord's day after
the resurrection, only a week before the Lord's
day of Pentecost. It is altogether probable that
Jesus would choose a Lord's day for His ascen
sion. The disciples went up to Jerusalem the
week before Pentecost, doubtless because they
had been so advised by Jesus, and they were to
wait in Jerusalem for the promised advent of the
Spirit. They saw Jesus ascend into heaven on

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS 119
the sixth Lord's day after His resurrection.
On the seventh Lord's day the divine Spirit
came upon them as His coronation gift, endow
ing them with the authority and energy to organ
ize the Christian Church.
If we study these appearances of Jesus during
these forty days, we see clearly that Paul was
justified in classing the manifestation to himself
with the manifestations to the others. They
were all, indeed, revelations or manifestations —
Christophanies. Only from this point of view
can they be understood. It was indeed the same
Jesus who died and rose again, but He was not
in all respects the same. His body saw no cor
ruption, but it did show transformation by which
it became incorruptible. The body of Jesus was
visible or invisible as He chose to make it so.
He was so different that He could not be recog
nized even by His intimates, unless He made
Himself known to them. His body was not
subject to the laws which govern physical sub
stance. It was a body which might be touched
and handled, exhibiting the marks of the cross,
which might be felt as well as seen. He ate
with His disciples on one occasion. And yet
even in His first appearances in Jerusalem He
entered and left rooms without the use of en-

120 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
trances, as if He were a spirit. And on the day
of ascension His body was not subject to the
laws of gravitation, but ascended into the air
and disappeared in the sky. Although we may
say that He appeared to His disciples for a short
time on seven different days, yet on all other
days except these seven, and for the greater part
of these days, He was invisible, leading not an
ordinary human life, but the life of a spirit. We
may see during these forty days indeed, a grad
ual transformation of the earthly body into a
body prepared for the abode of spirits.
These appearances of Jesus to His disciples
were not merely to show Himself to them and
convince them that He was indeed risen, they
were also for purposes of instruction. This is
evident from the statements of the Gospels.
They all represent that Jesus gave a final com
mission to the Twelve. This is briefly stated in
varying terms in the Gospels. But it is alto
gether probable, as 1 have shown elsewhere,1 that
a considerable amount of the material given by
Matthew, and even Luke, in connection with the
Commission of the Twelve and the Seventy, for

1 The Apostolic Commission, Art. i. in Studies in Honor of B.
L. Gildersleeve.

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS 121
their missionary journeys in Galilee and Peraea,
belonged really to the final commission, topical
reasons alone justifying the present arrangement.
The commission, as most fully given in John, is
to the Seven on the sea, and especially Peter.1
But a more limited statement is made of a com
mission in connection with the appearance to the
Ten.2 It is altogether probable that a part of
this commission is reported out of place for
topical reasons in John xv.-xvi. And the final
prayer of Jesus for His disciples, John xvii.,
would certainly suit much better a final inter
view just before the Ascension, than where it
now is, just before the Passion.
Luke tells us that Jesus gave His disciples
full instruction respecting His fulfilment of the
Messianic predictions of the Old Testament.3 It
was to be expected that He would do just this
thing after His resurrection, and we can hardly
explain the preaching of the Twelve as reported
in the Book of Acts, based on the Jerusalem
source, without some such instruction as this.
The report of the institution of the Lord's
supper in the Synoptists is absent from the nar
rative of John. It does not altogether agree

1 John xxi. 2 John xx. 19-23. 3 Luke xxiv. 44-4

122 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
with the report of Paul. We could not prove
from the Synoptists that it was anything more
than the institution of the new Covenant, ob
served once for all. But Paul tells us that it
was instituted as a permanent institution until
the second advent of the Lord, and that it rep
resented not only a new Covenant, but that it
stands for the Christian annual Passover, and
also for all the thank-offerings and peace-offer
ings of the old dispensation, involving frequent
observance.1 The narratives of the Book of Acts, based on
the Jerusalem source, report the observance of
the Lord's supper as a habit of the Christians
from the beginning.2 When now we turn to
the Gospel of John,3 we find a specific command
to eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ as
a condition of everlasting life. This can be un
derstood with difficulty in its present context.
It clearly refers to the Holy Eucharist, but it is
given here out of place, before its institution, be
cause of its parallelism in topic with the bread
from heaven, about which Jesus has been dis
coursing. It is probable that these words have

1 1 Cor. v. 7, x. 16-21, xi. 23-26. See Messiah of the Apos
tles, pp. 100 seq.
2 Acts ii. 42, xx. 7-11. 3 John vi. 51-57.

FORTY DAYS OF THE RISEN JESUS 123
been taken from a post-resurrection discourse of
Jesus; that this is just the discourse upon which
the perpetual observance of the Lord's Supper
depends ; that Paul has combined in his narra
tive the discourse on the night of the betrayal
with this post-resurrection discourse ; and that
the observance of the Lord's Supper of the early
Christians depends upon this combined teaching.1
There must have been similar teaching of Jesus
as to Baptism, for there is a mysterious gap be
tween the Baptism of the Gospels and the Bap
tism of the Apostolic History. It is true the
command to baptize is in the apostolic commis
sion, but there are many questions which must
have arisen, which seem to have occasioned no
difficulty in the practice of the Apostolic Church.
The commission of the Twelve is evident
enough in the Gospels ; but what shall we say
of the Seventy? They doubtless are at the basis
of the larger group of disciples, one hundred and
twenty in number, who appear in Jerusalem, wait
ing for the advent of the Spirit, from whom the
successor of Judas was chosen,2 and who, equally
with the Twelve, received the endowment of the

1 See Messiah of the Gospels, pp. 122 seq.
2 Acts i. 21-26.

124 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
divine Spirit. They reappear doubtless in the
prophets of the Apostolic Church, of whom Bar
nabas was the most eminent. How far they
shared the commission given to the Twelve, the
Gospels do not inform us. The appearance to
the five hundred, reported by Paul, could hardly
have been without some instruction on the part
of Jesus. We are justified, therefore, in the con
clusion that we must assign no inconsiderable
portion of the teaching of Jesus to His appear
ances after His resurrection. It is upon the ex
periences of these forty days, as much as upon
the year and a half of the previous ministry of
Jesus, that the faith and life of the Apostolic
Church was grounded.

XI
THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM
THE three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and
Luke, are named the Synoptic Gospels.
They have so much material that is common, and
this material is in great measure so alike in sub
stance and form, that it is impossible to explain
it on the basis of independent oral sources. Writ
ten sources certainly lie at the basis of a large
part of the material that is common to them.
It is agreed by the vast majority of recent
critics, and it may be regarded as a sure result
of criticism, that these three Gospels depend
upon the Logia of St. Matthew, composed, as
Papias tells us, in the Hebrew language. It is
also agreed that Mark is the earliest of the three
Synoptic Gospels, and that Matthew and Luke
use the original Mark as well as the Logia of St.
Matthew as their source. When now we come
to consider the Logia of St. Matthew there are
several problems that have not yet been solved
by common consent.

126 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
1. Notwithstanding Eusebius reports1 that
Papias represented that the Logia was written in
the Hebrew language, a large number of scholars
insist that by Hebrew he meant Aramaic, the
language spoken by the Jews of Palestine in the
time of our Lord. The most prominent advo
cate of this opinion in recent times is Dalman.2
I myself held that opinion for many years be
fore Dalman discussed the subject. But, as I
said in 1897,3 " A special study of all the sup
posed material of the Logia has since convinced
me that the original was Hebrew." Resch4 has
since given abundant evidence for this opinion,
in his discussion of the subject and his attempt
to give the Logia in the original Hebrew. The
arguments of Dalman, in favor of an Aramaic
original, seem quite strong, especially to those
who have not made an independent study of the
question ; but they amount to no more than an
Aramaic original of some words of Jesus and
His disciples. All admit that Jesus and His dis-

1 Church History, III., xxiv. 6 ; xxxix. 16. Trans. McGiffert,
pp. 152, 173.
2 Dalman, Die Worte Jesus, 1898 ; cf. Meyer, Jesu Mutter-
sprache, 1896.
3 Expository Times, June, 1897.
4 Resch, Die Logia Jesu, 1898.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 127
ciples used the Aramaic in their speech. This is
not the question ; but it is whether the written
Logia was in Aramaic or Hebrew. The evi
dences for an Aramaic original given by Dalman
prove no more than Aramaic original speech.
But the arguments for a Hebrew original, so far
as they are valid, prove a written Hebrew origi
nal, for all admit that Hebrew was not the speech
of our Lord.
In fact, it is altogether improbable that Mat
thew would have written his Gospel in Aramaic.
Aramaic was the language of speech and not the
language of literature. No literature of any
importance in the Aramaic language is known
from the times of our Lord. The literary lan
guage of all educated Jews in Palestine and the
East at that time was Hebrew. Anyone who
could read, could read Hebrew. Hebrew was
not only the sacred language of the Old Tes
tament Scriptures, but also of all the Apoc
rypha and Pseudepigrapha, except of the few
written in Greek for the Hellenistic Jews. The
sayings of the Jewish Fathers of the times of
Jesus, and subsequently, are in Hebrew. The
Mishnayoth and the Baraithoth, the earliest ele
ments of the Talmud, and the earliest Commen
taries on the Old Testament among the Jews,

128 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
were written in Hebrew. Indeed it was not until
many generations after the death of Jesus that
Aramaic became the literary language of the
Jews. Therefore there was no motive for com
posing a Gospel in Aramaic, and every motive
for composing it in Hebrew. The Aramaic was
a language of common speech, but of many dia
lects, and there were no great writings of univer
sal importance, and no common literature to give
a common standard for the language throughout
the Aramaic-speaking world. The language of
Galilee was rude to the Jerusalemite, that of
Palestine difficult to understand by the Jews of
Babylon. But the Hebrew language was the
common sacred language of the Jewish world,
and anyone who wished to write a religious
book, and especially one that would be of an
authoritative character, was compelled by the
situation to write it in Hebrew. We should
have no doubt therefore that the original lan
guage of Matthew's Logia was Hebrew.
2. Another problem of still greater difficulty
remains unsolved. Resch follows Weiss and
earlier scholars generally in the opinion that the
Logia of Matthew gave not only words of Jesus,
but also historical incidents.
Here I must differ from him. The Logia, as

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 129
I have attempted to show,1 was composed en
tirely of the Wisdom of Jesus — that is sayings
in the gnomic poetic form, of the type known
in the Proverbs, Job, and Ecclesiastes of the
Old Testament, the Wisdom of Sirach and Wis
dom of Solomon of the Apocrypha, and the
sayings of the Fathers in the Mishna.2 These
sayings of Wisdom represent a method of teach
ing used by the Rabbis of the time of Jesus,
which Jesus used and in which He excelled all.
These logia, or sayings of Wisdom, are given
by the present Gospel of Matthew in several
great collections. The chief of these is the so-
called Sermon on the Mount.3 The other col
lections are the Commission of the Twelve, and
sayings on their return from their Mission,4 and
the Woes against the Pharisees.6 Luke gives
this material scattered throughout his Gospel,
attached frequently to historical incidents, some
of which are similar to those of Mark. The
weight of evidence, therefore, is in favor of these
having been spoken on a great number of occa-

1 Articles upon the Wisdom of Jesus in the Expository Times
in 1897.
2 General Introduction to the Study of Holy Scripture, pp.
385 seq.
3 Matt, v.-vii. 4 Matt, x., xi. 5 Matt, xxiii.

130 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
sions as a characteristic of Jesus' teaching, and
not in three or four great discourses, as Matthew
arranges them ; and that, therefore, the grouping
of them in Matthew's Gospel is due to the au
thor of that Gospel and not to his source, the
Logia of Matthew. This is confirmed by the re
cently discovered collection of Logia of Jesus,1 in
which each one is introduced by " Jesus says : " —
This peculiarity is preserved frequently in Mark,
but not in Matthew. On the whole, therefore,
we may conclude that Luke gives us the logia
more in accordance with their order and form in
the Logia of Matthew, although even Luke does
not hesitate to group them for topical reasons.
We have already seen2 that in all probability
Matthew and Thomas were the apostolic pair
that accompanied Jesus in the Peraean ministry.
It is altogether probable, therefore, that Matthew
in his Logia gave the Peraean logia together and
the Galilean logia together. It is improbable
that he gave them all in connection with the
Galilean ministry, or in connection with the
Woes on the Pharisees in Passion Week, where
the present Gospel of Matthew gives them. At
1 Aoyia Yrjcrov, Sayings of our Lord, from an Early Greek
Papyrus, discovered and edited by Grenfell and Hunt, 1897.
2 See p. 76.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 131
the same time it is unlikely that many of them
had any more than a brief statement of the occa
sion; and it is probable that in many cases they
were simply introduced by the words — "Jesus
said" — when it was deemed unimportant to
mention the incident out of which they sprang.
Unless this be so, it is difficult to understand,
and indeed impossible to explain, how the author
of the present Gospel of Matthew threw away
such a large number of historical incidents and
utterly disregarded them, when he gave these
logia in the several great collections. And this
is all the more inexplicable that his Gospel bears
the name of Matthew, because it was supposed
Matthew's Logia was its essential substance.
This argument is still more insuperable if, with
Weiss, Resch, and most scholars, we suppose
that the Logia comprised so great a portion of
the historical material given in Matthew and
Mark. How then can we explain on the one
hand the drastic way in which Luke attaches so
great a portion of the logia to incidents of the
Peraean ministry, and on the other hand, the no
less drastic way in which the author of Matthew's
Gospel takes the logia out of their historical con
nection and gives them in several great groups?
If we suppose that the Logia of Matthew con-

132 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
tained so large an amount of historical material
as Resch gives in his reconstruction, all coming
from Matthew, an eye-witness, it is difficult to
see how Luke, the best historian of the New
Testament, could have taken such liberties with
a source of so great authority. It is also diffi
cult to find a sufficient amount of original ma
terial in Mark, not derived from the supposed
Logia, to justify the tradition, even more
strongly supported than the authorship of the
Logia of Matthew, that Mark depended upon
St. Peter for his source. The historical mate
rial given in the Logia of Resch is not very much
less than what we are obliged to find in the
original Mark. The conclusion which seems on
the whole most probable is that the Logia con
tained only the Wisdom of Jesus arranged very
much in the order in which the logia appear in
Luke, with occasional brief statements of the
occasion on which they were uttered.
The historical material of the three Synoptists
was derived from the original Mark. The gen
eral opinion among modern critics is that the
original Mark differed but slightly from the
canonical Mark. All admit certain additions,
the chief of which is the Appendix.1 Other ad-
1 Mark xvi. 9 seq.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 133
ditions here and there must be recognized. Un
less the whole of the eschatological discourse1
be an addition, we must certainly suppose that
of the several duplicates contained there, one of
each is an addition. If the story of the feeding
of the five thousand2 is only a variation of the
feeding of the four thousand,3 one of them is
an addition to the Gospel. It is probable that
the logia respecting the sin against the Holy
Spirit and of Beelzebub,4 attached by Matthew
and Luke 6 to an appropriate historical incident,
is not only attached by Mark to the wrong inci
dent, and at too early a date, against the usage
of Mark, but is an addition to Mark by a second
hand.6 There are several other groups of logia
that are not in harmony with their context, and
seem to come from a second hand. Other im
portant additions may be detected in other places
in the Gospel. And so it seems improbable that
the original Mark used the Logia of Matthew.
When these additions have all been stripped off,

1 Mark xiii. 2 Mark vi. 34 seq.
3 Mark viii. 1 seq. 4 Mark iii. 22-30.
6 Matt. xii. 22 seq.; Luke xi. 14 seq.
6 I have made a special study of all the logia used in
Mark, which I hope soon to publish. The opinion given
above is the result of that study.

134 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
there remains a Gospel of considerable bulk, giv
ing few discourses of Jesus, but a general outline
of His brief ministry. Internal evidence confirms
the ancient tradition that the preaching of Peter
underlies this Gospel. It knows only of a Gali
lean ministry and Passion week in Jerusalem.
It knows nothing of the ministry in Peraea of
Luke, or of the Jerusalem ministry of John.
The reason was that St. Peter confined his testi
mony to what he himself had seen and heard.
He was not with Jesus during the Jerusalem or
the Peraean ministries, and therefore these do not
appear in his Gospel.
The present Mark was prepared for Gentile
Christians in the Greek language. The question
now arises as to the language of the original
Mark. It is the general opinion that St. Mark
wrote in Greek. But St. Peter and St. Mark
were both Jews. Hebrew was the language
that they would use, if the Gospel was written
originally for Jewish Christians, even if these
were in Rome. I agree, therefore, with Resch
that the greater part of the historical material at
the basis of the Synoptists came from a Hebrew
source. I disagree with him in that he thinks of
one source, St. Matthew, whereas I think of
two, — the Logia of St. Matthew for the Wisdom

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 135
of Jesus, and the Petrine Mark for the Galilean
ministry and Passion week. These were the
two written sources of the Synoptists. The
Greek Mark is a translation of the original Mark
with an occasional use of the Logia of Matthew,
and other additions.
It is also my opinion, which I share with
Blass,1 that Mark was the author of the Jerusa
lem source of the Book of Acts, written also in
the Hebrew language, based also on Peter's
preaching; and that this was a second part, or
continuation of the Gospel of Mark.2
The Greek Gospel of Matthew uses the original
Mark as the framework for the history, and there
fore limits itself to the Galilean ministry and Pas
sion week. But it uses also the Logia of St.
Matthew and arranges the material in great collec
tions on the framework of the narrative of Mark.
The parables of Matthew are additional to Mark.
Some of them are given by Luke in connection
with the Peraean ministry and derived from oral
tradition, as their different versions clearly show.
Matthew also groups these parables about the

1 Blass, Acta Apost. 1896, s. iv. seq.; Philology of the Gospels,
1898, pp. 141 seq. See also the earlier query of Weiss, Marcus
evangelium, 1872, s. 511.
2 See pp. WZseq.

136 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
kindred parables of Mark, making chiefly four
collections: (1) The parables of the Kingdom,
(2) The parables of Instruction of the Disciples
on His last journey to Jerusalem, (3) the para
bles attached to the conflict with the Pharisees
in Passion week, and (4) the parables attached
to the eschatological discourse.1 Matthew also
gives a brief gospel of the infancy of Jesus,
which we reserve for special consideration.
The Gospel of Luke uses the same two sources
as Matthew, only he adds to them material de
rived from other sources oral and written. In
the main he follows the order of Mark in the
first part of his Gospel, and gives his additional
material in the second part of his Gospel, before
the final crisis in Passion week. This additional
material, while it is composed of several impor
tant events, doubtless of the Peraean ministry,
derived probably from an oral source, is chiefly
composed of parables and logia. In his use of
the Logia in the first part of his work, he un
doubtedly gives us the correct version of the
Sermon on the Mount, and the Commission of
the Twelve ; and so in all probability the proper
historical connection of the most of the other
1 See p. 74.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 137
logia. We may therefore conclude that the
logia assigned by him to the Peraean ministry
also for the most part belong there ; and that in
this he follows the Logia of Matthew, only that
in the Logia of Matthew, the logia given by
Luke in the Peraean ministry, detached from
those which he gives in the Galilean ministry,
were not so clearly attached to a Peraean minis
try and historical incidents, that the author of
Matthew's Gospel was debarred from using them
in another connection. The most of the para
bles given by Luke in this section of his gospel
are of a very different character from those
given in Mark and Matthew. They are parables
of grace and salvation. They were doubtless
derived from an oral source, and are most appro
priate in the Peraean ministry. I see no reason
to follow Weiss and think of a written source
other than the two already given, for this section
of Luke. The incidents are too few to justify
such a conclusion.
Luke gives, in his earlier chapters, an extend
ed gospel of the infancy of Jesus, which he must
have derived from other sources of information
than those already considered. This we must
reserve for special consideration.
And so the three Synoptic Gospels gradually

138 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
came into existence. The Logia of Matthew
and the Gospel of St. Mark were the fundamental
Gospels written in the Hebrew language, having
apostolic origin from eye- and ear- witnesses of the
ministry of Jesus. The composition of the other
Gospels was due in part to the needs of the
Gentile world, and so these original Gospels were
translated with explanations. There was also
an increasing demand for more information as to
the life and teaching of Jesus, which could be
satisfied only by searching out other eye-wit
nesses and ear- witnesses, who could testify as to
the things they had seen and heard and knew.
The author of Matthew's Gospel did but httle of
this ; but Luke, as he himself tells us, was zeal
ous and painstaking ; and his Gospel, when com
pared with the others, amply justifies and attests
his own statements. St. Luke wrote last of the
three. His work was certainly unknown to the
author of Matthew's Gospel. He wrote his
Gospel before he wrote the Book of Acts. He
was the physician and pupil of St. Paul. But
he was not his companion on his travels as tradi
tion has wrongly inferred. According to the
New Testament he first appears in connection
with St. Paul at the close of his life in Rome,1

1 Col. iv. 14.

THE SYNOPTIC PROBLEM 139
and therefore was a younger man than tradition
allows. His Gospel was written subsequent to
the death of the great apostle ; subsequent also,
as internal evidence shows, to the destruction
of Jerusalem by the Romans, probably in the
eighties of the first century. Many of the first
disciples of Jesus had died, but many others were
still living — and, indeed, a sufficient number to
secure testimony of the first historical impor
tance. Without the Gospel of Luke a serious
loss would be felt in our knowledge of the min
istry of Jesus.

XII
THE COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN
TWO antagonistic views have been battling
for a century with regard to the composi
tion of the Gospel of John. The traditional
view maintains the authorship of St. John the
apostle. The view held by most critics is that it
was the work of a pupil of St. John. Many
strong, and indeed insuperable arguments are
adduced in favor of the authorship of St. John.
Equally numerous, strong, and insuperable ar
guments are adduced against his authorship.
Those who take either side of the controversy
depreciate and endeavor to explain away and
avoid the arguments of the other side, but with
out success. Neither view has been able to over
come the other. The reason, as ought by this
time to be obvious, is that neither view is cor
rect. The problem cannot be solved by either
side of this debate. Under these circumstances
it is remarkable that another method was not
earlier used ; especially as the method of analy-

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 141
sis has solved so many problems in the Old Tes
tament ; and all the more that the problems of
the Gospels of Matthew and Luke have been
solved in this way ; and those of the Book of
Acts are in process of solution. The Book of
Revelations has also been analyzed into several
documents.1 Several of the Epistles, such as
II. Corinthians and the Pastorals, have been ex
plained in this way, and even the closing chapter
of Romans must be detached from that epistle
and given an independent value.2
The reason why this method has not been
used to solve the problem of the Fourth Gospel
is doubtless the striking unity of that Gospel.
This unity, which is so evident, is indeed an ob
struction to the method of analysis ; but it is
not an insuperable one. The New Testament
writers use their sources in a different way from
the Old Testament writers. It is much easier to
analyze Old Testament books than New Testa
ment books for the reason that the Old Tes
tament writers preserve the very language of
their sources, and piece these together by seams
of their own composition. The New Testament

1 Messiah of the Apostles, pp. 284 seq.
2 General Introduction, p. 315.

142 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
writers, however, use their sources more freely,
condensing, enlarging, and explaining, and not
unfrequently rewriting, so as to change the lan
guage and style of their originals.
We have also to consider, in many cases, the
process of translation from the Hebrew into the
Greek language. This is evident in the use of
the poetical logia by Matthew and Luke. It is
still more the case in the use of the original nar
ratives of Mark by Matthew and Luke. Luke
is much freer in his use of the original Mark
than Matthew, and he pursues the same method
in his use of the Jerusalem source of the Book
of Acts.
The Book of Acts has indeed as striking a
unity as the Fourth Gospel. This has made the
work of analysis more difficult, and has retarded
it, so that the problem has not yet been fully
solved ; but it has not prevented critics from
using this method. Why, then, should the
unity of the Gospel of John obstruct the analysis
of that Gospel? No serious attempt to analyze
the Fourth Gospel was made until recent years,
when Wendt undertook it.1

1 Wendt, Das Johannesevangelium, 1900. Independent of
Wendt, and prior to the publication of his views, I had tried
the same method, and I had come to the conclusion that this

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 143
The very fact that there are such strong and
convincing arguments both for and against the
authorship of the Fourth Gospel by St. John,
raises the question whether the arguments for
his authorship, so far as they are derived from
the Gospel itself, may not belong to one strata
of the Gospel, and the arguments against his au
thorship to another strata,? This is indeed the
true state of the case. When now we apply the
principles and method of the Higher Criticism
to the analysis of this Gospel, we find that there
are linguistic and stylistic differences, differences
of historical situation, differences of opinion and
conception, and the arguments from citation and
from silence are not without forceful representa
tion. I cannot, in the space allotted to me in the
proportions of this volume, undertake a full proof
of this statement. I shall only give a few speci
mens of evidence.
(1) There is a striking difference in the Gos-

was the only method by which we could solve the problem of
the Fourth Gospel. I published my view without argument
in the first edition of my General Introduction to the Study of
Holy Scripture, 1899, p- 327- In essentials, I agree in my
analysis with Wendt. We differ less than the earlier analysts
of the Hexateuch, notwithstanding the greater difficulty of
the analysis.

144 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
pel in the use of 0-77/i.eia, signs for miracles,1 and
the use of epya, works.2 All the uses of a-qp.da
are in sections which are clearly from the final
author, or may be from him. The only instances
that may be disputed are, Chapter iii. 2, in the
words of Nicodemus, and Chapters iv. 48, vi. 26,
in the words of Jesus, both of which are rebukes
of the people for sign-seeking. Jesus Himself
always uses epya when speaking of His own mir
acles. This is indeed in accordance with the
usage of the New Testament elsewhere. The
original Mark and the Logia always use Swa/ieis
for miracles ; a-qfieia belongs to the later strata,
especially of Luke. There is, indeed, in these
strata not only a difference of terms, but also an
earlier and a later conception of the nature and
meaning of miracles.
(2) A difference of historical situation is in
volved in the use, for the opponents of Jesus
in Jerusalem, of the terms Pharisees and Jews.
The Synoptic Gospels use Pharisees for the chief
opponents of Jesus. So the use of Pharisees in
the Fourth Gospel belongs to the original strata,

i

John ii. 11, 18, 23, iii. 2, iv. 48, 54, vi. 2, 14, 26, 30, vii.
31, ix. 16, x. 41, xi. 47, xii. 18, 37, xx. 30.
2 John v. 20, 36, vii. 3, 21, ix. 3, 4, x. 25, 32, 33, 37, 38,
xiv. 10, 11, 12, xv. 24.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 145
but the common use of Jews for the enemies
belongs to a later strata, and indeed indicates a
historical situation, when the distinction between
Jew and Christian had been so sharpened that
the Jew, as such, was hostile to Christ and
Christianity. The apostle St. John could never
have so written about his countrymen — he, least
of all the apostles, because of his intimate asso
ciation with families in Jerusalem.
(3) A difference of doctrinal conception is rec
ognized by most scholars in the dogmatic elabo
ration of the discourse of Jesus to Nicodemus,1
and of the Baptist.2 But such dogmatic exposi
tions of conversations of Jesus are characteristic
of the Gospel and appear in most of the sections.
Thus in John v. 28, 29, we have a distinct pre
diction of a universal resurrection, which is at
tached to another and entirely different concep
tion of resurrection. In the Synoptists there is
no reference to a resurrection of the wicked.
Without these verses the Fourth Gospel agrees
with the Synoptists. With them, it agrees with
the latest strata of the New Testament. There
can be little doubt that this is a dogmatic addi-

1 John iii, 16-21. See Messiah of the Apostles, pp. 515 seq.
2 John iii. 31-36.

146 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
tion to the original Gospel. The situation at this
feast was not so grave as this writer represents.
Jesus had not yet asserted His divinity as this
author thinks, when he says, " For this cause
therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him,
because he not only brake the Sabbath, but also
called God his own Father, making himself equal
with God." '
A considerable amount of the work of the
author of the present Gospel may easily be
detected and removed. But after that has been
done we cannot say that he has left the Gospel
in its original form. He has indeed rewritten
the original, even to a greater extent than Luke
rewrote his sources. This is evident in the use
of the few logia preserved in the Fourth Gospel,
where the words and expressions are sometimes
entirely different from those of the Synoptists,
and the gnomic form has disappeared.2 The
same is true of the conversations of Jesus and
His longer discourses, and even with the his
torical incidents. At the same time, even
here, careful criticism may distinguish the final
author's handiwork, and detect the original Gos
pel which underlies it. This rewriting of the

1 John v, 18. 2 See General Introduction, pp. 69-70.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 147
original was probably due to the fact that the
original Gospel was in the Hebrew language,
and it had become necessary to translate it into
Greek. Matthew and Luke use the Logia of
St. Matthew, and the original Mark, in a similar
way. All three of the primitive Gospels were
written by Hebrews in the Hebrew language,
with which they were familiar, and for the use of
Jewish Christians. In fact the Gospel of John,
especially in those parts which belong to the
earliest strata, is in some respects the most
Hebraistic of the Gospels. In none of them are
there so many explanations of Hebrew and Ara
maic words and phrases.
If then we may distinguish an original Gospel
of John underlying the Fourth Gospel, very
much as we distinguished a Gospel of Matthew
underlying the first Gospel, the several remain
ing problems become easier of solution. It is
evident that the original Gospel closed with : 1
"Many other signs therefore did Jesus in the
presence of the disciples, which are not written
in this book: but these are written, that ye may
believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God;
and that believing ye may have life in his name."

1 John xx. 30-31.

148 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Chapter xxi., as is generally agreed, was a sub
sequent addition, and, as we may now say, by
a third hand ; for the concluding verses 1 evi
dently came not from the apostle St. John but
from the second hand ; as it uses the term
o-qfieia, expressing clearly the dogmatic intent
of the author, and the chief aim of the book, not
only to show that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son
of God, but that life is through faith in Him.
The Prologue, as I have shown elsewhere,2 is
a hymn to the Logos, composed independently
of the Gospel, and prefixed to it. In the present
Gospel it is interwoven with the introduction to
the story of the Baptist, destroying in part its
metrical form. It is probable that it was not
attached to the original Gospel, but was pre
fixed by the second hand, and interwoven by the
third hand.
When now we turn to the Gospel as left by
the second hand, with the hymn to the Logos
prefixed, it begins, as Mark does, with a brief
account of the preparatory ministry of the Bap
tist, and concludes with the appearance of Jesus,
after the resurrection, to the Eleven in Jerusalem.

1 John xx. 30-31.
2 See Messiah of the Apostles, pp. 495-515.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 149
We have in our previous studies seen abun
dant evidence that the material is not arranged
in chronological order in the present Gospel.1
It is important that we should briefly restate the
case, and consider whether the present order is
due to the original author or to the second hand.
The story of the naming of St. Peter is at
tached to the first meeting of Jesus with An
drew, his brother, before the first Galilean min
istry,2 when it properly belongs, according to
the Synoptists, at the close of the Galilean
ministry, in connection with the Confession
at Caesarea Philippi.3 The conversation with
Nathanael, with its distinct statement and recog
nition of the Messiahship of Jesus,4 is undoubt
edly also too early to be harmonized with the
attitude of the disciples during the early part of
Jesus' ministry, according to the Synoptists.
The Fourth Gospel aims to prove the Messiah-
ship of Jesus, at the very beginning of the Gos
pel, and it places the calling of disciples, all that
are mentioned, in one place at the beginning,
doubtless for topical reasons. If this order was
in the original Gospel of John, we must recog-

1 See pp. 10, 45, 47, 50 seq. 2 John i. 40-42.
3 See General Introduction, pp. 514 seq. 4 John i. 49.

150 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
nize that St. John had the same motive as his
pupil, who revised and edited his work. But
this is improbable, for there is an implicit incon
sistency between the assured faith of these dis
ciples prior to the ministry, and their expression
of that faith after testing.1 The latter is more
in accord with the Synoptists, and intrinsically
more probable.
The cleansing of the temple is given2 at a
Passover usually regarded as the first of Jesus'
ministry. The same event is given by the Synop
tists at the last Passover. It is improbable that
this event occurred twice. Jesus would not
have been so imprudent as to force an issue, and
so sharp and perilous an issue, at so early a
date in His ministry. Furthermore the implicit
reference to His death and resurrection3 is too
early to be reconciled with Synoptic statements.
And the reflection of the author4 that many
believed Him because they had seen the o-njueta,
that He wrought, is out of place at so early
a date, when the only sign thus far wrought,
according even to the Gospel of John, was at
Cana of Galilee, at a marriage feast whose only
witnesses were the guests of the occasion.
1 John vi. 66-69. 2 John ii. 13-25.
3 John ii. 19-22. * John ii. 23.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 151
The report of the Fourth Gospel itself, there
fore, is inconsistent with this early placing of the
event. The motive, again, is to give a distinct
and public assertion of His Messiahship, as ac
cepted by many in Jerusalem, near the beginning
of the Gospel, immediately after the showing
forth of His power at Cana of Galilee.
The conversation with Nicodemus,1 even after
it has been stripped of its later dogmatic addi
tions, is still out of place. It doubtless is not in
chronological order. It could not be earlier than
the reference to Nicodemus at the feast of Tab
ernacles.2 It is placed by Tatian much later.
The motive for the present placing of the story is
to set forth the impression made by Jesus upon
a member of the Sanhedrim.
The story of the journey through Samaria and
the proclaiming of His Messiahship by Jesus,
and the faith of the Samaritans in Him,3 is cer
tainly too early — too early for such an assertion
of His Messiahship, and too early for a journey
through Samaria northward, which implies a

1 John iii. 1-21.
1 John vii. 50-52. The statement in parentheses, " he that
came to him before, being one of them," verse 50, is from the
second or third hand.
3 John iv. 4-42.

152 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
peril which did not exist until after the resurrec
tion of Lazarus.1 The motive for its present
place in the Gospel is to set forth the acceptance
of Jesus as the Messiah by the Samaritans.
The story of the healing of the nobleman's
son 2 was probably not in the original John, be
cause its difference from the corresponding event
described in the Synoptic Gospels is so great
that it indicates not only different oral tradition,
but also a form of statement which could hardly
have come from St. John the apostle, who was
familiar with Capernaum, and was an eye-witness
of the event, according to the Synoptists.
Thus far the Fourth Gospel has set forth the
acceptance of Jesus as Messiah by the Baptist,
by several disciples, by Nicodemus, a member of
the Sanhedrim, by Galileans, Judaeans, and Sa
maritans. The author now tells of a series of
conflicts with the unbelievers. The story be
gins in Jerusalem, Chapter v., then is transferred
to Galilee, Chapter vi., only to return to Jerusa
lem from Chapter vii. until the end.
Chapter v. begins with a reference to an in
definite feast.3 All the other feasts are definite,
why not this ? It is improbable that St. John,

1 See pp. 91 seq. 2 John iv. 46-54. 8 See p. 51.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 153
from whom the statements as to the other feasts
came, did not know what this feast was. We
can only think that the author of the present
Gospel took this incident from a connection, in
which the feast was defined, and gave it a posi
tion in his narrative apart from its historical in
troduction. Otherwise the statement as to the
feast came from a supposition of the author,
without being in his original. At all events,
Chapter vi. is out of place chronologically. It
should come after Chapter xi. Its present posi
tion is topical, to give the Galilean rejection be
fore devoting attention to the great struggle in
Jerusalem. It is improbable that this was the
order of the original John.
Chapters vii.-x. give a series of controversial
dialogues between Jesus and the Pharisees in
Jerusalem, separated by accounts of two jour
neys to Jerusalem, one to Tabernacles, one to
Dedication; and supplemented, Chapter xi., by a
third journey to the raising of Lazarus. These
three events are doubtless in the order given.
But it does not by any means follow that all of
the material of these chapters was originally in
the order in which it now appears. Chapter vii.
37-52 gives a discourse on the last and great day
of the feast of Tabernacles, followed by a delibera-

154 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
tion of the Sanhedrim respecting Jesus. It is
rather remarkable that this is followed by Chap
ter viii.-x. 21, before the material connected with
the feast of Dedication. The feast of Taber
nacles having closed, it was natural that Jesus
should depart with the multitudes from Jerusa
lem, and there is reason to think that the first
Peraean ministry immediately followed that feast.1
It is also improbable that Jesus would have re
mained in Jerusalem after the crisis reported at
the close of Chapter viii.
Moreover, the material of these chapters seems
at too early a date for the development of the
conflict with the Pharisees.2 This material is
better suited to the situation at the feast of
Dedication than to the situation at the feast of
Tabernacles several months before.
In the present text Chapter viii. begins with
the story of the woman taken in adultery,3 when
Jesus enters into the temple from the Mount of
Olives, just as He did in Passion week daily,
according to the Synoptists. It is agreed by all
critics that this is a late addition to the Gospel —
later indeed than the additions of the third hand.
But the very fact, that it was inserted here in

1 See p. 67. 2 See pp. 83 seq. 3 John viii. 1-11.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 155
some early manuscript, makes it evident that a
gap in the Gospel was detected just at this point.
The distinct reference to His death : implies
greater peril than any yet experienced, and is
more suited to the peril of the feast of Dedica
tion. The denunciation of His opponents,2 the
statement of His pre-existence,3 and the attempt
of the people to stone Him for blasphemy 4 also
seem better suited to that occasion when He
was doomed, and had no longer any reason for
reserve or caution. The story of healing the man
born blind, Chapter ix., and its consequences, is
also more suited to the latter date. Chapter x.
1-21, the allegory of the Good Shepherd, is in
deed implied in x. 26-29, and probably originally
preceded it. The attempt at stoning, x. 31, seems
to be the same as that of viii. 59. The separa
tion of this material was doubtless due to the
second author, as more suited to his dogmatic re
flections, and it can hardly be ascribed to the
original Gospel of John.
Chapters xiii.-xvii. give a connected series of
discourses of Jesus with His disciples on Passion
eve. But there is a break at the close of Chap-

1 John viii. 12-29. ' John viii. 30-50.
3 John viii. 51-58. * John viii. 59.

156 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
ter xiv., where Jesus is represented as saying:
" Arise, let us go hence." It is remarkable that
discourses with the disciples continue through
Chapters xv., xvi., concluding with a final prayer
of Jesus for His disciples, Chapter xvii. When
these discourses are examined critically it is evi
dent that we have a complexity of material not
altogether suited to the situation on the eve of
the Passion. The dogmatic intent of the author
is evident in his additions to the discussions of
Jesus and His disciples.
Chapter xvii. and a considerable amount of
material in the previous chapters suit much bet
ter a post-resurrection situation in connection
with the final commission of the disciples ; and
the prayer is best suited to the last interview
with the disciples just prior to the ascension, as
reported in Luke.1
It is evident, therefore, that the discourses of
Jesus and the few historical incidents in the
Fourth Gospel are arranged with a dogmatic
purpose and in a topical order. Nothing can be
more unsafe than to treat them as in chrono
logical order. The arrangement of modern har
monists and authors of the life of Jesus, which is
1 See p. 121.

COMPOSITION OF THE GOSPEL OF JOHN 157
based upon this theory of the chronological order
of the Fourth Gospel, is, therefore, altogether
wrong. It obstructs the way to an understand
ing of the development in the life of Jesus, and
fills the whole story with darkness and confusion.
It is not surprising that many moderns disregard
the Fourth Gospel altogether in their studies of
the life of Jesus.
If, however, we abandon this error, use the
material of the Fourth Gospel, after the example
of the earliest harmonist, Tatian, as in topical
order, and then seek to arrange it where it best
fits into the narratives of the Synoptists; or if
we use all the material of the Fourth Gospel,
without prejudice as to its chronological order,
with the other Gospels as common sources for
an arrangement of the material as it best suits
all the conditions of the problem, a new light
breaks forth upon the whole, and the material
falls naturally into an orderly development and
a harmonious historical narrative.
If the results thus far obtained are correct, not
the apostle St. John, but his pupil is responsible
for the structure of the Fourth Gospel. He
uses the original Hebrew Gospel of St. John
as his source, just as the author of the Gospel
of Matthew uses the original Gospel of St.

158 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Matthew as his source ; but the order of the dis
courses of Jesus in the original Gospel of St.
John is even more clouded than the order of the
logia in the original Gospel of St. Matthew.
Their historical order we may determine partly
from incidental statements contained therein;
but chiefly from the interrelation of their teach
ings and their appropriate fitting into the events
of the life of Jesus after these have taken their
place in the narrative.

XIII
THE GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY
THE Gospels of Mark and John agree in
having no gospel of the Infancy of Jesus.
This was due doubtless to a lack of* interest in
that part of the life of* Jesus, as well as to the
fact that both of these Gospels seem to be
limited to the testimony of what the primary
authorities themselves had seen and heard — St.
Peter in Mark, and St. John in the Gospel of
John — that is, in both Gospels in their original
forms. The later editors, doubtless owing to a more
dogmatic interest, thinking of Jesus as the Son
of God and divine, had still less interest in the
infancy of Jesus. The Gospel of the Infancy is
confined to a brief statement in Matthew i. 1 8— ii.
to which a genealogy of Jesus is prefixed ; and a
fuller statement, Luke i.-ii. to which a genealogy
is appended, iii. 23-38, the ministry of John
being inserted, iii. 1-22.
The fact, that in both cases the gospel of the

160 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
Infancy is attached to genealogies shows an in
terest in proving that Jesus was the Son of
David, the heir of the promises to Dayid and
his seed, and so the Messiah. The fact that
Luke's genealogy goes back to Adam shows a
human interest, and a universalism characteristic
of the Roman disciple of St. Paul. The stories of
the Infancy, told by Matthew, were all to show
that Jesus was the Messiah of Prophecy:1 (1)
The annunciation to Joseph and birth of Jesus,
as the fulfilment of the prophecy of Isaiah
respecting Emmanuel ; 2 (2) The adoration of
the Magi, as the fulfilment of the prophecy of
Micah that the Messiah would be born in
Bethlehem ; 3 (3) The blood-bath of Bethlehem
and flight into Egypt, as fulfilling the prophecy
of Jeremiah, of Rachel weeping for her children ;
and the prediction of Hosea that — " out of
Egypt did I call my son;"* (4) The return to
Nazareth, as fulfilling the prophecy of Isaiah5
that He should be called a Nazarene.
It is evident that none of this was found in
the original Gospels of Matthew or Mark. These
1 Messiah of the Gospels, pp. 318 seq.
1 Matt. i. 18-25 ; Is. vii. 14. * Matt. ii. 1-12 ; Mic.v.2.
4 Matt. ii. 13-18 ; Jer. xxxi. 15 ; Hos. xi. 1.
6 Matt. ii. 19-23 ; Is. xi. 1.

THE GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY 161
are all additions inserted by the author of the
canonical Matthew. This conception of the ful
filment of Old Testament prophecy by these
events as stated by this author, is doubtless a
crude interpretation of the Old Testament Script
ure.1 We may, however, find a sufficient num
ber of parallels in the Rabbinical methods of the
time. We are to explain them, therefore, not in
accordance with modern principles of interpreta
tion, but in accordance with those principles
which were in use in the times of Jesus.2
Did these stories come from an oral source or
from a written source ? Matt. i. 20-21 gives a
little piece of poetry. This is not complete in
itself. It was taken from a longer poem. Its
contents show that the longer poem contained a
fuller account of the story of the annunciation to
Joseph. We may therefore say that the story
of the annunciation to Joseph and the birth of
Jesus was taken from this poem and given by
the author of our Matthew in prose with the ex
ception of this extract. This piece has the par
allelisms and measures of Hebrew poetry. We
may therefore conclude that there was a poem in

1 Messianic Prophecy, pp. 63 seq.
2 General Introduction, pp. 436 seq.

162 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the Hebrew language, which has been translated
for the present Gospel. The other stories do not
contain such poetic extracts, and therefore we
cannot use the same argument for a written
source. But they are Hebraistic in style. It is
possible that these also were in the same poem;
but we have no evidence of it, in their composi
tion or their context. They may therefore have
come from an oral source. The use that is made
of them in the canonical Matthew, to show that
Jesus was the Messiah of Prophecy, we may
safely say, was not in the source, whether oral or
written, but was due to the author of the Gospel
himself. The fullest report of the story of the Infancy
of Jesus is given in Luke. This story is com
posed of a number of pieces of poetry. The
prose narrative gathers about these ; and is
chiefly of'the nature of seams to build the poetry
together into a harmonious story. These poems
are: (1) The Annunciation to Zacharias,1 a tri
meter poem in the original Hebrew in two
strophes of different lengths evidently incomplete
in the translation. (2) The Annunciation to
Mary,2 four pieces of trimeter poetry of different

1 Luke i. 13-17. 2 Luke i. 28, 30-33, 35-37, 38.

THE GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY 163
lengths connected by seams, evidently incom
plete in their present form. (3) The Annuncia
tion to the Shepherds,1 two pieces of trimeter
poetry evidently extracts from a larger piece.
(4) The Song of Elizabeth,2 and (5) the Song of
of the Virgin, the Magnificat of the Church,3
both trimeter poems, more complete than the
others, but probably also incomplete. (6) The
Song of Zacharias, the Benedictus of the Church.4
This seems to be of the pentameter movement.
It is uncertain whether we should divide it into
five or into two strophes. It is the most com
plete of the poems, but it is by no means certain
that the whole of it has been preserved. (7) The
Song of Simeon5 is a trimeter poem, which is cer
tainly incomplete in the parts of two strophes
that have been preserved. This is the Nunc
Dimittis of the Church.
These seven pieces of poetry are a series of
annunciations and of songs of gratitude and
praise, all with marked characteristics of Hebrew
poetry, not only in form but in the style and
substance of the thought. They are not com
plete in themselves, but extracts from poems.
1 Luke ii. 10-12, 14. 2 Luke i. 42-45.
8 Luke i. 46-55. * Luke i. 68-79.
6 Luke ii. 29-32, 34-35.

164 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
This raises the question whether they were not
originally parts of larger poems, rather than each
from different and independent poems. Six of
them have the same trimeter movement, and
may be all from the same poem. One of them
is a pentameter, like the pentameter preserved
in Matthew,1 and therefore both of these may be
from the same poem. May we, therefore, think
of two long poems, each giving a poetic account
of the birth and infancy of Jesus ? Or are we to
think of a number of little poems each taking up
a different theme ? It seems more probable that
we have to think of two original poems of this
kind, the one chiefly used by Matthew, the other
chiefly used by Luke. At all events, so far as
Luke is concerned, his story of the Infancy is
nothing more than a prose setting for these
seven poetic pieces given by him. These poems
were certainly originally in Hebrew ; they were
also certainly before him in written documents,
one or more. They were written sources as
truly as the original Mark, and the original Mat
thew, — all alike in the Hebrew language. They
must have been composed before the destruction
of Jerusalem, either in the Christian congrega-

1 Matt. i. 20-21.

THE GOSPEL OF THE INFANCY 165
tion of Jerusalem, or the Christian community in
Galilee; therefore by early Christian poets who
had access to the family of Jesus, certainly to His
brother James the head of the Jerusalem Church,
and possibly also to the Virgin Mother of our
Lord ; and to others who could speak as eye
witnesses or ear- witnesses of these matters em
bodied in verse. Making every allowance for the
poetic form, style, and conception, these poems
are sources of the highest value, and of the first
degree of historic importance, as belonging with
the original Hebrew Gospels of Mark, Mat
thew, and John, rather than with the later Gos
pels of Matthew, Luke, and John, as we now
have them.
They give us information as to the Infancy of
Jesus, and as to the Virgin Mother, which is
necessary to complete the story of their lives and
to give us a complete understanding of their
character. Indeed this gospel of the Infancy
as enshrined not only in the first and third Gos
pels, but also in the Canticles of the Church de
rived from them, has had more influence upon
Christian worship, and no less influence upon
Christian doctrine, than the more dogmatic
statements of the Epistles. There is no sound
reason to reject it as merely legendary, in its

166 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
material. There is every reason to accept it as
giving a valid and essentially historic account
of the Infancy of our Lord, so far as it could
be reasonably expected in poetic forms.

XIV
OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS
THE solution given of the several prob
lems considered in the previous chap
ters enables us to arrange the material given in
the four Gospels respecting the life of Jesus in
the following outline.
I. The birth and early life of Jesus.
The Gospels of Mark and John agree in giv
ing only incidental references to the early life of
Jesus. Mark simply tells us that Jesus was a
carpenter, the Son of Mary, and that He had
brothers and sisters. He was of the royal line
of David and heir to the Messianic promise.1
John tells us that He was a Son of Joseph, hav
ing mother and brethren.2 These Gospels defi
nitely set forth the divinity of Christ and have
no interest in His human development. In this
they agree with the Epistles of St. Paul, which
represent that Jesus was born of a woman, of
1 Mark iii. 31, vi. 3, x. 47.
8 John i. 45, ii. 1-12, vi. 42, vii. 3-10, xix. 25-27.

168 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
the seed of David and Abraham, an Israelite
according to the flesh, in the likeness of sinful
flesh ; under the Jewish Law, and that He had
brothers.1 But St. Paul clearly teaches the pre-
existence of Christ, and that His entrance into
the world was from a pre- existent and divine
state.2 Almost all that we know of the early fife
of Jesus is derived from Matthew and Luke.
According to these Gospels, the angel Gabriel
appeared to the Virgin Mary betrothed to Jo
seph of the royal line of David, and announced
that she had been chosen of God to conceive
and bear the Messiah, and that He was to be
named Jesus. Mary was overshadowed by a
theophanic cloud and conceived Jesus by the
energy of the divine Spirit.3 Joseph, instructed
by an angel, marries Mary after her conception
of Jesus and brings up Jesus as his son and
heir.4 Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the birth
place of David, a year or two before the death
of Herod the Great. Joseph went up with his
wife to Bethlehem, from their home in Nazareth,

1 Gal. i. 19, iii. 16, iv. 4, 5; 1 Cor. ix. 5; Rom. i. 3, viii. 1-4,
ix. 5; 2 Tim. ii. 8.
2 The Incarnation of the Lord, pp. 83 seq.
3 Luke i. 26-38. 4 Matt. i. 18-25.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 169
because it was necessary that he should be regis
tered in his ancestral home according to the de
cree of Augustus. The city being overcrowded
he was compelled to lodge in a stable ; so that
when Jesus was born, He was cradled in a
manger. His birth was accompanied by a
theophany to the shepherds of Bethlehem, an
nouncing the birth of the Messiah, and leading
them to the cradle of the infant Jesus.1 Jesus
was circumcised and named on the eighth day
after birth, and was presented to God in the
temple as the first-born son on the fortieth day
after birth, with sacrifices which imply the
limited resources of His parents at the time.
The presentation was accompanied with a recog
nition of His Messiahship by Simeon and Anna.2
Wise men from the East were guided by a
theophany in the form of a star to Bethlehem,
whither they came to worship Jesus as the new
born Messianic king. The jealousy of Herod
the king was excited, and, warned by God,
Joseph and Mary escaped from the blood-bath
of Bethlehem, in which Herod hoped he had
slain the infant Jesus in the midst of the
others. They fled to Egypt, where they re-

1 Luke ii. 1-20. J Luke ii. 21-38.

HO NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
mained until the death of Herod. Then they
returned to Palestine ; but not to Bethlehem,
for fear of Archelaus, Herod's son ; but to their
former home in Nazareth.1 And now a veil is
drawn over the life of Jesus, until He was twelve
years of age when, in accordance with the Law,
He made His first Passover in Jerusalem. He
had grown in strength, wisdom and grace. And
He was so intent upon learning from the wise
men of Jerusalem that He was left behind by
His parents when they started on their return
to Nazareth. When they missed Him they
returned to Jerusalem and found Him in the
temple with the rabbis, hearing them and ask
ing them questions. His words to His parents
on that occasion make it evident that He was
conscious that He was the Son of God in a
special sense and that He was called to do His
Father's business.2 But He was also conscious
that His time had not yet come, and so He
returned with His parents and remained subject
to them until He had reached full maturity.3
Indeed He did not begin His ministry until He
was about thirty years of age. Thus, about

Matt. ii. 22-23.
The Incarnation of the Lord, pp. 42-44.
Luke ii. 40-52.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 171
eighteen years He remained in obscurity in
Nazareth, conscious all the time of His divine
mission, and yet waiting patiently for the time
when He should begin it. During this period
He was, as the carpenter's son, Himself a car
penter, engaged in daily labor with His hands.1
In this respect, however, He was doing what the
most distinguished rabbis of the time had done ;
for it was an established principle that each
should learn some trade or handiwork, and the
highest studies were not incompatible with daily
labor. So St. Paul was a tent-maker, although
certainly trained to the highest degree in the
learning of his times. There can be no doubt l
that the boy who, at twelve, appeared in the
temple, so inquiring, so self-contained, and so
assured of His mission, spent these eighteen I
years in the study of the Holy Scriptures and in]
all other learning that was accessible to Him.
His wisdom as manifested in His sentences is
more precious in form as well as in substance,
than all the wisdom of Israel. His skill in
argument as shown in all His discussions with
the Pharisees ; His wonderful parables excelling
all the Haggadistic teaching of the greatest rab-

1 Matt. xiii. 55 ; Mark vi. 3.

172 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
bis of Israel, make it evident that Jesus had
made Himself master of all that the rabbis of
His time had to teach Him and that He easily
surpassed them all.
During this period Joseph had probably died.
He was evidently somewhat advanced in life
when he married Mary. He had at that time
children, sons and daughters, from an earlier
marriage. There is no good reason to doubt
the earliest traditions that Mary retained her
perpetual virginity, that Jesus was her only
Son, and that Joseph respected her as the conse
crated Mother of the Messiah.
II. Introductory Ministry.
Jesus began His ministry when He was about
thirty years of age.1 He was prepared for it by
His forerunner, John the Baptist, who was a
near relative of Jesus on the mother's side, a
priest by descent, consecrated from birth to be a
prophet like Jeremiah and Ezekiel before him.
He preached in the valley of the Jordan, partly
in Judaea and partly in Peraea, declaring that
the kingdom of God was at hand, that the
advent of God and the Messiah was near. He

' Luke iii. 23

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 173
called to repentance and sealed the repentance
with the anointing of Baptism. 1
Jesus, probably after His return from the
feast of Tabernacles, goes to the Baptist to re
ceive Baptism. The theophany of the heavenly
Voice and the Dove convinced the Baptist that
Jesus was the Messiah : and gave Jesus Himself
the consecration to His ministry.2 Under the
power of the divine Spirit, and in the ecstatic
state, He remained forty days in the wilderness
of Judaea, absorbed in prayer and meditation.
At the close of this time He undergoes tempta
tions, all directed to the one point of forcing the
issue by a premature assertion of His Messiah-
ship in accordance with the expectations of His
times. Jesus overcomes these temptations and
enters upon His ministry with the same self-
poised, patient and determined purpose that He
manifested eighteen years before. He will be
guided by the divine Spirit upon Him in all His
work. He will not make His mission of none
effect by precipitancy and unwisdom.
Immediately after the temptation Jesus re
turns to the Jordan, where He is recognized by
the Baptist as the Messiah. Two of the disci-

1 Luke iii. 1-18. 2 Matt. iii. 13-iv. 11 ; John i. 32-34.

174 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
pies of the Baptist, Andrew, and probably John,
are transferred to Jesus.1 On the next day
Philip is called to follow Him.2 With these
disciples He goes to Cana of Galilee where He
works His first miracle.3 The disciples return
for a short time to their homes, and Jesus doubt
less also, to His own home at Nazareth. But
in a few days He goes to the shore of the Sea
of Galilee and summons the four fishermen to
abandon all and follow Him.4
A Sabbath of teaching and miracles in Ca
pernaum soon follows.6
Jesus retires to a desert place to pray,6 and then
makes His first tour in Galilee preaching in the
synagogues and working miracles.7
In Capernaum, He heals a paralytic.8 Soon
after He calls Matthew, the publican, to be His
disciple.9 After a farewell supper, at the house
of Matthew, Jesus leaves Galilee and rejoins the
Baptist in the valley of the Jordan, and the two
preach and baptize side by side for a short time.
Differences, however, soon emerge between the
disciples of Jesus and the disciples of the Bap-

1 John i. 29-42. 2 John i. 43. 3 John ii. 1-11.
4 Mark i. 16-20. 5 Mark i. 21-34. 6 Mark i. 35.
7 Mark i. 35-45. 8 Mark ii. 1-12.
9 Mark ii. 13-17 ; Matt. ix. 9-13.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 175
tist, and the Pharisees take advantage of the
situation to excite disputes as to purification
and fasting and possibly other matters. But
the Baptist recognizes that Jesus is his superior.
Jesus must increase while he decreases. His
preparatory work is wellnigh done. The One
for whom he prepared is now at work.1 Jesus
is now more successful in winning disciples than
the Baptist.
The attention of the Pharisees is called to
Jesus and their jealousy is excited. Accordingly
after attending the feast of Passover Jesus pru
dently returns to Galilee. If we allow two
months for the time from Tabernacles to the
first departure of Jesus to Galilee after leaving
John, we may allow two months for the intro
ductory Galilean ministry, and one month for
His work with the Baptist in the valley of the
Jordan before Passover.
III. The Galilean Ministry.
Jesus now begins in earnest. Thus far He
has worked more under the shadow of the Bap
tist. The centre of the ministry has been where
John was baptizing in the Jordan. Very soon

1 John iii. 22-30 ; Mark ii. 18-

176 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
after Jesus' return to Galilee, the Baptist was
arrested and imprisoned, and his work brought
suddenly to an end. Jesus therefore becomes
the chief, and we may say the only, prophet to
whom all eyes were now directed. His minis
try in Galilee up to this time had been only
preparatory, teaching in the synagogues and
working cures. Now He proclaims with more
vigor than the Baptist the advent of the king
dom and the call to repentance.
1. The first incident of this second period of
Galilean ministry is the plucking of grain from
the standing crops, by His disciples immediately
after Passover on the sabbath. The Pharisees
charge Him with violating the sabbath. The
first of the sabbath conflicts begins and the bat
tle with the Pharisees is now on, which is one of
the most marked features of Jesus' life. Soon
after He teaches the multitudes by the Sea of
Galilee, and uses a boat to take Him from place
to place.1 He has, in the meantime, called
many other disciples than those six whose calls
have been mentioned thus far, and from these
He selects a group of Twelve, and gives them a
discourse of Consecration which is known as the

1 Mark iii. 7 seq.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 177
Sermon on the Mount.1 Soon after He heals
the centurion's servant.2 This is only a varia
tion of the nobleman's son. 3 He also raises the
widow's son from the dead.4 These are doubt
less only specimens of many miracles and a
great abundance of teaching during the fifty
days from Passover to Pentecost. At the close
of this period messengers came from the Bap
tist, who, shut up in prison and hearing of the
works of Jesus, was somewhat perplexed. He
had no doubt of Jesus' Messiahship. But the
Messianic ideals of the Old Testament are so
complex, the relation of the divine Advent to
the several different conceptions of the Messiah
is so obscure, that it was quite natural that the
Baptist should raise the question whether Jesus
was in all respects the one he had heralded, and
whether Jesus was not perhaps one of several
Messiahs, and another, not yet come, was to
fulfil the other ideals.6 Jesus calls the attention
of the Baptist to His works of preaching and
His miracles, evidently pointing him to the Mes
sianic prophet of the Second Isaiah.6 We must

1 Mark iii. 13-19 ; Matt, v.-vii.; Luke vi. 20-49.
2 Luke vii. 1-10. 3 John iv. 46-54. 4 Luke vii. 11-17.
B See The Incarnation of the Lord, pp. 167 seq.
6 Luke vii. 18-35 ; Matt xi. 2-19.

178 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
probably put at the close of this period the sab
bath healing of the man with a withered hand,1
which provoked the ire of the Pharisees so that
they conspired with the Herodians to destroy Him.
Jesus now goes to the feast of Pentecost,
and while in Jerusalem heals the infirm man on
the sabbath, and the battle with the Pharisees
begins in Jerusalem.2
2. From the feast of Pentecost Jesus returns
for His third Galilean ministry. He partakes of
the hospitality of a Pharisee and accepts the
loving homage of a Magdalene whom He ab
solves from all her sins.3 This is probably Mary
Magdalene, who, with other women, accompany
Him and minister to Him on His third tour of
Galilee, mentioned by Luke at the beginning of
his narrative,4 but by Mark at its close.6
This period embraces the four months from
Pentecost to Tabernacles. The incidents men
tioned besides these above are : the discourse
representing that His disciples were His real
brethren, rather than His kindred ; e the giving
of the parables of the kingdom at the seaside ; 7

1 Mark iii. 1-6. a John v.
3 Luke vii. 36-50. * Luke viii. 1-3.
5 Mark vi. 6 ; Matt. ix. 35. 6 Mark iii. 31-35.
' Mark iv. 1-34.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 179
the crossing the Sea of Galilee and stilling of
the tempest ; 1 the visit to Decapolis and healing
of the Gerasene demoniac ; 2 the raising from
the dead of Jairus' daughter, and the healing
of the woman with an issue.3 These are again
only a few of many incidents in a ministry of
four months. For the events actually mentioned
would have taken only a few days.
Near the close of this period, Jesus learns that
the Baptist has been put to death, and that
Herod is alarmed for fear that He is John the
Baptist risen from the dead. This makes it
extremely perilous for Jesus to continue His
public ministry in Galilee. Accordingly, having
trained the Twelve sufficiently, He sends them
forth in pairs in a mission throughout Galilee to
carry on His work.4 It is altogether probable,
however, that Jesus always kept one of these
pairs with Him, changing them, however, from
time to time.
IV. Ministry in Jud&a and Peraea.
During the absence of the Twelve Jesus goes
away from Galilee to carry on His ministry in
Judaea and in Peraea.

1 Mark iv. 35-41. 2 Mark v. 1-20. 3 Mark v. 21-43,
* Mark vi. 7-13 ; Matt, ix. 36 seq.; Luke ix. 1-6,

180 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
1. He journeys through Samaria to Jeru
salem secretly in order to avoid arrest from
Herod,1 and arrives late at the feast of Taber
nacles. James and John are with Him on this
journey and doubtless remain with Him during
all His ministry in Jerusalem. At this feast of
Tabernacles, Jesus wrought no miracle, but
taught in the temple and had some discussions
with the Pharisees.2 The Sanhedrim sent officers
to arrest Him but they were unable to do it.3 It
is probable that it was at this time that the in
terview of Jesus with Nicodemus took place.4
At all events Nicodemus at this time defends
Him before the Sanhedrim.5 At this visit to
Jerusalem He also visited Martha and Mary.6
Jesus evidently avoided bringing on a crisis at
this feast, for he had determined upon a ministry
in Peraea which now begins immediately after
Tabernacles. 2. Prior to the going to Peraea Himself, He
selects and commissions seventy disciples to go
before Him on a mission thither just as He had
sent the Twelve on a mission in Galilee. The
Gospels give us a number of sayings of Jesus

1 Luke ix. 51-56; John vii. 2-10. 2 John vii. 11-43.
3 John vii. 44-49. 4 John iii. 1-15.
° John vii. 50-52. 6 Luke x. 38-42.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 181
with reference to the special call to disciples,
attached to the incident of the scribe who desired
to follow Him.1 Doubtless Matthew is correct
in putting them during the previous Galilean
ministry. They are given here by Luke as in
troductory to the Mission of the Seventy.
It is probable that Jesus left James and
John behind Him in Jerusalem to continue His
mission there ; for they were well acquainted
there even with the family of the high-priest.2
It is also probable that Matthew and Thomas
joined Him for the Peraean ministry.3 The first
Peraean ministry was for about two months, from
Tabernacles to Dedication. The incidents men
tioned by Luke as belonging to this period are
few. The question of the lawyer as to the way
of life, with the parable of the good Samaritan
probably belongs here.4 Jesus teaches His dis
ciples the Lord's prayer.5 He casts out the
dumb demon.6 He breakfasts with a Pharisee.7
This is followed by a discussion with the Phari
sees. Jesus rebukes a man for coveting a share
in the estate of his brother.8 He warns to

1 Luke ix. 57-62; Matt. viii. 19-22. 2 John xviii. 15.
3 See pp. 76 seq. 4 Luke x. 25-37. 5 Luke xi. 1 seq.
" Luke xi. 14-29; cf. Matt. xii. 22 seq.
7 Luke xi. 37 seq. 8 Luke xii. 13-15.

182 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
repent with reference to the slaying of the
Galileans by Pilate and the fall of the tower in
Siloam.1 He heals a woman with an infirmity
in the synagogue on the sabbath, and again has
to meet the opposition of the Pharisees.2 These
events, with the most of the logia and parables
attached, probably belong to this period of the
Peraean ministry.
3. Jesus now goes up to the feast of Dedica
tion in Jerusalem.3 Why He went up to this
feast, which was not one of obligation, we are
not told; unless the warning of the Pharisees
against Herod belongs here.4 In this case it was
for prudential reasons. He was now between
Scylla and Charybdis, and the crisis could not
long be postponed. Fully aware of this, Jesus
had no longer any reason for reserve, and at
this feast in Jerusalem He speaks fully and
strongly of His Messiahship and His pre-exist
ence. The story of John 6 tells us that the people
were about to stone Him for blasphemy, if He
had not escaped from their hands. It also seems
necessary to bring in here, John viii. 31-x. 21, giv-

1 Luke xiii. 1-9. 2 Luke xiii. 10-17.
3 John x. 22-39. * Luke xiii. 31-33.
5 John x. 22-39.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 183
ing the assertion of His pre-existence before
Abraham, the healing of the blind man on the
Sabbath, and the claiming his allegiance to Him
self as Messiah ; and also the allegory of the
Good Shepherd.
His impending death is clearly in His mind,
and He does not hesitate to intimate it in His
discourses and discussions. From now on He
claims the recognition of His Messiahship.
4. Jesus returns for a brief ministry in Peraea.
During this period He takes a sabbath meal
with a Pharisee and heals a man with the
dropsy.1 He gives a series of logia to His dis
ciples as to their counting the cost of disciple-
ship,2 and the three parables of receiving the
lost in defence of His own associating with
publicans and sinners.3 Then follow parables of
the shrewd steward, and Dives and Lazarus,
and other logia and parables.4 Thus the material
belonging to this time is, with a single excep
tion, altogether teaching. Doubtless some of
this is out of place, given here for topical rea
sons. But it is also probable that Jesus avoided
publicity, and that therefore He would not work

1 Luke xiv. 1 seq. 2 Luke xiv. 25-35. * Luke xv.
4 Luke xvi -xvii. 10.

184 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
miracles. He gave His teaching quietly and to
a great extent in private. The Seventy were all
this time engaged in their missions.
5. The Peraean ministry is brought to an
abrupt close by the summons to Jerusalem on
the death of Lazarus. Jesus goes, although as
He and His disciples clearly see, at great risks.
He raises Lazarus from the dead. But this only
attracts the greater attention to Him, and the
Sanhedrim determine to put Him to death.1
Accordingly He retires to Ephraim on the bor
ders of Samaria.2 After a brief sojourn there He
goes northward through Samaria to Galilee,3 re
ceiving the recognition of the Samaritan woman
and her friends that He was the Messiah.
V. The crisis in Galilee.
It is probable that Jesus' assertion of His Mes
siahship in the synagogue of Nazareth and His
rejection by His early associates were immedi
ately on His arrival in Galilee. 4 He was probably
now joined by Andrew and Peter, who accom
pany Him in His rapid and secret journey north
ward to Phoenicia,5 and then along the frontier

1 John xi. i— 53. 2 John xi. 54. 3 John iv. 4-43.
4 Matt. xiii. 54-58 ; Mark vi. 1-6 ; Luke iv. 16-30.
5 Mark vii. 24-30.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 185
to Decapolis, at the northeast end of the Sea of
Galilee, where He heals a deaf mute.1
Here at Bethsaida, probably, according to ap
pointment, the Twelve all join Him. He is
resorted to by multitudes, in the wilderness, and
when they suffer from hunger He works the
miracle of feeding them. After this the disciples
cross the stormy sea, and are diverted from their
course, so that they land in the plain of Genne
saret, and make their way to Capernaum. Jesus
has joined them. He now delivers His last dis
course in the Synagogue of Capernaum.2 This
is connected with discussions with the Pharisees
as to His giving them a sign of His Messiahship,
and also a dispute as to purification.3
Jesus and His disciples now go to Bethsaida,
where a blind man is healed.4 Then a rapid
journey northward to Caesarea Philippi is made.
Here Peter, as the spokesman of the Twelve,
recognizes Jesus as the Messiah.6 Jesus now
tells them that He is the suffering Messiah, and
that He is about to die in Jerusalem and rise

1 Mark vii. 31-37.
s Mark vi. 30 seq., viii. 1 seq. ; John vi.
s Mark vii. 1-23, viii. 11. seq. ; John vi. 59.
4 Mark viii. 22-26.
5 Mark viii. 27-30, Messiah of the Gospels, p. 93.

186 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
from the dead.1 This is speedily followed by the
Christophany of the Transfiguration to confirm
the faith of the chief apostles.2 In the meantime
the other disciples try in vain to heal the de
moniac boy ; then Jesus, coming down from the
mount, rebukes them for their lack of faith, and
heals him.3
Jesus now rapidly returns to Capernaum on
His way to the last Passover, which was near.4
Probably here the incident of the finding of a
shekel in a fish occurred.6 The disciples, in
view of the impending establishment of the
kingdom, dispute as to their relative rank in it,
and are rebuked by Jesus.6
Jesus journeys to Jerusalem by the ordi
nary route along the borders of Samaria and
Galilee.7 On the way He heals the ten lepers*
He then goes on to make a farewell visit to
Peraea. On this journey the dispute as to divorce
takes place, then the blessing of little children,
and the giving of counsels of perfection to the
rich young man, and He promises reward to the
faithful disciples.8 Jesus in Peraea is rejoined by

1 Mark viii. 31, ix. 1, 30-32. 2 Mark ix. 2-13.
3 Mark ix. 14-29. 4 Mark ix. 30-33. 6 Matt. xvii. 24-27.
6 Mark ix. 33-59. 7 Markx. 1; Lukexvii. 11; Matt. xix. 1-2.
8 Mark x. 2-31 ; Luke xviii. 15-30 ; Matt. xix. 3 seq.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 187
the Seventy. He now gives several additional
logia. He also makes another announcement of
His impending death and resurrection,1 and re
bukes the ambition of James and John.2 He
then leaves Peraea for Jericho, where He heals a
blind man and visits Zacchaeus.8
VI. Passion Week.
Jesus arrives in Bethany six days before Pass
over, late on Friday, or the evening which began
Saturday. He dines at the house of Simon on
this day, is anointed by Mary, and is visited
by large numbers of His disciples and others.
He spends the night at Bethany.4
On Sunday, accompanied by throngs of His
disciples, the Twelve, the Seventy, the Galile
ans, the Peraeans, the believers of Jerusalem, and
a great multitude, He enters Jerusalem as the
Messiah. He returns at night to Bethany with
the Twelve.6
On Monday morning, on His way to the
temple, He curses the barren fig-tree. He en
ters the temple, and probably owing to an at-

1 Mark x. 32-34. 2 Mark x. 35-45.
3 Mark x. 46 seq. ; Luke xviii. 35 seq.
4 Mark xiv. 3-9 ; John xii. 1-11.
6 Mark xi. 1-11 ; John xii. 12-19.

188 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
tempt to cheat His disciples in the selecting and
purchase of a Paschal lamb, His indignation is
excited against the traders, and He casts them
out of the temple. He returns to Bethany for
the night.1
On Tuesday, on His way to the temple, He
passes the withered fig-tree. He enters into the
temple and finds the Pharisees all ready to chal
lenge His authority. After a sharp contention
with them He retires from the temple to the
Mount of Olives, and gives His great eschato
logical discourse to His disciples.2
On Wednesday the battle with the Pharisees
is continued. According to a plan devised the
previous day, the Herodians and Sadducees unite
with them in their efforts to entrap Jesus. At
last they are silenced, and nothing remains but to
make out a case against Him and have Him put
to death. On this day, two days before the Pass
over, the Sanhedrim resolve on His death, and
soon after a bargain was made with Judas to be
tray Him.3
On the morning of Thursday the disciples are
instructed to prepare for the Passover.4 Jesus,

1 Mark xi. 12-19; John ii. 13-22.
2 Mark xi. 20-xii. 12 ; xiii.
3 Mark xii. 13 seq. ; Luke xxii. 1-6. 4 Mark xiv. 12-l6.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 189
for the last time, visits the temple, meets with
some Greeks, hears the theophanic voice, and is
finally rejected by the people. He departs
from the temple and hides Himself.1 At night
fall, the beginning of Friday, Jesus has a farewell
supper with the Twelve, after which He institutes
the Lord's Supper, and gives the Twelve instruc
tion in a long discourse.2 After supper, later in
the night, He goes with the Eleven to Geth
semane for His final wrestle and prayer. Here
He is arrested by the officers of the Sanhedrim,
Judas betraying Him with a kiss. He is before
morning tried by the Sanhedrim, and, on His
affirming His Messiahship under oath, is con
demned to death for blasphemy. When day
arrives, He is sent to Pilate, with a petition for
His death, and from Pilate to Herod, and back
again to Pilate, who seeks to avoid the responsi
bility for the death of an innocent man. But
Pilate finally yields to the persistence of the
Sanhedrim, and, after scourging Him, sends Him
in charge of Roman soldiers to be crucified as
King of the Jews. He died at the time of the
sacrifice of the paschal victims in the temple, as
the great and final Paschal Lamb. He was

John xii. 20 seq. ' Mark xiv. 17-25 ; John xiii. seq.

190 NEW LIGHT ON THE LIFE OF JESUS
taken down in haste from the cross, and buried
before the Sabbath began.1
Saturday was the great sabbath, the first day
of the feast of unleavened bread, during which
Jesus remained in the grave.2
VII. The Resurrection.
On Sunday, the day of the Omer offering,
Jesus rose from the dead in the early morning.
He appeared first to Mary Magdalene and other
women,3 then to Peter,4 then to Cleopas and an
other disciple in the afternoon,6 then to the Ten
in the upper room of the Last Supper, Thomas
being absent.6 These four appearances on the
day of resurrection were followed by six others.
The first of these was on the next Sunday in
Jerusalem to the Eleven, Thomas being present.7
The remaining appearances may all be arranged
on successive Sundays, and probably they so oc
curred, giving thereby to Sunday the name of
the Lord's Day, and establishing the custom of

1 Mark xiv. 26 seq.; Matt. xxvi. 30 seq.; Luke xxii. 39 seq.;
John xviii. 1 seq.
2 Matt, xxvii. 62 ; John xix. 31.
3 Mark xvi. 1 seq.; John xx. 1 seq.
4 Luke xxiv. 34 ; 1 Cor. xv. 4, 5. s Luke xxiv. 13-35.
6 John xx. 19-25. ' John xx. 25-29.

OUTLINE OF THE LIFE OF JESUS 191
assembling to meet the Lord on that day. Four
of these occurred doubtless in Galilee : on the
third Sunday, the appearance to the Eleven on
a mountain,1 on the fourth Sunday, the appear
ance to the Seven by the Sea,2 on the fifth Sun
day, the appearance to the five hundred brethren
at once, and on the sixth Sunday, the appearance
to James the Lord's brother.3
The disciples then seem to have gone to Jeru
salem, where, on the seventh Sunday, the Sun
day before Pentecost, Jesus made His final
appearance on the Mount of Olives, gave them
their final Commission, made His farewell prayer,
and ascended to His heavenly throne to reign
over the Church and the world as the Messiah,
the Son of the Father, the second person of the
Holy Trinity.4

1 Matt, xxviii. 16, 17. 2 John xxi. 1-24.
3 1 Cor. xv. 6, 7.
4 Mark xvi. 19 ; Luke xxiv. 50, 51 ; Acts i. 6-11.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Acts of the Apostles, 112, 113.
Adoration of Magi, 160.
Advent of Kingdom, 65.
Ambition of James and John, 65.
Andrew, 10, 34, 47, 95, 149.
Annunciations, 160 seq., 168.
Anointing of Jesus, 28, 98, 102.
Apostle, term, 34.
Apostolic Commission, 30 seq.
Appendix to Mark, 114, 132.
Aramaic, 126 seq.
Archelaus, 170.
Arrest of the Baptist, 2 seq.,
20 seq.
Ascension, 114, 116, 118, 119,
191.
Ave Maria, 162. B
Baptism, 123; of Jesus, 9, 10,
16, 173.
Beelzebub, 133.
Beginning of Jesus' Ministry,
1 seq.
Benedictus, 163.
Bethany, 98, 101, 102.
Bethlehem, 169.
Bethsaida, 47, 48, 95.
Betrayal, 108.
Birt/i of Jesus, 167 seq.
Blass, 135.
Blessing Children, 65.

Ccesarea Philippi, 48, 96, 97,
149.
Caiaphas, 87, 92.
Coraa, 10, 53, 150, 151.
Canticles of Luke, 160 seq.
Capernaum, 10, 11, 47, 88, 95,
97.
Centurion's Servant, 23.
Cleansing of Temple, 53, 99,
103, 150.
Cleopas, 117.
Counsel of Perfection, 65.
Crisis in Calilee, 184 seq.
Crucifixion, 108. D
Dalman, 126.
Dalmanutha, 48.
Decapolis, 47, 88, 95.
Dedication (feast of), 44, 55,
71, 84, 86, 92, 94, 153 seq.,
181.
Delitzsch, F., 62.
Dives and Lazarus, 73.
Divorce, 65, 89.
Dogmatic use, 145. seq., 156.
E
Elizabeth, 17.
Emmaus, 114, 115.
Entry into Jerusalem, 98, 102.

193

194

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Ephraim, 45, 88, 92, 94.
Eschatological Discourse,
133.
Eusebius, 126.

106,

Fasting, 13, 19, 80.
Feasts of Jesus, 50 seq.
Feeding of Multitude, 47, 54,
95, 133.
Fig tree, 70, 103 seq.
Forty days, 110 seq.
G
Gadarenes, 29.
Galilean Ministry, 3 seq., 28,
175 seq.
Genealogy, 159 seq.
Gennesaret, 48, 95.
Gethsemane, 108.
Gospel, of John, 140 seq.; of
Luke, 136 seq.; of Mark, 129
seq.; of Matthew, 134 seq.
Grenfell, 130. H
Haggada, 171 seq.
Hebrew Sources, 126 seq., 133
seq., 164.
Herod, 20, 89, 108, 169 seq.
Herodians, 79, 99, 105.
Higher Criticism, 142.
Hillel, 79.
-ffoZy Spirit, Sin against, 68,
84, 133.

Infancy of Jesus, 159 seq.

James, 18, 45, 110, 115, 117.
Jericho, 98.
Jerusalem Ministry, 43 seq.
Jerusalem Source, 135.
Jews, 144.
,/o/to, tfie Apostle, 10, 34, 45, 181 .
J"o/in, <Ae Baptist, 17 seq., 21
seq., 25, 41, 172.
Jonah, sign of, 68, 88.
Joseph, 109, 168 seq.
Judman Ministry, 179 seq.
Jucfas, 59, 102. K
Kingdom of God, 7.
L
Lazarus, 45, 86, 92, 98, 102,
152.
Leaven of Pharisees, 88.
Logia of Matthew, 77, 125 seq.
Lord's Day, 118 seq.
Lord's Prayer, 67.
Lord's Supper, 57, 61, 122 seq.
Luke, 113. M
Magdala, 95.
Magnificat, 163.
MaWc, 112; Gospel of, 129 seq.;
Original, 4; Hebrew, 6; Greek,
6; Chronological order of, 7, 8.
Martha, 44.
Man/ Magdalene, 82, 110, 111,
114, 117.
il/an/, «/ie Virgin, 17, 44, 98.
Matthew, 77,87, 130, 181; CaMo/,
12; Gospel of, 134 seq.; Logia
of, 77, 125 seq.

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

195

Message of Baptist to Jesus, 21
seq., 41.
Messiahship, 10, 47, 49, 86, 91
seq., 149 seq., 151.
Messianic Ideals, 21, 121, 177.
Miracles, terms, 142.
N
Nathanael, 10, 34, 149.
Nazareth, 11, 17, 46, 94, 170.
Nicodemus, 53, 54, 109, 145, 151.
Nunc Dimittis, 163.
O
Omer offering, 14, 15, 109.

Papias, 125.
Parables, 74 seq., 136 seq., 171;
of the Kingdom, 29; of Salva
tion, 72, 137.
Paschal meal, 57 seq., 60, 63.
Passion Week, 101 seq., 187.
Passover, 14, 15, 51 seq., 54, 107,
109.
Paul, 110, 115, 116.
Pentecost, 27, 52, 178.
Peroean Ministry, 36, 43 seq., 64
seq., 84, 97, 136 seq., 179 seq.
Peter, 10, 34, 77, 95, 96, 110, 111,
113, 115, 117, 149.
Pharisees, 79 seq., 144.
Pharisee and Publican, 65, 89.
Philip, 10, 34, 47.
Pilate, 99, 108, 109.
Postresurrection Discourses, 122
seq., 156.
Prayer of Jesus, 121.
Prediction of Jesus' Resurrection,
65, 96 seq., 98.

Pre-existence, 84, 86, 93, 155.
Prologue of John, 148.
Purification, 13, 19, 80.
Purim, 52. R
Reland, 17.
Resch, 6, 62, 126, 128, 130, 132,
134.
Resurrection, 110 seq., 190.
Robinson, Edward, 17J 51, 52, 59.
S
Sabbath, controversies, 13, 14;
cures, 22, 72, 81 seq.; great, 58.
Sadducees, 79, 99, 105.
Samaria, 45, 88, 94, 151, 180.
Sanhedrim, 53, 61, 63, 89, 91, 99,
106, 108.
Sermon on the Mount, 23, 35,
129.
Seventy, commission of, 31 seq.,
181; return of, 97.
Shammai, 79.
Sidon, 46, 95.
Son, of the Father. 82, 93; of God,
170; of Man, 111.
Sunday, 118 seq.
Sychar, 94.
Synoptic Gospels, 125 seq.

Tabernacles (feast of), 16, 44, 83,
153, 154, 173, 180.
Tatian, 9, 45, 47, 52, 53, 151,
157.
Temptation of Jesus, 10, 18, 173.
Theophany, 173.

196

INDEX OF SUBJECTS

Thomas, 77, 87, 116, 130, 181.
Teschendorf, 14.
Transfiguration, 96, 186.
Twelve, 31 seq., 110; absence of,
40 seq.; commission of, 30, 31
seq., 120; consecration of, 23;
return of, 40 seq., 95.
Tyre, 46, 95. V
Virgin Mary, 165 seq., 168 seq.

W
Weiss, B., 14, 128, 130, 135.
Wendt, 142.
Westcott and Hort, 14.
Wisdom of Jesus, 129, 132, 171.
Woes against Pharisees, 85, 129.

Zacchceus, 98.
Zacharias, 17.

THE WRITINGS OP
PROF. CHARLES A. BRIGGS, D.D.
CHARLES SCRIBNER'S SONS, Publishers
i53-»57 Fifth Avenue NEW YORK

The Incarnation of the Lord.
Svo. Net, $1.50.
" Such a book, from a man of Dr. Briggs's scholarly standing, in full
sympathy with critical conclusions and advanced thought in Scripture
interpretation, is exceedingly timely and will be read with great profit and
enlightenment by any to whom the divinity of Jesus Christ or the reality of
His Incarnation have become in any degree questionable teachings."
— The Advance.
" We rejoice to believe that the circulation of this book will do great
good, and that it will be to many minds a stimulus and a guide in the study
of that which is the central fact and doctrine of our Christian faith — the
Incarnation of our Lord and Saviour." — The Churchman.

A General Introduction to the
Study of Holy Scripture.
The Principles, Methods, History, and Results of its Several
Departments, and of the Whole. Crown 8vo. $3.00 net.
Dr. Briggs's new book covers the whole ground of Biblical
Study, gives a history of every department, with ample illustra
tions from the New Testament as well as from the Old, and states
the results thus far attained, the present problems, and the aims
for the future. It is written so that any intelligent person can read
it with enjoyment and profit. The work takes the place of the
author's Biblical Study, which has been extraordinarily successful,
and which has been here revised, enlarged to double its former
size, and entirely reset, so that it is essentially a new book.

PROFESSOR BRIGGS'S WRITING 8.

Messianic Prophecy.
The Prediction of the fulfilment of Redemption through the
Messiah. A critical study of the Messianic passages of the Old
Testament in the order of their development. By Charles A.
Briggs, D.D., Edward Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology
in the Union Theological Seminary, New York. One volume,
crown octavo, $2.50.
" Messianic Prophecy is a subject of no common interest, and this book is no ordin
ary book. It is, on the contrary, a work of the very first order, the ripe product of
years of study upon the highest themes. It is exegesis in master-hand, about its
noblest business  It has been worth while to commend this book at some
length to the attention of Bible students, because both the subject and the treatment
entitle it to rank among the very foremost works of the generation in the department
of Exegetical Theology. Union Seminary is to be congratulated that it is one of her
Professors who, in a noble line of succession has produced it. The American Church
is to be congratulated that the author is an American, and Presbyterians that he is a
Presbyterian. A Church that can yield such books has large possibilities."— New
York Evangelist.
"It is second in importance to no theological work which has appeared in this
country during the present century."— The Critic.
"His arduous labor has been well expended, for he has finally produced a book
which will give great pleasure to Christians of all denominations  The pro
found learning displayed in the book commends it to the purchase of all clergymen
who wish for the most critical and exact exposition of a difficult theme ; while its
earnestness and eloquence will win for it a place in the library of every devout lay
man." — N. Y. Journal of Commerce.
"It is rich with the fruits of years of zealous and unwearied study, and of an ample
learning. In it we have the first English work on MesBianic Prophecy which stands
on the level of modern Biblical studies, It is one of the most important and valuable
contributions of American scholarships to those studies. It is always more than in
structive : it is spiritually helpful. We commend the work not only to ministers, but
to intelligent laymen."— The Independent.
" On the pervading and multiform character of this promise, see a recent, as well
as valuable authority, in the volume of Dr. Briggs, of the New York Theological
Seminary, on 'Messianic Prophecy.1 " — W. E. Gladstone.
"Prof. Briggs7 Messianic Prophecy is a most excellent book, in which I greatly
rejoice."— Prof. Franz Delitzsch.
"All scholars will join in recognizing its singular usefulness as a text-book. It has
been much wanted." — Rev. Canon Cheyne.
"It is a book that will be consulted and prized by the learned, and that will add to
the author's deservedly high reputation for scholarship. Evidences of the ability,
learning and patient research of the author are apparent from the beginning to the
end of the volume, while the style is remarkably fine."— Phila. PresbyteHan.
"His new book on Messianic Phrophecy is a worthy companion to his indispens
able text-book on Biblical study .... What is most of all required to insure the
future of Old Testament studies in this country is that those who teach should satisfy
their sludents of their historic connection with the religion and theology of the past.
Prof. Briggs has the consciousness of such a connection in a very full degree, and
yet he combines this with a frank and unreserved adhesion to the principles of modern
criticisms  He has produced the first English text-book on the subject of
Messianic Prophecy which a modern teacher can use."— The London Academy.

PROFESSOR BRIGGS'S WRITINGS.

The Messiah of the Gospels.
By Chaeles A. Bbiggs, D.D., Edward Kobinson Professor of
Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary, New York.
Crown 8vo, $2.00.
The Messiah of the Apostles.
By Chablbs A. Bbiggs, D.D., Edward Robinson Professor ef
Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary, New York.
Crown 8vo, $3.00.
Prof. Bbiggs in these two volumes takes up the ideas presented in
the author's " Messianic Prophecy of the Old Testament," and traces
their development in New Testament prophecy. The method and
scope of the work are entirely original, and it is full of fresh state
ments of the doctrine of the person and work of ChrLt as the result
of the new point of view that is taken.
" It is learned, sound, evangelical, and is a useful contribution to the Christological
literature of the day."— New York Tribune.
" It requires but a cursory examination of this book to discover that it is the work
of a profound Biblical scholar. It will prove|a valuable aid to the Biblical student, and
is well worthy of a place in his library."— Beformed Church Messenger.
" The hook, as to far the larger part of it, is one of the best and most precious ever
written upon the person, the offices, the work of the Son of God and Son of man. The
author has the Scriptures thoroughly at command, and without quotation-marks re
peats the very words, adding passage to passage, phrase to phrase, with splendid and
overwhelming power.1' — The Christian Intelligencer.
" Like all Dr. Briggs' books, the work though given in lucid and ringing Engli'h
has depth and breadth of learning. ' ' - Boston Zion's Herald.
" As we lay the book down we have a renewed sense of the courage, independence
and erudition of the author."— The Churchman.
" He has given to us on the whole a noble contribution of devout scholarship to
wards an understanding of the Christ of New Testament teaching."— Richmond
Religious Herald.
" . . . . it is a book of great merit, and one that no student of the New Tes
tament can afford not to read with candor and diligence."— The Examiner.
" The whole tone of the discussion iB adapted to impress one with the idea that the
writer is a Bincere lover of and seeker after truth. The whole volume will be found
very helpful to any diligent student of the Scriptures."— Pittsburgh Presbyterian

" The work, by its freedom from contentiousness and by its respect for other learn
ed opinion, claims a dignified place in contributions to historical theology."— The
American Historical Eeview.
" Dr. Briggs is to be congratulated on having brought to a successful termination
this truly remarkable series of volumes on one of the most important themes of Bibli
cal study. The Christology of the New Testament is likely to wait long for a more
competent and more successful expositor. "—The Christian Register.
"Whoever makes a faithful study of this hook will put himself under the guidance
of an admirable teacher, and will come into close contact with the living Word of the
divine revelation."— The Congregation alist.

PROFESSOR BRIGGS'S WRITINGS.

Biblical Study.
Its Principles, Methods, and History, together with <*. Catalogue
of Books of Reference. By Charles A. Briggs, D.D., Edward
Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology in the Union Theological
Seminary, New York. Fourth Edition. One volume, crown 8vo,
$2.50.
"A choice book, for which we wish wide circulation and deep influence in its own
land and also recognition among us. The author maintains his position with so much
spirit and in such beautiful language that his book makes delightful reading, and it is
particularly instructive for Germans on account of the very characteristic extracts
from the writings of English theologians of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.
Moreover, he is unusually familiar with German literature of recent date as well as
with that of the earlier period." — Zarncke's Literaturisches Ceniralblatt fur Deutsch-
land. ''-Here is a theological writer, thoroughly scientific in his methods, and yet not
ashamed to call himself evangelical. One great merit of this handbook is the light
which it throws on the genesis of modern criticism and exegesis. Those who use it
will escape the crudities of many English advocates of half -understood theories. Not
the least of its merits is the well-selected catalogue of books of reference— English,
French, and German. "We are sure that no student will regret Bending for the book.1'
— The Academy ; London.
"Dr. Briggs begins with a chapter upon the advantages of Biblical study, and the
subjects of the following chapters are : Exegetical Theology, the Languages of the
Bible, the Bible and Criticism, the Canon and Text of the Bible, Higher Criticism,
Literary Study of the Bible, Hebrew Poetry, Interpretation of Scripture, Biblical
Theology, and the Scriptures as a Means of Grace. It will be seen that the subjects
occupy a wide range, and, ably treated as they are, the volume becomes one of real
value and utility. Appended to the work is a valuable catalogue of books of reference
in biblical studies, and three indexes— of Scriptures, of topics, and of books and
authors. The publishers have done honor to the work, and it deserved it."— The
Churchman. u The minister who thoroughly masters this volume will find himself mentahy in
vigorated, as well as broadened in his scope of thought ; will almost certainly be able to
better satisfy himself in his understanding of what the truth is which from the Bible
he ought to preach to men ; and so will speak from his pulpit with new force, and
find his words mightier, through God, to the pulling down of strongholds.1'— Boston
Congregationalist. "After all that we have heard of the higher criticism, it is refreshing to find so
scholarly and trenchant defences of the old paths  His historical account of tha
movement and developement among the English-speaking scholars is very valuable.
This, and the chapter on the 'Literary Study of the Bible/ are among the best in this
excellent book.1'— New York Christian Advocate (Methodist).
"We are constrained to rank this book as one of the signs of the times in the Amer
ican church. It marks the rising tide of Biblical scholarship, Christian liberty of
thought and evangelical interpretation of the Scriptures.11 — Christian Union.
" There are many grounds on which the work may be earnestly commended. Large
reading in German and English, quick apprehension of the salient points of opposing
theories, an unflagging earnestness of purpose, and very positive belief in his positions
conspire to make the work instructive and attractive. But above all these excellences
there shines out the author's deep reverence for the whole Bible."— The Examiner
(Baptist, N. Y.)

PROFESSOR BRIGGS'S WRITINGS.

The Bible, the Church, and the
Reason.
The Three Great Fountains of Divine Authority. By Charles A.
Briggs, D.D., Edward Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology in
Union Theological Seminary, New York. Crown 8vo, $1.75.
" It consists of lectures delivered at different times since the recent assault
apon him. In these lectures he does not indicate the least inclination to beat a
retreat, cry for quarter, or even secure a truce. And yet, with some few excep
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the charges made against him. He simply elaborates and substantiates the
positions in his inaugural which have subjected him to public criticism and to a
possible trial for heresy." — The Christian Union.
" The problems which are discussed with masterly power in this volume are
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indeed, of all Biblical religion. To any man for whom the question of God and
revelation has an endlessly fascinating interest, the book will prove suggestive and
stimulating. We cannot see why even the Israelite and the Roman Catholic should
not desire to taste— despite the traditions of synagogue and Mother Church —
this latest forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge." — The Literary World.
The Higher Criticism of the Hex
ateuch.
By Prof. Charles A. Bbiggs, D.D., of Union Theological Sem
inary, New York. New, Bevised and Enlarged Edition. Crown
8vo, $2.50.
Summaet of Contents : The Testimony of Scripture— The Traditional Theories—
The Eise of Criticism— The Documentary and Supplementary Hypothesis— Date
of Deuteronomy— Development of the Codes— Witness of the History— The Argu
ment from Biblical Theology and its Results— Recent Discussions.
It is with the aim of contributing to a better understanding and higher appreciation
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the general pablic rather than for Hebrew students, and, for the most part, techni
cal material has been put into the Appendix, which constitutes a considerable part
of the volume. This new edition is the result of a thorough revision of the. entire work,
and contains numerous additions of importance. It is also characterized by a thorough
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" The volume Defore us gives'in plain language Dr. Briggs' belief. No minister can
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FROFMSSOR BRIGGS'S WRITINGS.

Whither ?
A Theological Question for the Times. By Charles Augustus
Briggs, D.D., Edward Robinson Professor of Biblical Theology
in the Union Theological Seminary, New York. Third Edition.
One volume, crown 8vo, $1.75.
" He shows tbat genuine Christianity has nothing io lose, but much to gain, by un
fettered thought and by the ripest modern scholarship ; that the doctrines which pro
gressive theofogy threatens are no essential part of the historic faith, but rather out
worn garments, woven with warp and woof of tradition and speculation ; that being
hung upon the noble form of Christianity, have obscured its real proportions, and
that ' the higher criticism ' of which timid and unscholarly souls are so much afraid,
is really making the Bible more manifestly the book of God, by relieving it from the
false interpretations of men."— The Press, Philadelphia.
" The book is a strong one. It is packed with weighty matter. Its reach is larger
than any of the author's other works, though its compass is smaller. It contains only
300 pages, yet it is a critical treatise on Westminster and modern theology, and also
on church life and Christian unity. It is written in nervous, virile English that holds
attention. It has unusual grasp and force. The title and the chapter headings sug
gest compression: 'Whither?' 'Drifting,' 'Orthodoxy,' 'Changes,' 'Shifting,'
'Excesses,' 'Failures,' 'Departures,' 'Perplexities,' 'Barriers,1 'Thither.' There
is a whole history in some of these words, and a whole sermon in others."— The
Critic, New York.
"At the same time it is irenic both in tone and tendency. It is noble from
beginning to end, though the author may possibly place unnecessary emphasis on
the organic unity of the different denominations of Christendom as the condition
precedent for a true catholic unity. There is not a touch or smell of rationalism or
rationalistic speculation in the book, ei nd freely as the author deals with his oppo
nents, it is an honest freedom, which will promote good feeling even amid debate.1'—
The Independent.
American Presbyterianism :
Its Origin and Early History, together with an Appendix of Let
ters and Documents, many of which have recently been discovered.
By Charles A. Briggs, D.D., Edward Robinson Professor of
Biblical Theology in the Union Theological Seminary, New York.
I volume, crown 8vo, with Maps. $3.00.
"Tl.e Presbyterian Church owes a debt of gratitude to the enthusiasm and antiquar
ian research of Professor Briggs. He seems to have seized the foremost place among
them, and his vigorous, skilful, and comprehensive researches put all Protestant
Christians, and especially Congregationalists, under obligation to him."— .Boston
Congregationalist. ''This is an admirable and exhaustive work, full of vigorous thinking, clear and
careful statement, incisive and judicious criticism, minute yet comprehensive research.
It is such a book as only a man with a gift for historical inquiry and an enthusiasm
for the history and principles of his Church could have produced. It represents an
amazing amount of labor. Dr. Briggs seems to have searched every available source,
British and American, for printed or written documents bearing on his subjects, and
he has met with wonderful success. He has made many important discoveries, illus
trative of the Puritan men and period, useful to himself, but certain also to be helpful
to all future inquiries iu this field."— British Quarterly Review.
CHAELES SCRIBWER'S SONS, Publishers,
153-157 Fifth Avenue, New York.